Dick Allen

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 09:50 PM) No, not at all. They signed almost all of their Latin American talent without giving them $1 million plus bonuses, before the system changed to the point where all those under 21 players became overvalued. Cuthbert might be the only L.A. player on either team with a $1 million bonus, and his was that number, exactly. Lindor was drafted out of Puerto Rico. So what did they do this year? Why isn't it only the White Sox are stupid for not blowing through the limit?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 09:45 PM) And how many other weaknesses did I list? 9? But the same point can be made about the White Sox, and Omarscoming tried to argue it isn't...that it's actually a strength. And just because it's a COMPARATIVE weakness to the other elements of their team doesn't mean it's bad/terrible/preventing them from becoming a playoff team. There's no team (this year) in the Central without bullpen problems, the Royals included. Hochevar and Soria haven't been as good as expected, Duffy had to be moved back to the rotation and Collins still isn't back from TJ. So I would say KC doesn't have anywhere near the pen they did in 2014-15, although calling it an actual weakness might be pushing the definition of weakness a bit. Let's just say even the Yankees would like to improve the back end of their bullpen (hence, moving Eovaldi and possibly Pineda there). The Yankees are fine with the backend of their bullpen. You are making things up again. I understand the Sox have been playing better so you are a bit cranky.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 09:31 PM) The LARGER point is that they brought in five established veterans from other big league teams in order to improve their pen, which was a huge weakness last year before you got to Shaw and Allen. Hahn decided that the risk of not having any experienced depth there was worth taking...which turned out to be a challenge with Petricka and then Putnam going down, and Albers becoming ineffective. In 2012, all of our rookies got the job done for 85-90% of the season. That hasn't been the case this year with our minor league depth. On June 28th, you pointed out the Indians bullpen as a weakness.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 07:30 PM) No, he doesn't. He just wants you to commit to naming some names (of course, none of us have videos of their workouts accessible) so he can show up 2-3 years later and say ".......... was supposed to be a future star according to Thad Bosley." Because Thad Bosley missing a prediction on a young player at age 15-17 he's never even seen before (besides reading internet hype) is exactly the same as Hostetler and Marco Paddy having the professional responsibility to analyze the same players, having monitored them for years. And you can be sure if we blew past our spending limits and had, let's say, 3 out of the "consensus" Top 10, it would be used as justification of how the White Sox were totally turning over a new leaf and were really experiencing a sea change in how they do business with talent evaluation and development. Either they don't want to spend the money (in the lottery, essentially) or they don't feel they can confidently assess its value to allocate precious resources for some of the very top bonuses (see Moncada with Boston). What you have taught us is the White Sox need to be more like the Indians and Royals. Who did They sign?

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 07:20 PM) Do you, Dick Allen? Do you have a view into the talent of any of the top 30 talent, such that would warrant and explain how or why the Sox would bypass going after these players? No therefore I don't criticize. the Sox scouts led by Paddy and Hostetller don't go by BA rankings. They do their own. You are moaning just to moan.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 07:24 PM) We all give Hahn credit for Matt Latos and Jimmy Rollins... So Gorzelanny and Joba were simply placeholders in the same vein, and they were effective ENOUGH. The game that Bauer pitched 5 innings that went 18, Chamberlain and Gorzelanny both played huge roles. And they both probably cost about the same as Jacob Turner to sit in Charlotte and get bombed. The fact of the matter is that Clevinger is potentially part of their future and has more upside. Have to applaud the Indians for not resting on their laurels but continuing to find ways to improve their team 1-25. Gorzelanny pitched 3 innings. Had an ERA of 21.00. And here you are moving goalposts again. Did you break up with Dayton Moore? It uses to be all Royals all the time, can't do anything wrong. Now your new favorite team is Cleveland, they get praised for signing s***, then praised for letting it go. White Sox fan my ass.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 06:49 AM) Meanwhile, the Sox are only a couple of games over .500 AT HOME. Royals have that crazy split, 10 games under .500 on the road and 16 games over at Kauffman. The other thing to take into consideration is just how bad CLE attendance has been....30th in the majors. Just wait until they start getting 25-30,000 more consistently, they'll be even harder to beat. Even when they've been at the bottom in attendance, they've really had an exceptional home record for most of the past 3-4 years. They get DET and NYY at home before the All-Star break. Their crowds, with CLE just having won the NBA, will really pick up in anticipation of an extended playoff and maybe World Series run. So more fans equal more wins. It really was the fans fault the Sox didn't make the playoffs in 2012, and if the fans want the team to play better they need to show up at the park. Thanks for making that clear.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 03:52 PM) Those Indian arms got waxed today. Lol Indians DFA Chamberlain and Gorzelanny lol LMAO.

QUOTE (harkness @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 04:58 PM) Yesterday Frazier took an outside pitch... and Hawk emphatically stated "I haven't seen him take an outside pitch like that in awhile... that's a great sign" Then in todays game Frazier said he had a bat last night where he saw the ball for the first time in awhile... and thought he was about to get hot. That's the kind of s*** that Hawk has that hardly anyone else does. I have always noticed a lot of the people that rip him use a lot of information he provides. Yeah, he is too into the umpires, yeah his defense of Avi's defense is homer ism at its best, but he knows a heck of a lot about the game. Listening to him talk about hitting, where to stand in the box is fascinating. Players used to move around in the box, not anymore. Like with Frazier, saying he should move his back foot 6 inches farther from the plate so he won't pull off the ball was so simple and made so much sense.

The other thing is Avi wasn't supposed to see much time. LaRoche was going to DH. They weren't counting on Avi playing everyday. They tried to change him up, but e erytime they make an adjustment, either lowering his hands or opening him up, he quickly goes back to his old way. If Morneau can play fine, if he can't, I am sure they will bring in another bat. Avi wasn't the reason the team went into that horrible slide.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 11:07 AM) Who cares? Still gets a chip and it's included on the resume. Lebron needed Kyrie, Wade and Bosh to win his rings. Does anyone care? No. He played great and so will Durant. I disagree. Miami and Cleveland don't win without LeBron. GS has won without Durant, and choked away this season. If he went to the Clippers or Boston I could understand. But this is, as was stated previously, a b**** move.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 10:58 AM) Play a year or two there, get some rings, then return to okc. All will be forgiven just like lebron It is still ridiculous. Pau Gasol, join a team that can get you a ring. Kevin Durant needs to be on a team where they need him to win a ring.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 10:54 AM) F*** I hate this sport. It is getting pretty silly.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 10:47 AM) This is really interesting. Curry is off the books next year too. No way they can max them both out I'm pretty sure. I don' know, but the cap does take another big leap next year.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 07:54 AM) That's irrelevant. The topic at hand is the routine incompetence of the Sox when it comes to competing for premium talent wherever it may be. Yet you don't even know what talent these players have. The Sox did sign 3 of the top 50. How many teams can say that? Besides you are dealing with 16 and 17 year olds here. It is a crapshoot for the most part. It would be interesting to see the top 30 7 years ago and see how that played out. Wasn't Adolpho ranked #2 when the Sox signed him? Here are the top 30 international bonuses from 2010 http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...11/2611344.html Doesn't look like many teams got a lot of bang out of their buck.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 06:44 AM) So with only 20 teams eligible to compete for the pedigree talent in the top 30 list this year, the Chicago White Sox were unable to sign anyone of those 30 players? Not one? With no competition from the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs and the Giants this year, the Sox still walked away with none of the premium talent available? I mean, that's insane. It's almost bordering on reckless negligence from this increasingly obvious incompetent front office. The Sox continue to display an unwillingness/inability to compete for premium talent, be it either in the international market, or free agent market, as we painfully witnessed last offseason. It would be one thing if that approach somehow managed to render sustainable winning results for the Major League ball club. It hasn't as we all know, not by a long shot. Unless there is a seismic shift in this losing strategy at some point, the brand of baseball we've witnessed for the past decade on the South Side will continue to repeat itself over and over and over again. Which of the top 30 would you have signed?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 08:05 PM) That's fine if the White Sox are adding Tulo (the good version) and David Price. That cleaned out their system to the point where a trade like that (just one of them) is going to much harder to pull off this time around, same with the Royals. The 2014 Royals were sparked, according to most, by a speech from veteran acquisition Raul Ibanez and the addition of James Shields. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2...house/15314435/ Who on the White Sox is going to take a similar leadership role? Justin Morneau? Shields again? Anderson? Tull is doing better for Tor this year than last. I doubt Price was the reason they gained 14 games in the standings the last 61 games. But don't let facts stop you from doom and gloom.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 07:25 PM) Whenever you get like this, it practically guarantees the White Sox won't follow suit and will do the opposite. There aren't very many Yankees' fans who honestly think their team should "GO FOR IT" this year when success is predicated on so many aging/over the hill veterans. They all have seen the competition just in the AL East and know their team is lacking. And, in case you haven't noticed, the Yankees look more like the Twins in terms of their recent free agent spending, other than McCann two and Tanaka offseasons ago. Since then...? It really doesn't make sense for NY to pay "peak value" for Chapman when they already have Betances and Miller under contract affordably (the combination of both averaging out.) Tex and Beltran coming off the books. Royals below .500 and 8 games back after 98 games in 2014. Toronto below .500 and 8 games back after 101 games last season. Determining how it all goes down on July 3rd is foolish.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 06:36 PM) I f***ing hate Rondo. Probably my least favorite player in the league. Can the GarPax era please end already? I hate him too, but the thing is, when his head is on straight, he is pretty good. The Bulls problem is they are a lottery team, but not a top 3 lottery team, so immediate team changing draft help probably won't happen, and if they are relying on max free agents, well that plan hasn't worked this century. So basically they are screwed.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 06:40 PM) For the New York Yankees, in terms of their direction with dealing Miller and Chapman, it's going to be. Now the likelihood of them getting swept with two of their best starters going and the bottom 3 for the Sox isn't that high. And the White Sox might have gone 9-4, but they still don't have a DH or solid RH relief depth. There's nothing that you can do to change that. Fundamentally, they're still in the same exact precarious situation they were last year at this time, albeit their record is better. If you told me they were going to trade for one of Josh Reddick/Beltran/Bruce and Miller/Chapman/insert solid RH reliever, then I would place them as a solid playoff favorite. Of course, there's still those six teams ahead of us, all with more resources or deeper farm systems, so it's going to take JR signing off on adding $10-15 in additional payroll. Do you believe he will do that now? Flavum and I said 6-3 (or better) or 3-6 (or worse) would help Hahn make that decision over the ASB. Right now, they're at 2-1. 4-2 the next two series leaves them in pretty good shape, but still doesn't guarantee being any higher than 5th or 6th in the WC standings. No it isn't. The last time the Yankees bagged a season was? And chances are they do not trade any reliever. The rumor now is Chapman gets an extension. It doesn't matter what you say. Besides you are always wrong. The Sox still have a lot of LaRoche money left. They will probably spend it on pitching if Morneau shows he can hit, if he is washed up, another bat will come. Jackson and Melky will return and we all , except for you, can be hoping for White Sox victories.

If Rondo is a problem, Gar's head has to roll. While getting bad in the NBA is often a must, the Bulls are really going to test their fan base if they operate at league minimum payroll and don't turn it around quickly.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 06:21 PM) Boston +7 2. Detroit/Toronto +6 4. KC +5 1/2 GB 5. HOU/SEA +4 1 GB 7. CHW +2 2 GB 8. NYY -1 3 1/2 GB The Yankees/Sox series still looms as a type of "mini-elimination" set if the White Sox can sweep NY. It's also huge for our non-Sale/Q run in the starting rotation to sustain the positive momentum with this current 9-4 streak. Sabathia vs. Shields Tanaka vs. Rodon TBD vs. Miguel Gonzalez KC at Toronto DET at CLE (huge series for the Tigers) Get off the elimination crap. You told us Detroit was on the brink 2 months ago. Besides, the season ended today foe the White Sox with another dissappointing series win. Your prediction of getting rolled by Toronto, Minnesota and Houston and virtually ending the season was pure Miss Cleo. You need to start a new business.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 3, 2016 -> 08:21 AM) The Tigers invested a lot of money this offseason into their pen, which has been a chronic problem. The results have been mixed, at best, but better recently. The Indians and Royals have also invested more into developing their pens and bringing in veteran reinforcements (like Dan Otero, Gorzelanny, Manship, Joba Chamberlain or Tommy Hunter, for example). That's five veterans they brought in. Otero, until the 7th yesterday, has pitched exceptionally well. Obviously, the White Sox invested money into Robertson and Duke two years ago, but not much since then. I think Gorzelanny and his 15.00 ERA might be available soon. Hopefully Hahn can bring him in and right a wrong. Edit his ERA is 21.00

Lester rocked. If the Cubs lose today they will be 5-12 their last 17 vs winning teams. How does that happen under Joe Maddon?

Staring his rehab assignment tomorrow