Dick Allen

I think its pretty obvious and always has been that his dream is to play for the Cardinals. I'm not going to buy the comments Buerhle and/or his wife had about "hoping" the White Sox don't pick up his option. This guy said Buerhle has already spoken to the Cardinals. That would be tampering. The White Sox aren't playing so I have no problem with Buerhle putting on a Cardinal hat and rooting for the team he was a fan of long before he came to the White Sox. There's very little chance the option won't be picked up. If they pick it up and can't afford him, they easily could deal him for cheap prospects. I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox seeing what they could get for him though. He was getting battered too much just to write it off as fatigue and saying he will bounce back next season. I

Considering the Cardinals played only 2 less games last season than the White Sox, its amazing they aren't all tired out now and are in the driver's seat for a world championship. The White Sox were bushed after 11 postseason games last year. The Tigers will be exhausted next season. They really shouldn't even bother fielding a team.

Getting Cora out of the 3rd base coaching box is beyond great. Adding Shines to the staff is also good, and even if it means weakening minor league instruction a bit, Shines was going to get a major league job soon. If not 2007, although I think it was beyond likely, definitely in 2008. It also appears Man Soo Lee is going back to Korea. He will be missed. He truely is one of the greatest guys ever to wear a uniform in professional sports. His absence probably won't mean anything to the White Sox on the field, but put smiles on a lot of fan's faces anytime they were able to interact with him. Maybe Alomar becomes the new bullpen catcher.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 25, 2006 -> 06:40 AM) Well that ended up being more true than I ever would have thought... and it only took 12 hours Boras isn't going to have the kind of leverage he usually does though. There is a finite period where the sides must agree on a contract or the player goes back to Japan and the team has to pay out no money. He also can't play one team off on another one. It may be as good of time as there ever will be dealing with Boras. That said, I agree the White Sox will most likelynot be competing for this guy's services.

Players get traded all the time with the teams trading them agreeing to pick up part of the contract. They don't actually send a check to the player, they pay the team they trade with. Maybe ARod is a different circumstance and maybe the Rangers still pay him, but it appears they pay the Yankees. ARod is guaranteed his full salary, whether or not the money the Rangers are passing along to the Yankees is legally supposed to move with ARod if he is dealt, can't be determined by these articles. Either way, if the Yankees don't move Texas' money with ARod, no team will assume his entire contract, so they wouldn't be able to trade him if that is their intention.

If Milledge isn't ready to play with the Mets, why would he be ready to play for the White Sox?

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Oct 23, 2006 -> 05:16 PM) If a team pays the 25 million or whatevr it takes to negotiate with him, if a deal doesnt happen do they get that money back or is it gone for good? Also my friend is telling me the Rangers are one of the favorites to land him? A player may be posted from November 1 to March 1. For a player to be posted, both the team and player must agree on the posting; usually the player requests to be posted. The team then notifies the NPB Commissioner's Office that the player will be posted, who then notifies the MLB, which notifies all of its teams. The MLB teams then have four days to submit a "silent" bid for the right to negotiate a contract with the player to the MLB Commissioner's Office. After the fourth day, the NPB team (via the Commissioner's Office) is notified of the highest bidder and has four to accept or reject the bid. If the bid is accepted the winning MLB team has thirty (30) days to reach an agreement with the player. If the bid is rejected, the player is not posted. If the player signs a contract with the MLB team by the end of the signing period, then the player becomes part of that MLB team and the NPB team receives the bid money. If the player does not sign a contract with the MLB team by the end of the signing period, the player is returned to the NPB team and the NPB team does not receive the bid money.

QUOTE(striker62704 @ Oct 23, 2006 -> 10:55 AM) I know Dye had a great season last year but what are the odds of him repeating it? What are the odds that any replacement could do better than Dye in 2007? If the goal is trying to win the WS, you keep Dye. If KW had the attitude that trading players with expiring contracts is a must after 2004, Konerko would have been somewhere else in 2005, and so probably would be the WS trophy.

If you trade a guy based on how high his stock is and not looking at his overall importance to the team is, Michael Jordan would have played with a different team every year. Dye is a huge bargain next season as he has been the last 2. You put him in the line-up everyday in 2007 and see what happens. If the team is in contention you hang on to him, if it becomes apparent he isn't going to sign, and you try to win the WS. If the Sox somehow stumble, and it doesn't appear likely he will stick around, you trade him for some prospects. I've never totally understood trading someone for prospects a full season before their contract runs out. Sure you could lose him and get nothing in return, but you would get a full season with a bargain rate contract with said player. The prospects you get usually turn out to be nothing anyway. A lot of times its a good thing to have a player or 10 on a roster in their contract year. Their performance tends to be a little better than usual.

I do think all signs point to Crede being dealt either this winter or next. The difference of opinion on his back, I think is a huge issue. The White Sox still are going to have to be and always will be fiscally responsible. Crede is going to get a 5 year at least $50 million contract if he performs like he did in 2006. I really doubt the White Sox are willing to gamble that many years and that many dollars that his back will hold up. If Crede is dealt though, I agree with the above comments, Josh Fields is not an adequate replacement. I've posted before that I think Fields is a right handed Eric Hinske at best. A guy who will be around a while and probably have a couple of decent years, but there's something about him I've never liked. I was impressed with his ability to take pitches in September though. His walk and strikeout rate stayed about the same between 2005 and 2006, and he actually drove in more runners at Birmingham. I just don't see where you go from possible if not probable bust to great prospect after hitting .300 at Charlotte when you're 23 years old. Its also really too bad the White Sox didn't have him play LF at Charlotte this year at least when it was apparent that he wasn't going to get much time at 3B with the major league club. He should have been playing LF at least for the entire second half of the past season. Also, Fields hit 2 doubles and a homer in 20 ABs. That's not bad, but lets not get too excited. BA had 2 homers and a double in the same game in 2005 and it didn't exactly propel him to a silver slugger award in 2006.

I hope Fields is traded. Unless he's going to hit 40 homers, or drive in 120 runs, the Sox don't need to add a guy who will whiff 140 times a season to their line-up.

QUOTE(AirScott @ Oct 19, 2006 -> 06:15 PM) with that train of thought, why not just hold off on that move and keep Pods? maybe he can regain the magic he had through the first half of 2005. That ship has sailed. Say goodbye to Pods.

Ichiro's obp the last 2 seasons have been .350 and .370. They have been higher than Pierre's obviously, but not that much higher. I don't see where it makes too much sense to pay Ichiro what you would have to pay him and give up the talent it would take to acquire him, when you could get a guy like Pierre for about half the salary and not give up talent. I understand Ichiro is head and shoulder better with the glove, but he doesn't walk much either.

Nyquil does the trick. I don't have a fear of flying, but I do have a brother who lives in Europe who I visit often and I can't sleep in a plane. That was until someone turned me on to Nyquil. Drink about half a bottle when you board, and when you wake up, you will be well rested and at your destination.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Oct 17, 2006 -> 05:54 PM) Overpaid by the Cubs and useless after? Not at all a bad comparison... The Cubs got the One Dog when he was about 35 years old. When he was 33 he had a spectacular year with the Mets. He hit .333 with 21 triples and 50 steals. Pierre is 29 or 30. I think he would do very well for the White Sox for a couple of years. Offensively, his drawback is that he rarely walks. He gets a lot of hits, he steals, he can handle the bat, and he's probably as fast as anyone in baseball. He also runs down the line, something very few White Sox do. He wouldn't be my first choice as an addition, I just don't think people would really be regretting the Sox signed him next July. QUOTE(Craig Grebeck @ Oct 17, 2006 -> 05:54 PM) yes, considering the salary he will garner, he is garbage. He does not take pitches, does not drive in runs, does not get on base. Like stated earlier, we need guys to get on base so our 3-4-5 can drive them in. Juan Pierre career OBP .350 Scott Podsednik OBP for 2005 WS champs .351. People around here actually considered Pods an MVP candidate in 2005. Pierre's inability to get on base is greatly exaggerated.

Pierre gets to a lot of balls Pods would be tippy toeing to only to pick up when it stopped rolling. I wouldn't mind Pierre in LF, and he could ocassionally play CF against tough right handers. He was a better CF than I thought when I watched him this past season. He can't throw at all, but the White Sox had a couple of pretty successful years with Raines in LF and One Dog in CF, and both of them threw no better than Pierre. I think Pierre is almost a One Dog clone. Hopefully, if the Sox sign him, he won't fall off a cliff like the One Dog did after a huge season with the Mets.

The White Sox beat writer was on Chicago Tribune live. He said Raines got canned for not working hard enough. In Anaheim late in the year, he supposedly was taking grounders with the infielders. They didn't mention any candidates, and unless they are going to bring in a guy Ozzie actually would listen to, I don't think it really matters who replaces Raines, although it may be a good thing to keep Shines in the organization. QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 05:51 PM) Ken Macha should be near the top of the list for a bench coach IMO. The Sox beat writer also said the reason Macha was let go is apparently there is no love lost between him and the players. He also stated that not a lot of guys would want to manage under Beane. Apparently he's so hands on that a manager is nothing more than a puppet. The guy said Ron Washington wouldn't take the job, but that Baker may be a candidate because the A's owner really hates the Giants owner and may want to stick it to him a bit. He said the most likely next manager of the A's would be Bob Gueren, a high school teammate of Beane's.

The rumor about the Japanese pitcher is Seattle is willing to post $30 million. I'm sure he'll be great, but between what it will cost to negotiate with him and his contract, he's almost into Roger Clemens territory, and JR won't go more than 3 years with pitching so posting could be a huge waste of money, sort of like Javier Vazquez.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 03:25 PM) Beane continues to be an egocentric prick. Never gives a manager enough credit (of course too many people give mgr's too much credit). We know about that firsthand.

If there was 1 guy out there who could possibly turn the Cubs around, its Piniella IMO. He won't stand for the waiting for Wood and Prior crap. The Cubs are supposedly going to up their payroll $15 million-$20 million, and I'm sure he'll have a big say on who they bring in. You don't have to exactly be very good to contend in the NL.

Its probably an overreaction by Fox, but Lyons should know better. I wonder if Piniella was offended by the remark. I really doubt Lyons was doing anything but trying to be funny, it just apparently blew up in his face.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 08:19 AM) If it takes Brandon then forget about it. BTW, it's obviously real early so I can definitely see why NY would try to get Brandon included right now. That doesn't automatically mean a month or two from now that they won't rethink the stance on taking the other 3 pitchers. Don't you find it interesting that just about everyone in baseball, even the Yankees where money isn't an issue, find McCarthy a lot more attractive than any of the other members of the greatest rotation ever assembled. Maybe just maybe Ozzie is wrong, and BMac is a good starting pitcher.

I'm for the AL and particularly the AL Central, and am still a Magglio fan, so go Tigers. They are handling these playoffs like the White Sox handled last year. They really were the best team in the AL for most of the regular season, so its very fitting they are the AL representives in the Fall Classic. Good pitching and a few homers puts you in a pretty good position.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 13, 2006 -> 08:47 AM) Someone want to tell me again how Joe Crede won't get something in the area of 5 years $50 million on the open market? If he continues to hit like he did this season he'll get much more. If he still is having back issues, I really don't see a team giving him 5 years. His health is the key IMO.

I just hope when people keep clamouring for Frank Thomas and rip Thome, they remember that Frank is 0 for 10 in the ALCS. And his team is down 3-0. Just like he was 0 for 9 in the ALDS in 2000 and his team lost 3-0.