Dick Allen

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 08:10 PM) apparently you didnt actually read the whole thing.... he bought all the tickets for the kids b4 he was released and was pissed because of being released after only 4 relief appearances...... Would it be better if he told all the kids that they wont go to the game because he hates Toronto? And would you root for the team that just released you after just 4 short appearances. The Blue Jays drafted him and gave him a closer role. They are also paying him almost $1 million this year, and he couldn't get anyone out. He is still being paid by the Blue Jays. He doesn't want to hook up with another team because he wants Toronto to have to pay his entire salary. Or is it that no other team is interested in his services? Perhaps all the batting practice pitching positions are taken. Its ok, they don't pay that well anyway. Its decent of him to take the kids to the game, but if he's decked out in Tampa gear, its not only a shot at Toronto management, but also an insult to every player in their dugout. If the Sox released Koch last year, and he showed up in Tampa at a Sox/DRay game decked out in Tampa gear with a foam finger, you wouldn't think its so funny. What it is is pathetic. The guy needs to grow up. Its a lousy example for those kids.

If this is true he's an ass. Billy can b**** all he wants about lack of opportunity, but Toronto is paying him almost $1 million to sit on his ass. The way he's pitched the last 2 seasons and in spring training this year, he should thank his lucky stars and offer to do the Blue Jays' laundry.

QUOTE(That funky motion @ Apr 5, 2005 -> 05:30 PM) Yes ,they did move in the fence for him,and also painted the center area black! Only the backdrop was painted black for Belle. He may have requested the fences be brought in, but they weren't. The fences were the same from the time the park opened until the first series of renovations which made the bullpen activity visible to most fans in 2001. There was always a moat area between the fence and the bleachers and lower reserved sections. The first renovation closed that moat significantly, adding seats to these sections. In fact, they put padding over it to cover it up. The padding was removed when people came running on to the field using that padding as a springboard to enter.

How many times did TS say " ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls"? It was driving me crazy. I thought I was back at Bozo's circus.

Thank God for Buerhle. Anyone else on the Sox staff pitching this game and its an L. Buerhle really relies on the catcher to call the game, he rarely shakes them off. I think AJ calling the game will do nothing but make Buerhle even more effective. The guy gives up 2 hits and walks 1, and coerces 2 DPs. Totally dominating. The offense was offensive, but maybe Westbrook had something to do with that. Any time you score 1 run and win it goes in the column of the other 42 games Hawk and DJ always talk about when you win 60 and lose 60, its how you do in the rest that determines your success. I still can't get over how great Buerhle was today. One of the better performances you will ever see.

QUOTE(sec159row2 @ Mar 31, 2005 -> 12:52 PM) baseball games NEVER sell out... cubs/sox/yankees/red sox you name it every ticket is NEVER sold... the teams always hold tix back... that's like saying a hotel was sold out... the last time every room was sold in a hotel Jesus was born.... I was in Ft. Lauderdale a month ago and our hotel, the Sheraton Yankee Trader, was sold out, as was its sister hotel, the Yankee Clipper, and every large hotel in its category and higher in a 30 mile radius. They oversold their rooms by 15. People were getting sent far away, and they were pissed. Either Jesus was born on President's day weekend, or your statement is erroneous.

This just goes to show that if KW didn't relent and sign AJ, the catching situation would have been brutal. AJ falling into KW's lap is one of the luckiest things that has happened this past off-season.

Looks like Dickey V had no idea what he was talking about when he said Pearl committed career suicide 16 years ago. Pearl is a far better coach than Buzz Peterson. The guy has been a success as a head coach everywhere he has been, and has a lot of support from his good friend, UT alumnus Ernie Grunfeld. He will have a much better chance to succeed there than the previous 3 or 4 coaches.

I think the defense seems overrated, the pitching looks problematic, and they seem like they may have problems scoring runs. Of course they really haven't played their everyday line-up consistently, and the Arizona air will play with pitchers. I have always felt this team is not as good as it was the last couple of years. There are too many question marks. I think everyone except Buerhle and maybe AJ is a question mark, and Buerhle was one for a couple of hours last week. The "switch" to speed from power is a misnomer. Iguchi will steal more than Willie but Willie is faster. Podsednik is the only other speed guy added who will play regularly. Hawk keeps harping on now the Sox will have a better chance beating good pitchers, because good pitchers don't give up 2 or 3 run homers, and that is what the Sox have been counting on. I don't buy it. I think Lee and Ordonez hit more singles and doubles than Podsednik and Dye and are far superior overall offensive players even taking away their homeruns. AJ, to me, is the only sure non pitching upgrade KW came up with this winter, although Iguchi is probably an upgrade, the jury is still out, and the team lost a lot of offense. Almost everyone of the pitchers has been absolutely awful or seriously injured at one point the last couple of years. A lot has to go right for this team to win, its possible it happens, but I'm not setting my heart on it. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see this team making much of a run this year.

Even though they got the steal, they can't let Arizona eat clock. They need to foul.

QUOTE(kman @ Mar 26, 2005 -> 02:51 PM) interesting when i go Millwood vs. Garcia not bad. I was hoping to go to the opener but the ticket selection was bad only sec 500 tix avaliable.So i got sec145 3rd base line on wed.Got them 2day im so happy.Oh yeah why isn't there a game on tue? maybe just so they wont have to give up 2 for 1 tix. When it isn't on a Friday, there usually is an open date after opening day, due to the unpredictable weather. If the game was called, they would be able to play it Tuesday, and people with opening day tickets would still have those same seats.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 24, 2005 -> 12:08 AM) Of course no one has responded to that yet. Because its BS. Pearl didn't make any such offer. Deon Thomas is a real asshole for not taking any blame, if he didn't mention any illegal offers from Illinois none of this would have happened, and then 16 years later making this claim on the week Pearl takes on the Illini. If its true where's the proof? If you say Illinois didn't offer Thomas money and a car, you are calling him a liar, because he said they did. He has no credibility. Its also no coincidence Bruce Weber has nothing to say on the subject. He was an assistant at Purdue at the time, and knew what a dirty program Illinois had. He has no problems with Pearl. They aren't friends, but are cordial.

QUOTE(TheDybber @ Mar 22, 2005 -> 09:24 AM) Yes, Illinois was guilty. Yes, Deon Thomas could have said nothing. But he was 17, and I don't know about you, but I didn't always do the right thing at 17. My point was, if the situation was reversed, and Collins taped a call, implicating Pearl, and the NCAA investigated, they (the NCAA) probably would have found things that Iowa did and put them on probation. The NCAA had to save face and gave the Illini a one year postseason ban and two years fewer scholarships. Illinois paid it's penalty (and I believe made a run to the title game of the Big Ten Championship in one of those years as a 10 or 11 seed), but that doesn't mean that Illinois should let it go. Bruce Pearl is a rat, plain and simple. And he definitely shouldn't be portraying himself as a martyr, as he is in some interviews now. And don't you tell me that an "aggressive recruiter" didn't offer cash, cars, women, whatever in the course of his time as an assistant or head coach. So you are saying Pearl is all wet while implying that he has broken numerous rules, has offered cash and other incentives to recruits etc. Where's the proof on your allegations? Illinois had run a dirty program for years, in fact, Ron Rappoport goes through a little of it in today's Sun-Times. Evidently, he didn't "offer" Deon Thomas more than Jimmy Collins did. Btw, Thomas was at least 18 when this happened, and maybe 19, which makes him an adult. He took NO responsibility. He is responsible for what he does. Finally, if the situation was reversed, and all the facts the same, and Jimmy taped Iowa, there is no chance in hell you would refer to him as a rat.

QUOTE(ZeroHour @ Mar 22, 2005 -> 09:09 AM) I dont know if this is old news, but I came across this link today while researching my fantasy draft. apparently, JR doesnt have to pay rent on the cell if we draw less than 1.5M. If this isnt striaght out of major league, I dont know what is. near the bottom: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=16343 If you really think White Sox management purposely keeps attendance low so they won't have to pay rent, its time for you to support another team. This is a tired and ridiculous argument. The fact of the matter is the team has had its finest attendance in franchise history under current ownership. They have done nothing but try to enhance the experience of attending a game.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Mar 21, 2005 -> 11:43 PM) A guy at WSI posted a video of Kenny posing as a Comcast reporter and interviewing Herm Schneider and Buehrle. Here's the 12 meg video... http://home.comcast.net/~sungho.ko/kenny2.avi Right-click the link and save it to your desktop. Hilarious. Boy, did the media blow this out of proportion or what? I love how Kenny took the chance to rub it in their faces. No more "intense shagging" Buehrle! Kenny rubbing it in their faces? He's the guy who said Buerhle was out 4 to 6 weeks.

QUOTE(TheDybber @ Mar 21, 2005 -> 10:54 AM) Oh Dick, Dick, Dick...c'mon...I'll agree with the Pearl over Collins coaching ability. But, the Deon Thomas and Illinois were cleared of allegations over that incident. They were put on probation for other infractions, which, if you opened up an investigation at ANY PROGRAM, would probably come up. Including Duke, UNC, Kentucky or Kansas. From what I remember (I was at Illinois at the time), Thomas was a 17 year old kid, trying to get an aggressive recruiter off his back. Did Deon say those things, probably, but the NCAA couldn't prove anything and instead saved face by putting Illinois on probabation for other infractions. Bruce Pearl is on the same level as Linda Tripp. Why wasn't he, or the Iowa team, put on probation for illegally wiretapping a recruit? Isn't that entrapment? Sorry Dick, but Bruce Pearl, good coach or not, is not a martyr, not a do gooder, he is a rat, plain and simple. They were put on probation, but not because of what Pearl taped. More reason to back off him. They were put on probation for other infractions. They cheated. Remember, Thomas made a verbal commitment to this "aggressive recruiter", then changed his mind, and told Pearl he was getting 80K and a Blazer. They weren't even put on probation for the Blazers, which was common knowledge every Illini player had. I am saying if Thomas never said Collins paid him, and never said he was gettting a car, all of this would never have happened. Pearl might not have been totally above board, but given all the information, there is no way the guy's a rat. Thomas bears a lot of responsibility for this. I don't know what the laws were back then, but considering Pearl was never charged with anything, and Iowa received no penalties, nothing illegal must have happened. I will guarantee you there were a lot of coaches and administrators around the Big Ten who secretly raised a glass to Bruce Pearl. A lot of crap was going on with that program, and everyone (except for maybe Lou Henson) knew it.

Buerhle, and its not even close. Frank is a great hitter, but Buerhle is the only guy in the Sox projected starting rotation with an era under 6.00 this spring. Frank is out, Everett takes his place. You might lose a little but you never know how Frank comes back. Buerhle eats up innings, besides wins games. If he's out a prolonged time it not only downgrades the starting rotation immensely, it also taxes the bullpen. Hopefully everything is ok with Mark. He is IMHO the guy the Sox could least afford to lose on their roster.

Calling Boozer a word that rhymes with punt had to really embarrass the organization. He got what he deserved.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 20, 2005 -> 09:27 PM) You're right, It would probably be stronger. The fact that Illinois basically couldn't recruit from one of the biggest and best cities for basketball hurt them big. Look at Duke, they were getting Chicago Public League recruits all the way down there.(Latest 2 were Dockery and M. Thompson) and they wouldn't have had such a problem building up their program again. They were absolved of all things and the reason why Pearl did it was because he lost out on a recruit. Hell Duke gave Chris Duhon's mom a $155,000 job "coincidentally" as they were recruiting him. They also gave Carlos Boozer's family some money from what I remember too. I don't see Bruce Pearl trying to get Duke popped off. The Blazers didn't have anything to do with the investigation. He was just a bitter man. Hell Dickie V. doesn't even like him and that's why he's pretty much "blackballed" from a major program. Thomas verbally committed to Iowa then switched to Illinois. Then Thomas tells Pearl Illinois offered him cash and a car. Pearl turns them in. The person responsible for all of this was Deon Thomas, not Bruce Pearl. Why would you tell a coach of another university, you are backing out of your commitment to them because another school is giving you cash and a car? If Illinois was absolved of all wrong doing, why were they put on probation? If you think Illinois would be stronger with Jimmy Collins coaching them, you need to look at the job he's done at UIC. Not too impressive. Pearl kicked his ass.

QUOTE(southsider17 @ Mar 21, 2005 -> 08:36 AM) That's better than a torn ligament, isn't it? It really depends what is broken. There are some really slow and hard to heal bones in the foot.

That fact of the matter was Illinois was doing some illegal things. A lot, if not all players were indeed given use of Chevy Blazers. Pearl turning them in was frowned at by Illinois coaches and fans. If it were Jimmy Collins turning in Tom Davis, Illini fans would have an incredibly different take. The Illini were put on probation for violations. I don't remember if the Blazers had anything to do with the probation, but Pearl definitely got the ball rolling on the investigation. Pearl has become one of the top small school coaches in the country. I'm sure it chaps Jimmy Collins' ass that Pearl is 10 times the coach he is. Pearl did Illinois a huge favor. If this scandal hadn't happened, Collins probably would have succeeded Lou Henson, and regardless of Jimmy's ties to the public league, there is no way the program would be in the position it is today.

The deal with Palmiero pointing his finger and staring was obviously coached. Sosa using language as a barrier was laughable considering he has been interviewed and speaking English for 16+ years at least. I would be willing to bet that the reason his attorney read his statement was Sosa was not capable of doing that. As far as players suing Canseco for writing lies, if what he wrote are lies, my wife is a partner in a law firm, and a litigator. She told me defamation suits are very difficult to win. Even if Canseco's claims are all lies, which I doubt, the legal ramifications are not as cut and dried as you would think.

You heard it here first. 2005 will be Dusty's last season with the Cubs, I don't even think he will finish the season. The expectations are so high, and that team is built like a house of cards. A couple of injuries (Prior, Wood ?) that linger could easily mean a freefall for that team. If Zambrano gets hurt, or any more of their prize pitchers, Dusty will be slammed about his handling of young pitchers through media leaks, and will be run out of town, just like Corky Juiceboy.

I think the Bears should sign Doug Flutie. He was waived by San Diego. I know he's old and probably sucks, but he's better than Hutchinson, is kind of fun to watch, and would be coming full circle in his NFL career.

Only one word to describe Doc Gooden: Loser. I don't know if Steinbrenner is still employing this asshole, if he is I hope he finally fires his punk ass.