Dick Allen

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 8, 2009 -> 11:35 AM) He gets hit all the time because he crowds the plate, not because pitchers throw at him. Some players would back off, he chooses not to. Yes, but White Sox hitters get hit a lot more than the opposition, and I don't think the majority are intentional, but............................. Its time to put something in the pitcher's mind. If they are going to come inside and hit a White Sox, one of their guys is going to pay the price. It can only help the White Sox offense if an opposing pitcher is even slightly less motivated to pitch inside.

Chicago Tribune, pretty interesting, he thinks he's striking out too much, but this article goes total against the "lift and pull" that the White Sox most definitely employ according to this board, so it must be BS: By Mark Gonzales Several e-mailers wondered about Jim Thome's high strikeout total, and Thome was more expansive on the subject than he was about elaborating on former teammate Manny Ramirez. "Unfortunately, a little too much," Thome said before going 0-for-3 with a walk but not striking out in the Sox's 6-0 win over Detroit. "I know we’ve been working and trying to make adjustments in the cage here. If anything, you like to put the ball in play because you can actually get easy RBIs that way. Unfortuantley I haven’t done that. "We have to continue to work and continue to grind in the cage and make the adjustments that hopefully I’ve done in the past." Thome agreed that concentrating on hitting the ball up the middle and to left helped him break out of a slump last year. "I think when I was hitting the ball the other way, I think things were coming together," Thome said. "Obviously, I’m staying on the ball and again, as I said, it just hasn’t happened. If you work hard and continue to put work in and made adjustments, hopefully here it will turn around. "You can’t necessarily say it was the weather because it’s getting warmer. Ultimately you have to go out and get it done and just has not happened. We need to make that adjustment and get it done." Thome admits he feels more comfortable facing left-handers but that he has been sitting against most left-handers this season. "Well, I feel better against left-handers, I do. I think, to be honest, (hitting coach) Greg Walker and I have had this discussion. Against right-handers, I think some times I try to do too much and by doing that, I’ve pulled off the ball a little bit. I need to get back to hitting the ball through the middle of the field."

I think biting on it is supposed to increase concentration or relax the rest of you in some way.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 7, 2009 -> 08:43 PM) With Fields striking out so much lately, I checked his game log: multiple strike out games in 9 of his last 14 I've never been a Josh Fields guy, but he hasn't been so bad defensively this year. He needs to hit homers. 30 homers and 180 strikeouts isn't ideal from your #2 hitter, but its a lot better than 20 homers and 180 ks.

QUOTE (PlunketChris @ May 7, 2009 -> 08:43 PM) Did you know our #1 is pitching tonight? Obviously. I'm just showing Buerhle's dominance over the rest of the rotation so far.

Did you know the Sox 2-5 starters have a collective ERA over 6.00?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 7, 2009 -> 08:32 PM) What happened? He's not on the bench. I wonder if he's going to AZ. I heard Melvin is getting canned. I doubt it, it is graduation time.

Where's Joey Cora?

When is Hawk going to mention how far Inge can hit a golfball?

This.team.is.dead fire Greg Walker Konerko needs to be released I wish Cincinatti would reconsider Bailey for Dye I'm sorry AJ has to go

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 7, 2009 -> 04:58 PM) Hitting HR's doesnt mean you did PED's. I dont understand why people associate that with a possible juicer. PED's will allow the body to heal or repair its fibers more easily and quickly. SOME use this for gains in brute strength, SOME can use it just for recovery. Longevity at a very flat performance level says juicer to me just as much as one peak season. Guys playing into their 40's arent really that rare and i know lots of folks that are very athletic to that age, but the sheer numbers of guys that have the same performance from age 26-46 is a red flag to me. Hence my pitchers comment earlier in the thread. A LOT of pitchers have used PEDs and all except a couple just skate by. Eric Gagne is a guy whose save records should have the same asterisks any of Bonds' records do.

I wonder if he used "literally" correctly.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 7, 2009 -> 11:08 AM) An LA sportswriter had a great comment. Manny is going to be pouty and mad when he comes back because he won't get his big pay day next year. He won't be happy Manny anymore and probably won't help them much. Or he'll be off the juice and unable to play at the level he is accustomed. Anyway, Manny made his bed and gets to sleep in it. Buster Olney has a nice article up at espn.com basically calling for zero tolerance. Positive drug test-you're gone.............forever.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:58 AM) Gammons has back tracked on his comments from earlier. He won't take a position on it now. I think someone should yank his chain and say the Red Sox should have to forfeit their WS wins, although I'm quite sure Mr. Gammons wouldn't survive.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:47 AM) In the RF corner, it's a joke. 302 feet down the line. But it goes out very quickly. There are very few home runs right down the line.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:42 AM) Well, we know Alexei and Lillibridge won't be implicated!!! If they are, they are entitled to a refund.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:41 AM) Well, to be fair, Fenway is a joke of a stadium. A flyball there is a homerun. But, I do think it's weird that there has never been speculation about Red Sox players as much as others. Before the Mitchell Report, nobody ever questioned whether or not Ortiz and Ramirez had ever juiced. But, I always saw unfounded speculation about people like Ryan Howard and A-Rod (before this year) as well as others. I know the Red Sox are the media darlings, but it's irresponsible to turn a blind eye to them and hang the rest. This is just like the Patriots thing, they're proven cheaters, but everybody in the media defends them. I had respect for Gammons up until I read that. Of course, ESPN has basically turned into NESN over the last 5 years. Not to RF.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:26 AM) Shocking. Even after all the information comes out and it's f***ing obvious exactly what Manny was doing he'll still defend it, make excuses and claim the 2 championships the Sawx won were untainted. Its one thing for Gammons to be biased in Boston, but on espn he should treat it like Manny was the guy who beat the Red Sox in the WS. I'm sure his opinion would be different. Its seems pretty far fetched a guy would START using PEDs after the league starts testing for them. If anything, Manny's statement via Boras that he has passed 15 tests only shows testing isn't where it should be yet.

The bottom line is the millionaires rarely get busted for steroids, just the lower level guys who can't afford to stay ahead of the testing. There have to be hundreds of players who have never flunked a test who still were hopped up on goofballs.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 7, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) However, two sources told ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG -- human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO. www.espn.com I thought that just was off the top of your head.

I really think there has to be a cheaper alternative that retractable domes. Maybe that sail-type thing they had over the proposed park in Tampa can gain some steam rainouts and rain delays can become a thing of the past, at least in the major leagues.

Apparently Manny isn't hung like a yak.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 7, 2009 -> 09:21 AM) Turico and Van Pelt say the drug was a women's fertility drug, commonly taken when coming off a "cycle" of steroids or PEDs. Bingo. They will spin it still and many will buy it, but why in God's name would he be taking a women's fertility drug for if it wasn't in conjunction with PEDs? There is no doubt in my mind he was able to mask the PED. He just couldn't mask this.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 7, 2009 -> 09:20 AM) He was told in spring training according to the report. And his second test triggered the suspension? He kept taking it. I wonder why? Even Manny's most loyal fans have to know something is up here, and it isn't just his jimmy.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 7, 2009 -> 09:18 AM) Nope. If that report is true, it is still Manny's fault for not knowing exactly what is going into his body, but it hardly makes his "crime" comparable to those of others. And on a side not, if that report is true, how many sexual-related jokes are there going to be surrounding Manny now? Looks like he enhanced something This is exactly the "spin" Boras was looking for. He tested positive for it twice according to the article. Isn't he told about a positive test?