Dick Allen

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 06:40 AM) I'm not defending Reinsdorf here, I've called him out many times for his various flaws including the ones you described above. But I'm not going to criticize a guy for having a hard time accepting a strategy that might result in him never seeing an above .500 team again in his life. Ultimately he did the right thing for the broader fanbase and not just himself. Again, there are plenty of things to criticize Reinsdorf about, but his feelings on going through a rebuild isn't one of them IMO. This. And what would one expect Hahn to say? The fact is JR either had to Illitch it (which resulted in zero titles in Detroit) or do some sort of rebuild. I really thought he may Illitch it at one point. I get the Sale trade, but I still don't understand the Eaton trade. I think that one will bite the White Sox.

When is the last time the Bulls made a good trade?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 03:42 PM) I agree. Unfortunately now we know - Gar and Michael Reinsdorf are happy with simply treading water and making money. According to Forbes, the Bulls have made $750 million in profit since the 2001/2002 season,

GarPax needs to s*** or get off the pot. Doing nothing is unacceptable. If they are under the illusion they are contenders, they need to strengthen their roster. If they realize they don't have enough, they need to start selling parts. If they do nothing, it is confirmation they are either all about the Benjamins, or totally inept at evaluating their players or both.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 01:20 PM) There have been far more than 2 wild pitches on IBB attempts in the last 45 years. The swings on IBB attempts are rare (Gary Sanchez hit a sac fly on one this year, too), sure, but not wild pitches. Not many though. What if the rule had always been put up 4 fingers and the batter goes to first base? I bet a lot of us would think it would be really dumb to change it to make the pitcher actually throw balls.

Avi's weight isn't much of a deal to me. Unless he shows he is a long term piece, it really doesn't matter. If he does show he should be kept, it does become an issue because he can't keep the weight off, and getting older and having his metabolism slow could mean massive weight gain as he approaches 30. That would probably make him a DH only, although he probably is a DH only anyway.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 12:58 PM) People actually complain about the length of football games a lot, and especially the excessive commercial breaks. College football gets this even more, the recent NCAA championship ended after midnight east coast time. And they have tried things to speed it up a bit. Running out of bounds doesn't stop the clock until the next snap anymore. Besides the commitment to a 3 1/2 hour football game is at most once a week. Baseball, it could be every night. If the pace of play is fine, long games are fine. If the pace of play is what is making the game long, it is troubling and it can be fixed. This is a small part of the solution. Once they limit mound visits and make hitters stay in the box and put a pitch clock in, it will be more noticeable. They did a great job with broken bats a few years ago. That used to be a fiasco, now they have to have their #2 bat ready to go if they need a replacement. It has saved a lot of down time. That is what they are trying to eliminate. I suspect the union will be fine with some other changes. The guy on 2nd in extra innings, never. But the mound visits, staying in the box, staying on the mound, making a pitch in a certain amount of time will make the game even better in the long run, and players will adapt pretty quickly.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 10:06 AM) So AD also gets a pass because he's made of glass? Hard to blame losing on guys not playing. If Cousins was so freaking great, they would win more than 28 games a year. You were popping off about rheir upside a couple of days ago. Now they will have perhaps 2 lottery picks this draft, and will most likely be one of the favorites to land the top pick for years to come. Maybe the next Michael or LeBron guys that can win more than 30 games with nothingelse will be available then. Think of the upside.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 09:37 AM) The Pelicans have had one season better than 34 wins since Anthony Davis was drafted. I think you're looking at Cousins being the reason for the Kings being bad instead of looking at the rest of the roster. Since drafting Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have gone 159-226 (41.3%). If you remove the two outlier seasons, it goes down to 39.3%. Does anyone blame that all on AD, or does he get a free pass? He's had a much better cast around him the last three years than Cousins has ever had as well. Cousins gets some technicals so he gets a bad rap. If you isolate every stud who's been stuck on a bad team and blame them, then I guess that's just how you're going to be. He has also missed time and it has not been 6 and a half ears of 30 wins being better than normal. They weren't going to win with him. That doesn't excuse the paltry return. But it was time for him to go. Locking into him for 5 or 6 more years at 40 million per would not have made them a contender. The only thing that will is getting g incredibly lucky. His bad rep is far more than technicals. And it didn't just start with losing with the Kings. He had issues prior to being drafted

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 09:16 AM) Closer to selecting 1st so they can hope to wind up with someone half as good as DeMarcus Cousins? Seems hard to believe they can improve upon the 157 games under .500 they have been since drafting Cousins. But I will go with it is possible. I think they were shortchanged in the trade, they should have received more, but the reality was he had to go. They weren't going to win with him, and they will suck worse without him, but they aren't even mediocre with him, so it really isn't that huge of a deal.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 07:42 AM) You mean like the time they got Demarcus Cousins? You can't expect any better. Cousins is a coach killer, he isn't Lebron or MJ. He is in his 7th year. Last years 33 wins were the most with him on the team.maybe he won't be a problem in NO, but that would be bucking the trend since high school. They were horrible with him. They will be more horrible without him, but may be better in 6 or 7 years without him, and paying him $240 million wouldn't have made the situation any better. All that said, they weren't going to suddenly be good. And as long as they have the same decision makers, they either need to be incredibly lucky with no brainer selections or they will just suck anyway. What GM says he had a better offer a couple of days earlier but settled for this one? What owner thinks you can run an NBA team like an 8th grade girls team and get the same results? GarPax has been bad, and deserve to go, but it could be worse. They could be Vlade Divac. The Bulls lost a coin flip with the Lakers once so they wound up with David Greenwood instead of Magic. That sucked, but if they won that flip, they never would have had Michael. Maybe something similar happens here. Cousins is a good player, but he has his issues. Maybe they will become awful enough to get the next guy who really transcends the game. It wasn't like Boogie was going to lead them to the promised land.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 07:43 AM) i consider myself a baseball purist, and i have no problem with this rule. as most have alluded to - this wont significantly alter the pace of play, but this affects so few plays overall its not a huge deal. Now if they end up moving toward the absurd runner on 2nd to start extra inning thing... This exactly. The way the game has evolved, it is going to be a longer game. Bullpens are going to be heavily used, with the steroid era over and with sabermetrics in the mainstream, the typical hitter is going to become a bit more selective, therefore more pitches are going to be thrown. They, like was mentioned before, are going to have to do more, like limit catchers visits, a pitch clock would be nice to eliminate some downtime, but it is more the pace than the length of the game that is the problem. We have all been to 3 hour games that seemed like 6 hours, and 3 hour games that seemed like an hour and a half. Eliminating the lollygagging will make for a better experience for everyone. There is enough downtime in baseball even if it is played quickly.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 05:12 AM) I was just pointing out the Kings are f***ed. They simply no longer exist. They were f***ed either way. This probably gets them closer to actually selecting first in the next few years. But as long as their owner is involved in basketball decisions, they are going to have to hit the jackpot in the draft for a chance to be decent.

People are really complaining they don't get to see 4 balls thrown for an intentional walk because once every few years someone actually hits the ball? In the grand scheme it won't save much time, I think they said 35 seconds on average, but it isn't exactly eliminating a can't be missed situation. This has been the rule in HS and college for years.

Hostetler was saying these guys are coming fast and we will know all about them soon at Soxfest.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Feb 19, 2017 -> 02:09 PM) Ok you can debate my phrasing but the point is that anytime you trade a bundle of young talent for an established player, you are giving up upside. No team trades X current value for prospects that equal Y probability of reaching the same X value in the future. Swisher was 27 years old signed to a team friendly contract. At the time Gio was not all that highly thought of around here. It is a trade contending teams make, and the Sox were a contender. The trade didn't cause the White Sox to miss out on any championship runs.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Feb 19, 2017 -> 11:54 AM) While all of this may vary varying degrees of truthiness to it, I had my doubts about Swisher. He was primarily a 1B & corner OF prior to coming here. And though he had a decent OBP record, he was never a leadoff man. I suspected that Ozzie would "Square Peg" Swisher into roles in the field & in the lineup to which he was not ideally suited. In the end, KW had to "fix" the mistake of acquiring Swisher by getting the desiccated remains of Junior to play CF. And sure, the SOX won the division, but by then Swisher was riding pine. To top it all off, KW stupidly gave him away for a pile of poo, rather than keeping him here long enough for him to recoup some trade value. (As Hahn is rightly doing now with Robertson.) Long story short, he was the wrong player at the wrong time for the wrong team at the wrong price. So he was just horrible , a square peg. But KW should never have rid himself of him. Hindsight is quite a thing.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Feb 19, 2017 -> 03:24 AM) potential of Butler to Boston trade will loom over the entire week https://www.yahoo.com/sports/video/woj-repo...-025519235.html IMO, the chances of GarPax pulling the trigger on a Butler trade mid season is about as good as the White Sox winning 100 games. There will be a lot of talk for nothing.

Most of Soxtalk loved the trade. Swisher was a power guy high OBP. His only year with the Sox, they did win the division .

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 19, 2017 -> 10:09 AM) Speaking of fake news, Trump continues to make s*** up by citing a fake attack in Sweden. Ladies and gentlemen, our President is literally making up stories and inciting fear. Don't believe the media unless it is Fox News. They are the enemy. Trump gets his info from psychos and the internet. Far more reliable.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Feb 18, 2017 -> 08:32 AM) Pitch framing is a topic that has come up especially in relation to Tyler Flowers. Below is an article on Chris Sale and the effect it had on him as well as mention or AJ and Ross. Not a big concern for us until we find our catcher of the future. Another note, looks like Blake Swihart will be odd man out aqain in Boston if White Sox scouts think he is worth a shot. Moved back to catcher full time from Lf but only 24. http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20...tarting-catcher But after a winter that saw the Red Sox prioritize defense over offense at first base, traditionally an offense-first position, it's easy to imagine them prioritizing defense over offense at catcher. Analysts have pointed out how poor White Sox catchers framed pitches for Chris Sale last year, a potential contributor to a his career-high 3.34 ERA. By giving away strikes at the bottom of the zone last season, Chicago catchers cost Sale 6.3 runs -- a drop in 17 runs from the previous season, a season in which Sale was throwing mostly to well-regarded framer Tyler Flowers. (Flowers tallied 12 framing runs in 2016, sixth-best in baseball, while White Sox catchers Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila were worth minus-19.6 and minus-6.8 framing runs, respectively.) Framing for Sale is no easy task. The same delivery that makes his pitches hard for hitters to see makes it hard for catchers to beat the ball to the spot. Flowers had caught Sale for three seasons, each of which saw him frame pitches better than the previous. "Sale throws a lot of low strikes, so you have to be ready," Leon said. Like any other skill, some catchers frame low pitches better than others. Vazquez has drawn raves from Red Sox pitchers for his ability to keep the ball at the knees. "A.J. Pierzynski was better with high balls," Levangie said. "David Ross was better down in the zone. It depends on their frame at times. It depends where their eye sits and the relationship to the glove." Swihart has the yips. http://deadspin.com/blake-swihart-appears-...yips-1792495549

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 02:45 PM) Check out this great scientific survey: https://t.co/jyi2CEWSk1 Click through it. They ask for money at the end.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 01:25 PM) Andrew Baggarly @extrabaggs Rollins said he made the wrong decision to sign w/White Sox over Giants last year. Eager to get work at 3B/2B in addition to SS. LMAO. I think the Sox and Sox fans think the same thing.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 09:39 AM) We were supposed to get sick of winning “I do know what to do and I would know how to bring ISIS to the table or beyond that, defeat ISIS very quickly and I’m not going to tell you what it is… All I can tell you it is a foolproof way of winning.”

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 09:11 AM) Jimmy Butler is an All-Star. Giannis can be the league's best player. Stop. Just stop digging. It's embarassing for you. You embarrassed yourself when you mentioned Boogie Cousins as a great reason for the Kings "upside" . 7th year in the league, 0 playoff games. But hey, they finally got over the 30 win mark last year. Barely. Then you mention GarPax trading for guys on the teams you lump with the Bulls so they can be a "fun" second round exit. Seriously? The Bulls are hopeless. The problem with the NBA is that there are at least 20 teams pretty much in the same boat.