Dick Allen

QUOTE (KagakuOtoko @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 12:24 PM) Did you guys hear boos, cheering or a mixture of both. It sounded pretty mixed with the cheering maybe a bit a louder? Definitely. Alabama being there helped him a ton. If it was a USC vs. Syracuse final, I doubt he would have gone.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 12:33 PM) The entire crux of this argument appears to be your lack of understanding that a chance of something happening is not a guarantee or prediction that it will happen. No, the entire crux of the argument is, while I like the trade, I think Soria sucks, and people view crap on other teams a lot differently than they view it on their own. White Sox fans are unique in that they appreciate others' crap a lot more than their own. The White Sox have had a whole lot of whipping boys with excellent peripherals. But the dream is Soria will be flipped for a prospect who will help the White Sox contend for years. I hope that happens, but it is a dream. The Sox gave up a rule 5 unclaimed and got another decent reliever and cash to get him.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 12:16 PM) That's not true. We're so far away from DIPS being new that people forget where it came from. Voros McCracken mathematically tested the year-to-year stability of every pitching metric he could think of, finding that relatively few were significant predictors of themselves going forward. He noticed a pattern: that the ones that WERE significant predictors of themselves going foward were those least affected by defense. He took ONLY those factors that were statistically significant predictors of future totals, and developed a formula that scale the results to ERA. Then, hundreds of people have rigorously tested and proven that FIP (and eventually xFIP, which is essentially just FIP with normalized HR rates) is a better predictor of ERA than ERA itself is. This is true throughout the entire live ball era. It is math. It's calculating probabilities, so it isn't as black and white as 1+1=2, but the formulas were derived and proven from actual data. It seems to me this particular example doesn't really fit the bill. Using FIP and xFIP after last season, you wouldn't have predicted his FIP and xFIP numbers in 2017, and would have told anyone who did that they are arguing with math . The fact is, even if this is all you claim it is, it is not 100%, and everyone has access to this information. To become better than average, one must find anomalies with these numbers. Personally, I think his numbers were a bit inflated towards the positive, and he will be 34 years old with 2 TJS under his belt. Regression seems way more likely than anything else.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 12:21 PM) im shocked about vizquel. guess 11 gold gloves dont mean as much as i thought?? That is a bit shocking. Not necessarily that he won't make it on his first attempt, I get some voters think that "honor" is reserved for a precious few even if the guy is HOF-worthy, but his total is weak. He'll have to wait a while.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 11:05 AM) You absolutely have to know when the right time to strike is, but you could find anecdotal examples of this in every imaginable permutation over and over again throughout baseball history I'm sure. My point is the White Sox tried being impatient and "going for it" every year for about a decade with little to no success. Hahn then implemented a strategy of being patient and forcing teams to come to his price for his players, and in less than a year it took the White Sox from one of the worst farm systems in baseball to arguably the best for two years running. This wasn't accomplished by being impatient and taking the first offer on everyone who had value to get them out of town. It was accomplished by waiting and forcing other teams to come up to the price desired. Similarly, the Astros did gamble, but their gamble was smart. Essentially, it was "some team will get desperate and want to move a player we need for something of value at some point, and the price will come down to the level we find acceptable". Sure, it was a bit risky and could've cost them the 2017 World Series, but with the talent they have, they have a very long competitive window (unless something unforeseeable like injuries takes it away), so missing 1 of 10 or so shots may not have been a big deal to them. I'd prefer this rebuild to be the launch point for a prolonged period of sustained success, and I think the way to achieve that will be the same way the White Sox so quickly went from the outhouse to the penthouse of farm systems. Be patient, wait for a desperate team to match your need, and strike when the other team meets your price. Becoming the desperate team and overpaying for a present need depletes the surplus value that the team has worked very hard to build and will eventually lead to being back in the rebuilding process. Now, if the scenario you describe happens, I'd take that risk as well, but for me it's because I don't see Cease becoming that successful (even if the prognosticators are calling him the top pitching prospect in baseball) and even if he is, there's probably not a rotation spot for him here. Also, it's a 1 for 1 deal, which means that the Marlins were likely desperate and the White Sox will get good value from the deal. I'm not advocating never dealing prospects, I just want the team to go about it in the same way that has found them success recently, as well as other franchises like the Astros. Be patient, make teams meet your price, and strike when the time is right. Patience this offseason is going to screw a lot of players. It is unbelievable how slow the market has been, and it does seem while some guys will get paid, several are going to have it cost them. And wait until next year when Boras keeps Harper out there forever, which should probably keep Machado out there forever, which means a lot of guys will probably be just about at spring training before they know where they will play.

I was watching MLB Network yesterday and this is something that blew my mind. The SEC is a really good baseball conference, a couple of historic programs, but Frank Thomas is their only HOFer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:59 AM) I could keep going, but you get the point. Besides Soxtalk won't let me quote anymore posts. Another productive day at work for you I see.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:45 AM) Mark Buehrle is an anomaly. So is Javy Vazquez. You wouldn't want him on the mound if the team had to win to save your job. Soria has many of the same issues. When the White Sox got rid of Bobby Jenks, there were no tears shed. Yet look at his peripherals during his last season with the White Sox.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:39 AM) Joakim Soria is 7th in WAR since entering the league. He was 21st last year. And Javy Vazquez has a higher career WAR than Mark Buehrle in a lot fewer games. I was also told earlier don't use WAR for a reliever, and is his WAR from 2008 really relevant? All I care about is what he does in 2018, and I am projecting it won't be pretty. It doesn't really matter to the White Sox, even if he bucked the odds, it isn't like the prospect they would get for him wouldn't have significant flaws, and if he sucks, winning doesn't matter this season. But there is a reason he was available for what he cost. The other guy was the prize. It wouldn't have happened without him.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:31 AM) Paulino, Felipe. So for years I've been reminding people I told you so. Show me some examples, or admit it's just made up bulls*** by yet another mod.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:15 AM) Why would they need to do that when you would already remind them of it in every single post for the next four years? edit: make it 10 years. Another mod, another personal attack. More made up s***. I really don't know why "I like the trade but Soria sucks " offends so many people.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 09:05 AM) Naming the exceptions to the rule doesn't invalidate the rule. If you're going to list all the pitchers that DIPS got wrong, put them next to the massively larger list of pitchers DIPS got right. No one has ever claimed that it works 100% of the time. It is a fact that it works most of the time. That is why it makes sense to target DIPS anomalies like Soria. I will bet Soria's ERA, K-rate, FIP and x-FIP are all higher in 2018 than they were in 2017. If they are not I will apologize for ever questioning peripherals permanently at the bottom of my posts, if you will put at the bottom of your posts that Greg and Dick were correct if that does occur. How bout dat?

Oprah has made a lot out of her life, and obviously has some power. But I think we all would be better served if she put her power behind an actual candidate rather than continue reality TV in the White House. Besides, why would she need the headache, not only of campaigning, but of actually being POTUS if she won?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 08:37 AM) I can't think of a better symbol of the death of an empire than the stupid wall To Pay for Wall, Trump Would Cut Proven Border Security Measures Mexico is paying for the wall. Believe me. I am sure they are just waiting for them to wire the money.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 9, 2018 -> 06:49 AM) Since you seem to think Soria sucks so much, what are you basing this opinion on? Clearly you didn’t watch him enough to form this opinion through the “eye test”, so I’m curious to hear what qualitative data you’re using to come to this conclusion. I have seen him pitch and have seen his numbers and have followed him a bit. He used to be a stud. 2 TJS later, not so much. He isn't good, and really no one whose job depends on them being correct thinks he's good. It's why they throw in a reliever who actually is halfway decent as part of the eating the contract part. Plus, he's going to be 34. Again, I will write this because some people actually think the argument is the trade was bad. It wasn't. He is. What are posters basing he will be worth even more than he was now at the deadline? Past performance does enter the equation. It's been a while since Soria was elite.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:45 PM) Thanks. I thought it only logical to inform everybody what the peeps in KC were saying about finally getting rid of Soria. If the stats don't prove me right, fine, but I do think it's significant the guy blew 7 saves. It makes the home fans believe he's worthless and he's definitely the scapegoat in KC. Again if the stats don't back me up, whatever. My eye test told me Fathom could line doubles off Joaquim Soria last season. Peripherals lie just like the eye test. It is hard for some to believe it but it's true. Look at the peripherals, Javy Vazquez was a far superior major league pitcher to Mark Buerhle . I don't know why people defend these peripheral kings to the death when you say they suck. Who is invested in Joakim Soria. I got the same crap you are getting a few years ago when the White Sox signed a pitcher from KC who I said sucked, but evidently the peripherals didn't agree, therefore I was a stooge. Felipe Paulino, how you doin? Zach Duke, same thing. Luckily for White Sox fans, Soria's stay will be closer in length to Paulino..

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:11 AM) Early Nov. - Trump removes protections for 2,500 Nicaraguans in U.S. for decades Late Nov. - Trump removes protections for 60,000 Haitians Now - Trump orders nearly 200,000 Salvadorans out. He's consensual.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:08 AM) At the very least he should have been in the tent for tests. He had all the symptoms - hard hit, head contact on the ground, clearly struggling to get off the field/walk straight. He did go in the tent.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 11:01 AM) Love it especially considering Andy Reid's coaching tree. Top 3 on my list. He loved MT10. And Andy Reid's guys usually turn out pretty well.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 8, 2018 -> 10:06 AM) Oh and I forgot to mention this yesterday but Cam Newton had no business being back in that game at the end without passing concussion protocol. Dude couldn't even walk straight while heading off the field, fell down, and they attributed it to his mask. Probably in the protocol he should have had to have gone to the locker room, but as someone who has been grazed right above the eye in a basketball league, I had the exact same response. I actually was cut and needed some stitches, but initially I kind of walked away from it thinking I was injured but OK, then staggered, and knelt down. Then I was fine in a few seconds except for the bleeding in my case. Being concussed didn't even come to mind.

The Lakers must have had Lonzo rated head and shoulders above everyone else to put up with his dad. I just wonder if he ever does get that good how bad the dad is going to get. Personally, I would have left that headache to someone else.

To be fair, Chris Berman did a piece today on the Bills being in the playoffs and all that has happened since their last appearance. The White Sox winning the WS made his list.

I Tonya was a lot better than I was expecting. It had a bit of everything, times you wouldn't feel sorry for her. Times when you think most of her problems weren't her fault, and a lot of laughs.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 10:48 AM) The Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo and Paris Hilton have to qualify as well...going by this new standard of reality television success. Shouldn’t it actually be Mark Burnett, due to multiple successes like The Apprentice, Survivor, The Voice and Shark Tank? Trump is the People’s Choice Awards of geniuses. He can’t even recall running for president in 2000. Should have gone with JFNJr’s A Beautiful Mind, instead. Heck, Mr. Ed was a more “stable” genius! Bankruptcy = 6 times Trump University =Failed Trump Airlines = Failed Trump Steaks = Failed GoTrump.com = Failed Trump Vodka = Failed Trump Mortgage = Failed Trump the Game = Laughably Failed Trump Magazine = Failed Trump Ice = Failed The New Jersey Generals Football Team = Failed Tour De Trump = Failed Trump on the Ocean Resorts = Failed The Trump Network = Failed Trumped! Radio Network = Failed Trump New Media = Failed Trump hiding his real height from doctors so BMI can’t declare him obese = Succeeded Making Bush2 look like a genius = Succeeded Bankrupting numerous casinos = Genius Trump Water = moderate success (probably created to avoid poisoning by wives) The shocking thing is when he throat was dry and his dentures were falling out, when he reached for a water, it wasn't Trump, but imported Fiji. MAGA.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 10:37 AM) If belicheck leaves the pats for the giants and we don’t even call I’m going to lose it. They wouldn't call. Pace, Phillips and George would have to give him full control. It wouldn't happen.