Dick Allen

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 11:43 AM) Obama made a political power play. If this gets dragged out, it only gives the democrats ammo for the general elections. I agree. The lame duck argument is lame. He was elected to a 4 year term, not 3.

They should have some money to play with. If they can make the team better now, that's less they have to do at the deadline, or may be a reason they have to do something at the deadline. It would be interesting to know what was available and at what price. Acting now may mean you don't have the funds to go after someone later. But a $13 million gift right before the season starts has to be huge to the White Sox, especially if LaRoche's heart and/or body weren't into it. I thought he was a decent bet to bounce back, but if he doesn't........ I know one thing, White Sox fans won't let RH, KW or JR forget they should have some money to play with.

Considering the White Sox front office seemed surprised by this decision and were among the people trying to get him to reconsider, I doubt they offered him a buyout to go away.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 03:21 PM) I'd like more elaboration please. At least when he was with the Twins, it was common knowledge he truly hated the White Sox. When Jesse Crain signed with the Sox all his former teammates contacted him to congratulate him on his new deal. Except one. Maybe now that he is not a Twin, that hatred isn't there. But it at least was an issue at one time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 03:00 PM) here's the thing on the bolded - I'm genuinely not sure that's true. I look at a team like the 2013-2014 Bulls, with Deng still around, Noah at DPOY level, quality depth, Butler starting to develop into an all around threat, and I can't figure out how you could give Thibs a more perfect roster than that one...with the exception of the all star PG who is missing. About the same thing in 2012-2013 although Hamilton/Butler there is maybe a bit weaker. Those teams were built perfectly for Thibs, with the exception of Rose's injury. Yeah, their best player being out kind of screws the whole thing up. Thibs coached the Bulls for 5 seasons. The last 4 seasons, Rose played 100 games. I don't think there is a team in the NBA that overcomes their best player not playing that often.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 02:00 PM) Nope. This team was a f***ing train wreck against a broken Cleveland team. They sucked under Thibs that last year. He lost the locker room. Blame that on Gar, I guess, but it's still a fact. It wasn't going to work going forward whether Gar was there or not. It was time for a change. If the reports of Gar sabotaging Thibs in the pre season half any truth, that argument holds no water. The fact is, the Bulls roster has been short ever since Rose got hurt. Expecting them to beat LeBron is kind of like expecting John Fox to make the playoffs his first season with the Bears. Thibs will be better off without Gar. Even KC Johnson called the Adams firing a Gar power play. It was stupid and the beginning of the end. But Gar sold it to Pax and JR and JR's son and it seems several fans. Popovich is probably the best coach going. He went 6 years in a row without going to the finals. I wonder why he didn't get replaced and trashed on his way out the door. Now the fools look like fools. The same guys get hurt, and they don't win as many games even with the only cool guy who would give Gar the time of day coaching them. I hope some day JR at least in private apologizes to Thibs for being played by Gar.

The White Sox are running out of punching bags. Danks, Avi, maybe Melky. I wonder which new ones will emerge.

The fact that he is even taking the teams' advice to sit on it for a day or two, indicates to me it most likely isn't anything serious and family related. Perhaps his back made him frustrated. But what is impressive is he already did all the offseason stuff. He already showed up for spring training. Walking away from $13 million the next 6 months takes a either an already huge bank account or a lot of character. As for Jay Bruce, the first question that comet to me is you didn't like LaRoche, why would you like Bruce?

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 02:07 PM) I think the answer to the question of who replaces him is pretty obvious. Hahn needs to get on the phone and see what the Big Donkey is up to these days. Probably 325-350

Olt should go to Japan or Korea. He'd probably be a star.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) The Bulls FO rightly saw the writing on the wall. Thibodeau was never going to get out of the east and he was never going to let the team play bad enough to get a good draft pick. That's basketball irrelevance. Thibs would prohibit any rebuild and couldn't take the current squad to the finals, period. On top of that, Thibodeau wouldn't play the players Gar wanted him to play (McDermott rotted for a year). The problem is, Hoiberg is not a good coach at the NBA level. For that, Gar deserves to be fired, but stop pretending that the Bulls had no reason to fire Thibodeau. *The minutes haven't changed because Fred Hoiberg isn't very smart *Over Thibs' tenure, the injuries were significantly worse than anything we have seen this year and I'm sure the FO thought Hoiberg would be better What is so annoying is that I mostly agree with you: Gar needs to go. What bothers me is that you insist on calling me out when I have done nothing to you except ignore your ESPN First Take, no value added talking points. McDermott sucked and then got hurt. Now you are saying Thibs won too many games? Were they trying to win a championship or not? For a guy who tells everyone how wrong they are, reading your fiction time and time again is beyond hysterical. Blaming injuries on Thibs is a joke. They were hurt before he came, they keep getting hurt after he left. You think Gar has to go, but you fell for his Thibs narrative hook, line and sinker. There would have been no reason to fire Thibs if the Bulls did the correct thing and launched Gar instead. The team would be better off.

The first time I heard it was concerning DRose. He never stretched but was starting to after all his leg injuries that weren't his knees. The trainer said stretching would make him a little less explosive. I thought that odd, but things change. They used to tell you if you had to drink water while exercising to spit it out. Now it's important to remain hydrated. I have flat feet. When I was a child they made me wear these hard shoes. Now they tell you to wear soft ones. But this one does make some sense. My wife is a yoga freak, but a couple of times a year she hurts herself in classes and takes a couple of weeks off.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Mar 14, 2016 -> 01:28 PM) Scott Kazmir looked awful in a B game this morning vs the White Sox but this Chris Sale kid might have a future. https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/709445828910256128 Maybe in the bullpen. http://www.southsidesox.com/2011/12/1/2603...bout-chris-sale

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Mar 14, 2016 -> 11:38 AM) If he were the coach you thought he was, he wouldn't be unemployed this year. If he were that good of a coach, the Kings would have already made a move. "Execs" actions speak louder than their words. No top 5 coach would remain unemployed for an entire season. The fact is, they're scared of his awful minute management. Turn off ESPN for a while and use your brain. Phil Jackson won 3 consecutive titles with the Bulls and 6 out of 8 before he sat out a season. I guess he wasn't a top 5 coach. Take your own advise.

Not bad considering Cubbie boy David Haugh called him a 4th OF on a contender.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Mar 14, 2016 -> 12:56 AM) This is exactly the problem I see too. All the same people are using the same excuses of just being spring training, but for players such as Danks there should be no "just wait and see" approach. Weren't we supposed to give him time to heal from said injury before we could accurately asses him? This team cannot afford yet another typical early season bed wetting. And if Danks is being himself by May/June and we're competing, it's time to consider reassigning hos role. Having players peak the first couple weeks of spring training, especially pitchers, isn't exactly a great strategy. Danks is Danks. He'll be what he's been. Erik Johnson as well. Sure they may suck, but they don't have to be Cy Young candidates to do their job. There's a reason teams are hitting over .300 as a team right now even playing players who will not see the major leagues. The pitchers aren't ready, the fields are hard, the air is thin.

Let's face it, if you aren't in mid season form on March 12th, you are going to suck this season. Didn't Quintana have an ERA around 15.00 a couple of springs ago? Didn't Courtney Hawkins look like the Sox best hitter the first couple weeks of last spring? People read way too much into the good and bad of early March baseball.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Mar 12, 2016 -> 10:35 AM) Thibs had success because he is an amazing defensive tactician. So good, in fact, that we miss the obvious problems in his coaching: He doesn't deal with locker room issues well at all and his offense is terrible. He belongs in the assistant coaching role as that's what he actually good at. Hoiberg isn't any better as far as any of us can tell, but Thibodeau was a severely flawed coach. Fastest Bulls coach to 100 wins. .647 winning percentage despite most of the time being without his best player. Consistently named a top 5 coach in the league by league execs. Severely flawed my ass.

Avila has been a 2 outcome hitter this spring.

Jason has made a few mistakes, called a soft broken bat liner to second a hump back line drive. Called the Grapefriut League the Florida State League, and said the Cubs have scored every trip to the plate.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 12, 2016 -> 01:39 PM) When did we dfa him? Never. They placed him on waivers

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Mar 12, 2016 -> 12:29 AM) Your point? Thibs ran garbage out there and they were still competent and competitive for the most part. I want the Bulls to lose at this point but it's the manner they are losing that's alarming. Hoiberg has no control over s***. He should be gone when Gar is shown the door. Yeah now all of a sudden injuries are an excuse not just for not winning championships, but for not making the playoffs. Thibs time was up yet he had the same injury problems Hoiberg has had. Noah, Rose, Taj, Bulter missed 15 games 2 years ago and 17 last year. He has missed 13 so far this season. If you hold them to the same standard, Hoiberg can't hold Thibs' dry erase, and should be shown the door. Now, I don't think it was fair to blame Thins at all for not being able to beat LeBron, so I won't blame Hoiberg for a roster full of guys that are going to be hurt a lot. But there is no question there was a pretty big downgrade at the head coaching position. That has to cost somebody.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 11, 2016 -> 02:10 PM) Vincent Goodwill ‏@vgoodwill 5m5 minutes ago Jimmy Butler is out tonight against the Heat. Derrick Rose is questionable with a left adductor strain General Soreness is now out.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 11, 2016 -> 08:15 AM) Thank you! I've been saying it correctly but cringe when people pronounce his name "Law-ree" or the other way you gave. When the Sox acquired Ozzie, Tony Kubek made a big deal out of pronouncing his last name which supposedly is properly pronounced Geejen. They asked Ozzie about it and he said he didn't care how anyone pronounced it as long as it was spelled correctly on his paychecks.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Mar 10, 2016 -> 12:13 PM) This is how I feel about it as well. Hit a bomb with the game on the line, go ahead and stare a bit and enjoy the HR shot for all its majesty. But starting at a HR shot in a game that's a route has far less luster. Same for pitchers, I'm all for pitchers showing some emotion after a big K in a tight situation but otherwise it seems pointless. For me, there's a time and place. I do like Harper's POV on the subject but not every player see's things his way. Still plenty of players that let their emotions get the best of them which leads to more hit batters, HR stares and bat flips. I absolutely loved Fernandez's emotions in this particular game. That guy has some flare, no doubt about it. https://youtu.be/sc9vMv4e-Vw I'm with you. Somewhere in the middle. For every Bautista bat flip which I thought was awesome, there is a Grant Balfour type BS thing that really pisses me off. The timing is everything. Being excited about a big hit late in the game that ties it up or gives you a lead, how can someone have a problem with that? Acting like a moron rounding the bases after flipping the bat hitting a HR that makes the score 12-2? That's just dumb.