Dick Allen

People on this site have made a big deal about the White Sox White House appearance. I don't know if teams visited the White House back in 1917 so this is a big deal to the organization, and Ozzie, especially considering he is the manager, should go. It wouldn't kill him to fly out of the DR into DC that morning and return to the DR that evening or even the next day. He is with his family, especially his sons all season and off season long. I think the excuse of wanting to spend vacation time with his family is weak, although I agree that it isn't that necessary he attend. The snub that concerns me is Jenks. Supposedly a death in the family is what kept him away from Soxfest, and now a personal matter has him not attending this. Most likely its nothing, but his past history, and the fact that he is now the toast of the town wherever he is at gets me wondering if he has fallen off the wagon.

This isn't actually an injury but it did happen to a friend of mine. He and his girl where "having relations" for the first time. Once he was in she clenched up, and couldn't unclench. He was stuck. They had to call the paramedics. They gave her some muscle relaxers or something like that, and said told them it really wasn't that unusual.

I don't think its any big deal. Winning the division 3 years in a row is something to be proud of. Aren't the 6 World Championship trophies still all over Bulls stationary 8 years after their last title?

QUOTE(Felix @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 09:45 PM) Derek Jeter's career fielding percentage (based on errors) is .975, while Ozzie Smith's is .978. Is Jeter anywhere near as good as Smith was at defense? No, they shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence when talking about defense unless you are talking about a good defensive player and a bad one. And Jerry Owens is a LEFTFIELDER. Not a centerfielder. He is pathetic in CF from all reports I've read and heard. Kenny Williams referred to Owens as a CF at Soxfest. I heard it with my own 2 ears. It may be that the Sox have determined that Pods is definitely not a CF, therefore Owens may have a crack at the CF job if Anderson where to get hurt or something. KW did mention his bad arm, but claimed it was because of some old injury and that they would be stretching it out this spring. It would be nice to have a CF who could throw, but I would be more concerned with getting one who can run down balls. I have never seen Owens play and have no idea about his jumps, but if its is arm that is keeping him in LF, that shouldn't be that much of a problem. The Sox had a pretty good team when the One Dog was throwing flyballs back to the infield in the early 90s.

I received mine about a week ago.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 10:25 AM) Or Rich Daley That's probably even a better comparison.

Gretzky's assistant and his wife supposedly ran a gambling ring. Gretzky has said he knows nothing about it. He sounds like Sammy Sosa and Raffy Palmiero to me.

QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 08:36 AM) These are a special section of seats. These seats are in the right-field corner, in foul territory. But the benches will have seat backs on them just like USCF has on all its bleachers. Its worth the extra cash.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Feb 8, 2006 -> 03:34 PM) I like Bud better, but I always thought Cubs beer was Oldstyle? What is even funnier or sadder for the Cubs is that Miller and Bud are primary rivals of the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals respectively. You can get Bud at the Beers of the World stands.

Al Michaels is taking a paycut of about $1 million a year to go to NBC. I wonder if the Madden video games have anything to do with him leaving. Whoever Madden's partner is gets the PBP gig on the Madden games. That must pay well.

Sammy managed by Frank Robinson. That would be very interesting.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Feb 4, 2006 -> 10:32 PM) Heh, I remember when Nebraska stormed the floor for a loss to ISU. It's not unique to the Illini. Maybe not, and College sports is all about the emotion. I just never understood the contempt for Iowa students celebrating a victory, like if you went to Illinois you would never do that. They do it, and take it a step further.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Feb 4, 2006 -> 09:56 PM) They rushed the floor on a loss. All the Illini fans were ripping the Iowa fans for storming the court after they beat the Illini. How do they explain storming the court after a loss to lowly PSU?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 20, 2006 -> 04:44 PM) Keep predicting Owens as this stud CF'er and you will be flamed every time its proven otherwise. I heard KW call Owens a CF at Soxfest.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 04:17 PM) So how much will a top 2 defense in the majors help him? Unless he decreases the long balls he gives up, not much.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 03:28 PM) I don't recall KW mentioning those sentiments about Contra at the time of the trade. He did talk him up of course but I don't recall him referring to him as a dominant pitcher. As for Vazquez you have to look past the season avg numbers. The guy threw 23 games where he pitched 6+ in & gave up 3 runs or less. Those are considered quality starts & would have amounted to many more wins playing for the White Sox. His NYY numbers were good enough for all-star consideration in the 1st half of that year but fell apart the 2nd half of the year. Such a dramatic change nearly always indicates an injury of some kind. His 2005 AZD numbers showed a major improvement over those 2nd half NYY numbers. To sum up his career: One of the most dominant K-out arms in the NL during his days with the Expos. 1/2 a year of being dominant with the NYY's & 1/2 a year of being a bust. A much improved year for a team that struggled mightily for offense in AZ. I don't know if last year was much improved for Vazquez, although he did have some dominant games. His ERA, record, and innings pitched were very similar to a very over the hill Greg Maddux. He needs to be more consistent, hopefully Cooper can make that happen, although I think people are putting too much stock into what even the best pitching coach can do for a pitcher.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) I'll make this real simple for you. Kenny has been hot after Vazquez since he became GM of the White Sox. He pursued him when in was at MTL, then when he became a NYY & finally as an AZD. Kenny's love for Vazquez has never waivered. Kenny got Contreras not because he felt that he would capable of carrying the team in the 2nd half of 2005 but because he felt he would produce more than Loaiza at the time. When they NYY's threw in the dough the trade was a no-brainer. E-LO had lost his cutter that year. Now Contreras & his agent are asking for 36/3. Why would Kenny give up his love for Vazquez to pay a much higher price for Contreras? That makes no sense. Especially when they gained an arbitration yr on Vazquez with his trade demand. They don't have to think about re-signing Vazquez for at least 2 yrs. Contreras prior to the 2nd half of 2005 has not been known for throwing strikes in the ML's. Vazquez is & Vazquez is the much younger arm. What shocks me about your suggestion is you're not even factoring the impact Cooper is going to have on Vazquez. Just look at what he did for Garland Contra. There's no reason to believe he can't make Vazquez a MUCH better pitcher as well. To say Kenny got Contreras not because he thought he could be dominant, but because he would produce more than Loaiza is just plain wrong. The Yankees are throwing in about $3 or 4 million total for Contreras for the 2 1/2 years that were left on his contract. If you have ever heard KW talk about Contreras he mentions the amounts of times he had asked the Yankees about him. Kenny obviously saw the talent Contreras had, and thought correctly that the White Sox could harness this talent. It took time, but it did occur. Hopefully Vazquez can become dominant as well. He has been woefully inconsitent the last season and a half.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 07:37 AM) Which means that resigning Buehrle has nothing to do with Abreu because Buehrle has his contract up after 2007... Abreu wouldn't be on the payroll then. I've read at least in the other deals which were discussed where he would go to Baltimore or Boston, that for Abreu to waive his no-trade clause, his 2008 option would have to be exercised.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 04:33 AM) Looking at this thread has made me apperciate KW even more. I'm glad he doesn't slobber over prospects the way some GMs do. I figure unless you have a no doubt about it guy like Mark Prior, Felix Hernandez or David Wright, any prospect is fair game. KW has the advantage of being a bust himself.

QUOTE(Felix @ Feb 1, 2006 -> 06:38 PM) I know this, but thats not what I'm saying. I'm saying juding a player on 28 innings in the majors is pretty foolish, as I said in my last post Some pitchers you don't need 28 innings to judge. I just don't like the fact his 2005 season was as Donald Trump likes to say, " a total disaster", and 2004 in AAA he wasn't exactly stellar. He is young and cheap, but Abreu offsets that cheapness, and would leave KW in a spot if he has to fill a hole and add payroll.

QUOTE(Felix @ Feb 1, 2006 -> 06:27 PM) I'm not saying this is a great trade for the team, but I think its pretty foolish to judge a player on his first few innings pitching in the majors. He had a lot of control problems last year in AAA. There are a lot of people down on him. After listening to KW this past weekend, I really don't think there is anything to this, but he would have huge balls to make this trade. Team wins its first championship in 88 years and trade your playoff #1 starter and WS MVP both in the same trade. Floyd would be coming into a very stressful situation. For a guy having location problems, that's not very ideal. On the other hand, there are those that think he'll be a star.

QUOTE(Felix @ Feb 1, 2006 -> 06:16 PM) Gotta love that .176 average for Brian Anderson too.. Oh wait... I forgot about small sample sizes. So if this trade went through, the Sox would still have Anderson and his .176 average, and Floyd and his 10.00 era. I know Floyd has some potential, being the 4th overall pick in his draft and all, but the guy had an ERA over 6.00 in AAA last year, and he walks the world. I hope to God this is just a rumor. Abreu is great, but if this went through, it would more than likely leave KW will no financial flexibility for this season and next, and may be the beginning of the end for Mark Buerhle in Chicago.

I don't really care if its a Cub town or a Sox town. I especially don't care if Cub fans outnumber Sox fans 3 to 1. The bottom line is the Sox won a world championship, and have enough support to field a team that has a chance to do it again. As long as they have that support, the other stuff doesn't matter at all.

Floyd's ERA in AAA last year was over 6.00. and in the majors was over 10.00. A lot of walks and even more inconsitent in AAA than Contreras was in the majors in 2004.

QUOTE(BlizzardOfOzzie @ Jan 30, 2006 -> 10:12 AM) As has been mentioned here, yes it was entirely too packed at SoxFest. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic. I was all about celebrating with everyone else, but I thought it was a lot of wasting time sitting or standing around. I don't think I'm ever going to go back to SoxFest, either. This was my first time going in many years and I can see why. This event is more for people who like to collect autographs and get their collectibles signed - not something I've ever been much into. I do have one simple question to ask, however. I go to a Beatles convention every year, as well as other music or sports team events every year. Can someone please tell me WHY the HELL people feel the need to bring infant babies and children who are still in diapers who won't remember a frickin' thing about being there? Seriously, people - at an event this large and attended by so many people, is it really a need to be pushing a stroller around just so your little Mikey or Marie can get their picture taken with a baseball player who could frankly give two hoots about your kids, no offense. This baffles me to no end. I'm not a parent and frankly I don't ever plan on being one. That being said I cannot possibly relate to someone who has kids and wants to bring them to SoxFest. At the same time, I can't tell you how many people I saw there pushing strollers with sleeping babies in them and parents holding/carrying sleeping babies on their shoulders. Seriously - for what? They couldn't get a babysitter or something? Fine - that happens. But when I saw the number of handicapped Sox fans who require wheelchairs - their time at Soxfest would have been a little easier for them to get around had there not been so many damn strollers taking up space. Unless your little Mikey or Marie is 5 years old or older and will remember this event themsleves - leave your infants and toddlers at HOME. That was beyond ridiculous. :headshake I don't have kids either, but give them a break. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons parents bring infants. Finding babysitters sometimes isn't the easiest thing to do. If they have the hotel package are they supposed to leave their little ones home alone? Baby strollers was not the reason this event wasn't as comfortable than in the past. There were way too many people for the Hyatt to handle. They knew in advance the number of people attending would be higher, and they did nothing to accomodate that increase. I went to the seminars and had a seat, so I was fine. I took one stroll downstairs to check what the vendors had, and quickly realized I really didn't want to be there. If I need anything from Grandstand, I'll just go there.