Dick Allen

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 3, 2011 -> 12:48 PM) this is true but there were 2 other very close pitches which were right at the belt called high. they were very hittable. Frank Thomas received the same sort of criticism when he was at his peak. There were many who thought his taking pitches an inch or so off the plate should be changed and he would be a bigger monster. The Sox elected not to mess with him. If Dunn suddenly expands his zone a little bit, there's no telling how it actually might backfire. He is what he is. The numbers are pretty consistent. He's going to walk, strikeout, get on base and homer a lot. Its a huge upgrade.

I hate bunts, especially by guys who can't bunt.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 07:51 PM) That's what I mean. I think the Fox noon games don't start until later in the season. Starting last season, the Fox games start at 3 Central Time. STL vs. SD was shown in Chicago and NY/Det elsewhere.The game was good to go today because of the early start.

A lot of guys got some action on Friday. I think he'll keep the line up relatively the same except maybe getting Vizquel some time.

Greg Walker's having a nice start this year.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 03:23 AM) The last time he played for the Cubs, Darin Erstad was wearing a White Sox uniform. Pitchers change and improve. He's not Mariano, but as a 5th reliever, he's fine. Good strikeout rate, generally limits home runs I would say his career .208/.298/.348/.646 against lefties says he's capable. It's not exactly death on them, but it's still pretty damn good, and good enough that he can get them out. The .264/.360/.400 that he's thrown against righties is a little more worrisome, so yes, he absolutely needs to stay away from right handed hitters. He's been Wil Oh Man for a while. He's basically the mirror image of Scott Linebrink, one lefty on righty. You may get something out of him if you use him as a LOOGY. Expecting much else is trouble, but it appears the Sox aren't counting on him for a whole lot. Yesterday was garbage time so maybe he got some runs out of his system.

I'm a Quentin guy and think he'll have a good year, but reality is its only one game. We were very excited about the Sox after one game last year and then the wheels fell off for a while. Hopefully, they won't fall off this year. I think they can make a mockery of this division.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 07:49 PM) Pavano looks terrible. Doesn't mean much though. It is only one game, but that contract is not going to be a bargain. Pavano is the blueprint for not giving some multiyear contracts. He seems like an obvious poster boy for bust of the year.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Mar 29, 2011 -> 10:21 PM) Two things that won't happen ... Cutting games off the schedule and more scheduled double-headers. Both are counterproductive to profits. They could schedule the day/night doubleheaders, but the problem is it would probably have to be on a weekend and TV could be a problem with game 1, and they don't want to do it on Sunday either.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 08:45 PM) If this were true he would be starting for someone in the major leagues. Garland is highly valuable considering his consistency innings wise. Currently he has a streak of nine years pitching 190+ innings. Six of those nine he reached 200 innings. There are not many of his ilk out there. When garland was making 10 million i wanted nothing to do with him, when he is making half of that, he is a damn fine addition to any rotation. I was being sarcastic. When Marquez was acquired, KW was think about signing Garland to a $5 million or so contract but backed off because he thought Marquez was the same pitcher.

QUOTE (since56 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 04:28 PM) I don't want Marquez, but I don't see why we need both Milli and Lilli on the bench. Maybe the waiver wire can give us another pitcher......Silva? Silva makes Marquez look like Roy Haladay. Hopefully KW can find someone in the next few days because I think a 12th pitcher is probably more useful than another bench guy, but at least they didn't stick with crap (Marquez) and if both Milledge and Lillibridge are on the team, they will answer which one if any really belong on the roster.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 04:18 PM) Marquez has been placed on waivers, says Jerry Crasnick. Its standard operating procedure as he is out of options. I don't think anyone will lose any sleep if some team claims him for some unknown reason, although he is the same pitcher as Jon Garland.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:44 PM) Profound effect? Highly unlikely. But where is the negative? Doesn't hurt us in any way. If they had a pitcher who could actually get out big league hitters once in a while out of the bullpen it would be a negative, but right now they apparently do not.

QUOTE (OsweGo-Go Sox @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:38 PM) That's...not how fantasy baseball works. I think you understand his point. Rebuilding takes a long time and there are no guarantees it will work right away. Teams in rebuilding mode usually have to be really bad for a while to be goood again. 3-5 years, if not more of being like the Cleveland Indians or KC Royals isn't real appealing. The Royals are loaded with prospects the Sox have few. I'm much happier being a White Sox fan than Royals fan at the present time.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 02:36 PM) this looks like something id see on the espn boards....how on earth does a team finish below .500 when they were 14 above last year and upgraded from mark kotsay to adam dunn at the dh position??? if they dont win 90 games id be shocked.....please do explain why you think this team has a chance at finishing below .500? Its actually the same argument Bears fans made when Jay Cutler was acquired. Anything can happen, but I think the Sox should be fine this year.

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.