Dick Allen

Why is it when our pitchers give up a homer, there is always someone who says they hit a good pitch? Freddy Garcia for some reason is washed up.

Maybe Freddy can shock the world and not let the Orioles regain the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Surprised Cora didn't wave him home. He only would have been out by 50 feet. It had to tempt him.

QUOTE(Wealz @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 03:37 PM) Everybody's different I guess, but I haven't received an email from my rep in 5 years and couldn't care less. Actually, to be honest, I wouldn't know who he/she was if they punched me in the face. BTW, I e-mailed my RSVP and had no problems. I wouldn't mind either if he wasn't ignoring my messages. I have had a few questions over the past few years with this jamoke and he never has returned my email or call. He had no problem contacting me last year when he wanted me to move up a couple rows. I politely declined.

Milwaukee radio is speculating that Cordero, Mench and/or Brady Clark may be spun off in another deal for pitching. Do you think Doug Melvin may be looking at something in Charlotte?

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 02:58 PM) I'll post my letter for everybody here when I send it. You're right, DA: this is inexcusable. Hey, if it sold out or whatever, fine. Just tell me. But to kick me to the curb like that after YOU invited me, ugh. And I feel for those poor people showing up, only to get turned away. That is heartless. Post it. I'll make a copy and bring it with me. In past year's when the had the parties, occassionally JR would be there. Who knows he may be at the one I'm at. I'll hand it to him.

QUOTE(forrestg @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 01:30 PM) Milwaukee will get the better end of this deal. Big headed Mench will feast on NL pitching and Cordero will return to form. Rangers will find out how lazy C lee is. CLee is playing for a contract. He's really never been called lazy. Maybe selfish, but not lazy. Cordero will not be with Milwaukee after this season. Nix is a guy who most likely is a journeyman at best, and CLee is head and shoulders above Mench. Good trade for Texas. They wanted Mench out of there anyway. They were going to let Cordero walk after this year, and Nix hadn't developed like they had hoped.

QUOTE(Wealz @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 01:22 PM) The invite clearly stated that you had to RSVP by a certain date. With as many season ticketholders as they have now, it's regrettable, but understandable that errors occurred with the planning of this. When I pay for my season tickets what I expect is a well run baseball operation. Everything else is gravy. The problem is there are a ton of people who RSVP'd by the required date, and they never got the other tickets. I left a message on a voice mail, and thankfully did receive the tickets, but its a pretty screwy system. Why don't they have the reps do this stuff through e-mail? Or have a master email and then when people call and say they haven't received their tickets, they could easily look it up? I'm still trying to figure out what my rep does to earn his paycheck, and even worse, the stiff gets a WS ring. It makes me sick. I haven't received an email from him since February. Either they need to hire more reps, and in the grand scheme of things, they don't make a lot of money so it really won't hurt them, or get them, or at least mine, better trained. The fiasco with the WS and playoff tickets last year, and this snafu is only going to make it harder to renew bandwagon fans if the season falls apart at the seams. They had plenty of time for planning these parties, they really have no excuses. If you were someone who took advantage of the playoff ticketoffer and picked up season tickets last fall, you have had the fiasco of not being able to reach anybody with the White Sox concerning whether or not you successfully were able to land tickets last fall, you were stuffed into Sox fest with a shoehorn last January, maybe that wasn't the White Sox fault, but its still a blemish on the organization, and now the season ticketholder party you may or may not really be invited. You may drive down to USCF and get sent home. Something needs to be done about it. Being swamped is not an excuse.

QUOTE(champ @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:44 AM) Put all those guys in the NL Central, and you've got 3 very good players. Texas is a hitter's paradise. I don't see Mench doing much more than he's doing. Cordero has a $5 million option after this season, so he's a little expensive for the Brewers as a set-up man, and if they make him the closer his option goes to $6 million. Nix has struggled in the major leagues for a couple of seasons now. Its probably better than nothing although I think the Brewers would have been better to keep CLee, get the draft picks and spend the money they had planned to give him on free agents or off season trades.

I called Cruz a good prospect, let me make that he's decent. He can hit, but he is 26 years old. I still think if given the opportunity, he could still give you what Mench does right now. I don't know how this will affect what Soriano brings Bowden, considering Milwaukee really didn't get prospects except for maybe Nix, who really has to be a longshot at being anything above average at this point. If Cordero turns it around, he will make the deal alright, but I believe he has a contract with an option next year for $5 million, and its $6 million if he's the closer. His stay in Milwaukee will probably be brief. It may be a couple of months, it may be a couple of days, it may be a couple of hours.

Mench really isn't all that good. Nix has not done much at the major league level lately and Cordero has been getting rocked. CLee is by far the best hitter in this trade, and eventually Cruz probably will be the second best. I'm glad CLee is staying out of the AL Central, but I don't see where the Brewers got all that huge of return on him especially because Cruz is a good prospect.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 06:30 PM) What's PK supposed to say? Would it be better of he ripped Buehrle in the media? Bob Not rip him, but the 7th game of the WS was something that came from his mind. He could have said he'll be fine, and what are these guys supposed to say to KW, that the $100 million roster he put together isn't good enough? The last reason KW is going to stand pat would be because his players told him so. But if nothing gets done, he will use it for some sort of motivation and use it to show confidence. Something like, you told me you were good enough to win, and that's good enough for me, now go out there and win. There isn't 1 WS defending champion in history that added $25 million to their payroll who have players that would dare tell the GM who put the team together that they aren't good enough to beat teams being paid a lot less.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 05:15 PM) If this is true, and KW talked with the three, and he stands pat, that's a heckava vote of confidence. Whether it works, who knows. But the sox do have the talent. Getting their minds right, and their confidence is key. What better way to instill confidence than giving the players input into personnel decisions. Considering Konerko's quotes of still wanting Buerhle to have the ball if the 7th game of the WS was tomorrow, I really don't think he's the one to ask. Players are not the people to get roster advice from. They are too close to it. I have no doubt KW is still trying to improve this team. I think his quote was to show the team his confidence in them and to put them out on a limb if nothing does get done in the next couple of days. Like I said earlier, if the starting pitching doesn't improve, it really will not matter if KW acquires nobody else, or 3 or 4 All Stars.

Why would the trade deadline be a distraction to the White Sox, but not the Tigers or the Twins or the Yankees? They are rumored to do just as much. I wonder if Detroit gets Soriano and Minnesota gets Lee and the Yankees get whatever, because you know they will do something, what the reaction on this board is going to be if MacDougal and Alomar are the White Sox deadline answer. Does anyone remember in 1990 when the Sox were battling Oakland and the A's got Willie McGee and Harold Baines at the deadline, and the White Sox added Minnie Minoso who the commissioner at the time eventually vetoed, and Jerry Hairston so Hairston could meet a service time level on his pension? The most pissed off White Sox was none other than Ozzie Guillen.

If KW is getting roster advice from players and taking it, God help us all.

I got my tickets and I rsvp'd on the last day. It is goofy though. If you look at the big tickets somewhere on there is does say they are good for entrance, but I guess not. If its something that the Sox screwed up, I'll guarantee my rep had something to do with it. Those who haven't been to these before, its a lot of fun. Its basically a patio party but you can go on the field and in the dugouts, and I think they let you in the visiting clubhouse. It was dissappointing they didn't have it last year, so I am really looking forward to it. I guess they are going to have the WS trophy there as well for photos.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:31 AM) How often do these BIG trades actually happen? It seems that the more speculation there is on a deal involving big names, it never happens during the season. Everybody sits around waiting and getting anxious, then nothing happens. Soriano will most likely be traded. If the Brewers make CLee available, he most likely will be as well. Other than that, who knows. Who would have thought Nomar would get dealt at the deadline in 2004, and the Red Sox wound up winning it all. Maybe that's what KW has in mind. Soriano is available. Tejada may be. Chances are the Sox will concentrate on improving their pitching, but strengthening their line-up is still improving their team. The bottom line is, unless Buerhle, Garcia and Vazquez improve, or at least 2 of them improve dramatically, the Sox could acquire Soriano, Tejada, and ARod and its not going to matter much.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:05 AM) Every other time I've seen it employed, the trade has been announced at the start of the window. I believe the commissioner's office has to approve such a window. It would be all over the news if the trade had progressed that far.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:01 AM) Isn't that what the "72 hour negotiating window" that we've seen teams get repeatedly to go along with trades is for? It could all be BS. Bowden used to work at ESPN so he or someone he knows could be dropping false info to ESPN personalities in a last ditched effort to drive up Soriano's price. No matter what happens I hope and think KW will not waiver in his refusal to deal McCarthy. Why KW is apparently so attached to Broadway is beyond me.

If Detroit is willing to give up Sanchez, there's Bowden's A prospect he's been holding out for.

QUOTE(ChiSox9 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 10:40 AM) Olney reported this morning the the Tigers would be willing to give up right handed pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez for the deal for Soriano. I believe this is the player the nationals were holding out for to complete the deal. So much for the Carlos Lee hitting the market will drive Soriano's price down theory. I didn't think it was much of a theory considering there are multiple teams looking for a big bat.

I don't think the Sox will bring in Crawford or Baldelli although either one or both would be tremendous. Anderson has been hitting better lately but he really needs to step up and pick it up on the road. He has 1 home run and 4 RBI on the road this season. To put it in perspective, the White Sox starting CF has the exact same amount of home runs and rbi on the road this season as Carlos Zambrano does for the Cubs. The offense is sputtering, which was pretty easy to see was going to happen. Too many guys were too hot for it to continue. Anderson's bat is needed more than ever, as is some solid performances by the pitching staff.

Of course the season is not over. Minnesota is bound to cool off, Detroit should as well. The Yankees could be a problem especially if the Sox are playing for the wild card. You know they are going to pick someone up soon. The White Sox problem is that despite the names, the starting rotation is very overrated. Garcia is not the Garcia of the past. Buerhle has been in a slump before, but never has been pounded as consistently as he has. Vazquez was brutal in the AL before, and that pattern seems to be repeating itself. Garland was horrible, now he's been great. He probably will eventually fall in between the two, and Contreras has been the man despite losing 3 in a row. You hear Zito, but I don't see that happening, especially because KW has gone on record both with the media and personally to McCarthy that he isn't going anywhere, and I don't see why a team fighting for the playoffs would trade their ace and not get back the Sox best young pitcher. Its one thing to say he's not going to trade a minor leaguer, its another to say he's not going to trade a major leaguer, and tell that major leaguer he isn't going anywhere. If he dealt McCarthy, what he tells players and to a lesser extent, the media, couldn't be trusted anymore.

Pods has not stolen a base since the All Star break. The one thing that he gives you offensively, and he isn't doing it. I'm quite certain this is his last season in a White Sox uniform.

QUOTE(Friend of Nordhagen @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 06:10 PM) And then Gardenhire got him out of there. Kind of like Ozzie doesn't do with Vazquez. Ozzie's been owned when it comes to handling the pitching staff the last few series. Maybe he'll learn something. I know its a lefty/lefty match-up and Cuddyer took Buerhle deep in the first, but I still don't understand walking a guy to get to Morneau. A guy hitting .375 since the All Star break, and a guy who hits the ball 9 miles.