Dick Allen

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 02:46 PM) My guess is that the likely scenario is that Oney heard something, wanted to be first to report it, reported it, then I got yelled at, so then he said it was speculation. Its probably exactly what happened and Dunn will most likely be a White Sox.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 02:40 PM) I wouldnt discount his information that quickly because he's a douche. There are leaks all over the org, and I like it that way. Leaks can be very good. They leak a lot of stuff on purpose. There is no doubt KW was leaking a bunch of BS earlier this offseason so the reporters would be nowhere near what he was trying to do. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt when people are talking about possible acquisitions and talking White Sox baseball 4 months before opening day.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 02:23 PM) all speculation on my part nothing is concrete - Oney Guillen Kid is something, first says 'Sox signed' then says speculation. LOL. Yes. His first tweet makes this one make no sense. Now he's covered. If the Sox don't sign Dunn he says he was just speculating. If the do, he was the one who first reported it. What a genius. Oney Guillen is a fool.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 02:13 PM) Jim Thome? Wouldn't it be funny if the Sox were trying to lure Paulie back with Thome?

QUOTE (Big Daddy Kool @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 02:17 PM) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, December 2, 2010 WHITE SOX DECLINE TO TENDER 2011 CONTRACTS TO BOBBY JENKS AND ERICK THREETS CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have declined to tender 2011 contracts to right-handed pitcher Bobby Jenks and left-hander Erick Threets. Jenks, 29, went 1-1 with a career-high 4.44 ERA (26 ER/52.2 IP), 27 saves and 61 strikeouts in 55 games with the White Sox in 2010. He missed the final 27 games of the season due to ulnar neuritis in his right forearm. Originally claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on December 17, 2004, Jenks was 14-18 with a 3.40 ERA (129 ER/341.2 IP), 334 strikeouts and 173 saves in six seasons with the Sox. He ranks second in franchise history in saves. Threets, 29, was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA (12.1 IP) in 11 relief appearances with the Sox last season before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow on August 27 vs. the Yankees. He was signed by Chicago as a free agent on December 11, 2009. Notice his career high ERA was mentioned almost immediately.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 01:26 PM) Pat Burrell back to the Giants on a 1 year deal. Only $1 million, but 0-13 with 11 ks in the WS.

I do think if this report is accurate, KW has reason to believe Paulie is hitting the road.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 01:10 PM) lets just keep the Angels out of these dealings....the Torii Hunter-stealing jerks... In retrospect, they did the Sox a favor. His defense is slipping and his offense, while good, isn't worth what he paycheck would have been.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 12:38 PM) (Probably because other teams would want Buehrle). I doubt many teams would want to pay Buehrle $15 million next year.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 12:12 PM) Rival exec says #WhiteSox can only afford two of three: Buehrle, Dunn, Konerko. #Chicago #MLB (Unless, of course, they increase payroll.) - Jon Morosi Wow, what an insightful thought from a "rival" exec. Doesn't everyone know the Sox couldn't fit Dunn and Konerko into their budget unless its increased?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 11:55 AM) Ozzie Guillen still manages the team. Yes, but eventually reality takes over. Manny Ramirez supposedly hated DHing. Now he's being marketed as a DH. Dunn wants to get paid, and it appears the NL teams apparently want a discount because of his lack of defensive prowess. Maybe initially Ozzie throws him at 1b, but if he doesn't scoop the 4 or 5 balls a week Paulie routinely gobbled up, he'll be the DH. Remember, Ozzie was a SS and played with Frank Thomas who he would ride about defense constantly. Although he seems to disregard OF defense frequently, infield defense does take some priority with him, and he is very aware how a brutal defensive first baseman makes the entire infield weaker.

If the White Sox sign Dunn, whether he likes it or not, he's going to DH a ton.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 08:47 AM) That's just it though. Other than maybe Danks, they are all a little risky, there is no where near a sure thing in the bunch. I can't see trading a starter simply based on the fact that we don't need him. Yes. And while there is reason to be somewhat optimistic about Sale, generally most pitchers with that little minor league experience will eventually suffer growing pains, and have to be bad before they are good.There's a pretty good chance he gets shallacked if they throw him to the wolves in the starting rotation.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 08:27 AM) Clearly. If we go into next season with Linebrink and Pena as anything other than the 6th and 7th guys in the bullpen, we're going to be finding a way to trade for a reliever at the deadline. That said...Jenks was still part of the problem last season. A huge part. There's a decent chance Pena gets non tendered as well, although I suppose he can always return.

Maybe this will be some motivation for Jenks. I didn't know he and Ozzie were having problems. Hopefully Bobby doesn't try to start a pissing match when he signs with another team. He does need to remember the White Sox did him a lot of favors, and when he goes to rip Ozzie not many managers give a rookie the closing job when they are trying to win a WS. Ozzie did this guy some huge solids.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 03:38 PM) Konerko officially has his first offer on the table, its from the Orioles! http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/orio...a-contract.html I would put the chances of Paulie signing with Baltimore at about zero.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 07:10 PM) Great sidebar, if anyone had actually excused the NCAA for anything. It has more to do with having your financial situation dependent on the same person who is negotiating your contract. And don't give me this crap about Boras being honest. He lies to people and teams all of the time. It is documented all over the place with mythical offers coming from one and the like. Hell he flat out lied to the White Sox about Magglio Ordonez not having had any surgery when they snuck Maggs off to Europe to get him operated on in secret. He's a crook. The idea that he would exploit kids for a few bucks makes perfect sense. My dad was a lawyer, an honest lawyer. He always taught me to tell the truth. The one exception was when you were negotiating. I agree that Boras isn't some clean, play by the books guy, and I really doubt his interest in "loaning" money to these poverty stricken foreign free agents, is just to help THEM out. He obviously expects something a little more than payback of the loan. But as far as negotiating, both sides lie all the time. You can't blame him for lying during those times.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 01:57 PM) 73-71 against the AL. And considering the Sox get to play KC, and Cleveland and even Detroit 18 times every year, 73-71 looks even worse. There is absolutely no reason the White Sox shouldn't be dominating their division like the Yankees and Boston and the Angels and Philadelphia do almost every year. There's going to be times you don't make the playoffs, but the Sox should make the playoffs at least as much as the Twins have. They have a big advantage over 3 of the teams in their division and only one started spending any money. Just being average, and 2 playoff appearances in 10 seasons with KW as GM is slightly below average considering there is a wild card, should be unacceptable. We shouldn't celebrate 88 win 2nd place finishes. We shouldn't celebrate 90 win 3rd place finishes. We shouldn't call drafts that produce guys that make it to Chicago but don't contribute to winning successful.I think KW would agree.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 30, 2010 -> 11:49 AM) Really though, it's $20 million a year starting what, 3-4 years from now? Read the Neyer link. With some assumption of continuing revenue/salary growth, that's probably the equivalent of a $15 million a year contract today, which is still high, but the player is performing. But wouldn't he most likely accept the same extension a year or 2 from now? What if he gets injured or has a big slip in production next season? His September was awesome, but he was injured and not worth $20 million a year prior to that. I think this is very risky for the Rockies and it really doesn't appear like they are getting much of a discount.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) I guess I'll have to agree with you both NSS72 and TBolt. I'm sure the Thome situation sticks in the craw the most where we could have had him for so cheap and then we spend the money later like close to $10M on Jackson and Ramirez while giving up a pretty good pitcher we had under control for a while. That's the "debacle" part and the constraints supposedly now on the payroll. I really don't think anyone will be complaining about Jackson's contract once the 2011 season begins. Manny, OTOH, was a collossal waste of money. The chances of Manny actually helping win a division last September was about as slim as the chances SS2k5 agreeing with every one of my posts.

QUOTE (Rooftop Shots @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 09:20 AM) A quote from Putz in the Sun Times "Putz said while he would do what's best for his family, heading into a winning situation is a priority." Maybe I am reading this wrong, not sure, but could that be why he declined arb? I mean, if he really thought that we had a realistic chance to contend and win, he wouldn't hesitate to sign. What's best for him and his family is location and money, but yet winning is his priotity......................and he declines us. Let's look at it realistically from his standpont. Starting rotation .....better than average Bullpen...................Thorton the only one that is "proven" Lineup.........as it stands..........cannot hold a candle with any real powerhouse contender that has some serious pitching. Pierre......fine for getting on base and steals Beckham.............................question mark Quentin .............................question mark Catcher.(V Mart gone, not much else out there)............question mark Morel/Teahan platoon...............question marks Viciedo.................question mark (nice power, but will swing at anything that's in between both on deck circles. Alexei reliable shortstop, but like viciedo, will swing at anything within 7 yards of home plate Realistically......we have only a few reliables in the line up. Rios, Pierre. and then add a shaky bullpen to that. Unless we get lucky and Quentin and Beckham get their heads out their rear ends this year, KW pulls some rabbits out of his hat and gets us a proven catcher/hitter, left handed bat with power and good on base percentage, and Morel, Viciedo, Teahan have breakout years, really.................what chance do we have to really contend? We do not even come close to having a lineup that has a 1 through 9 (WOW) type threat As far as left handed bat, sure Dunn has power, but he's also a base clogger upper because he can't run, and he strikes out 8000 times per year. If I was Putz, and PK....................I would look at all of this and do the same as they did. I want to play for a winner NOW. Our lineup and bullpen have too many holes, and question marks. There is NO CONFIDENCE or assurance that we will be a PROVEN post season contending team next year. Add the fact that our farm is weak as well doesn't help much at all. I truely belive that a major shakeup is needed, and get some proven players (NOT PAST THEIR PRIME) with no question marks has to be added if we are going to make the players, and fans alike, to REALLY believe that we have a legitimate shot! If we had Detroits 50 mil to spend.........great. But we don't! And with them getting better with money to spend, and Minny getting Nathan. Morneau back along with their lineup that they already have, as we stand with our payroll where it's at, how can anyone see us being any higher than 3rd place? Could it be why VMart took Detroit instead of us? They have an upswing for winning, and money to spend .............................we don't! (And to the equation.................no more of these "past their prime....maybe we can imitate Lazarus, and bring a dead washed up has been back to life again" additions anymore") KW...........you got your work cut out for you if you are going to make "serious believers" in the league, central division rivals, our fanbase and any players that you would like to sign with us. Agree or Disagree.................there are some pretty valid points to all of this. If we are to be SERIOUS CONTENDERS, a few things need to be done. Not live in a pipe dream world, some serious trading, and/or some serious spending on REAL Life players needs to be done. If not, then a lot of other players will see us as going no where, and will turn us away along with the likes of PK, Putz, and VMart. If he accepted arb he would have either received a 1 year contract or would have limited his options for a multi year contract to one team, the White Sox. To maximize his dollars and years, he has to remain on the open market. Obviously interest is high, and he's sitting pretty. I hope he's back, but the Sox generally don't come out in first place if there's a bidding war. If the Sox plan on building their team with guys who are free agents, they are going to have to step up in the cash department. They can say play in Chicago, usually contending, all that stuff, but in the end, the thing that matters most with most of these guys is money.If JR isn't willing to bump up the payroll very much, its going to be tough for KW to put together a roster that people will initially be excited about IMO. BTW, I don't know how Rios is not a question mark but Quentin is. Quentin had a higher OPS in 2010, and Rios' second half was putrid.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 30, 2010 -> 09:49 PM) The implication is that anyone in the big ten is vastly superior to anyone in the wac (hence why, despite actual statistical models proving otherwise, you keep saying how top big ten teams have such a tougher schedule to go through). And again, explain to me how illinois, minnesota, indiana, northwestern, purdue, etc are THAT much better than the WAC teams. GMAB. No one is claiming that the WAC is a better conference. The argument is that when a team plays 2-3 tough games against quality competition, and has a cupcake schedule the rest of the way, it's not THAT much different than a BCS type schedule. There's a huge difference. If Boise State made it through a Big Ten season unscathed, they would have every right to play for the national championship. Not with the schedule they play. Its a cupcake schedule. Virginia Tech was a good team they beat, on a neutral site. But Virginia Tech wasn't very good when they played them, in fact they lost to James Madison the next week. Oregon State was ranked 24th when they played them. A home game. Then they lose to the only other ranked team they played. Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, would roll Boise State and would all have been undefeated had they played the same schedule. A lot of teams would be. There's a big difference going into Iowa City than Las Cruces NM. NU isn't as bad as most think. When Persa was healthy, they had a good team. If Boise State plays poorly against ILL or NU or just about any Big 10 team, they would lose. Thats not the case with the WAC.

Its a no brainer for Paulie to say no.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 30, 2010 -> 11:29 AM) Rate Kenny Williams’ 10 years of trades That was interesting looking at them all. He has had more great ones than horrible trades, but the majority really didn't do too much for anyone.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 29, 2010 -> 11:49 PM) I think it's time to move on. Let Bobby go. Putz, Thornton, Sergio and Sale will close by committee. Or should close by committee. That is, unless we have to trade Jackson or Mark B to free up some money to sign Dunn and Konerko. Then I'd start Sale. There will be blown saves next season but we do have four decent bodies to replace Jenks in Putz/Thornton/Sergio/Sale. There's really no reason to bring back Bobby. I think it's a no brainer they let him go. On paper, he is replaceable. If we do bring him back, however, I'll be wanting him to be the closer. They could bring him back if he'd take a paycut, but it would be silly to offer him arb. His performance has deteriorated as has his health is recent years. I really think this is a guy who could be one of the greats if he had the desire and discipline to do so, but he chooses to be a slob and its going to cost him a ton of money.