Dick Allen

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 03:58 PM) pageant walking consultant. To be honest though, she was thrown in over her head in this situation and the media ate her alive, but she is a very admirable politician especially considering what she has done in her own state. She battled her party, reformed governement, and helped her fellow citizens gain some income from the oil conglomerates that have been exploiting their region for a long time. There are many many less competent politicians in Washington as we speak. So she's redistributed the wealth?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 03:59 PM) Toby hit .377 with a .920 OPS against lefties last year...it was limited ABs, but he's hit lefties decently over the past 4-5 years too. I don't care if Toby's back or not, I just don't think that is an argument you can use against him. 7 RBI in 2008. 3 RBI in 2007. Toby Hall blows. I'm not using it against him anyway. Get someone else. His .902 OPS against lefties meant squat, and defensively I feel he leaves a lot to be desired. There are better catchers sitting at home.

I had CNN on last night for a minute and the report was McCain staffers one day after calling her a diva, were calling her a whack job. Her 15 minutes are about up.

I think the Sox have to replace Toby Hall, even if he wanted to play for the minimum. He seems like a fun guy, but 10 RBI in 2 seasons and not exactly Johnny Bench defensively. Its time to get someone else to back up AJ. Either get a guy who can hit lefties or a defensive specialist, I don't care. Not some guy whose biggest contributions are shaving cream pies.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 01:54 PM) Winning the World Series didn't bring Frank back, and there was way more bad blood in this case. Maggs called everyone in the organization a liar and bascially a cheat. I don't think that has been forgotten by the people who pull the strings. Ozzie had some nice parting shots in 1997. I don't think Maggs will be back, but I don't think he's as persona non grata as you believe.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) I dont think there is any conspiracy theory behind Swish's bad year. He had an off year, tinkered with his swing, it made it worse, and then struggled trying to break out of it. He had a bad year, thats the end of it. He is a valuable hitter in this lineup if we have more contact and high batting avg guys around him, unfortunately, this wasnt the case this year and he stunk. I look for a nice rebound next season and hopefully better and more productive hitters around him. One big risk is if Swisher now is what he showed and has another bad year in 2009, his "affordable" contract becomes an albatross. Owed $6.75 million in 2010, $9 million in 2011 and a $12 million option in 2012 with a buyout. Unless you open up a spot in the OF or 1b where he can play everyday, if the rest of the league still thinks he's affordable and willing to give something up for him, I think KW should trade him.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 12:02 PM) Prince Fielder could be had, he is a better 1B that Swish. Then we could easily have the All-Star Buffet eating team of Uribe and Prince. Don't forget Jenks. He's probably been asked to leave a few buffets in the past.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 04:35 AM) Runs scored is a statistic too, and, generally, is just as valuable as RBI is - meaning it's dependent upon every other player around you. A .368 OBP will help you score runs, no matter how many times you are on second base. From what I see, I see a run scoring month, a run producing month, an absolutely fantastic month, and 3 terrible months. Andy Gonzalez has nothing on Nick Swisher. If you would, please inform me the last year where Andy Gonzalez had two months in one season at any level where his OPS for that month was atleast .876. I'm sure he did it, but if you would point it out, that would be fantastic. KTHX. However, Russell Branyan on the other hand... Runs scored is usually based on what others do especially when you are a guy who doesn't steal. RBI, at least you are the one doing the damage. I said it before, Swisher's walks aren't as valuable when he's batting 7th or 8th and has the worst hitters in the line-up trying to drive him in. The thing I wonder about is Swisher's home/road splits. June was a great month for him. The Sox were in Chicago most of the time. He hit below .200 with very little power on the road for the season. Makes you wonder about why?

Who trashed Kenny?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Oct 28, 2008 -> 06:17 PM) how about we give KW the benefit of the doubt given the fact that he's done this over and over and over and every time people rip the decision and then we get CQ, Lexi, Loaiza, Thornton, Jenks, etc I'm not ripping him. I'm saying he didn't sign this guy with the thought that he's anything but minor league fodder. Keep in mind his team had a batting average of .290 and an OPS of .814. He's also acquired guys like Erstad, Horacio Ramirez, Bukvich, Toby Hall. Not everything he touches turns to gold. He's had some big hits, I'll give him that. KW has signed plenty of minor league FA to play in Charlotte. This guy was a minor leaguer who was released. I think KW is aiming a little higher than this.

If Nix is in the White Sox plans, KW is crazier than Ozzie. All your scouting reports are from 2004. That's 5 seasons ago. He hasn't been a Rockies top 10 prospect for 3 years. He's a guy who has some ability and an outside chance to be a bench player. I wouldn't read anything more into this than that. Amazing how much excitement another all or nothing hitter who hasn't proven squat gets around here. He's a strikeout machine.

.125 average with 17 k in 56 AB. Looks like a future Charlotte Knight.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Oct 27, 2008 -> 11:17 PM) Sure...its possible that what you say is true, that the best of Swish is in the rear view mirror. Most likely though for a guy who is 27 years old, logic says that Swish still has some quality years ahead of him before an age related decline. Brad Wilkerson is currently 31 and not as good athletically than Swisher is. What if Swisher returns to 07 form, .262/.381/.455 with 22 hrs and 78 RBI, what if returns to 06 form .254/.372/.493 with 34 hrs and 95 RBI? The problem is that in those years Swisher was a 3/4/5 hitter, thus he was the benefactor of drawing more walks (OBP) and presumably getting better pitches (fastballs) with runners on base. The thing about being on the White Sox is that he is not better at hitting 3/4/5 than anything we have. In fact I see him basically taking Crede's spot in the lineup as long as the new 3B is brought in for Speed, OBP, AVG. The point is we had like 6 lumberjacks already in this lineup before Swish came in, now Crede and Griffey are gone with the possibilty that one of Dye/Thome/konerko could be gone as well. This could really open up more middle of the lineup opportunities for Swish to get back to his .255/.380/.475 line with his 25 HR pop...for only $5 mil. Wilkerson fell apart when he was 27-28. He played CF. Stole some bases. Look at his seasons when he was 24-26. Its pretty similar, if not better than Swisher. Swisher still strikes out way too much for a guy who isn't going hit 40 homers. I highly doubt Swisher batting 3, 4 or 5 makes his batting average and OBP rise as much as you hope. The guy didn't even hit .200 on the road. It seems to me he's a candidate to get blamed for taking some things maybe he shouldn't have.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 27, 2008 -> 06:55 PM) Well, the whole rape/sexual harassment incident lends some credence to his claim. There was no rape.

Whether or not trading him would be a mistake would have to be determined by what would be coming back. Look at Brad Wilkerson. Very similar players. Hit for a mediocre at best average, nice power, a lot of walks and a lot of strikeouts, and then Wilkerson went from a pitcher's park in Washington to a hitter's haven in Texas and he sucked even more. Sounds familar. Its possible, despite his age, we have seen the best of Nick Swisher. That $20+ million still owed to him just may make KW wince a little bit. He's not a CF. LF and RF and 1B and DH are taken. He's a 10th or 11th man right now.

I just think the "Swisher is signed to a reasonable contract" posts need to stop. Unless he picks it up, $5.3 million in 2009, $6.75 million in 2010 and $9 million in 2011 isn't reasonable for a guy who hit .189 on the road with an OPS of .595. His home stats seem right in line with what you would except or even exceed what you would expect. He was brutal on the road. Post All Star average .191 with a .298 OBP. This guy might be Brad Wilkerson.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Oct 20, 2008 -> 09:25 PM) I like: WV over Auburn Ohio State over Penn State Illinois over Wisconsin BC over UNC LSU over Georgia Kansas over Texas Tech Don't go to Vegas.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Oct 25, 2008 -> 12:50 PM) How does Levine know that there will be no market for Konerko and Dye? I know Thome probably wont have much of a market value, but Dye will have major value. The PK market will depend on where Texiera goes. 38 year old DH's making $16 million a year usually don't have much of a market value. 1B who run about as fast full speed as Manny Ramirez when he was dogging in with the Red Sox, and is coming off a bad year and is owed $24 million usually don't have much of a market. Dye, I could see a market for, but he's only signed for one more year plus an option at a nice chunk of change. He's also slowing defensively, and probably will be a DH soon, no matter how much Hawk and DJ praised his glove in 2008. BTW, I don't think this is any inside info Levine is preaching, just what he believes.

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 06:20 PM) I disagree with your value of Vazquez. Last year, the Sox traded a middle of the road starter for an all-star shortstop. It's obviously not a perfect comparison, but I think Vaz has a pretty good value. If he was a FA, he'd be getting a 5-6 year contract for at least what he's making now. Not a chance on a 5 or 6 year contract. Neither the Yankees or White Sox gave him that long when he was younger.

Jerry Manuel hired him to coach 3rd for the Mets. I love Razor.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 10:03 AM) I would say that Javy, although a little thin between the ears, is signed at a fairly inexpensive rate. He's an innings eater and a strikeout machine. He'll probably make $5-$7 million less than what Sabathia will get, so, I think he'd be a decent pickup for a team like Milwaukee. I don't know why he is called inexpensive when he makes $11 million a year and generally gives you a .500 record with an ERA at or above league average. He may have talent, but if you use results, he's an average at best pitcher. $11 million for that is very high.

The other "terrorist" the GOP is trying to link Obama to is Saul Alinsky Now Alinsky’s name is being dragged in the mix. During an interview Friday on Andrea Mitchell’s MSNBC show, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) said, “Obama started out with Saul Alinsky.” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told Chris Matthews on “Hardball” that Alinsky was “one of his teachers, you might say.” Someone needs to rewrite their talking points. Alinsky, born in Chicago on Jan. 30, 1909, died June 12, 1972 in Carmel, Calif. — when Obama was 10. It appears to be a bit of desperation. The robo calls in PA are as well. I really believe the anti-America talking points they are bring up now are strictly racial. I think anti-America is code for anyone who would vote for a black man. In fact I read where Palin holds her rallies, the places she calls the "real America"(Its nice to know I live in Chicago, so I really don't live in America) are more predominantly white by a rather large margin than the country as a whole. Sarah Palin's real America is at least 83% white.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 15, 2008 -> 09:57 AM) I don't see the Sox getting Hudson. Historically Kenny has used 2B as a position to save some money. Think back on our 2Bs, he has never ponied up big for a guy over there. Alexei Ramirez, Juan Uribe, Danny Richar, Tadahito Iguchi, D'Angelo Jimenez, and Willie Harris are the guys that come to mind right away. When Ray Durham was about to get paid, Kenny traded him for nothing. I'd bet on Getz, a cheap FA, or some minor league guy no one is thinking about that Kenny swings a minor deal for. I don't think they will sign him either, but if Ramirez goes to short and Beckham is ready to go in 2010, KW is going to have a couple of pretty cheap infielders for at least a couple of years, so he theoretically should have money to spend. Hudson is a nice player, I think he wants 8 figures. I don't think he's that nice.

The Tribune has switched sides. They are endorsing the democratic nominee, for the first time ever.

QUOTE (almagest @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 01:12 PM) Who cares? He "dogs" it at a hall-of-fame caliber. I don't care if he takes a dump in the outfield every game if he posts a .900+ OPS, which he's done pretty much every year of his career. I really just can't understand the Manny Ramirez hatred going on in this thread. As a 36 year old playing for the Dodgers, you see what he's capable of when he wants to give maximum effort. The reason I don't like him is because he gets paid tons of money to play a game. Full effort should be expected. If he can't give maximum effort at least for a good portion of the time, he's an ass to me. Sorry. Ask the Red Sox and their fans what they thought about his annual mysterious injuries every September. How would you feel if you could only go see him play a couple of times a year and the day you go he's sitting out because he claims to be hurt when he's not? Or how do you explain to your kid, his OPS is over .900 its OK to run to first in 6 seconds so the other team can turn a DP? His yearly whining about wanting to be traded, then taking it back gets a little old too, and I don't even follow the Red Sox. He won't hit anywhere near as well as he hit for the Dodgers if he signs a multi-year contract and will come up with some fake injury to sit for a long stretch too next year. As good of a hitter as he is, KW wouldn't touch him.