Dick Allen

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Nov 5, 2015 -> 07:10 AM) He's below replacement level. He passes the eye test, but he's not actually any good. If he gets $12-$15 million, whatever GM does that should be fired on the spot. He was in 2015 but well above it other years. There are 2 types of free agents, the kind that get paid for what they have done, and the kind that get paid for what they are projected to do. I think Alexei is now in that group. I wouldn't guarantee him $12-15 million for 2 years, it also wouldn't surprise me if he was worth that amount for 2 years. Coming into 2012, people were freaking out as the Sox owed AJP $6 million. He outplayed it. I think Alexei needs a contract with a lot of incentives. If he still has gas in the tank, that is the way to get him to burn some.

He is a Sox killer whether is is on another team or the White Sox.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 02:38 PM) Please just let him go. Set Alexei free. I'm sorry, I can't worship minor leaguers.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 02:04 PM) Specifically, the Sox could sign him beginning the 7th, which is Saturday. Not before, at least officially. I thought you can sign your own free agents now.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 10:02 AM) Bulls need to get their defense together if they want a chance vs OKC tomorrow. 130 points to the lowly Hornets in unacceptable. Thibs is probably sitting at home laughing at us. First time they gave up 130 in regulation since Vinnie was roaming the sidelines. It really was a horrible defensive effort. If they play like that vs. OKC, Durant and Westbrook might combine for 90 or 100 the only thing holding them back being the icing of the knees because of a blowout.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:51 PM) Holy f*** I hope he is not serious. I think this is what most teams do. You really can only have preliminary discussions. Then he finds out what's available at what cost, he probably has a little idea who's available from the trade deadline. It's really not all that shocking. You have to be flexible.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:38 PM) How the $&@? Can you not have the beginnings of a plan in your mind on September 1st? If they were really parting ways with Ramirez, either Saladino or Sanchez should have been given a one month audition...because we all know how reliable spring training is. Forgetting about the expanded rosters and the bloated impact on offensive numbers, we would at least have more certainty about how well they would fare at that level defensively. We also know how reliable September meaningless games have been, don't we.. cough Josh Fields, cough Jerry Owens, cough Brent Morel. I'm pretty sure the Sox know what Saladino can do defensively at SS. He's been in the organization for several years.

We’ve only had preliminary discussions about direction this offseason,” said executive vice president Kenny Williams. “Rick (Hahn) has to survey the landscape at the GM meetings and I’m sure once he’s comfortable will present Jerry (Reinsdorf) and I with his ideas. It’s not for me to comment on Alexei one way or another right now other than to sing his praises for what he’s done in a Sox uniform from the first day he put the hat on.” He has a grammatical error in this statement. It should be Jerry and me, not Jerry and I. Give me a gold star.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:06 PM) It is a mighty false assumption to assume that at least one team won't make a bad decision this year. We will see. The teams that generally throw money around appear to be set at SS.,

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 01:05 PM) He has a higher Dwar than Hardy, even with the horrible start. Hardy played 114 games.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:54 PM) Steven Drew just got a five million contract from the Yankees last year after hitting in the .100's for two different teams in 2014. JJ Hardy turned a .682 OPS into a 3 year deal pushing $40 million. Alexei was .642 this season, and still a way better defender. And both teams regret their decision.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:47 PM) You are probably right, that it could be closer to 3-4 M. I presume somewhere in the deal their will be an option for the 2nd year (if he signs with the Sox). In terms of the market, I agree that in general, aging players are having a hard time getting bigger contracts as people are aging more normally (vs. during the steroid era). Both OC and Alexei are good comparisons as neither was ever the best shortstop in baseball, but both were widely viewed as upper echelon guys during chunks of their career. That said, 3-4M puts him at utility costs (of some guys) so I do think he gets a tick more then that (or at least has some incentives that could push the value up). The other problem Alexei has is the teams who probably would have interest bringing him in, I would think TB, maybe Oakland, don't exactly break the bank with contract offers.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:38 PM) The value of a SS on the open market has changed a TON since 2009. Not 34 year olds with declining offensive and defensive production. In fact, I would say, the over 30 crowd is probably having a harder time getting a big payday than their steroid era counterparts.

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:25 PM) nice.... lost in translation.... i could not have thought of a better word. in the late 80's. the push was there, whether it was covert or accidental of more prospects coming from south of the border so to speak. the sox was trying and thinking of exploring the idea of getting some bi-lingual person just for the translation. the idea was comfort level of the players mind set. now don't shoot the messenger but that was the discussion and thinking. players who can talk to someone in their language naturally instead of trying to think of the translation was the subject. now this was from a sox minor official that was there for the season ticket holders get together. i always thought that it was a great approach. now i don't know, but there was a idea floating around of having a english class for some really young prospects. now i do not if that was ever done. but the idea of baseball is expanding to start including other nations and prospects are premium commodity . There definitely are English classes available. I do think a lot of these guys, why they don't speak English, understand it well enough to get by, but a guy actually speaking directly to them in Spanish probably is more effective.

Orlando Cabrera was a 33 year old SS with the White Sox who went from making $10 million in 2008 to $4 million in 2009. and he had a better year than Alexei.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:28 PM) Time to move on. Can't keep running the same guys out there year after year and expecting an improved result. Go with Saladino or Sanchez and spend the money to get a third baseman or a catcher. What do you think Alexei is worth on the open market? Will teams really offer him $7 or 8 million a year? I'm thinking half of that. I don't think the White Sox would have declined the option to save a million or 2. They probably would have tried to negotiate it, but if they couldn't, I think they just would have picked it up.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:11 PM) I hope he's gone, but it really comes down to whether they have any better options. If the answer is no, he'll probably be back at a reduced price. At a low guarantee, it's hard to think of a better option. I wonder which team would offer him anything close to the price of his option.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 12:04 PM) White Sox have declined option on SS Alexei Ramirez. Just announced by the team. They instead exercise $1 million buyout. https://twitter.com/scottmerkin/status/661967111401639936 Doesn't surprise me. I would imagine they tried to get him back cheaper, and still may, but it may be time to get smarter at that position. He's been a really good player and performed very well. I do question his baseball IQ.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 11:44 AM) We don't know whether Alomar believed that or not. In fact, it almost sounded like Alomar didn't want to come here because he didn't want it to be implied he was in that position. I agree with everything you said Elrockin. One big difference is Sandy is out there looking for interviews to manage. It doesn't appear Acta is at this point. Sandy worked on Acta's staff in Cleveland and was the interim when Acta was fired. Maybe they tell Acta if Robin is gone, Sandy is in.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 11:43 AM) But he is mostly right. It is stupid to do. Would be so much cleaner to just can Robin, but whatever. Parent was rumored to be fired because he was gunning for Robin's job and now we're setting ourselves to be in the exact same situation. The rumor was Lip's "source" and it makes so little sense. Think about it, he wanted to be purposely bad at his job to get a promotion. When was this discovered? Earlier in the season? Then why wouldn't he have been fired on the spot? Was it conveniently found out with 3 games left? Parent didn't do that. It was false. Hahn wouldn't have called him a good man when announcing the move if that were true. JR was harsh with Thibs for much less on his way out the door.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 11:31 AM) Do folks really believe we are looking for a bench coach for the 2016 season with the the sole purpose of replacing Robin Ventura? Robin would know this as would the players and coaches. It would be a tremendous insult and why would Ventura want to even come back for the next season, or the Spx mess around like that? The job of the bench coach would be similar to have a right hand next to the manager to deal with the players and assist with moves during the game and after. It us toi make the team better and not to embarrass the manager. I don't think they want to replace him or they would have replaced him, but a slow start and the bench coach is basically next man up. Whether they want to create that feeling that the new guy will be looking over his shoulder, it's going to be there no matter what. Of course Acta could be a bench coach and Sandy Alomar still could be hired to take Robin's place if things go south. It's a real tough spot for someone . Whoever the hire is will be peppered with taking over for Robin questions from the get go.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 11:20 AM) Universally known that anyone that questions Robin ventura loves Manny Acta. I never wrote that.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 11:05 AM) He'd be a good hire. Not sure if he'd be interested. If he interviewed, you would have to think he has at least some interest. I just wonder what the Robin haters will say if he does eventually get Robin's job: 73-89 59-102 26-61 69-93 80-82 65-91

QUOTE (LDF @ Nov 4, 2015 -> 10:44 AM) you may have a point. but i remember back in 2004 when talking about getting a bi-lingual person in the dugout, the one thing mention from the org, that with ozzie, that part was covered. then after ozzie, who was the next person to help???? but let do the flip side, why is a need to have a bi-lingual person is needed??? I think Cooper speaks Spanish. At least a little bit. The Sox have a lot of Latin players. I would guess hearing something straight from a coach is probably better than hearing it translated. Lost in Translation. I don't think it would mean an extra 5 or 10 wins. Until the saber guys have some sort of bench coach metric, I'm not buying Mark Parent cost the White Sox games. We don't even know exactly what he did besides work with the catchers and grab the phone for replays. Kaplan mentioned Dave Martinez handles replays and OF positioning. Lazerus was on and said bench coach and 1st base coach are the cushiest jobs in sports. Could be, although a friend of mine was a 3rd string QB in the NFL for a few years. He got paid a lot of money for a regular person and wound up throwing 2 passes in his career. Never even got hit.

Do any of the posters who mention season ticket sales have season tickets or ever had season tickets? I think if not, you should know the most expensive seats will always be sold. The mass exodus usually will be the people in the corners paying $140 for a weekend plan. So as much as you want and some hope when the season ticket base drops 10 or 20 percent, that the ticket sales total number drops that much, you are way off base. Last years model inspired some ticket sales. If they have a good off season they will inspire more. Not from people who aren't going to buy no matter what, but the majority of season ticketholders like the way they are treated by the team.