Dick Allen

QUOTE (TitoMB345 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 02:15 PM) don't let that average fool you. he's still not in hitting shape. once he gets there, i fully expect his average to get closer to .200. he just needs a few more weeks, then he'll really start raking. /ozzie. I almost get the feeling that Ozzie is trying to prove the fans wrong when they say this guy sucks. Its amazing he is on a major league roster. He would easily make it through waivers IMO.

I think the collective baseball IQ of the current roster isn't very high.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) Defensively.......not even close uribe catches the pop up yesterday that Ramirez never moved for Alexei is good with the glove, he just tries to be too fancy at times IMO. The other night he leaped for a ball and twisted his glove around to make a routine line-out look spectacular. Just make the play.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:52 PM) I hope the approach to holding runners on or changing the stretch used by pitchers is worked on next spring. If a hitter can't take the ball the other way, its Walker's fault. If White Sox pitchers can't hold runners on, Cooper is one word you will not see mentioned.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:45 PM) I think Ozzie should make Dwayne Wise do push-ups every time he pops up... WHO'S WITH ME?!?! I just wish he'd make him go home. Did anyone see the Sun Times piece yesterday that Ozzie got the idea to put Quentin 3rd in the line-up last year from an email from a fan? I can't believe he would admit that.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:40 PM) Let's see what the advanced scouting has to say about the guy hitting .115 Clayton may be in the pen shortly as his last two outings have not been good. Oakland teed off on him. He's not that good. KW would have stole Peavy had he said yes.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:33 PM) So frustrating, no one is stepping up and getting a big hit. 2 for last 42 with RISP (if you count sac flies). Did you see White Sox pinch hitters are 1 for 30 this year? That is hard to do.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) Imagine if he was here last year with Quentin and Cabrerra. I asked Williams at Soxfest if he thought of bringing back Pods when the Rockies gave him the ML deal and he flat out said absolutely not... I am not a Pods fan but he is what this team needs. He wasn't very good last year. The fact is he was released by the Colorado Rockies this year. He's playing very well right now. If anyone thought that was possible he wouldn't have been without a job even for the couple weeks he was out of one this spring. I don't know how long it will last, but the Sox should ride it until it ends.

The White Sox drafted Polanco a couple picks after the took Carrie Schueler. He didn't sign.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:56 PM) And every ball that flew through the infield unmolested by Royce (Range of Josh Fields at 3B) Clayton led to additional pitches as well. If you asked any of our pitchers who'd they rather have playing SS everyday, privately, they all would have said Jose Valentin. Not to mention the fact that he was a really smart ballplayer in terms of instincts...we don't even have a baserunner with close to his aptitude on this current Sox team. We just have lots of low baseball IQ players, and that goes back to drafting. We can't blame the injuries to Rauch, Barcelo, Kelly Wunsch, Rocky Biddle, Bobby Howry, Jason Stumm, Danny Wright, Corwin Malone and MANY others on Jose Valentin alone, that would be silly. Eldred had a long history of injury problems before he came to Chicago... Valentin was back at SS. It didn't help. Royce Clayton wasn't the reason the Sox were mediocre in 2001 and 2002.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:40 PM) But has there been in talk of an injury to Bart? According to Ozzie at his press conference yesterday, Colon isn't leaving the rotation.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:30 PM) I was a big Valentin fan as well. He was an error machine, but you're correct about his range and arm (his 20+ HR power was nice as well). To my recollection, I only remember him costing us one game back in 2000 (the Sirotka/Pedro matchup, where the Red Sox on 1-0 on an unearned run). It also led to the pitching staff throwing more pitches and more stress on their arms. Eldred, Baldwin, Sirotka, and Parque all were never the same. I'm not blaming Valentin, he was a good player when the Sox acquired him and got a little worse every season, but it certainly didn't help them.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:36 PM) For one thing, the most dominant and successful element of our team right now is the bullpen, which is partially Cooper's oversight. Second, Colon has been getting by with smoke and mirrors (until recently) all season long. How he has done as well as he has with an 84-91 MPH fastball, throwing it 85-90% of the time, is beyond me. Everyone knows Clayton Richard has been a pleasant surprise, compared to the view many had of him this offseason as a pitcher who would get knocked out of the game in the 3rd through 5th innings (second time through the line-up). Contreras was/is coming back from a catastrophic, career-threatening injury at age 40+. Floyd has finally seemed to have righted the ship...and it looks like Danks might be the White Sox version of Cliff Lee (look at some of his inconsistency from year to year, where he goes from the Cy Young to the precipice of AAA and back and forth). The heavy toll/workload HAS to be a factor....it got the 2005 starters in the second half of 2006, their ERA's weren't even close to what they put up in our championship season. Buehrle is Buehrle. I don't know what more anyone could realistically expect. We knew we needed repeats from Quentin, Ramirez, Danks and Floyd, and none of that has happened...so it's really hard to say we can accurately predict how good either Floyd OR Danks can be when both of their careers have been so up and down. I don't know what everyone can realistically expect out of an offense that was so poorly put together, Dewayne Wise and Brent Lillibridge led off multiple games. Their best hitter has been hurt. Dye and Thome have missed time. A rookie is at 2b. The C and SS while decent hitters are low OBP, the 3rd baseman is a low OBP high K guy coming off a horrific stint in AAA, but yet when the Sox lose 8-4 the when will Greg Walker be fired thread begins. It is ridiculous. Again, be careful what you wish for. Everyone wanted Uribe and Crede out, you got it. Here's Lillibridge and Fields, what an upgrade. If the White Sox get better hitters, they will hit better. If they continue to trot out mediocre line-ups, mediocre results will follow.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:36 PM) yep not even here for a week and hes getting jerked around already There's another game today. He'll be in the line-up as long as he's healthy. This really isn't a day off.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:34 PM) I take whatever I read or hear about who a GM supposedly wants with a massive load of salt. I imagine that quite a bit of leaked information is false and intentionally leaked to throw off other GMs. Yeah, I've heard quite a bit about Himes' personality. Too bad, because he knew what he was doing. Roland Hemond wasn't bad either. Roland's selection of Kurt Brown one pick before Barry Bonds is memorable. The White Sox haven't exactly been known for their drafts except for the Himes era. I wonder if any team had 4 consecutive #1's that were able to contribute as quickly as those 4. It really was incredible.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) I won't dispute the fact that Himes was lucky to nab those four guys in consecutive seasons. Himes also traded for Wilson Alvarez and acquired Roberto Hernandez, so it's not like he was some mediocre GM who fell ass-backwards into dumb luck. I also don't know how Himes supposedly wanting Mike Harkey or Jeff Jackson is public knowledge, or if that information is accurate. I've read it from a few sources several years ago. To me, Larry Himes was a baseball genius, at least a farm system genius. The only reason he was canned was a personal dislike from JR who couldn't stand him. I believe Himes also drafted Baldwin, Bere and Ray Durham in the 5th round of the 1990 draft so he was able to get guys later who were good players even though the first round picks in 87,88,89 were really the entire extent of his draft haul.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 12:15 PM) No Beckham in the lineup: S. Podsednik lf A. Ramirez ss J. Dye rf J. Thome dh P. Konerko 1b A.J. Pierzynski c C. Getz 2b J. Fields 3b D. Wise cf C. Granderson cf P. Polanco 2b M. Ordonez rf M. Cabrera 1b M. Thames dh B. Inge 3b R. Raburn lf A. Everett ss D. Sardinha c I would wonder what is going on if there wasn't a second game today. I'm sure if he's not hurt or sick he's in the line-up tonight.

Where the 2008 All-Stars came from First round 22 Second round 8 Third round 3 Rounds 3-10 7 Rounds 11-25* 7 Latin American free agents 14 Japanese free agents 2 Independent leagues 1

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:11 AM) I'm not claiming that the Sox draft wisely. I'm claiming that teams who suck for several years on end and have several Top 10 picks, have a significantly higher chance of landing a Frank Thomas or a Jack McDowell. If the Twins hadn't gone 69-93 in 2000, there's no way that they would've landed Mauer (or had a shot at Prior). Even when the Sox drafted high they were lucky. Himes wanted Mike Harkey but the Cubs took him so they had to settle for Black Jack. They wanted Jeff Jackson, but Philadelphia took him so they wound up with Frank Thomas. Somehow, despite his pretty swing and unreal college numbers, Ventura lasted 10 picks, with the Cubs, looking for a 3rd baseman forever taking Ty Griffin right before him, and Fernandez was available because he didn't sign when he was previously drafted.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 11:47 AM) Why are our opponents weather proof when they play in our park? They really haven't been until this homestand.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 10:51 AM) Can't believe I'm the only one who keeps bringing this up. On the road, right now, the White Sox are a top 10 offense in MLB. At home right now, the White Sox are hitting worse than the Padres. It must be a mental/approach thing. We're putting up solid offensive performances on the road, but we can't hit worth a lick in one of the best hitters parks in baseball. The pitching has an ERA about a run lower at home as well. USCF has played pretty big for the most part so far. If the ball isn't going over the wall, the White Sox are going to have a tough time scoring usually.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 10:06 AM) You're going to be even more hard-pressed to have access to those players on draft day when you're winning 81, 83, and 86 games every year. Not only is the Pirates' front office completely incompetent, but they eventually trade away their high draft picks that do pan out. In 2004, the Sox had 5 picks before Hunter Pence was picked in the second round. They took Fields, Whisler, Gio, Lucy and another stiff. There have been plenty of players available that were a lot better than what they selected. Their draft was terrible. How is it Boston, which usually picks after the White Sox calls up guys like Pedroia, Ellsbury, Paplebon......................

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 01:58 AM) I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really hate to admit this knowing what we know now. But the McGwire/Sosa HR chase was pretty instrumental in getting me back into baseball hardcore style. After the '94 strike, like a lot of people, I just lost that love I had for the game. I still followed the Sox and baseball in general. But nothing like before the strike. But those two cheating fools brought the love back. I read a study on the Sosa/McGwire saving baseball and the truth was it was total BS. In 1998 when they had their run at history attendance was up about 7 million from 1997, but there were 2 new teams that drew about 6 million between them. So there was an increase of about 1 million from 97 which was less than increase between 96 and 97. Attendance actually dipped in 99. So the whole saving baseball crap is just that. It does bother me now as much as I dislike Sosa and McGwire, the villians they are made out to be now when it was so "obvious" they were doing steroids. How come no one, not baseball, not fellow players, not the media, not the fans called them out when this was happening if it was so obvious?

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 09:34 AM) What's Eddie Murray doing these days? I'd fork out a lot of $$$ to bring in Rudy Jaramillo from Texas though. Eddie Murray has been fired as a hitting coach how many times? Didn't Cleveland take off after he was let go? Jaramillo is unavailable. BTW Dontrelle Willis shut out the Rangers this year. Jaramillo must have had a bad day. For the love of God people, look at the White Sox line-up before the game starts and tell me how that line-up is supposed to score a lot of runs. Name another major league team where Wise and Lillibridge would lead off. Just one. No other team wanted Pods, this board didn't even want Pods, now he's a savior. There is a rookie or 2 in the line-up every day. Fields, BA, Wise have been and probably always will be inconsistent and below average. Ramirez is a good hitter, but he is a low OBP guy. Same with AJP. Corky Miller hit 6th for the White Sox. Name a AAA team he would hit 6th for. Quentin, even when he's played hasn't been healthy. Dye and Thome have missed time. This is not a very talented offensive team.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 09:28 AM) While it's not Greg Walker that's swinging at those sliders in the dirt -- he is the one in charge of it -- and therefore shares the blame. If my entire team stopped doing their jobs properly here at Blue Cross, they'd not only come down on us, but our manager, too. Once again how is every hitter's failure on Walker, but pitcher's failures are never on Cooper? Do you know the White Sox have given up 8 or more runs 11 times this year? That's more than they have been shutout. Its the players, not the coach. Change the coach and you will have the same result. Can someone please come up with a replacement when they said Walker must be fired?