Dick Allen

QUOTE (scenario @ Sep 24, 2008 -> 11:28 AM) Of course it matters. Are you trying to say that facts don't matter... it's only opinions that matter? If someone says he's a big game choker then they should be able to point out the big games... unless they're just venting which I can understand because last night was ugly. So... what are the BIG games? For example: on August 17th, when we were tied with the Twins and playing the A's on the west coast... and Javy went 8 innings, and gave up only 4 hits to help the Sox take the series and stay in first place. Was that a "big game"? Or when we had just lost two games in Cleveland the beginning of this month... and we were in danger of being swept... and Javy went 6 innings, gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, struck out 5 and walked 1. We started that day with 1/2 game lead over the Twins. Was that a "big game" or not? You missed the starts against TB which he did decently but lost. The start against Boston. He did well against a Detroit team mailing it in after about 50 hours of rain delays and here the Sox are in a fight for their playoff lives and your guy Javy, the guy who gets paid $2,000,000 a month, hasn't seen the 5th inning against NY or Minnesota on the biggest roadtrip of the season. His 2 shortest starts of his White Sox career. Wow he can shut down the A's, the team that went 40-50 consecutive games without scoring 7 runs. Explain the 11-12 record in 2006 compared to 15-8 in 2007 and 12-15 this year? What about his starts against the Cubs? Those were big games and Javy went in the corner and hid.The guy is a second division pitcher. That's his comfort zone. His ERA in 2006 was higher than league average. It was well below last year, and is average this year, It was higher than average with the Yankees, so basically, maybe its just coincidence, but his ERA is usually higher than average to just about average when he plays with contending teams. BTW, his numbers this season are earily similar to his career totals. He may have a great arm, and good "stuff", but he's a mediocre at best performer as his numbers would indicate.

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 08:20 PM) I don't get why we're putting DJ out there unless we don't plan on ever using him in this series in a close game???? This is the PERFECT time for Horrible Ramirez, Juan Agosto's long lost Twin brother With his motion and mannerisms, Ramirez looks a lot like Wilson Alvarez. Unfortunately, they aren't close in the arm department.

QUOTE (Friend of Nordhagen @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 08:19 PM) I don't know about a beanball, but I think -- without question -- Kubel's leaning out there. Once again, not enough throwing inside. Do it tomorrow when it might make a difference.

The disconcerning thing to me is forget the blowout loss. The entire team seems to really believe they cannot win in that building. They have been convinced every which way. I wish the organization as a whole would quit kissing Twinkie ass. Ozzie should come out and say the White Sox are far better than them. Maybe even say they suck. I bet if you switched rosters right now with Minnesota, the Twins would kill the White Sox just as much as they do now.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 09:05 PM) It has to do with SOUND?!?!?!? I love the Hawk, but oh my. He may be on to something actually. I was reading the other day about a study with people sleeping. When the researchers stuck rotten eggs underneath their noses while they were sleeping they had bad dreams. When they smelled something pleasant, they had good dreams. I wouldn't doubt hearing has some sort of effect.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 08:53 PM) Give me your opinion...how can Ozzie save face with Javy now? Considering Javy s*** his pants yet again, I don't think he has to save face, and frankly if Javy has a problem, I hope it enhances the chances of him being dealt. He's pretty much proven he is a below average to average pitcher on good teams, and unless the Sox plan to re-create 2007 the next couple years, he's a collosal waste of money.

At least we know Javy won't be spooked by his performance when he's back in Puerto Rico spending a portion of his millions on hookers .

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 07:27 PM) I wouldn't pull Javy. I'd leave him out there to die. This game is over, and he deserves every second of the embarrassment. Hawk pops off constantly how Javy could easily throw 150 pitches. No problems.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 07:24 PM) He just doesn't have a winners mentality. I wonder just exactly what it is with him. I don't think its lack of effort. It could be lack of stones. It also could be all those years in Montreal conditioned him for meaningless for the most part, baseball games, and he never learned how to win or perform well in big situations.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 07:23 PM) For those with Tivo, check out Javy's great first inning. Fastball, fastball, fastball, fastball, fastball. Now look at him now. It was pretty funny when Hawk and DJ were crying about him not throwing a change, and he does the very next pitch, and you can put it on the board.

It seems everytime Ozzie pops off a little, the Sox come up big. For some reason I thought Vazquez would have a good start tonight.

Javy Vazquez is an overrated, overpaid loser. Trade him to Pittsburgh or KC and he'll get Cy Young votes.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 06:57 PM) Honestly, I think those guys have stressed it in ST, but the players are just f***ing lazy when it comes to it. I think you're right, but I think that calls for Ozzie or Cora making them take infield, something that is rare these days, and working on it before the games.

QUOTE (Friend of Nordhagen @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 06:53 PM) AJ better start going oppo. I love the term "oppo"

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 06:48 PM) Yeah, those comments by Ozzie were mind-boggling. I still can't believe we didn't alter rotation to have two lefties face the Twins. I thought they were the same until I thought about it. Just think, if Vazquez comes up huge tonight, Ozzie's comments will get him a lot of credit from a lot of people. If Javy dissapears as usual in this situation, no one will blame Ozzie's comments. It would just be Javy being Javy.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 06:45 PM) A major league team that doesnt know how to execute a run down. Shouldn't Ozzie and the coaching staff take some heat for it? In 1999 I went to Minnesota for the last series of the season between the White Sox and Twins. They both sucked so the series was meaningless. The Twins won on Friday. On Saturday the Sox won and after the game, with the next day being the last game of the season, Tom Kelly had the Twins working on things out on the Metrodome turf. You can talk about how to execute rundowns all you want, but they must be practiced no matter how tedious it is.

QUOTE (BlackBetsy @ Sep 23, 2008 -> 01:40 PM) Javy Vazquez for whatever reason doesn't seem to be comfortable on winning teams. He likes the pressure off. Last year he wasn't so much 15-8 for a 90 loss team, he was 9-3 in the second half for a team that went 33-43 in the second half with absolutely no pressure. In the first half, the Sox struggled but were still considered a team that could eventually compete and had a shot. No one thought that in the second half. That said, all will be forgiven if he wins the game tonight. That's exactly right. I don't buy his flippant comments about not caring when he retires. I'm sure he would rather be remembered as a guy who can win you a big game. It can all start tonight, and for the duration until the WS victory.

QUOTE (scenario @ Sep 22, 2008 -> 08:08 PM) LOL. There is also a correlation between feet size and pizza consumption. But that doesn't mean that if someone eats alot of pizza that they have big feet. Javy's had a bad month the year he was traded to New York. And he had a bad season the year he was traded to the Sox. Besides that he played for crap teams. So... you want to connect the random dots to suggest that he doesn't have the cajones to pitch for good teams, only bad ones?? Nnnnnno. Don't think so. I find it amazing how people twist facts to prove points they want to make. Javy has been questioned before he came to the White Sox, however the facts are : 2006 White Sox win 90, Javy below .500 2007 White Sox lose 90, Javy 15-8 2008 White Sox contending all year should win 90+, Javy below .500 Bad month in NY? July ERA 6.61, August ERA 7.44. September ERA 6.29. He was so brutal the second half of his season with the Yankees and then in the playoffs, he was sent packing and the Yankees thought he was injured. So, for 2 years he's played with good teams in Chicago, his winning pct. is below that of his career. He played for a good team in NY and didn't get the job done. Maybe he can change some minds tonight, because pitchers making 8 figures a year should do well in big situations, not just when your playing out the string.

Javy needs to earn his paycheck tonight. No 6 IP with 7 k's and 5 or 6 runs allowed.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Sep 21, 2008 -> 01:57 AM) for those holding onto the "2.5 game lead with 7 (possibly 8) games remaining" if our next 3 opponents were, say, KC, Seattle, Cleveland, that 2.5 game lead actually means a lot more than it does right now What? Wouldn't a 2 1/2 game lead mean more if you are counting the games in Minnesota losses? Also a 3 game lead in the loss column. If somehow the Sox have to play Detroit again, do you think there's a chance in hell the Tigers won't mail in a game that has made them cancel tee times? If anything a 2 1/2 game lead at this point means MORE than it would under your scenerio. And if the White Sox don't deserve to win, you're saying a team with a worse record at this point does? I think the Sox will shock the world and win at least 2 in Minnesota.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Sep 19, 2008 -> 10:25 AM) Buehrle was a draft and follow guy. Teams can't do that anymore. Had Buehrle been drafted in the 38th round of the 2008 first year player draft he would have had to go back to school and then re-enter the draft if he wanted any playing time. Or he could have joined up with an independent league somewhere. Oney was brought in to fill a spot on the bench in the low minors. He wasn't brought in to play ahead of any actual prospects. The only reason people say anything is because of his last name. If the Sox had draft some guy named John Doe who sucked just as bad and stuck him at the end of the bench there wouldn't have even been a thread about it. And it's not like the Sox gave him some outrageous signing bonus either. I fail to see how drafting a sucky minor league bench player unrelated to a member of the Sox organization instead of drafting a sucky minor league bench player who is related to a member of the Sox organization makes us a better, more successful organization. He hit .122 as a 21 year old in Bristol with a ton of strikeouts and a ton of errors. It was obvious playing professional baseball wasn't his thing. How many 36th rounders with those same numbers don't get released? Yet he gets to screw around another season, albeit riding a lot of pine but still playing and gets a call up to Charlotte for one game. Maybe Charlotte just needed a guy for one game, but it wouldn't have been Oney if Guillen wasn't his last name. There have been plenty of players drafted in the 36th round and beyond who have been at least productive minor leaguers. Oney received opportunities based on his last name, and to me, that is wrong. I think he "retired" because he knew Buddy Bell wasn't going to go along with the game anymore and he would have finally been released. I suppose you would have no problem with Oney playing the lower levels until he was 40.

Al Reyes is available. I think the Sox should pick him up for a week.

I don't agree with pitching Dotel this game. I know blowouts are the only games you can really trust him in now, but I really think his problem is he's gassed. He's made more appearances this year than he has in a long time. He needs rest if anything in an attempt to regain his form.

QUOTE (BlackBetsy @ Sep 18, 2008 -> 08:44 PM) I challenge anyone to come up with anyone worse. It would be tough. There are some with worse numbers. Broadway is horrible, but he can shut teams down when its a blowout and they are just finishing out the game. When Ramirez comes in no matter what the circumstance, one thing is for certain, runs will be scored.

I think Horacio Ramirez might just be the worst pitcher in baseball right now.