Dick Allen

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:55 AM) No. There is not another kid ariund that much during the season. Most other kids are in school. I have never seen nor heard of another kid being around this much. I see bat boys every game. I see kids not related to players visting teams every day. No one on Soxtalk called LaRoche a bad parent or said his son was around too much when a couple articles about the situation came out last year. If there was a policy in place saying Drake can come 3 days a week, I would be fine with it. But there wasn't, and still isn't. And he did the exact same thing last season. If it bothered a player and that is what KW is covering for, he could have waited a couple of weeks and changed the policy. LaRoche hasn't been playing so Drake's presence wasn't inhibiting his getting ready to play. If the team policy changed to no kids, that's fine too.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:50 AM) He didn't say anything then because nobody complained about then, Dick. That's why this happened. I don't know how many players were uncomfortable with Drake being around but I can promise you it's more than zero. Maybe, but again, if they are bothered by him being there every day, why would they not be bothered by him being there 3 days a week? If it's a distraction, it's a distraction.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:45 AM) This is not an all or none concept. It would be fun for a kid to be there occasionally. Its a burden to have them there all the time. If you truly can't see that, you are just after crticizing KW to criticiae him. I would bet there is a guy Drake LaRoche's age or younger around the Sox clubhouse 162 games this season even if LaRoche sticks with retiring. If it was so burdensome, why was this addressed in March of 2016, 13 months after this has been going on?

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:42 AM) Good grief, I agree with Rock. I don't know why Dick Allen thinks this is so complicated "It doesn't make any sense" It makes perfect sense. "Dial it back" is completely fair. Your kid doesn't need to be in the locker room every day. No it doesn't. Either kids are distractions or they are not. Either they make players uncomfortable or they don't. It makes no sense that this distraction is fine a few days a week, but it is unacceptable every day. Don't change the policy in the middle of spring training, and then have the nerve to say you didn't change the policy. KW could have waited a couple more weeks and then said no more. Drake was around last year. Why didn't he say anything then?

QUOTE (Baron @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:35 AM) DA it sounds like your trying to argue with people for the sake of arguing...it's been getting ridiculous the past few pages Not at all. If Jose Abreu had a kid in the clubhouse every day, KW wouldn't have said squat. And Soxtalk would be abuzz with what the f*** is KW doing if he actually did and Abreu made a stink over it. I just think the team should have a clear policy one way or the other.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:30 AM) And there are other sources that said he was around 100% of the time. Which is correct? Here's an article from last summer. And apparently KW didn't even realize the kid was around so much until this spring. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0620-story.html

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:33 AM) All he did was asking him to dial it back. Didn't say he couldn’t bring him in. What so hard to understand. I really think you like to argue for the sake of arguing. No I don't. If he is a distraction why would it be OK if he still is a distraction only less of the time? It makes no sense.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:31 AM) I disagree. I'm sorry that I'm not going to jump on board and praise him for being a great father. He's not a great father. How would you know if he is a good father or not?

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:26 AM) Why do you keep arguing this. There is no need of any players kid to be around the team all the time. Plan and simple. Again, I would be fine then if KW just banned kids period. But he didn't. If they are a distraction, this is a half assed effort on his and the team's part.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:24 AM) Obviously not all team meetings are closed door. Which is also why you have no idea if he was there in those either. But when the team is meeting and the press is there he was in the picture. Even if he's not a distraction it's a bad precedent to set and they were right in going forwar establishing team rules around it. I linked an article which stated he didn't have total access, and he knew his place.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:23 AM) I'm sure some Nationals players struggled being themselves/censoring themselves with a kid around all the time, too. If that is the case, then you would agree, KW not changing the policy to totally ban kids is a half assed jesture, correct? The thing is while players didn't have their kids around as much as Drake, there are 25 guys and someone will bring his kid one day, another guy the next, plus with bat boys, and Make a Wish etc. there are kids around the Sox clubhouse every day whether Drake LaRoche is there or not.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:20 AM) There are literally pictures of him in team meetings. So the press was at the team meeting taking photos? You're better than that. If there are photos, that isn't a true team meeting, something bat boys wouldn't have access.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:17 AM) Of course that is what this is about. If your kid is there 100% of the time, there's no way you are doing your job to the best of your abilities. And if you hit two f***ing ten and make 13 mil, maybe you should be concentrating on your job WHILE at work and less about the kid Frankly I can't believe anyone in the world sides with laroche on this He had the kid around when he was doing fine with Washington. He gets called out now but he's been hurt. It's not like he's been doing drills and playing 6 hours a day. If a kid makes you not do your work, why would bringing him 4 days out of 10 be OK? Shouldn't they be totally banned?

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:14 AM) Which is why the Abbatacola report makes the most sense for why this situation took place when it did. If KW did this for team chemistry, it has apparently backfired tremendously. The kid has a lot more support in the Sox clubhouse than any player who if he was opposed isn't saying anything now.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 08:04 AM) Why does anyone think KW would admit if a player told him it was about the kid. That's a great way to kill team chemistry even more. It's no shock to me that the only media member to supposedly hear something is someone not associated with the Sox. From anyone who has said anything about the kid, including those that don't have a dog in the fight, there is no reason to believe he caused any kinds of trouble. If KW wanted to change the policy, he could have changed it in a couple of weeks. The kid isn't around every day during the season. He plays on 2 teams one in the Chicago area and one in Kansas. While he was around more than the 50% KW has now said is too much but 49% would be just fine, it wasn't the 100% many have said. If the kid is a distraction being there every day, he is a potential distraction being there once a month. If that is the case, ban them all. I wonder how the Sox ever won a WS with Ozzie's kids around every day. How did Dusty Baker get his team to the WS with his little kid there as a bat boy?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 17, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) Most clubs including the Sox allow players families for Sunday games. Laroche wanted special privileges, and the Sox wanted to dial that back. Oh well. Oh and Drake was sitting in on team meetings and such. He was literally there for everything like a member of the team No he wasn't involved in team meetings. He did odd jobs and didn't have access to the clubhouse during games. Read the articles I linked earlier in this thread. LaRoche didn't ask for special privileges at all. He was doing as he did last year when the Sox said nothing. Either ban kids or give them x amount of passes. Many teams ban kids. If that is the policy, fine. Don't half assed adjust said policy because you think one kid is around too much.KW said it wasn't about this kid, it's about the next player who wants to bring his kid every day. Why didn't he ban kids when Ozzie was managing?

It's just another case of the White Sox doing something half assed. KW says kids are welcome, Drake is not a distraction, just bring him less than half the time, and everyone else, bring your kids they are welcome,would love to see them, just not 2 days in a row or 2 days out of 3. . Either make a clear rule for kids in the clubhouse, or ban them. BTW with bat boys and clubbies, there are young guys around these players all the time. It isn't like Drake was sitting in team meetings. Pick a lane KW.

I love spring training.

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 09:34 PM) Yes, but it's not all about LaRoche and his kid, which is something that LaRoche doesn't seem to understand. It's about his kid's omnipresence negatively affecting the rest of the clubhouse. But KW said the kid wasn't a distraction and everyone liked him. So who is bulls***ting? I guess what I don't understand is why is it OK to have a kid there a little less than half the time, but not OK to have him ther half the time or all the time? Maybe the White Sox should institute a no kid allowed rule. That would be fine, but they should do it well before spring training starts. I would hope KW institutes a don't draft your kid and give him a $150k bonus policy. That didn't work out very well. And it isn't like LaRoche is the only player who brings his kids around. Dan Hayes said Konerko had his boys around a lot. Remember Dusty' Bakers kid? I also think comparing baseball with a regular job is pretty silly. Kids are allowed with a lot of teams including the White Sox.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 09:22 PM) Why does that matter? If you,are,making a big deal out of LaRoche preparing for the season, he just getting treatment wouldn't be effected by his son's presence.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 08:42 PM) Spring Training is prep for the season. I understand having him around for the first week or so and then maybe a couple days here and there but this is a business with a lot of money involved. It is ok to not have your son there every day and try to focus on getting better at what you are being paid to do. He has been hurt

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 07:14 PM) People ask what has changed since last year, and a logical answer is that some of the new players on the roster came into Spring Training and were shocked at how often he was around. The newcomers on this roster are much more vocal than a majority of the roster was last year. If even one player felt uncomfortable about it, then KW had every right to ask LaRoche to dial it back. If Jose Anreu or Chris Sale brought their kid to the clubhouse every day this spring and Brett Lowry didn't like it, do you really think KW would have done the same thing? That is the one question to me is most important. KW talked about being fair, but I think, and perhaps incorrectly, LaRoche's status as a player had something to do with this.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 06:49 PM) Last July, he was still under contract for a year and a half. I'm saying, is he doing this mid-spring training with a "win now" season upon us, and saw an opportunity to potentially get 13 mil off the books? If that's what he did, it's pretty brilliant and also evil. On the other hand, LaRoche should have dialed it back. If it would have caused him to quit, he could have saved the team another $6 million.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 06:44 PM) Ok, so let's just throw this out there... Did Kenny act alone and get the exact reaction he wanted? I think he acted alone. I don't think he anticipated a retirement. If he did, he probably would have acted last July.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 06:40 PM) Not every f***ing day. It was every day this spring. It isn't every day during the season. He plays on 2 baseball teams. One in Kansas and one in Chicago. According to Dan Hayes, he is there more than most. He also said he is the most behaved kid he has ever met. He said a lot of the White Sox will genuinely miss him. I wonder when JR will have Gar tell DRose to give the father/son time at the UC a rest.