Dick Allen

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ May 25, 2009 -> 08:31 PM) To be patriotic on Memorial Day. Actually, it's just so the MLB can sell more merchandise. Supposedly all the money they make selling these hats are going to charity.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 25, 2009 -> 08:27 PM) http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...t=#entry1568014 I remembered this because this was the first negative thing I'd ever read about Evan Longoria. You're a great poster, but none of us need to be saying such a talented player is not going to pan out after such a small sample size in one season. Fields showed in 2007 some of the things he is capable of, and he lost all year last year due to lingering injuries. He had an excellent ST and now that he's healthy he has been a lot better in the field than he'd shown coming into this season. Fields deserves a lengthy leash because it could end up paying off big. Plus Viciedo isn't ready, and apparently Beckham isn't a 3B. Retherford doesn't need to be rushed either. People were in love with Fields' homers and ignored all the other warning signs. Very low OBP, mediocre at best glove, extremely high K-rate. As I've stated before, in the middle of Sept. 2007, Josh was hitting .228 with a .284 OBP. Pretty similar to what he has now. It shouldn't be shocking he's not hitting .280 with 15 homers right now.

The one downer for Quentin is he cannot stay healthy, if his injury is the plantar fasciitis they said it was, I've had it and it can linger for a long time. I think McGwire had it too when he was in Oakland and he missed a lot of time over several seasons.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 24, 2009 -> 11:37 PM) Did anyone think Peavy came here, read how badly this team sucks, and is going to suck for a long time, and decided not to come? I've been reading for months here how this team sucks, then when it's in print elsewhere, suddenly that writer is an idiot DH-Thome, done. Worst player in baseball 1B-Konerko-should be released 2B-Getz-obviously not a very high ceiling, needs to be replaced SS-Ramirez-can't field, now can't hit 3B-Fields-bust LF-Quentin-wrist injury has taken all his power CF-BA-garbage, Pods-garbage RF-Dye-s/b traded and money given to Cincinatti for Homer Bailey, his ERA is only about 12.00 C-AJP-can't we just get a new catcher Are these comments what you are talking about? I agree with a couple of them myself. Its also the same when b****ing about Greg Walker. The players all suck, but somehow a good hitting coach should have them all hitting .340.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 24, 2009 -> 03:51 PM) Only because we have no one to replace him with. Otherwise, he stinks. He was in the top 6 in catchers in OPS in 2008 a typical season for him. He calls a good game, and the guy who doesn't ever shake off catchers, Mark Buerhle, is far and away the White Sox best performer on the mound since AJP has been a White Sox. He doesn't throw well, but nobody is going to throw out most of the basestealers against the White Sox. Floyd and Contreras do not hold guys on. Before him, we had to deal with guys like Ben Davis, Brook Fordyce, a 100 year old Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark Johnson. AJP has been a godsend. Its too bad a lot of people don't recognize that. Get rid of him and the Sox will spend the next 5 years looking for someone to take his place unless Flowers suddenly shows he can stop a ball. He is getting older, and he's close to the point a lot of catchers lose it. Trading him would be silly. Its yet another example of be careful what you wish for. Josh Fields all of a sudden doesn't look better than Joe Crede. He suddenly doesn't look better than Juan Uribe.

Francouer is exactly the kind of hitter the White Sox are trying to avoid. Low OBP now his power is starting to wane. I read something Friday where he may be released if he doesn't pick it up soon. He's been that bad.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ May 24, 2009 -> 01:32 AM) Even though Dayan has done nothing for the 2009 White Sox? Can't one also say the money that wasn't used to re-sign Joe Crede went to Dayan? How about freeing up Javy's salary? We bought way high and sold low and invested in something else that hasn't return anything to us yet. As much as you play around with stocks I'm shocked you would declare that a "win" so soon. It probably would have been better off had the Swisher trade with Oakland not happened, but it did. At least KW cut his costs fairly quickly. You have to pay Swisher $5.3 million this year and it goes up from there. Maybe nothing they got back will ever help the White Sox win. Maybe the money the Sox say was Swisher's is what they gave Viciedo and maybe Viciedo does nothing for the Sox. Swisher was going to do nothing for the Sox and cost them $25 million. In this day and age, getting rid of a player who strikes out all the time, hit .219 and has about $25 million in guaranteed money left on his contract and not having to eat any of it is quite an accomplishment. If KW tried to move Swisher 2 months later than he did, he probably wouldn't have been as fortunate.

QUOTE (beck72 @ May 24, 2009 -> 09:11 AM) Beckham likely now could outproduce Fields. I just don't know if rushing a potential cornerstone of the future is worth the short term fix at 3b. Getting a one year stopgap like DeRosa [who could also play 2b, take some pressure of Getz] may be better for the both the sox in the short term [a guy who could get on base for 2009 ahead of the big boppers, keeping Getz down in the order] and long term [letting Beckham progress slowly, on his timetable rather than the sox]. For Cleveland to give DeRosa to the Sox, and I agree he would be a good fit, they would probably have to give up someone like Poreda. KW's price and some NL West GM's price for him is very different.

Interesting that KW didn't even tell JR about his pursuit of Peavy for quite a while. If Peavy was this "special" exception for budget purposes, you would think he would consult JR before he wasted anytime on it. From the Daily Herald: So how did he plan on paying for Peavy, who has a guaranteed $63 million left on a contract that runs through 2012 and also has a $22 million club option for 2013? "We were going to figure that out along the way," Williams said. "That's not too much of a stretch. The funny thing was, when I told Jerry (Reinsdorf) what was going on - I kept this from him for a long time - when I finally told him what was going on, I should have asked him, 'Hey, where are you?' Because evidently, when I finally told, he almost stepped off the curb and got hit by a car in New York." Reinsdorf verified the story Friday, and he jokingly said he approved the deal because he was strolling down Park Avenue. "Walking down Park Avenue, I felt rich," Reinsdorf said. "Good thing I wasn't walking down Third Avenue." I wonder what JR feels like flying in his private jet.

QUOTE (beck72 @ May 24, 2009 -> 07:53 AM) It's pretty clear that Fields can't keep hitting the way he is and start for the sox. The question then becomes "who's next to play 3b"? Betemit's Uribe without the power or glove. Beckham's a long shot at best. CJ Retherford probably isn't ready either. Why not take a flyer on Mark DeRosa, who reportedly is available for "major league ready pitching"? I read this as a bullpen arm. If it takes Lance Broadway and the $4 mill left on DeRosa's contract for 2009, would the sox do it? DeRosa also can play 2b, 1b, and has even played the OF. His bat and OBP has been pretty decent over the years. Last time I popped off about Fields' ineptness he came through, so I will do it again. 1 extra base hit in his last 88 AB. 0 in his last 47. As far as DeRosa, I can't see the Sox and Cleveland making a trade. I think the next guy you see at 3rd is Beckham.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Apr 16, 2009 -> 02:24 PM) Swisher had a bad year last season, but he's a career.246/.356/.460 hitter and I always thought he would have a bounce back season. It's a joke that the Sox gave him away for nothing. Still think its a joke? The Yankee fans are starting to boo him. He's hitting about .125 at home.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ May 23, 2009 -> 01:52 PM) I have a gut feeling that we not only end up completing the deal...but end up giving the Pads less in return and finding a middle ground with Jake on concessions. I just don't see any other player coming to the table in the next few months that can get the deal done. The Padres will be desperate to find a suitor and Jake would like to improve his status for future years. Unless a deal for another top line starter is done before the deadline, I think Kenny gets this done in the days preceding the trade deadline. I think a ton has to fall right for the Sox to still have a chance. No NL team will have to place any kind of bid in for him. The Sox will have to play a lot better than they have been. The guys the Sox were going to give up will have to stay healthy and pitch well, Peavy is going to have to pitch well, and JR is going to have to continue to be willing to keep his wallet open. I don't see it happening, and frankly, if its going to take him 2 months to decide, I don't think the commitment on his end is good enough to warrant being on the hook for all that money. I think guys who want to be White Sox will perform better than guys who aren't so sure they want to be White Sox.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 23, 2009 -> 06:03 AM) But AJ Burnett's contract was a very silly one, too. The Yankees were in that position because of the likes of Hughes and Kennedy (and many other pitching prospects) falling flat on their faces. They had to overpay. There's just too big of a future injury risk, as well as placing future financial restraints on the team...it's the chicken and the egg. With only 23K in attendance on Thursday against your traditional rival (who you've just beaten twice in a row) AND with awesome weather and then 23000 on a Friday night late in May, it's a little scary to think of committing to contracts like Jake Peavy's and then end up having to dump like the Cubs will in a year or two. The White Sox have sold more tickets at this point than they had last season and they were able to support a higher payroll then. As far as the longer term, they have $40 million coming off next year and Konerko coming off the following season. Being able to afford Peavy's contract is of no concern. I agree that guaranteeing the option would be foolish, but the rest of the contract is fine. He isn't coming though, no matter how long KW is willing to wait, and after reading about him gushing about Cubs fans last night, I'm glad he's not. The fact is JR isn't going to agree to anything if there's even the slightest chance it will do what you suggest.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:31 PM) I'll be in the air on my way to Chicago. Is it just me, or is it difficult to hear the announcers when they're on WGN? The crowd noise drowns out Hawk and Stone. I live in Chicago and have that problem when they are on WCIU.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:17 PM) Is James the best player in the NBA today?Do we need to see a Kobe and James Finals to decide it?Or the fact that James won the MVP decided it...I still think Kobe has the edge because I think his overall offensive game is more complete and a better defender though James is a better ball distributor.I also put Wade in the debate but he is out of the playoffs so I'm focusing on these two. The funny thing is in LeBron's second year, there was talk that he had peaked as a player. Not on this board, but NBA scouts and people like that.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:21 PM) Let him actually play for a full week. He's shown more baseball know how than half the team so far. You can say that about many 8 year olds. I think Fields will be in Charlotte within the week unless he starts hitting, and Beckham will be the third baseman. I also wonder if bringing up Beckham is part of the show to woo Peavy. 3rd baseman with below average to average defense with .212 averages that strikeout at a 200 a season pace aren't exactly pitcher's best friends.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:14 PM) Nix should see the field over Fields, if we are serious about at least be competitive. You could flip flop him and Ramirez in the order, but Nix has been making the pitcher work and usually puts the ball in play. If we gave him some consistent playing time, instead of this start one game, sit the next 2-3 crap, I'm positive we'd see a rise in average. I'm not sold on us calling up Beckham anytime soon, but if we do, 3B is his. Nix has played the last 3 in a row and is 0 fer. He's played the last 4 out of 5 and is 1 for 11. He was 2-13 when he played 4 games in a row a week or so ago. The more he plays the worse he does . Its probably why Beckham will be here soon. Fields needs to be taken out back. An amazing fall from grace for him.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:09 PM) Yeah, he's had good ABs compared to some of the rest of the jabronis, but there's no way he should be batting 2nd. It's getting scary with Quentin. He's just rolling over everything. He wasn't moving very well tonight either. He did look a little better running on the DP ball, but the first couple of AB, it appeared he wouldn't be able to play LF for quite a long time. As far as Nix, I understand the love he's getting because the others have been brutal, but as you said if he were on any other major league team, he'd be hitting 8th or 9th or in AAA. If the Sox had to send him through waivers, I don't think they would have any problem getting him through. Colorado got him through twice last year.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:07 PM) He's been putting together good AB's and been hitting the ball well. Soon, those line drives he's been hitting at defenders will start to go where no defenders are at. Plus, he hasn't even had 40 AB's yet. Little too early to look at stats for him, especially batting average. His AB quality is starting to drop.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:05 PM) Ramirez likely scores on that weakly hit grounder anyway. No way. He would have been out by 15 feet.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 22, 2009 -> 11:04 PM) I know we won, but a couple moves I'd like to see made. Option Fields to Charlotte, call up Andy Phillips. Trade Wilson Betemit to a national league team for any lefty relief pitcher. Have that lefty relief pitcher take Gobble's spot. I don't care what we do with Gobble, just get rid of him. Call up Kroeger. Make Nix the starter at 3B with him playing 2B vs. lefties with Phillips at 3B. Lineup: (vs R) 1. Podsednik, CF 2. Nix, 3B 3. Dye, RF (should be Thome, followed by Konerko, but Ozzie would never do something so logical like that) 4. Thome, DH 5. Konerko, 1B 6. Quentin, LF 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Ramirez, SS 9. Getz, 2B (vs. L) 1. Nix, 2B 2. Ramirez, SS 3. Dye, RF 4. Thome, DH 5. Konerko, 1B 6. Quentin, LF 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Phillips, 3B 9. Anderson, CF Isn't Nix below .200 now? Be careful what you wish for, he really can't hit either.

Floyd was outstanding. I have no idea why Pittsburgh didn't play the infield in with Pods up when they scored the first run. He rarely hits the ball very hard and doesn't drive in runs. We take that one. Ramirez looked good too. The guy across the aisle scream at Josh Fields after he struck out and told him he sucked. His girlfriend scolded him. His response? "He does suck."

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 22, 2009 -> 06:06 PM) Yes, because Peavy has the power to decline everything and force the Pads to make a deal they do not want to make. Peavy can sit around and be happy losing while waiting for the Cubs to finalize the sale, draw up their plans, and clear salary. If Peavy says, "I'm only going to the Cubs unless other teams do this and this and this..." and rattles off a laundry list of impossible demands, then the Pads could be forced to trade him for basically non-prospects and salary relief if it came to it. It could be another Kenny Lofton + Aramis Ramirez for Bobby Hill scenario as long as Peavy doesn't mind losing for another year plus, and by the looks of it, he doesn't care about winning at all. I don't know about not caring about winning. Let's face it, right now SD has a better record than the White Sox, but everything else you said I agree with. SD gave him the NTC. Moorad didn't have to buy the team. Its all on the Padres. What the White Sox offered is probably the best they will get, and if SD is so desperate to dump his salary, they probably will trade him for next to nothing, although I think his no trade protection decreases a little next season, but he could just refuse trades to teams except the Cubs who could afford his salary.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 22, 2009 -> 06:01 PM) It goes both ways. Let's say the Sox spent about an extra $20M this offseason and ran out this team: CF Taveras 2B Hudson LF Quentin RF Dye DH Thome 1B Konerko C Pierzynski 3B Crede SS Ramirez Bench: Betemit UT, Anderson CF, Blanco C, Nix/Getz UT Rotation: Buehlre-Garland-Danks-Floyd-Contreras Bullpen: Jenks-Thornton-Linebrink-Dotel-Cruz-Richard-Carrasco What does that look like? A better 2009 team sure, but it's an aged veteran team of a bunch of guys who should be beginning their declines. Why would a young pitcher want to be apart of something that may soon resemble the Bonds-era SF Giants? I don't care what anyone says, the farm system is important to everyone. The better the system, the better chance of good players coming up to help or good players being used to acquire even better MLB players. The fact that the Sox have improved their farm system and that Kenny was willing to acquire Peavy with pieces from it should send the message right away that 1) the team on the field now is not the same team that is going to be out there through 2013, and 2) the Sox want to win and aren't afraid to acquire an impact player in order to do so. I'm happy they have some players that look like they can play in the minors as well. For a team that operates on a tight budget, its very important. I just don't think AA guys who are at least a year away have one ounce of influence in Jake Peavy's decision in a positive way. KW can say they are the greatest prospects in baseball. He can say the Sox will let Thome and Dye go, but Viciedo and Allen will more than cover the loss of offense. He can say Gordon Beckham is the greatest prospect in the world and we will find a spot for him, and he could be 100% correct, but veteran players trust veteran players. Even if Allen had a 95% chance of outproducing Thome in 2010, I don't think a guy like Peavy would believe it.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 22, 2009 -> 05:36 PM) Really??? Plenty of teams have the kind of talent in Double A or higher that we do? I know the Cubs and Astros, two of the teams he's gunning for, certainly do not. Atlanta has Heyward probably on the fast track and Hanson is ready, but the Braves aren't going to be adding that contract. If you're going to be traded somewhere for the next 4.5 seasons I think you'd care about both their immediate and long-term futures. Knowing about some of the players coming up helps. Also, it means payroll flexibility, i.e. more money to spend on veterans in other areas. I'm sure there are a ton of teams out there that would love to pencil in an IF of Fields/Viciedo-Ramirez-Beckham-Allen for a combined $5M or less per season. I think the point he was making was Jake Peavy couldn't care less about the guys in AA. If the plan was to bring them all up next year or the year after, chances are the team will struggle. Rookies struggle. If I were Peavy and if they tried to sell me on the AA guys, I'd be thinking their up in the majors in 2010 and/or 2011. It takes them a season or so to get their feet wet. If all goes well, they become solid championship-type contributors in 2012/2013. What's up until then? All this money coming off the books? How will that be spent? Will it be spent? Does my salary count towards spending it? What if the current crop of youngsters on the big league club continue to struggle? How long do you stick with them? Can you bring in someone better if they can't do the job. Can you do a little better than Dewayne Wise? We have a bunch of talent at AA isn't going to make Peavy hop on a plane.