Dick Allen

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:45 PM) In all seriousness... somebody in the front office has to be at least thinking about hitting the Panic Button. What it does is kills ticket sales. While obviously every game you win now is one less you have to win later, it is only 5 games and no need to panic, but you would want to win a game or two here or there before this thing really snowballs.

At least Freddy and Linebrink pitched well and can build on it. I still am trying to figure out what Rios was thinking when he was doubled up earlier in the game, but its no secret the Sox are at least one bat short.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:40 PM) This wouldn't be an awful time for a HR. Home runs are evil.

The Sox are going to score this inning.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:33 PM) It's still early. And hey, they have Jon Rauch as their closer. He sucks, doesn't he? He has sweet neck tats though.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:30 PM) And yet, even with the superior drafting abilities of Boston, look how much money they had to invest in upgrading their team in the offseason. Your drafts seem a lot better when you can spend $150 million every offseason to fill any hole that appears. If the White Sox were competing in the AL East, they would have to pick it up with the payroll and player development or they would be well below .500 every year. The White Sox drafts have been horrid. They have missed on a ton of players. They won't go above slot either.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:30 PM) More opportunity to fail. The next hit Linebrink gives up will be the first hit he's given up this season.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:29 PM) Linebrink gets another inning. He has to. The bullpen has been getting a workout with it early in the season and back to back extra inning games.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:24 PM) Yes, it is entirely based on records...with the noteworthy exception of teams keeping their pick if they're unable to sign a draft pick in a previous year. If the Sox get the worst record, they get the #1 pick. The Sox are almost always around .500 or better, so they typically draft in the teens or worse. The only time in the past 10 years they've drafted in the top 10, they got Becktackular. Using that as a crutch for the Sox poor player development is weak. Boston usually drafts after the White Sox and they have done a much better job. There are more good players than the guys drafted in the top 10. There was one year the Sox had 7 picks in the top 50 or so and picked nothing but garbage.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:21 PM) Im just not a fan of using all these sacrifice bunts when no one is hitting. We are just giving up outs that we dont really have to spare. Pierre isn't going to drive the ball, it gets a guy in scoring position for your best hitters who do. I don't mind Pierre bunting. If it was Beckham, and no Ozzie I'm not going to go watch the Cubs, and he bunted, I would say Ozzie did something stupid again.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:16 PM) Where was that last night lol.... I dont know what to think about Linebrink. He was throwing pretty well last night, just was off a little with the control. No one put the ball in play against him. He hadn't pitched in several days, it may have had an effect.

QUOTE (scenario @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:10 PM) "It's up to Scott Linebrink with the bases loaded and nobody out." Ohhhh dear god. Kill me now and help me avoid the agony. OK

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 08:42 AM) Sox lose, score less than 5 runs, what's the simple equation, blame Walker. FWIW, I don't think Walker goes before Ozzie or KW for that matter. They've stuck by him with the good, and mainly the bad, and I can't see that changing anytime soon. It is what it is. The Sox have scored 15 runs in 4 games. Greg Walker has to go. The Sox should have paid up big for Rudy Jaramillo. He has the Cubs scoring 13 runs in 4 games. If guys aren't hitting, its clearly the hitting coach's fault. There is no way the White Sox shouldn't have a .300 team batting average unless Greg Walker is incompetent. He clearly is. Mark Teahen has been an All Star every year, now 4 games into the season, he's looking for a hit. Andruw Jones has been terrific the past 3 years, yet he is looking for a hit. Disregard Kotsay was DFA'd, this guy is a first ballot HOFer. No hits? What is Walker doing. Oh I know, he's spending his time teaching his "lift and pull" philosophy to Juan Pierre. Walker will probably quit if the Sox don't hit in the first 30-40 games IMO, but he'll be a scapegoat and when he's gone, everyone will see he wasn't the problem.

Teahen, Jones, Kotsay,Pierre,..........these guys are all HOF quality hitters at this point in their careers. The fact that they haven't hit well during the season's first 4 games is ample proof Greg Walker is a good and needs to be fired immediately. Yet another ridiculous thread.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 9, 2010 -> 11:38 PM) I'd say a good portion of this message board is. Ozzie's using the stupid ass argument of, "hey, I have this job, you don't, I'm better than you." Is it any wonder why his punk son Oney is such a tool? You can blame Ozzie all you want for the roster, but it is only 4 games, and remember KW is the guy in charge. If he didn't think Ozzie's wishes were good enough to win, its his responsibility to tell him to f*** off and hand him a roster he feels can win. The one curious thing I have about this offense is the Sox cut down on power, but also loaded up on fairly low on base guys. Defensively, Teahen isn't very good, Alexei seems like he's still the same, spectacular one minute, horrible with little effort the next. Quentin is already wearing out a patch in RF. He plays everyone in about the same spot. So defensively, while they may be improved, its not very significant IMO. They are going to have to score more runs. Last year I posted they only won 6 or 8 games the whole year when scoring less than 4 runs. If the homers aren't going to come as often, they need to string together more hits. They need another hitter. The beautiful thing about baseball is a week from now, all the complaining could very easily be compliments. The roster is flawed, but so is the division. They are still OK.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Apr 9, 2010 -> 12:37 PM) No offense, but I just don't think Thome really had much of a lasting effect on this team. In fact, I think he hindered the team more than he helped it. He only spent 4 seasons here, and all he really did was hit a home run in game 163 in 2008. It's not like he was a home-grown talent like Buehrle, Crede, Rowand, or even Frank Thomas. And it's not like he was a 2005 post-season MVP like Jermaine Dye. In fact, I think Jermaine Dye deserves a more thunderous applause from the fans than Thome if Dye ever returns with another team. Also, to the casual fans, I don't really think Thome had much of a lasting effect. I remember seeing nothing but Thome t-shirts at stores because people didn't really want a Thome shirt. I think Thome's influence with the Sox is a little more exagerated by die-hard fans than it really was with the casual fans as a whole. Jim Thome is the one of the most under-appreciated White Sox of all time. He hindered the team? Look at the numbers. He has the top 2 homer totals for a lefty in team history. He was a good player for the Sox. It wouldn't upset me if he didn't get a standing ovation, but it would be silly if he was booed. I never understood the Thome bashing.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 9, 2010 -> 05:46 PM) Well, it's also definitely not going to be Putz with him throwing those 92-93 MPH Billy Koch-esque fastballs...not unless he can get back up into the 94-97 MPH range again. Which may or may not ever happen. I think Putz should gain a couple MPHs as the season wears one. He said he was a little less than 90% near the end of spring training, and when its cold like last night, he might have lost a mile or 2 /per hour off his velocity. Its hard to be loose.

Its wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to think this guy is the future closer. Maybe he will be one day, but I would think the odds are against it. I'd still bet anyone if they both get at least 40 innings this year, Linebrink has the lower ERA.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 9, 2010 -> 05:21 PM) Reason? Probably just a day off. Late game last night, early game tomorrow, have him hacking against Garcia instead of Danks.

Lucy was never considered by anyone around here as anything but a potential back up. He isn't very good, but considering the back up catchers the Sox have trotted out there in recent years, he's at least close to their equal. Hall, Stewart, 100 year old Alomar Jr., Molina, Miller. None of those guys is signifcantly better than Lucy. I think Castro is, and Flowers is, but I see the rationale for leaving Flowers in Charlotte right now. Putting things into perspective, Brian Anderson in his rookie year of 2006, had a higher OPS than any White Sox back up catcher since 2005. As long as Lucy is solid defensively, he's as tall as the rest of the midgets.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 11:28 PM) Something tells me that Grady Sizmore is swinging away in the same situation. I don't think Greg is understanding the point. Bunting if it were Teahen or someone of his ilk, would be just fine. Not Beckham.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 11:25 PM) I still say it's a different ballgame in the bottom of the ninth, with nobody out and a man on first. Bunt 'em over and win the damn game. Good teams get it done. Cleveland even went to the bunt in the exact same situation. You need one run; you don't need a rally. Bottom of the ninth; bunt him over and win the damn game. Beckham is a doubles machine. Let him swing the bat. There may be no need for anyone else to hit. Why have a worse hitter trying to get the job done? You are still going to need a hit.

QUOTE (PeavyTime @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 11:21 PM) What is Pierre's #1 asset? Base stealing. What is Beckham's #1 asset? Hitting. So why the f*** is Beckham bunting Pierre to 2nd?! f*** YOU OZZIE!!!!! Exactly. If Pierre isn't going to steal you bases, he should be batting ninth. Get a guy who gets on base more than him if you're going to be bunting him over anyway. And if your 2 hitter is going to be bunting, don't waste Beckham there.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 8, 2010 -> 11:12 PM) Well, on the pregame show tonight, they had a very strange segment about how bad the attendance was last year. They went on to say the club is really hoping to get off to a good start and that the weather is good to make up for how bad the attendance was last season. Really? Forbes came out with their numbers for last year. The Sox had the 5th highest profit according to them. $26 million. Didn't they try to sign Damon? Now they are already crying about attendance? The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Since this is Ozzie's roster, KW is going to have a much shorter leash with the struggling before he does something about it