Dick Allen

QUOTE(WCSox @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 12:34 PM) His arm is average for a CF. His range is average-to-above-average. His arm is about as average as Lance "one dog" Johnson's was. NL third base coaches dislocate their shoulders waving in runners on base hits to CF when Pierre is patrolling it. He throws fly balls to home plate.

QUOTE(JimH @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 12:19 PM) Taking a step back here I find it fascinating the White Sox are always linked with these speedy high batting average CF guys who steal bases. This winter we heard rumors about Gathright, Juan Pierre, and now Willy Tavares. Now no one really knows if there was legit interest in these guys or if it's simply media rumors, but to me it's not coincidence, especially after they landed Podsednik last year. Simply put, Guillen appears to covet this type of player. I don't know about Gathright, but KW did say he never called the Marlins about Pierre. I think its a lot of speculation. Guillen did say he wanted to add more speed. That hasn't happen. If Contreras is the bait, they should do a lot better than Taveras, who like was stated above, really is no more than a 4th outfielder, pinch runner, defensive replacement. He got some hits in the world series, but really isn't very impressive as a player. Considering KW has made pitching a priority, and emphasises it as much as possible, unless its for a player like Tejada, I really doubt he'll trade any of his 6 starters without getting pitching back. I'm not sold on Contreras and Uribe for Tejada, although Tejada obviously would be huge in the Sox line-up, but it would make the White Sox media darlings, and every expert would make them the favorites to win it all again. The days of the White Sox being ignored on ESPN would be over.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 10:57 AM) 2005 OBP... Podsednik: .351 Tad: .342 Rowand: .329 Uribe: .301 Everett: .311 A.J.: .308 Juan Pierre: .326 OBP, .276 BA, 19 2B, 2 HR Considering the generally poor OBP of Sox players last season and the fact that Rowand's measley 16 stolen bases ranked #2 on the team, he'd be a decent #9 hitter at the very least and, given that his OBP wasn't much lower than Tad's, he'd be a viable #2. Juan Pierre doesn't hit for power either and Taveras' numbers are already comparable to his. And I'd take Pierre as my #2 hitter any day. With Taveras entering his second full year in the league, he's bound to get even better. Again, it's pretty short-sighted to call Taveras a "scrub." You do realize Contreras was virtually unbeatable after the All Star break? Why would you trade a #1 pitcher for a guy who even you said would bat ninth? Taveras is not an upgrade over Anderson. You compare him to Pierre, who by all accounts had a bad year last year. KW wouldn't trade Contreras for Pierre, neither would any GM in baseball.

QUOTE(Felix @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 09:26 AM) Brian Anderson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Willy Taveras This proposed deal would make no sense to me. Exactly. That's not the type of trade that KW would consider "overwhelming". At least I hope not.

According to rotoworld, Harris has agreed to sign with the Rockies.

The rumor says the Sox are willing to go to $105 million on payroll, and says trading Contreras frees up money for deadline reinforcements. If the payroll currently is at $95 million and they are willing to go $10 million higher, how much money needs to be freed up for deadline reinforcements when more than half of their salaries for 2006 would have already been paid out?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 11:22 AM) Heres a quote about Tejada Tejada plays baseball with passion and drive. He demonstrates his reverence for the game with hard play and vocal leadership. Teammate Brian Roberts told Peter Gammons that Tejada is the best player in the game because, 'He has an uncanny ability to knock in runs... his energy. He is always up, pushing everyone and making the entire team better." Orioles' hitting instructor Terry Crowley said, "This franchise changed the day he arrived." Bear in mind I dont want him here. But making up s*** like him being a cancer in the clubhouse is stupid. Let the cubs fans do that. He didn't say he was a cancer. He said that's what his Cub fan friends thought he was.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 11:17 AM) No it wasnt, it was about his contacts. But still Tejada is WELL known to be one of the best clubhouse guys in the league, a true leader. I know, but his decline the second half was curious, as was his complaining through the press. Maybe he wants out of Baltimore so bad he's decided just to make it impossible to keep him. As I said in another thread, Tejada, I believe, can demand a trade next offseason if he is traded.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 11:13 AM) I call BS If its about Tejada's attitude, I think you should let that slide. There are a few people in the Baltimore organization that thought Tejada quit on the team last year.

QUOTE(sayitaintso @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 10:58 AM) I'm not saying that i would object to this trade, just that it would defeat the purpose of moving tadadhito lower in the lineup. If that's the biggest problem with this trade, I would imagine KW and Ozzie would have no problem telling Iguchi he's staying in the 2 hole.

QUOTE(AndytheClown1 @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 10:45 AM) I think "offer" is too strong a word. From my source (who is reliable) the Orioles and KW had a conversation. When Tejada came up, the Orioles told KW that these are the players that would have to be included to continue the conversation. Is your source a shareholder? I'm not busting your balls I just wonder who KW and friends would give this information to.

For all those defending Bruce Levine, go back a couple of weeks. HE WAS THE ONE SPREADING THE RUMOR OF BMAC AND URIBE FOR TEJADA. If they are over budget now, that would have blown them out of the water overbudget. Now he says Tejada to the Sox won't happen because of budget concerns. If he was telling the truth a couple of weeks ago, he is lying now. If he is telling the truth now, he was bulls***ting a couple of weeks ago. The White Sox current budget has not changed since he made his initial comments, at least for 2006. Garland's $7 million is what he would have gotten anyway, if not more in arbitration.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 10:29 AM) If you think Bruce Levine is reporting falsities simply because the Cubs organization now has interest in Tejada, I really have no rebuttal. The guy reports what he hears. It's known the Sox are currently over-budget, the Sox would be hard-pressed to trade similar contracts, and Tejada would almost surely mean yet another raise in payroll. Even if the guy is just connecting the dots, it makes an lot of sense to me. It might make sense, but then he was just BSing the first rumor. The Sox were overbudget then, they were going to have to give Garland at least $7 million in arbitration. He makes crap up. He is known nationally for doing that. I don't think the Sox are a player for Tejada, and I don't think they ever realistically were.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 10:23 AM) Besides having enormous talent...does anybody think getting Tejada would be a HUGE mistake for the makeup and a little thing that was emphasized last year...chemistry?!? Personally....I'm sick of hearing about the guy....just STFU and play what you're paid $12M to do. Seriously...do you really want somebody waffling like this when things start to go a little bad on the team. Did we hear one player panic, b****, complain or moan during septembers freefall?!? Does this team really need this kind of crap?!?...no. Stay away from the light Kenny.... He's been a pretty good guy his whole career. I agree that dealing with his frustration through the media is the wrong thing to do, and while I probably wouldn't give Baltimore the players they would require to move him, he's a solid character guy.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Dec 30, 2005 -> 10:07 AM) In an attempt to stop these threads, ESPN 1000's Bruce Levine is reporting that although Kenny Williams and company have interest in Tejada, they are in no position to add to a payroll that is already over-budget. I think he said the acquisition of Tejada would mean for roughly $8M per year. Kenny is looking to cut pay-roll, not add to it. These rumors are now over. Isn't Levine the one who started these rumors with a package consisting of BMac, and Uribe. Trading Contreras instead of BMac would actually be keeping the payroll down a little bit. I guess now that his beloved Cubbies are interested, Levine has a different take on matters as they pertain to the White Sox. I am so glad I won't have to hear his garbage driving home from games this season.

3,000,000 will be tough, but 2.75 million is a possibility.

Its ironic, but if Tejada forces Baltimore to trade him, I believe he would have the right to demand a trade next offseason being a veteran traded in the middle of a multi-year contract.

He instantly becomes the worst defensive starting CF in baseball.

Garland was going to get $7-8 million in arbitration, so in essence he received a 2 year $22 million extension. Contreras looking for the same money + 1 more year is far from unreasonable. He was the guy starting each playoff series, not Garland.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Dec 28, 2005 -> 05:36 PM) I'd say that even if he pitched as a league average pitcher (100 ERA+, something like a 4.40 ERA, I'd guess), he'd still be a Type A free agent, which would mean two picks, I think. Both picks would be in the top 40 overall, but neither would be in the top 15. Isn't it the new team's first rounder if its not in the top 15 and a sandwich pick, or if it is in the top 15 2 sandwich picks?

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Dec 28, 2005 -> 05:24 PM) . In case you haven't been paying attention Mark, Freddy, Jon, Javier, & Jose are ALL #1 starters. They would easily fill the ace role for other teams. The difference between #1 & #2 is not measured by stats alone. It's a question of competition. Any one of these guys can be expected to beat Santana, Halliday, Zito, or Mussina. Can that be said of BMac? No. If you think Javier Vazquez is a #1 starter, you are the one who hasn't been paying attention the last year and a half sir.

I love how these guys get basically $10 million a year for 3 years, guaranteed, and have the nerve to say they didn't want to "break the bank".

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2005 -> 05:11 PM) I haven't seen this posted yet in this thread and I think I've read most of it, so here's a KW quote appearing in theESPN.com piece on JG: Obviously negotiations with Jose haven't gone as well as was expected. Putting yourself in the Contreras camp's shoes, what do you ask for that's reasonable? Garland was skipped so Contreras could start game 1 of the ALCS. Contreras started game 1 of all the post season series. He has to be worth more than the 2 year $22 million extension that Garland basically received, doesn't he?

QUOTE(mreye @ Dec 28, 2005 -> 04:41 PM) They're replacing them because they're worn out. Even if they kept the color the same they'd be replacing them. How could they be worn out? Nobody sat in them for years.

QUOTE(whitesoxin' @ Dec 28, 2005 -> 01:41 PM) There's something wrong with all of this. A spot in the rotation for B-Mac won't become available until 2008? Something is fishy here, Brandon has to be in this rotation. If not this year, then next year for sure. Get rid of Count, I'm afraid that second half of last year was a fluke. But then again, I think that maybe Cooper did really finally get through to him and he can go on for many more years with great stuff. s*** happens, pitchers get hurt, they become ineffective. If BMac keeps pitching like he did towards the end of the season, even if no one gets traded, he will have a spot in the rotation fairly quickly.