Dick Allen

Who is he talking about that the fans wanted him to throw money at? Why would it have been OK to break the budget with Torii Hunter but not with Buerhle, Contreras, Dye,Konerko, Vazquez et al? Spin, spin, spin. I'm sick of spin. Its funny he's criticizing the fans for looking "at today only", but wouldn't that have been what he was doing with Hunter? Doesn't he always pop off about winning now? Wasn't it KW who wanted to throw money at Bartolo Colon? Didn't he try to throw a lot of money at Magglio? He is so full of s*** its ridiculous.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 05:14 PM) Prediction: KW will be among the highest bidders but Prior states that he would rather sign with the Expos. Yeah, he wants to be the first pitcher in team history to do the towel drill. Cooper had a couple pitchers on it last year.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 05:11 PM) I'm a lot of things. I think that's good. Isn't it?

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 05:07 PM) With your neighbor. How did you know? You're Batman.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 05:05 PM) With alcohol. And hookers.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 03:50 PM) And I, for one, am damn glad it's not your job if you would have paid 18-20 mil per year for a player like Torii Hunter. That is the only way that deal would have been completed. Miguel Cabrera? Hell, what could you have done? Nothing! Isn't KW responsible for the current mess. The mess that's so bad he has to add guys like Hunter and MCabrera to have a shot?

QUOTE(BearSox @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 03:46 PM) think to yourself, what is more important... a no. 3 starter who was entering his prime, or a 33 year old shortstop coming off what could be considered a career year? Now, they were both free agents at the end of the season, but I still believe we could have gotten a couple pretty good prospects for Garland rather then someone who we will have for a last place season. This move was, at best, a lateral move... I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Garland have his best season since 05 and Cabrera go back to his career norms of a .270 average and an OPS of 720. I don't mind the trade as long as they have something better than Floyd and Danks as the guys going to fill his innings. I agree with you, chances are Cabrera will step back at least a little next year. Garland isn't much better than average, but just imagine how much worse the bullpen will be if they have to pitch 50 or 60 more innings.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 03:45 PM) At least if Cabrera leaves in FA, we'll get more compensation for him then we would have with Garland. As for the DLS + Gio + Shelby for Bowden and Crisp rumored by Fathom, ummm there's absolutely no way I make that deal. DLS should be untouchable, unless I'm getting a Jay Bruce. White Sox fans should get off the draft pick compensation as the way to re-build the minors. You wind up having to pay these draft picks over $1 million each and most don't pan out. Its better to trade players of value for young guys already on their way to making it, showing they can be successful, with their bonuses already paid.

Not that it means it isn't true, but it was the poster who posted this very first post on that board.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 01:00 PM) Do you have a link? I am one of the few who would really like to see some Coco on this team, and the idea of getting Bowden makes me a little excited too... More info please! There's a thread on WSI. Some guy in Boston radio claims its in place just waiting on the Santana situation to evolve.

QUOTE(BaseballNick @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 12:02 PM) What's there to collect? You can't just keep a player solely based on pride if he can be your biggest bargaining chip on the trade market. This team has holes; I think we can all agree on that much. Kenny can tweak the roster to make this team a competitor for maybe another year, but that's only if a lot of things fall into place. I think it makes more sense to deal Mark if he can yield the White Sox two or three good, young players. Mark is a good pitcher, he's a hero on the South Side, and there's no player on the roster that I like more than him...but he's not a world beater. Baseball is a business. As we saw this past month or so, FAs aren't out to do us any favors. The free agent route is a pretty risky, not to mention, expensive way to address your team's needs, and it burnt us this year. Trading Mark can help "fix" years of poor drafts and give us the depth we're in pretty desperate need of at the moment. Signing a player below market value because he's willing to take a discount because he likes being in your organization and then trading him and putting him in the awkward position of either waiving his no trade or using it, is really not condusive to having players agree to play for a hometown discount ever again, even if they do get a little extra money if they are dealt. I would bet just about anything Buerhle is not being discussed.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) What's the rumored deal? Supposedly 3 Sox minor leaguers with Shelby being one of them.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 12:51 PM) I would be interested in this deal only because of the supposed prospect that the Sox are said to be getting Bowden... Scouting Report: Bowden is a big righty strikeout starter with ace potential. He is an advanced pitcher for his age, but still has a ways to go to reach his potential. He has an arsenal of four pitches that have the potential to be big-league caliber: a low-90s four-seam fastball which tops out around 95, a 12-6 hard breaking curve, a tight slider, and a developing circle changeup with plus potential. His main pitch, the four-seamer, has a late, heavy sinking movement. Also, Bowden has a two-seamer that is a few mph off of his four-seamer with a bit more movement. His changeup sits in the low 80s, about 10 mph off of his fastball - has room for improvement. His slider sits around 81 mph and curveball in the mid 70s, but he doesn't utilize it all that often. Secondary stuff isn't dominant at this point, and he relies a little too much on his fastball. Overall, Bowden has a very good command of the zone, but could stand to miss a few more bats. One aspect that should come with more experience is improved pitchability against advanced hitters. Delivery is somewhat unconventional, almost 3/4 style, with a leaning motion while dropping his head a bit - but he's able to maintain it throughout his outings. Bowden is said to be a workaholic and just loves to pitch - another player who just lives and dies for baseball. Very athletic. Which probably means Gio or DSL is involved. I'm one of the few who likes Crisp and thinks he will put up a better OBP than Torii Hunter and play just as well defensively.

KW would be committing "hometown discount" suicide if he trades Buerhle before he even starts collecting on his extension.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 09:41 AM) Rumors are he won't even be healthy until 2050. I think its more fact than rumor.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 09:25 AM) Signing Prior to a one year deal makes no sense for us. I can't see why he'd want to pitch here anyways, as he'll likely choose a big ballpark when he can perform better and then get a bigger contract next season. I agree that he would have to be crazy to think pitching at USCF is going to help him maximize his dollars in 2009.

FWIW, Richar is having a terrible winter league.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 05:57 PM) Heck, Floyd's last 10 appearances were superb IMO. 45.2 innings pitched, 18 earned runs. I'll take that all day long from Mr. Floyd. What is that, a 2.5 ERA...she it that's what I'm talking about. And the best thing of all is Gavin Floyd is another Tigers killer!!! In Gavin's last 21 innings pitched against Detroit, he only gave up 2 runs. earned or otherwise. Hopefully the Tigers will be without Rodriguez, Sheffield and Ordonez not to mention Renteria and Cabrera when they see him next time. Timo Perez was hitting 3rd in Leyland's line-up against him one game and 5th the other. In his 3 good games against the Tigers the Tigers had Casey, Rayburn and Timo batting 3rd. The time they had a full line-up he was killed.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 01:58 AM) Morons don't graduate from Stanford. Neither did Kenny.

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 12:02 PM) I would hope not -- in my experience there's very little correlation if any at all between college attendance and intelligence. And for anyone saying that Williams not graduating is a sign of stupidity, go tell that to Bill Gates. I didn't say it was a sign of stupidity, I said you can hardly call him a "Stanford guy" like has been described to verify his intelligence, and you cannot compare his academic "resume" with guys like Epstein or his ilk, because it is not there. What I have referred to as "stupidity" is saying his pitching staff as is, will not be a problem, as well as some of the other comments that he has made. Using the other side of the coin, just because he throws out a few big words now and then, that doesn't mean he is a genius either.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 09:26 AM) Take a quick look around mlb- check out the academic resumes of all the new, young GM's- and then tell me that top of the line educations are not extremely valuable in the current industry landscape. Check where Shapiro, Epstein, and many of the other younger GM's attended college. The days of hiring front office execs strictly because they are "baseball people" is over. KW went to college 2 years.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Dec 16, 2007 -> 12:06 PM) Damn, you piss me off some days. Why must you have this habit of changing everything around so that it appears to suit your argument? And additionally, try criticizing the guy from a standpoint which shows a little more realism. Honestly. The way you expect him to comment publicly only happens in Dick Allen Fantasy World. I would expect the comment about Cabrera going to Detroit either not be said, or if it were a joke, made sure its interpreted like that. I also wouldn't popping off on how 3/4 of his offseason makeover is complete, just missing out on a CF. Obviously there will still be some moves made unless he's changed his name to Noah and needs 2 of everything, but I think its only in KW and iamshack's fantasy world that adding a CF to the current roster and nothing else is enough to make the team a contender. If Torii Hunter is the difference between the White Sox being a serious title contender and where they are at right now, he would have been a bargain at 5/$90 million. They would have made more than enough to cover that investment.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Dec 16, 2007 -> 12:39 AM) I'm one of those people who never got the point of signing Garland to $12 million a year or whatever absurd amount that he was making. If it wasn't for his prototypcial age or size (6 foot 6), i don't see why people would be high on him. he didn't have plus anything IMO except control yet that was fleeting. He was a big benefitor to Chicago's potent offense in the years he won 18 games. his ERA, WHIP, and strikeout totals have always been barely mediocre. The guy did nothing special but last many innings and if you take away all of those games against inept AL Central teams (at the time) i don't think he would of had as many Wins as he did. The Garland trade is something I was glad to see because pitchers like Danks actually have plus pitches. Garland 208 innings pitched .270 BAA 19 HR Danks 139 innings pitched .289 BAA 28 HR Floyd 70 innings pitched .299 BAA 17 HR I understand you think Garland is overpaid at $12 million. I agree with you. But removing him from the rotation and counting on the other 2 mentioned to pick up the slack isn't a move a team "going for it" in 2008 makes. While it makes sense for the Sox to deal Garland, a 33 year old SS who supposedly isn't interested in signing a contract extension, doesn't seem to me to be the play. I don't like Floyd, I think Danks will eventually be decent, and it really wouldn't bother me if they were in the rotation and even wouldn't bother me if Jerry Owens played everyday if the White Sox would just admit they are short and at least attempted a partial rebuild. But since the GM thinks they still are the team to beat, I think putting these guys in these positions isn't going to win you many games.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 03:31 PM) Would you say that having Danks shut down in the 2nd half like last year taxed the bullpen? Because the White Sox's bullpen was one of the least used in baseball. And it has been every one of the last 4 years. No team's starters have thrown more innings than ours the last 4 years, no team's bullpen has thrown fewer innings than ours, entirely because of the way Ozzie uses his pitchers and the presence of this Buehrle dude. Whether the starters are great or suck, Ozzie gives his starters the innings and the remote chance to win games until they totally explode. Especially if we stick a 12 man bullpen out there, there is no reason why anyone would look at the White Sox's stats for the last few years and expect that the bullpen is going to be really taxed. None at all. Garland is a 200 inning guy. His replacements haven't shown they can pitch anywhere near that yet. If the bullpen has to pitch an extra 50 or 60 innings they will suck even worse. The bullpen was great in 2005. The big 4 starters pitched a collective 890 innings or so. One of the reasons the bullpen was so effective is because of that.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Dec 15, 2007 -> 01:17 PM) He is a decent pitcher - an innings eater. He is a 3 or 4. Danks should definitely be able to fill his shoes. The White Sox received a huge upgrade at shortstop by trading away an overpaid pitcher. That is not a big hit to the rotation and I have no idea what the Angels needed him for. Cabrera is a .321 OBP guy for his career. If he hits like last season, he's a huge upgrade, if he doesn't, while he may be an upgrade, its really not that big. How can you say Danks should definitely be able to eat Garland's innings? He was so awful the second half, they sat him down. Its really going to tax the bullpen if KW keeps the rotation as its currently configured.