Dick Allen

QUOTE (flavum @ May 21, 2012 -> 09:23 AM) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,0,916724.story It's rare I agree with Phil Rogers, but I have to agree with him about bringing up Johnson, and releasing Fukudome. Fukudome really is doing anything, he was a cheap gamble, but it's not working out. Escobar doesn't seem to be anything great either, but at least he plays infield ok, and can pinch run better than Fukudome. Fukodome would probably be hitting .300 in Charlotte. Dan Johnson HAS NOT HIT OVER .200 IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES SINCE 2007. If you think he'll be better than Fukudome, you are kidding yourself.

The Sox are 4 games ahead of last year's pace. And something for Greg: The Marlins are 2 games behind last year's pace.

QUOTE (chisox2334 @ May 20, 2012 -> 10:27 AM) hudson has to clear waviers and then be able to sign I think it has to be a business day they clear so probably tomorrow things become official.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ May 20, 2012 -> 09:03 AM) You dont bat Hudson 2nd. That'd be three straight from the left side to start a game against RHP. That would really suck.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2012 -> 08:07 AM) A little better? This is a guy who seemed content to pop it up to the first baseman during April. He has 3 homers this month, could have easily had 2 more, and has hit numerous line drives right at the right fielder. He's gone from seemingly just happy to make contact, to expecting to hit the ball hard.

ODog is toast, but look at it this way, who would you rather have play 3B for an extended period, Escobar, Dan Johnson or Hudson? I think most sane people not related to the first 2 choices would go with Hudson. I don't understand the White Sox organization's love affair with Escobar. Danks looks better than him at the plate.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:58 PM) Morel's got to be done for the season. No way a third baseman can play with a bad back and take all those swings necessary to be a big leaguer. How the hell is it going to heal by the end of the season? It's too late, but I'd move Tank to third and play Fukodome the rest of the year in left with Lilly spelling him. Since we're getting Hudson, I guess I'd play Hudson at third. The defense is going to suffer no matter which way you look at it, so might as well just pluck Hudson into the third base slot. It really depends what wrong with his back.

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:54 PM) Escobar f***ing blows. This move should enable Morel to rest his back, and when Morel gets back Hudson should take over Escobar's utility role. Didn't Escobar initially bring attention to himself with a sweet performance in the AFL? He hit in spring training this year to make the team. It seems to me Arizona is the only place he can hit. Maybe the Diamondbacks would be interested.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:51 PM) If they had the money, which they obviously did, it was worth the risk. There was a decent chance one of the best hitters in the history of the game might have another couple months left in him. His OPS was still over .900 for an extended period that same year. Its money that could have been spent more wisely on something that could actually help the Sox win. For a team that is always saying they are at their limit or their budget is stretched beyond their limit, it was curious spending $4 million on a guy with Manny's character and recent history. A really poor choice.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:44 PM) Yeah, it's time to DL him and let him get right. I agree, especially if the cortisone shot didn't work. He dove for a ball the other day and got up and walked around like an old man. I've hurt my back and know that feeling.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:38 PM) I hope so. Up until Thursday I would have been happy with this move but Gordon Beckham won back my heart the way he stepped up and played yesterday. But I guess Hudson would be good to have in reserve if Beckham reverts back to the way he has been for about the past year. The Padres would rather pay the O Dog NOT to play for them than play for them. The PADRES. The O Dog probably can outperform the current version of Morel and he's probably slightly better than Escobar at this point, but he's no savior. I really wonder about Morel's back.

The O dog has lost a lot of his range. If they move Beckham to 3B, that would be ridiculous. He's a GG quality 2B. I hope KW has the sense to remember his playing days. He was a highly thought of CF who put up decent numbers, but the Sox needed a 3B so he moved there and it seemed like it derailed his once promising career.

Rogers had an article yesterday which basically said the 2 things Ventura changed right away was the free steals they used to give opponents and the enormous discrepancy in HBP. One thing he didn't mention was the Sox now actually do some 3-0 hitting now. You don't have to hit the opponent to get them to stop hitting your guys. They just have to know that if they do hit your guys, someone is going to pay.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:12 PM) This is so true. It's borderline insane how many members of the Chicago sports media have said Smarja's pitch wasn't intentional. Were they watching the same game? Anyway, it was funny to read LaHair being upset about the pitch behind him. Stuff like you should never throw at somebody's head. (the pitch was at his back, btw) Really? Yes. They have no problem with the star taking one in the face, but have a problem with a pitch that didn't hit anyone. Bizarre. I know it sounds crazy, but Smarj did throw at Heyward and one way he can still hit guys but get away with the "it was an accident" is to throw an 85 MPH "split" and say it got away from him. He throws it harder than some guys throw their fastballs, When was the last time anyone has seen a MLB pitcher throw a splitter that the catcher caught eye high to the hitter? And this one just happened to be at the eye of the hitter. And this is a pitcher that has been pretty locked in all season.

QUOTE (Cali @ May 19, 2012 -> 04:04 PM) Earn your f***ing paycheck Danks.... Yeah, its time Johnny shows us Jordan isn't the good Danks. I think he's going to be on tonigh. Of course, I've thought that every start.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 19, 2012 -> 03:59 PM) I still can't believe that Kaplan and Hollandsworth were so pissed off on CTL about the Humber throwing a pitch behind LaHair. You hit the unquestioned leader of the team in the face with a pitch in the AB after he homered....I don't care if it's a 15 mph pitch thrown by Gary Sinise, you have to stick up for your captain there. Konerko's injury is a lot more serious than a bruise on the back, etc. This is exactly how I feel. I'm sure it was traumatic for the team that it was the face, and I'm sure Hawk got a little more pissed about it because he knew Tony C pretty well, and I think Smarjdldfld popping off after Humber dusted a Cub with no contact really set him off. It still was 85 MPH. It, even if it wasn't on purpose, still got away from him, and it was extremely dangerous. Kaplan the Cubbie apologist I can understand, but Hollandsworth played the game and knows no matter what when the opposing pitcher hits a guy, unless its a 65 MPH curveball on the butt, there's going to be some bench jockeying. A guy taking one to the eye isn't supposed to cause a peep, but a pitch that doesn't even hit a Cubs player is just plain wrong. He knows better, and he knows who is signing his checks.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 19, 2012 -> 03:47 PM) So what? He's still Manny Ramirez. They had the money. They spent the money. It was a low risk/high upside move that didn't work out. When KW gets fired/retires/or whatever, you think people are going to look back and say, "Yeah, that guy was a clown. He took a shot at Manny Ramirez in a pennant race." *disclaimer* I'm pretty cynical about PED's, like cynical enough that I think most ball players still cheat. I'm cynical like thinking Josh Hamilton's great year is the result of him finding a better coke guy, with the Peruvian s***. It clearly wasn't the same Manny Ramirez, and clearly wasn't going to be the same Manny Ramirez.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 19, 2012 -> 10:42 AM) This is horses*** and you know it. You don't get to choose to utilize your knowledge of how the organization works when it benefits you but conveniently ignore it when it doesn't. JR told KW that they were going to give Ozzie a chance to put together his type of team, because he shouldn't be responsible if they handed him a team he didn't choose...so they allowed him to jettison Thome. So JR changed his mind in September? So then they let KW compound the mistake and spend $4 million for one month of a guy who just served a steroid suspension? Was that not a ridiculous waiver claim? You seem to choose how to utilize your knowledge of how the organization works. Why is it you constantly criticize others while doing exactly what your criticize others for doing? I know you love KW and would never say anything bad about him, but whether you want to admit it or not, he's really screwed up the past few years.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2012 -> 09:00 AM) H. Christ. Someone wrote a book about this? I just wonder how depressed Cowley is that Morrissey was the author and not him. BTW, does Cowley still work for the Sun Times? Talk about someone/something becoming irrelavant.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2012 -> 09:30 AM) The one thing from that 2009 list you can't hold against him is letting Thome walk, because that clearly wasn't his idea. It was Ozzie's idea, but he supposedly was Ozzie's boss. He eventually overrode him in September when he claimed a fresh off steroid suspension Manny, in what was perhaps the biggest waste of $4 million in his reign, and he's blown some money.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 19, 2012 -> 08:50 AM) 1 post-season win in 6 seasons, Dick. KW's record is what it is. You have no bigger ally in the KW must go movement than me, while it is unfair to start judging from right after his team won the WS, his overall body of work still falls short. I believe its KW's job to put a team together that makes the playoffs. If he has bad coaches or a bad manager, that's his responsibility. Making the playoffs to me is his job. Once there, its a crapshoot, no matter what anyone argues. One play here or there can determine who moves on, and the GM has nothing to do with that at that particular point. It wasn't KW that made the ball go through Tony G's legs and Ichuchi homers for a White Sox win. It wasn't KW getting El Duque to somehow get out of that jam in Boston. If those don't happen, the Sox maybe don't get out of the first round, maybe in 2008, they catch a couple of breaks and win it all. I'm anticipating no playoffs this year, so that would be 2 times he's made it in 12 years. Once every 6. 5 teams in the division plus wild card, its not even average. Considering the advantages he's had in the AL Central most of his reign, its even worse. He inherited a team with Thomas, Konerko, Ordonez, Lee, Valentin, Crede, Durham, Buerhle, Garland, Foulke and supposedly the #1 farm system in baseball,as they say in elections are they better today than the day KW took over? But he's not going anywhere, so you and I just have to live with it, and hope he does things better than he's been doing them. If they didn't fire him after last year, with the horrible year and the Ozzie feud, a year after he blew off Thome for $1 million and gave Manny $4 million for 2 RBI, a year after he stuck the ownership with Peavy and Rios' contracts, they aren't going to fire him for not winning when they cut the payroll $25 million, although change is coming fairly soon. Rick Hahn, another who I question, wouldn't be waiting around for nothing.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 19, 2012 -> 08:39 AM) How am I "wired", Dick? Do tell. Its simple. If KW acquired them, they suck. That, and probably most of your posts are BS just to try to aggrevate people.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 19, 2012 -> 08:11 AM) What are you out to prove or disprove about me based on my answers to the ridiculous line of questioning on whether or not I would want person A gone because I want KW gone? Don't you think the Sox should change GMs before they get rid of their better young players? The way you're wired, you will have the same issues with whatever they get back as you do with the current guys.

Sveum said everything turned out great today for the Cubs even though they didn't win. I hope they keep this attitude another 100 years.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ May 18, 2012 -> 09:42 PM) Tomorrow, go outside and stare right into the sun. Let me know what you see. BTW, his head went down, his glove didn't, he tried to catch it, he just closed the glove early. It never went down. His mitt didn't go down, his head did. He tried to make the catch, he closed the glove a fraction early. You make it seem like he had 5 minutes to figure out his plan of attack when in about .2 seconds the ball went into the sun and he tried to make the catch and protect himself at the same time. It's what's expected in that situation. He was trying to do both. His head and mitt went down. The ball landed on top of his closed mitt. He obviously knew where the ball was, but because he didn't shade his eyes correctly, he wasn't able to stay with it. Many high school OFs would have made that catch.