Dick Allen

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:35 PM) Yes. Something back > nothing back. That's my point. Maybe Kenny just wants to get something rather than nothing, while having an excuse to cut Marquez and his awfulness. We have different definitions of something and nothing. The bottom line is dumping Lillibridge for nothing now vs. hoping to get something back in a few weeks for his services and actually receiving a player isn't going to have a profound effect on the White Sox either in the present or in the future.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:28 PM) Next year as the #2 catcher adn learing the game better from AJP That's probably the best case scenerio. If he hits at Charlotte, and its a big if, 15 or so spring training ABs shouldn't mean all that much, and the Sox have catching problems either with performance or injury, he'll come up this year. Castro's contract ends, if Flowers has earned it, he'll be a White Sox next seasonIf he doesn't hit, he may be selling insurance a year from now.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:23 PM) It's not ideal. If Flowers has a future with the Sox it's going to start as being the backup C. This would be like a 3 week tryout. Castro is a pretty sweet back up.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:23 PM) Disagree. Glorified pinch runners don't fetch much in trades. If they could get something useful for him, he'd be gone by now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:20 PM) I hear Carlos Silva is available. Maybe Coop can fix him? As long as there are no extra inning games, or very few that end relatively quickly (10 or 11 innings), I don't mind this move temporarily. Let one of these guys show you they belong when it matters. Marquez hasn't been very good. It was shocking to me he appeared to be making the team to begin with. The organization had been really down on him for more than a year.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 01:57 PM) Maybe they are giving themselves an extra 2 weeks to find a trade partner for him because other teams may have been saying "Nah, we aren't going to trade for him, we will just pick him up after you guys have to release him". Now it gives us an upper-hand in trading him because he isn't just going to be released in a couple days. They aren't going to get anything for Lillibridge and the Sox won't release him, they will send him through waivers. Another team may claim him. No one is going to give you anything for a guy with a career average below .200 who they will have to send through waivers if they want to send him to the minors.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 12:31 PM) I don't like how this is brought up as an old fan vs. young fan premise. There are old fans who live and die with every game and b**** about every move more than the young people on this site do and they lived through all the same bad Sox teams. Anyone who has been to a small neighborhood bar in Chicago knows that there are old fans way crazier and more intense than anyone on this site. It just has to do with how people choose to enjoy their sports. Some let it control their life and live & die with every game. Some enjoy it for the sport it is and can step away as soon as the game is over. To each their own. I agree. I think everyone is smart enough to realize whether the Sox win the World Series or lose 110 games, while the former is highly preferrable, the sun is still going to rise if the latter happens. As my wife tells me when she gets mad at me and thinks I'm obsessing about baseball, "Its just a bunch of un-educated men, running around in dirt, dressed in silly costumes, trying to hit a ball with a stick." She's right. There's really nothing noble about it, but its fun to watch and debate and sometimes even obsess.

Its the AL Central. A team with flaws will win it.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 08:38 PM) Dick, what I was trying to say is when you go to the restaurant that you like, instead of sitting there talking about all the menu items you don't like, enjoy the ones you do. Don't sit there and say, I wish their steaks were better, you can't get a decent desert here, that waiter was fine today, but next time we are there, I know he's going to suck. He;s been here for ten years and he's getting to old to wait on me. You know they aren't training anyone to take over in the kitchen, if the chef is calls in sick, this place is totally f***ed. Ever notice those chairs over there are terrible, the chairs at the other place down the street are so much better. And they spent all that money on new paintings, they don't have any money to buy new carpet. etc etc etc I mean, if that what you enjoy doing, knock yourself out, but it seems a little crazy to me. Since you might eat at that restaurant five times a week, you are a great customer, but why torture yourself? But isn't that a symptom of higher expectations? Its kind of like being a parent. If your kid has average intellect, if they get all C's you're fine with it. If their IQ is off the charts and they come home with the same grades, they are going to get an earful. People expect the White Sox to win now. That hasn't always been the case. You just accepted they sucked and if they beat a good team or went on a streak for a week or so, it was like winning the WS. That won't do anymore. Its not necessarily bad. I criticize the White Sox a lot myself, and I'm not a newbie Sox fan. I saw Dick Allen and Bill Melton play live. In fact, back in those days, home games started at 8 pm. My bedtime was 7:30. Starting as a six year old, I used to get up early to beat my dad to the paper in the driveway to see how the game went the night before. Back then, I had no expectations really, now I do, but still enjoy going to the games, watching the games, even if I don't care for some of the players or the fact they wear their black uniforms too much. The fact that people expect a lot more out of the White Sox now should be considered a compliment.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 07:29 PM) Pointing out to people that this is a great time to be a Sox fan is bad?? Telling people to stop and smell the roses is bad?? WTF? If I had said don't plan on too much fun at the ballpark this summer. We don;t have a fifth starter, our closer is unproven as a closer, Konerko is getting older, AJ is getting older. this team could really suck and baseball on the southside is going to suck would that have been condesending? Yeah, we're going to be out of it by June. Don't waste your money buying tickets now for the second half, there will be all kinds of sales if you enjoy watching Ozzie throw out a white towel. If you love a restaurant, to really enjoy it, do you have to love every option on the menu? To be a huge good fan of a band, do you have to think every song they write or perform is fantastic? Its still possible to critique a team, but still love it and enjoy it. Debate was something the smart kids did in school. Anyone on this board who posts very regularly is a pretty big fan of the team IMO. I really couldn't pick out one poster on this board that roots for White Sox defeat because they are pessimistic about something and want to be correct.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 03:05 PM) The 7 degree difference in average low is huge because it goes from 1 degree above the melting point of ice to 8. All the games the Sox are playing will be in the day. If they came 2 weeks later, there would probably be a night game in there. Its not like it snows 15 feet in April in Cleveland. They average less than 3 inches of snow per April. Chicago averages about an inch and a half. Has there been a snow out since they lost the series in 2007? Chances are if you are playing in Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, New York, Boston in April, you're going to need something other than short sleeves under your jersey whether its April 1st or April 30th. If the weather is nice, just count it as a blessing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 02:50 PM) I can't find a link but someone did a study of this after 2007 and found that if you bypassed the first week in Cleveland and Minnesota, you'd eliminate something like 80% of the potential snowouts. According to Accuweather, the average high/low in Cleveland for 4/1 is 52/33 and 4/15 is 57/38. Not much of a difference, and anyone in Chicago knows the average temperatures mean nothing this time of year. I would imagine having the Indians start out on the road for a week or two would be good news for them, but the bottom line is as far as weather goes, you're pretty much dealing with the same issues, obviously a little smaller, but not enough for forcing warm market or dome teams into a full week or two of home games to start every season.

He's been with 3 or 4 organizations and supposedly battles weight issues. Chances are he's crap, but its worth a shot. Maybe he could eventually be useful in the bullpen.

QUOTE (whtsoxfan @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 02:00 PM) Adam Dunn has averaged 40 homers and 100 RBI's every year since 2002 playing in large ballparks. Yes, he'll strike out but he'll also walk alot making pitchers work much like Paulie does. Signing Dunn makes the Sox much, much better. Cincinatti is not a large park, but I agree with everything else.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 01:48 PM) The average temperature in Cleveland on April 15th is almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than on April 1. The average low temperature on April 1 is ~34 degrees, the average low on April 15th is ~42 degrees. 20 degrees warmer on average in 2 weeks? Pass the bong. The difference between the average historical high temp and low temp in Cleveland for those dates is 5 degrees, and there is no guarantee that it holds up any year anyway. April weather in this neck of the woods is a crapshoot. It might be 35 it might be 75.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 01:36 PM) They don't play 10 games in the first week of the season. The teams opening at home are generally hosting the first 2 series. Between Toronto, Anaheim, Oakland, Texas, Seattle, Tampa, and KC the AL could minimize the weather postponements in the first week of the season. The post referred to the first couple of weeks of the season. There would be at least 10 games in 2 weeks. Besides, how much warmer is it guaranteed to be in Cleveland or Chicago or Minneapolis on April 15th as opposed to April 1st?

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 12:19 PM) I've been saying this for the last 10 years at least. Why can't MLB do this? The problem is, the teams in warmer weather cities or with domes don't want 10 home dates eaten by April 12th.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 12:35 PM) You know it's not about old vs. young or who is the better fan. If that's what you think then you miss the point entirely and truly do show your immaturity. Is it wrong for a person ,be it an older or younger fan to want his fellow Sox fan to "take it easy" or " stop and smell the roses" ? Sure this is the kind of advice you might hear more often from granpa. It's just advice about enjoying life and meant to be a kind word towards the young and pessimistic. Would you tell your grandfather , who has always been kind to you to go, f*** yourself you condescending old coot" because he wants the best for you ? I hope not , but that's the feedback I'm hearing in here and really there's no need for it. Why do you have to be optimistic about everything to enjoy something? One of the biggest draws of baseball is debate. Now with more stats than every, the debates are even more plentiful. It makes it even better IMO. I just don't understand someone thinking another cannot enjoy a baseball season because they don't like who the 5th starter is or who made the roster as the 25th guy. To blindly say everything is great, every move was perfect....isn't that exactly what we rip people who frequent the park on the other side of town for constantly? I guess what I'm saying is I know I don't have to agree with everything KW and JR and Ozzie do, and think every player on the Sox is as good as they say he is to enjoy White Sox baseball. Not by a longshot. I wouldn't be considered a younger fan on this board, maybe on others, but I was a fan in the very lean years. My expectations are a lot higher than they used to be. Its easier now to make the playoffs than ever before, especially in the AL Central and especially with all the built in advantages the White Sox have over their division foes. If they were swapped out with Toronto and sent to the AL East, my expectations would obviously be a lot lower. But 86-76 in the AL Central isn't all that great, its decent, but 36 games against KC and Cleveland waters that down.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 02:20 PM) St Louis is not going to sign Mark Buehrle. Period. If they resign Pujols, they don't have the money. If they don't they have no reason to invest in a player of that stature as they are going into rebuilding mode. Prince Fielder for $20 million a year and Buerhle for $10 million is probably a quick rebuild if they don't want to pay Pujols $30 million for 10 years.

As thin as the Sox minor league teams are, this isn't a bad thing. If he's garbage, so what? Maybe he can figure something out. Its not like he's taking innings away from a real prospect.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 08:22 PM) Many of us loved the Eduardo Perez signing. An .835 OPS against LHP the year before and career .861 OPS against southpaws gave a lot of reason for hope that the White Sox would be able to rest Thome a bit more while getting quite a bit of production still. Like many of the moves from that terrible 2007, it didn't pan out and he retired. IIRC, Eduardo was on fire that spring but still was released. Spring stats mean nothing, good or bad. If there is any concern with Dunn, it would have to be perhaps an adjustment period to the AL and his not so stellar second half last season. No worries about his March stats IMO.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 07:28 PM) Marquez is starting Saturday. Maybe if he impresses he'll move ahead of Humber. I hope not. Marquez is garbage. Humber was a top prospect, had surgery and now has a new pitch. While I don't think he'll contend for the Cy Young, I think as a fifth starter for a month, he should do OK. If the Sox are .500 in his starts, they are ahead of the game.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Mar 23, 2011 -> 10:31 PM) Its tough becuase as a private organization the Sox dont have to disclose what they do with the money or where it goes. From the $210M in revenue sure some goes to payroll, and we know that figure, but how much goes to sox employees and benefits, how much goes to stadium operations, how much goes to scouting, drafting, player development, how much goes to their lease, etc. Also, operating income doesnt really do much, at least not anything than more an increase in revenue would anyway. The sox have said ime and time again they run their organization to break even and win the world series. Every dollar they take in they spend on the team and organization, so we would have a higher payroll or budget for the draft with higher revenue regardless of profit. Having a $26M operating income means that the team basically found some way to save some money or make some new money that wasnt there before and tips the balance of money in vs money in a positive way. Assuming the sox do what they always do they will find a way to invest that money into the ballclub, stadium, or a special project of some sort. JR already put that thought to rest earlier this offseason when he said profits from earlier years could be used to cover the "loss" this year if the team doesn't draw. Amazing a team that "breaks even" every year is able to do this. Never mind the fact JR also considered going cheap. What about those previous profits that were supposedly put back into the team? Again as I have said often, I don't hold making a profit against JR and his group. What I do hold against him is the constant over budget out of money, break even BS we get every year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 23, 2011 -> 05:18 PM) AJ is going to be difficult trade if he bombs because his deal balloons a bit next year. Plus he is still a 5 and 10 guy.

You can't go by Forbes numbers. They say the Sox make at least $20 million in profit for the past 6 or 7 seasons. Listen to the White Sox. They break even every year.