Dick Allen

I think the need for a LH hitter is overblown. Quentin hits like a LH hitter. He mashes righties and struggles with lefties. Just get a good hitter no matter what side of the plate he stands on.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Nov 6, 2010 -> 10:41 AM) *Prays for some magical Manny signing before 23* Donny Lucy had just as many homers and RBI and more extra base hits than Manny had for the White Sox in 2010. Lucy had 15 AB and may be selling insurance in 2011.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Nov 6, 2010 -> 10:36 AM) Only thing Morel showed me with the bat is that he has like a 2 week adjustment period and is then fine. Considering he has very few major league ABs and was hitting under .200 before total garbage time against Boston and Cleveland, the jury is still out on his bat. Vizquel is the insurance policy. I think they probably have called uncle on Teahen as an every day 3B.

I'd like KW to bring back BMac.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 06:48 PM) Really? I had no idea that sort of thing existed. I thought a FA could do anything. So say Cliff Lee wanted to sign reasonable 1 year deals until he retired, he couldn't do that if the Yankees offered him multiple years and tons of cash? What are the actual guidelines used by the PA? He can do whatever he wants, but he's going to be pressured, and if he does what he wants and leaves the money on the table, he's going to be known as a guy that cost a lot of players a lot of money. You can get away with giving a team a "hometown discount", but only for so much. The less Danks makes, the less guys of his ilk make in the future. In fact, one article I read several years ago basically said if it wasn't for the union's pressure, Jim Thome would have stayed in Cleveland for a lot less money. Salaries are basically determined by salaries of similar players in similar circumstances. If Cliff Lee decides to sign a one year deal at a time, that will trickle down to a lot of players.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 06:43 PM) So is there a chance AJ could be like "Listen guys, I want to sign by the 23rd, so you will at least get a draft pick out of me". Not saying it would ever happen on purpose, but is there some rules against that? I would guess if the Sox aren't even trying to negotiate a contract for AJ while they have exclusivity, teams understand there is probably little chance the Sox offer AJ arbitration, so they would wait until after that date to sign him. AJ becomes more valuable if his price isn't a first round pick plus his contract than just the cost of his contract. He's not going to try to help the Sox out and hurt his position. Of course, the Sox may get the lay of the land on the alternatives and not like what they are seeing, which may get them to start negotiating and even offering him arb hoping he accepts. Personally, I wish the Sox would at least try to bring him back for a bargain rate while they have no one else giving him an offer, but I think his 5 and 10 rights really bother the Sox front office.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 06:04 PM) Agree. Now what if he doesn't look at his free agency through dollar-eyes. Maybe he grew up always wanting to play for a team, or at the very least a contender. He's only 2 years away from being able to sign with ANY team he wants, money aside. Not many guys get that pure opportunity, but he will. And like you're saying, if he hasn't been a dope with his money, then he'll already have made enough these 2 years to cover any injury risk through his remaining arb year. I've been on several White Sox roadtrips over the past few years and have seen Danks around. He always seems really happy. I think he's happy with the Sox. He grew up in Texas so maybe he was a fan of one of the Texas teams, but the Rangers did trade him and Houston blows. The only issue with what you are saying is when you are a free agent and one of the top guys, the players' association isn't going to let you leave a lot of money on the table. So if the Yankees offer $18 million a year for 5 years, and you really want to sign with the Astros but they have 4 years $14 million per, you're really not going to have a choice. Its one reason why I always found the ARod criticism ridiculous. He was offered about $100 million more to go to Texas. The PA wouldn't let him say no even if he wanted. And no one in their right mind is going to take $100 million less.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 01:02 AM) I don't think we particularly overpaid him, though it could be an issue paying somewhat of a premium for a role player when we have so little to spend. The Sox as an organization seem to be very fair if not unfair to themselves when they deal with contracts or trades. I always get the feeling that they try to give what they believe to be fair market value instead of actually trying to "win" the deal/contract. For a guy his age, maybe you overpaid $250k-500k but you can consider that a bonus for 2010 when they got a real bargain. It surprised me. I thought they were just pissing money away on him.

For all the giddiness about Morel, he's great with the glove, but offensively, besides a couple of homers, he showed he's a ways away. I doubt Omar matches his 2010 offensive output next season, but once he was playing, the Sox got a lot better defensively on the infield and started winning games. Unless KW goes and gets an obvious everyday 3B, no matter what they say now, Omar is going to wind up with the majority of the starts there as long as he's healthy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 05:43 PM) The team that was signing him last year had no interest in having him play the field. He would have played there a little. There were many on this board thinking KW should sign him, and NOT as a full time DH, but part of the rotating DH, and KW almost did sign him. The guy is going to get hurt whether he's playing the field or DHing or just taking his dog for a walk. Hendry is stupid for signing him, but if its for minimal money is it any dumber than any other GM who traded for him or signed him or offered him even more cash? Its weird, when the Cubs don't win its the GM's fault. When the Sox don't win, its on the hitting coach.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 04:39 PM) Insurance is the simple answer, that's correct. But Danks will already have around 20 mil after the next 2 seasons. If he went to free agency, why wouldn't he be offered $14 per year from any team he likes? He'll be able to write his ticket anywhere. I doubt he's really thinking he'll get injured. Sure it's a gamble on his part but not THAT big of one. Its always a bigger gamble for a pitcher. He also might be costing himself a lot of cash, and security by signing an extension. What if the Sox bought out the first year of free agency or even the second and he gets hurt one of those years? Not only is he pitching for a lower wage, he probably costs himself 2 or 3 years of guaranteed money. Its something he will have to decide. The other thing is if he's planning on getting $15 million a year for 5 or 6 years, there aren't a whole lot of teams that will go there. He'd have to weigh whether he'd truly be happy with those teams because if he does sign an extension this offseason, its not like he's really going to need anymore money unless he's just a dope.

You heard it here first, no inside info just a hunch, if Konerko goes elsewhere, KW signs Dye as a firstbaseman.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 01:10 PM) Looks like Jim Hendry is after Nick Johnson to play 1B for the Cubs. Thats about the caliber of GM I would expect to sign this guy to start. If he's healthy what's the difference signing him this year or last except this year will be much cheaper?

Until teams start hiring White Sox guys instead of interviewing him, I think the using an interview is proof a guy isn't a goof is pointless. Look at some of the losers the Cubs interviewed for their managerial position.

But Danks doesn't want to be a White Sox by evidence of his turning down the exact same deal Floyd accepted. He's the Sox biggest trade chip.

If AJ leaves and plays for a team that goes to the postseason, the posters sort of saying get rid of him right now will pull a Uribe and suddenly love him. There is a lot AJ adds to a team. The White Sox bench does not call pitches, so while its ultimately up to the pitcher, the staff has trusted him through the years and that's a big plus. Problems with catchers, no matter what their stature is trouble, see Burnett and Posada. He also is a workhorse.Not having to play your back up catcher 60 games a year is something we haven't seen for a long while. There is a reason they are back up catchers and usually its because they hit like pitchers. I hope they retain him. I just don't see anyone better than him the Sox have a reasonable chance of acquiring.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 07:58 PM) More like Heat cruising to their 4th straight double digit victory. Except for the first half against Boston that team has looked awesome so far which really isn't surprising. There's a photo of the game on the main page at espn.com. A lot of empty seats in Miami. That's pretty sad.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Oct 30, 2010 -> 08:33 PM) I don't see how it's his fault the student died.... he chose to practice in the wind, I'm sure a lot of coaches would have done the same thing... whoever constructed the tower that fell over or whoever conducts the safety inspections are the one to blame. The University has made the decision to let people on those things now a university decision not a coaching staff decision. As far as I know the video guy is a part of practice. The kid was very scared up there and it cost him his life. I'm sure you are correct, there are many coaches if not all that would have held practice and had the kid up filming. That doesn't mean its not a huge mistake. I do feel sorry for Kelly in a way even though I think he's a snake. He just happened to be the coach this happened to. It probably could have been 100 other coaches.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Oct 31, 2010 -> 10:48 AM) I'd argue Vlad wasn't really picked up off the scrap heap, he got $6.5M guaranteed with another $900K in incentives, and $9M mutual option for 2011. Scraps don't get that much money. And the Giants got away with that lineup playing in the NL. You need more pop to compete in the AL. Pitching wins, but you need an offense too. For the last three years, the AL leader in fewest runs allowed per game has not made the playoffs I probably exaggerated a bit when I used scrap heap. The term I have been using is 2nd tier free agents. The White Sox offense, even without a DH, was ranked in the top half of most categories in 2010. (Praise to Walker) Beckham is going to be better. Ramirez will be about the same most likely, as will Pierre. Rios probably drops off a little. I think Quentin can hit. Whoever plays first even if Paulie comes back will probably be a drop off from the 2010 Konerko. Get a DH who can produce some runs, and a 3rd baseman, because I don't think Morel is ready to hit. Add a decent catcher, if not AJ, who I think its a mistake not to re-sign, then a guy like Buck, and your offense should be pretty decent. Decent enough to win it all if Peavy comes back 100% and everyone pitches up to their capabliities. The problem is every year some will surprise and some will dissappoint. You have to keep your better players from the later.I . There is enough offense if you sign the correct 2nd tier free agents. There is no need to spend $100 million on Carl Crawford, who, while a real nice player, will never live up to the contract he signs. There is no need to make you starting rotation a gigantic question mark by trading John Danks. I actually think the Sox are sitting pretty for 2011 with just a couple of nice moves. As bad as things seemed this year, and knowing Sept. probably doesn't play out exactly as it did if the race was closer, as bad as the Sox were against Cleveland and KC, and Detroit, if they were .500 against Minnesota, they still would have won the division. Cleveland and KC aren't good and won't be good. Detroit has a lot of holes and seems to be willing to spend money, but they still have to convince players to come to Detroit. Minnesota is due for a let down. This isn't the AL East where the immediate future would seem hopeless.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 31, 2010 -> 10:22 AM) Well for starters... AJ 1365 games played, 5207 PA, 11088 Innings caught Castro 544 games played, 1528 PA, 3326 Innings caught And what is it about Castro's career that would make you believe at age 35 he would be up for more than 40 games started? It doesn't happen for the guy. AJ has been durable and remained durable. This guy, while I think he's just fine as a back up, would be a train wreck as a starter. If he was given more opportunities, he'd be on the DL more than Nick Johnson. For the record, despite the workload, AJP has never been on the DL. I thought defensively, 2010 was one of AJs finest years with the Sox. If he hit the entire season like he did in the second half, most people would hope the Sox payed up to bring him back.

One thing some may not realize about Ramon Castro is that he's about a year older than AJP. So if you think AJ is old for a catcher, I don't know how you would expect Castro to hold up for more than about 40 games started considering his age and physical condition. I also believe one big issue the White Sox have with re-signing Konerko or AJ regardless of what they say or will say publicly is if they are re-signed they automatically have no trade clauses. I think if things went sour, KW would like the flexibility to move salary if he wished, and move it where he could get the best deal.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 31, 2010 -> 08:02 AM) You have a banana. Norberto has pudding. You generally prefer pudding to bananas. Norberto prefers bananas to pudding. You trade your banana for Norberto's pudding. You believe you have improved yourself through this trade, and Norberto believes the same. You do not know if you have improved yourself - hence, the reasoning behind a trade. You see that the pudding is tapioca, and nobody likes tapioca pudding, not even people who claim to like it. Why would a team make a trade that they believed they lost the second they made it? When you go shopping, would you buy spoiled bread that is expensive or non-spoiled bread that is cheap? Obviously, the non-spoiled bread, because you believe it will improve yourself. Turns out that mold on the bread was penicillin, you have a major respiratory infection, and the cheap bread you bought actually contains a meningitis bacteria, and you lose the ability to lose your legs due to the ingestion of that bread. Initially, you believed you had made a good trade of money for product, but instead you made a poor one and did not know it. How is this hard to understand? --- Are you just trying to justify a point that you know was wrong and now you don't want to admit a mistake? No matter your feelings about Ozzie Guillen, if the Marlins tried to trade for him, then he has value. If Ozzie Guillen were viewed as a mediocre or bad manager around the game, such as Ned Yost, the Marlins would not ask to talk to him. Is that hard to understand? --- I am not arguing whether he is a good manager or not - I believe he is a terrible in-game manager who gets outmanaged about 75% of the time and that his non-game skills have eroded due to family issues - but instead about his value. If the Marlins asked to talk to him about their manager position, then, according to the precedent set, he is a well respected manager. They would not ask to talk to him if they believed he was a bad manager. Is that really that hard to understand? I think the truth is somewhere in the middle of both arguments. If Ozzie Guillen has this incredible value than wouldn't Florida not only have talked to him but given up Stanton to get him? The record shows they had permission to speak with him, but never did. The Marlins didn't try to trade for him. I'm not naive enough to believe he has no value. There are plenty of teams that would hire him, perhaps not for baseball reasons, but maybe so. The bottom line is if the Sox fired Ozzie today, he'd have another job tomorrow if he wanted it. That job just may not be one he wants. Ozzie's "value" to many teams isn't additional wins because he makes out the line up card. I don't think Loria sees his team winning 82 games with a run of the mill re tread manager and 98 with Ozzie. Ozzie's value is at the box office.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Oct 31, 2010 -> 09:31 AM) Good point, but it's not like Quentin is going to play 162 games anyway. Berkman would find plenty of at bats at DH and (back up) 1B. Exactly. This year when the anti-Thome people refused to ever admit there was even the slightest possiblility the Sox made a mistake by not bringing him back, one thing they pointed to was Konerko's big season and how the extra time at DH was the huge reason. He DH'd 5 more times in 2010 than 2009.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 30, 2010 -> 03:10 PM) Because the Giants offense is bad. But they are in the WS, and Texas picked up Vlad off the scrap heap, and they are in the WS. Pitching wins.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Oct 30, 2010 -> 05:35 PM) Kelly can't possibly make it out of this season right? Between what happened during the week and now the bad season, I can't argue against it. I'm mostly basing this on the tragedy that was mismanaged because I wouldn't normally support a year one firing. Am I just bitter because Mizzou is playing like crap or is this a valid possibility? There is no way they fire him. They are still paying or have just paid Charlie a ton of money, they aren't going to be paying 3 guys. Plus, they at least give him 2-3 recruiting classes unless they have some out in his contract and thought he was responsible for the student dying. I am a ND hater so there probably is at least a little prejudice, but Kelly seems like a snake to me.