Dick Allen

Bartolo Colon a consistent 92 in his 2 inning spring debut yesterday, touching 94 occassionally, per Peter Gammons. For him to make $7 million this year, he has to make 30 starts. If he can make 30 starts, $7 million will be a bargain.

QUOTE(max power @ Mar 13, 2008 -> 05:52 PM) They have to trade paulie sometime in may for that to be possible if I recall correctly. I don't see them giving up that early. Also dye has a full NTC for '08. So your situation gets even more unlikely unless those two get injured. NTCs are waived all the time. You just have to put them in a desirable situation for the player. A city they like and a team that can win.

A 42 year old woman I used to work with died a couple of days ago from liver and kidney disease brought on by alchollism. I really don't know what the real long-term health ramifications are for smoking weed, but it can't be worse than that.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 13, 2008 -> 03:10 PM) Step back for a moment. Why are people taking cough medicine and why are they smoking pot? There is a difference in application which is probably relevant. Not too many are texting all their friends to take some Nyquil, but they are making invitations to get baked. The first time I flew to Paris I took a triple dose of Nyquil because I have a hard time sleeping on a plane. I fell asleep while we were taxiing and I woke up when we were about 100 ft off the ground in Paris. I do it everytime now unless I can get to the front with those sleepers.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 02:15 PM) I know your angle, but people can be too wasted to drive. It is a drug, it can cause impairment, it can cause an accident. So can Nyquil. Do they have a test for that?

With the current roster, it makes the most sense. Cabrera isn't a leadoff guy, he doesn't get on base enough. His talents are best utilized in the 2 hole. Swisher gets on base, and leading off will get him several more ABs through the course of the season. The Sox are fine 3,4,5. Swisher should help the team score more runs leading off than batting 6th.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 09:13 PM) So what... Every player has hot streaks, even ones with as weak of a stick as Anderson's. I am not arguing not to give him another chance, all I am saying is that he sucks and will NEVER ever do anything in the majors. Maybe he will be a 4th OF defensive replacement type of bench player in the majors, but that is all. You are right. All the giddiness for him is based on a few spring training games, but there does seem reason for optimism with Anderson. He worked out hard this offseason, he obviously is hitting better than ever before, I don't think anyone has ever questioned his ability, just his attitude and overall approach. He seems to have turned his biggest critic, Ozzie, around at least partially to the point where you can almost reasonably expect him to get a fair shot, something I really don't think he had last year. Keeping him on the team and sitting him down the first month or so was stupid, it did nobody any good.

QUOTE(Jordan4life @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 07:03 PM) For the record, unless your name is Jordan4life (me, of course), Heads, Tony, Wite, Kalapse, Yasny, Dbaho and I believe I'm forgetting a couple other people, you are not allowed to jump on the Brian Anderson bandwagon. This entire board has killed him the last couple years. Only a select few supported him through thick and thin. Of course, It's only spring training. But I've got a strong feeling Brian is going to make a lot of folks eat that crow. Anderson is another one of my guys. Uribe, Contreras, Crede, I take everyone's trash, except Gavin Floyd.

As far as his defense, there are plays that are expected to be made and look routine in the major leagues, that don't get made at lower levels and sometimes by such a margin that no one would even blink an eye.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 06:27 PM) So maybe, just maybe, my BA 44 jersey won't be completely useless... I hope so, but I keep reminding myself that a team starving for someone who can hit left handed pitching had a player known to do that hit .500 with 3 homers in 22 AB last spring and he was released. (Eduardo Perez) Of course, the only team that picked him up was ESPN.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 03:14 PM) I know you have grabbed onto that sidebar detail. I should have never mentioned Quentin. He doesn't fit in the Cf arguement. I WAS WRONG TO MENTION HIM. That still leaves us with Williams needing to replace Anderson because he failed. Then he had to replace Erstad because he failed. That left him with unloading three big prospects to get someone to play CF. All of which STILL have the common thread of Brian Anderson falling down on the job, NOT based on the 17 ABs in 2007 which you keep pointing to, BUT the HALF OF A SEASON FAILURE in 2006. Erstad had an option for this year. He is the one to blame. Either that or Jerry Owens who obviously didn't show enough last year. Anderson also had a season ending injury last year. If it were all about him, KW would have been in the same boat this offseason wondering how the injury would affect him. I supposed we could blame Frank Thomas for a screwing up the Sox as well. If he hit in 2005 like he did in 2006, Thome would have never had to be acquired and Rowand would have been in CF. Its ridiculous to blame a guy with less than a full season of major league at bats. With all the poor starts many good players have in their careers, this guy had the pressure to produce for a defending champ. Its not surprising his offense fell short.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 02:07 PM) a sore groin on a young player vs. a veteran with a recurring habit of blowing a hernia? I think the best argument to be made for keeping BA is that Detroit is going to run away with this division and the Sox will be in a re-build mode next winter. They could start in July by moving some veterans (cabrera, dye, maybe even crede) and re-stocking. BA would be a nice building block if he can ever figure out MLB pitching, which he hasn't yet. Owens isn't much younger than Pods was when he started having leg problems. Owens + leg problems= worthless.

Broadway, Day, Haeger,Getz, Liefer among those reassigned. Carlos Vasquez was waived. Harrell, Huffman, Perez, Rouse, Smith also reassigned.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) I do hope that Brian Anderson makes the Sox take him up north and become the CFer this season. I love Quentin, but I could handle him in AAA/off the bench this year and next, so long as he's getting quite a few PAs between DH, LF, and RF. If Anderson does finally put it up this year and become a CFer, that instantly takes the OF defense from slow and among the worst in the league to one of the best units. Swish-Anderson-Dye looks like average to above average range in the corners with outstanding range in center, with strong arms on all of them, and then Quentin is on the bench and he's a good defensive corner too. I'd love it. I don't necessarily hope Owens stays injured, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for the future of this franchise if he did and Anderson become a legitimate CFer. Owens was scratched today. They say its because tomorrow is an off day and they wanted him to have 2 full days off, but this is looking like a Pods rerun.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 01:35 PM) And every GM in baseball knew the 8-ball K-Dubya was behind and would make it tougher for him to get fair for fair trades. If he keeps his head out of his ass, he could be truly great in this league. I don't know about that. He traded for Edmonds. He didn't want to come here. He offerred the most mney for Fukudome, he would rather play for the Cubs, the Angels and Giants were willing to overpay for Hunter and Rowand. At the deadline in 2006 he met with Konerko and Thome and they evvidently decided there really was nothing wrong with Anderson and decided not to make any trades. Soriano was rumored to be a White Sox. Just like any other team in baseball, if KW wants a guy who is available he has to make what is the most desirable offer to the player's current team. Some want prospects. Some want major league ready players, some want financial relief and some want a combination.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 01:07 PM) You are such a drama queen. Why exaggerate everything that everyone says to try and prove your point? He's the one that said BA screwed up the White Sox. I have decided to agree.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 12:39 PM) The flaw in your logic is KW has yet to get a CF. Of the players you mentioned Erstad was brought to be a fourth outfielder but his wondeful spring with that of the Prancer buried Anderson after Anderson won a job. Thus Erstad, the ultimate Grinder, plays just long enough to kill Anderson's season (19 AB in a month will do wonders for a young player) and render 2007 a disaster becasue of flawed KW logic on the player he brought in and handed a job to. Erstad played until the end May and did little to produce. Quintin is not a CF. Swisher is not a CF but he may be more equipped to do so than Mackowiak.... Owens can run and therefore is needed to get on base once a game and steal and maybe even score a run. The fact that he is no better a CF than Swisher is beside the point. If this team had a game plan that they truely believed in like they preach (pitching and defense) Anderson would have started last year and played just about every day in 2006. Anderson was no worse in 2006 than a majority of other rookies and did what was asked of him, played great defense. Which with statues in leftand right was really needed. The other flaw in his "logic" is what would BA failing in CF have to do with acquiring a corner OF in Quentin? I think BA can be a very good player, but injuries should be a concern. He gets banged up a lot. At least we know one thing, if the Sox don't win 95 games this year, its Brian Anderson's fault.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 12:34 PM) his wrist was injured in '06? How much worse was Brian Anderson offensively than Robin Ventura his rookie year.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 12:05 PM) Owens has yet to succeed or fail. You're making my point. Anderson has about the same playing time, and he was blamed for the Sox ridding themselves of all their prospects. So if BA made the Sox go get Erstad, Owens must be partially responsible for the Sox having to trade a lot away for Swisher.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 11:44 AM) I think that is the difference between you and me. I am going to blame the guys on the field, for on the field preformance. If Brian Anderson fails, it is Brian Anderson's fault. What happens off of the field, I blame on Kenny, Ozzie, and/or Jerry. I still say if Anderson was half as good in CF Kenny would have never had to try to fix CF in the first place. But you're not. You pick and choose. Anderson not hitting shouldn't force KW to go get 2 OF. He got Erstad. Erstad failed. Owens apparently failed. Pods failed, yet you blame it all on Brian Anderson. If you're going to blame players, don't blame the ones that don't play. You blame BA for "forcing" KW to trade Carter. Last I checked Quentin doesn't play CF.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 10:50 AM) To be honest, if Anderson has his head out of his ass, I have said for two years now that he is our best option in CF. But I can also understand that Brian Anderson's meltdown has put this team behind the eight ball. I don't see how that is mutally exclusive, or means that Kenny Williams can do no wrong, but OK, have fun with the hyperbole. I am not quite sure how Williams is supposed to handle his players failing. Does he not do anything because he picked them up in the first place? Besides, if Anderson was the answer all along, why should Williams have gone out and paid a lot of money for another CF in free agency. That is talking out of both sides of your mouth. Then again, so would be critisizing Williams for the Linebrink signing when you called him cheap for not dipping into FA to fix our problems. Obviously Erstad wasn't the answer, so that means Williams screwed that up. He also screwed up by thinking Anderson was ready to be a major league CF. I guess that makes me a guy who thinks KW can do no wrong Why was it not Pod's fault that Quentin was acquired? Why was it not Erstad's or Owens' fault that KW had to pay the price for Swisher, or why wasn't it KW's fault for not properly assessing how certain players would perform? Ultimately, it comes down to the boss. If you don't like the current state of the team, he is who you should blame, not some guy who had 17 major league at bats last season. It makes absolutely no sense that BA's inability to hit made KW get 2 guys at least one of which maybe both won't even play the same position.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 08:46 AM) If the Sox win 90 games, and Anderson still preforms like a egotistical amatuer, he still gets replaced in 2007. The Sox record has nothing to do with that. Kenny goes out and replaces parts that need fixing. Anderson couldn't handle CF like a major leaguer in 2006, so the Sox had to resort to Darin Erstad in 2007. The failure of Erstad on top of the failure of Anderson led to the Sox flushing their minor leagues for Quinten and Swisher. The one constant in that trend is that if Brian Anderson could have stepped to the plate, none of the next steps would have happened. That is the first domino in that line. I would call requiring the Sox to aquire all of those OFs screwing up the Sox. I would much rather have Anderson playing at his earlier potential, along with Chris Carter, Gio Gonzalez, Faustino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney still in our system. Wouldn't the Sox having to go get Quentin, Pods fault? Anderson was/is a CF and Quentin certainly doesn't play that position. But I suppose if Ozzie or KW rip a player, everything is their fault.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 08:46 AM) If the Sox win 90 games, and Anderson still preforms like a egotistical amatuer, he still gets replaced in 2007. The Sox record has nothing to do with that. Kenny goes out and replaces parts that need fixing. Anderson couldn't handle CF like a major leaguer in 2006, so the Sox had to resort to Darin Erstad in 2007. The failure of Erstad on top of the failure of Anderson led to the Sox flushing their minor leagues for Quinten and Swisher. The one constant in that trend is that if Brian Anderson could have stepped to the plate, none of the next steps would have happened. That is the first domino in that line. I would call requiring the Sox to aquire all of those OFs screwing up the Sox. I would much rather have Anderson playing at his earlier potential, along with Chris Carter, Gio Gonzalez, Faustino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney still in our system. So if Quentin, Owens and or Swisher are just as successful if not more than the names you mentioned, remember you said Brian Anderson screwed up the White Sox. And if they all perform great, maybe you change your mind and say Brian Anderson fixed the White Sox. You probably also blame him for the economy, 9/11 and so on. You talk out of both sides of your mouth because you think KW does no wrong. You say Kenny goes out and replaces parts that need fixing, so the Sox had to resort to Darin Erstad. Appears he replaced a part that needed fixing with another part that was beyond fixing. What screwed up the Sox was trying to fix holes with guys who were worse. See the bullpen. KW could have kept the prospects if he wanted to shell out more money, but once again, he misread the market. His market correction never occurred/

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 08:02 AM) How is it "pure fiction"? None of Vazquez, Buerhle, Politte, Cotts, Contreras, or Jenks play CF, so what do they have to do with bringing in Erstad? If Anderson preforms, Darrin Erstad isn't brought to the Sox in 2007. The pitching problems are the reasons guys like MacDougal, Sisco, and company were brought to the team. Because Anderson wasn't the problem in 2006 and CF wasn't the reason the team lost 90 games last year. Erstad blows, but he did not screw up the White Sox, he didn't cost much and certainly didn't cost them 20 games. Willie Mays in his prime could have been patrolling CF at USCF last year and the team would have been horrible. Erstad just performed and got injured like everyone except Ozzie and KW knew he would but they insisted they need a "grinder".

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 10:48 PM) God forbid if he faced CC, it would be so much better if we put Uribe and his .200BA against CC up there to swing for the fences. We were so impressed with Uribe that after signing him, we immediately traded our best trading chip for his position. Then after finding no suitors we are forced to use him. If it wasn't for the 4 million dollar salary Uribe he would be sitting on the pine as a utility guy. I'd bet my home if Ramirez makes the White Sox and plays everyday, you will hate his swing at everything approach, and will say its all Greg Walker.