Dick Allen

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 08:04 PM) At this point why wouldn't you change the hitting coach? This obviously isn't working, for whatever reason. But you go on picking on Don Cooper to prove your point. Answer the question, is Greg Walker the awful hitting coach talk radio and Sox message boards make him out to be? Quit dancing around it. Should he be fired because he's bad at his job? And I'm joking when I say Cooper deserves to be fired, but if he were held to the same standards Walker is, and Walker has 3 underperformers, Dunn, Rios and Beckham, how much of that is Walker's fault,Cooper wouldn't be this pitching coach God he's made out to be.

They are making a big deal out of the 10k the Sox get if they finish second. Why doesn't Ozzie just give each coach 10k? He can give it as a gift, and he's always popping off how rich he is.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:58 PM) More meaning than the beat writers. They are pretty much spineless in this town. Guys in the studio aren't spineless? Do they ever even go to the games? So it is your opinion that Greg Walker is a bad hitting coach, correct? Is it also your opinion that a replacement will improve the Sox offense automatically? Instead of just trying to pick a fight with me, show me where you stand.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:50 PM) He has been ripped plenty in the media. If he was as good as you think he is, someone in baseball outside of the Sox organization would have come to his defense by now. When does that happen? And if you get ripped by the media, not even the beat writers, but the talk show hosts, there's meaning to that? OMG. On second thought, you are correct. If Dan McNeil or Terry Boers or Dan Bernstein say you are awful, they are experts. They would know.

QUOTE (SoIL @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:37 PM) I could live with this outfield and with De Aza leading off. It 's most likely fantasy, but I'd like it better if Rios was traded, De Aza was in center and Quentin was in left. De Aza has been a heck of a lot more interesting to watch play than most of the Sox roster the past few years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:41 PM) How often do people in baseball rip each other? So the opinions on this board and talk radio is what guys like KW should be checking out so he'll know his next move? Believe me, if Walker was 1% as bad as apparently you and a lot of others feel, he would have been ripped by now. I even believe you know that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 08:08 AM) Talk radio hasn't talked about Greg Walker? Are you serious? That's not what I said. Talk radio and message boards are where he gets ripped. You don't see anyone in baseball ripping him.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:31 PM) Flowers has got to learn how to hit big league pitching. Maybe he and Dunn can work out together this winter. Otherwise that bat is going to keep him as a back up catcher He's going to have to somehow make more contact, without sacrificing power. I'd like to take a few cuts off Axelrod.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:24 PM) So hitting at or around .300, stealing 40+ bags, and having around .350 OBP... sound good to you? I will admit guys his age generally aren't something to get excited about, but this guy has been solid and looks like he knows what he's doing on the baseball field. He's a cheap upgrade for Pierre at the very least, and maybe he blossoms into a player that can put up real good numbers for an entire season.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:23 PM) Good point. I seem to have read that Mr Rogers thinks Escobar gives the team more flexibility, but I woud really prefer the veteran presence of Omar on the team for at least one more year anyway. He is still pretty darn good with the leather I've like Omar, but its time for him to hit the road.

QUOTE (VictoryMC98 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 07:22 PM) Outside of Fans... Has any player stated that Walker didn't help him, after they left.. ANd for the record, I think Hitting coaches are overrated... So I am not a fan nor hater of walker. Aaron Rowand, and has any hitter ever bashed him for ruining them and costing them millions of dollars?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 20, 2011 -> 09:28 AM) Konerko is one hitter. And, he's the one hitter who in 2011 hit comparably to his norms/expectations (average-wise he was actually higher, though power-wise he was down a bit). This is both an indictment of Walker, and something to give hope for 2012 with a different hitting coach, but think about this for a second... of the Sox starting lineup hitters on Opening Day: Pierre, Rios, Quentin, Morel*, Ramirez, Beckham, Konerko, AJP, Dunn... which of them actually performed at the level of their career norms or base expectations at a minimum? Konerko, maybe Quentin. Six bombed out, and not just a little below averages in most cases, but a lot worse. Morel we can leave out of the discussion - a rookie who took 5 months to develop, but then did, as per his usual pattern. When your offense underperforms that badly (and most of them did in 2010 too, BTW) for that long, it is time to make a change. One hitter cannot be used to sacrifice 8 others. Morel is a rookie, Pierre is doing what he always does, Ramirez, AJP what they always do. There are 3 White Sox underperforming offensively, Dunn, Rios and Beckham. Even though the AL league ERA is 4.06, no Cooper bashing for Floyd and Danks being below average.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 09:39 PM) Show me one statement by someone other than a fan outside of the Sox organization that Walker IS highly respected. As I said earlier Aaron Rowand said Walker was the best hitting coach he has ever worked with and that was after he left Philadelphia. All the Cooper buzz you ever read is media or message board generated. Just because John Kruk thinks you're great doesn't mean much. Does anyone remember Leo Mazzone? He's been looking for a job for years. Don't you think if Walker was as awful and made such a difference in players sucking as much as this board and talk radio believes, at least one would pop off about it? If he has done this, he's cost them millions of dollars.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 06:22 PM) Can I be at least the random moron fan that runs onto the field (I'd be the first black male that I know of) to get attention? I might do it if I'm drunk enough. One of these days, Soxtalk. And you'll know it's me. Make sure you go to that game without a shirt on. It enhances the running onto the field experience.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 03:50 PM) Well, until you come up with a non-Sox homer that can vouch for him, you can't keep comparing him to Cooper. I wouldn't mind a clean sweep of the coaching staff. But if only one can go, you best believe I'm hoping it's Walker. It's the no-brainer of no-brainers. I can compare him to Cooper all I want. Is Danks and Floyd's matching 4.42 ERA's what you were looking for this year? Peavy is almost 5.00. Buehrle is starting to get jacked around. You know when hitters do this who you blame. Just be consistent or start using some logic. There's 3 underachieving hitters on the Sox this year. Dunn, Rios and Beckham. If you really think that's, because of Greg Walker, I will be dissappointed in your baseball acumen.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 02:46 PM) No, what I meant is you're saying that it's only Sox fans that think Walker is not good at his job. I disagree because, like I said, it's not like Greg Walker has gotten any positive/national pub outside of the usual White Sox homers. Don Cooper's reputation stretches beyond White Sox land. Walker's doesn't. You can't say it's not only Sox fans when you haven't seen one other source ripping him. No one. Certainly an ex player, if he had "listened" to Walker like is always suggested and screwed up his career and cost him millions, would have something bad to say. But there is nothing, only some praise. Aaron Rowand called him the best hitting coach he every played for, after he signed with SF. Also Ozzie hurts the offensive numbers with his bunts, and his refusal to let guys hit 3-0. Finally he let it happen today and even Adam Dunn was able to get a hit.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 02:29 PM) And on the flip-side, you won't find anybody not named Ozzie, Konerko, Rongey, Hawk, Merkin and yourself that holds Walker in high regard. Whereas with Cooper, he's pretty well-respected outside of the White Sox organization. I've seen plenty of articles written about him detailing how he's been able to take perceived failures and help them turn their careers around. And these aren't from Whitesox.com. I'm not saying Cooper is the pitching coach messiah. But if ones of the two has to go, you won't find anybody outside of said group that will say Cooper should be fired and Walker should stay. Just show me one statement by someone other than a fan that shows Greg Walker isn't highly respected.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 01:27 PM) One thing you can definitely say though is that if Don Cooper walked to the Yankees front office and said "I'm a free agent pitching coach, hire me" this offseason...Don Cooper would be the Yankees next pitching coach. Definitely? Rothschild, who wasn't a free agent and never impressed me much, signed a 3 year $2 million contract with them last year. I wouldn't doubt Cooper could find a job, but I also think if Walker really wanted another one, he'd find one too. He's not nearly as lowly thought of in the baseball world as he is on White Sox message boards and postgame shows.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 01:08 PM) I know you mostly say these things because you don't like seeing so much praise for Cooper while Walker gets nothing but crap, and I'm aware that this is a bit of a cop out, but there's a reason that Cooper is considered to be one of the best pitching coaches in the game. When Walker's gone, he likely won't find another job as a hitting coach. He won't find one because he's not in the market for one. Where did you find all of the information he's considered bad all over the industry? The only time I have seen him called bad are message boards and call ins to talk radio.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 12:06 PM) Jake's stuff has declined considerably from his SD days and he's as injury-prone as any pitcher in the game. Not sure how that's Cooper's fault. Floyd has been a league-average, or slightly above league-average, performer for four years now. Yeah, you want more. But it's not like he's been horrible. Same with Danks. What you see is what you get. He's not going to morph into Kershaw, Price or Hamels because he's simply not that good. Humber's easily exceeded pre-season expectations and Mark was having a fine year before this month. In other words, there's really nobody on the staff (maybe Thornton?) that you can look at and say they've severely underachieved under Cooper this year. This is obviously not the case with the offense. But there's no need to go there. The numbers speak for themselves. Its always Walker's fault when position players don't hit. It should be Cooper's fault if they don't pitch well. Its all Cooper when Humber pitches well, but when he gets lit up, its just because he sucks. I suppose what you are saying is Dunn and Rios, and Beckham are all on Walker, but if you look at it, guys like Pierre, Ramirez, Konerko, Quentin, Lillibridge, Castro, Morel, AJP have all performed at what you would expect, if not higher in a few cases. Of course, Peavy's skills have declined, but because Dunn is a hitter, you can't say that when you can just as easily blame the hitting coach. Walker will be gone at the end of this year, but if the roster remains relatively the same, you will see he was not the problem.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 11:50 AM) Well, for one they play in a hitters' park. Where do they rank in OPS+ vs ERA +? Most Sox pitchers pitch better at home vs. on the road. If that's the argument, considering the vast difference in regard these 2 are held, its time people realize if its Greg Walker's fault Adam Dunn is hitting .160, even if they think maybe he needs a different "voice", maybe its Don Cooper's fault Jake Peavy has a 4.60 ERA and Gavin Floyd hasn't been more consistent since 2008. If Cooper is the genius a lot of people here claim, some even going as far as saying he should be the next manager, then Greg Walker isn't nearly as stupid as the same people think.

Interesting, Sox hitters are 7th in the AL in team batting average. 11th in OPS. Sox pitchers are 8th in the AL in team ERA. Now why is Walker the biggest dope who ever lived, and Don Cooper a genius?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 18, 2011 -> 03:16 AM) At least the Sox record is starting to resemble the season they had. This team was WAY s***tier than .500, now the record is starting to reflect how bad this team is. The only reason they were anywhere near .500 was Ozzie and his managing like the magician he is. Now the Marlins are going to give him 4 years and probably have some sort of ceremony like when the Heat signed the 3 dopes last year. Probably at least half of the 150 people that go to Marlins games will show up. Ozzie is going to be collecting rings in Miami and Sox fans will have a team that consistently finishes in 4th and 5th place.

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Sep 17, 2011 -> 05:38 PM) I assure you the next time you see the Chicago American League representative in a world series, one Brent Morel will not be their starting 3rd baseman If it takes as long as the last one, many of us won't see the Sox in the WS again, and the Sox 3rd baseman for that series hasn't been born yet.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 17, 2011 -> 05:26 PM) OH FOR F***'S SAKE YOU COULDN'T RESIST COULD YOU? DAY 1 WHEN HE'S UP, SAME LINE. DAY 30, GOTTA RUB THE SALT IN THE WOUND MORE!!!! Its pretty interesting he had nothing to say before this 0-20, and he did have him bat clean up the last week. Ozzie is an ass.