Dick Allen

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 6, 2013 -> 10:52 AM) It's indisputable the lack of talent has to be laid at the feet of KW and Reinsdorf for supporting him. Hahn bears some responsibility for overpaying Keppinger, but he didn't have money or talent to go out and trade for Chase Headley, did he? And he did a decent job of finding a decent prospect in Gillaspie who's at least held the season from getting totally out of control...for now. That said, many others, and Fathom has been even more prominent, have noticed strategic mismanagement and in-game decision making that's become worrisome and is showing no signs of improvement. We knew there would be a learning curve, that this was "on the job." My biggest fear is that Ventura took the job out of loyalty to JR and his heart is not 100% into it...to many, he still represents that symbol of Sox greatness of the recent past. He was such a popular player, fans won't start to blame him until next year. KW and JR knew exactly what they were doing. It took about five years for the Ozzie Show to wear thin, too, and it might never have if the team wasn't so disappointing that there was no choice but to blame the manager. Maybe Ventura was perfect for the transition period "After Ozzie" but nobody's quite so sure if he is the man to lead this team out of the wilderness, either. And Dick, you've followed baseball long enough to know there's more than one person responsible. You defended Greg Walker to the end, and you might have been right about that, but it's impossible to blame this currrent malaise of a situation we're in on just ONE person, not 100%. It's much more nuanced that that, and everyone knows it. So Robin Ventura a guy who played about 15 years in the majors knows less about baseball strategy than message board posters, many of whom haven't played organized baseball since they were about 10? If the Sox are horrible this year, you are right, it will fall on a bunch of people. Not one, not 2 or 3. Most of it is on players. If a guy misses a cutoff man, as much as everyone wants to blame the manager, it's not his fault, it's the OF's fault. If a guy strikes out, it's not the hitting coach's fault. I read an article last year about how much parents pay to have their kids play for "elite" traveling clubs in various sports. They get promised the world, with the greatest coaching available, and a lot of parents buy into it. It was written by a former coach. When their kids didn't get to be players that would be 1st round picks or go to college for free, the parents complain. The coach said don't waste your money on these things. There's a 99.9% chance your kid will be an average player. Coaches can't make average talents great ones. It's the same way with professional sports. Sure, coaches can make a difference, but not the difference many people think. Where are Rudy Jaramillo and Leo Mazzone right now?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 6, 2013 -> 10:32 AM) http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706145/s...pock-clip.jhtml Hey, you requested geology. The main point here, after watching the movie "42," it struck me how baseball has become a distant relative of the game as it used to be played. Harrelson's right, there is very little or no bench jockeying. Players are fraternizing with each other constantly before and after games. There's almost no interaction anymore with the fans, and it's limited to those who are the owners of luxury boxes and diamond suites. Certainly, we're days away from the dreaded "team meeting," which ALWAYS almost always works. It's actually like last year, when Ventura's idea of holding Ramirez accountable led directly to a defeat because there was nobody left to play but Olmedo in his place. He simply can't bench, for example, Alexei Ramirez. He can't replace Alex Rios in the line-up either, and there's almost no other options left other than Matt Thornton. He gave Donnie Veal about 15 opportunities. For whatever reason, this team "hit the wall" 2 1/2 months ago and hasn't recovered since. If we don't want to place any blame at the foot of the manager's door, evoking pitchforks and knives coming after Kenny Williams is hardly going to fix the problem either. At a certain point, whatever happened in the past is forgotten and those in charge NOW become accountable. It hasn't happened yet. But it's also why fans are tremendously alienated from this team already. Because if they didn't give up (most agree they just wore down, that it wasn't really a choke and that DET was simply the more talented team and talent almost always wins out eventually in the end)...then they're certainly carrying that negative feeling or vibe directly into the 2013 as if they didn't miss a beat or work on a single thing in Spring Training. So you have been arguing SOMEONE HAS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, even starting a who should we blame thread, and then moan when Ventura held Ramirez accountable about showing up late, and complain about Ventura, yet post he doesn't have any options. What's with all the flip flops? You constantly switch to what ever side of the argument appears to be correct that particular moment, and insunuate these problems have been clear for a long time. Pick a side and stay on it. If it turns out you are wrong, so what, it's a message board. Everyone here is constantly wrong. People who get paid millions are often wrong.

Anyone check out the start one of Hawk's favorite players, Carlos Gomez, is having?

I know this Rose stuff is old and he's not going to play, but really, could he even play now without getting even more backlash? If he suited up tonight, wouldn't he be getting a lot of crap for not playing Saturday night? I think even most of the people who have no problem with his process would have to question him then.

And just because Robin is calm and collected with the media, how does everyone know he never gets on players? I know when he was playing, he ripped Frank Thomas a new one when he was out of line. The White Sox take infield and outfield more than any other MLB team. The blaming him for guys missing cutoffs is beyond hysterical. What is he supposed to do? People act like the players are 8 year olds and the manager is one of the dads like a little league team. Get real. We are dealing with grown ups here. Throwing temper tantrums doesn't usually work all that well. Once in a while to make a point, maybe. If your manager at work yells at you all the time, does that make you a better employee?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 5, 2013 -> 04:41 PM) The alternative is to bump the payroll to $150M next year. Comsidering they will get an additional $25 million from the national TV contract, even your exhaggeration could probably be handled.

The other thing to consider if you want the Sox to totally rebuild, it is not like they have a bunch of promising players in the minors that are a year or two away.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 5, 2013 -> 04:23 PM) You are asking the difference between Viciedo and Bonds . . . No, I am pointing out the ridiculousness of your LF argument. If it is so easy to find a good hitter that can play LF, why doesn't every team have one?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 5, 2013 -> 04:22 PM) If you trade Sale you're saying it's a >5 year project. If done right, it's 2-3 years. Can you give some examples of successful 2-3 year rebuilds?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 5, 2013 -> 04:17 PM) Yeah, I got it. He came up as a CF'er though. And Viciedo was a 3B. What's the difference, they both wound up in LF.

The Sox aren't going into a total rebuild, but if they were, Sale should be at the top of the list of guys to move.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 5, 2013 -> 03:47 PM) You don't develop LF'ers. That would be a bad rebuild and one I would not be able to stomach. I sure am glad in 1985 the Sox drafted Kurt Brown a catcher. He never did play in the majors, but it sure was better than picking a LF which the Pirates did with the next pick.

Good hustle from Dunn there.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2013 -> 03:24 PM) Of course, Rios might be our coldest hitter. Not anymore.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2013 -> 03:21 PM) Ventura might actually be adjusting. He didn't force DeAza to sacrifice there. Just let him hit away, despite his nearly 40 K's on the season. LOL. If he had him hit away or had him bunt, if it didn't work, you would have criticized him.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 4, 2013 -> 07:10 PM) After seeing that he sucks in left, it's the manager's job to keep him in CF. I mean, that's his position. If he's going to be an everyday player, he should have one position. This isn't 1B/DH. CF is too important not to keep it consistent. He hasn't been stellar there either. Wise is good in CF.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 4, 2013 -> 07:06 PM) It's okay as long as we don't sit Viciedo to play Danks/Tekotte/Wise in CF when Dayan comes back. We need all the offensive firepower we can get in the line-up. This started last season. If Wise is in the game with De Aza, he plays CF.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 4, 2013 -> 06:56 PM) Ventura's decision. If a player tells you he would be more comfortable in LF, most managers would do the same thing.

When Axelrod isn't pinpoint, he's meat.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 4, 2013 -> 05:29 PM) And Boozer has a slight ankle issue. If he is only 90% and he has to think about his ankle at all, he should sit out.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2013 -> 03:52 PM) In all seriousness, it might be time to explore what the market for Derrick Rose looks like. He may never be the same again. I think he will be fine. Does trading a player of Rose's stature ever work out for an NBA team? To me, in the NBA, whoever gets the best player almost always wins the trade. Baseball, football, you can get depth or fill a couple of spots, but in the NBA, you need stars to win. This entire Rose saga has been very frustrating, but if he's great next year, the fans will forgive and forget. I just wonder what he teammates really think. They are saying the right things. That doesn't mean they are thinking them.

There isn't a person around who thinks the Bulls even with Rose 100%, has any chance vs. Miami. I am of the belief if he comes back next year at 100%, all of this will be forgotten. The problem I have is more than one person has said Rose was dominating in practice well over a month ago. Why is he OK to go all out in practice, but hesitant in games? I understand it's not exactly the same thing, however, he's still playing at full tilt against NBA players in practice and he's not scurred. Why is he scurred to play in a real game? It seems to me there has to be something more than he's not quite right, or his new muscle memory BS. Even Reggie said he was 90% last week. Kerr is right, if the doctors say he's not at an elevated chance to get hurt, he owes it to his teammates to play. His teammates still have his back.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 3, 2013 -> 01:43 PM) when the cubs are competitive, the fans show, just like pretty much all Chicago teams. Say what you want about all Chicago fans and being meatheaded, if there is a winner on the field the fans are normally there. The Sox fans are a bit more stubborn than the rest, but we have seen what the cell looks like when the playoffs start. When the Cubs had their run with Piniella, they were probably right at the top in road attendance. And Cubs fans are cubs fans, that's exactly what I am saying. Like i said, they may lose some of the casual wrigley fans, but the team isn't going to fold up because they aren't playing in that s***hole anymore And if they continue not to win like they have been doing, their days of sellout crowds almost daily in the summer will be over. There is a reason Ricketts would rather spend all that money and stay where he's at instead of getting some free land in Rosemont and building his own stadium from scratch, which is something the Cubs would prefer as opposed to the piecemeal plan they have now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2013 -> 12:48 PM) We'll decide that at the time. Right now we're sitting at a 4 man rotation until Peavy is able to go. Yes. These things always have a way of shaking themselves out.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 2, 2013 -> 08:26 PM) Ricketts needs to get courted by one of the suburbs, have an artists rendering of a park, and a full plan to present as an alternative if he wants to be taken seriously. Otherwise, stfu, people are laughing at your empty threats I don't even think that would be anywhere near enough. There is no way he would replicate what he has in any suburb. Busloads from Iowa aren't going to Rosemont. If the Cubs moved, they would become just another team.