Dick Allen

While its probably a longshot Halladay is ever a White Sox, if it was because of a reluctance to give up Tyler Flowers or Jordan Danks, it would be stupid. This is one of the best if not the best pitcher in baseball. Everyone at AA and AAA should be fair game for Toronto.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 08:07 PM) Short-term yes, he gives your line-up a huge advantage, like Mauer/Piazza/Victor Martinez. IF IF IF you have other huge mashers to play those positions. If Konerko/Dye/Thome are gone, then it's between Viciedo, Allen, Fields and Flowers for that DH/1B spot in all likelihood. Preferably, you have the athletic Allen at 1B (maybe in a platoon with a Ross Gload/Conine type from the RH side) and Flowers at catcher, simply to balance the line-up a bit. Catching takes a lot out of you physically. Flowers is a big guy, he's going to take a lot of shots behind the plate. If he ever becomes a huge offensive force, especially considering he probably will only be average at best defensively, they will move him to another position to keep him healthier, and in the line-up more. Piazza was a guy the Dodgers always considered moving, but he balked. There was talk of moving Rodriquez to second as there has been talk about moving Mauer from behind the plate, and those two are or were premiere defensive catchers. Hopefully all the guys like Flowers, and Allen and Jordan Danks and Mitchell and Viciedo pan out. Chances are at least a couple will not. At least we have hope. I think Beckham will be a star and I also think the White Sox veteran players know he will be one too.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 08:17 PM) C-Lee definitely had a huge payday, and we got Pods and cleared the way for all of our under the radar moves that led to the World Series title. Good for both sides, and El Caballo doesn't strike me as one of those players exceedingly distraught over not getting a ring. Always has been more of a me-first player from everything I've seen and read. Sometimes when you clear a Jimenez/Lofton here, a Sheffield there (Tigers), it's addition by subtraction. Same thing with Swisher over the long haul. If Houston, a team that was in the WS in 2005 offered you the same contract they offered CLee, and you were the same player, you wouldn't take it? I can't blame a guy for taking $100 million. I would assume Houston at that time had just as much of a chance to win as anyone else. Its like the people who ripped ARod for signing with Texas saying he was about the money and not the ring. No other team offered a contract to ARod at that time within $100 million of the one he signed. He would have been a fool not take it. I heard Rick Sutcliffe rip ARod for signing it. The same Rick Sutcliffe that moaned his way out of LA and Cleveland when he played because of money and it certainly wasn't the type of money ARod would have left on the table.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 08:08 PM) If we acquired/bought the best Cuban pitcher to come along since Contreras, and one with a much higher upside due to his age. Supposedly his price tag is $30-60 million. I'm thinking the Sox stay out of that one. Maybe they trade for him in a couple years after he struggles with the Yankees and get NY to pick up some of the rest of his contract. I don't see JR approving that kind of expenditure right now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 07:43 PM) Having Viciedo under our control for 6 years makes that contract a lot let stressful...he might not turn out to be Miguel Cabrera, but he seems to be a run producer...and the power was never a question about him until he started playing in BIRM. Sure, an 800 OPS instead of around 650+ would be much nicer, but if you bring in enough guys like Mitchell, Danks, Viciedo and A. Chapman, some of them will end up being All-Stars eventually. To hear Harrelson speak, Flowers is expected by him to hit 30-40 homers on a consistent basis every year, Mike Piazza type numbers (V. Martinez/Mauer, production levels etc.). Viciedo is only 20, but a .650 OPS in AA has to be dissappointing, considering many thought he would be a major leaguer this year. His 20 errors are alarming as well. I'm not panicked about him, but I think the White Sox hoped he'd be a little closer to major league ready by now considering the cash layout for him. I think he's going to be getting a position change soon. Hopefully he can be El Caballo II.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 03:22 PM) The interesting thing about Flowers is...he could actually improve offensively but take a huge dip in trade value. If he's not a C in the future. So, in a way that has nothing to do with his offensive future, it might be sell high time. He's not super-young, just young. If he becomes a 40 homer guy with a .400 OBP, the Sox won't want him behind the plate.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 07:33 PM) Which was what, 1/4, 1/5 of the bonus our 7th round pick got? Jordan Danks was projected as a finer prospect than Kenny Williams Jr. a guy who didn't even start most of the time in college and pretty much flunked out. For a team that watches its resources as closely as the White Sox, this was a ridiculous move. There was a 99 % chance he was nothing, and a guy with the exact same history with the exact same skill set and potential named something other than Williams wouldn't have received anything near $150k. If they want to draft all their kids, thats fine by me, but don't waste resources on reaches.

They also gave him a $150k bonus.

I hope KW saves enough prospects if he trades for Haren so if St.Louis falls out of the race he can take what he has left and trade them for Pujols. I'd say you have about the same odds of acquiring either.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 5, 2009 -> 01:49 AM) A SS in the American League with an OPS of 700+ is not a "D" player, unless you're the '29-'31 Yankees. He's on pace for 20 errors, that's certainly not an exceptional amount by any stretch of the imagination, and far fewer than Jose Valentin committed consistently before being moved for Clayton. Is Valentin a clearly superior offensive player to Alexei? No way...especially against LHP. Could someone please also take into consideration the pending lawsuit which threatens to take away his family's security for the immediate and short-term future? Dotel is B-/B, Linebrink about the same. Danks and Floyd have both moved to the B-/B category, and Beckham deserves a A- at the VERY least. Colon doesn't deserve a D either, it's not his fault he's done, it's KW's. In fact, it's at least a B (compared to expectations, which were pretty low) that he even won as many games as he did with an 85-91 MPH fastball and no other pitches. I think some are grading based on what their expectations were of these players. Ramirez isn't a D SS I agree, but if you take into consideration last year, his start this year, and a lot of defensive miscues, many which didn't result in errors, if a C is average, I can see how he hasn't met expectations of some. Same with Danks and Floyd who have been brilliant for long stretches and awful at times. While they would rate a higher grade measured against the league, they don't grade out well with someone who was expecting ERAs in the 3's and Cy Young award consideration. Everyone expects Gobble to suck, so when he does, he's not really an F.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 5, 2009 -> 06:48 AM) Seriously, trading for Haren becomes a snowball of moves that later affects what the Sox have to do. If you want Haren, without giving up Beckham, it's probably something along the lines of Poreda, Richard, Allen, Flowers, Hudson, and Shelby. That'd be absolutely senseless. There will be other starters available for less, and I'm not even considering Bedard because I do not think he is the type of pitcher Williams would look into. He won't cost merely Richard either, so whoever brought that thought up can lay it to rest. If AZ offered Haren for Poreda, Richard, Allen, Flowers, Hudson and Shelby, if I were KW I'd have a Haren jersey made before I hung up the phone. It would be more than that, if he truly was available. He may be "available" just like a lot of other things are "available", if you want to overpay by triple maybe the D-Backs say yes, but they certainly won't be moving Haren for prospects that aren't sure-things. How would people here feel if the White Sox continued to play like they played in May and were talking about trading Buerhle for a package of players who have barely played above AA, and some with little success at that level? Outrage I think it would be and rightly so. As bad as AZ has been, they still have a young core that should be expected to do well in coming seasons. With Webb heading into shoulder surgery, trading Haren would be poison. He's better and cheaper than Peavy. He would cost significantly more.

The schedule in the second half is a bit tougher, but if they can beat up on their Central divison foes and keep pitching like they are pitching, and if Quentin comes back and is 80 percent of what he was in 2008, I think they would have to be the favorites. They are hitting close to .285 on the road I believe and are second in the AL in ERA. If someone told you that would be the case on July 1 you would figure they would have a decent lead. I don't think Detroit holds up, and I think KW adds at least one more piece to this team and the Sox win the division.

I'm a bigger fan of Gordon than most, but my God, if Paxson signed him to a 5 year $55 million contract in February, everyone here would have demanded his head. He's a real nice scorer, but if Dumars thinks Gordon and Villenueva are going to take the Pistons back to the top, I have to laugh. Its one more team the Bullies should have no problem being better than the next couple of years.

Jason Stumm (minors) RHP Centralia HS (Centralia, WA) 1999 1 22 22 WhiteSox via Mets *Matt Ginter RHP 15 14 0 .214 .598 96 5 7 5.43 1.48 1 Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, MS) 1999 1s 35 35 WhiteSox *Brian West (minors) RHP West Monroe HS (West Monroe, LA) 1999 1s 45 45 WhiteSox *Rob Purvis (minors) RHP Bradley University (Peoria, IL) 1999 2 64 13 WhiteSox via Orioles *Dan Wright RHP 3 6 0 .000 .000 70 20 26 5.65 1.53 1 University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) 1999 2 66 15 WhiteSox Bobby Hill SS 249 523 6 .262 .693 University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL) 1999 3 99 15 WhiteSox Jon Rauch RHP 291 21 1 .095 .333 318 24 23 3.90 1.23 26 Morehead State University (Morehead, KY) 1999 4 129 15 WhiteSox Brandon Sloan (minors) RHP Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) 1999 5 159 15 WhiteSox Josh Stewart LHP 0 0 0 8 1 3 8.10 1.89 0 University of Memphis (Memphis, TN) 1999 6 189 15 WhiteSox David Sanders LHP 2 0 0 22 0 0 6.75 1.67 0 Barton County CC (Great Bend, KS) 1999 7 219 15 WhiteSox Mike Patten (minors) RHP Tecumseh HS (Tecumseh, OK) 1999 8 249 15 WhiteSox Dennis Ulacia (minors) LHP Monsignor Edward Pace HS (Opa Locka, FL) 1999 9 279 15 WhiteSox Corwin Malone (minors) LHP Thomasville HS (Thomasville, AL) 1999 10 309 15 WhiteSox Matt Guerrier RHP 23 2 0 .000 .000 278 12 17 3.58 1.30 3 Kent State University (Kent, OH) 1999 11 339 15 WhiteSox Alec Holifield RHP Stranahan HS (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 1999 12 369 15 WhiteSox Derek Stanley OF North Florida CC (Madison, FL) 1999 13 399 15 WhiteSox Casey Rogowski The 17 players the Sox drafted before Albert Pujols was selected #402 in 1999. The good news is the Sox weren't the only team to screw up that draft.

Its not a good indication when the guys who actually play for the managers can't vote for their guy. Torre ranked high on both ends. Apparently, a lot of players are freaked out about being expected to perform and win.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jun 30, 2009 -> 08:00 PM) How is Pujols an example of a high draft pick? Harper is represented by Boras. Not happening. How about this instead: Don't sign players like Erstad for a "cheap" $1 million, invest it in scouting. Like when they signed Mike Meyers. The probably paid him "only" about 300k, but wouldn't that have been better spent on a Dominican SS or something?

Losing and getting a player like Mauer is nice, but you have to remember what losing does to fanbases, especially the White Sox. Mark Prior was picked before Mauer. Is he worth losing that many fans for a while? The Cubs could lose 120 games and the seats could face the street and they would still sell out, that's not the case with the Sox. The ideal thing is to win and draft like the Red Sox or get a guy like Pujols in the 13th round.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 29, 2009 -> 08:04 PM) It's to clear the birds off the field. They shoot them off every half inning. Yeah, when I was in Milwaukee there seemed to be a couple of explosions between innings. Someone told me it was to clear the birds.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jun 28, 2009 -> 06:34 PM) The same lawsuit that was mostly thrown out by a federal judge last February? http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=6865750 If he tested positive he wouldn't have filed in the first place. The list isn't right. I'm sure some of the names are probably correct, but no obscure names? Please. I find it hard to believe Contreras was all hopped up on steroids in Cuba.

Considering the lawsuit Clemens filed against his former trainer, I find it hard to believe he is on the list. The list in this thread is BS. There would be some minor leaguers for sure, and why is everyone who has been implicated since on the list? You would think a couple wouldn't be on there.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 28, 2009 -> 02:38 AM) There is no contending team in the majors that should voluntarily make him their full-time starting LF/CF. He's mediocre defensively, gets bad jumps on the bases, and is too one-dimensional at the plate. I've been Pods biggest critic, but you can't say a guy hitting .320 driving the ball a lot, knocking in big runs, and playing much better defensively than he ever played as a White Sox before isn't starting quality for a contender. Sure he still gets picked off a lot. He overslides bases and gets called out and he can't believe the umpire would call it, but he is playing at a higher level than he played when he was leading off for a world championship team.

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Jun 28, 2009 -> 12:29 AM) Is the patio party food pretty much the same quality of food as the other food at the cell? Are there typically bad lines in the patio party area since its all you can eat? Or is it not that bad? Its the same quality. Nothing special, although if you're hungry you will enjoy it. The lines are real long at the beginning, but if you get some beers immediately and wait about a half an hour, they will be gone. I probably wouldn't go to one when the game was a sellout or a real popular opponent. When that patio area is packed, its beyond annoying.

You can tell White Sox veterans know Beckham is going to be a star.

It amazes me the pitches Nix can take but he swings at the one that is not even close to a strike.

QUOTE (bobryansson @ Jun 27, 2009 -> 06:36 PM) Huh? Someone asked him if he ever smoked pot before and he said he had tried it. I bet he'd have no problem downing a couple of bags of Cheetos.