Dick Allen

As I have said before and being one of Ozzie's biggest critics, if he gets this team into the playoffs he should get a lifetime contract that guarantees he's the highest paid manager every season.

QUOTE(briguy27 @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 07:15 PM) Sure, their pitching is bad. But now that Jose is out of the rotation, and Garland's bump in the road is hopefully over, we could go back to normal. Obviously, never will we be back to 2005-esque, but I want to make a run, and not give up. If we end 6 or 7 out, that would be nice, and we'd know they didn't just quit on us. I don't expect them to make it into 1st, and go all the way, but to not give up would be a plus. And I want Dye to hit like he has been if we are making a real shot at first. If not, then he should just stop trying. I want Sweeney in RF next year, anyways. Garland's last outing was maybe the worst of his career. Contreras was replaced by Gavin Floyd.

Extend Walker. Pods with an rbi

Maybe Theo is wondering why he wouldn't move off Craig Hansen right now.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 06:17 PM) That is a very, very bold statement, and very possibly not true.... According to the doctor, he should be better than ever. Its a one year contract not a lot of money baseball wise that we are talking about. Non tender should not happen.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 06:15 PM) Gotta love the comparison between Crede's second full season in the bigs to Fields' first 200 at-bats as a major leaguer. That's a definite apples-to-apples comp right there... I do agree with you about Crede, though. Non-tendering him would be selling very very low on a pretty decent player (when healthy). I don't want Crede here long-term, but non-tendering him seems really pointless. Where can the Sox spend $5 million better anyways? Fields can play LF or RF for the first couple months of next season -- I don't think it will be a huge adjustment for him especially because he seems to be a pretty good athlete. Then compare Crede's first 200 AB. If Fields can be projected an All Star, Crede would be a first ballot HOFer. I just picked out Crede's worst statistical season because prior to September 2005 he was thought of a little less than Brian Anderson on this board. Fields puts up similar numbers with a little less defensively and a lot more Ks and he's projected to be an All Star. I don't understand.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 02:52 PM) Since when is striking out the worst thing that a player ever did? With a little more seasoning Josh will be a walk machine, and his OBP will show that. And showing Crede's worst year as something that wasnt that bad is really showing how much you ignore certain numbers. How bout his paltry .717 OPS that year? Basically Fields has shown that he can produce at the same rate right now in his first season for ALOT less money. In july Fields improved his OBP, SLG BA and his walk rate. Crede is a slow, injured, soon to be expensive player. We need his salary to pick up a piece that we are really missing, at least before his back goes out again and that only option IS non-tendering him. You're right about not looking at all the numbers. Joe's "paultry" .717 OPS in his worst season is really blown away by Fields current .723. I don't know how you can be so certain Fields will be a walk machine, and since he only played a couple of months and did improve a little in July, does that mean he will improve every month? Crede's back will be fine, and non-tendering him would be dumb. They could always trade him, or even if he gets $5 million next year, the idea of a guy coming off a lost season playing for a payday sounds pretty good to me. While Fields is not a horrible 3rd baseman, he has made some great plays, he still is not in Crede's class defensively. Maybe someday. Put Fields at 2B if you can"t bring the O-dog to town. And since you use June to July to peg improvement with Fields, if you use the exact same logic, isn't paying Crede $5 million a steal if he is healthy with his improvement every season?

QUOTE(max power @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 01:47 PM) Field is also on pace to walk quite a bit more than crede, so you don't have to hate him necessarily, if your gripe is with OBP. Comparing numbers at this point is kind stupid if you ask me. People are happy that he has shown he can be a major leaguer in a possible hole, they aren't boasting about his numbers. They make him out to be an All Star. They are saying a guy who before his back started bothering him in 2006 hit 30 homers and was hitting over .300 needs to be tossed away, because Josh Fields homers almost as often. BTW Fields OBP is only about .010 higher than Brian Anderson's last year. Non tendering Crede is a ridiculous thought. Believe me, they are boasting about his homeruns, because offensively that's basically all he provides now. Of course any one else swinging for the fences they have problems with. Fields has already fanned more than Crede did in 2006.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 09:40 AM) So, the Sox should give Crede $5 million next year while their bullpen is in shambles and they have holes to fill at SS, RF, CF, and LF? Oh, and we have no idea how Joe's back will respond to the surgery he just had. That doesn't sound like a good strategy to me. I'd love to have Joe around for another year with Fields in LF, but I'm not sure that the Sox are going to have a choice. If they don't they are fools. I can't wait to see all the guys who complain about the White Sox swinging for the fences all the time and not worrying about getting on base who think Fields is an All Star, b**** and moan about him next season. Crede's worst average as a regular player, not counting this season is .239 and as BearSox said this isn't the first time there wasn't posts on this board saying he must go. Fields is hitting .241 and is on pace to set a world record striking out if he played a full season. If you don't like Crede, you have to hate Fields. If anything Fields should get some time at 2B.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Aug 4, 2007 -> 07:27 AM) Fields has shown he can play in the majors--both in the field and hitting wise. The question for 2008 is where will he play with Crede at 3B [it would be inexcusable for the sox to non-tender Joe, or trade him now for less than they would get for the draft picks if he leaves as a free agent, as he is very valuable and should be able to put up numbers near his 2006 season and still play gold glove caliber defense]. With the sox likely to work out a deal with Dye, Fields should be given a shot in LF. With Owens likely being a 4th OFer [and Fields and Richar already in the lineup] an experienced CFer who can hit in the leadoff spot should be acquired for 2008. Or at minimum, a stellar defensive CFer should be acquired if the sox can get a SS who can hit in the leadoff spot. My preference would be for the sox to get a SS and a CFer who can both hit leadoff in case one goes down. That's easier said than done. How many leadoff CF or SS are there in the major leagues, and are they realistically available? Fields is going to have to cut down on his strikeouts. If he doesn't, he's Ron Kittle II.

Fields with his 2 hits last night has the average up to .241, and dumping Crede is the subject of the day. For as bad as Crede supposedly was before last season, if he batting more than 50 times his worst season was .239 with 21 homers and GG quality defense. Non tender Joe Crede? Ridiculous. These White Sox "prospects" are a lot like back up quarterbacks. So many people love them until they really have to count on them. When I heard Hawk say the Sox really have something special in Andy Gonzalez yesterday, I questioned why Duane Shaffer got the pink slip. WOW

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 02:45 PM) You mean like the two Class A pitchers the Yankees got for Randy Johnson after he sucked (read: 5.00 ERA) with a terrible contract (read:$13 mill in each of the next 2) aged more than 7 years (Thome is 37 this month, RJ is 44 in a little over a month)? Thome will net a very solid package, just like he did the only other time he was traded, because he's still a huge force in the middle of any lineup and I honestly don't see that ever changing. He's injury prone, and if a team doesn't understand that, they are lying to themselves. If you think Thome can only get two Class A pitchers, you are being dumb, plain and simple, because he will net a hell of a package, even as a 37 year old, because he gets on base and he hits for a s***load of power. Those are the types of players who are the most valuable to a franchise. He really is a DH only at this point, so that will limit where he could go as would his contract. The White Sox most likely would not be able to get back fair value for him. They should keep him.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 01:49 PM) When our offense blew ass earlier this year a lot of people defended Greg Walker and said that the players are ultimately accountable for their results. Then I look at the disaster of a bullpen and half the starting rotation stinking up the joint. Question is, if the players are accountable for their results then what criteria do you base the pitching and hitting coach's performance? What would it take to get them fired or, in contrast, get them a contract extension? I think a lot of depends on things we never see. How the coach relates to the player is huge. Its why Hriniak was let go, its why Eddie Murray is always moving along. The players seem to generally like Walker and I think do listen to him. That doesn't always mean they are going to execute a plan perfectly. As far as the pitchers go, they seem to get along with Cooper pretty well. These guys aren't going to make a bad hitter or pitcher a great one, and aren't going to turn a great hitter or pitcher into a poor one. I get on the fire Cooper rant occassionally as a tongue in cheek response to the fire Walker people, who actually believe he tells his players to swing as a hard as they can in case they make contact. Coaches get way too much credit when things go good, and way too much blame when they go wrong. Managers on the other hand make decisions coaches don't.

QUOTE(WHITESOXRANDY @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 01:43 PM) That's why Pablo Ozuna is so valuable. I don't know I just wanted to post something He actually was considered one of the top prospects in the game at one point. Then someone got ahold of his real birth certificate.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 01:15 PM) God, in fact, everyone from that draft sucked. I can't wait until the guy drafted after Floyd is released Go to thebaseballcube.com and look at 2000's first 40 picks if you want to see why sandwich picks may be worth less than ham sandwiches.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 01:06 PM) We should pick him up too! How can we lose? Look up Dewon Brazelton on wikipedia. You will laugh. There was the "change of scenery" trade. A decent spring training, followed by horrible starts, and now 3 releases. No one really ever gave the poor kid 10 or 15 starts in a row to see what he could do. Its really a shame. KW should sign him up. As great as Floyd is , Brazelton's career ERA is almost a full run lower.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 12:55 PM) By the way, did anybody not like him in that report you read? It was an old Jayson Stark article about the draft which was days away. Brazelton the guy picked right in front of Floyd was being compared to Fergie Jenkins.

Konerko isn't going to DH. He will always be a better firstbaseman than Dye. His picks have been great. He's very aggressive with his throws. His range isn't great, if it were he'd win a GG. He'll be fine there the duration of his contract.

I just read a 2001 scouting report on Floyd when he still was in high school. One scout liked him better than Prior. He said Floyd threw 95 and had a devastating curveball. He said Floyd could pitch in the major leagues "right now"(2001). Must have been a White Sox scout.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Aug 3, 2007 -> 10:40 AM) Who said we should non tender Crede and who said Anderson was a horrible player? My take is it that Fields is showing some power potential something that Anderson didn't show even though he was called a 5-tool player. And Anderson isn't a horrible player because he plays good defense and while he is still young and there is certainly a chance he could improve as a hitter, responding to being sent to AAA with a .255 average tells me the guy just isn't that good as a hitter or he is pouting about the move and isn't putting in the required work to get back to the majors. The funny thing is, this board is very critical of the White Sox offense when they appear to be swinging for the fences, but love Josh Fields. He is the epitome of that style of hitting.

Why is it that Brian Anderson and his 2006 stats of .225 BA and .290 OBP make him just a horrible player, but Josh Fields and his .236 BA and .298 OBP make him a future star, and reason enough to non tender Joe Crede?

Vick would have been far better off if he abided by the laws of the land. He's getting what he deserves. He is an idiot.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Aug 2, 2007 -> 05:21 PM) I might have asked this before, but I forget... what is wrong with Jim Thome? Back spasms. Erstad is day to day. Cinton had a tummy ache, I don't know what the deal with Boone Logan was.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Aug 2, 2007 -> 05:05 PM) Pretty unvelievable and delusional attitude of Jose Contreras Contreras has been replaced by Gavin Floyd for at least one turn in the rotation, but made it clear that he won't stay a reliever for long. "Maybe for the remainder of the year I'll be in the bullpen, but I fully expect to start next year," Contreras said. "If they don't want me as a starter next year, I want to be out of here." He fully expects to start? And we fully expect you to get people out. You want out of here? Name one team that would relish the thought of your scrubby self starting for them. You're lucky you are still wearing a major league uniform. Taken a little out of context. He intends to be effective again. In case they don't want me as a starter, I guess they're going to have to talk, because I want to be a starter and not be anything but a starter next year," said Contreras on Thursday morning, through translator and bench coach Joey Cora. "I accepted the bullpen assignment now because I fully understand I'm struggling. "But I'm going to be back. I'm going to be OK. Maybe for the remainder of the year I'll be in the bullpen, but I fully expect to start next year. If they don't want me as a starter next year, I want to be out of here."

QUOTE(iamshack @ Aug 2, 2007 -> 03:59 PM) Good to see Mac looking good here. We'll need him for next year. Amazing what great effect his good outings in 2006 had on his 2007 performance.