Dick Allen

He's going to strike him out.

Bobby has turned into one of those guys that always makes it interesting.

QUOTE (Friend of Nordhagen @ Apr 12, 2010 -> 09:40 PM) Agreed. I also think A. Jones has put on a few lbs since the spring. They can both weigh 400 as long as they get the job done. I like the wind up.

Teahen, Jones and Rios all hitting in the same game? The Sox have to win this. I'm looking at Jenks and don't see someone who looks 25 lbs lighter than last year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) There are 2 things that I want a hitting coach to do that I worry about Walker on. I want a hitting coach to be able to overhaul a guy's swing when it needs it. Some guys, Walker has totally failed to do this with (fields, Anderson). On the other hand, he seems to have done so successfully with Rios, at least so far for this season. Teahen is another one who really needs it, he's terrible right now, but that can change. I'm iffy on this one right now, but getting Teahen going is really important. And not just going; he needs to have a good year overalll. The other thing I want a hitting coach to do is making sure guys have a clear plan when they go up against a pitcher. Take yesterday, with Liriano, for example. He was very, very wild for most of the game, but for at least half of his innings, guys like Jones, Vizquel...etc., were jumping on the first pitch and hitting it weakly or falling behind because the ball was so far out of the zone. You need to prep guys better than this...if you have a guy who isn't attacking the strike zone, you need to be more patient than that. The other thing that you want a hitting coach to do is correct a guy when he has an issue with his swing crop up during a year, but with that one, you never know how much the hitting coach can do, because that one, the player has to listen m id-season. You are just assuming guys like Fields and Anderson and Teahen are fixable. Not everyone is. Like I've stated before, who has ever left the White Sox after working with Walker and had a ton more success elsewhere under a different hitting coach? The only guy I can remotely think of is Swisher, and the big reason they dumped Swisher was he wouldn't listen to Walker. The list of players who struggle before they came to the White Sox and picked it up after working with Walker is a list that is more than just a little longer. The blame he gets when older broken down one trick pony hitters hit a certain way is beyond ridiculous. If Teahen doesn't hit, how in the world could that be because of Walker? Maybe its just Teahen isn't very good.

Ozzie is a little thin-skinned for an MLB manager. He ate up all the genius talk in 2005 and now even Oney yaps about how the White Sox knew nothing about winning until the Guillens came to town. Of course Ozzie's .525 winning pct. looks pretty good against Jerry Manuel's .515, even though that's only 1.5 extra wins a year, but pales in comparison to Gene Lamont's .551. There are very few managers/coaches/GMs that aren't eventually going to be called an idiot by a lot of people. Ozzie is no exception. He shouldn't be popping off, and he also shouldn't resign. Its 5 games. See how you feel a month from now. I still feel if they don't hit soon, KW's trigger is going to be a lot quicker than normal considering he wasn't entirely sold on the current plan in the first place.

Harold Reynolds had a thought before the season started that makes a little sense. He said Pierre is a 2 hole hitter, and that Beckham should lead off.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 03:01 PM) It's KW's job to work with Ozzie to form the team. That means compromise. KW gave Ozzie way to much leeway this offseason. That's his biggest mistake. KW is Ozzie's boss. If he just does what Ozzie says, JR could save some money and eliminate the middle man. If the roster is the problem, that's on KW.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:54 PM) Reality set in? Its been 5 games, Im sorry but thats an abysmal sample. To put in perspective: It would be 2.5 games of a basketball or hockey season. It would be half a game of a football season. You just cant jump to conclusions this quickly, especially in baseball. This is true. A week from now its almost a lock that some of the things we are fretting about we will be quite happy with and some of the encouraging things we see we will be fretting about.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:51 PM) I love our pitching staff. . . but this offense makes me sick. . . So far this rotating DH thing has been an absolute failure. How long before KW makes a deal? Maybe its too early to panic but we can easily be 5-0 right now. I believe they have held the lead in every game. Even with their horrible hitting, they are still right there. They'll be alright once they pick up another bat.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Apr 10, 2010 -> 02:45 PM) KW is all knowing Mr.Smugass NEVER question him! I actually heard a story last night from a pretty reliable source that Jim Thome doesn't have KW on his Christmas card list.

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.