Dick Allen

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 11:47 AM) To be honest, I'm okay with a Salty/Flowers platoon. But Morel and Chavez? I don't know. I'm not sure there's any hope for Morel. You're probably right, and Chavez could be playing his last game anytime he is penciled in the line up, but for a year, given what it would cost, it is an option to be considered if a couple of other things don't work out.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 11:37 AM) Platoon at 3rd and C? No thanks. If the Sox trade Floyd to save money, the money needs to be spent on a full-time fix for 3B. Platoons aren't necessarily a bad thing, especially at an offensively challenged postion overall ©, and another position where there isn't much available, and a good chunk of the league is looking to fill (3B).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 11:07 AM) I think a distribution of runs scored in games would be more interesting. From a purely feeling basis, I'll bet a team like this would have many higher individual runs scored in games, but I think they would also be shutout much more often. I'll be their deviation in runs scored would be huge. There might not be a difference in total runs over a season, but an uneven distribution could costs W's. That was my point. 0,1, or 2 runs scored would most likely happen more often than the average team. That translates into losses and moans from message boards about the hitting coach.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 11:30 AM) Wow, I would hope that Floyd has more worth than a platoon catcher. I was hoping that if Floyd is dealt, it would be for a solid prospect who could possibly challenge in spring training for a job. I don't think he does. As for Chavez/Morel, I mentioned this possibility before. I know KW almost got Chavez last year and Morel is supposedly healthy. I would think it is option C or D or lower, but there are worse alternatives.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 10:51 AM) Except they're paying him to be a 1B. $13M per for a first baseman who sucks? Maybe someone will take Dunn now because teams this offseason are acting just stupid. Dunn had a comeback year and put up an .800 OPS and gets $15 million a year. Napoli had a regression and put up an .812 OPS and gets $13 million a year. Seems to me Napoli is still the better deal.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 3, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) Most strikeouts, top 9, MLB 1) Oakland, 94 wins, PLAYOFFS 2) Houston, 55 wins 3) Pittsburgh, 79 wins 4) Washington, 98 wins, PLAYOFFS 5) Tampa Bay, 90 wins 6) Baltimore, 93 wins, PLAYOFFS 7) Atlanta, 94 wins, PLAYOFFS 8) Arizona, 81 wins 9) Cincinnati, 97 wins, PLAYOFFS Fewest strikeouts, top 5, MLB 1) Kansas City, 72 wins 2) Minnesota, 66 wins 3) Cleveland, 68 wins 4) Philadelphia, 81 wins 5) San Francisco, 94 wins Obviously, pitching and defense have something to do with winning. If the Sox had 3 guys producing about 600 strikeouts between them, their offense would be very inconsistent at best, and they would need a lights out pitching staff to have much of a record beyond average.

Napoli isn't going to catch much in Boston.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Dec 1, 2012 -> 05:14 PM) The prospect of trading Floyd looks better and better now after the non-tender deadline. If we can trade him and get a couple of above average prospects and save the $9.5 to be allocated elsewhere I would be thrilled. Look at these various SP that were just non-tendered that could provide similar if not possibly better overall performance than Gavin; Jair Jurrjens, Jeff Karstens, John Lannan, Mike Pelfrey. Those guys aren't anything more than #4 or #5 starters on any team, but neither is Gavin. To get some 4.5ish ERA from one of those guys for close to 200IP at a fraction of the $9.5M Gavin is going to get to produce similar numbers would be a good move IMO. Tommy Hanson and his 2012 4.48 ERA was just traded for Jordan Walden, so Gavin has to have some value. It is amazing how much better Floyd is thought of around here 2 months after he has pitched. While he was pitching, there were very few who thought he was worth his option. They aren't going to get much for Floyd, and if the guys you mention are just as good as Floyd why would other teams not just sign them instead of giving up talent to pay Gavin more money?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 1, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) I'm talking about his slugging % dropping from .501 to about .405. Even at his career OBP of .324, we're talking about an OPS of roughly .730 next year, which is about where he was at in 2011. Solid for a catcher, but nothing spectacular. Flowers had OPSs of .719 and .708 the last two years with us in minimal playing time. Those numbers should improve with consistent playing time. Honestly, I think he'll have a higher OPS than AJ next year, even if AJ hits 50 points higher than him, because he draws a lot more walks and should hit more home runs. I do think that batting average is often underrated, so AJ deserves some credit for that, but overall offensively I think they'll be pretty close. Also, not that this is the gospel or anything, but Bill James is projecting a .791 OPS for Flowers next year vs a .732 OPS for AJ. Thought it was worth pointing out though. If the White Sox are confident Flowers would put up a .791 OPS they would not even consider bringing AJ back. Maybe they are. It has been very quiet on the AJ front. I do think Flowers defensive reputation here will take a little hit if he plays everyday. When he is a little more banged up, and a little more drained from playing, blocking balls in the dirt is going to be a bit more difficult.

Maybe AJ falls back into the White Sox price range. Flowers really scares me offensively. The power is nice, but everything else has been bad. The strikeouts scare me. One thing I have never understood about sabermetrics is how little strikeouts mean offensively, yet the value they have for pitchers.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 30, 2012 -> 07:01 AM) Floyd getting moved is not news, but potentially signing another starter is. I guess my question is what does this mean for the rest of the rotation? Let's say we sign Hochever to be our #5 starter, does Santiago start in AAA or go to our bullpen? Or maybe Hahn just wants to bring in another starter to add some general competition this spring, but it seems Axelrod would be perfectly capable of that. Needing to have 6 starters could also be a sign that Danks isn't progressing as quickly as expected or that Hahn has concerns that Quintana will regress next year. Not really. It was reported they wanted BMac the first or second day of free agency.

This isn't really news.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 29, 2012 -> 12:15 PM) Rios was ripped relentlessly (with good reason) in 2010 and 2011, but he was suddenly very popular in 2012. And he does make sense to trade, at a high point in his performance and with the salary he has on the table. Outfielders are easier to replace than some other positions, relatively. Might be Rios. It would make sense considering you aren't going to get what some think you can get for him. I'd dump him in a hearbeat.

How many White Sox players can you really consider popular by the consensus of Soxtalk? Sale, Paulie, probaby Ramirez, Tyler Flowers is starting to become popular like a back up QB, but I wouldn't call him popular just yet. Everyone else gets ripped plenty. Pretty much everyone except Sale gets ripped plenty.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 29, 2012 -> 07:49 AM) Plus everyone expects Floyd to be dealt, so no one would be too upset. Plus most of this site during the season didn't think Floyd was worth his option.

Dan Bernstein's sources say there is a good chance the Sox make a blockbuster move. They say it is also very possible they do not.

When is Albert Belle coming?

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Nov 27, 2012 -> 09:07 AM) Bernstein said Illinois is actively working "back channels" to get a specific coach to replace Beckman that people will like. If they get him, Beckman will be fired. If they cant get him, Beckman will stay for at least another year. Bernstein is so desperate to act like he knows more than the typical Illini follower on the street. He really doesn't.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Nov 28, 2012 -> 08:39 AM) all schedule times are subject to change. remember remember the 25th of september? Fox, ESPN, and TBS all have the authority to change game times. And they can do it THROUGHOUT the season. Fox made the 9/29 game a 3:05 affair less than 2 weeks before. The sox were selling tickets for that game almost a year in advance with a 6:10 start time and fireworks. The average number of home games where the time is actually changed is probably 2 or less a year. Post the times White Sox.l

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 28, 2012 -> 08:17 AM) FOX has to set their TV schedule and pick their games. FOX's window will be 4-7 (ET) some Saturdays and 7-10 on others. On home Saturdays that the Sox are not on FOX, they will play during the window not taken by FOX. I understand that, but the Sox should know what games Fox is picking up by now. The Blue Jays know. Maybe they can give them a call.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 28, 2012 -> 06:56 AM) Except for Saturdays, game times are pretty easy to predict. Yes, except for the occassional getaway day afternoon tilt, although midweek games probably aren't very big sellers in November. But Saturdays are a big seller. I would think they would post times. I can't imagine what the hold up would be.

Pretty strange they are selling tickets yet don't post game times.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 27, 2012 -> 02:07 PM) Really? I gotta think Leo Mazzone would be able to walk into a pitching coach job tomorrow if he really wanted one. He really wanted one and couldn't get hired.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 27, 2012 -> 01:58 PM) I have no inside information so I only go by basic results/stats. If you are all agreeing with me on my basic premise, that just 3 or 4 guys were revitalized last season (if you count DeAza) I contend there isn't much proof that Manto made a bit of difference. Our team couldn't move runners. It couldn't score runners from third and short with less than two outs the entire second half of the season. But it could hit home runs much of the time. At least during our victories. Sounds a lot like our team under Mr. Walker. Ultimately, if you want a better offense, your line-up needs better hitters. Rudy Jaramillo was a guru when he had Texas Rangers hitters. When he had Cubs hitters, he became a dope. It works with pitchers too. Leo Mazzone was the guru, the gold standard, when he had Maddux and Glavine and Smoltz. He cashes in, goes to Baltimore where they have a staff Soxtalk could pound, he loses his job and suddenly he can't get hired anywhere.

Hawk Harrelson was actually preaching teams needed 2 hitting coaches over 25 years ago. I wonder what this means for Gellinger. He was the assistant hitting coach. Will the Sox have 2?