Dick Allen

QUOTE (3E8 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 12:53 PM) Santos fastball velocity by month per http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/index.php April: 95.5 May: 95.5 June: 96.0 July: 95.4 Aug: 95.5 Sept: 95.3 Looks pretty consistent to me. Yes it does. I just go by the games. It seemed to me he was hitting 98 a lot more the beginning of the season. Maybe he wasn't, but the second half of 2010, Sergio Santos wasn't very good. And if the argument is his arm needed strength after throwing 30 innings, considering he'd been pitching for a year and preparing to be a pitcher last offseason, I don't see how anyone could possibly assume he would be go to go for 50-70 solid innings in 2011.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 10:55 AM) He threw 28+ innings in 09, his first year of pitching, plus whatever he did in AZ. Last year he made it up to 51+. I am betting we get a solid year out of him. I know the want is to measure him against other pitchers, but he is a pretty unique case. I know he's unique, but the story, while nice, doesn't get people out. I'm just concerned about the results. His last 21 IP last year were horrendous overall. If his first 21 innings were like that, he probably would have been back in Charlotte and perhaps out of baseball right now or with another organization trying to hold on. I hope he is solid. I'm just saying its not being a pessimist or a gray cloud to question it. There are concerns. The bullpen is still something KW should consider upgrading. Considering past performances and lack of experience, Thornton is the only guy whose performance in 2011 would really shock most if it wasn't above average. Sale needs to be in the bullpen. It didn't hurt Buehrle in 2000. If Sale has the capacity to be a top starter, it won't hurt him in 2011 to work near the end of games.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 10:29 AM) He hit a wall because he is literally building a pitching arm from nothing. He did the same thing the year before, except earlier in the season. If that's true, he fell apart after about 30 IP. I don't know how you can expect him to build up enough arm strength to be totally relied upon.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 10:20 AM) You also can't undervalue how crazy it was for a guy who had virtually no pitching experience to come in and put up the numbers that he did last season. You can say teams got a scouting report on him but you can also just as easily say that he got wore down since you know, he's never pitched before. The guy has a terrific arm and the more he learns how to pitch, the better he's going to be. Santos to be honest, is one of the least of my worries this season, I think he's going to be one of the elite relievers in baseball. Its possible, but its also possible he's hit a wall. He lost a little velocity as the season went along, and if your theory were 100% true, that he's only going to get better, how come he didn't keep improving during the 2010 season as he gained experience. Obviously tools are there for him to be very good, but its also very possible he's just an average guy who has good stuff.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 08:32 AM) I like him a lot as a LOOGY. The deal doesn't bother me, as that seems to be the market. What bothers me is that he'll be left in to give up big hits to right-handers. I'll set the over/under right now at 4. Ohman's stats vs. LH hitters in 2010, are identical to Scott Linebrink's stats vs. RH hitters in 2010. Considering what they are paying Ohman and what they are giving to Atlanta to pay Linebrink, they basically swapped out a ROOGY for a LOOGY. Unfortunately Linebrink faced a slight majority of LH hitters. If Ohman faces a majority of RH hitters, the results will probably be about the same.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 8, 2011 -> 07:04 PM) All I'm saying is that I don't think we've had this spectacular offseason [think Brewers and Red Sox]. The Dunn signing was fantastic. Only a few on the board are bigger Dunn fans than me. I'm not doing backflips over the Crain and Ohman signings. I'd rather have them then two scrubs, obviously. But they're not putting us over the top. I agree with you that Beckham 'should' bounce back. I have no idea what to expect from A.J. and CQ. And Rios has to be more consistent. He was quite mediocre outside of a very good May. And we have a major question mark at 3B. As far as the pitching goes, we know Peavy's situation. Which is going to put a lot more strain on the rest of the staff and a hell of a lot of pressure on Sale, assuming he starts. Edwin Jackson is just a .500 pitcher to me that will look dominant for stretches and brutal for other stretches. Danks and Buehrle are the constants. And Gavin needs to be more consistent. And bringing back PK. But yeah, like I said to Rowand, I'm not going crazy for signing a couple bullpen guys. Crain was very good last year but just as mediocre the year before that. That's relievers in general. And I don't like the fact that we gave him three years. But that's a separate issue. I certainly didn't start texting all my Sox buddies in big bold 'HEY, WE SIGNED WILL OHMAN TODAY!' Let's put it this way, I don't want him anywhere near the major league team and our starting LF is my mortal enemy. I'm in between. I think this offseason thus far hasn't been as spectacular as some are suggesting. Like you said Dunn was a nice signing, but the others? Pretty blah to me as well. Minnesota never even offered Crain a contract. That has to say something what with their bullpen's mass exodus. Ohman, a former Cub and according to Les Grobstein, not exactly a good clubhouse guy is a loogy, a guy in his 30's who never made more than $1.6 million in a season and was just granted his first mutiyear contract, and we know Ozzie doesn't generally use veterans as loogys. And by some projections, the Sox may have 2 or 3 rookies in the bullpen. That could be scary. I am happy they brought back AJP and Paulie, although I think we will see some whining about Paulie's contract somewhere down the road, and probably justified whining, but they did what they had to do to bring him back. On the other hand, compared to other AL Central teams, their offseaon seems to be a lot better. Detroit doesn't scare me. Cleveland and KC aren't going to do much, and what the heck is going on in Minnesota? I figured they would be due for a little letdown even if they brought their entire team back, but it looks like they are going to lose a lot of productive players. The Sox are sitting pretty right now.

I think Soriano's willingness to set up for the Yankees is all about money. If they didn't say that, eliminating the team that is probably willing and able to pay the most for his services, isn't exactly a bright move. Maybe this is where the Angels finally spend some money, but other than that, what team is going to pay him the money Boras wants besides the Yankees?

QUOTE (Ranger @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 07:21 PM) I look at the overall offense and what it produced over the season, I don't focus on one spot in the order. The Sox were a Top 7 offense in June, Top 5 in July, and the best offense in baseball in August. They lost games they should have won because of the pitching and the failure to hold leads. Of course having Dunn's ability in the lineup makes them a better offense, but that doesn't mean that Kotsay's presence cost them the playoffs last year. If they have Dunn last season, I still don't believe they make the playoffs, because I don't think he alone makes up the 6 games they would've needed. But, I do want people to keep in mind that Konerko benefited greatly by getting days off from the field and the team benefit by him being in the lineup on those days. The idea of being able to rotate somebody into his spot play is a very good idea. I just hope that he stays as healthy this year as he was last year. Just keep an eye out for that in 2011. While its nice to say Konerko benefitted from the extra days off and that was the reason for his big year, its really unlikely. He DH'd 6 more times in 2010 than he did in 2009. Was the reason he hit 11 April homers in 2010 vs. 3 in 2009 because he was anticipating being a DH? The reason for his big year was more likely he was able to keep his injured thumb in check. I doubt the 6 extra games DHing did much for that.The DH experiment was a total failure. $56 million proves even the White Sox think so.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 04:09 PM) Right, but is it why they lost? Nobody was hitting except for Konerko and Rios. A team can't win games when 2 guys are hitting. A team can't win games when 3 guys are hitting, either. The 2010 White Sox did not lose the division because of Mark Kotsay. Their overall DH production was horrid, and was something that even casual baseball fans could see coming from miles away. It was one big reason they didn't win, If you don't think a real DH would have mattered, fine, but then you probably can't think much of the Dunn signing. Apparently KW and JR thought the DH spot was a big problem.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 06:02 PM) Except Hudson did a tad more than just 'hack' it. 7-1, 1.69 ERA, 0.841 WHIP in 11 starts. Oh, yeah, Jackson sported an ERA of 5.16 in the same league. And for those tired of the debate, put my ass on ignore. My rage has returned now that we know the full truth behind the deal. Yet in the AL where they both would be pitching for the White Sox, Jackson sported the much better stats. I give it until June 1 when people realize Hudson although a decent pitcher, isn't exactly Cy Young.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 01:23 PM) umm... yea. long story. Clearance from the tower is never an easy thing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 2, 2011 -> 12:32 PM) I think Jhonny Damon is a decent comparable, for how things went last year. He held out and wasn't getting good offers in December, but around the end of January, the teams who wanted to compete but were missing a DH started getting in on him, rather than getting stuck going into the season with something worthless as their everyday DH. Totally different situations, and Damon was looking for a lot more than $5 million. He wound up getting lucky to find himself in a bidding war between Detroit and the Sox and it bumped his paycheck. It doesn't appear anyone is on the must have Freddy list. I'd be shocked if he gets more than $2 million guaranteed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 2, 2011 -> 12:22 PM) Because the market for middle to back of the rotation starters doesn't dry up early in FA, it probably gets stronger later in FA once the high-priced options are off the market and teams start realizing that they don't have enough pitching. The longer Freddy remains unsigned, the less likely he is to get $5 million.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ Jan 2, 2011 -> 11:43 AM) I did some more digging and pretty much came to this conclusion on my own. BTW, Reinsdorf owns 63% of the Bulls per wiki. His Bulls investment makes sense. They bought the team from a group that included George Steinbrenner. That group just wanted to get rid of it, and JR and his group bought it without having to pay the others a dime. They assumed some debt or something. Lee Stern who is part of the White Sox and Bulls ownership groups was selling a book several months ago and told the story about JR buying the Bulls. He thought JR was crazy, and JR supposedly told Stern he could have as big of percentage of the team he wanted. Stern threw in $500k, and was laughing how much that wound up costing him.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 2, 2011 -> 08:03 AM) I dont know if the analogy hold up, but dont the yankees fund a bunch of their payroll from the YES network? If the Yankees are using profits off of a cable network owned by the team owner, wouldnt it stand to reason that the White Sox could use profits off of another team the owner has? Correct me if Im wrong, I have no idea. Yes. There is nothing to stop JR or another partner from throwing their own money into White Sox operations. If JR won the Mega Millions and decided to raise the Sox payroll $50 million using those funds, that would be fine. Supposedly the entire contract Cliff Lee would have received had he signed with Texas was going to be paid by a billionare minority owner. Legend also has it that when the Phillies discussed giving Jim Thome all that money, they initially decided against it, until one of their partners said he would fund it. I don't know it that is true or not, but Kruk said it was.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 09:41 PM) Trading Edwin Jackson is even farther away from "all-in." Maybe not, but if you include Soriano and Garcia or another competent 5th starter as part of the trade, it probably improves the team. I think Jackson could bring back a lot, although I won't be dissappointed if he's still in the White Sox rotation opening day. Chances are this is all BS, although there were reports earlier this offseason linking the Sox to Soriano. It would be a shocker. Not only a high priced free agent, but a high priced Boras free agent.

The Bulls have been printing money for years. I read a Barry Rozner column many years ago where he was talking to a Bulls investor. This was after Jordan retired. The team wasn't winning 20 games a year, and the investor was embarrassed how much money they were making. The businesses are separate, although many of the investors are the same, and many are getting up there in years. Its possible one or some of those investors has decided to cover additional payroll for the White Sox by using some of the money they make owning the Bulls, its also possible Forbes estimates of White Sox profits over the years have been accurate. Its obviously something but the world will never know. All we know for sure is the last year and a half, everytime KW cries broke, the Sox add payroll.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 09:11 PM) I doubt that Garcia would be cheap. If anything, they'd move Sale to the rotation if they deal a SP. That wouldn't work. Garcia probably wouldn't work, but losing 200 innings for the gigantic question that would be Chris Sale in the starting rotation isn't prudent, and certainly isn't "all in".

I suppose stranger things have happened, but I would think the Sox would have to dump a starter for this to happen. Trade someone like Jackson for prospects or lower paid guys, bring back Garcia cheap, and sign Soriano. It may work, but its Boras I believe which makes this report probably BS.

He still has an option. There are many circumstances where the Sox don't make the playoffs in which Ozzie would return. But unless he's hit with some major injuries or another team plays out of its mind, and he makes it through the year without fighting with KW and Oney not popping off anymore, you would think Ozzie and Oney are on a very short leash in 2011. When it does end, it probably isn't going to be pretty. Jenks comments are nothing compared to what Oney and Ozzie are going to say.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 10:24 PM) It has nothing to do with justifying it, or not. There seems to be this feeling that this is some massive event, yet it is pretty easy to argue this isn't close to the worst that has happened around Ozzie. There is also the thought that Ozzie has to fix this. My point is very simple... it goes back to the old adage about giving a monkey a gun. The simple point of view is to blame Ozzie. So you are of the opinion that Ozzie, who has provided Oney with all these opportunities to be in the clubhouse and hang out with players, should not have to put his foot down and tell his son enough is enough because Oney is a 24 or 25 year old punk and should make his own decisions? Even if Oney's decisions can ultimately hurt Ozzie and the White Sox? I think there is where you blame Ozzie. When you are a juvenile and do something wrong, your parents do take some responsibility. Oney is an adult by calendar only. You listened to the interview, there are plenty of 15 year olds far more mature that him. Its time Ozzie realizes that and puts Oney in his place. He needs to be a dad, even if it means Oney will be mad at him for a while, instead of just being best friends. I suppose maybe behind the scenes he is doing something, we probably will never know but publicly scolding Oney would go a long way IMO, and if Oney continues like he's been continuing, it points to really Ozzie doing nothing about it. If he doesn't do anything, its not like Oney is going to stop with the Twitter. And you know chances are a rough patch or two happen every season. Face it, even in 2005 things got a little hairy for a while. When is the next twittergate? Its coming unless the only person who can stop it steps up to do so. Ozzie isn't going to get fired because of this, but failure to pick up and option or another extension could easily be in play if the White Sox decide they have had enough of all the baggage Ozzie brings, at least one piece of luggage, Oney. Of course if that day happens, Oney's tweets will once again be front page news. Again.

The irony here is when Ozzie Guillen left the White Sox as a player, what he said made what Jenks said almost a complement. If twitter was around then there also was some stuff the organization could have spilled about Ozzie that wasn't very flattering. I'm not a Berstein fan by any stretch, but his talking logic with Oney was spot on IMO, (although I am being a bit hypocritical as I laughed at the tweets as they were happening).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 07:16 PM) I'm sure there is more there that we don't know about. Hell there is plenty there that Oney probably doesn't even know about. Of course there is, but you are trying to protect Ozzie using Oney's claims, after he's been grilled about how bad this makes his dad look, that he didn't get the information from his dad, but from personal experience. He did say he was not present during the crying in the manager's office. So we don't know who told him about it, but Ozzie would be the prime suspect. Oney also says he doesn't discuss anything about the White Sox with his dad. Where would you put the odds of that actually being true? Again, I don't think Ozzie should be fired over this, and none of us really know if this incident will have no impact or a huge impact on the White Sox clubhouse. I just think its time Ozzie shuts his son up. And we all know he can if he wants.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 07:09 PM) Stop and think about that for a minute. Do you really think the Sox would have come out and said that they are sending Jenks to rehab publicly, without there being a public incident to necessitate that information being public? We have no idea how the Sox dealt with Jenks's problems. According to Oney's tweets, they swept his problems under the rug. Also according to Oney there WAS a public incident with the clubbie. The team managed to keep it quiet. The Sox could have easily sent Jenks to rehab during the offseason and kept it quiet, but we know that never happened because if it did, Oney would have tweeted it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 06:57 PM) Action on what exactly? Getting an employee help with a problem.