Dick Allen

No Matt Kemp when the Sox go to LA? That's a shame. A lot of things appear to be going the Sox way this year. You know what happens when that happens.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 1, 2012 -> 07:25 PM) Great seats still available Dynamic Pricing means there only about $75.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jun 1, 2012 -> 01:43 PM) So then the umps should have had increased awareness and sensitivity to the Rays hitting De Aza in one of the previous games, then Beckham, then AJ in the finale. Instead, they seemed to only have increased sensitivity to Quintana throwing behind but entirely missing Zobrist on a pitch below the waist. And after all this, De Aza got hit in the knee at 2B. The umps were clearly wrong in their handling of all this. Exactly.If no warning had been issued, I don't know how you let them get away with hitting AJ with zero consequence, yet eject someone who didn't even hit the hitter. If he hit him, I at least could see there may be some reason for ejection, but clearly AJ was hit on purpose, how come there was no ejection then? And the thing with De Aza was on purpose too. Don't anyone fool themselves. When they got the warnings against the Cubs, I suggested they hit a runner on a pick off "attempt". It rarely occurs, but seems to occur at the strangest times.

So the Cubs are willing to eat $45 million of the $48 million left on Soriano's contract. If you really needed a DH, that probably wouldn't be the worst option. When the guy is hot, he's on fire.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 31, 2012 -> 06:05 PM) And to them you say: I like Foley too. I just wrote to Google Pat Foley sucks because you apparently believe he doesn't have his detractors. He does. Plenty of them, and the complaints are the same, he's way past his prime, his schtick is old... Every broadcaster has people don't like their style.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 31, 2012 -> 05:05 PM) Like with Pat Foley? He has been announcing for a similar time period and I observe very little contempt in his direction. Google Pat Foley sucks, you'll see many of the same complaints launched at Hawk. No one is going to be loved by all, and no one is going to change their opinion based on posts on a message board. There is no one I'd rather hear doing White Sox PBP than Hawk. He pisses me off sometimes, without question, but I love him and his enthusiasm. He's not just collecting a check.

Who knows how the rest of the season will unfold, but the AL Central always provides hope. The Tigers were clearly favorites and should be, adding Fielder, but a lot went right with them last year and Victor Martinez was a big part of it. Expecting any team to win 100 games is expecting a lot. Maybe they run away and hide the last 110 games, maybe not. The Sox should be confident they can contend. If they can get Danks back and Floyd returns to his form of a few weeks ago, its hard to imagine they would not be somewhat close for the rest of the season.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 31, 2012 -> 11:20 AM) The quality of OH's at bats suggest that his average will go up. There's a sample size issue with his CWS numbers, but qualitatively it isn't that difficult to project those numbers up. You keep mentioning his defense like it's been bad - one error was a "bad" error and the other was the kind you expect on a tough play and was made possible by making a nice play with his glove. He's also made several very good plays, including one that likely decided a game for us. I know we like to think that you have to have an All-Star at every position to "compete the rest of the way," but this isn't the case...you just can't have any black holes, and that's not Hudson. If his next ten games make him look like a black hole (doesn't look like one now), we'll hopefully plug in a healthy Brent and not miss a beat. I wouldn't entertain too many thoughts about acquiring another alternative because we don't have the players or organizational philosophy to get a big fish right now. I don't know if there is a division lead big enough for KW to give up young players for a fix on the MLB roster. One error was a bad throw, he also made a couple of other bad throws that were handled. The other error, a ball went between his legs. His last couple of seasons would suggest what you see is what you will get offensively. He isn't very good. If the other Sox players hadn't been playing well the entire time he's been here, he wouldn't be anywhere near as popular. I would even venture to guess the term DFA would have come up several times.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:54 AM) While Brent Morel is probably a more talented hitter than Orlando Hudson, I still remember a Brent Morel from last year that had frustratingly bad at bats. Never swinging aggressively, never taking a walk. The only redeeming quality was that he looked to the opposite field, but it was in a Juan Pierre kind of way, like he didn't want to hit ball too hard. Nothing was more frustrating than seeing him swing at anything the pitcher threw up there in a 2 strike count. If he could work a count like Hudson, he'd be a better hitter. But he has never shown me that he has an ability to intelligently pick spots to swing aggressively, know which strikes not to swing at, how to balance a 2 strike approach with one that might result in a hit, etc. Hudson is the better hitter because of what is between his ears. Year TM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS AVG 2012 SD 35 123 11 26 0 5 1 11 8 27 3 2 .260 .317 .577 .211 2012 CWS 9 27 3 5 1 1 0 4 5 5 1 0 .313 .296 .609 .185 2012 Total 44 150 14 31 1 6 1 15 13 32 4 2 .270 .313 .583 .207 Am I missing something here? Hudson is hitting .185 with the Sox with a .609 OPS, and has made a couple of errors at 3B. Sure he's better than the current version of Morel, but at least we find out Morel has some excuses. Moving forward, if Morel is nearly as bad as he's shown, the Sox will need an upgrade from Hudson to compete the rest of the way.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:52 AM) Why should I be forced to watch the game on mute because the announcer is a senile old man? That's you're opinion. You don't have to watch at all. You can always turn on the radio, or spend $12 on AT BAT 12 and listen to the feed from the other team. Why should I not be able to listen to the Score during the houres Boers and Bernstein are on because I think their act is 8th grade? You don't like it, you don't have to listen to it. Welcome to the USA.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:46 AM) This STRETCH of a post is brought to you by Hawk Harrelson. Whatever. If you need someone telling you what is going on when you are watching a baseball game, you aren't as baseball-wise as you think you are. Hawk is basically there to entertain and inform, and teach. Whether you want to admit it or not, you have learned a lot about baseball listening to Hawk over the years. If you can't stand him, mute it and watch, and dream about how the guy from broadcast school would announce the game.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:42 AM) You can't compare Hawk vs. B & B. I listen to B & B to entertain me in my car as I drive home from work and/or run errands. If they annoy me, I can change the channel and listen to music instead. As soon as I pull in the garage, the radio is off and I am done with them. Hawk is the play-by-play guy for White Sox baseball, and the only one I can listen to when I want to watch a game on TV. I can't choose a different announcer. You can always mute it and make your own comments. If you're watching the game, why do you need someone to tell you if its a strike?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:31 AM) One is a comedy sports radio show, one is a play by play announcer for a 111 year old Major League Baseball franchise. Hawk will go into the broadcast wing of the HOF someday.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:14 AM) I'm a fan of theirs, but I see where the other side comes from. I actually think they are way smarter than people give them credit for, but they lack the ability to hear others out and discuss both sides of the story, which leads to their making fun of everyone else. I've just learned to tune out when they start being idiots. The fact that the Hawks thing was on Deadspin within 10 minutes, and Yahoo front page later in the day, shows how funny it was to all. Both are very intelligent, but are very arrogant and act like 14 year olds from time to time. If ever one of "their guys" gives them information that turns out to be correct, they can't pat themselves on the back enough. When the info is wrong, which it is most of the time, its never brought up again. Most callers don't have valid points, but if you think your entire audience is stupid and have to put down everything they say if they aren't kissing your behind, why take calls? I really have no respect for those guys. What intrigues me is how much you hate Hawk but like grown men in the 40's and 50's who sometimes can't go 5 minutes without some sort of sexual innuendo you would hear from a sophomore in HS. If Hawk is embarrassing the White Sox, aren't these guys embarrassing the Score?

QUOTE (Jake @ May 31, 2012 -> 10:05 AM) Have to wonder if Morel hid/downplayed the injury to try to stay in the lineup. It always looks bad in hindsight, but in the moment as a player you're thinking that it'll just go away and you won't have someone potentially playing well in your position while you're resting. Of course there is some chance that his injuries have been played up by the team to explain his poor play. I don't know. The Sox have been aware of his injured back and intestinal problems. I'm not a big Morel guy, but he can't be as bad as he's been this season. He was worse than a pitcher offensively most nights. We will see how he does, but IMO, if he's healthy, he's better than the ODog offensively and defensively at 3B, not that saying much, just like the ODog can be pretty mediocre, but he looks like an All Star compared to the 2012 version of Morel we have seen so far this season.

Rays are upset Zobrist was thrown behind, say the ejection was warranted, and said AJ getting hit wasn't on purpose. Were they able to say it with a straight face? Robin can.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 30, 2012 -> 12:18 PM) AJ is only lovable because he's on your team. Everyone else everywhere hates the guy for a reason. You f***s would be fellating Brett Lawrie if he were on the Sox. Part of his game is to irritate. Its why if he's on your team you should love him so much. Next year, if he's on TB, their fans will have a totally different take on him. No one can say he doesn't know what he's doing when he's on the field.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 30, 2012 -> 03:55 PM) 9 Game home stand... Over or Under....250,000 fans (average 27,778) Go... That's too easy.....under by a decent margin.

The O Dog is the most beloved .185 hitting, 2 errors in a week at 3B player in Soxtalk history.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 30, 2012 -> 03:06 PM) He actually put on a fake moustache and no one has noticed When Bobby V did that, I think it may have been Ventura's idea.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 30, 2012 -> 03:04 PM) Don't think for a second that he isn't communicating with the dugout. He might not. Home games when Ozzie got ejected, you could find him at the bar at Carmichael's during the rest of the game, if it was early enough.

That really sucks

What's with the defeatist attitude? Reed is going to mow them down, and the Sox will increase their lead in the Central. Its pretty simple.

82 ks in 177 AB. I wonder what its going to look like when he goes into a slump.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ May 30, 2012 -> 02:45 PM) Becks got very lucky there. He deserves some luck.