Dick Allen

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.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 4, 2010 -> 07:24 PM) It's pretty much market value, but I am wondering what kind of season he's going to have this year. 240 innings is a lot of innings. It's going to be interesting to see how he holds up this year. Its backloaded, $500k signing bonus, $6.75 million this year $12.75 million next year, $20 million for the 3 years after that. I wonder if the contract gives them more room for Damon in 2010.

If this is true, why wouldn't Broadway have been arrested?

I just read this, in 3 of the past 4 seasons, the Twins have either won or lost the AL Central division title by 1 game.

Law doesn't know too much about Hudson. That was obvious in his chat. Saying a minor leaguer who doesn't throw 95 mph doesn't have a high ceiling and projects out to a #4 or #5 starter at best is just playing it very conservatively. Chances are Hudson will never be a Cy Young candidate, odds are he will be a #4 or #5 starter someday, especially with the Sox current rotation. Any of us can go through his top 100 list and say each player will suck in the major leagues. We'll be correct most of the time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 31, 2010 -> 12:21 PM) Damon turned down a $6 million deal from the Yankees that he talked them into offering before they gave up on him and signed Winn. I think he may well wind up retired. He's not going to retire. Half of that $6 million was deferred.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 07:42 AM) If SD had the same impression about the Sox prospects as Keith Law, there would have pretty much been zero chance Jake Peavy would have ever become a White Sox. Not true. They wanted financial relief. Gonzalez makes $5 million a year the next 2 seasons. They want premium prospects. There's no question in my mind Law has some grudge against KW and/or the White Sox organization in some way, and despite his Harvard education, and his baseball acumen, at least the acumen he professes to own, there's probably several good reasons why he's writing a blog instead of running a team. What I do find troubling, however, is many other scouts seem to share his opinion on guys like Viciedo and Jordan Danks. It really means crap just like a scout calling them future HOFers means crap at this time. It just makes you wonder, and you do know one thing, if Big Papi is struggling, the Red Sox are going to go hard after Gonzalez, and the SD GM knows their system very well. If it comes down to a prospect bidding war for his services, chances are the wrong color Sox will win.

I'm a big Buerhle guy, but face it, at this stage Peavy is the ace. Why throw your rotation in a mess just so Buerhle gets the opening day nod? Haven't they made a big deal about the name on front of the jersey being more important than the name on the back?

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 05:27 PM) Come on DA.. can't you just feel the Damon-Pierre-Jones outfield on Sundays (or another day or two out the week) with Ozzie? For sure, but it wouldn't happen everyday. Rios has to play CF regularly, not RF. If not, it made absolutely no sense to claim him.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 04:50 PM) most high school girls softball teams would have better throwing outfields than one with pierre and damon....im all for bringing damon in as DH though They wouldn't be out there together all the time. A game here a game there wouldn't be so bad. The Sox used to have Raines and One Dog next to each other every game for years. They also threw flyballs back to the infield.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 10:07 AM) I'm not too familiar with Downs. Can someone please summarize his stuff beyond just his stat line? Damon fits in far too well with what Ozzie and Kenny have talked about re a "flexible DH" for the Sox to ever actually sign him, but I've been hoping they do. He's a 2 time former Cub. A failed starter, was actually released by Montreal in 2004. Toronto signed him and had him start for a while and relieve some. The last 3 seasons he's been a reliever exclusively and has been pretty good. He is 33 or 34, so he's really no spring chicken, but he's an asset. I just don't know if you want to spend $4 million on the second lefty in the bullpen. I'm all for spending cash, but I think the Sox need to spend on a bat. If they want to do both fine with me. If they pass on the bat and do this instead, it still should improve the bullpen, which should lead to more wins. Another quality reliever isn't going to hurt.

Damon would sell some tickets. If KW was saying with a straight face when he offered Torii Hunter all that cheddar that they were stretching the budget but Hunter t-shirt and jersey sales along with the expected increase in ticket sales would cover the deficit, then Damon is in the same boat although he wouldn't have to sell as many. Its not a long term committment. Its nothing that would be a burden for seasons to come. Maybe they are secretly negotiating with him. Maybe Boras is throwing out all these other teams in order to create a fake market. It just seems right now no team is going to offer Damon a big contract. I have wanted Damon from day 1 and in the back of my mind, I always thought the Yankees would be the biggest threat to screw it up if the White Sox did go after him. They have to be out now. I really doubt Damon wants to go to Oakland. He had a bad year in that park when he was in his prime. If it happened again, he probably would be done. He might take less to play near home in Tampa, but how much are they going to really offer him? Detroit? I think you give him a contract he can save some face on and Boras could spin into a good situation, he can be had.

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 08:48 AM) If Damon was playing for the Sox in '10 what do you guys think his stats would be? You do have to take into to account that new Yankee stadium was perfect for him, and he is also getting older, at 36 years old, and was also just in a contract year. ...Then again he could bring back a certain bead.... I'd assume if healthy, he'd bring in around 10 HR, 60 RBIs, .350 OBP, and 15 SB. That's not too bad, and is definitely better than the floating KotJones DH, but that doesn't make him a miracle worker. Would you guys be happy with that stat line? Would project him pretty differently? I think he'd hit between 12-18 homers, score a lot of runs. Steal at least 20 because Ozzie wants to run. His SB were down last year he says because he didn't run in front of Texiera. He was 12-12 stealing. He can replace Getz' production there. Who knows, maybe when it gets serious, someone is willing to step up and pay him, but if he signs for $5-6 million total and the White Sox don't get involved, I think they would have made a mistake.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 07:40 AM) Come on, you are telling me the 72-10 bulls didnt pull that off? Or any of the teams that cleared 60 wins? That seems kind of out there They probably didn't play 5 straight road games against teams with winning records. There is a catch, but its still quite an accomplishment. Too bad the Bullies played like crap against the easier portion of this trip. It could have been epic.

According to Joel Sherman, Damon would be willing to play for $7 million with part of that being deferred, so I would imagine since he hasn't signed, the $7 million he turned down, if he did get an offer, is not available anymore. Supposedly the Yankees were willing to give him 2 years $14 million if they didn't sign Nick Johnson, but they did. Then supposedly before they signed Winn, the offered him one year $6 million with half of it being deferred, he said no. The A's were interested, but they just spent $10 million on Sheets. I doubt they would go $7 million for Damon. I think $4-5 million with another $1-2 million in incentives could get it done right now, maybe even cheaper if you wait a while but run the risk of losing him. Johnny Damon is this year's Bobby Abreu, and the Sox do have a spot for him. If you're willing to spend $4 million on Downs, a guy who will pitch about 50 innings, I can't see why you wouldn't go after Damon at his current price tag.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 02:08 AM) Not sure why we're bothering with what ifs at this point. If SD has the same impression about the Sox prospects as Keith Law, there pretty much is zero chance Adrian Gonzalez ever becomes a White Sox.