Dick Allen

QUOTE (fathom @ May 6, 2008 -> 10:01 PM) Don't forget that this umpire had a very small zone, which made the outing even more special. He wasn't throwing all that hard. The board at the game had him 90-91. He wasn't striking many out. I'm not a big believer in him, but he was great tonight. They didn't hit many solid. I hope he can keep it up.

I hope its a lot more civilized than the White Sox clubhouse.

The Oliver Hardy look-alike is being replaced by Neil Funk who moves from radio. Wayne Larivee has also called his last Bulls game. The Swirsk, Chuck Swirsky returns to town to handle radio PBP.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 12:32 PM) For the players entire careers reporters in the locker room have been a part of their lives. Right or wrong. Where do we draw the line? Are you serious? Certainly you have a concept of acceptable and unacceptable behavior that will be reported to your fan base? You have got to be smart enough to know that this is not the image that the White Sox or MLB wants to portray. Because you don't know where to draw the line, are you saying there should not be a line? Imagine if the Sox no longer where on ESPN because the team barred the reporters from reporting THE TRUTH. Great PR. Most players are assholes. What the White Sox did with those dolls and bats was wrong. What was your reaction when Ozzie called Marriotti a f**? If you did that in an office, there's a good chance you're headed out the door or at the very least to the HR dept.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 12:10 PM) There are separate changing areas. The press is not allowed in when the guys are naked. These guys are protected because they keep acts like this away from the office and work. That's the point. Have you been in the clubhouse? They get dressed at their stalls. The press is right there. Its even smaller in most road clubhouses.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) I agree. For most players the press is an unwelcome part of the job. But it is a big part of the job. And almost every job has it's not so much fun part. But to cash those checks they know it comes with the territory. And if you do it very well, they reap some big benefits. By most accounts Michael Jordan was no choir boy. But he carefully guarded his image. He was engaging with the press, always acted like a pro in and around the court. And years after his retirement he still does more commercials than any active player. The guys get it. They understand it. Better then most fans. Michael Jordan was protected by the press. Roger Clemens was protected by the press. These guys got away with a lot of crap. There's plenty that goes on that doesn't get reported. Plenty that would make anyone on this board blush. While I don't agree with what went on in the clubhouse, I think it was very irresponsible of a few members of the press to report it. This is a room where men get dressed . What's next, are they going to start reporting on the size of each player's crank?

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 10:04 AM) Yes, this is a locker room, it is also the area that the EMPLOYER has opened up and wants visitors to come in and report on what they see. The EMPLOYER hopes to parlay that publicity into more profits for them. They use those profits to pay the employees millions of dollars. The image the team portrays, whether accurate or not, also increases or decreases the profits for the team. Players understand this and some perform better in that role (Thome, Payton) then others (Bonds, Thomas) Perhaps this publicity will increase the fan base with people who think blow up dolls are great entertainment. That will really improve the image of Sox fans everywhere. It is a MLB policy to open the locker room to the press, and its only for a certain amount of time. If JR and every White Sox player and employee had their choice, a member of the press would never be in the clubhouse.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 6, 2008 -> 09:14 AM) What business doesn't want all the free publicity they receive from the media??? The Sox will not be covered today because they blocked access to the media because they reported truthfully about what was going on in the clubhouse? Brilliant PR move. There are some things that should not be reported in the media. You really think the White Sox love the publicity of this particular event? I'm not saying the media shouldn't be in the clubhouse, I'm saying there should be a line drawn on what they can and cannot report. In fact when Ozzie called Marriotti that name, the reports were that he used it all the time, but the media "protected" him. What was the fallout from that?

What happens in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse other than quotes media members get from players. Anything else, if they report it, they should lose their access IMO. There is no need for this stuff to be all over the papers. Like the post above stated, they try to present a family atmosphere at the ballpark and kids do look up to these guys, but that doesn't mean that crazy stuff just shouldn't happen. It should be off the record.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 5, 2008 -> 12:46 PM) It is also an appreciation thing. I will buy a state of the art TV when my current set goes out. Until then, I am perfectly happy with my 27" Philips and my standard DVD player. I have friends with the latest, they are nice, but I'd rather have the cash right now. I felt the same way. I had a 32" Sony monitor that I bought used in 1989 that worked like a charm until December last year. I bought a 40" Samsung LCD on one of the bigger internet sites for a great price with no tax and free shipping. Holding off a few years saved me thousands. They shipped me out a 46" Samsung LCD. I had the cable guy out a couple of days later, and now have a hard time watching anything that is not HD.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 5, 2008 -> 02:24 PM) I'm glad we agree Swish's offensive production has been unacceptable. You got to hit better than .220 no matter how many walks you draw. As bad as Swisher has supposedly been offensively, his OBP is better than Pods' was in 2005. He is scoring runs at a higher rate than Pods did in 2005 and he is driving in runs at a higher rate than Pods did in 2005.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 5, 2008 -> 02:11 PM) I am still upset about the home run that was called foul a few years ago in Baltimore. When Sleepy Manuel stayed tucked in the dugout. It wasn't even close. The only way you called that ball foul, is if you are blind or are betting on the game, or the rules flipped and it was bizzaro baseball. From ESPN: After Konerko singled in the fifth, Joe Crede hit a drive into the left-field seats that third base umpire Eric Cooper ruled foul -- a call that drew an argument from Manuel. Don't listen to Hawk. Manuel argued. He just didn't get tossed. Evidently, getting tossed would have made a world of difference according to Hawk.

Didn't Ozzie himself say the White Sox were horses*** last season, now he's complaining because they are starting to play the same way and people are calling referring to them the same way now? Its pretty obvious the White Sox oranganization feels they deserve a break from any criticism since they won in 2005. I wonder when they think that protection runs out. I guess I just wonder how this ranting is supposed to make the team play better. I don't understand bringing the Cubs into it. Play the games and win. Play the way you advertised you were going to play. There is no free pass in my mind. I think the fan base is panicking prematurely about a 5 game skid, but so apparently is Ozzie if he feels it necessary for one of these rants.

“I don’t think (general manager) Kenny (Williams) is going to put up with this stuff. If they (players) don’t believe they can do it, well, we’re going to find someone that can do it. Haven't we heard this one before? Won't KW just consult with Konerko and Thome and feel the roster is fine? They will hit better than they are right now. The question is will they continue to pitch as well ? If they do, they will have a chance. If they don't maybe KW will finally see the light and break up the core. It didn't work the last half of 2006, KW said they could play any worse and they won 90 games. They did play worse in 2007 and lost 90 games. Then he expects every player to exceed their 2007 results in 2008. I don't think that's very realistic.

QUOTE (G&T @ May 4, 2008 -> 07:32 AM) I love arguments about who needs coaching. My thought is simple: Tiger Woods has a swing coach. Of course, but its ridiculous to think Greg Walker is the reason a guy hits .220 vs .320. If Tiger Woods didn't win a golf tournament ever again, would it be on the swing coach?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ May 4, 2008 -> 01:43 AM) It is an absolute abomination that this team is 4th in the AL in runs per game. The only thing that could be worse would be if the Sox were any one of the ten AL teams that are worse than them at scoring. The only saving grace so far this season is the sheer volume of whining and complaining that goes on on this website. The exaggerated hyper-focus and overreaction to anything bad coupled with a complete failure to put it in the context of baseball, the professional baseball season, sanity, or the performance of any and all of the other baseball teams is the main thing I look forward to each day. If the Tigers were to open up the season 0-7 I would ignore it immediately. But if the Sox were to lose a few games in a row I would make myself certain that they would never win again, that their horrendous 4th best offense would continue the rest of the season being just as horrendous and 4th best. Might also suggest that bringing up a minor leaguer would fix it all, potentially one who can't hit. Also, Walker should stop teaching that bat swinging style he has been doing this week, and go back to telling the batters to do it how they were doing earlier this year, when they were doing well. I don't know why he changed the way he was telling them how to hit. Post of the season so far.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ May 2, 2008 -> 07:21 PM) Pathetic. Fields needs to be on our bench. Would have been great to have him pinch hit for either Uribe or Thome. I don't care if he can only play third. No need to have Ozuna and Ramirez on the roster. Yeah, Fields needs to get to the big league club as soon as possible. He's tearing up AAA. He has 2 or 3 hits his last 25 AB. He'll solve everything.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 2, 2008 -> 12:35 PM) Yeah, I wasn't sure how out of the question that was. I guess I don't see why it would be a huge hindrance , but, I wouldn't call myself an expert on the subject either. I understand the tough turn to throw, but thinking about being RH at SS and throwing to third on a GB, it doesn't seem so automatically horrible. Just a thought. The DP would be tough to turn, and anything hit to his right, he would have to have some pretty good footwork to get the throws there consistently.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 2, 2008 -> 01:29 PM) I know this is something this board does too often, and its not as easy as its sounds, but I feel it should be raised... Given Owens' obvious athleticism, and his speed, his weak arm, and the fact that he was able to adjust to CF pretty well in a short time frame (arm aside)... is it possible he could adapt to playing 2B, at least part time? Maybe if he was on the team's bench, playing OF once or twice a week against tough righties, and then also picked up a game or two a week at 2B in those same scenarios? Is that just out of the question? Since he is left handed, 2B is out of the question.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2008 -> 05:52 PM) Until Joe Crede is resigned...absolutely not. Not with the Boras factor. With Boras involved, it's always possible the Sox could make him a dynamite offer, more money than Konerko got, etc., and then Joe would muddle around for a few days until some other team came in and offered him Torii Hunter money and suddenly we'd be left with, I dunno, Bourgeois or Ozuna as our #1 3b next year. If the Sox dealt Fields and Crede left, why is it out of the question that KW could pick up a 3rd baseman through a trade or some other way? Why would he be stuck with what is already in the organization?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2008 -> 01:57 PM) Am I the only one who remembers Dye's brief stint at Shortstop in 2005 when we had 1 person get hurt and Crede got ejected? That was 3 years ago. It doesn't happen too often. The starting rotation has had a lot more 3 IP or less starts than that in the 3 years.

There's greater odds they will need to use another pitcher than there are they will run out of bench players. Unless they call up Owens to PR.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 1, 2008 -> 09:41 AM) He apparently said something like that yeah, I didn't hear it. But my assumption is that someone is going to the DL or going to AAA from the pitching staff. Though I have no idea who that would be. Its also possible that someone will be traded or released. I just think that carrying 13 pitchers and only Hall, Ozuna and Anderson on the bench, is a bit dangerous. It would probably be for only 4 games. With Masset unavailable, they may need a long man the first 2 or 3 games of the series.

I think you can still get the real stuff in Prague.

Paulie became a 5 and 10 man today.