Dick Allen

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 12:02 PM) Or there is something in the clubhouse that hasn't come out yet... It could be, but you would think they would be able to trade him. Relievers who don't make a ton, can fill several roles and have been effective are pretty coveted.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 11:45 AM) Unless they have a solid lead on a better reliever that is getting non-tendered, I don't get what the problem is here. It doesn't make any sense. The only thing is perhaps he has some physical issues we know nothing about, other than that, its a head scratcher. Like was posted above, at worst sign him and take him to spring training. If there are injuries he fits in, and as long as he doesn't get lit up he could be traded, but even an arb contract is not guaranteed so they would only be on the hook for 20% of it. Its really a low risk signing, unless he's pretty beat up. If they non tender him, there is obviously something there that we don't know.

As long as the theme is "Return to 2006 or 2007" the Sox should sign Garrett Atkins, have him play 3rd and have the waste of $14 million play RF.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 09:14 AM) He was scheduled to throw for teams yesterday Long toss. Not off a mound.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 03:18 AM) Everything I see from reports suggests Carrasco being gone, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Sure Hudson could do the job, but then you are eating up an entire arbitration year of a guy who could easily be the 5th starter of a still stellar rotation in 2011, and losing a rather vital cog of a bullpen because of $2 mill. I actually think a lot of this is due to Matsui, personally. And we won't know his whereabouts until January. My final guess is that Carlos Torres plays the role of Carrasco next year with actual potential to move to middle relief and set up (which Carrasco does not have), Williams is trying to trade him right now for really anything he can get, and that Hudson remains in the minors. I hope Torres is not part of the equation, but I agree the Carrasco situation makes no sense. If they don't want to pay him, trade him, and this little part from Gonzalez makes it even more curious: The Sox met Wednesday with Carrasco's agent at the winter meetings in Indianapolis but were several hundred thousand dollars apart. We aren't even talking $1 million. There's probably a decent chance Carrasco blows up in 2010, but somebody somewhere would pay him his rather measley salary and give the White Sox something for him.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 02:41 AM) Here are the incentive clauses in Scott Linebrink's contract, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts... MVP? All Star starter? Even further, Matt Guerrier was never, ever, ever, ever considered the Twins closer last year, and still "finished" 15 games. Putz's agent is looking for the most money he can get, and if Putz even becomes a setup man, it's likely he's going to "finish" quite a few games. The finished games clause has absolutely nothing to do with Jenks. If anything, it's probably $10K per game that he finishes up until 30 games finished. The finished games have everything to do with being the closer. He also has $250k based on appearances. Before anyone annoints Putz as the bullpen savior, keep in mind he has a higher ERA the past 2 seasons than Scott Linebrink and he's been pitching in Seattle and Citi Field, two of the most pitcher friendly places in the world, and is coming off some elbow clean up, the same sort of clean up Colon had last offseason. He won't even start throwing off a mound until after Christmas. If he's 100% its probably a very good signing. There really is no guarantee of that right now.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 08:22 PM) How many of us thought the exact same thing when the Sox picked up AJ? He carried a terrible reputation, he got into fights with teammates. 99% of Sox fans despised him. How many still wish he wasn't a part of the team? AJ is nowhere near Bradley. AJ's rep with his Minnesota teammates was very good. He had some problems with a couple of SF guys. Why would Bradley be any different with the Sox than he was with the other 7 teams he played for? Think about it. He has a career OPS over .800. He's put up some real nice numbers, but he's been with 7 teams and hasn't played 1000 games. I think that tells you something about him. The longest a team has been able to put up with him is 216 games. Considering some of the bad actors that have played MLB, his act is legendary. I almost think KW is quietly hoping MN goes after Bradley and he poisons their clubhouse.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 07:57 PM) I really think he would work great for the Sox. Even last year, which was obviously a down year for him, he managed a +.370 OBP. The guy can mash. He'd be cheap and could probably be had for Linebrink, leaving us money to get another OF (I dont think Bradley in the OF would work at all). He would be such a steal if the Cubs paid a large chunk or if they swapped contracts. The Cubs are very talented at throwing players under the bus, what with having their own newspaper. It appears a lot of people here ate it up. The Cubs scapegoated the hell out of him. The organization signed him to a stupid contract, asked him to do stuff he's not good at, and then blamed him when the whole team sucked. Meanwhile, Alfonso Soriano is doing his best impression of Vernon Wells and nobody is trying to run him out of town. The last place the Cubs want to be is where they are with Milton Bradley right now. They didn't throw him under the bus. He did it to himself. Again. Its no surprise he did because it isn't the first or second or third time its happened. He's a malcontent. A cancer. A pain in the ass. If the White Sox were to acquire him, I would think KW has lost his mind.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 07:43 PM) let's face it nobody on here can say with certainty if he's the anwer or not. You can't draw any conclusions on his limited time.But, the fact is, he's better than anything we currently have in the leadoff role, which is nothing. Personally, i would like to see what he could do in the leadoff spot for an entire year. I doubt KW gives up anything of major significance for him. Maybe Retherford and lower level pitching prospect with nice potential would do it. Maybe the Yanks take a flier on Linebrink bouncing back.I think there's a decent chance that could happen and the Yankees have gotten rid of Kennedy and Bruney so there's some holes in their bullpen and money is no issue for them. In May and June last season he had 100 AB and hit .330. The rest of the year in about 150 AB his OBP was below .300. I really think people should take a closer look before saying he's the answer at the top of the order for a team that is trying to win a championship. Linebrink has a NTC. I really doubt teams are willing to pick of the freight of his contract.

Everyone does realize Linebrink has a NTC don't they?

Melky is actually younger than Gardner.

I would hope the Sox would try to trade him before non tendering him. He has to have value. Guys with numbers just like his are signing for some decent money. It wouldn't bother me if they dumped him though. While he has been very good most of the time, he does seem to be pitching on borrowed time.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 02:31 PM) Interesting that one of Putz's incentive clauses is "games finished". Looks like the writing in is on the wall for Jenks. It would seem to me that you are correct, but then again he could be a very cheap solution as a set up guy who takes Dotel's spot and if he regains his form of 2006-7 can take Linebrink's spot. I still think Linebrink comes up big in 2010, and I like Pena better than most. It does seem funny his salary almost doubles if he becomes a closer. It seems to me they have given him the impression he will get a shot. Who knows.

QUOTE (KevinM @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 09:38 AM) DA, you are also dismissing the defensive impact Gardner would have on our lineup. Having a solid defensive outfield would make our good pitching staff even better. The White Sox are going to have to score runs. I understand Beckham will be around a little longer. Its hoped Quentin comes back strong. Its also hoped Rios returns to what he was in 2006-7 and that the past couple seasons were offensive flukes for Teahan. The offense was ranked near the bottom. A lot of the production, Thome, Dye the first half of the year, Pods, are gone. Replacing them with guys like Gardner and Andruw Jones even if a couple of the things we are hoping for come true isn't going to make the White Sox an offensive juggernaut. As I have posted, Gardner wouldn't be a bad guy to have on the roster, but to say he's the regular CF and leadoff hitter is just asking for dissappointment. If he was that guy, NY wouldn't give up the players they did and pay Granderson what they will have to pay if they thought he would be as good as this board thinks he will be. He's a 4th or 5th OF.

QUOTE (League @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 07:15 AM) Well then he replaces what we lost in Getz + Mark Teahan. I like having Becko's bat at 2b instead of Getz and Gardner has a good chance of outperforming Pods next season, so it looks like an upgrade across the board. The White Sox offense wasn't good enough with Pods hitting over .300. Making Gardner the leadoff guy just weakens the White Sox offense. A nice bench player is what he is, but if KW gives up something good to get him, I think he's crazy.

QUOTE (League @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 06:45 AM) Plus defense at a premium position and OBP potential. I said offensively. IMO Getz has as much OBP potential as Gardner. Getz got slammed around here. People said he had no power, wasn't exactly young for a rookie and wouldn't get better. You can say the exact same thing about Gardner. If he is such a stud waiting to happen, why are the Yankees, a team cutting payroll, bringing in expensive pieces to play in front of him? He's not an everyday player. He wouldn't be a bad guy to have off the bench, but leading off every day will make the fire Greg Walker threads grow.

Exactly what does Gardner bring offensively that Chris Getz did not?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 08:10 PM) A career .389 OBP in the minors isn't bad. .414 in AAA in 2008 before getting called up to the Yanks. He won't hit for power, but tons of speed and based upon the stats a pretty advanced eye. I figure Gardner is about the level of Willie Harris offensively with less power,but makes more contact.He might get on a little more. Fine for the bench, but the ignitor of your offense, you won't have a top of the line offense. He's worth acquiring as long as you don't put too much on him.

Gardner as an occassional starter, a pinch runner and a defensive replacement sounds pretty good. Brett Gardner every day leadoff man is pretty, pretty, sad. And those penciling in Putz as a lights out reliever haven't been paying attention. He is auditioning for teams. They still don't know if he can throw 70 MPH.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 09:16 PM) I think Joe Johnson is incredibly underrated on this thread in particular. If he played in a big market, he'd be a bonafide star. SG's that average 21PPG, 5RB's and 5AS's, don't exactly grow on trees. And he's basically in his prime right now at 28. As for the Bulls terrible effort on their part tonight, and the blowtorch is firmly going to be locked on them going forward. When you shoot only 36% and commit 19TO's (more TO's than assists tonight, ugh), you're not going to win many games of basketball at all. Ben Gordon averaged 21 pts. 3.5 reb and 3.5 assists a game for the Bulls last year and he's in his prime. He may be an upgrade over Gordon, but its not huge, and certainly won't make the Bulls Eastern Conference contenders.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 08:49 PM) His team was playing defense earlier in the year. What happened? Vinny isn't a top 5 coach, but canning him makes no different. It's a player problem. And a lot of what you see ran out there on offense is the players. There were quotes, I believe, that the team couldn't grasp the offense for the most part in training camp last year, so they had to scrap it and hope to put in more new stuff as the season progressed. I'm most assured this came from Del Harris who stated it was the most difficult year and team he ever had been a part of because of the lack of bball IQ and the selfishness of players(apparently Deng had beef with BG and Rose). BTW, this team is better off losing and getting a high pick then gaining like 3 more wins for nothing. While normally I would agree and say losing helps the Bulls now, when they are going to try to sign Wade or LeBron, and I know they are probably pipedreams, losing kills. If they won 50 games this year, they would have a better shot at those guys. They put all their eggs in this FA class's basket. Getting a guy like Joe Johnson or Boozer, while nice, isn't a huge upgrade over Ben Gordon, and that's not good enough to win. Tonight, the commentators on ESPN were ripping the Bulls effort. If Vinny can't get them to play hard, they need to find somebody who can. We have seen this kind of play before way too much IMO. The next 9 months may really determine if the Bulls remain significant in this town. I think there is a chance they could become like the Blackhawks used to be. Its amazing their ticketholders have stuck by them so long, but I really wonder how much more they will take. I think most think the Bulls should be competing for at least an Eastern Conference championship in 2010-11. What does Gar Forman do?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 07:56 AM) After seeing this team under two coaches in a short period of time, it is pretty obvious it isn't the coach... This is just a dumb team, and they don't have a finisher, at all. The team is very different from what Skiles and Boylan had. Salmons, Miller and Rose get huge minutes. Gibson wasn't around. Noah is more advanced. I agree the baskeball IQ doesn't seem to be there a lot, but is that all on the players? A top coach makes sure Rose gets the last shot, not Salmons hoisting up another well off 3. All these blowouts can't be making Chicago a very attractive destination for soon-to-be FAs. I think the Bulls need to start focusing on who they really want coaching this team going forward. Gordon was a lot more valuable than even his biggest fans probably knew. It may not be able to get done now, but they need a headstart. Its obvious Vinny is not a championship-calibur head coach. His teams don't play defense. They have to do something to stop the bleeding. I have no idea what it could be. Maybe a new coach can shock them into a few more wins. I have no idea, but except for JR's profit margins, things with the Bulls look pretty bleak.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Dec 8, 2009 -> 10:08 PM) I haven't thrown in the towel on this team yet, but I took it out of my pocket & i'm ready to throw. I hope you are more successful throwing towels than Lovie Smith.

That's just sad. With the shoe tying incident, and blowout loss to Toronto, now the embarrassing defeat to a 1-19 team, Vinny has to be dangling from a thread. Of course he had no personnel help, but these are things that should not happen. Vinnie put his house up for sale. Maybe he knows something.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Dec 8, 2009 -> 09:14 PM) not without 1-2 major offensive peices. Our offense is really really bad as it stands I agree but if Andruw Jones acts like its 2006 and Teahan acts like its 2006, and Rios and Vizquel turn back the clock to 2006 and Peavy pitches like he did in 2007 when he won the Cy Young, and Putz comes in and dominates like he did those seasons, the Sox are set. Of course if we go by 2006 numbers, Dye and Thome should definitely return. I put the probability of everyone being able to get to those levels at 0%.