Dick Allen

QUOTE (Brian @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 07:14 PM) Hawk should go into a business where people pay him to make excuses for them. He'd be rich. Next time I screw something up at work, I'm blaming the umpires.

That's 3 consecutive starts Javy hasn't pitched 5 innings. The biggest waste of money on the White Sox.

Quit making excuses for this loser Hawk. He is what he is. If the Sox were already eliminated, he would have no problem with an umpire missing a pitch or 2.

Javy not manning up. What a shock.

Throw the fastball.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 07:01 PM) All I know is if they miss the playoffs, Walker must go! Why is it when the offense fails Walker must go, based on some BS belief that Walker stresses homers, yet the same people love Josh Fields ignoring all his faults because he might hit 40 homers one day, and rip Ryan Sweeney for a lack of power.? And if the pitching fails, which really is why the champaign is not flowing right now, what with blowing a 6-1 lead on Thursday and losing while scoring 8 yesterday, there are never ever even one post that Cooper must go?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:57 PM) He's getting on track and AJ is looking better. That bodes well for not only the final couple games but for the post-season. Yes, I said it...POST SEASON!!! Dotel's looked better. Thornton has been good. Jenks problems in Minnesota was pitch selection. If Linebrink can somehow get effective, and the Sox make the post season, they can still do damage.

KC gets at least 2 in Minnesota, Cliff Lee gets scratched. If the White Sox don't win, its a choke.

It is nice to see Hawk in a good mood. I hope it lasts.

QUOTE (G&T @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:49 PM) KC is 13-2 in their last 15 games. Luckily, the Sox brought those 2 losses. And apparently the Indian's guys get excited over pop outs they think are homers. Do they say get on back there, stretch as the ball falls into JD's glove a little short of the warning track?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:39 PM) Swisher hitting a robust .202 from the right side. Just wow. Since hitting 2 homers and driving in 5 against the Tribe on June 30th, Swisher is hitting .198.

QUOTE (almagest @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 04:58 PM) Jerry Owens career minors (6 years): .291 .359 .359 (.718 OPS) 162 SB 66 CS (71%) Carlos Gomez career minors (4 years): .278 .336 .399 (.735 OPS) 141 SB 39 CS (78%) So Owens gets on base more and gets more hits, but Gomez has more power. a .017 point difference in OPS is basically nothing. Gomez is also a little better at stealing. But yeah, basically the same player. Also, Owens didn't start in Low A until he was 22, due to football. He's been a couple years behind the curve development-wise. Owens is also NOT "almost 30". He's 27. Gomez probably has a much higher ceiling due to his young age, but who knows if he'll reach it? If his attitude to this point ("The .660 OPS Superman") is any indication, he won't. And to say he and Owens are anything but almost the same player based on their careers to this point is silly. If you really think Jerry Owens and Carlos Gomez are anywhere the same player, lets just say, I'm glad you're not a White Sox scout, or if you are or ever were, I can understand the condition of the system. What about defense? What about throwing arms? Comparing what Jerry Owens does when he's 25 or 26 or 27 to what Carlos Gomez does offensively when he's 19 or 20 or 21 is beyond silly. Gomez is a far better prospect. He will make a lot more money playing baseball than Jerry Owens. Look at Robin Ventura when he was 22 offensively in the major leagues.

Gameday has a few pitches in the KC game almost right down the middle called balls.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 03:36 PM) Yeah, the difference in OPS during their time in the major leagues has been simply staggering. About 25 points, Gomez accomplishing that with a major assist from the Sox. Carlos Gomez sucks. Gomez is 9 months older than Gordon Beckham. Compare him to an almost 30 Jerry Owens. Good example. You have the most accurate name on soxtalk.

I heard the iphone has volume issues and can be a pain in the ass if you're in a crowd or any slighty noisey area to hear the person on the other end.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:35 PM) If he does it means the Twins win. Not really.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:31 PM) the ss like triple clutched there, i was like dude throw the stupid ball. Kind of like Cleveland's SS last night.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:30 PM) ur not kiddin are u? twinstalk.com now is calling Mourneau a worthless piece of crap that doesn't care about winning if it exists.

QUOTE (letsgoarow @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:28 PM) 3-0 f*** If he walks him on 4 pitches, KW will bid high for Bale in the offseason.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:24 PM) he's awful, but since he is left handed he is coming in....ugh So he's their Horacio Ramirez since they hoodwinked KW into actually giving up anything for him.

I think Carassco would have gotten the call before Nick last night and when he gave up the grand slam the Indians then had 9 runs. Masset had his moments, but I don't think he would have made a difference in any outcome.

He died Friday. An all-time great. He also gave back as much as any actor with his charitable work. A role model for everyone.

Its always best to make the playoffs. Who says if the Sox win their next 3 or 4 games to get there they won't go on a roll? Something in the bullpen is going to have to click quickly. They blow a 5 run lead Thursday and score 8 on Friday and lose. Winning those and we all would have been going over playoff match-ups right now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 07:49 AM) I would give KW two more years. Guillen's on a much shorter rope. If the team starts off like the Indians or Tigers, I think you have to try someone new (assuming that Konerko, Dye, Thome and AJ are all back next season)...and that Cabrera and Swisher are gone. Then the injuries and clubhouse aren't going to be excuses anymore. I think Ozzie is signed through 2012. Unless he says something totally obnoxious that gives JR and KW no choice or unless he quits, he will be here at least until then.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 06:40 AM) The Twins, with contracts for the likes of Lamb, Monroe, Everett and Livan Hernandez, were actually more "wasteful" than the White Sox in this regard. Not to mention that it was a much higher percentage of their overall payroll than the White Sox, significantly higher. What's getting Bill Smith off the hook for only adding Guardado is the minor league depth that Ryan left him with....Buscher, Tolbert, Span, Mijares, Breslow (picked up from the Indians for nothing), etc. MacDougal was clearly a "miss," but we have insurance on Contreras' contract (about $6.5 million if he were to miss all of 2009), Linebrink hopefully will be back to normal and Swisher will either provide us something different in return or we'll see if he can rebound (like KW did with Vazquez). The contracts for Dotel and Linebrink are a concern, but it seems that spending any money in the FA market on short relievers is just like playing Russian Roulette or craps. The odds of success are better with proven veterans (although this theory didn't work so well for Baltimore, or with teams that gambled on Gagne)...than what we did the last two seasons in our bullpen, which was essentially loading up with former first round draft picks and guys with talented arms and hope that Cooper could salvage their careers magically. KW just needs to be creative...either Dye or Konerko should move to DH (my preference would be Dye), Swisher to 1B (where you hope for a rebound) and then you try Anderson or go the FA route (or get a SS/2B/3B back from a Konerko deal.) The problem is that we have at least three significant issues: 3B, 2B/SS (I'm assuming Ramirez will end up at short), and CF, where Swisher is playing out of position. Our best bargaining chips are Poreda and Fields, yet they both are depth in positions where we need the most help (5th starter/3B) going into next season. I think it might be too expensive a luxury to carry Uribe at $4-5 million a season to be the back-up, and Uribe and Anderson are players I'm not sure you wisely or logically build around, even though they are still much younger than your core in Konerko, Dye, Thome and AJ. You play Swisher at 1B, you have a little below major league average production, very solid defense...it's all predicated on getting a Pods-like (not Jerry Owens) player for CF. Getting Figgins, Hudson, Furcal, etc., isn't going to be cheap, either in terms of salary or talent surrendered. KW has to go out and find someone (like Alex Rios) coming off a down year, but still young, that the club is willing to part with for the right price...a player that doesn't fit on the depth chart due to injuries or one season of non-performance, but major league ready (like Quentin). Maybe we should look at Japan again, it worked for awhile with both Takatsu and Iguchi. Maybe KW will really roll the dice on Ichiro or A-Rod, although both these names seem more like fantasy discussion based on our minor league systems, rather than reality. Abreu's name has been mentioned, and he would be fine, if the price was right and we could move Konerko and put Swisher at 1B and find a better CFer. Then there's always the strange and curious case of Brian Anderson. Are you sure about the Contreras insurance? I read somewhere there wasn't any. I know the Mets have none on Billy Wagner. Figgins is a guy who supposedly is not well liked in the Angel clubhouse, and seems to be constantly injured. Furcal has a back problem. With what went down with Crede, I don't see JR shelling out a huge commitment to him. Hudson is a guy the Sox have admired for years, but he wants 8 figures. I find it hard to believe he's worth that. There's just nothing obvious out there, plus with the Yankees and Mets moving into new moneymakers and the Yankees also shedding $84 million in payroll, if you go the free agent route, you may have to be looking at plan D or E. It will be an interesting offseason. I do know KW will get a real leadoff hitter. There's a lot more to like here than there was last year. Floyd actually looks legitimate and Danks rebounded from a horrible 2nd half to be dominating at times. Quentin and Beckham add to the mix although I will always be concerned with Quentin's health considering the amount of times he gets hit by a pitch.