Dick Allen

Supposedly Jeffres isn't in the deal, but a PTBNL.

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 19, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) al central just got easier to win Did you think the Royals were a threat with Greinke? The other teams in the division don't have to face him either.

QUOTE (quickman @ Dec 19, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) Did the sox officially announce this guy yet? If not why not? His website has in in a Sox cap. I'm sure whatever the hold up, its just a formality.

QUOTE (shipps @ Dec 19, 2010 -> 07:34 AM) ESPN Olney and Heyman are now also reporting this deal as done. Not a bad move for either IMO. Milwaukee gets one of the better pitchers on the market, who if it doesn't work out with winning, can always be flipped elsewhere. KC gets 3 or 4 pretty intriguing young players plus over $25 million to play with.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 19, 2010 -> 04:58 AM) LOL people compared Javy Vazquez to Zach Greinke? Sorry, perhaps I'm naive, but I don't equate Greinke with Vazquez at all. Just because a player has psychological issues doesn't mean they can't succeed in the New York spotlight. Hell, that type of stuff can be a motivating factor if you find the right coach. I mean, the Yankees have the most money in the league...if they are to acquire this guy, they are going to find the best psychiatrist they can for him, to allow him to exercise these demons, and to allow him to perform to the very best of his abilities. If anything, the fact that he has desired a trade shows to me that he wants to win before he makes it to his next contract, and he isn't going to find a better place to win than New York. Further, to the person who said that, because the Yankees haven't traded anybody who has meant a goddamn, I point to Ian Kennedy, Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain, and Phillip Hughes (and I'm sure there are others as well). The Yankees farm system is fully productive and doing just fine, and if you trust your scouts, you will trade for players they believe are good. There are more than a few people that don't have Grienke's issues that couldn't perform in NY. Its not as simple as hiring the best psychiatrist in the world and everything will be fine. If it were that simple, every team has the money to hire the best psychiatrist in the world. Maybe he's over his issues, maybe he's not, but this guy is a weird dude. He once said he would rather mow grass while listening to music with headphones on than pitch in the major leagues. KC was a great place for him mentally.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 09:06 AM) The coverage on the radio yesterday was priceless. Jurko was trashing him pretty good as it being a riding off into the sunset and becoming an ambassador for the rest of his life. He is the new Ron Santo in my book. That's exactly what I thought when Wood signed. Who knows, maybe he has a deal to take Santo's chair when he's done playing. He'd make probably at least triple what Jurko is making, get almost 6 months a year off, and would be able to do it for as long as he wanted. He obviously doesn't need the money, so he's the guy who gets the last laugh at everyone trashing him.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 02:15 PM) I wonder how he passed the Red Sox physical. I doubt it was a very strenough physical. Maybe he's dropped a few pounds since we last saw him. His ankle and back may be better, same with his elbow. Once he starts pitching again and gains access to the postgame spreads, that's when things start heading south. Maybe the change of teams will do him good. He has plenty of ability, and when he's on the mound, he's very competitive. He just hasn't prepared as well as he should have the past couple of years, and part of his prep should be to get himself in a little better shape. He doesn't have to be a marathon runner, but taking some pressure off some of his body parts could make him a lot of money. I just find it odd that someone with so much talent is employed in a profession where his is using his body and can make so much money if he just keeps himself in somewhat decent condition, and he doesn't appear to really have any desire to do that.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 01:59 PM) I still contend that Jenks was worse than his numbers last year, and that his inability to stay healthy caused Thornton and Putz to get overused. I wish Jenks the best, and I'm very happy to see the break-up be cordial. A few of us were worried it would get ugly. I think he's been worse than his numbers for a couple of years, in 2009 the majority of his saves he had a 2 or 3 run lead and had to get 3 outs before 2 or 3 runs scored. A lot of guys can rack up a lot of saves if they are usually in those situations, and totally agree his inability to stay healthy is huge. I really think its the reason why KW let him walk. The White Sox have thought most of Jenks' physical problems were the result of poor conditioning. Apparently when he went to Soxfest last year, he had lost some weight and met with KW and Ozzie about it. They were satisfied that he lost it properly but I think both became disgusted when said weight returned as did the injuries.

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Dec 17, 2010 -> 11:25 PM) He was horrible! He blew 4 saves last year. The Sox will miss him. Believe it or not Thornton, Santos or Sale are gonna blow saves, too. They might blow more. Remember the game Jenks didn't get anyone out in Minnesota and blew a 3 run lead in the 9th? He didn't get a blown save in the game, just a loss. BS is a great abbreviation for blown save in more ways than one.

What I don't understand is on the same board which just a month or so ago came to the conclusion John Danks had to go because his "trade value" will never be higher, now has the what will it take to get Greinke, a guy under team control for the same length as Danks, only more money, a guy who you really don't know how he will handle a big market, and a guy you have no idea would be up for signing a reasonable extension.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 09:21 AM) Bobby Jenks the steal of the offseason? So predictable, And apparently Jenks was as good as Rafael Soriano last year. But if he had signed with the Orioles, all you would hear about is weight problems and inflated ERAs. http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/i...f-the-offseason I guess the back issues, the leg issues the elbow issue isn't an issue for these guys. You used to be able to count on Jenks answering the bell. You can't anymore, or at least haven't been able to as much the past couple of years.

QUOTE (SEALgep @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 11:10 AM) Which is a great point, as relief pitchers sometimes offer every other year good production. If it works out like that, you'd almost rather have a guy like Crain for 3 years versus 2. Not really. He's due to be bad in year 1, which if he did the alternating good and bad, make him worth his paycheck 1 out of 3 seasons. Maybe the guy has figured something out. I sure hope so. This was the one guy I personally would have stayed away from this offseason. You pay him for 2010 which he was lights out for June, July and August. Just about unhittable. He wasn't very good the rest of the year, had shoulder surgery in 2007 and shoulder issues in 2009. At least its not an obnoxious number they are paying him.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 09:02 AM) My point was the White Sox should try and use Danks to get the prospects to add to their own to get Greinke. There is no way they should move Danks.....unless they are getting guaranteed MLB pitching back like Greinke. The Yanks are really not in a position to be thinking L/R options right now. Why trade Danks to get Greinke? They are under control the same amount of time with Danks being much cheaper, and except for 2009, better. And it wasn't like Danks was bad in 2009. I think there are more than a couple teams that would rather have Danks than Greinke.

Peavy was pretty bad the first couple of months, but seemed to really turn a corner at the time he went down. I think his ERA was below 2.00 his last 5 or 6 starts. I don't think anyone really knows how this injury will affect him. You hear the good news is he didn't tear anything, the muscle just basically fell off or detached from the bone. He's a huge question mark, but at least its not like a guy who had shoulder surgery. You have to figure there's at least a halfway decent chance he still has most of his stuff if not all. How long he will have it is another thing. Its still my favorite KW trade. I loved the Contreras trade, but he wasn't an ace at the time of the deal.

If Jenks dedicates himself, he can still be pretty effective and could still close. Maybe this whole thing works as a wake up call to him. Its not just the effort you put in when you are in the game that count. Bobby has to prepare himself better before he hits the field. I still think he's on borrowed time, but I didn't think he'd last this long. I believe KW was frustrated with his weight. I think the injuries, and believe the Sox concur, have a lot to do with his conditioning. The leg problems can probably be solved by eating salads and doing some exercising. The elbow issue I think totally scared off the Sox.

Supposedly the Yankees were prepaired to offer Wood $10 million over 2 years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 17, 2010 -> 03:06 PM) Any idea what kind of terms? I would imagine nothing more than a couple million guaranteed.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 17, 2010 -> 02:52 PM) Has anyone seen anything about Freddy so far? I am curious where his price is after last year. Supposedly the Yankees are interested.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 04:39 PM) What kind of dumbass decides he doesn't want an extra $2M when he'd be playing in the same city and for a contender? Good for him. He obviously doesn't want to play for the Sox and put his money where his mouth is. I don't think we should be too upset losing out on a very fragile ex Cub.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 08:43 AM) If JJ Putz had been 100% healthy, the answer would be no. Putz would have outpitched him last year. Given that Putz was injured and awful in August, and Crain stayed healthy the whole year, it's a lot closer. You could still make the case for Putz, or that Crain has been too inconsistent in his career, but this dude was downright filthy in the 2nd half last year while Putz faltered. In the 2nd half he gave up a 2.14 ERA and a .491 OPS. But he was awful in April and May and September wasn't anything to write home about. He was lights out for 3 months. This is a very scary signing IMO. Bill James predicts a rather large crash.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 08:41 AM) I'd believe it more if this were the Twins or Tigers. I don't see Kenny trying to go out of his way to sabotage a team he has good relations with. Yes. If anything its Wood's reps using the Sox to get a longer contract from the Cubs. Money was never mentioned in the Sox offer, just the length.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 11:05 PM) They just gave Carlos Pena $10M. Yes, but half of it is deferred.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 11:04 PM) Who says Downs was intersted in coming here? This is fantasy baseball. There are a lot of variables to signing players you want to sign and the market can change over the course of several days. For a GM, I think you have to give the benefit of the doubt if he's put together a good team on paper for the simple fact that too many unexpected and unpredictable things that can happen during the season that affect the outcome of the year. I don't think the Manny thing was "obvious" as he had the NL's 4th best OPS prior to injury before coming here. And it doesn't matter anyway because the payroll doesn't work like that. His acquisition last year doesn't take away $4 million from teh pot this season. New year, new payroll. Next year, new payroll, but $4 million JR didn't have to pay Manny is sitting in the White Sox bank account. JR was quoted last summer about saving money some seasons to spend on others. If every last dime that comes in goes out like we have been told for years, the money paid to Manny could have been used this year or next year or 5 years from now. It doesn''t just dissappear.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 16, 2010 -> 04:15 AM) More than an hour before Gammons. Joe pointed that out, but as Ranger posted a couple days ago, it really isn't about breaking stories with him. The guy is a goof. Oney threw him a bone. He covers his butt with his tweets. Just look at his tweets right before Konerko signed. Konerko is going to re-sign, what Jerry wants Jerry gets, Konerko's ship has sailed. Konerko to Texas, Konerko to the Cubs. No matter what happened he was covered. Also look back then and he tweeted the Sox couldn't afford Wood even if Konerko went elsewhare, then the Tribune were dufusses for think the Sox would offer Woold a contract, to maybe he was wrong. Now when Wood signs elsewhere he will tweet a told you so.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 15, 2010 -> 10:23 PM) Sure Peavy was a risk because of the salary, but would you prefer he never takes risks on the big names? I recall very few people upset about that deal at the time. Peavy is a top of the line pitcher, and when he's healthy, he makes them better than Clayton Richard would have. Peavy usually makes 30+ starts a season. I'll take that if he continues to do that over the course of the contract. Three is risk in signing/trading for any large contract player, but that doesn't mean a GM should never do it ever. In fact, most people would complain if he didn't ever do it. I'm pretty sure of that. It's pointless to talk about Manny because, again, nobody complained about it at the time. They gave up no players to get him and they were trying the best they could to add anything to make the final push a little easier. So, it didn't work, but no harm done. They aren't on the hook for him, and you can't blame a guy for trying strengthen the offense for a month. They lost nothing by adding him and they didn't miss the playoffs because he was here. And it's not as simple as just "picking" A, B, C, or D. For one, they often times also have to pick you. Second, you always have to have the resources to acquire them. Your original point is that being a GM is like being a salesman responsible for his sales. The truth is, the two jobs are nothing alike. At all. Sure, some GMs are more prone to make poor decisions than others are, but Kenny isn't one of them. You can't blame him for doing the best with what he had to work with this offseason. He's actually done vrey well. And really, it comes down to how much ownership has committed...and they've committed quite a bit and have made the best effort possible for them. My original point was not that a GM was like a salesman, but that this isn't Little League, effort doesn't really matter. Results do. People put up with Manny jaking it when he was MVP calibur. They don't know. Its reasonable to think the harder someone works the better their performance, but that's not necessarily true. I'm sure you know a least a couple people in your profession that mail it in and seem to get higher ratings and praise than others who work their butts off. As a lifelong White Sox fan and a guy who is sick of hearing about budget problems, I and several others pointed out what a waste of money bringing in Manny was. He had been hurt, hadn't played much, and it was pretty obvious what was going to happen.That was $4 million they could have spent on 2011. Its not a no harm no foul transaction. And you can give him an A for his offseason, but the games are played on the field. Teachers don't give grades before the students take their tests.