Dick Allen

QUOTE (scenario @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:50 PM) I don't know what their average temperatures are. But I do alot of work in Minneapolis and I know I freeze my a** off up there in April. And you freeze your ass off in Chicago in April, and in Detroit and Cleveland and Boston, and New York.

Cleveland and Minneapolis have the same average temperatures in April. Chicago and Detroit average about 2 degrees warmer. Milwaukee actually averages 2 degrees colder, but they have a dome. I think though, that may surprise people. I'm sure there will be some weather related problems in Minnesota in at least some Aprils, but to think they will be shoveling out 2 feet of snow until June is wrong.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:51 PM) Who is he going to get his money back from? Did a political consulting firm guarantee that he wasn't an unelectable jerk? He's hoping for some party fundraisers so he can re coup at least part of his "loan". I would think he's got some deal for something for dropping out. He could have held the entire Dem party in IL hostage.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 07:47 PM) The Sox will play Kotsay/Jones interchangeably one a time. The Twins are counting on Hudson as a starting 2B and Pavano as a starting pitcher. Big difference. Hudson made the All Star team last year. You make him out to be a bum. He's not as good as Andruw Jones, a guy who strikes out all the time and has hit .207 the last 3 years or Mark Kotsay a guy who was DFA'd by Boston last year, but is loved because he had several meaningless hits for the White Sox last September? I agree, the Twins are crazy if they are counting on Pavano, but you could probably say the same thing about Freddy Garcia. I think it will be a tight race, I just hope the Sox get some more offense. They only won 8 times last year scoring less than 4 runs.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 07:43 PM) I live in Chicago, but work out of Minnesota several weeks a year. If you think a city that is 410 miles north is not a lot more frigid, you are seriously crazy. I think the Twins will suffer the adjustment of losing their home advantage. I also think that the fact that they are a poor road team will also factor into a weak record next season. MIN no longer has an extreme home field advantage with the turf, the blind ceiling and the noise factor. A team whose home indoor stadium that gave them that edge will suffer an adjustment period to both the outdoor climate and the new stadium itself. How the Sox and Tigers played on the road has nothing to do with the fact that the Twins consistently struggled away from the advantages of the Dome they no longer have. They no longer have the comfort of home that other teams have to offset the road struggles the way they have in the past. Not having at least 20 games with a controlled a climate when other rivals couldn't in April/May also should factor into a slow start. From the Weather channel AVG high temps. city apr may june july aug sep oct min 57 70 79 83 80 71 58 chi 59 70 80 84 83 76 64 Its a little chillier, but not the Arctic in January. If the Twins win more games on the road than the other teams, which they have, they don't have to win as many at home, but if the weather is as big of factor as you say it is (it isn't) then they would have an advantage there as well. BTW, Minneapolis is not 410 miles N of Chicago. It may be 410 miles away but its pretty far west.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:33 PM) You have GOT to admit moving out of a dome and into an open ball park in what is the climate of Canada is gonna have an effect on a team. "Seasoned Pros" is another name for old and declining which Thome, Hudson and Pavano are. Nick Punto is the starting 3B. If it's not him it's Harris, who is even worse. We love a team that appears to be going with an Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay tandem DH. Giving another roster grief for depending on declining players would be like Cub fans laughing at guys in pink polos with their collars up.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:34 PM) "BTW they were better on the road than the White Sox in 2006,2007 and 2009. They were 1/2 game worse than the White Sox in 2008." So? You said they were a horrible road team. They won more road games than any other AL Central team last year. As a matter of fact, over the past 4 years only the Tigers have won more road games in the AL Central than Minnesota. As long as you have Mauer and Morneau in their primes, you have a pretty decent shot, especially considering they have other talent. If the Sox had another legit starter who could hit, I would give them a slight nod. As for Minneapolis being like Canada, its really not much different from Chicago from April through October, and if it is an ice box, like you suggest, wouldn't playing in it regularly give you an advantage over those who don't?

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:23 PM) You can't disagree with fact. The Twins have been a terrible road team for years. The Twins dome advantage is obvious and well established. Ask Detroit about that Game 163. But that doesn't mean Target Field is a road game for them. Most teams are more successful at home. Its not always the park. I think adding seasoned pros and limiting playing time for guys like Punto will only help them on the road and in their new park. BTW they were better on the road than the White Sox in 2006,2007 and 2009. They were 1/2 game worse than the White Sox in 2008.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:11 PM) The Twins have been a terrible road team the past few years. Their new park is essentially gonna be a road park for them for at least next season or two. That is a huge factor not enough people are considering here... I disagree. They have changed their team. It isn't Nick Punto beating you with a bunt that somehow plates 2 and gets him to third anymore. There isn't one game in the Metrodome last year you could say the reason the Sox lost was because of the strangeness of the stadium. You probably could say they were defeated before the game started several times, hopefully that will change. Who knows what will happen with Target Field. They seem to be stacking up LH power hitters, so they probably know something. The Sox don't have many of those. It may be a disadvantage.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:24 AM) I loved his kids crying. They looked like they were 12. WTF are they crying about? Do they even know what's going on? And did they do the presser at a bar? I really thought that was a sad commentary on him as a parent using his crying kid for sympathy. He's a pathetic person, and I'm not a republican. If I was, I sure would have loved him not to step down. He's looking to get some of his money back. Maybe he can pay off the rest of his delinquent taxes or his child support or his water bill when if he gets any back. What you have to love is he has a fiance. I'm sure her family and friends are so happy for her.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 03:53 PM) Unless this was Louie's idea from the start, I think it sucks big time. If OV initiated it, it's even worse. Total lack of respect. It was Vizquel's idea, from the espn.com story when he signed: One thing that will likely change is his number. Familiar No. 13 belongs to Guillen. "That's going to be a hard thing. I don't think Ozzie is going to give up his number," Vizquel said. He said he might ask countryman Luis Aparicio if can wear his retired No. 11 as a tribute. Or maybe the No. 17 that was worn by another Venezuelan shortstop who played for the White Sox, Chico Carrasquel. Guillen said nothing has been decided but he would be reluctant to part with his number, one he wore for so many years with the White Sox. He suggested that Vizquel try No. 23 -- just one digit removed -- because it's such a big number in Chicago, the one most notably worn by Michael Jordan.

I don't think signing Damon would be to negate anything Minnesota does. It makes the White Sox a better team.

QUOTE (earthshiner @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 03:53 PM) Since Aparicio gave his blessing I guess its not really un-retired. Its like BJ Armstrong wearing Bob Love's #10 after it was retired But BJ was wearing #10 at the time it was retired, and when he had his second tour of duty with the Bulls, he wore 11. I think it makes no sense to retire numbers if you are willing to unretire them for 43 year old back ups, especially guys who have never worn that number before. I understand Vizquel is a HOFer himself, but that makes no difference IMO. It may be one thing if Vizquel wore 11 as a tribute to Aparicio his entire career, or at least SOME of it, but he was a Concepcion guy and the only reason he isn't 13 is Ozzie won't give it to him. What's next? Ramon Castro gets some pointers from Carlton Fisk and wants to wear 72 with Pudge's blessing? The best players in the game today, the finest human beings, the greatest humanitarians, could ask Bud Selig if they could "un-retire" 42 for a season, to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson. The answer would be no. A retired number is a retired number. The only person who should wear 11 in a White Sox uniform is Luis Aparicio.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 7, 2010 -> 01:28 PM) The big problem with D2 is that D1 still made a sacrifice, switching agents away from Boras, when we drafted D2. Thus, trading D2 could easily have a huge impact on the ability of the team to hold onto D1. And we still have no idea what they might have said behind the scenes as well. I think that is BS. If Jordan Danks being a White Sox was that important, why didn't the Sox select him in an earlier round? Also, if trading away Jordan Danks and getting Adrian Gonzalez back pisses John Danks off so much he wouldn't re-sign, he obviously would not have his priorities in order. I don't buy there being any hesitation trading Jordan because John may not like it. If it improves the team, John should love it, and his younger brother still gets an opportunity. Maybe even a better one.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Feb 7, 2010 -> 07:26 AM) Duane Shaffer really sucked. Just look at the past 3 #1's compared to Shaffers. Shaffers: Ruffcorn, Pearson, Christman, Johnson, Liefer, Seay, Dellaero, Wells, Stumm, Ginter, Borchard, Ring, Anderson, Fields, Broadway, McCulloch. Brian Anderson is the most productive of all those picks. Then Fields. Post Shaffer: Poreda, Beckham, Mitchell There's 3 guys that all project to be worlds better than the monstrosity of our 1991-2006 drafts. Borchard was thought of a lot more highly than Poreda and Mitchell, and the White Sox gave him more than double the bonus they gave Beckham, so while he didn't amount to much at least Poreda and Mitchell have a long way to go in order to prove they were worthy of their bonuses. The Sox can blame Shaffer all they want, but if its all on him, how was he allowed to continue as long as he did? And what about the Dave Wilder fiasco? What was the deal with that? He was actually given promotions. What were they based on? Certainly not performance.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 06:17 PM) Whether Jerry is being a hypocrite or not (I actually think he is being one, personally) is beside the point. I still fail to see how this is relevant to what the Cubs are trying to do right now... because Jerry arm-twisted his way into getting a new stadium with public money 20 years ago (as if this was uncommon), some Cubs fans think that the Cubs should be given a pass to make fans of other teams pay for their stadium? Really? What the hell? I mean, I love the Sox and all, but if Jerry was trying to do the same thing to other fans I'd be with the "crying foul" crowd. Jerry moved to Glendale last year after they financed a $200 million complex. They were hoping to do some building in the area and make this all work with taxes from that. The economic downturn has put a damper on that project. It may never get done, and if it does, there are questions as to whether or not it can generate enough tax to keep Glendale from big trouble. How fair is that to a non baseball fan living in the community? JR has every right to be opposed. I would be if I were him, but as far as public handouts, he has been on the receiving end of some beauties. The opposition needs a different spokesman. I wonder how much the surcharge is, and if it would do much to spring training ticket sales.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 05:33 PM) I saw some Cubs fans complaining about how New Comiskey was financed with public money and how Jerry is being a hypocrite, honestly I fail to see how that's the same thing. Yeah, it pissed a lot of people off at the time, but that investment's probably paid for itself a couple of times over by now, and plus it's an ACTUAL stadium, not a spring training facility. They're just b****ing for the sake of finding fault. While I agree he should be opposed to this suggested surcharge, considering his team has spring training in a $200 million publicly financed facility where there is growing question how much this may bury the Glendale community, and a publicly financed stadium during the regular season financed by a tax on hotel rooms, where I cannnot see how that is fair to the hotel industry or their patrons, he is being a bit hypocritical. Is it fair the Mets pay a tax towards USCF when they come to town to play the Cubs? Or the Vikings do the same when they play the Bears? When publicly financed structures get built for private businesses, there are usually more than a few people who can say its unfair.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 11:33 AM) you are speaking of modern day u.s. cellular field, we are talking about spring training facilities. The Sox didn't pay for that either. JR did pay for half the United Center.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) Darn right. Jerry as far as I know, paid for his own stadium. Me thinks Ricketts should not have bought the team. He's trying to get everyone else to pay for them and will be cutting payroll two years in a row. They won't fire Hendry, even though he doesn't fit in with that philosophy because it would cost more money to do so and replace him. Jerry didn't pay for his stadium in Phoenix, but other teams fans didn't have to foot the bill either.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 01:23 PM) I blocked it on my computer because I like staying employed. There's a video going around. Its a guy being interviewed at a brokerage firm on a business channel. Someone in the room behind him eventually starts looking at pictures of topless women on his computer when the guy is speaking and its on camera. That guy didn't stay employed from what I was told.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 10:49 AM) DA, I hear ya but the other main point to all of this is market size and income potential or past income. JR has been successful already and has a ring and the Pads cannot hope to break the 40 million dollar number in payroll for at least another year and maybe up to 50-55 at best. They cannot hope to lure free agents that way (Marquee ones) and hope to pay arbitration-eligible players who start to produce in the coming 2 years. So that is why the other method of compensation for them is to look at Pre-Arb players who have under control for peanuts for at least 2 if not 3 years. You get that with Hudson/Flowers/MOrel already (9 full pre-arb years) which in today´s market is nothing to laugh at. OK we all know that delivering on potential is a crap shoot but some of the that should be cleared up at least 2 months into the season of at the end of May. If we really look at this also objectively just as the Pads are not in any immediate pressure to unload AGon I would imagine KW is thinking he is not under any huge pressure to try and deliver AGon to the fans. Dunno just my view of it all. I understand that, but Gonzalez only makes $5 million in 2010 and anther $5 million in 2011. His contract is not a budget breaker by any sort. After 2011, it will be obviously. There are going to be more than just the White Sox interested in his services. As they get closer to the deadline, perhaps more teams would want to get involved. Currently, most teams would probably be able to trump any package the White Sox put together. This isn't like the Peavy deal where teams are out A. Because he's hurt. B. Because of a NTC or C. Because he has a ton of money left on his deal. Just about every MLB would find a way to bend their budget to bring AGonzalez in at $5 million per. The White Sox prospects need to move up the SD org's ranking list this spring and early summer.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) DA, to be objective when I got laughed out of a couple of other boards for just (Just I say) proposing a base of Hudson/Flowers/Morel to fellow Pads fans, they are chimed in with that exact demand. Meaning the headliner going their way had to be our untouchable (Beckham of course). So it goes without saying that these posts always have two sides to them. Of course, but really if KW could get a guy who hits 40 homers with a .400 OBP plays GG defense and makes what they will pay Mark Teahan for a bunch of prospects that wouldn't be in some teams' top 5, it would be a steal. I think, at present, there is no way SD would trade Gonzalez for the package some are suggesting. Hudson, Flowers, Danks. Viciedo. Now if some of those guys take off this spring, maybe things change. Of course, maybe they change and the White Sox don't want to move the players. The thing is, if the roles were reversed and the Sox had Gonzalez, this board would be laughing at the proposals put up, and probably rightfully so. I just can't remember a player who instantly becomes an MVP candidate for a contender, ever becoming available with his current contractual situation.Texiera was traded in a similar situation, but he made more than double what Gonzalez is going to make before his contract expired, and look at the package ATL gave up for him.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Feb 6, 2010 -> 08:53 AM) Maybe the Sox are waiting until Thompson or Mitchell can benamed the PTBNL. They can't do this until April correct? Then they could not be traded/named until June. Sorry just bored. From SD's perspective, those are tools guys. I'm sure they would want to see how they have progressed before trading one of the biggest trading chips in modern MLB history when you consider production and contract, for a package that includes them. They really can't afford to be wrong. Hopefully some Sox farmhands can look good this spring and start off well improving their worth. I just don't know how SD sells trading Gonzalez for a bunch of prospects not even ranked top 50 right now. They could pay Gonzalez $5 million a year, get the 40 homers, .400 OBP and GG performance, and get 2 picks for him. Obviously, getting top minor leaguers is better than the picks because you have a better idea of their true potential and don't have to pay their bonuses, but its still a decent fallback. I think we should all look at this as if the situation was reversed and the Sox had Gonzalez and were dealing him. What kind of prospects would you want back? We would all want at least one top 10 guy, a Gordon Beckham-like guy, and a bunch more. Who knows, maybe that's why KW was talking about Jordan Danks saying he felt the same about him he did about Beckham. Not guys with a lot of tools who may be considered a good prospect some day. Not guys who who have a lot of question marks. As many as close to sure-fire good players as they can get. If KW can pull it off, kudos. I don't think he has the ammo.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Feb 5, 2010 -> 07:09 PM) Would the Padres be interested if Konerko could be included with the prospects, especially if the Sox were willing to pay part of his salary? If the Sox paid $6 of the $12 million owed Konerko, that would bring the total cost of A. G. to about $10.75 million for this year, which is still less than they would owe Konerko. That might help entice the Padres, as they would have a replacement at 1B for Gonzalez, which could appease the fans. Even if the Sox paid $6 million of Konerko's salary, SD would still be paying Paulie more than they would be paying Gonzalez. Konerko isn't going to SD. No way.

Unless SD is absolutely sure about the prospects coming back, it really makes little sense not holding on to Gonzalez for a little leverage. Unless he gets hurt, the price tag isn't going to go down. You still get a year and a half of his services for Mark Teahan money, and if you don't re-sign him you'll get draft picks. You might as well see how these prospects look after some time off, and with most of them moving up a rung. Some team is going to pay a boatload in prospects for Gonzalez. I hope its the Sox, but I wonder if they have enough to offer.