Dick Allen

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 13, 2010 -> 01:36 PM) Really, this has to be challenged. We actually did try playing Andruw Jones nearly every day for a good part of April/May and we saw pretty quickly what happened; he got hurt and his body broke down. That was followed by a good long slump after he'd had to sit out for a while to rest and recover. Jones has played just about as much as you can possibly play him without breaking down. What we ought to have understood though is that with guys like Jones, and yes, Thome...if you push them beyond the point where they start breaking down...their performance suffers. So...the Sox got worse average production from Thome than the Twins have...but that was fully predictable from Jim's splits; each of the last 4 years he wore down in the 2nd half, and his OPS dropped by an average of about 75 points from 1st half to 2nd half. The Twins got around that...by limiting Thome to 175 PA's in the first half, and now he's killing the ball in the 2nd half. Jones has put up good numbers for his role...but he's put up good numbers for his role because we haven't pushed him too far beyond his role. Try to get more out of him and he's going to tire out and break down. Which goes hand in hand with a criticism of Ron Washington last year. He played Jones too much was the concern. Jones has really be on a tear ever since his average was below .200. I really think, while he's worth his salary, people would be extremely dissappointed if he wound up playing every day.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Sep 10, 2010 -> 10:15 PM) Why would Minny take 2 out of 3 on the road against the Sox? LOL. Minny just came off an extended homestand. Everybody has built them up like they're some amazing world beating team. Did you forget before their homestand they lost 3 out of 4 on the road to Texas? They just lost to Cleveland on the road. They're not some amazing road team. I'm not saying a sweep is probable. Tho I like the Sox to take 2 out of 3. Everything will have to be going our way to sweep them. Also we have Manny Ramirez and he changes the lineup now. It's gonna be a fun series as long as we don't stumble the rest of the way against KC. Heck we might even gain another game before we play Minnesota. Other than the fact that Minnesota took 2 out of 3 vs. the Sox their first 2 trips in this year in April and August, probably nothing. BTW, since Manny Ramirez became a White Sox, I am tied with him in RBI. The Sox need to sweep. 2 out of 3 isn't good enough.

QUOTE (elgonzo4sox @ Sep 11, 2010 -> 11:35 PM) And anyone who could have predicted in January that Thome's OPS would rebound to 1.042 this season, after it had declined from 1.014 to .973 to .865 to .864 during his 4 seasons on the south side, is a genius! Thomes ABs per HR on the south side: 11.67 in 2006, 12.34 in 2007, 14.79 in 2008, 15.00 in 2009 Thome as a Twin in 2010: 1 HR every 10.95 ABs Stat after stat can be cited to show that Thome was on a 4 year straight line decline during his time on the south side. It was reasonable for the Sox (or anyone) to expect the decline to continue, given Thome's age. So it wasn't bad to dump Thome when he was willing to play part time for $1.5 million? Konerko's production had declined in recent years. I suppose if the Sox traded him for some obsure AA players and ate part of his salary and he had the year he's having this year, you would have had no problem with that either? A HR every 15 AB is still 30 in 450 AB and 40 in 600 AB. I don't see where that's an issue.

Don't get too excited. Here's a KW quote: "That's pretty much all I'm going to say on it, because I don't know what the future holds," added Williams. "I don't know how we are going to finish. "We are driven by the revenue stream that comes in. People might not like it but it is what it is. We have to at least be able to be a break-even operation, and try to win at the same time." Better enjoy the next week or so of Manny before he decides to take another vacation, as he and Mark Teahen, may just cost you Konerko. At least KW finally clarified the break even operation. Notice he said "at least".

Just think, last year at this time a lot of posters wanted the Sox to pay money to have Paulie play elsewhere.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 12, 2010 -> 10:27 AM) Our team was in it primarily because of an outstanding run against NL teams, where the DH was not part of the equation. Notice how mediocre we were prior to and after the NL stretch. Just look at out record against the AL and AL Central. This is an excellent point. The Sox were 12 games over .500 against the NL. They are 2 games over .500 against the AL. While half of those games against the NL incorporated the DH, they were against teams that usually don't play with one. The rotating DH has not worked. Maybe it could if you actually had everyday-quality players rotating, but even some of the better hitters struggle when DHing once in a while. A week or so ago, the White Sox had the 13th ranked production out of the DH spot in the AL. I don't know if its changed, Manny has probably raised the overall average a couple of points, but no run production.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Sep 12, 2010 -> 10:17 AM) This is an argument that will live for years on soxtalk, but didn't I hear recently that the Sox were second in runs scored since the All-Star break? How much better would Thome have made this team? He could not have helped the bullpen, he could not have helped Floyd or Peavy in the first 2 months and I sincerely do not know if he would have helped Beckham, Ramirez, Quentin, etc. who sucked so badly at the start of the season. Thome, Ozzie, and KW are the popular scapegoats because its easy point a finger at one person and a say, "That's why our season was disappointing", but we had the horses to run this race, they just didn't run their best. He certainly could have helped earlier in the season. Kotsay was hitting .333 his last 20 games according to the graphic last night, but its a pretty empty .333. This month Mr. Unclutch Jim Thome has 6 walks and 5 homers in 23 plate appearances. He has 10 homers his last 60 plate appearances. I cannot see any argument that says getting rid of him, basically kicking him out the door as he would have played for whatever you would have paid him, was anything but a horrendous move. I've seen lots of attempts, but they make zero sense.

Defensively, he's a DH. Maybe see if he can play 1B, but he's probably not going to be very good there. Offensively, if the Sox let him go I think they will rue the day they made that decision.

QUOTE (Tex @ Sep 12, 2010 -> 07:50 AM) If we signed guys just to stop Minny from getting them, well that's kind of silly. As it turned out yeah having Thome probably would have made this race closer. But the decision to not sign *Thome* AT THE TIME was not that bad of a decision. It's almost like going back to a draft after 5 years and figuring out who should have been drafted. But honestly, I believe if we did sign Thome, we'd still be in this spot and people would be ripping on K-Dubya and Oz for going into the season with an aging DH who couldn't play full time. I believe, AT THE TIME, it was a horrible decision. The Sox needed a LH hitter. KW talked about the list in his back pocket. It was a no brainer move. Ozzie's argument was silly. The "we'll just get Adam Dunn or Adrian Gonzalez" BS if the rotating DH doesn't work, doesn't work either. Besides, check Thome's numbers. Obviously he can't play everyday anymore, but Gardenhire is using him exactly how Ozzie could have used him and still had his rotating DH,only just a partial, and Thome's production during those times is just as good, if not better than those other 2 players, and at a fraction of the cost in both talent and money.I never suggested signing Thome to keep Minnesota from getting him although teams to claim waiver players for that same purpose, and wind up paying them just as much, if not more than what Thome is paid in 2010. Signing Thome would have served the dual role of helping the Sox and keeping him off the Twins however, which in hindsight, would have been an excellent thing. As for your last comment about the aging DH who can't play every day, look at all the love for Manny. He gets credit for just about every run the Sox score even though he has zero RBI and scored one run. Consistency is not a Soxtalk trait.

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Sep 12, 2010 -> 04:19 AM) $ 3 MIL. for Thome, Aubrey Huff or one month of useless Manny Ramirez ? Thome would have done nothing for the Sox just listen to the guys who are also saying Manny is responsible for just about every run the Sox score even though he hasn't quite driven one in yet. What many fail to recognize is beyond the fact that not saying Thome would have helped the Sox win this year, Minnesota not having him would have hurt them. I know Thome is a very nice, classy gentleman, but I bet you it must feel extra nice being a huge part of killing a team that didn't think he could help them win playoff chances, while helping propel his team into the playoffs. It may be old and said 1,000,000 times, but not re-signing Thome was nothing but a mistake. Obviously nothing can be done about it now, but its ridiculous some posters refuse to acknowlede that fact. Since the ASB, he has 100 official AB with 13 homers and an OPS over 1.200. If Manny did that he'd be a God. He's a God to some just being on deck when somebody does something. Thome has taken Morneau's injury as an excuse and thrown it out the window, and as a small sidenote has given himself a 100% shot at a contract for next season and 600 homers if he wishes.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 11, 2010 -> 12:03 PM) Is West going to be the home plate ump in this series? Because if it is...ugh. Unless someone gets sick or hurt, no. He'll be at second tonight and first base tomorrow.

Maybe today is the day Manny actually starts earning his paycheck.

I'm still waiting for Anorexei Ramirez to bulk up. It shocked me when the say he lost 5 lbs. during last offseason.

QUOTE (PeavyTime @ Sep 10, 2010 -> 11:40 PM) Even the guy who does the video for mlb.com thinks it's a joke. The title of the video is "Phantom balk incenses Ozzie" Phantom balk incenses Ozzie When the homeplate umpire is calling a balk other than a lack of a stop or some sort of false move, it is total BS. There is no way he can see the other parts of the equation that constitute a balk. If the first base umpire isn't calling it, and its this particular crew, there is no doubt is some vendetta and really something needs to be done.

I've never been a big Ozzie guy as a manager, but I must say, I loved the way he came out and exploded on that umpire tonight. There is no doubt in the players minds who he backs right now. He knew he was going to be tossed, but enough was enough and he had to tell that guy to f*** off. Now if he will tell or encourage his pitchers to hit a few guys, I think the Sox are back in business, at least I hope so considering how much money I had to pay them on Monday.

Big clutch hit by the much maligned AJP. I'll take him in 2011. Manny must start doing something.

The Sox are 11 1/2 games worse vs. the AL Central than Minnesota. Even with the 5-10 mark against Minnesota, that's still 6 1/2 games of difference. There's really no excuse to be right about .500 vs. KC, Cleveland and Detroit this year.

Ozzie said Teahen won't be at 3B until he gets his confidence back. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he won't be there, but how exactly is he going to get his confidence back not playing there? Games and taking a little infield are 2 very different things.

Its about time Manny drives in a run, maybe even get an extra base hit. For all the credit he gets around here, he's basically been Juan Pierre with no wheels since he's been a White Sox. The Sox need him to come alive this homestand.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 10, 2010 -> 06:55 AM) I didnt see an article where a member of the Nuggets said they specifically didnt want Deng. I saw some analysts speculating on whether or not they WOULD, but nobody coming out and confirming. Here is the report: The Chicago Bulls are interested in trading for the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony, a league source told ESPNChicago.com on Thursday. And while the source said that the team is holding internal discussions as to whether the Bulls would allow Joakim Noah to be part of any deal, Chicago has not reached a consensus. Another source close to the situation told ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell that Noah would not be part of an Anthony deal. The Nuggets are hesitant to take back Luol Deng as part of a deal with the Bulls because Denver is leery of taking on long-term contracts with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on June 30, 2011. Deng is two years into a six-year, $71 million contract, the initial source said. So unless there is going to be some 3 or 4 or 5 way trade, and if anyone really wanted Deng, I'm sure he wouldn't be a Bull right now, the report is BS. Most are in the NBA.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 09:19 PM) Us trading D1 could work out like the Tigers trading Jackson last year...but the return has to be right. They are in 3rd place. Why trade a guy who is going to be 26 years old and may be the ace of the staff eventually? I really think people take 1 or 2 games and go way overboard both positive and negative. This is not a guy you trade away. Its the type of guy you want on your team.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 09:09 PM) WTF? didn't I explicitly say Deng + Noah? I'm just telling you, like 99 percent of all NBA trade talk, the report with Noah is BS. It specifically said Denver doesn't want Deng. It can't possibly work even if the Bulls were to be willing to give up Noah if Deng wasn't involved.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2010 -> 07:52 AM) The issue might not be as much the Bulls being unwilling to give up Noah, but instead it might be the Nuggets understanding that they're going to have to extend Noah this year and as such Noah not offering really anything in terms of salary relief. Deng's contract + $10 million+ to extend Noah in exchange for Anthony means they've taken on an additional $5-10 million in salary, and I believe they're in tax territory, so that's nearly $20 million out the door in that deal. The report is BS. Noah is making $3.1 million this year. They have this thing in the NBA called a salary cap. The Bulls don't have cap space for the trade.For the Bulls to get Carmelo, Deng has to go to Denver or be part of a 3 team trade.

QUOTE (Cali @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 05:38 PM) I could easily see Danks getting traded this off-season, and depending on the haul we'd get, I'd be all for it.... Trading Danks makes no sense for a team trying to win.

The Twins have been very shakey in the late innings. They almost blew it again. Fuentes has a back problem and has only pitched the day he reported to the team when he got the save. There is still hope, but a sweep next week is almost becoming necessary. Any more slip ups before that series and the Sox not taking all 3 probably woud be curtains. Hopefully they can breeze today and vs. KC. Fields, Betemit, Betancourt isn't exactly murderer's row at 3-4-5.