Dick Allen

Morel could be the back up infielder. Beckham and Ramirez aren't going to be pulled for defense. Keppinger could be, Paulie could be. Morel could come in late, play 3B and have Keppinger move to 1B if necessary or Keppinger could play another position the days Morel is starting. No one is calling Morel a great player, but right now the extra infielder is Angel Sanchez. I don't think his baseball card is worth much. Maybe it will be beneficial for Morel, again assumming he is healthy, to get some ABs in Charlotte, but if he looks good this spring, I think putting him on the roster makes sense. He really has nothing to prove at AAA. He's either a AAAA player or useful in the major leagues.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 06:41 AM) Wow, begging for a 3B coaching job already? How the mighty have fallen. And for Buck. Didn't Ozzie and Buck have a little feud? I believe Ozzie used to sarcastically say Buck invented baseball. The way Baltimore won last year makes you think they are in for a fall. Maybe Ozzie was thinking, they will struggle, get rid of Buck and as the 3B coach with a lot of experience, he would get the job.

QUOTE (Special K @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 10:49 PM) Morel is horrible. I think this board has amnesia. Have you ever watched Angel Sanchez? If Morel can give you anything close to a staring 3b performance, he is better than the rule 5 pick up.

QUOTE (Hawkfan @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 11:34 PM) lowering prices to appease non existent fans= business death They lowered the prices on tickets they weren't selling. Many of the premium seats were jacked up and they are virtually sold out. Money-wise, if they drew the same number, it is probably a wash or very close to it, but the cheaper prices will draw more fans, and if they win 85 again, their projection will be like the Sox usual Pecota projection, really short.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 03:10 PM) Were not exactly talking about Josh Hamilton with the bats here. 2 months of a replacement level player dealing with back problems isn't something to write home about. If his back isn't going to hold up in Chicago, it won't in Charlotte either. If he has 2 months of health in his system and he is better than a guy like Sanchez, you take him for 2 months.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 01:02 PM) Severe economic downturns at play though. 2001 Frank Thomas going down early didn't help.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 19, 2013 -> 01:24 PM) SOXOBAMA is gone, so unbunch the panties and let it go Is he off on an around the world adventure?

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 08:24 AM) Well yeah, Jeff Keppinger. Really though, I'd hope they would be expecting an increase. I was surprised to find out that last season's playoff invoice covered this year's split season plan and then some. I thought I had somehow snoozed on it when I didn't see any literature asking for money in the mail. Paid up without realizing it is kind of nice.

QUOTE (TomSeaverFan @ Feb 19, 2013 -> 05:48 PM) Thanks for the Grantland story and all the comments. I had no idea. Wow. What an education I received. With Loria being smart as a fox, I'm a little surprised guys like Guillen fell for it. All Loria did was ruin Guillen's career. Now, Guillen I'm assuming has to be paid the full amount of the contract, which was a good contract. Guillen is the proverbial "set for life" I guess. But my final question to you is ... why did Loria bother signing a guy like Guillen in the first place? Did he truly care at that point of signing Guillen about the popular perception that the team would be attracting Latino fans? I don't see where signing a "big name" manager would have mattered to Loria if he has this genius master plan of just making money. Where did Guillen fit into this?? Ozzie's $2.5 million paycheck this year is more than every Marlin on their payroll except 2.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 19, 2013 -> 10:02 AM) This season is a waste of a season. The Bulls need to move forward and get younger. They need to do something other than sit on these assets before they waste away to nothing. They have already wasted a season without Derrick Rose that would have been perfect to start remodeling in. While tanking and hoping for a decent draft pick makes sense on one hand, you have a lot of people paying a lot of money to see the Bulls in person.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 19, 2013 -> 10:25 AM) Damn, I thought we had 14. They will easily create more if they need it.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 19, 2013 -> 08:42 AM) That's a really long-winded way of saying that the Bulls would happily give away Rip Hamilton's worthless ass. If he played once a week, he would be pretty good.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Feb 15, 2013 -> 01:23 PM) Dunn in camp. Guess he welcomed a baby girl recently That's surprising. He looked pregnant in 2011, but not last year.

QUOTE (Elgin Slim @ Feb 15, 2013 -> 01:24 PM) The article stated that "significant progress needs to be made" I take that as a red flag, even in February. Considering he just started throwing a month and a half ago, and they have him on a program so he won't overdue it, his velocity will be the last thing that comes. All indications are he is either right on schedule or even ahead of schedule and isn't in any pain. I think, if everyone is being straight, it is more optimistic than pessimistic. Time will tell.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 09:12 AM) Spin it how you want, but a manager declining an extension is never a good thing. We all knew Robin's interest in this position was luke-warm at best, and he had to be talked into it. That being said, I thought he did a great job getting the most out of a bunch of bums last year, and he'll have to do that again this year to make baseball interesting in August. I don't see anything wrong with it. Robin Ventura is about the White Sox. The previous manager was about the White Sox for a couple of years, then became about himself. Robin said he's more comfortable and sees himself doing this longer than he thought when he signed the contract. He's just one of those guys that has his money, and wants to make sure the fit is still right for both sides before committing to any more time. Who knows, in a couple of years everyone (Robin, the White Sox and the fans) might be doing cartwheels he didn't sign an extension.

I can assure you that DRose will never be 110%. Considering he said he must be 110% to return, he obviously is planning on retiring. This is the most overblown story of the year.

QUOTE (flavum @ Feb 13, 2013 -> 09:08 AM) Examples of managers under 60 years old and executives? KW could have continued being the GM if he so chose. Since we have no idea of the terms of the extension, why is it so shocking he turned it down? Perhaps it was a little short in the cash department. Perhaps Ventura doesn't need the money and doesn't want to the White Sox to be tied down to a contract. There are many, many reasons. One of them is maybe he's really not into managing, and that may be why. But there are hundreds more, and to read anything into it right now isn't worth the time, because chances are, the reasons people think he turned it down are wrong. Contracts are negotiated. The first offer someone usually gives you, isn't the best they can do.

QUOTE (flavum @ Feb 13, 2013 -> 09:00 AM) I must have missed it when the Sox were celebrating on the field when they made the playoffs. The Sox weren't a winning team last year. 85 wins in the AL Central in the 2-wildcard era isn't good enough. If they stick with Dunn batting third, they won't make the postseason. Again, Ventura may be a good manager...and he may not. I have no idea. You have no idea. The results will be on the field, but competing but coming up short isn't good enough no matter who the manager is. It's just weird that we have a manager that was offered another season on his deal, and he turned it down. That's not normal. Players, managers, executives all get offered extensions all the time, and it is actually quite common they get turned down.

Projections mean nothing. They are good for conversation. I really like BP and get it every year. However, of the 3 teams they projected to finish in last place in the AL last year, 2 of them made the playoffs. Watch all the experts and all the systems pick playoff teams and MVPs and Cy Young winners. Then look at it the day after the WS ends. It will make you really wonder why anyone would possibly get riled up over said projections in the first place.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 04:47 PM) It's not the fact that we have a ton of those kinds of players, it's the fact we have them. IIt's an indication of where overall athleticism has gone. Soon we'll have a 7 footer that moves like a guard used to. Athletes have always progressively gotten bigger, stronger, and faster. I just so happen to think with the advances in training and nutrion that have occurred the past couple decades, the gap in athleticism between the '90s and now is probably the largest gap in sports history. Not just basketball. I think the difference between the mid 70's and mid 90's was a lot larger than the difference between the 90s and today. Look how skinny everyone was in the 70s. In the 90s, they hit the weight room. I do think the NBA has become 1000 times more enjoyable vs. 8-12 years ago when many times the scores were in the 70s and 80s.

Buerhle has made around $90 million playing baseball. If he wants to be with his family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at age 32 or 33, he has that opportunity, an opportunity most people his age do not enjoy. Obviously, since he will continue to play, the money trumps the need to be with his family that much.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Feb 12, 2013 -> 08:56 AM) You're right about the White Sox (at least I hope you are), but Cleveland now has an experienced manager who knows how to win, and an excited fanbase that will probably start showing up to the Jake in droves, which will give them more money to spend at the deadline. They have drawn 2 million twice the last 10 years. They drew what the Sox drew last year while winning 93 games and only drew 2.2 million when they won 97.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) As I said before, I have a lot of empathy for people who have little or no choice in where the work. Actually it was MBs call to sign with the Marlins. I'm sure he could have found work that paid him multiple millions in many cities I'd he so chose. While the Marlins did lie to him, It should be no surprise.

QUOTE (Cali @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 12:43 PM) Morel can ONLY play third, Keppinger can play other positions, but you signed him to a bigger contract, so he will probably be the favorite. Besides the fact that he's a contact guy who doesn't strike out and that's the kind of player the Sox want now. Unless you're gonna trade Beckham, Morel is gonna have to hit .500 in ST and show no signs of pain to get more PT than Kepp. But if Morel proves worthy of a roster spot, you can carry him as the back up infielder and have Keppinger move around when he's in the game. IMO, Morel is battling Angel Sanchez for a roster spot. Clearly, if he beats him out, no one should shed any tears Angel Sanchez didn't make the team. Sanchez being able to play SS probably gives him an advantage, so Morel is probably going to have to be a lot better than him during the spring.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 11:54 AM) Exactly. He went to a team that has a history of trading away all their big money guys and they don't offer no trade clauses. People on this site were predicting it would happen from day one, it should not have been a surprise to Mark or his agent. Probably not, but supposedly he was told to his face he would not be traded.