Dick Allen

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 10:17 PM) Blalock has been projected as a late first-early second and Stinson a second rounder from what I've seen. The scuttlebutt is ISU had three draft picks on their team this year between those two and Clark. At least they have some talent on their team at the time of this scandal. When I was at Iowa and the Iowa State football program got in trouble, they had a horrible team. They used to have bumper stickers, "Iowa State Football: The Worst Team Money Can Buy"

He was injured last year. I remember when they were playing in Toronto early in the season, and they showed him warming up. He was trying to shake pain out of his arm. Whether there really is a problem with his arm or shoulder at this point, its in his head that there is, so there probably is very little chance of him returning to his once dominating ways in 2006.

Herm on Frank's 2004 injury which was eventually diagnosed as a broken bone "It has the potential to bother him the rest of the year. He's got some garbage in his ankle and it's there. We can calm down the inflammation and he either can deal with it or he can't

I will feel better about it after they return to the line-up. They came to the same conclusion of arthroscopic surgery for Ordonez on Saturday morning at Rush University Medical Center, performed by Dr. Bush-Joseph. While Schneider still couldn't specify Ordonez's malady, he indicated Friday the injury doesn't seem to be severe.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 01:57 PM) Here's the problem....when he tried to gut it out, he had nothing on his pitches. I respect Hermanson for the great job he did for us last season, but I don't want him on the mound if he's not even close to 80 percent. Right. His smoke and mirrors act is only going to work for a finite period of time. Watching how he was getting roped in the playoffs and thus far in spring training, that time appears to be up.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 01:53 PM) There were threads about this at that time. In short, from what I recall and know myself, back surgeries are dicey deals. They can fix all, or do worse damage, or something in between. With disc problems, surgery is seen as a last resort. I think there are very few athletes that were able to do much after back surgery. Scottie Pippen is one I know of, but if you know anyone who has had back surgery, they usually are still a little screwed up after the procedure.

The Contreras thing is a concern because if he winds up having to miss a start or 2 or ?, McCarthy goes into the rotation, and the bullpen becomes even more questionable.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 01:41 PM) :headshake No news is bad news in this case. Dustin is done. Pods is a huge piece to the Sox puzzle. I just hope they are careful with him. The Jose situation doesnt sound like anything. Herm did say that this entire season for Dustin will be like the last half of last year when he was basically shot. He gutted it out a few times, but he obviously can't be counted on.

I forgot who said it, I think it was Rick Sutcliffe who stated that tendonitis is when you are hurt and they really don't know what's wrong with you.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 01:11 PM) Im not going to worry right now. All it said on the update was that he was scratched because of some tightness in the forearm. Im sure those things can happen based on the increase of throwing come Spring. However, its something to keep an eye on. Better the forearm than the shoulder. Is it confirmed Podsednik is basically fine, or did the same doctor that said Ordonez was day to day 2 years ago examine him?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2006 -> 08:45 AM) LOL. Our head trainer said it doesn't appear serious. I think I am going to trust his diagnosis over yours if you don't mind. Every story that came out this morning said the same thing. We actually saw some info that said he could be in the lineup this week, but nowhere did it say anything about longterm. Hmmm.... I never made a diagnosis. You need to work on comprehension.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 14, 2006 -> 09:12 PM) It is inflammation. They said the only question is if it is in the muscle or the joint. Pods thinks it is in the joint. They are getting a second MRI to determine where the inflammation is ocurring. They can give him a shot to get rid of the pain if need be, but obviously they would like to know where the inflammation is occuring first, which is why they need to inject the dye and then take the MRI. All of that taken from the story. Not guessing. So Dr. jphat007, what you are saying is they don't know exactly where the pain is coming from, enough pain to keep him from playing, but they do know that it isn't serious. How do they come to this conclusion?

Will Carroll of BP deserves an apology. He had this story a couple of weeks ago, and the Cubs tried to make him look like an idiot.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:44 PM) There's no way you trade Politte. He was probably the best middle reliever in the entire MLB last season and he's making peanuts this season ($1.2 million). Even if he doesn't reproduce last season's numbers (which he likely won't), he's still valuable to our bullpen. Hermanson would have been ideal to trade after his career year but obviously no one is going to trade for a reliever with a bad back. The same can be said about Shingo last year at this time. I hope I'm wrong about Politte, but veterans that cut their ERA's by 2.50 in one season, usually bounce back to mediocrity the next. If Politte pitches like he did in 2004, he will not be of help to the White Sox. Didn't he almost get non-tendered after 2004? I think he took a cut with some incentives and added a year.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:41 PM) Not that I've thought about this for even a second, but I don't think it would've been possible to trade Politte and have gotten anything better in return. As far as what I expect of Cotts and Politte, it doesn't really matter. I'm not gonna dismiss their '05 seasons as flukes just because. And what if they don't match those numbers? Does that mean they're gonna suck? Does that mean they still can't help us win games? As I mentioned before, Cotts is a keeper. I think you will be dissapointed in Cliff.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:29 PM) You wouldn't take those numbers from him? I sure would. Especially since he wouldn't have been counted on to close this year. Vizcaino had those numbers, he didn't close, and he got clobbered on this board.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:28 PM) But how would you know these things before the season even started? That's where I'm not understanding you. How could Kenny possibly know that Politte and Cotts might not be as good? Or anywhere near as good? Traded Politte? Are you nuts? Trade him for what? I base my thinking about Politte looking at his career and as for what I would get for him, I would have to see what was available for a guy coming off a great season not making a ton of money. I was also a guy who was nuts wanting KW to trade Shingo the winter of 2004, when they could have gotten something for him. Look at Cotts numbers? Do you really think its fair to expect the same? I like Cotts and think he will be good, but he'll probably give up a few more runs this season. I have made no claims about getting rid of Cotts. Barring injury, he will be in the White Sox rotation in a couple of years. Maybe Buerhle's replacement if he goes to St. Louis.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:16 PM) Our two bullpen holes last season were Marte and Vizcaino, right? While I didn't like either of them, Marte had a 3.77 ERA and Vizcaino had a 3.73 ERA. What two guys do we have that can replace that production? I know it's just ST but I'm not seeing it so far. Marte appeared in 66 games, and Vizcaino in 65. If that's any indication how Ozzie will use the last 2 guys this year, an upgrade is needed.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:18 PM) You don't think Bmac can match or exceed what Viz gave us? He's better than Vizcaino, but do you really think Ozzie would put him in 65 times? Also, odds are he will be spending some time in the rotation.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:13 PM) So what is Kenny supposed to do? Replace the whole bullpen because you don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that any of them can come close to repeating what they did last year? No, but he should anticipate who isn't going to be so good in 2006. Bullpens need to be turned over year after year. There aren't many relief pitchers who follow up great years with great years. If Hermanson is down for a while, which definitely appears to be the case, if Politte is the 2004 version of himself, if Javier Lopez is your second lefty, that will leave BMac, Cotts, and Jenks. If I were KW, I would have traded Politte this offseason. He had a great year, but the last time he pitched as much as he did last year, the next year his ERA was 5.66. Maybe he totally sucks, but I still don't understand letting Castro go. They could have avoided it by putting him on the 40 man I believe.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:05 PM) Um, just because you have it in your head that Politte and Cotts will suck doesn't mean Kenny does. If Hermanson was healthy, there wouldn't even be anything to really talk about. Kenny gambled that he would be. He was wrong. Now lets exhibit some patience and give the man a chance to do what he does best. I don't think Cotts will suck. I don't think he'll be able to match last year's numbers, I don't see how any could expect that. They really were incredible and he is going to be in some hairier situations this year. I think Politte is going to be a dissapointment. Hermanson was talking retirement. Vizcaino was traded away. That's a lot of relief appearances. Remember, Ozzie loves the lefty/lefty, righty/righty matchups. It sometimes takes him a while to go get someone on the mound, but once he starts, he can go through pitchers pretty quickly.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:49 PM) You mean you don't think Politte is going to post an ERA in the 1's this year? Something only 5 relievers in the AL with over 30 IP did last year? Way to go out on a limb. My point is KW knows exactly what is going on with this bullpen. Exactly what he can afford to trade and who for. Exactly what he is doing. Certainly moreso than anybody on this board does. No, I mean neither will match the 3.78 Vizcaino put up last year. He didn't pay as much attention to the bullpen as he did last offseason when in reality it was his #1 priority. Coming in he had Shingo who was coming off a year just as good or better than Jenks had. Hermanson, Politte, Cotts all who will be hard-pressed to match or even come close to what they did last year. Marte who was not good, but is a hall of famer compared to some of the guys they signed. And Vizcaino, who wasn't great, but was a guy with a rubber arm who could eat innings. BMac is probably better than any of them, but I can't see the Sox throwing him in 65 games. The other thing he had was back-up plans if guys faltered. Shingo faltered in comes Hermanson. Hermanson goes down, there's Jenks. Pitchers are going to go down, that's just part of the game. The Sox only used 6 starters last year. Its been a long time since a team was able to say that, and that scenerio probably won't repeat itself. That would mean BMac will most likely be in the rotation at some point, making the bullpen worse. It is a huge problem for a team trying to win another championship. A thin bullpen has been the achilles heel of many otherwise great teams.

QUOTE(quickman @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:47 PM) ok back on subject, Jim, what the hell is out there? there has to be a handful of players about to get cut, any speculation on who? Why would the World Champions fill their staff with lesser team's cuts?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:40 PM) I'm not insulting you. I was being serious. Obviously you know something that KW doesn't and he needs to be informed as soon as possible. I mean, what the heck is he doing out there? He's acting like he just put together a team that won the world series. Seriously dude. I'm pretty sure KW has a pretty good handle on things, no matter what you have been talking about. KW did win the WS, that doesn't mean everything he does is gold. Vizcaino was a punching bag on this board last year. I make it even money that neither Politte or Hermanson put up better numbers than he did last year. Please don't call me dude.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:32 PM) Don't you get the feeling if you're not in with our skipper, you don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of being a guy he'll go to in crunch time? Ozzie is a pretty ballsy cat. If you're not on board with what he's trying to do and the tight ship he likes to run, you probably don't stand a good chance of not just being on the team, but, getting any confidence from the manager during the season. It seemed like Ozzie just ate Marte--a guy rumored to have a very easy-goin, carefree, sheepish attitude--up and I'm betting Munoz was a similar situation. The thing with Marte is interesting, and probably accurate. When an easy-going Manuel was in charge, Marte was lights out. He just might not have been comfortable with all the noise that comes with Ozzie.