Dick Allen

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 23, 2009 -> 12:29 PM) If he continues to slump through next month, I don't think that he'll be brought back next year. Thome's not making much of a case for playing here next year either, with his slower bat (from what I've seen) and age-related nagging injuries. That said, JT would be more likely willing to sign a one-year deal this winter, so my money is on him right now. That said, both of these guys are on the down-slopes of their careers and the Sox desperately need a younger offense. I'd much rather see Kenny bring in somebody like Blalock to play 1B or DH, and kick both of these dinosaurs to the curb. I'm puzzled by your criticizm of Thome. Not making a case for playing here seems harsh. His OPS this season is over .900. Check out Jim Thome this year vs. Josh Fields in 2007 when so many just assumed he was going to be a star, if not already one.

Peavy's rehab start got pushed back until Monday. Back stiffness.

Dye's out of the line-up today. Castro is playing, so is Lillibridge.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 23, 2009 -> 11:29 AM) or the lack of intensity in the third game of a series when going for a sweep! That's why I thought Friday night's loss was no big deal. They have a much better chance to win today because of it. Chances are, if they won Friday, they would lose today. Its been the MO of the team.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 23, 2009 -> 03:03 AM) True, the Sox seem to play to the level of their competition. Which is very frustrating. Everyone is saying this, the broadcasters, even Brooks Boyer said it. I know if Jerry Manuel were managing the team, he would get some heat for it. I wonder why Ozzie gets a free pass. Isn't he supposed to be a great motivator? If its Greg Walker's fault guys don't hit, shouldn't it be Ozzie's fault if they aren't mentally prepared to play? If the current roster can't use their current status as a second place team on the outside looking in to the playoffs as motivation to get up to play teams they should walk all over, it makes you think the Sox need to make several changes.

I know if the choice for 2010 was Dye or Thome 2 months ago, the majority would take Dye. In fact, it probably would have been a landslide. I wonder if that's still the case. I think Dye will pick it up offensively, but defensively he seems to be getting deeper in quicksand every day. Last night, he didn't know how many outs there were, AGAIN. Fortunately, there were 3. I just hope he can bear down the final 40 games.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 22, 2009 -> 06:07 PM) The entire Swisher escapade should make Kenny blush. Also, the Keith Foulke trade to Oakland for whatshisname, made worse when Kenny gave him $6MM. Foulke still had 2-3 good years left. While I criticize KW from time to time (mostly because there are so many people who think he can do no wrong) picking out 2 trades in 9 years is a bit ridiculous. Everyone screws up. I still think in the long run the Swisher trade isn't as bad as you think. He's not a CF and didn't have a place to play on the White Sox. They got out of his contract. We'll see how he does the next several years. Rios probably isn't a White Sox if Swisher is around, and he's a better player, and they did use the money they saved this year to sign Viciedo. The Foulke trade was bad at the time, the Sox may have won the WS in 2003 or 2004 if they kept him, but Cotts did help them win in 2005 even if Koch was done when they acquired him. May vs. did, I'll take the did anytime. So many bad trades wind up decently. When Hawk was GM, he was criticized for trading Bobby Bonilla for Jose DeLeon. DeLeon was a decent pitcher who eventually turned into Lance Johnson. A guy that helped the Sox win a lot of games. Hawk supposedly ruined the White Sox, a team not good enough to win previously when they had Britt Burns (who never pitched again) and Tom Seaver (who didn't wan't to play in the midwest anymore) and Bob James (who fell apart) leading their pitching staff in 1985. He also acquired Ivan Calderon for almost nothing, and Calderon help the Sox have a great season in 1990, before he was turned into Tim Raines. He was also criticized for turning over the scouting dept., the department that drafted Kurt Brown over Barry Bonds. I'm using Hawk as an example of grading the Swisher trade. Its waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy to early to grade it. Granted Betemit and Marquez aren't long for getting paid to play baseball, but what if Viciedo becomes a star? What if Nunez becomes dominant? Perhaps those are longshots, but what if Rios outplays Swisher for years? That's almost a guarantee.

Maybe its not. He just muttered "un f***ing belieable"

If it is bothering him, Danks should have said something. The Sox can't afford to lose games.

He can't throw a breaking pitch for a strike.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Aug 22, 2009 -> 06:54 PM) I don't think that a circulatory issue is really that easy to just take care of with a DL trip. I don't know what the cure is, if there's a cure. I just hope its not a career threatening thing, because its not something he can pitch with.

I just hope this is an issue that can be easily fixed.

They need to get someone ready.

Bad defense again.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Aug 22, 2009 -> 06:50 PM) Stone Pony has pointed out that it is a cool night and Dank is sticking his pitching hand in his back pocket. He thinks that Danks is being bothered by the circulatory issue. If you notice how he's been messing with his hand all game, I think he's correct.

Danks has been messing with his hand all game. I think he's having problems.

So if they won last night, I'm guessing we wouldn't see this thread.

I don't have a problem with them jacking up prices for the Red Sox tickets. In the past few years, the park has been filled with Red Sox fans. I think this concession deal is very nice.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Aug 22, 2009 -> 07:26 AM) with the probability of the sox not spending much this offseason after the peavy and rios acquisitions, the only way id give up on fields this offseason is if i'm absolutely sold on chris getz or jayson nix at 2b.....and i'm not sold on either The Sox are.

Some of their "facts" are wrong, but their final grade seems pretty accurate.

QUOTE (knightni @ Aug 5, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) Kalapse, Is Philly covering any of Thome's 2009 extension money? I wasn't sure. It wouldn't make any sense for them to commit money to a part of Thome's contract that at the time, wasn't guaranteed. Why would a team trade a guy, pick up a lot of his contract and also agree that if said player played well enough to kick in another year of his contract, they will throw you even more money?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 10:41 PM) Let’s say Chris Getz came back from injury tomorrow. He's walk onto the field gets 4 hits in 7 AB’s, each one of these hits is a single. In the other three AB’s he strikes out. He's now batting .571. Now, let’s say Jayson Nix comes to the plate. Goes 2-6 with a BB, but each of his two hits were home-runs. Jayson Nix is now batting .333. The 1st batter, Getz, is batting about 230 points above the other batter, but in this instance the second batter has driven in (at least) two more runs then the higher-average player. Thusly, it doesn’t really matter how many hits per ab’s you get, instead it matters how impactful the hits that you do get are. Furthermore, Nix’s real value lies in his glove. The offense, if any, is a happy surplus. Well Ozzie disagrees with you, and his opinion is the only one that matters: "[Nix] is going to be my utility player as long as he wants to," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "This kid is a great utility player. I think our plan is having [Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez] and Getz at their positions for the future. "[Nix] can help us a lot when we need him. He's playing very well, but am I going to pencil him in every day? Time will tell. "Now we have three guys and we count on those guys for a long time."

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 09:51 PM) The Albert Belle signing was VERY aggressive. The Bo Jackson signing was mildly so. Everything else that decade, meh. Earlier in the 90's they locked up Frank Thomas, traded for Raines and Sax, got Belcher in a deadline deal, sign Julio Franco, but somewhere along the way Schueler became very gunshy.

The Sox are a pretty average MLB team. They haven't been very much under .500 all year, and haven't been very much over.500 all year. They are lucky they are in the AL Central or 2010 plans would most likely be in place. Tonight was a tough loss, but they can still take 2 of 3 this series and be alright. People get so invested, when they play bad baseball, they think they are a 95 loss team, and when they play well they think they are a 95 win team. They are neither, but if they win the games they should win, they will have a chance.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 02:17 PM) Wagner claimed off waivers....per Rosenthal http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9966794...med-off-waivers I'm shocked. I'll be even more shocked if the Mets keep him. I just hope if Wagner has anything to offer that it wasn't Detroit who claimed him. Illich seems like he doesn't care about losing money at this point. If it is Boston, I suppose it makes sense. They are getting desperate and I believe Gammons said they were holding back payroll to acquire guys during the season when teams would be giving them away.