Dick Allen

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 25, 2010 -> 11:02 AM) Jordan was also put together a little bigger then Rose. Not in thoses days. He was a skinny 6'4 1/2" guy. Derrick Rose is much stronger than a 23 year old MJ

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 25, 2010 -> 10:14 AM) The one thing about the Bulls is they are going to have to start getting something from the second string. Guys are playing a ton of minutes right now. I'd be really afraid especially of Rose wearing down as the season goes on. At least with Boozer, you know help is coming for the front line. There isn't that in the backcourt. Hell Rose played just about 100 minutes the last two games of a back to back. Its possible, but without Boozer, Rose is the scoring option. So when Boozer comes back, Rose's minutes, while they might not get cut, should be a little less strenuous. He's averaging 38.9 minutes a game and he's 22. Michael Jordan averaged at least 40 minutes a game for 4 years straight starting when he was 23 and only missed one game. Rose loves to play, and is anit-Lebron in the sense you'll never hear he's playing too much out of his mouth. I think DRose has as good of an attitude as any professional athlete.

The Bullies are fun to watch. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to get used to Boozer, and while I believe Miami will be there at the end, they are far from invincible. Orlando has a nice roster, but in close games HackaHoward is a nice option. I think the grind of the season is going to take a toll on the Celtics. The Bulls have a shot. It wouldn't surprise me to see them add another scorer at the shooting guard position sometime during the season. I guess John Paxson wasn't such an idiot for drafting Joakim Noah. It wasn't too long ago many thought Spencer Hawes was a far better option. I remember watching the Chicago Tribune Live show and Kaplan would make cracks about Noah all the time, calling any of his effort fake hustle. If it was fake hustle it isn't anymore. He's a man.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 25, 2010 -> 12:15 AM) What if they did Konerko, Jenks and AJ, for Dunn and DLEE? DLee is a cheap alternative if Paulie is gone. He plays good defense. Is a solid citize, Ozzie knows and loves him from his days with the Marlins. He could have a bounce back year like Paulie in 2010. Its a downgrade offensively, at least from Paulie's 2010, but it makes too much sense if Paulie doesn't come back.

I'm not a big Gavin Floyd guy, but you don't trade him for someone or something that potentially may be good. You trade him for something that is good. The fascination with others' mediocrity is incredible.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 08:59 PM) I'd say Konerko in the fall of 05 was a big signing of an unrestricted FA. Yes, but the Sox haven't given another team's FA more than $20 million since December 1996.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 04:18 AM) Of course, Dunn may not want to sign if he can only be the DH. His agent may request a clause in the deal where if he doesn't play "X" amount of games in the field that the last one or two years of his deal are voided. I would doubt that.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Nov 24, 2010 -> 06:16 AM) I only watched Dunn play 1st base when the Nats were playing the Sox, but I can agree that he is not a good defensive 1st baseman. But, could imagine how small he could make The Cell look? I think his "bad" side (the glove) is more than compensated by his "good" side (the bat). If the Sox are parting ways with Konerko (and signs are pointing in that direction), I'd be more than happy with Dunn as his replacement. He spent a lot of time in Cincinatti. There is nothing to suggest his HR rate would actually spike. Sluggers really don't hit many that wind up in the first row at USCF. When guys like Dunn or Thome hit homers, they are homers just about everywhere.

Supposedly the Yankees have yet to make Lee an offer another league source full of s***.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 05:41 PM) Because when it comes to AJ SoxTalk posters seem to love to posting garbage like that stuff above about Gerald Laird and a 95-year-old Gregg Zaun. Or that s*** about Tyler Flowers I read about a thousand times over the spring when AJ started out so poorly. Oh, AJ's OPS sucks, Tyler is going to be sooo much better! It's soooo easy! And then you've got the rest of the board talking about what a meany he is, how no one likes him. Boo hoo. Yeah, it takes the courage of a real Sox fan like Steve for instance to stand up to these people and let them know what's really up. Well, what's the main thing here since Ozzie took over? The main focus, at least publicly? Pitching. And MB is the face of that. He's also the most nationally recognized player on the team by far. This is his team. LOL, I mean, who else's team would it be? AJ or PK's? They're FA. Danks and Floyd are in trade rumors. Peavy can't pitch. Beckham isn't doing anything notable right now. If it's not MB then who is it? I don't think he would have taken arb. I think that as a soon-to-be 34-year-old catcher he would be looking for the most guaranteed money possible. And with Buck getting 3/$18, and with VMart gone, I can definitely see another team offering him enough to pass on arb - especially a team with a bottom-15 record. Or the fake story about AJ kicking someone in the balls. The bottom line is I still think AJ comes back to the Sox. Offering him arb hurt him going to other teams and made it more likely he would accept and the Sox would be on the hook for $7-8 million. As the other options go off the board, bringing back AJ at a lower price is eventually going to make the most sense. Assuming no one else goes crazy and gives him a big payday. JR called him his favorite player. He even said they had the same sense of humor. The stories about AJ being a total douchebag are blown out of proportion. Supposedly he has really mellowed in recent years. I don't understand the AJ hate. Apparently many have forgotten the days of Jorge Fabergas and Ben Davis and Mark Johnson.

QUOTE (fathom @ Nov 23, 2010 -> 04:25 PM) I know...I think Olivo is extremely overrated, as Colorado was the perfect place for him to hit due to his inability to hit offspeed pitching. He put up a terrible 211/276/322 on the road last season. But he has a nice arm. Guys won't steal second with him behind the plate, they will just jog there when the ball gets away from him.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 04:48 PM) He shouldn't be compiling the list period. Phil Rogers is horrible. How much different would your top 10 look? I'd rather have a scout or a team of scouts compile the list, but I think they wouldn't be too different from what Phil has put on paper. But it is one reason I always take a BA list with a grain of salt. Writers make the list, not people who watch these guys every day.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 01:43 PM) Danks and Flowers took quite a fall (and deservedly so), and Morel and Escobar shot up the charts. It was only a year ago many were talking about Adrian Gonzalez to the White Sox with guys like Jordan Danks and Tyler Flowers as some of the bait.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 09:15 AM) The Sox let their best offensive player leave, and they still won a title without him. That isn't an "if". He wasn't there in 2005. He left after 2004. Even the post injury 2005 numbers he put up were the worse of any year he has had all of the way back to his second year in the league. Even his most recent years weren't as bad as his 2005 with Detroit. I know when Maggs left, but if the Sox won it all in 2004 you wouldn't have said didly about getting something for Magglio. Besides, the Sox got crap for him. No players, no draft picks and somehow still managed to win the WS. If I was in charge, and Danks said no way he's re-signing, I'm still rolling the dice with him unless its a deal you just can't say no. Why not let their best pitcher leave, and grab the draft picks? Why do the White Sox have to operate like a second division team? Then you can use the money you would have allocated to him on other parts, so ie, you get 2 draft picks plus some established players plus 2 more years of John Danks in the rotation pitching for a payday. Not a bad deal at all.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 12:36 PM) Who would the White Sox have replaced Konerko with? As of right now, the White Sox can replace Danks in the rotation with Sale, Pena, any of the players they acquire for Danks, or a free agent signing. They can't do the same thing with Konerko. If they had Ryan Howard waiting in the minors, I'm sure more people would have been advocating it. Beyond that, there have always been people who have wanted to trade Paulie, be it due to struggles or being mediocre for 1B or because he has money that can be freed up. They could have replaced Konerko with someone with a better track record as a hitter and firstbaseman than the track record of major league starter Sale and Pena bring to the table. Couldn't they replace him with the players they would have acquired for him or a free agent signing? Back then teams paid up for guys one year from free agency and Paulie was huge in 2004. If you're trying to compare Pena and Sale as pitchers to Ryan Howard as a hitter, Keyshon Johnson says, "C'mon man."

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 05:34 PM) That's my guess on what they will eventually do. They did not rebuild the structure - they added up and back. So parts of that may indeed need to be re-done. Besides, that's the cheapest part to re-do, its a single level structure and not real big. The other 3/4 of the park is another story. In fact, what they could do in the future, is rebuild all BUT the beachers and outfield, leaving the old school outfield as-is. Maybe just reinforce some things out there. They re did the entire bleacher section when they added rows.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Nov 22, 2010 -> 02:44 PM) Threatening to move to Naperville would get them no leverage with the state. If they want to gain leverage with Illinois, they'll have to threaten a move to Gary, Indiana or Dubuque, Iowa Ricketts has no leverage and will never get leverage, at least before he has to totally renovate his park. Everyone knows the Cubs won't leave in the near future. The Cubs a few years ago hired the lady that was the brains behind the Fenway rehab. They wound up canning her when she told them the upper deck needed to be torn down and rebuilt. They will do this renovation piecemeal and hope to get another 30 years out of Wrigley. By then who knows the lay of the land. A threat to leave might have legs. But not now.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 19, 2010 -> 01:01 AM) Maybe he's just lazy. I've only seen him when the Sox play his teams though so it's not much for me either. He's led the lead in PB 4 of the past 5 years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 06:22 PM) Not as a pitcher anyway. We blew it with Maggs and ended up losing him for nothing. Buehrle we ended up extending a couple of times. I can't think of anyone else close. If Maggs didn't get hurt and the Sox won a championship with him, I'm sure everyone would be happy they didn't trade him for prospects 2 years before he became a free agent and just kept him. No one is complaining they didn't trade Konerko. If the Sox didn't take him all the way to the end of his contract in 2005, the possibility of no WS championship is pretty strong.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 06:24 PM) That is the other part that scares me about letting someone walkaway and depending on the draft. We seem to scout other systems better than we scout draft picks in the 20's or higher. I'd also view it as playing to our strengths. If we had a history of draft and development that would be one thing, but we don't really. It has gotten better, but still not enough to bet a John Danks on. And guys like Jeff Marquez and Tyler Flowers are, not to mention the year or 2 you don't have Danks' services?

QUOTE (gatnom @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 05:30 PM) Or, in other words, 63% more. 1.2 walks per 9 innings. 1 extra walk a start. So you are saying if Danks cuts 1 walk a start he can be an ace. That's fine. I personally don't think thats a crazy thing to accomplish. And besides, that's Roy Halladay, probably the ace of aces. Danks will be 26 next season. His best seasons are coming.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 05:20 PM) Yeah, now compare their walk rates. 1.9-3.1, Danks walks about 1 more batter per start.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 05:15 PM) I admire your persistence. But I don't think you get it. Nobody really wants to trade Danks. But if he's determined to test the FA market, there's really no other alternative. We will NEVER be able to outbid either NY team or Boston. And you can bet those 3 teams will be lining up to sign him come offseason '12. Then take his services for the 2 years then the draft picks. If the Sox traded him for prospects they would IMO, turn out like the prospects the Marlins got for Cabrera. We know nothing about the negotiations, just whats assumed. He turned down the deal Floyd accepted so many take that to mean he wants out. I think it just means he was willing to roll the dice to make some more cash and it looks like it will work. We do have a report the Sox are making signing him a priority. I hope he signs, but if he doesn't, unless its a can't say no deal, I think the 2 years you get to work something out, assuming something about the White Sox or the city isn't really pissing him off, may be enough to get a deal done.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Nov 21, 2010 -> 05:14 PM) Danks isn't a strikeout pitcher. He pitches to contact more than the guys that come up when you think of aces. I don't think he'll jump into that elite level unless he can cut his walk rate down (which is already better than average as is). But he is still a very valuable starter. The first guy I thought of when I thought who is an ace was Roy Halladay. His career k rate is 6.7 per 9. Danks is 7.0.

Maybe Danks isn't technically "elite" yet, but I think he has a great chance to get there. Any bad thing you can say about him you can say about Buerhle, Floyd, Peavy, Jackson, Sale or anyone on the White Sox staff. I am of the opinion Danks is the Sox best starter. I hope they don't trade him. They will be looking for someone as good as him for a long time.