Dick Allen

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 07:41 PM) I could be wrong, but I don't think Rule 5 draft picks have to pass through waivers before being offered back to their original team. I don't think so either, but the fact is if any other team thought much about Doyle, if KW didn't want him, he could have traded him.

Anorexei still in a fog.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 06:33 PM) I see Peavy hitting at least a double tonight. Peavy runs like the ankle he had messed up before KW acquired him has never healed.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 08:48 AM) Who knew this kid would come up here and dazzle and delight Sox fans through four starts? Can he keep it up? Do we have a guy we can depend on for the next 5 years? I think yes. In Quintana I trust. I wouldn't go that far. He looks pretty good, but once some of these guys get multiple looks at him, his ERA is bound to go up. I'm hopeful he can fill the Humber role in the rotation this year and grow . Nothing too spectacular, if he becomes a solid #5 or #4 for several seasons, we should all be thrilled.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 03:44 AM) "He's proving he can pitch up here," Ventura said. "Again, his maturity is one of those things that shows up first for us. He has great stuff, and when he does what he's doing right now, he's making a strong case for staying around." First baseman Paul Konerko, who hit three singles, echoed Ventura. "He's one of those left-handers who can really bury the ball in on righties," Konerko said. "There's not a ton of those guys out there. "He goes right after people and throws on the inside part of the plate to righties, and there were a couple of guys who were ready for it and hit it. But you know there can be a lot of ground balls to the left side and he's not a comfortable (at-bat). He's not a soft throwing left-hander. It's not like he's throwing 95 or 100 mph, either, but his ball is heavy and it's cutting in and so you really have to have, as a hitter, your ducks in a row when a guy is doing that. "It's tough to lay off. There are a lot of balls he throws inside that are right there on the edge of the strike zone. You really have to make good decisions and he just keeps pounding it in there. He has had great results. Good for him." Konerko was impressed with the confidence Quintana showed in his defense, as evidenced by the two double plays. "I knew they were a good hitting team," Quintana said. "So I was focusing on trying to be in the inside to middle of the plate. One of my biggest concentrations was giving them the cutter. I was trying to throw that cutter, especially deep in the count." If Quintana continues to pitch well, the Sox could move Philip Humber to the bullpen unless they opt for a six-man rotation — an alignment they went with for about 21/2 months last year. "I'm just doing my job," Quintana said. "When they give me the ball, I'm just going to pitch. So the other stuff, I'm not concentrating on. I know I pitch Sunday, so I'm going to concentrate on that." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,1046891.story Wasn't it less than a month ago you thought the Sox wouldn't be able to produce a 5th starter type pitcher for years?

QUOTE (balfanman @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 08:23 AM) I was under the impression that he had other minor league experience there. So does Viciedo and Carlos Lee. He'd be a very very bad 3B, couple that with the fact he hasn't hit higher than .200 in the major leagues in 5 years, I'd say it would be a last option.

Theo in the Tribune. This is a MLB executive's thoughts. I think some people have to ratchet down what they think the influence of a hitting coach is on professional hitters. They don't make .220 hitters with a .600 OPS, .330 hitters with a .900 OPS. Epstein knows this, of course. He knows that if you want selective hitters you probably have to acquire them because it's almost impossible to re-train them once they have had some success with one style. Epstein acknowledged that a patient approach to hitting "is probably more of a hard-wired trait,'' and said Little League coaches can have more influence than someone like Jaramillo, whom the Cubs have been paying $800,000 a year. IMO, the Cubs realized paying 800k a year for a hitting coach is madness, Rudy was gone after this year and they knew it was a sunk cost . They want to see if this interm guy is worth keeping, so they made the move now.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jun 12, 2012 -> 03:06 PM) There was a column in the Trib just this Sunday stroking him for Soriano's recent tear. If you ever follow Soriano, you will see he gets ridiculously hot at times, like he is now. He'll cool off and be horrible for a while and the boo birds will be back.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Jun 12, 2012 -> 01:16 PM) They had to keep him on the 25 man roster...the whole year...he wasnt ready for that He's 26. If you say he's not ready to be on the roster now, I don't know what you're arguing. By your own admission, he's not ready yet.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 12, 2012 -> 01:09 PM) Cubs fired hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. I give Cubs brass credit they dumped him unlike the Sox that kept Walker 3 years too long! Rudy Jaramillo is a Soxtalk God. He was so worshipped, if the Sox couldn't pony up for him, people actually wanted whoever his "assistant" was, to take Walker's spot. As I've said all along, you are only as good as your players. Jaramillo's results weren't any better than the 2 guys before him, and the new guy won't get better results unless Theo changes the roster.

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 12:08 PM) The Cubs are awful and there will be a huge lack of interest for Cubs fans to go. I wish they would have made it a weekend series, as it would probably sell out then. What's interesting is ticketmaster doesn't show the individual seats available for that series like they do for all the other games. The crowds will be bigger than normal, but I would be shocked at sellouts unless Brooks decides the Sox Save of the Week is the Cubs series.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 08:22 PM) The problem is there's just not enough to get both Greinke and Youkilis. We've gone through this before with the Jackson/Hudson trade. Or wasting money on Manny Ramirez. The only and perhaps main reason to do it is because this team is more set up to win it than in 2013, 2014 and 2015. But with Danks on the books, it's going to take a lot more than just making the playoffs for JR to ante up for Greinke when he's just now getting free of the Peavy deal. On the open market, you just don't see much likelihood of keeping him. And then why Milwaukee would want Gavin Floyd for $9.5 million in 2013, is beyond me. He better go on a phenomenal run the next 6 weeks, in which case it becomes very hard to deal him, even though your heart tells you the worm will turn for the worse again and he'll revert back to "bad Gavin." Thankfully, we still have a month or more to monitor things before we make any moves. The Red Sox are not going to trade Youkilis to the White Sox.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 07:46 PM) You simply don't give up on Floyd. Remember when Gavin had like a 7 ERA back in 09 in June? He pitches in spurts, a good streak will come soon enough once something clicks in his head. Danks will be back soon. We are coming to the place on the calendar where Floyd shines. His curveball was tight last outing, maybe a good sign. Hope Quintana can hold up the fort pitching in Humber's spot as I think Phillip is a lost cause. Floyd usually has 2 excellent months.,June and July. If he holds true to form, around the deadline would be an excellent time to trade him as he will be entering a period where he almost always fades. He will be coming off a dominating stretch and might be attractive to a team like Milwuakee if Greinke isn't going to sign with them. 2012 pitching problem solved. If the Sox make the playoffs, you just lost Floyd's salary, Peavy departing, some extra playoff cash and ticket sales gives you an opportunity to sign Greinke. 2013 pitching problem solved. No matter what Marty says, a rotation that includes Danks, Greinke and Sale and the back end of the Sox bullpen, should be able to compete for the foreseeable future in the AL Central. A lot would have to go right for that all to happen, but most has been going the Sox way so far this year.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 10:51 AM) Disagree. The upper deck is as populated as it's been in recent years. The lower deck (former season ticket holders) is where the issue lies. Its not ever populated that is the problem. They have had a problem with bleacher seats and lower deck "boxes" in the corners due to season ticketholders dropping out and IMO pricing. Its a "deal" to pay $38 for a bleacher seat against the Brewers? I think they should make all upper deck seats in the outfield general admission. Reward the people that want to come and get their seats when the gates open. When the park opened, bleacher seats were some of the most popular, and some of the cheapest. Of course, even the Cubs can't sell out their bleachers these days, as they have priced them ridiculously as well.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 09:19 AM) In case people want the link, here's his Hittrackeronline page with that HR now listed. True distance listed at 443. Not actually his longest of the year even. Yes, but rarely does a ball go that far right down the line. Guys hit lazy fly balls to CF that would be halfway up the seats down the line. I had never seen a fair ball go into the club level.

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Jun 11, 2012 -> 09:03 AM) Let's go get him! They can have Humber and Stewart. I just heard Humber on the Score say that homeruns happen in our ballpark in the summer. Weird, Sale didn't give up any on Saturday?!? Hitting them into section 357 usually doesn't happen. They all count the same, but that one was impressive. Humber can talk about the park, but he hasn't won there in a year and has an ERA there over 6.00. I really think if he didn't throw a perfect game, he would be a candidate for a release. He's been awful.

I don't understand why people buying upper deck seats feel entitled to lower deck access. When you buy a coach seat on an airplane and there are openings in first class do you sit up there? The fact is if you buy an upper deck ticket to save money or can't afford a lower deck seat, you aren't going to be able to afford food or beer or souvenirs at USCF. Buy a lower deck seat and one less beer. That will solve the problem. I could see the Sox implementing a day of game steep discount exchange program for upper deck ticketholders wanting to move down, but it isn't fair to lower deck ticketholders, especially in the OF when the OF concourse is packed with humans. I think one of the Sox biggest problems is their upper deck is still considered and probably always will be considered taboo. They need some gimmick to get people to actually want to sit there. There are a few who realize the first few rows in the infield is a far better place to watch a game than the lower reserved or bleachers, but its a very limited number.

The guy hit one into section 357. That was impressive. Anytime Will Ohman is the most impressive pitcher of the day, an L is just about guaranteed.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jun 9, 2012 -> 09:25 PM) Cowley's on the Score till 11 with Joe O. Oh yeah and- This post has been edited by the Soxtalk staff to remove objectionable material. Soxtalk encourages a free discussion between its members, but does not allow personal attacks, threats, graphic sexual material, nudity, or any other materials judged offensive by the Administrators and Moderators. Thank you. Kenny Williams has inexplicably become a topic of discussion. Kind of interesting stuff, but I'm not sure the Score does weekend show podcasts. Cowley's talking White Sox? He's been writing White Sox. Its funny, he said they would be irrelevant.

This "poll" is the result of the heat caulfield received for knocking Dan McNeil for being pessimistic about the White Sox. This guy thinks the entire team is only being kept from a total rebuild by Sale returning to the rotation. Wouldn't THAT be reason for pessimism?

A poll that makes no sense. One option says still clearly the best team in the AL, and I don't think anyone has claimed that. Another says still in a rebuilding mode. You even Mitt Romney your polls. Sill the best team in the AL, still in a rebuilding mode? Which one is it? But I'm going with none of the above. They clearly would be in last place and in total denial. They probably would be double the amount of games played out of first place. Sale in the bullpen makes the impossible very possible.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 9, 2012 -> 08:17 PM) The link is Chris Sale is the best pitcher in the AL right now. Jose Contreras was the best pitcher in baseball as well in 2005-2006. You believe the White Sox can just trot out any minor league journeyman and would have won those those same starts...and had the same record, or a nearly identical one. If that was the case, the 2002-2004 White Sox just won three more AL Central championships thanks to your logic...because those teams had all the offense in the world and still lost to the Twins. How can you explain that, when the Twins were clearly inferior, and the White Sox were much better offensively in those years than they have been in 2012. If Chris Sale wasn't in the starting rotation still, the White Sox wouldn't be in first place and would still be a lot closer to rebuilding than adding pieces for the stretch drive. Who would you have started in those 5 games....this pitcher who was going to go 5-1 or 4-2? Should be an interesting answer. 2003 Esteban Loaisa may have been the best pitcher in baseball. He lost 2 games 1-0 and another 2-1. The pitcher doesn't have to go 5-1, the team just has to win the game. When the team scores 6,6,4,2,10 in those 5 starts, there's a pretty good chance 3 are wins and getting 4 against Seattle is usually a win. In fact, the White Sox, even with starters with inflated ERAs have a great record scoring 4 or more runs. But ignore facts, try to impress people throwin out some big word, and maybe they will think you must know what you are talking about. Its clear to quite a few, you don't.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 9, 2012 -> 07:56 PM) Obfuscating again. So Nestor Molina would be 4-2 if he took Sale's starts, too? In your idea, yes. It's the same reason you're going to argue that the White Sox could have just trotted out any minor leaguer in August, September, October, April and May in 2005/2006 and won all of Jose Contrera's starts as well. You believe there's no link to who the starting pitcher is and how the team performs independently. I believe there's a synergy between the two. But whatever. Yeah, Nestor Molina. Whatever is right. You are making yourself look like an even bigger fool. And I don't think there is any link to Chris Sale returning to the rotation and Dunn, Rios, Konerko, Beckham, AJP and De Aza hitting well. None. Sale doesn't even appear in 80% of White Sox games.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 9, 2012 -> 07:24 PM) Coming from the same person who says there's no connection between the results of the offense and who the hitting coach is, then tries to act like Greg Walker miraculously transformed the Braves single-handedly from this offseason's sense of desolation, lol. The White Sox would be 3rd in the AL in runs scored if he was still the hitting coach, too. Sure. You can believe that if you want. It can't be proven to be true or false subjunctively. I'll believe that the White Sox play better when Chris Sale is on the mound, expect to win, and the results would have been dramatically different with any of our minor leaguers out there in his place. Again with Greg Walker. You do need help. Obviously Chris Sale is the reason the Sox started scoring runs. I'm agreeing with you. We'll just ignore April when they couldn't score at all and he was in the rotation. You're truly a baseball genius.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 9, 2012 -> 05:06 PM) What was the record of White Sox 5th starters from 2001-2004? So Dylan Axelrod, Terry Doyle or Eric Stults was going to go 4-2? Really? The answer to question 1, what does that matter now? Question 2, Yes they would. The Sox scored 6,6,4,2 and 10 runs in those starts. They didn't need shutouts, but I'll take the offense riding the inspiration of Chris Sale returning to the starting rotation as the reason they scored these runs. GMAB. You defintely are the Soxtalk version of Mitt Romney. As Frank says, no doubt about it. Just flip flop. Don't try to justify it with things that aren't connected.