Dick Allen

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 05:58 PM) If you really want to fix the problem, move two more teams to New York and another to Boston. Divide up the market. That makes way too much sense for it ever to happen.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 05:50 PM) I mean in terms of getting the most out of his baseball ability...it was never, ever going to translate at the major league level. He never had the power for 1B or a corner spot, or the athleticism for CF. It's a little bit like the Sweeney situation, but he was a "raw" high school athlete from Iowa with that beautiful, "projectable" swing from the LH side, natural/fluid fielding mechanics, the idea he would naturally evolve into a 18-24 homer guy with less average than Olerud (another great college player). I'll name another for you. Jeffrey Abbott...he put up amazing numbers at UK and also in the low minors, only to disappear very quickly from the face of the Earth...the unforgettable Ramirez of FLA, the "anti-Abbott" was acquired by KW, who always goes after that and guys like D'Angelo Jimenez. But those guys taught (or should have) that character counts as much as ability. Everyone in the clubhouse hated Jimenez and Thomas almost killed him before he had to be restrained by teammates. Reed was at one time one of the better defensive CFs in baseball. He was a good prospect. Not a 30 homer guy but you could have projected maybe 12-17 and if he's hitting .330 he'd have been a big run producer. KW dumped him at the perfect time. Are guys like Jordan Danks and Viciedo head and shoulders better than Reed? Reed was considered one of the better prospects in baseball. There were a lot of pissed posters when the Sox dumped him. Abbott was a .327 career minor league hitter. I think he beat out Magglio for a hitting crown in AAA by .001 or something. He did have a huge homer for the 2000 White Sox that many thought really got them rolling.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 05:42 PM) Jeremy Reed is a perfect example. Reaches potential/limits in college with an aluminum bat. So much of drafting is "projectability." His upside was limited very much from the beginning, yet he was the College Player of the Year, correct? Beckham also was...but there's a big difference between the two, it's not just power and playing a middle infield position. If he peaked in college considering his .409 AVG. with a 1065 OPS in Birmingham, a place a lot of pretty good players didn't put up impressive numbers, as a 22 year old, he must of been the greatest college hitter of all time.

The Sox will win at least 2 of the 3 games in this series.

Toronto has drawn in the past. Will they ever again is a good question, but throw a team out there every year that you know cannot win, and they will not draw. If the White Sox had no chance to contend, how many people do you think would be at the game tonight? Should the NHL moved out of Chicago when the Hawks didn't draw and couldn't fill the place up halfway when they gave out free tickets?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 05:32 PM) Then the rest of the league would be complaining about how they couldn't compete with the Rays. I think most of the Rays better players will be playing for different teams in a couple of years unless they get a new park, and publicly financed ballparks are or at least should be out of the question at this time.

QUOTE (scenario @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 05:17 PM) It's going to be very tough for most teams without big budgets to compete with the Yankees and RedSox. Have the economics of baseball created a chronic problem in the AL East? I have a novel solution... move the Mets and Phillies into the AL East... and the Orioles and Blue Jays to the NL East. Let the budget Titans duke it out in one division. I'm half kidding... but something may eventually may have to be done in the AL East if the other teams have no chance of competing year after year. Actually one of the realignment ideas has to do with revenue. You would be in the same division as economic peers.

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 04:55 PM) They had only 10k fans for an indoor game last night when there's no Maple Leafs game or any other sporting event going on. This is a team that started 6-2 and is still above .500 now. I really don't think it should shock anyone that the 3 teams not from NY or Boston in the AL East have trouble drawing.Its pretty hard to convince a fanbase you have much of a chance. TB obviously has had a little more success lately but they were down for so long, its going to take a lot more to build up the base.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 05:48 PM) That list is depressing. You can't really complain about not having high enough draft picks when you completely blow the ones you do get. The biggest misconception that has been used about past White Sox drafts has been they picked low so they had nothing to work with. Just some of the picks in the 2005 draft after Broadway, the "safe" pick: Jacoby Ellsbury Matt Garza Colby Rasmus Luke Hochever Clay Bucholtz Nolan Reimold Kevin Slowey Yunel Escobar What we don't know is if the problem was recognizing talent, developing talent or both. Perhaps if Broadway was drafted by someone else he may have been useful. I doubt it. Maybe if the above had been drafted by the Sox, they may have been busts.

The White Sox could be in first place in a week, probably not, but its not like they are finished. One thing is clear though, KW is not as calm about the situation as his email wants you to believe. Whether he can or will or needs to do anything about the roster remains to be seen (I think offense needs to be added) but right now although he may not be officially panicking, I'm sure he's more unpleasant to be around than normal.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) Beckham would not be best SS in team history. Maybe best hitter who played SS. He's certainly never going to be Aparicio or Carrasquel or Guillen or Uribe with the glove, but with his bat he would certainly be a force.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 09:01 PM) "If Gordon Beckham is back at shortstop we're in big trouble. Missile is a much better SS." - Oz on his infield. If it worked out like Beckham playing in 2009 meaning big trouble Beckham would probably be the best SS in team history. Hawk said Beckham would be great wherever they played him and I agree. He has the knack. Maybe his range would be a little compromised, but he would more than make up for it with baseball IQ. Personally, I'd rather have a guy like Beckham who has a clue on the baseball field over a more gifted but clueless defender in Ramirez. Sure Alexei can and does make plays no one else on the roster even comes close to, but that doesn't happen all that much. What does happen is he botches plays or has brain cramps far too often on the field. I like the idea of the SS being the leader of the infield. Beckham has that personality, Ramirez does not.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 06:12 PM) That $10 million to Viciedo looks more and more interesting in light of those numbers comparing the Twins' and White Sox signing bonus allocations. Curious, indeed. Perhaps they overreached with all the success they had with Ramirez when they should have been targeting Chapman instead. If you subtracted Teahen, PK, Jenks, Konerko, Pierre and Linebrink (some combination thereof), you could easily afford Chapman. It's worth the risk for an electric arm like that in Cooper's hands. A Ramirez deal makes the most sense if we want to get some actual talent back in return, because that contract status is going to be very very enticing to another organization...plus they'd (acquiring team) would control his rights for an additional 3 years, correct? (I think we both agree, but since we watch Ramirez or track him every day...you'd think the flaws in his game would be well-known, but a NL team might bite, definitely.) But we're not close to having a SS ready to contribute...Escobar is 2-3 years away. Might have to be a SS for SS type of deal...or targeting a player similar to Hardy/Renteria. But I'd really take Uribe back, live with the offensive shortcomings, and try to fix the other problems that are easier to address like DH. I'd just put Beckham at SS.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 05:54 PM) Well, you do have to feel good for some markets that really looked dead 10 years ago, like Milwaukee, Minnesota and even Detroit, although what happened there financially is now close to a catastrophe. Atlanta has really bounced back after being down/flat for years. Oakland, despite their hot start, seems to be doomed to fail in that mausoleum of a stadium. Cincy is doing "okay" with their new stadium for now and were able to sign Chapman surprisingly. But Cleveland, Pittsburgh, KC, Toronto, Baltimore, San Diego, Florida, Arizona, Washington (yes, I know they have a new stadium, but they drew more Phillies fans...hope Strasburg downs out okay), Tampa, Oakland and Houston all appear to be in various degrees of trouble. Not like the NBA, but the economic recession/downturn is clearly having an effect on the bottom tier organizations and cities. Hopefully we don't have to add Chicago White Sox to this list, but the fear is always there deep down that we return to late 80's world. There's no fear in MLB yet. According to Forbes, in 2009 every team except 2 made money. I think it was Texas that took about a $500k loss and they were sold, and Detroit lost $29 million, but I'm sure Pizza Pizza can take the hit. According to them, JR and friends pulled in a $26 million profit last year. Not bad. The Sox have nothing to fear. They don't have much debt. Their long term contracts are at a minimum and they have a sweetheart lease deal where if they don't draw much, they play rent free.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 05:43 PM) Who could we actually trade to save money and get something in return? Thornton? Look at all the contracts right now we couldn't give away (like Rios) without subsidizing with cash.... Rios Jenks (50/50, maybe an NL team would take him for half a season and give us a B prospect) Linebrink Konerko Kotsay Vizquel Castro Peavy (depends on how we structured it) Teahen AJ Pierre Nix Williams Lucy Garcia (neither category, but, right now, I'm thinking we wouldn't get anything offered in return) So basically, we really would have to trade Buehrle, Danks, Floyd, Putz, Santos, Pena, Andruw Jones, Ramirez, Beckham or Quentin to do anything but save just a little bit of money which may or may not be invested into the minor leagues/development instead of covering a financial spreadsheet loss. The White Sox don't have to save money. They make plenty and have a top 5 AL payroll. As for the minor leagues, just throwing money at that isn't going to make it better. They have to select better. They gave Joe Borchard more money than anyone ever received at the time they signed him,and the guy had talent and a good attitude yet they couldn't develop him. This team still has some talent. The bullpen looks good, the rotation should be decent althought there has to be concern about Garcia. Maybe see if Washburn, the poor man's Mark Buehrle would be interested in signing on. Floyd sucks early in the season again after coming to spring training and pitching like it was the beginning of June, so if we use last year as a measurement he should be OK eventually. They still need offense. Pierre looks not as quick to me, but IIRC he is a very streaky guy. I don't think Beckham should be hitting 2nd. Teahen is a disaster with the glove. Ramirez just doesn't hit in April. Rios and Jones, a couple of guys just about everyone considered key to the offense have shown a lot of life. If I were the GM, the guy I would seriously consider trading is Ramirez as soon as he starts to hit for a bit. I think he is what he is, can be spectacular at times but will eventually leave you wanting more, but with his favorable contract it may entice some GM to overpay in talent. The Sox need proven hitters. Not reclimation projects, not guys with potential, but guys who get it done.

Obviously there's still plenty of time left in the season and really no time to panic but if we use the formula of 2005 which seems to be popular the White Sox were 52-22 vs. the AL Central that year. Right now they are 2-7. I don't think they are going to have to win 99 games to win the division again, but you never know. I was reading that single game ticket sales were lower than Brooks had thought they would be before the season started, and this streak has got to kill them there. They need to start winning very soon. With the schedule they have played, at worst they should be 2 or 3 games better than they have been.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 12:17 PM) And again, how are they superior? Who the f*** cares about division titles and no playoff wins? That would piss me off more than having a team that only puts it together every couple years. The Twins are like the Bulls, a fun little team to watch, but they can't, and won't ever, hang with the "big boys". The Twins won the WS in 1987 and 1991. How long do the White Sox get to live off of 2005 before it doesn't count at all?

White Sox DHs are hitting below .200 with 2 hr and 9 rbi. The rbi total is high because Quentin got 6 in a game as the DH. The White Sox DH has driven in a run in 3 of the 13 games. There were two parts to the DH by committee they were preaching that had to be of a concern. One was Kotsay and Jones being in the line up daily. Kotsay has shown he should be a guy that gets about 150 AB throught the course of a season. Jones has been pretty solid. The other part of the DH committee is guys will be DHing that haven't done it before and aren't used to it. For many players being a DH isn't easy, and apparently the rotation the White Sox have been using is struggling mightily with it.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 03:17 PM) first time where we have scored 4 runs and not won, gavin sucks at the start of the year .....yuck This is the second year in a row he has come to spring training in mid season form and been knocked around when the games counted. He's going to need to alter his off season plan.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 01:31 PM) Joe Morgan would be worse then Ozzie as a manager. Far, far worse. For all of Ozzie's lunacies, those are some of Joe Morgan's direct impulses. If Ozzie quit or was fired, and I think there is less than a 1% chance of either, I would say there's a 99.9% chance that his replacement would be Cora.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 01:31 PM) I have no problem with KW, I have a problem with KW listening to Ozzie. I don't think Ozzie wanted Rios or Beckham on the team last year. This is a guy who said if the Sox had to have Beckham on the team they would be in trouble, yet liked Wise in the leadoff spot. The team wasn't even .500 and they gave Ozzie even more power determining the roster this year. Whatever the reason for this is flawed. It could be KW just let him, which would be on him, or it could be JR.

QUOTE (earthshiner @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 01:29 PM) say what you want about Williams but overall his tenure as GM has been one of the best decades in white sox history. 3 playoff appearances and a world series. This is the best in 90 years 2 playoff appearances from KW. 2000 was Schueler.

Ozzie has been a genius at keeping all the pressure and attention off his players from spring training on. The results have been spectacular.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 01:23 PM) Beckham and Hudson were two guys whom Bell oversaw the development of. I suspect Danks will be the first true example. Bells loves him. I'm not going to give Bell credit for Beckham. He was very advanced and a top of the line prospect when the Sox drafted him. The key for Sox minor leagues isn't Bell, its bringing in talent that can be developed, something that has been severely lacking. Bell thinks highley of Oney Guillen. Just ask Oney.

QUOTE (KipWellsFan @ Apr 18, 2010 -> 01:17 PM) OMG the whining on these boards is incredible when we're slumping. 2005 was a fluke now? One of the most dominant playoff performances ever. That's not what I said. There were a couple of plays that if they were different, and KW and Ozzie had nothing to do with, that the attitude that they can do no wrong would be 180 degrees different right now.