Dick Allen

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:28 PM) But how would you know these things before the season even started? That's where I'm not understanding you. How could Kenny possibly know that Politte and Cotts might not be as good? Or anywhere near as good? Traded Politte? Are you nuts? Trade him for what? I base my thinking about Politte looking at his career and as for what I would get for him, I would have to see what was available for a guy coming off a great season not making a ton of money. I was also a guy who was nuts wanting KW to trade Shingo the winter of 2004, when they could have gotten something for him. Look at Cotts numbers? Do you really think its fair to expect the same? I like Cotts and think he will be good, but he'll probably give up a few more runs this season. I have made no claims about getting rid of Cotts. Barring injury, he will be in the White Sox rotation in a couple of years. Maybe Buerhle's replacement if he goes to St. Louis.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:16 PM) Our two bullpen holes last season were Marte and Vizcaino, right? While I didn't like either of them, Marte had a 3.77 ERA and Vizcaino had a 3.73 ERA. What two guys do we have that can replace that production? I know it's just ST but I'm not seeing it so far. Marte appeared in 66 games, and Vizcaino in 65. If that's any indication how Ozzie will use the last 2 guys this year, an upgrade is needed.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:18 PM) You don't think Bmac can match or exceed what Viz gave us? He's better than Vizcaino, but do you really think Ozzie would put him in 65 times? Also, odds are he will be spending some time in the rotation.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:13 PM) So what is Kenny supposed to do? Replace the whole bullpen because you don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that any of them can come close to repeating what they did last year? No, but he should anticipate who isn't going to be so good in 2006. Bullpens need to be turned over year after year. There aren't many relief pitchers who follow up great years with great years. If Hermanson is down for a while, which definitely appears to be the case, if Politte is the 2004 version of himself, if Javier Lopez is your second lefty, that will leave BMac, Cotts, and Jenks. If I were KW, I would have traded Politte this offseason. He had a great year, but the last time he pitched as much as he did last year, the next year his ERA was 5.66. Maybe he totally sucks, but I still don't understand letting Castro go. They could have avoided it by putting him on the 40 man I believe.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 10:05 PM) Um, just because you have it in your head that Politte and Cotts will suck doesn't mean Kenny does. If Hermanson was healthy, there wouldn't even be anything to really talk about. Kenny gambled that he would be. He was wrong. Now lets exhibit some patience and give the man a chance to do what he does best. I don't think Cotts will suck. I don't think he'll be able to match last year's numbers, I don't see how any could expect that. They really were incredible and he is going to be in some hairier situations this year. I think Politte is going to be a dissapointment. Hermanson was talking retirement. Vizcaino was traded away. That's a lot of relief appearances. Remember, Ozzie loves the lefty/lefty, righty/righty matchups. It sometimes takes him a while to go get someone on the mound, but once he starts, he can go through pitchers pretty quickly.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:49 PM) You mean you don't think Politte is going to post an ERA in the 1's this year? Something only 5 relievers in the AL with over 30 IP did last year? Way to go out on a limb. My point is KW knows exactly what is going on with this bullpen. Exactly what he can afford to trade and who for. Exactly what he is doing. Certainly moreso than anybody on this board does. No, I mean neither will match the 3.78 Vizcaino put up last year. He didn't pay as much attention to the bullpen as he did last offseason when in reality it was his #1 priority. Coming in he had Shingo who was coming off a year just as good or better than Jenks had. Hermanson, Politte, Cotts all who will be hard-pressed to match or even come close to what they did last year. Marte who was not good, but is a hall of famer compared to some of the guys they signed. And Vizcaino, who wasn't great, but was a guy with a rubber arm who could eat innings. BMac is probably better than any of them, but I can't see the Sox throwing him in 65 games. The other thing he had was back-up plans if guys faltered. Shingo faltered in comes Hermanson. Hermanson goes down, there's Jenks. Pitchers are going to go down, that's just part of the game. The Sox only used 6 starters last year. Its been a long time since a team was able to say that, and that scenerio probably won't repeat itself. That would mean BMac will most likely be in the rotation at some point, making the bullpen worse. It is a huge problem for a team trying to win another championship. A thin bullpen has been the achilles heel of many otherwise great teams.

QUOTE(quickman @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:47 PM) ok back on subject, Jim, what the hell is out there? there has to be a handful of players about to get cut, any speculation on who? Why would the World Champions fill their staff with lesser team's cuts?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:40 PM) I'm not insulting you. I was being serious. Obviously you know something that KW doesn't and he needs to be informed as soon as possible. I mean, what the heck is he doing out there? He's acting like he just put together a team that won the world series. Seriously dude. I'm pretty sure KW has a pretty good handle on things, no matter what you have been talking about. KW did win the WS, that doesn't mean everything he does is gold. Vizcaino was a punching bag on this board last year. I make it even money that neither Politte or Hermanson put up better numbers than he did last year. Please don't call me dude.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:32 PM) Don't you get the feeling if you're not in with our skipper, you don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of being a guy he'll go to in crunch time? Ozzie is a pretty ballsy cat. If you're not on board with what he's trying to do and the tight ship he likes to run, you probably don't stand a good chance of not just being on the team, but, getting any confidence from the manager during the season. It seemed like Ozzie just ate Marte--a guy rumored to have a very easy-goin, carefree, sheepish attitude--up and I'm betting Munoz was a similar situation. The thing with Marte is interesting, and probably accurate. When an easy-going Manuel was in charge, Marte was lights out. He just might not have been comfortable with all the noise that comes with Ozzie.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:30 PM) You should write him an email and let him know what you think. Or Ozzie's hotmail account. Maybe one of his sons will send your message along. I sent Ozzie a couple of emails last year. He responded to one, but the one asking if he and Harold would buy me and my buddy some beers went unanswered. You can try to insult me, but I have been talking about bullpen problems since before the winter meetings. KW said at Soxfest the bullpen was strong. He was either BSing or drunk.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:29 PM) It's very fair conjecturing. I think a similar speculation can be made for Mike Myers. Like it or not, Bruce Levine was reporting the White Sox were having contract talks with Mike Myers around the meetings and we were even thought to be the favorites at one point. But, after he signed with the Yankees, you couldn't help but feel that is where he wanted to be. I'm sure Kenny knew the $1.5M wasn't going to break the bank. If these guys have somewhere or something specific in mind, it can throw a wrench into some otherwise sound plans. I don't know. He is from around here. My sister went to grade school and junior high with him. She still knows him and gets comps when he's in town. I didn't want the Sox to sign him, but I think I could have cancelled my tickets if he did. I'm pretty sure he went for the money.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:27 PM) Just speculating on his mindset. He will be more screwed up in the mind by the end of April there. Fogg needs to realize that he is and always will be a mediocre starter at best. He could be a pretty decent middle reliever. I loved the foghorn when he used to strikeout guys at Comiskey Park II.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:26 PM) Again. I was only posting a story showing what Ozzie thought of the kid. He's officially coming to big league camp tomorrow. The other thing was from KW, who doesn't appear as worried as Ozzie and COop, but is always looking for options, internally and externally. He should stop wasting his time looking internally. There is nothing there that can help in 2006. I am still trying to figure out the Munoz outrighting. Even gutless, he is just as good or better than the other dopes they throw out there.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:23 PM) Exactly, the game of baseball, especially the personnel side, constantly intrigues me because trades sometimes come out of nowhere. I thought Fogg would've been a good fall back option too but here is the thing, he is trying to reestablish his market value and he wanted an opportunity to start, that's why he's in Colorado, he is fighting for their #5 slot. That wouldn't happen here. He got a one year deal out there at age 29 I think he wanted opportunity more than anything. Playing for his next contract. Don't know for sure, just speculating. Plus, KW traded him once, who knows if there is bad blood. Great way to re-establish yourself....Getting pummelled in Colorado.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 09:19 PM) Ugh. The guy pitches like three good innings and he's friggin' Billy Wagner. Sorry for speaking in hyperbole, but c'mon. This guy has pitched 131 minor league innings of a 6.10 ERA, and hasn't even pitched TEN innings at A-ball, yet is supposed to come in and be on a World Series title defending ballclub? GMAB. Too much is made of these Spring Training statistics. Then again, it happens every year. Remember the great Kevin Walker of 2005 Tuscon? I mentioned this in another thread. People are excited over 3 innings against reserves of reserves. For the love of God, KW wants to repeat, but he doesn't spend a dime on the bullpen in the offseason. Its going to bite him on the ass.

What's comical to me is the alledged race for the second lefty reliever role. How do you base anything on 4 or 5 innings of spring training success? I don't think they have anybody vying for this role who would be remotely better in 2006 than Kevin Walker was in 2005.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 13, 2006 -> 01:33 AM) Reynoso has faced nothing but AA hitters, I would hope he's finally figuring out how to get them out. 2006 would mark his 3rd year in B'ham. I agree with this. He looked great yesterday, but when you face a teams B team in the late innings you will be facing guys who won't be in the major leagues, at least not this season. I really think Ozzie should start some of these relief candidates, warm them up like its a relief appearance, but start them so they actually face major leaguers.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 12, 2006 -> 04:31 PM) This was a great BIG 10 tourney. I thought so too. A lot of the games came down to the final few minutes. Also, as an Iowa graduate, anytime the Hawkeyes win its a good tournament.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 12, 2006 -> 04:19 PM) Singleton just said that Hermanson's health is in question and we will find out more later. Tim McCarver must be giving him broadcasting advice.

The fat lady is warming up.

Hawks must hit their free throws.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Mar 12, 2006 -> 04:14 PM) Iowa by 5! When Alex Thompson is burying a huge 3, it just may be your day. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!

Anyone know much about Stewart? BP thinks he's a good bet to knock Widger off the roster in a couple of months.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 12, 2006 -> 03:50 PM) Who's worse -- Hermanson or Redding? They are making me long for the bad version of Shingo.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 12, 2006 -> 03:46 PM) Tim Redding......how many homers will he allow in Charlotte this year? We can only hope he's getting lit up in Charlotte.