Dick Allen

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 5, 2009 -> 05:07 PM) Ahh, well, I have a feeling a lot of young guys have these kind of problems in MLB. I have a feeling our own manager has these sorts of "problems," if you want to refer to them as that... I don't know if its a "problem". Boys will be boys. As long as they aren't driving or risking lives, I have no problem with guys going out and drinking their sacks off as long as it doesn't interfere with their performance. Its part of life. Who hasn't gone out and got hammered in college with an exam the next day? I know I did. Does that mean I had a problem or was just probably a little or may be more than a little immature?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 5, 2009 -> 04:43 PM) Even with that report...put it this way...do you want to be the guy buying more drinks for an alcoholic? I think its pretty presumptious to call the guy an alcoholic. As someone who was arrested and given a breathalyzer (I was not driving) but was 17 years old at the time and was peeing in some bushes when the bathroom was locked in Williams Bay, WI, I blew a .18. I had done a little drinking in HS, it was during the post prom I was busted, and can tell you at .18 which is more than double most states legally drunk rates, I was pretty much in control of my actions even with a pretty strong buzz and even with my limited drinking experience at that point, and while driving may have been a problem, I was not nor has Cabrera been accused of it. While I'm sure Cabrera was smashed, there is no way alcoholic can or should be used with the information given.

Tito's vodka. Make sure its chilled. If chilled is better than any other vodka IMO on the market. Pretty shocking since its made in Texas. I received a bottle as a gift once and have turned several people on to it. Its tremendous.

The Cubs fired their second hitting coach of the year. Obviously Derek Lee hasn't visited Sox talk because he would know a good hitting coach can increase your average 60 points and a good hitting coach can make Paul Konerko stop grounding into any DPs. "I hate to say it, but a hitting coach is overrated," Derrek Lee said. "It's more of a mental thing. Gerald was a great guy. He always had positive things to say -- and same with Von. They're always in your corner. But the bottom line is the best hitting coach is yourself. No one knows your swing like yourself. ... None of the blame should go to either of those two."

They are keeping AJ out so he hits .300. I wonder if they will sit Lillibridge after an AB or so so he stays at .150.

I don't know why the White Sox would trade for a wife beater.

Throw out the 6 earned Freddy was charged with in his last 1 1/3 against Detroit last Saturday and his ERA is 3.46. I don't think there is many that thought he would perform anywhere near that level with his 84 MPH cutters. For $1 million, he's a no-brainer to return.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 04:12 PM) To you and Dick, I'm not agreeing with it. I'm listing it among the possible reasons he was signed. Certaintly, if they believed he was the best player available, yet still didn't have much hope of him becoming more than a 5th starter, they'd still sign him. This, mind you, was during the White Sox phase of avoiding risk. Royce Ring was drafted #18 overall in 2002 for a $1.6 million dollar bonus, only to be traded a little more than a year later for Roberto Alomar. They probably knew from day one what they had in him and what they planned on doing. Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Garza were available when Broadway was picked. Some called Broadway a safe pick. I prefer stupid pick myself. Same with McCullough. I'd like to see the Sox release him and get all that bad karma out of the system.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 02:30 PM) By definition, if they were signed as teenagers in 2005, they can't be older than 23-24 right now at the max. It's not surprising they haven't made the big leagues yet; most guys don't reach until those ages. Actually, I read it wrong, there is only one the other 2 were in their 20's when signed. And since 2005, there are exactly three players signed from the Dominican, Venezuela, Panama or Colombia who have reached the major leagues: Cincinnati's Pedro Viola, signed at 22; the Cubs' Esmailin Caridad, signed at 24; and Fernando Martinez, signed by the Mets at 16 Considering the number of guys from Latin America that get signed for a ton of money when they are 16-17 waiting 8 years for them to develop seems like a huge risk of big money. So much can go wrong in 8 years, let alone is their age claim even valid? I'm as excited as anyone when the Sox sign one of these players and always assumed their lack of signing them was a negative. Now I think differently. These guys are supposed to be top players. That only 1 teen signed in the last 5 years has made the major leagues, and face it Brent Lillibridge has made the major leagues for 2 teams, has to make an organization think twice about throwing millions at a player and then having to throw almost as much into developing him. Let someone else pay him the bonus and develop him and trade for him later on.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 2, 2009 -> 09:14 PM) I don't know why you guys hate Cowley so much. Maybe it's his critical comments and jokes at the Sox expense on Twitter. But we're just as critical of the Sox on here as he is. Maybe moreso. I think he's good. I like reading him and he's informative. I bet he's not the same smartass know it all who actually knows nothing when he actually has to talk to these players. He's a hack and always will be.

I think it was Gammons' article yesterday where I read only 2 Latin teenagers signed since 2005 have made the major leagues. Someone told Gammons that the average developmental time for a teen signed from Latin America is 8 years. It seems to compound the silliness of giving these guys millions.

So the Sox should trade AJ, trade Konerko, trade Buerhle and just get back a bunch of prospects. Apparently there are people on this board more interested in minor league baseball than major league baseball. What did Minnesota get back for Santana? Is that what everyone wants? I prefer trying to win than having some decent minor leaguers who will bust in a couple of years. The AL Central blows. The Sox should win it every year for a while.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 09:17 AM) If anyone gets traded it's Hudson. And that's only, because his value has never been higher. Why would they trade a guy who is under control for 6 years, and will be cheap because his value is high? Beckham's value is high, should they trade him too? It seems you think the only time to trade guys is if their value is high, which means they are considered very productive or will be very productive and want to hang on to guys who struggle because their value is low. If you were a GM of a major league team and used this philosophy, you would have a very bad team. Hudson may get traded, but not only because his value is high. It would be because KW thinks his value is far more than what he believes to be his future performance level. I fully expect Hudson to be a White Sox unless there is something about him the organization doesn't like.

Kevin Towers fired as Padres GM. Considering he has 4 division titles in 14 years, a WS appearance and was given nothing to work with this season and a lot of baseball people wondered if the Padres would win 50 games, it appears to be a raw deal, but I'm sure its just a case of the new owner wanting to get his guy in there. Thanks for the Jake Peavy parting gift Kevin.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 07:17 AM) If Flowers were able to put up Beckham type numbers in 2010 at C [.270/.350/.460], would that qualify as a good major league player? I guess hitting was never the question with Flowers. His ability to handle a staff and catch/throw out runners were/are the big questions. The other thing to remember when thinking about parting with AJ is how many games he does catch. Its not that common, and with a guy like Flowers or whoever, you're also probably going to get 15-20 more starts with the back-up, especially if Flowers gets used as a DH occassionally. If you could guarantee Flowers could catch 120 games and but up Beckham-like numbers, you could live with his defense very easily. As good as he was in AA this year I'm not convinced he can put those numbers up next season in the AL. I'm not going to judge him on his sporatic ABs this month, but he does seem to be someone who still needs a little polishing. Everyone close to the team has said the losing bothered AJ more than any other player. They also said that while he isn't the most liked player in the clubhouse, he probably is the most respected. AJ means more to the White Sox than his numbers.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 04:50 AM) 1. Sign ability 2. Pitched well at Texas Christian late in the season against formidable opponents 3. Relatively "safe" in projections. Or atleast we thought. No one labeled him an injury risk. 4. To fool other teams into wanting him in a trade. This sentiment was usually associated with someone saying, "He'll pitch well in the minors, then Williams can include him a in a trade." They gave him a $1.57 million bonus. If he didn't think he could pitch and still gave him that money, he should be fired. Other teams have scouts. They know crap when they see it sometimes too. To say he drafted a guy in the FIRST ROUND and gave him that bonus only to fool other teams into trading for him is so farfetched. Maybe KW didn't think he could pitch after he was signed, and maybe he never saw him pitch before he was signed, but he drafted him and trusted his scouts who made a very bad decision. Again. This article is typical of most major league teams minor leaguers. Look at the stuff posted about some of the minor leaguers in the system now on this board and go back to it in 2012. I'm pretty sure you can take 2 guys and have one say every minor leaguer sucks and have the other pick 3 out of every system who will be good players and the guy who says they all suck will be more accurate.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 05:59 AM) Don't get me wrong, I like AJ. He's stepped up this year and has been a rock behind the plate. Yet the sox do have Tyler Flowers seemingly ready for the bigs. The sox would definitely be trading high on AJ. Yet isn't this something the Twins and Braves have done so well, that have stocked their systems with great young talent? The sox have multiple needs that cannot be filled without getting very lucky in free agency [on a reclamation project that could be signed for a low cost deal] or via trade [like Quentin] or the waiver wire [ala Jayson Nix]. The sox should use one or more of their trading chips [guys with value, like Alexei or AJ] in order to fill the holes in the bullpen and lineup. Trades may also help increase the talent level of the sox minor league system, with adding pitching or a few position players that could help in 2010. Besides Flowers, there doesn't seem to be someone who could crack the 2010 lineup. That kind of depth is sad. The big questions would be: Who would trade for a big time catcher like AJ? And what kind of talent could AJ bring back to the sox? Trade AJ and put Flowers behind the plate and you will also get a very nice draft pick in 2011. If Flowers were a lock to be a good major league player in 2010 maybe you think about trading AJ. Maybe. Trading AJ would be suicide. I thought for a while Ramirez may be a guy they traded, but with his contract, I don't think trading him makes much sense either.

QUOTE (1977 sox fan @ Oct 3, 2009 -> 05:39 AM) i dont think they would they need a hitter and they dont want to trade any of there top pitching prospects also as i read on other boards they might go after fielder but he will cost them much more then sanchez most of the talk is cain in a package and baumgerter so a sox sanchez for konerko plus maybe a prospect is not a bad trade . also sanchez is a player the giants are trying to move anyway . an for the those who think sanchez is not good well i guess you dont know to much more innings pitched to hits giving up plus more strikeouts per innings isnt good yeah he walks to many but that can be fixed he is 26yrs old . god koufax was terrible with walks when he first pitched but he found it and many others im not saying sanchez is koufax but he has great stuff and at 26 is a promising young lefthanded pitcher . and the giants want to trade him they need hitting and konerko wont cost them nearly as much as say gonzales or fielder I love these comparisons. Sandy Koufax struggled early so many will take the same career path. Its just like Robin Ventura was a good defensive player so Josh Fields will turn into one. There are far more players who struggle early and still struggle than turn into Sandy Koufax. Sanchez would get killed in the AL. He doesn't get a free strikeout every 2 or 3 innings. If walks are easy to fix, with the exception of Thornton, who have the White Sox cured of their control problems? If the Sox are all about dumping money, your trade makes some sense. If they are trying to win, it makes zero sense.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Oct 2, 2009 -> 08:34 PM) He still should have been shut down (everybody knew how good he is), but it was enjoyable to watch him pitch a few times in our uniform and get a preview of what he'll give us next year. No way. As long as he was healthy enough to pitch only positives could have come from this. He'll be fired up, the team will be fired up and the fanbase will be fired up about Jake Peavy 2010. If he didn't pitch, it would all still be question marks. There's people on this board who still want Buerhle pitching opening day. Peavy is the best pitcher they have had in a long time.

QUOTE (Pants Rowland @ Oct 2, 2009 -> 08:29 PM) If Polanco is a FA, the Sox should go after him hard. That guy makes pitchers work hard and rarely strikes out. Uh oh! Linebrink in with only an 8 run lead. Did you know the Sox drafted Polanco a few rounds after they took Carrie Schueler? He didn't sign.

For all those who wanted to shut down Peavy, he's showing why he pitched. Now he won't have any doubts coming into Spring Training, and the White Sox are going to be able to market the crap out of him this offseason. If he hadn't pitched, it wouldn't have been as effective.

I used to love the Olympics when I was a kid. Now they really don't interest me much. The only thing that gives me any reason to hope that Chicago gets the games is the possibility of federal funds to fix things like public transportation which is really horrible right now. The way I see it though, even if the CTA received billions they would blow it and while the system might be alright when the Olympics came, it probably wouldn't be finished until days before the games started and weeks after they ended slow zones would reappear, half hour waits to get on to jammed trains would reappear and when politicians tell you there is very little chance taxpayers will foot the bill for anything, call me crazy, but I just know these games that mean so little to me would wind up costing me a pretty penny and I don't even intend to go to any events. In fact, the prices they are talking about pretty much take out most of the population.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 08:06 PM) It is the thing that makes me think we can compete next year. The division shouldn't have any juggernauts unless the new park in Minneapolis makes the Pohlad family shell out some of their billions. There's a big article in SI about the Tigers and how they have gone about attracting fans, and how Illich isn't a profit and loss guy. If they fall short he may go into the red although the free agent class isn't exactly stellar and their farm system can't have much left that would interest other teams into giving up productive players. I think KC will be better. Cleveland is rebuilding. It will be interesting to see what KW's bullpen plan is. I think that's the key.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 11:07 AM) I don't think it would have had any effect on the Peavy deal. Javy makes $11 million. That's all you need to know if you really think they still would have picked up Peavy.

The TB beat writer says there's very little chance they trade Crawford and most likely won't trade Upton either because of his low value but high potential.