Dick Allen

We also have it both ways with him. When he rated Tatis so high, it was OMG that was the worst trade of all time. Now he is an idiot for not thinking Robert is a top 100 prospect. I just read where a few years ago he was talking to an Orioles beat writer about the pitchers and like a few of them but said Jake Arrietta had back of the rotation upside. He said he wouldn't be qualified to be a data analyst these days. Just take what he says with a grain of salt. He is sometimes right, other times wrong, just like everyone else. At the end of the day his opinion doesn't change things either for the good or bad, and He has no effect on anyone's career. I don't think he is anti White Sox anymore. I do think he was at one point, and back then they did have crap. He took forever to come to grips he was wrong about Sale, but eventually came around. But I do think he will tweak them occasionally, just for fun. He doesn't seem like a guy I would like to hang out with, and his undressing of Garfein was absurd, but if his opinion was the end all, I know, he wants to spend more time at home...., he would be running a team.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 23, 2017 -> 11:45 AM) I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.

QUOTE (almagest @ May 23, 2017 -> 06:38 PM) I thought Garfien's question was in poor taste, but Law really went off on him for it, and was kind of a dick for the rest of the interview. I like hearing his opinion and his writing is interesting but man he is a prick sometimes. He didn't even get to the question. I think it would be human nature to look at at player a little more skeptically , even unconsciously if you had no chance of signing him. Law acted like Garfield was going to ask if they were outright lying. I don't think that was going to be the question.

Law's job is to not necessarily be right, just be right sometimes and bring traffic, I just find it odd that every single scout he has spoken to has major concerns about Robert"s swing, when everyone else covering the story found at least one or two who did not.

I wonder if Law is listening to the same scout that told him to draft David Purcey instead of Dustin Pedroia. Or told him Rickey Romero is better than Tulo, or Cutch, or Ellsbury.

I'd love to bet Keith Law something worthwhile. I take Robert, he's got Tatis Jr. player with the best career WAR wins.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ May 23, 2017 -> 02:39 PM) That would be throwing a bone to a kid who supposedly took less money to sign with your team. He'd be paying 40% in federal income tax on that bonus in the US vs 25% in the DR. That's a $3,750,000 difference. If the bonus is worth $25,000,000 then he pays Uncle Sam $10,000,000 leaving him with $15,000,000. If he gets paid in the DR, then he keeps $18,750,000 of that money. I'm not an accountant, so I don't know if there's more that plays into this. If this was my money, I'd certainly want to explore all ways possible to preserve the largest payday of my life. I don't think they will pay him his entire bonus all upfront. I'm sure there is a payment schedule over several years. But every little bit probably helps him.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 23, 2017 -> 02:28 PM) Here's Keith Law's writeup on Luis Robert move: http://www.espn.com/blog/keith-law/insider/post?id=7110 Law isn't really a fan and mentions many of the deals that haven't worked out for Cuban hitters. He also said he hasn't seen Robert play but will once he goes to a team. He said he talked to scouts though and this is what he heard: Hit tool not better than Moncada which is concerning because still real questions about his swing and striking out 27% in AAA. Athletic, plus runner, above average bat speed and raw power. Every single scout Law spoke with had major concerns about Robert's swing and his ability to make contact against even average fastballs inside or up. Robert has a "dead hands" start that results in no load and his swing doesn't involve his lower half. Speed and range for CF with mixed reports on his arm. Contract is commensurate with what guys like him have gotten paid though. We heard the same things about Abreu. A Frank Thomas leaked scouting report said a lot of the same things. Guys usually don't hit up and in fastballs very hard anyway. Again, Keith Law was with Toronto from 2003-2006. Check out their drafts and some of the guys they passed on. You may start to wonder why so many people think he is some sort of guru. If Robert wasn't so hyped, I wouldn't be surprised if Law had a different opinion.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 23, 2017 -> 01:53 PM) Its awful that piece of crap tries to present himself as a journalist. I was watching John Oliver and he had a piece for the same point in Obama's term as Trump is now, and what was being discussed. They had a clip of Hannity ripping Obama for ordering spicy mustard on his burger. Tried to call him an elitist. It was hysterical.

Here's something interesting. If they are correct, it says moms make 71% of dads in the same position, black and latina moms make even less: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/p...0522-story.html

One thing is for sure, if they thought something really bad was going on, he wouldn't be throwing. Of course that doesn't mean something really bad isn't going on.

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 23, 2017 -> 12:59 PM) This is a really long time. it's still just so odd. It's almost as if they wanted to keep him on ice a bit this year so they wouldn't win too many games. If he was what he was at the end of last season, sub him for Covey, and that's a pretty good rotation. Maybe they are buying a little time for Q to get traded, and keep some wear and tear off Rodon's arm, but even that may be crazy because I doubt Boras would be too keen on the Sox holding out his client for no reason.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 23, 2017 -> 12:55 PM) I am going to guess once the Robert deal becomes official, the teams desire to kick in salary is going to decrease for a while. Maybe, but even if they kick in money, they still are saving from what they owe.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 23, 2017 -> 09:33 AM) He would exceed what Robert just got by a lot It would depend which teams could bid, and if there was a matching penalty. If some of the big boys were able to bid, I don't think Robert is a White Sox. Just like with Abreu, the teams that bid high, had first base pretty much covered so they were out. Boston was actually thinking about putting Abreu at 3B if they had signed him.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 22, 2017 -> 08:51 PM) Good post, not too worried about him yet. All along, willie has been saying he's great on defense but has a ton to learn offensively I always worry about guys that have a hard time with the Mendoza line. There aren't a lot of really good players that overcame that in the lower levels. There are a few. But it's early, guys slump, and when you are in your slump this early, you numbers look bad, but if he hits .220 or something with a s*** load of strikeouts when the season is done, I'll never count on him to be anything but maybe a 4th or 5th outfielder at best considering the rebuild is supposed to lead to a pretty stacked team for a long time.

On a terroist's list of things to bomb, and Ariana Grande concert can't be very high. She is 23, probably 90% of her audience isn't even that old. So chances are the victims are almost all relatively kids. Sickening. I don't understand the world anymore.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 23, 2017 -> 08:12 AM) Is he really? To where and why? He resigned to "pursue other opportunities".

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ May 23, 2017 -> 07:25 AM) It's definitely a Trumpism, but I don't mind it. Trump calls everyone who disagrees with him a loser. It loses a bit of it's luster. Here's a 2 year old list of people Trump considered losers. http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/the-defi...called-a-loser/

Rodion news is great, now someome ask Hahn about Tilson. I am betting he is back in a boot.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ May 22, 2017 -> 06:24 PM) Well that was unexpected. Luis Robber? If he is a bust, JR will think it is an appropriate pronunciation.

QUOTE (Sockin @ May 22, 2017 -> 04:29 PM) FWIW Law was just on ESPN and said he hasn't seen him in person but the scouts he's talked to that has have given him mixed reviews. He said every scout said he can run and the power is there but no one is sure he's going to be able to hit. He said is he were in this year's draft he'd be picked in the teens. You should see some of the young bats Law and company passed on when he was with Toronto to take guys like dDavid Purcey and Ricky Romero. Tulo, Ellbury, Adam Jones...the list goes on and on. For a guy so many take as top opinion, he sure comes up empty a lot. 19 year olds who have never played in the US are going to be hard to project. 17 or 18 year old HS hitters...the same. A lot of people didn't even bother with Mike Trout. Theo Epstein, who didn't pass on him, admitted he would have passed had Trout been on the board when he picked. There were questions about Manny Machado. There were questions about Jose Abreu. If the kid comes in, works hard, he has all the talent to be a star. Remember those old leaked scouting reports about Frank Thomas? Said he wouldn't hit .250. There are going to be scouts that love guys, and scouts that question the same guy, and the guy they love, the other scout might not like. There are very few guys all of them are sold on. KW and the Sox people watched him. And liked him enough JR is going to spend $50 million on him. They are obviously sold.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2017 -> 03:11 PM) It was actually biblically justified at the time. Real progress on the issue of slavery really didn't actually get made because the North ignored the South. In fact the constitution tried exactly that by punting the issue forward a couple of decades, and then just ignoring some more. How did that work out? It took a four year war to fix. Andrew Jackson would have avoided the war.

QUOTE (2005thxfrthmmrs @ May 22, 2017 -> 02:51 PM) In this case, it's just Robert, as in the English name. He should change his first name to Lewis.

If you are this good for 40 games, you would think you may be over a hump. But then again, the curious case of Michael Saunders. Avi is going to have to be some sort of horrific not to have earned his $3 million this year. Most of us are already wrong. Go check out the thread where the Sox tendered Avi. A lot of amateur scouts don't look so good.

In his world the difference between good and evil is what you think about Trump. I really wonder what he would do if ISIS came out with a video in support of him.