Dick Allen

Personally, I was fine with Stewart as a back-up, I really don't think its all that necessary for the back-up catcher to hit all that well. That said, Hall is definitely an upgrade from Stewart and even more from Alomar. AJ takes pride in being behind the plate as much as possible. I just hope Hall can adjust to playing once or twice a week. For some guys, that is very difficult. On the other side, Ozzie did say Thome was going to be getting a breather more often in 2007. Maybe AJ DH's a few times this coming season, although we know Ozzie likes to save his catchers in case of injury.

QUOTE(mike12345 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 04:15 PM) Does anyone know where this guy is? I know he was in prision a while ago, but I havent heard anything about him. I'm pretty sure he's still there, and also pretty sure you have seen the last of him on a MLB pitcher's mound.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 16, 2006 -> 12:21 PM) i think they are overreacting a little, as Gload shoudl hit .300+ and give them stellar defense, but Sisco should have garnered a larger price tag. The cubs have been interested in him for years to start for them, and they were throwing around alot better name to trade for him than Ross Gload. Gas. Considering the Cubs let Sisco go in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2005 season, I really don't think their interest was all that great, and ongoing for years.

Sisco was a Rule 5 pick up in 2005 for the Royals, and was pretty unhittable at the beginning of that season, but the White Sox would always hammer him. Maybe they saw him tipping his pitches or something, but then again everyone was hammering him last year. Gload rarely plays, and Sisco's upside is so much higher, this is a move KW would have been foolish not to make, even if Sisco does turn into a bust.

I think Tank may already be on probation for weapons charges. He may be in a lot of trouble. QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 05:09 PM) Unlawful use of a gun sounds like shooting at squirrels in your backyard. I mean, you shouldn't do it, but it's nothing to get excited about. If your neighbor was charged with it, you would probably feel differently. Tank appears to be a great football player, but a bad guy.

QUOTE(WHITESOXRANDY @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 02:10 PM) just curious. Does anyone know if Cliff grew up a Sox fan or a cub fan or both ? It looks like he's going to the cubs. If he does and he grew up a Sox fan, I'm pretty sure that the cubune won't mention that fact. Don't fret, if the White Sox are in the WS, I'm sure he will be in a suite sporting a White Sox hat. I'm pretty sure he grew up a Sox fan, but has no desire to play for the Sox. IIRC, the White Sox were a team on his no-trade list.

I don't put any credence in a scouting report from a columnist.

Aren't the Red Sox going to get a windfall broadcasting games in Japan? The Yankees make a ton broadcasting Matsui's games, and this pitcher is a bigger deal. If he's as good as advertised, this will be the steal of the offseason. Of course if he's a like the "fat toad" the Yankees signed, it will be a colossal gaffe.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 12:34 PM) Wow. How do you seriously turn that down? (Juan Gonzalez) Exactly. Its not worth the risk of injury or a bad season to turn that kind of money down. Even if he could get a little more if he had a big season, he could also get a whole lot less. If he doesn't sign, IMO he has a bad agent.

Hernandez gets released by the KC Royals. The same KC Royals who pay Gil Meche $55 million. He's a tub of goo. Pass.

QUOTE(scenario @ Dec 11, 2006 -> 12:48 AM) And your basing that on... what? Got some facts to go with that opinion? See stats in the table above. Don't just pick out wins/losses since we both know that for the majority of his career Javy pitched for crap teams, so the W/L record alone doesn't mean squat. You're basing everything with Vazquez on strikeouts. You say W-L aren't important, but strikeouts are? Didn't the Cubs pitching staff lead the NL in Ks for several years, and they didn't do anything? His career ERA is nothing to be proud of. His 2006 season was basically his career in a nutshell. A below .500 record (I know you say there is no importance in W-L record, but he was below .500 for a team that won 90 games) a bloated ERA and some strikeouts to get people excited about next year. Waiting for Vazquez to put together a Cy Young-type season is as foolish as waiting for Mark Prior and/or Kerry Wood to give you 30+ starts.

Vazquez is also more expensive than Garland. I think he's $12.5 million in 2007 and then its arbitration in 2008, and its very rare a guy doesn't get a raise under that scenerio. So Vazquez could be a 1 year guy. If I was KW, he would have been the first guy I got rid of, but KW has had a hard on for Vazquez for several years. If Vazquez were to pitch as well as KW envisions, he may cost $20 million in 2008.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Dec 10, 2006 -> 10:20 PM) . I thought wins and losses didn't matter when analyzing starting pitchers... I've never said that.

QUOTE(SinkingShip06 @ Dec 10, 2006 -> 10:19 PM) do any of you seriously remember that this team has tried the young guy as fifth starter many many times in recent years? failing horribly every time. they finally won something when they got 5 solid starters. obvilously no one on this board can read a post. i never compared mccarthy to danny wright. if you loved the rauch/munoz/wright/guy off the street years...more power to you. When the Sox won the WS, El Duque was in the rotation, and he was awfully shaky after a nice beginning. McCarthy actually had a couple of great starts for the World Champions when they were fading. He pitched a gem in Fenway Park. I think even with the 5 supposedly solid starters last year, there were a lot of question marks. Buerhle was basically BP the second half. The staff was 9th in ERA in the AL I believe. It seems like some have the idea that the White Sox had 5 Cy Young winners in the rotation.

Vazquez has over 200 decisions in the major leagues. He had a couple of great seasons in Montreal and a couple of poor ones. The Yankees couldn't fix him, neither could the D-Backs. Even Coop couldn't fix him and he fixes everyone. Expecting Vazquez to be anything more than a .500 pitcher is being overly optimistic IMO.

I'm sorry, what his childhood team was, really at this point , doesn't matter. Mark Buerhle, unlike any of us, makes his living as a major league baseball player. As I stated before the White Sox drafted him, gave him a bonus, paid to develop him, helped get him on a Wheaties Box, and thus far have given him about 18.5 million reasons with another 9+ million on the table for 2007 to switch his alliance totally to the 2005 World Champions. Its a different situation from any of us. Its also a situation that seems to pop up close to every off season. It doesn't make him a bad person. It doesn't mean that when he pitches for the White Sox he's not giving 100% effort, it just, IMO, is wrong. MLB players and personnel root for other teams all of the time. Even JR was rooting for the Cardinals to win the WS because of his relationship with LaRussa. Having your picture taken with a pretty worn out Cardinal hat on and having it posted on the internet, isn't wise. The story that went with the picture about the Buerhle's hope that the White Sox wouldn't pick up his option so he could sign with the Cardinals might have been total BS. With the guy posting the picture, it gives evidence that at least some of his story is correct, and that there is at least some chance his entire story for that night is true. I would bet anything that if it were Juan Uribe instead of Buerhle in that story, most of the people who don't have any problem with Buerhle's undying Cardinal love, would have a huge problem with it. As I've stated before, it really doesn't piss me off, I just find it wrong. The White Sox have done a heck of a lot for Mark and his family. Go to the game and cheer for the Cardinals, but find a different hat to wear.

I don't see how any team could hand him a closer's role initially. I wouldn't mind seeing him back. He set-up with the White Sox and was great. 2005, the Sox went through 3 closers. The Sun Times article a couple of days ago which said Jenks has lost weight and is down to 279 also stated he has a hip problem that the Sox believe to be weight related but aren't 100% positive. Foulke, if he could snap back, would be great insurance if something went haywire there. Any interest would be pending the results of an extensive physical.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 09:19 AM) You must live a charmed life if this is the kind of stuff that upsets you. I envy you. It really doesn't upset me that much. I just find it wrong. I know it really pissed KW off. JR, I'm not sure if he's joking or not. I don't blame you for your envy.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 08:56 AM) Mark has performed as a comsumate professional for the Sox. He's shown the Sox and their fans nothing but respect. This is petty bulls***. I don't think being out of shape, which both he and his manager have pointed to as perhaps a reason for his freefall the 2nd half of 2006, is conducting business like a consummate professional. Wearing Cardinal gear to a MLB game and getting photographed wearing it, or declaring your desire to play for the Cardinals is not respectful to the team paying you. He has stated that the Cardinal crap would stop, but just about every offseason, it happens again. That is petty bulls***.

QUOTE(ChiSox9 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 08:33 AM) I was unaware of the dress code for players outside the season. During the season Mark gets to the park every f***in day and puts on his WHITE SOX uniform (including a SOX hat) what the f*** does it matter what he wears when he is not at the stadium??????? If you all are so up tight about what a pitcher wears outside of the stadium you all got some serious issues. HELL, i could have sworn Ryan Howard of the Phillies was wearing a Cleveland Indians Replica jersey on Monday Night Football awhile back... it happend to be Jackie Robinson. Does that mean he should be immediately traded to Cleveland just because Robinson is an idol???? The White Sox have paid him more money than he will spend in a lifetime to play a game. They drafted him, they spent money developing him. The Cardinals had a lot of chances to draft Mark. They passed. If he wants to be a Cardinal fan, that's fine. But you should show some respect for your current employers. I don't think the CEO of McDonald's would wear a Burger King shirt out to the mall on a Saturday even if, as a kid, he was a huge fan of flame-broiled goodness. This Cardinals stuff has been going on for a while. You would think after the firestorm it always seems to start, Mark would have the common sense to put it away for a while. I think that during the period he still is collecting nice paychecks from the White Sox, at least publicly he should be a White Sox fan.

So far the offseason after the White Sox set franchise attendance records and have a nearly 100% season ticket renewal rate, we have heard our GM say that the 3rd baseman will be not be able to be signed and that the entire rotation will not be able to get extensions. I was hoping the White Sox were past this thought process. I do like the Garcia deal, and IF Hirsh was included in the Houston deal, it would have been OK for me, but that is assuming the money saved will be used somewhere else.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 09:54 AM) WTF is KW doing? Taveras and Bucholtz?? How the hell does this make the Sox better?? It frees up A LOT of cash. Something else huge would follow.

QUOTE(Sox It To Em @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 09:21 AM) According to the guys at WSI, Bruce Levine is reporting that the Sox are very close to another big trade (sorry if already been posted). Is it Omar Vizquel?

QUOTE(quickman @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 08:42 AM) actually its the whole thinking process that is changing. We are acting like we don't have money again. I think that will backfire with fans. That's the part I don't like. JR should fire anyone who mentions money publicly. The fans have stepped up, whether they are bandwagon or not. They supposedly have an incredible renewal rate with season tickets even with a 3rd place finish. You can't cry about the soaring contracts. You are going to eventually have to pay up or be the Pirates or Marlins. Other than that, I think this is a good deal. It will affect how KW operates the rest of the way because of the financial savings, which is sort of like the Pods/Lee trade and if Floyd and Gio develop, it will turn into a steal.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Dec 6, 2006 -> 11:59 PM) No Fathom, I'm pretty sure that I was vocal in EVERY start he made...at least we get 5 innings of non-craptastic effort from Javy when HE pitches...I'm a huge Garcia opponent, so I don't mind us ridding ourselves of him I don't mind the trade either. Its the apparent philosophy Rogers is reporting that is troubling me.