Dick Allen

BTW, they have the biggest hot dogs at TEP.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 16, 2008 -> 04:14 PM) Anyone who writes him off after today is an idiot. He looked brutal today. End of story. I don't think anyone is writing off Floyd because of this outing. I think people who have written him off, like myself, wrote him off long ago, and today is just some icing on the cake, sort of like your post after Jerry Owens dropped a flyball.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 16, 2008 -> 04:35 PM) Danny Wrong: 14-12 with a 5.18 ERA in 2002 John Snyder was 9-12 with a 6.68 ERA in 1999. I think he started out 7-0.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 16, 2008 -> 04:31 PM) Jeremy Bonderman lost 20 games his first season Greg Maddux lost 14 games and posted a 5.61 ERA in his first full season (this was in the mid 80's, so it isn't ridiculous to say if you had that Maddux pitching in this era that you would have had him post something similar to Floyd) Robin Ventura was absolutely brutal to start his major league career Point being, most young baseball players don't experience immediate success. They go through the motions, make adjustments, and the good ones pull out and become something, the bad ones falter. Gavin Floyd has overcame his piss poor showing in Philly and came to Chicago and instead of wallowing around, he got himself back in track and earned a lot of respect based on the way he took the ball every time out down in Charlotte and had a positive attitude and eventually impressed Ozzie/Kenny/Cooper late in the season in Chicago and has came in this spring and continued to impress (sans today start). Bottom line, the history of baseball shows that most young players fail or at least struggle at some point very early in there career before coming through. Floyd clearly has tools, find me a scout that doesn't believe that and I'd be shocked (now i could see a scout saying he's a risk or that he isn't the lock he once was, but I don't think you'd see a scout, who based on stuff alone, didn't think Floyd was worthy of being a major league starter). Whether it pans out or not, I don't know, but he's going to get his chance to open the season and show what he can do. If he sucks, the Sox will call someone else up or go with Masset or trade for someone. They probably will be in a tough spot when it comes to competing if a few of the starters fail, but we all know that the pitchers will have to pitch and Danks/Floyd will have to grow up in a hurry if the club plans on beating Detroit & Cleveland and winning this division. You can't compare Floyd to those guys. He's spent parts of 4 seasons in the majors, and his best success was when he came up in 2004. I read a scouting report when he was drafted. He threw 95 in high school with a wicked curve. One scouting report said he was major league rotation-ready. He doesn't throw 95 anymore, and if Keith Law is to be believed, his curveball isn't so wicked anymore.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 16, 2008 -> 04:23 PM) Bottom line is he's the Sox starter, whether you like it or not. I think its pretty petty for people to rip him on one start in spring training as opposed to seeing what he does at the major league level. Plus, if any of you had a clue, you'd realize that pitchers tend to go through a dead arm period during spring and this isn't some typical Hawk BS that he will ocassionally spew to make excuses (I've heard it countlessly from analysts and current/former pitchers over and over and that includes Steve Stone who isn't the type of guy that makes excuses). Yes, Floyd had some bad starts last year, but he also had some good starts against the Tigers and like it or not is the starter. b****ing and moaning isn't going to change it and making stupid comments after he's had multiple starts this spring where he's thrown consistently above 90MPH (well at least based upon what I've read and your right, maybe there is some major conspiracy by the Tribune/Southtown and every highlight I've seen this spring which has shown him at times throwing over 90). Oh and Ozzie has always been the type of manager that kisses a players ass and follows the company line, oh wait, last I remember he has at many times ripped the s*** out of guys (including Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens at times last year who he called too scared to play in the majors). I'm honestly sick and tired of the negative nancy bulls*** and when the season starts I'm just going to start one massive thread to keep stupid whining to (cause I know at times we all need to whine and b**** and get crap out cause all of us are very passionate about this squad). Its one thing when we want to discuss a players skillset and make projections, but its another when I have to see a new thread every time someone has one bad day (especially in the case of guys like Konerko/Dye, etc who have proven themselves to be pretty freaking good players throughout there career). There's a lot of people who thought Gavin Floyd sucked long before spring training and this one particular outing. Maybe he does have a dead arm, but he pitched 7 innings up until today and gave up more runs than strikeouts. For a guy who supposedly looks so great, and has top-of-the rotation stuff, its not so impressive.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 16, 2008 -> 04:18 PM) And a few bad outings, especially if it's in Spring Training, does not make you suck. How about a career 6.30 ERA with 37 homers allowed in 178 innings?

Carlos Zambrano in the Suntimes: ''I told my family and my friends that before my career ends, I want to play for the White Sox. Right now, my priority is helping this club. That's what I am trying to do. But I used to be, when I was growing up, I was a White Sox fan. But every time I say that, the Chicago Cubs fans get jealous and pissed off.''

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 04:36 PM) I think the expectations are based on the fact that things could not possibly be as bad as last year. I expect them to be better too, but to say last year's team was better than 2006's and 2006's was better than 2005's is inexplicable.

He's hitting the buffet before Uribe and Jenks arrive.

So Hawk said KW has put together a better team than the year before in each year he's been GM. I love Hawk, but has he paid attention the last year and a half?

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 04:17 PM) Oh, Kenny. We have depth at every position? How about quality depth? It's fun listening to him talk, honestly -- but that stood out to me as a you can't be serious moment. I do give him some credit for saying he was saying some of the same things last year and was wrong.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 03:32 PM) Hawk "Brian Anderson having a great spring." Ozzie "Ya, it's about time." I guess Ozzie missed the .308 he hit last spring.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 14, 2008 -> 05:42 PM) count knocked around, Thornton dinged up, lineup anemic. not good, sox fans, not good. Contreras' spring ERA is now the same as Floyd's and 0.25 higher than Vazquez who was going to be the opening day starter. I think its way too early to panic about him.

Now 670 is reporting Buerhle is back to pitching opening day.

There's more to this than what they are letting on. His arm was sore earlier. At the end of the season last year, they were easy with him even skipping a start. How exactly is skipping one spring training outing of 4 or 5 innings going to preserve him for the season?

I'm shocked Joey didn't say they would suck. We heard that Erstad was bringing the same thing. I just hope this year they are correct.

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.