Dick Allen

He looks so much better at the plate. His bat isn't still. His hands look a little higher. Hopefully, he can go on a run and never look back. Its quite obvious he has the talent to be a real nice player.

QUOTE (jeffro2525 @ May 4, 2012 -> 07:56 PM) Getting less mad about Gordon's baserunning blunder lastnight... It was a blunder but Rios was standing on 3rd base at the time. They both screwed up.

Send him to Charlotte.

That's my man, Beckham.

Viciedo is really starting to look good. I'm crediting Marty's thread.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:35 PM) Listening to Hawk, it sounds like he's never going to be a starter again. That's what I was thinking. I don't see how this can be anything but permanent or moving him there would really not make any sense. Stone made the point that as a closer, he won't throw as many types of pitches which will help him as well.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:31 PM) And they're outdrawing us by 2,900 per game. The fans there seem more genuinely excited about that team of unknowns (see the Mets series this week) than Sox fans do about theirs. Despite having arguably a worse team, the Cubs might end up nearly doubling our attendance this season. Sox attendance will pick up some. They don't have the base they used to have, but April has been chilly, it was the first time in 109 years March was warmer than April in Chicago.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:26 PM) With the way everything else is going in this organization, we might as well pretend without Greg Walker around that Brent Lillibridge has reverted to the 2009-2010 version, too. Probably more realistic than thinking Brent Lillibridge is a good hitter. Last year he hit some home runs. Chances of him hitting them at that clip are nil. He still strikes out with Dunn-like frequency.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:16 PM) De Aza's now 3-27 vs LHP this year. Too bad there's no one on the bench we could use in his place...oh wait Lillibridge is 0-6

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:18 PM) I'd still say it makes plenty of sense to me. The usual rule of thumb with a pitcher is that you want to increase his innings by 25 a year. Dropping them in half and then trying to push them back up is completely the opposite. He's still 40 short of last season. Your argument is beyond flawed. Quit patting yourself on the back. If Sale started at Charlotte, he most likely would have had the same issues if not worse.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:17 PM) You know what's really scary? What if he's a lousy closer? It was a pleasure to watch him start and completely make me forget bout Mark. It's hard to be a fan of this team. I don't see that happening unless his soreness gets worse. People have a tough time hitting him when he's at 91. He'll probably get it cranked back up around 100 in a little bit and the opposition will look like Morel.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 4, 2012 -> 06:09 PM) I didn't see it being that clear, but maybe I missed a quote. The other side of this is, of course, if he simply can't do starter innings - which is possible - then this scenario works anyway. Where did anyone with the Sox say this was permanent, anyway? Not trying to be obnoxious, I really just don't know. No one said permanent, but if he's in the bullpen the rest of this season, it doesn't make much sense to have him try starting again next season and expect differnt results. I think the Sox don't believe he can do starter innings. So this makes sense. What makes no sense is the argument, not by you, that he not starting on a full time basis in Charlotte last season is the cause of this condition.

26 games in a row to start the season, striking out in each game now for Dunn. The old record was 14 and lasted 49 years.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:57 PM) I can't believe I'm the only one who seems to be OK with this, but... I am. This year - as everyone knows - is a rebuilding year, whether they call it that or not. They definitely want Sale to be a future starter on this club. So, if he's feeling a bit tender with the new load, this makes perfect sense to me. As long as he isn't injured, and really is just sore getting stretched out, then this makes perfect sense to me. Shutting him down wouldn't be a good idea, because you still want him to build up some innings and add strength. This way, he can do that, with less risk of turning soreness into an actual injury. Also, I agree with this... As we look at 2013, this is an audition for Axelrod. Either as trade bait, or maybe even as a part of the future rotation. Giving Sale say, a month, closing, then putting him back into the rotation, seems perfectly smart to me. And with guys like Peavy and Humber not stretched out to starting innings, and a guy like Axelrod in the rotation (as much as I like him, he's still got risk to fail), there will almost certainly be a chance for him to start again as the season goes on. That way, he gets closer to starting innings this year, and ideally is ready for 2013 to be a full time starter. Obviously I'd rather he wasn't sore at all and could keep going, but that isn't the reality. So as long as he isn't hurt, this seems like the best move to me. Flame on. I'm OK with it, but a couple of things, he's the closer for the rest of the season, at least that is what CSN reported Ventura said. If he's the closer the rest of this season, I would think that would mean, he's probably considered a reliever by the White Sox from now on.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:47 PM) A #1 starter is more important than a closer. The Sox aren't going to pay a pitcher more than Danks for the forseeable future so where they will find one is anybody's guess. A #1 starter gets you 190+ innings a year. I think there's very legitmate concern Sale will never be able to do that. He has #1 stuff in my mind, but the question has always been how will he hold up? I think a tender elbow after 32 innings have the Sox freaked out, so they are going to go with the the scenerio that will most likely give Sale, and therefore the team, the most sustained success.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:45 PM) I tend to agree...I don't think this has anything to do with the innings he's thrown this year..I think it's just a coincidence....there are all sorts of questions regarding Sale's ability to hold up as a starter that have nothing to do with whether or not he came out of the pen last year or not. All I know is this has me befuddled...our pen is not in such a shape nor are we at any point in the season where there is enough urgency to put him in the closer role if they are truly concerned about him being currently seriously injured...why not just shut him down and re-evaluate? The other thing is now there are 4 lefties. Rivera getting hurt, maybe Thornton is heading to NY.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:37 PM) Sale (as a starter) was the shining star of hope for this team. They are 29th in attendance because there is such little hope. Now that Sale is back to close . . . Maybe they will sell more tickets if Sale is as important to ticket sales as you believe. Most games he doesn't take the field, now there will usually be a chance to see him pitch. Personally I don't think Sale means anything to attendance. Most people who attend a game only because he's going to pitch are probably on his pass list anyway.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:29 PM) That's pretty much the definition of the "Verducci effect". So say Wow all you want. You don't "Get yourself ready to throw as many innings in 2 months as you threw all of last year" by working out in the offseason. He's tender after ONE MONTH of real games. He was such an injury concern he slipped down to the Sox when he was drafted. Its supposedly voodoo to draft a closer in the first round, but the way the game is played, the closer is about as important to winning as almost anybody. He'll be the closer, and if he stays healthy, probably one of the best in baseball. That will be a lot better than many of the teams will get from players they picked while passing on him.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:31 PM) Exactly. The Sox drafted a closer. The flip side of this argument is if Sale had started in the minors maybe he would have hurt his arm before he got to MLB. I think that's the most likely scenerio.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:27 PM) When I read the title of this thread I hoped it was a Tony La Russa decision. Anyway, Kenny's toast. It may be hard to believe, I want KW gone as much as you do, but Chris Sale with a tender elbow being made a closer is going to get him fired about as much as the churro stand selling stale churros would get him fired.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:24 PM) I said it last year and still believe it: if you're supposedly "All In", you don't leave your best bullpen arm in AAA. If it wasted a year of development fine, but if you go into the season expecting to compete then he is on the roster. I agree. The reason Sale was available when the Sox picked him was the worry that what went down today was going to happen and probably be even worse news. He has been an injury concern since day 1. Let him become a HOF closer. There's no shame in that.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:22 PM) There's a big difference though between having your arm ready to throw 70 innings in a year and throwing those 70 innings in March and April. He spent the winter getting himself prepared for the role. He is hurting already. If you really think the reason he is sore now is because he didn't pitch 150 innings last season in Charlotte and would have had no problems doing that and if he did, be well on his way to 175-200 IP this year, all I can say is WOW.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2012 -> 05:02 PM) I'm pretty sure I can go back and find myself having some serious "I told you so"'s on this one and the decision to put Sale in the pen last year. He got hurt after 32 innings. There's a pretty good chance if he did what some wanted him to do last year, start at Charlotte, he would have had issues as well. The question was always how will he hold up.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 4, 2012 -> 09:02 AM) Except for Marty, nobody's calling for KW's head. We're 29th in MLB attendance right now and extrapolated out at the same pace, we'd end up with the worst attendance figures of the KW Era (2002, just over 1.6 million) and the worst for New Comiskey except for 1998 and 1999. But I don't see MOST of the fanbase in a panic. The hardcore fans are aware that there's some patience required...and have to look no further than the Northside for evidence of this fact. That parallel project alone gives KW some added breathing room, but it is frustrating because if he had built a consistent winner and a couple of more playoff teams, we'd be a in much better position vis a vis the Cubs than we are now. I'm calling for KWs head. Its been time to go for a while now, Ozzie acts like a 3 year old, KW acted like he was about 8 in that relationship., but if they didn't can him after last year, I can't see how they would can him no matter what the result this season. You can't cut payroll as much as they did and expect a contender from the GM.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 3, 2012 -> 06:30 PM) What is your definition of talent? tal·ent/ˈtalənt/ Noun: 1.Natural aptitude or skill. 2.A person or people possessing such aptitude or skill: