Dick Allen

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 01:14 PM) So as I was thinking about random guys the Sox have had over the years and I thought about Jose Paniagua. Has their ever been a player in the history of the franchise (or even the game) to have such a negative opinion associated with him based upon such limited time (in his case, 1/3rd of an inning with an organization)? I mean, people on her still reference him as the worst player to wear a uniform (and he was signed to a minimum deal and only pitched 1/3rd an inning...by the way, deserving so...I will remember watching that game and just being astonished in disbelief (I could tell you where I was when I watched it and who I was with too). For those that might be too young to remember, below is an article talking a bit about his eventual release and what drove it: http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1613303 And the White Sox won the game.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:35 PM) IIRC, Turner isn't on a minor league deal. He got a major league contract for $1.5 million. The Sox gave Paulino $2 million. He made 4 starts for them and 5 in Charlotte. I also don't think his contract is fully guaranteed until some time in spring training.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:27 PM) I do not remember the White Sox ever spending major league money on a kid as a safety net at AAA. He's a long time target, who they think will be healthy. Here Hahn says he will compete for a starting role and if it doesn't work out, the bullpen is his destiny. It's a $1.5 million lottery ticket. The fluff pieces will be a plenty in spring training, but he's a bullpen piece. We feel very good about where he is from a health standpoint right now and where he is in his offseason program," said Hahn of Turner. "We think he could provide us with another opportunity in the rotation come Opening Day. "If for some reason that doesn't work out or we go a different direction, then we do think he has the strong potential to help us out of the bullpen as well. It's a guy who we have targeted for a while and now that he is healthy, we're happy to have him and he will be very much in the mix for a spot on the roster."

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 12:20 PM) You weren't the only one watching. Scott Carroll isn't better than Erik Johnson. I hope you are right.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:31 AM) Nothing wrong with it, I suppose. I'm hoping he's a much better hitter than a .709 career OPS. I'm hoping he's a great player or at least well above average. Ramirez wasn't. And Ramirez is what he is, we should have traded him for Frazier and kept the other 3. What they should have done is traded Shuck for Harper and Avi for Trout.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 11:51 AM) $1.5M is not much money in this era (baseball wise). That is less money than the Sox gave Beckham last year. Yes, they are rolling the dice on a not so long ago top 15 prospect, but reality is 2014 -6.13 ERA in the NL, and 2015 9 minor league innings pitched. It's not like they have worked with him either as he was claimed off waivers after the season ended. It's a lottery ticket.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 11:43 AM) One more reason to like Cespedes is that his ceiling is much higher than Gordon's. If he repeats last year's break out season, or exceeds it, which he has the talent to do, he would be a Super Star. It's very unlikely that Gordon's production would be anywhere near that level. No, but to expect Cespedes to be the 2015 version is a stretch. Over the last 4 years, Gordon has a higher total WAR. A writer pointed out during 2013-2014 Cespedes was a good fielding Mark Trumbo.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:59 AM) How many pitchers the Sox have no interest in do they spend $1.5 million on? Who said they had no interest? But reality indicates he would really be beating great odds spending 2016 in a major league rotation. If they truly are counting on him, and expecting to compete, that is a bit scary.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:53 AM) He might even be 5th, or at the very least he is in competition for it. That's scary. He pitched 9 minor league innings in 2015.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:51 AM) It's not Wednesday, so there can't be movement today! There won't be anything tomorrow due to the HOF.

I was told from a source the White Sox would be agreeing to a contract with someone today. It's not a good source. It's not even really a source. I just want to be first.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 08:23 AM) Griffey should be unanimous. Tho there's always someone who has to make a statement. Of course he should, and if he is the first, it's a joke it took that long for someone not to have been unanimous previously. As to the other stuff, enough of trying to make believe the HOF is filled with players that always played the game above board. There is no doubt in my mind every player techinically "cheated" one way or another at some point, at least in a way if you did it on a golf course you would be considered a rotten person. It's always been a game that didn't count against you what you got away with until steroids. Then, anytime anyone did anything spectacular, they must be cheating.

The White Sox usually like to add a team option to contracts with guys like this. If they are offering pitching at USCF and that potential team option probably is enough to get him to take something else.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 06:45 PM) @NickyMitch93 I was told #WhiteSox are one of the teams with an offer out to Fister... No word on the favorite mulling over offers from many teams He probably asked his mom to tell him the Sox were offering a contract to Fister.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 01:31 PM) I'm not saying I would have given Happ the deal, personally, but the alternative explanation (that the Jays eagerly paid 3/36 because that's what they think 180 innings of 4.60 ERA is worth) is one that I don't buy for a minute. Teams gave three year deals for mid-4 ERAs in the steroid era sometimes, but not in today's environment. Their budget made them spend decent money for a lemon. I do agree, unless Danks throws up a decent ERA this year, he isn't getting a Happ like deal next year, but I still think Toronto paid more than a little too much hoping that Happ suddenly became good.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 01:17 PM) Look at Happ's 2015 season. THAT is why he got a three year deal. The Danksian previous seasons are why it was only 3/36. Like I said, if Danks pulls out a 3.50-ish ERA this year, he'll sign a decent little contract, too. But he hasn't done anything remotely close to that since his injury. Happ has, exactly once, but he did it and it was this past season. That's the difference. In his 20 AL starts, he pretty much was about as bad as John Danks in 2015.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 10:36 AM) I guess that's the human factor. They literally came out and said iowa putting on a close game vs expectations made the room adamant about not dropping them in the rankings. It will take them a few years to get it right. If the Michigan Punter didnt drop that ball or OSU doesnt turtle in that weather and we may have OSU vs Bama for the title which would have been a goldmine. Eventually these frustrations will make it go to 8 teams. While the Michigan was pure luck, Michigan State was right where they should have been. They got screwed at Nebraska.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:41 AM) I always ask this one. Where is your evidence that Barry Bonds's first use of steroids was in 1998? Isn't that just as anecdotal as everything else? Barry Bonds was clearly an athletic freak in the 1980s and 1990s, but there are plenty of steroids that don't make you explode into the muscle-bound freak he became. There's a supposed quote from him while having dinner with Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 where he says he's going to "start using some hard-core stuff", why is "well he's clearly experienced with softer-core stuff" not an entirely plausible conclusion? It's not like steroids weren't available to guys in high school and college in the 1980s and it's not like every steroid slows you down and takes away athletic ability in exchange for strength. If I put out a book saying he was juicing in the mid 80s, doesn't that have exactly as much credibility as saying he was HOF worthy before he was juicing? Put the book out, see what happens. I have a title for you. Everything Sucks, by Balta. It would be a real thriller. I'm guessing you would need a legal fund. There are a ton of suspicions. Why wouldn't Carlton Fisk be questioned? Frankly, there really is no "proof" anyone didn't juice.

QUOTE (2005thxfrthmmrs @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:15 AM) Who knows, maybe Danks has finally learned to pitch more effectively without his pre-surgery stuff now that he's 4 years removed from surgery, and he somehow puts up a strong contract year performance. Then there would be a few Danks apologists on this board who wishes the Sox bring him back for 2017 and beyond I appreciate John Danks more than most, but there is virtually no chance he is on the 2017 roster. While, yes, his rank as a qualified pitcher has left a lot to be desired, if you look at teams' 5th starter position, they use a lot of non qualified guys. I doubt many teams get much more out of their #5 starter than the White Sox. But even if he is better than he is been, he would become a 5 and 10 guy in 2017, giving him full trade protection. The White Sox save that for guys like Buehrle and Konerko and Fisk, not Johnny Danks. He's a goner unless he wants to pitch for total reclamation project money on a 1 year deal.

This week, things should start picking up again. The only thing is Wednesday, usually the Sox big announcement day is probably a no no this week with the HOF announcement. Probably very little negotiating going on since right before Christmas. If teams sign a big name, they want to make a big deal out of it. Signing someone during the holiday season probably ruins any chance at a big press conference and cuts down the publicity of the deal, nevermind all the agents, players and front office people have families, and most have obligations during this time. I'd be surprised if we went another week without one of these guys signing.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 3, 2016 -> 07:49 AM) Can't imagine how pissed you would've been if OSU lost. Bosa will be nice and rested for Week 1 NFL next year. Avoided any big injuries. B1G was tainted this year because OSU was clearly the best team with a huge drop off and MSU got in the playoffs on the strength of at least 2 fluke wins before being exposed. Crazy how one dropped punt snap had a ripple effect that may have ruined the entire playoffs. Or OSU could have just won the home game vs. MSU and their back up QB. I always thought OSU was the best team in the country. But they let a lot of mediocre opponents stay with them for a while this year. They finally kicked it into gear after they lost. If they played like that against MSU, they probably win the national championship again. But they didn't. They only have themselves to blame.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 3, 2016 -> 06:33 AM) Wish we had those refs for the fiesta bowl. Bosa would have never been flagged or tossed. He buried the crown of his helmet in the QBs sternum. It was the correct call. As it was, the hit wasn't all that violent, and 100 things happen every game that would seem to warrant an ejection more than that, but how ever many times you want to moan about it, according to the rules, it was the correct call.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 2, 2016 -> 12:45 PM) haaaaaaaa The best part is Iowa fans taking offense when many refer to Iowa State as Moo U. Al Roker did call them Iowa State at the Rose parade, and they played like Iowa State during the game. I am sure the goal was to get Iowa fans to boo. Were people other than the usual people who are offended by anything really offended? BTW, cow tipping is like snipe hunting, a fake sport. You cannot tip cows. As an Iowa alum, I would think fans were far more offended by the score than by a band of college kids doing what college kids do. Of course if you are there you will boo, but I doubt there was total outrage which some of the reports seem to want to convey.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 2, 2016 -> 12:50 PM) Neither does Cespedes or Gordon for that matter Yeah, he has actually played RF 57 more games in the major leagues than Cespedes and Gordon combined.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 2, 2016 -> 12:25 PM) Yes, because the cocaine did not improve his performance, it hindered it. If nothing else he admitted to not sliding properly and getting tagged out on stolen bases because he didn't want to break the vial of coke in his pocket. Isn't cocaine consumption against the law? Tim Raines is supposedly about as nice of a guy as there is. If he was an ass, the coke would always be mentioned. I personally think his problem with getting in has been he played a long time as a good player.. I think his peak in Montreal gets watered down by it. Besides Rickey Henderson, you could make an argument he was the second most disruptive offensive player in baseball for 8 or 9 years. Truly awesome. He was a good player for the White Sox, but not anything like he was during his prime years. His performance IMO has earned him a plaque. The PED thing comfuses me. If both pitchers and hitters were juicing, whose performance is enhanced more? Bonds vs. Clemens clean vs. juiced. I wonder what the difference would be, Ii have read where 70% was an estimate for how many players used PEDs. I would guess some were on a program like Bonds, and guys like Pablo Ozuna probably took supplements that contained something they shouldn't consume, and it didn't help them all that much. The zits on the back though is pretty damning. In the locker room at my health club the other day I saw a muscle bound guy with a back loaded with zits. I assumed he was using steroids.