Dick Allen

No wonder why the Sox don't win the WS every year. The umpires are against them, as are the schedule makers.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 2, 2010 -> 11:38 AM) Can we try to keep this thread more about the trade rumor than bashing Cowley? I would love the Sox to get him, but am not holding my breath. Besides, chances are one way or another he will take Konerko's place unless you make Paulie the every day DH and see roll the dice and see how long guys like Jones and Quentin can last in the OF every day. If he's taking Konerko's place, which is a no brainer, given Paulie's numbers so far this year, it shows that onestop shopping in attempting to fix the problems on this team won't work. Face it, Pierre played his way out of the leadoff spot, so who replaces him? Ramirez? OMG. Vizquel? OMG. Kotsay? OMG.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ May 2, 2010 -> 11:08 AM) I dont think it was ever about the facts even back then. He never said that what the blogger indicated was a lie. He simply said (correctly) that the Konerko thing was a longshot (and it didnt happen). And then he made fun of the blogger. That part is open for us to judge, yes. But basically that whole episode was more just him making fun of someone who did a report online. I dont think it was Cowley saying a trade for Adrian Gonzalez could never happen. A trade for anyone can happen down the line. Everyone knows this. You do know the "blogger" he was insulting is the same guy who owns this site?

I thought Cowley dismissed Gonzalez talk as rumors from guys who run websites from their parents' basements? It must be nice to be able to talk out of both sides of your mouth and never be held accountable.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 04:08 PM) mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7739931&topic_id=7417714 This us against the world, we're gonna tell you how we feel, we do it our way ...cr.ap just looks ridiculous when you are a last place team. Ozzie's act is so tired these days it's unreal. KW and Ozzie seem to be convinced the White Sox win WS all the time. Maybe they should go back and check some numbers. Ozzie's winning pct. as the White Sox manager is only .008 higher than Jerry Manuel, and .028 lower than Gene Lamont.

I think Oney Guillen should be the GM. He's smart.

QUOTE (jeffro2525 @ Apr 30, 2010 -> 04:57 PM) So...AJ finally has a good game yesterday, and Ozzie benches him in favor of Lucy, vs. a pitcher that AJ is 8-22 against lifetime...hmmmm. Alexei leading off is rediculous. One walk all season. You might as well keep Pierre in the lead off spot if you're going to go that route. You get more extra-basehit potential but less speed.... This has everything to do with Pettite starting. If a RHP were going for the Yankees, AJP would be catching and most likely Teahen leading off. AJ obviously has decent numbers against Pettite but I don't know how hard he's hit him, and an 0 fer could lead AJ down the path of slump again.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 10:18 PM) I'm always trying to look at things from a positive perspective, but when looking at this team through the eye's of someone else, it's hard to get excited about anything outside of the rotation and maybe the backend of the bullpen, and trading will be very hard. There isn't anything even close to resembling a can't-miss prospect, and there really isn't much depth to speak of anywhere. There are a few intriguing pieces here and there, but if I were looking to trade a Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez, I'm not looking at the White Sox package as an ideal package. The Braves obviously overpaid for Mark Teixeira, but if you are trading Fielder or Gonzalez, you have to be looking for a package similar to that. Saltalamacchia was a huge prospect and still has a ton of offensive talent, Feliz has always had a huge arm, Andrus has always been very talented, Matt Harrison was a top 100 prospect and is probably a backend starter or middle reliever at the very least, and Beau Jones was a 1st round pick who is putting up decent numbers in the minor leagues (albeit, as a reliever). The closest the Sox can get to that offer is Flowers, Hudson, Danks, Viciedo, and Santos, and I'd say that Saltalamacchia, Feliz, and Andrus are far superior to the top 3 of the Sox. Flowers is a pretty good start, especially because he's a catcher, and an offensive catcher is a real nice thing to have. Santos also might intrigue. Its surprised me he's lasted this long without getting lit up but Ozzie has really handled him well IMO, but I agree, there seems to be a lot of warts on the rest of the prospects.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 10:18 PM) I'm always trying to look at things from a positive perspective, but when looking at this team through the eye's of someone else, it's hard to get excited about anything outside of the rotation and maybe the backend of the bullpen, and trading will be very hard. There isn't anything even close to resembling a can't-miss prospect, and there really isn't much depth to speak of anywhere. There are a few intriguing pieces here and there, but if I were looking to trade a Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez, I'm not looking at the White Sox package as an ideal package. The Braves obviously overpaid for Mark Teixeira, but if you are trading Fielder or Gonzalez, you have to be looking for a package similar to that. Saltalamacchia was a huge prospect and still has a ton of offensive talent, Feliz has always had a huge arm, Andrus has always been very talented, Matt Harrison was a top 100 prospect and is probably a backend starter or middle reliever at the very least, and Beau Jones was a 1st round pick who is putting up decent numbers in the minor leagues (albeit, as a reliever). The closest the Sox can get to that offer is Flowers, Hudson, Danks, Viciedo, and Santos, and I'd say that Saltalamacchia, Feliz, and Andrus are far superior to the top 3 of the Sox. Flowers is a pretty good start, especially because he's a catcher, and an offensive catcher is a real nice thing to have. Santos also might intrigue. Its surprised me he's lasted this long without getting lit up but Ozzie has really handled him well IMO, but I agree, there seems to be a lot of warts on the rest of the prospects.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 10:14 PM) If he is already suffering from a mental problem, the last thing you want to do is heap more on him. What's his mental problem? He just scuffled. He did when he was called up last year as well, then was on fire. I expect him to be on fire soon. He's working on some things. Teahen just struck out 3 times? He's the best alternative to leadoff? If he is, KW had an even worse offseason than a lot of people thought. The other problem with Teahen is he has to play 3B. He is horrible defensively.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) Seeing as we don't have any kind of a leadoff hitter on this roster, there is going to be a downside no matter who is in the spot. If it is Rios, you lose his bat in the middle of the order. It if is Teahen, you have to worry about regression to the mean. Beckham should leadoff. Emphasize you aren't looking for a protypical leadoff man, just go up to the plate and hit.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 10:04 PM) They'd hang up. Jenks is an overweight closer who doesn't look good, Viciedo is a very talented prospect who hasn't been able to deliver the results you'd like, and Torres is a middle reliever at best, organizational fodder at worst. Hudson would absolutely have to be included, and you'd also be looking at dealing guys like Flowers, Danks2, and even guys like Morel and Santos would be included in that as well. A more realistic package would be something along the lines of Hudson, Flowers, Viciedo/Danks2, plus one more high upside piece. You don't want to give that up for a player that you have absolutely no shot to resign when his contract expires when he may not even put you over the top. You hope that players on the Sox (other than a couple) can get it going offensively, and then you consider something like this. It's rather meaningless to even consider trading for an offensive piece at this time simply because there isn't a good enough feel of what this team might actually be capable of yet. I don't think people realize Torres isn't exactly a kid. He's fodder. Jenks contract and performance level is an issue. Viciedo has ability but the results aren't there yet and you have to wonder if he won't be bigger than Prince some day.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 09:57 PM) I just posted this not that long ago, but for all the flak that Swisher got while he was here and leading off, he still put up a .354 OBP in the 1-hole. It came with a .324 slugging, but you can't fault him for not getting on base. Teahen is as good of an option as anyone on the roster for the leadoff spot right now, so why not? Maybe it'll work. Anything to try and jumpstart the offense. History shows that Teahen's walk pace is going to drop off a bit, and his current batting average is about what can be expected. He shouldn't leadoff. I don't look forward to Mark Teahen batting. I really don't know anyone who does except for maybe his relatives and fantasy owners of pitchers he's facing. Mark Teahen is not a leadoff hitter for a good team.

QUOTE (TitoMB @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 09:46 PM) So what do we do about Jenks? It sounded like he was struggling today. I suppose you keep going with him for a little while and see if he can put it together. If he blows a save or two, there are plenty of alternatives.

He's always been know as the poor man's Mark Buerhle. We'll see how Freddy does with normal rest. If he's OK, there's no reason to be interested in Washburn. If he's batting practice, they have to start considering alternatives, especially with Hudson looking like Marquez this season.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 09:51 PM) That's good for a leadoff hitter. Great. He's walked 50 times one season in his career. If Mark Teahen gets the most ABs on your team, the playoffs are not something you realistically think about.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 08:04 PM) So then, you think KW should be more on the "hot seat" than Ozzie Guillen...? Since the line-up is lacking in overall talent and ability, yes? Agree/disagree? I'm starting to think Ozzie may have been given more responsibilty for roster decisions from JR. In an interview this winter JR said it was only fair to give Ozzie the type of team he wanted. Maybe he was dismayed at not being .500 and picking up a bunch of money last offseason. It was no secret he was pissed, and maybe Ozzie's pushing for this kind of team caused the relationship between him and KW to be strained, and JR decided to listen to Ozzie. Its just a theory, but technically KW is Ozzie's boss. If the roster truly is his responsiblity he should be held accountable. We just don't know who really makes the final decisions. Maybe its a group vote. Whoever had responsibilty for this current roster and thought there was enough offense with Kotsay and Vizquel and Pierre needs to have at least some of their pull taken away. This is the second year in a row that an average fan could have told you a major part of their team that they were counting on to produce was a pipedream. Wise last year was ridiculous. I'll never forget the interview KW said Lillibridge would steal 40 bases. The guy hit .220 in AAA the year before. KW needs to upgrade the offense and the sooner the better. If it takes him 60 games to determine his offense is short, he needs to hire someone to help him or hire better helpers. I think this current group will improve, but name a top 3 pitcher on a potential playoff team that you wouldn't think could shut the Sox offense down? Pierre, Teahen, Kotsay, Vizquel, they may all be nice guys and professionals, but the Sox need better hitters than these guys. Quentin is hurt, who would have seen that coming? Jones is most likely going to get hurt. Its time to bring in a big bat Kenny.

Pierre mercifully being removed from leading off is the good news. The bad is Ozzie is considering Teahen, a guy whose biggest offensive weapon is a walk and a guy who strikes out a ton and is a brutal 3rd baseman, as the leadoff hitter.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 07:00 PM) He hit into two last night. He's prone to those. His career high in GIDP is 10. I wouldn't call that "prone".

Its time to give Paulie his due. Rios is getting applauding for hitting .270, Andruw Jones is given props for his season, Paulie has 10 homers. If he only had 5, the Sox would be in huge trouble.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 06:16 PM) I completely agree. And even if he does rebound, I'd still be looking to go with Thornton or Santos next year. If Rauch succeeds in MN, it will be a big blow to closers, especially in Chicago. First of all, I think Nathan is better than Jenks to begin with. The Sox have several more options better than Rauch to close. Copying is something every team does. They aren't going to want to pay Jenks anywhere near $10 million next year, even if he saves 40 this year IMO.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 06:01 PM) Aren't you the one with the stat that he converted only 50% of 1 run save ops last year? Yeah, that's why I thought even with a decent amount of saves, last year he was horrible. He had a lot of lay up saves. Ozzie put him in with 3 run leads. He owes Ozzie some money. He lost weight in the offseason supposedly (He looks the same to me) and did OK in spring training, so I understand paying him this year, but unless he finds his form, I can't see him in a White Sox uniform beyond this year.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 05:18 PM) He had 3 strikeouts and made 4 outs. Could AJ have blocked the wild pitch? If he does then Bobby doesn't give up a run. The old Javy Vazquez argument. He gave up a bunch of runs, but look at those strikeouts.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Apr 29, 2010 -> 04:32 PM) I'm assuming that Jenks doesn't still have an ERA near 5 and a WHIP near 2 at the deadline, as he most likely won't. If his WHIP is around 1.4 or 1.5 then, there will likely be some interest. The concerning thing with Jenks is he's been making it interesting in almost all his appearances for quite some time now. Not just this month. He's turning into Rod Beck just with a different repetoire.

I wasn't in the game thread, but I would imagine everyone thought this game would be a loss, so its nice to comeback and win and salvage a game because it isn't going to be easy in NY. Jenks has to be a concern. Considering the Cubs were willing to move the $91 million man to a set up role, I wonder if they would be interested in a guy like Jenks to set up.