Dick Allen

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 07:27 PM) I think you are way off here. I hate it when a coach loses his job and people who aren't closely involved start spouting off stats to make an argument. None of those stats factor in trends. Unfortunately, the events of the past year put Wisconsin football on a downward trend. Could it have been picked back up? Possibly. But I think there is a lot more to the story and I think it goes back to the coaching staff changes. Alvarez left the program in a strong position for Bielema. He left him a good OC. They have great success and the OC gets a HC job and half the coaching staff leaves to go with the assistant? What does that say ab out the guy who is running the program? Then he fires his own hire two games into a season? Add the fact they have no QB and had to take an outside QB again, and that didn't work out, it just indicates to me the leadership was shaky. Add a 4-4 Big Ten season and finishing behind Penn St after what they went through and you have a recipe for things heading in the wrong direction. And if he did indeed look toward the NFL last year, it probably pissed off Alvarez, his biggest supporter. I think Bielema may have gotten out at just the right time. You can talk trends all you want, they blew out Nebraska and every one of their 5 losses was by 3 points. They were actually extremely close to having a terrific season.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 05:06 PM) Maybe so but Nick can play the game. He just ticks you off with his attitude and facial expressions, etc When it is playoff time, he hits like he hit for the White Sox.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 03:37 PM) His 96 OPS+ disagrees. If you can get someone to give up anything for Viciedo, please do. Yeah, the Sox should use history to show them that 23 year olds that put up a 96 suck. We had to put up with Maggs all those years when his first full season 94 should have clued the Sox in he was no good, and Ventura's 83 his first full season was obviously a sign of things to come.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 04:31 PM) There was a point where Swisher would hit a homerun and not get one high five That's a planned thing...but the thing is usually it's a prank that lasts maybe 30 seconds or so....not in this case That is not true. As long as Toby Hall was in the dugout, Swisher got at least one high five.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 02:00 PM) I've worried about this before, with my Sox season ticket group. We end up selling about half our tickets in any given year. Some to friends, and on sites like this one... but probably about 30% of the games, we sell via Stub Hub. Hopefully they don't consider us to be scalpers. As long as your account's mailing address is in the area, you're fine.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 10:58 AM) Just to throw a wrench into the catchers' market... multiple reports on Twitter are indicating a possible problem with the Napoli signing. Could be nothing, could be a deal modification due to a medical report find, could be the deal falls through. But that would change things. I don't think he's viewed as a catcher. More of a 1B/DH at this point, with probably AJP back-up like starts at catcher at the very most.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 09:52 AM) Reasons to not bring back AJ... #1, we have a starting catcher in waiting who is going to be making $500,000 this year. AJ is going to be making at very least 10 X's that. Probably more like 15 to 20 X's that. Flowers also played much better when he got consistent playing time. There is a pretty decent chance that he puts up numbers comparable to AJ, for a much smaller price. #2, Many, many stories about his clubhouse antics #3, instead of spending the money on a position where we already have a young cheap player, we could spend it elsewhere #4, the guy had a career year, at age 35, and it wasn't even really close. All kinds of red flags should be going up, such as regression, was he cheating, etc. #5, the guy is a catcher who has played at least 125 games in every season since 2001. Breakdown could happen any day. #6, If AJ doesn't play every day, will he cause problems? Besides getting into it with Peavy, what are some of the many,many clubhouse antics AJ is guilty of since joining the White Sox?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 05:42 PM) Appreciation? For what exactly? He is responsible for us never having to watch Zach Stewart ever pitch roe the White Sox again, and was the mastermind behind the mustache movement they had going there for a while.

With his buyout, Youk winds up with the same cash as he would have pocketed had his option been exercised. Congrats to him and his agent .

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 02:15 PM) Last season I remember him facing Chien-Ming Wang. I realize the uncertainty, but given all the circumstances in this situation, holding on to him for 2013 without an extension is the worst possible move, especially considering how little he is asking for relatively. Either trade him for young prospects or give him a deal. If he threw 95, they would sign him to an extension for a lot more than he's asking, yet moving forward, a 38 year old knuckleballer would seem to have a better shelf life than a 38 year old power pitcher. I could understand if it has just been one season or a season and a half, but he's been great for 3 seasons. It baffles me. The guy is a bargain.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 10:22 AM) Maybe one day he too can be a sabermetrics exemplar -- and have high RBI totals in an awful season, like dear old dad Unless it's in an over 30 beer league.............very doubtful.

Nice name, but looks like a not so nice player. Released by Texas. Played a few games in an Independent league. Had 1 hit and 8 strikeouts in 16 AB.

Good LTs are not available where the Bears draft. Signing them as free agents is also hard to do, as teams know the good ones are worth their weight in gold. They are going to have to get lucky.

Dickey the last 3 years has a 2.95 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP averaging over 200 innings a year. He's been pretty great. He makes $5 million in 2013 and wants $10 million for 2 years after that. That averages less than $9 million a year, less than Gavin Floyd. I know he's 38, but he throws knuckleballs, granted a little harder than most, but I really can't understand why the Mets won't extend him.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 07:52 AM) How do you define a "Fair price"? If it's based of his career numbers and age, that's probably a number the Sox would be interested in. If it's based off his career year numbers last year, then the same number would be a bargain. If the Sox are interested in bringing back AJ, I doubt they would pay him less than they paid him last season. $6 million a year can be construed as both a bargain and fair.

If it was Morrison, I don't know why you would need to wait on a corresponding move financially. He makes peanuts.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 12:59 PM) Doesnt matter at this point anyway. Illini were 10-0 last year as well.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 11:09 AM) Nope, the trade went down June 27, 2004. Pre-2012 season Meyers was rated #28 prospect. He did have a big year so he probably would be considered higher now. Pre-2004 season, Jeremy Reed rated #25 prospect. Plus Olivio and Morse. I don't consider the price for Shields as excessive as most. Prospects are prospects until they prove otherwise, and really for the Royals to win they are going to need pitching. Doing what they did or paying ridiculous amounts of money in free agency is the only way to do that quickly. I just don't see Shields leading them to the promised land.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:22 AM) You're either selling Olivo short or you weren't paying that much attention at the time. Olivo wasn't just "solid looking," he was an excellent combination of speed + power + defense from a young athletic catcher. He wasn't tearing it up at the MLB level, but he was ready to be there and learning. He had tons of value. Reed was a truly elite prospect at the time. Morse was a scouting type, but obviously one a lot of teams would have wanted to get. For a half season of Freddy Garcia that deal was considered a massive mistake by KW, yet it won him a WS. Freddy was extended and the package was a pittance compared to what happened because of the trade. This deal, given a year and maybe more of Shields plus Davis, is very comparable. As for this deal, again, the PROSPECTS DO NOT MATTER. Let me say it again THE PROSPECTS DONT MATTER The Kansas City Royals haven't had a 90+ win season since 1989. Yeah. 1989. They've had 3 "winning" seasons since then and won 83, 82, and 84 games. They've been absolute dogs*** for 23 years. Dogs***. They've blown it, time and time and again, whenever they've had a core to build around. They've finally something real that actually matters. People want to keep the prospects? Really? Guess what line of thinking got them into this mess? Kudos to KC. As a Sox fan I don't like it because it makes them a legitimate threat now and in the future, but as a baseball fan who also appreciates the sport, this is wonderful for KC and their fans. But again, Glass has to do his part. They're not there yet, but at least they're trying to get there. Prospects do matter, but there's a decent chance the prospects the Royals gave up don't turn into perrenial all stars. They have played the wait for the prospects game for a long time and it wasn't working out so I don't blame them for this move. I just don't see where you see how this is going to propel them to annual contenders. There is a lot of talent on the roster, but those guys haven't done it before, so in essence guys like Moustakis and Hosmer are nothing more than prospects, so you kind of contradict yourself thinking of them as contenders.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:13 AM) They hosted the All-Star game last year and drew 1.79 million fans. The White Sox drew 1.96 million, and this was considered a down year, even sparking a 400+ post thread on how to increase attendance. They do not outdraw the White Sox. It's not even close. And their TV and radio contract isn't as lucrative, they don't collect as much ticket revenue. Their spending will always be lower than the White Sox as long as the Sox are in win mode.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:06 AM) Denial sucks man. Those guys are good. Take the blinders off. IF --- and it's a big IF -- this move means the Royals are in "win now" mode then yes, KC is very much a place to win. They have a better park than us & they outdraw us. They have better talent too. If their FO is going to start acting like winners instead of perennial losers then they are very much for real. Denial is the ignoring of the 20+ years it has been since KC has been to the playoffs. If KC is the place to go to win, so is just about every other team in baseball.

My dad was an Andy Frain usher as a kid. He was a rare one who actually liked both teams. He worked Wrigley one day there was a DH. He was working the boxes behind homeplate. During the second half of the second game, the Cubs GM at the time saw him leaning against the railing and told Andy Frain to fire him. My dad gets called up to see Andy and Andy tells him the story but told him he wasn't going to fire him, and that he should go hide in the upper deck the rest of the day. Because of that, my dad hated the Cubs. If it never happened, I probably would have been one of the few who liked both.

Bears offense scored 7, gave up 14.

Cutler pisses me off.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 03:00 PM) Say what? You also made it a point to mention that Keppinger hit a home run in a game you attended. Are you serious when you type this stuff? Because if it's all a bit, then you might be the most brilliant poster on the site. A key stat that hasn't been mentioned: Kep had a .332 BABIP last year. He's at .294 for his career. He might be good against lefties, but if this is your everyday third baseman, then that's some sorry ass s***. We're in for a lot more fun in 2013. He won the tallest midget contest. $4 million a year isn't going to get you the perfect candidate, but it probably was a better idea than paying Youk 2 or 3 times as much or paying around the same thing for the right to have Eric Chavez on your DL. When it was announced I said I was dissappointed,because I don't think he will match his 2012 season, but if you look at his career, he has had a couple really nice offensive seasons, and his career numbers are very similar to what Youk gave the Sox last year but with fewer homers. Perhaps more contact in the 2 hole can mean more RBI from 3 and 4.