Opening Day Starter

[Reddy]

This 100%. Every game matters and stupid little decisions add up and by the end of the season they can be the difference between making the playoffs. I don't care if our chances of competing are slim, you do everything you can to maximize production from day 1 and that means playing Dunn against RHP as often as possible.

I truly don't get this mindset to be honest.

 

One game makes nearly zero difference when it comes to a 75-80 win team. And do you guys truly think the odds Paulie will produce worse than Dunn on this ONE day are so EXTREMELY high as to warrant him sitting on the bench his last opening day of his career? Psh y'all crazy.

[LittleHurt05]

Remember when the Sox re-signed Konerko to just be a part time player? Now spring training has barely started and finding him playing time is already a big topic of discussion.

[Chicago White Sox]

I truly don't get this mindset to be honest.

 

One game makes nearly zero difference when it comes to a 75-80 win team. And do you guys truly think the odds Paulie will produce worse than Dunn on this ONE day are so EXTREMELY high as to warrant him sitting on the bench his last opening day of his career? Psh y'all crazy.

This may very well be a 75 to 80 win team but we don't know that yet. You give it everything you got until you know for sure because every single game matters in the end. I actually find it crazy that you'd rather give Paulie an opening day start than throw out the lineup with the best chance of actually winning the game for us.

[greg775]

I'd start Paulie or at least base it on, believe it or not, the performances of those 3 guys (Dunn, Paulie, Abreu) in spring training. There's no way the Sox should have Abreu, Dunn and Paulie all on the same team. I still say there's no scientific proof Paulie is going to be horses*** this year. I mean, what if he's healthy? We never get the true story on his health so he may still be banged up for all we know, but what if he's healthy? How do you know he won't have a Jeter-like comeback? There should be some hints in spring training if he's finished or not. If he blasts 5-10 ST homers what will you all say then??

 

It's stupid the Sox put themselves in this position. Dunn, Abreu and Paulie on the same team is a recipe for disaster. My preference of course would have been to dump Dunn somehow, someway.

 

And before somebody says I'm trolling, I'm not the one who started this thread. Anybody who takes a positive Paulie stance is going to get reamed by the majority of people on this board.

[2nd_city_saint787]

I'd start Paulie or at least base it on, believe it or not, the performances of those 3 guys (Dunn, Paulie, Abreu) in spring training. There's no way the Sox should have Abreu, Dunn and Paulie all on the same team. I still say there's no scientific proof Paulie is going to be horses*** this year. I mean, what if he's healthy? We never get the true story on his health so he may still be banged up for all we know, but what if he's healthy? How do you know he won't have a Jeter-like comeback? There should be some hints in spring training if he's finished or not. If he blasts 5-10 ST homers what will you all say then??

 

It's stupid the Sox put themselves in this position. Dunn, Abreu and Paulie on the same team is a recipe for disaster. My preference of course would have been to dump Dunn somehow, someway.

 

And before somebody says I'm trolling, I'm not the one who started this thread. Anybody who takes a positive Paulie stance is going to get reamed by the majority of people on this board.

 

Paulie himself said he didn't wanna be a full time player. Perhaps you take that as him just "blowing smoke" but PK has always been a straight shooter so I don't see that way.

 

 

[GreatScott82]

The best case scenario for the White Sox and Konerko this year would be for Dunn to have a monster April and May. If Dunn can increase his trade value by then, we can possibly deal him to a contender by mid to late June. I'm all for giving Dunn as many ABs in April and May. I'm not too concerned about giving Konerko adequate ABs in the first half as I do believe he will finish the year as the sole full time DH. Another possibility is an injury to another team's 1B or DH. This will open the door for a potential Dunn deal as well. I'm calling it now, Dunn will be dealt by July 31st. This will definitely make all the romantic white sox fans happy as it means more Pauly in his final season.

[nitetrain8601]

The best case scenario for the White Sox and Konerko this year would be for Dunn to have a monster April and May. If Dunn can increase his trade value by then, we can possibly deal him to a contender by mid to late June. I'm all for giving Dunn as many ABs in April and May. I'm not too concerned about giving Konerko adequate ABs in the first half as I do believe he will finish the year as the sole full time DH. Another possibility is an injury to another team's 1B or DH. This will open the door for a potential Dunn deal as well. I'm calling it now, Dunn will be dealt by July 31st. This will definitely make all the romantic white sox fans happy as it means more Pauly in his final season.

 

If Dunn is having a monster first two months, then this team is a contender. At that point, it wouldn't be smart to trade him. Also, count me in for starting the best opening day lineup, not the most sentimental one. Don't put one guy above the team. Until this team is out of it, I don't want to start Paul just because it's his last opening day or it's his final game in Kansas City or Tampa or whereever the hell else.

[Balta1701]

If Dunn is having a monster first two months, then this team is a contender. At that point, it wouldn't be smart to trade him. Also, count me in for starting the best opening day lineup, not the most sentimental one. Don't put one guy above the team. Until this team is out of it, I don't want to start Paul just because it's his last opening day or it's his final game in Kansas City or Tampa or whereever the hell else.

IMO, Adam Dunn putting up a .950 OPS the first 2 months on its own isn't nearly enough to turn this into a competitive team. If he, Abreu, Garcia, Eaton, and perhaps a few other guys all get off to good starts, and their defense isn't as awful as last year...ok, then perhaps. Adam Dunn putting up an 1.100 OPS last year doesn't keep them above water the first couple months with everything else that happened.

[GreenSox]

This team will be a contender if Garcia and Abreu hit like all stars, and Danks pitches like a #3 and Eaton gets on base at a .350+ clip.

I hope Dunn gets off to the start suggested above...regardless of where we are in the standings, he should be dealt preferably for low minors prospects with good upsides (we'll never get a top near ML ready prospect for him, so I'll go with low minors with potential).

Edited February 22, 2014 by GreenSox

[BlackSox13]

Start Abeu at 1B with Dunn at dh against Nolasco, paulie has plenty of time for saying goodbye throughout the season.

[southsider2k5]

Remember when the Sox re-signed Konerko to just be a part time player? Now spring training has barely started and finding him playing time is already a big topic of discussion.

 

That really isn't what this discussion is about.

[Y2Jimmy0]

I can't go to Opening Day because of work. If they start PK at 1B, I'll be glad that I wasn't there. Nolasco is starting. It should be Abreu and Dunn vs the RHP.

[Heads22]

If we get to a point where one game makes a difference in the season and it's because PK started Opening Day - I don't think anyone will look back at the end of the season and say "if only we hadn't started Paulie"

[Reddy]

If we get to a point where one game makes a difference in the season and it's because PK started Opening Day - I don't think anyone will look back at the end of the season and say "if only we hadn't started Paulie"

exactly. this is what confuses me about the whole thing.

[LittleHurt05]

That really isn't what this discussion is about.

 

No, not exactly, but if you combine this with the Dunn getting starts in the outfield thread, there's still a lot of talk about finding playing time for a guy who was very content with only being a part-time player.

 

 

[Heads22]

I don't think anyone advocating starting PK on Opening Day is advocating increased playing time along with it....(maybe greg).....it's letting a dude that helped bring us our first World Series since 1917 and a dude that's been here since 1999 - one of the very best White Sox in team history, start his final Opening Day.

 

I understand that some people would like to get rid of all sentiment sometimes, but dear Lord, even if he doesn't want to do it, he should be trotting out there for one last Opening Day.

[Chicago White Sox]

If we get to a point where one game makes a difference in the season and it's because PK started Opening Day - I don't think anyone will look back at the end of the season and say "if only we hadn't started Paulie"

Why does it matter if we the fans isolate that moment as the reason for missing out on the playoffs? The fact would be that we missed out on the playoffs by one game and that any one of the stupid decisions we made along the way could have been the difference. I'm actually shocked that this many people are against optimizing our chances of winning. And before anyone else says "it's just one game, who cares", with the addition of the second wild card, one game is going to make or break a lot more seasons going forward. I'm sure Texas Ranger fans have a long list of items that could have made the difference for them last year.

[Heads22]

Why does it matter if we the fans isolate that moment as the reason for missing out on the playoffs? The fact would be that we missed out on the playoffs by one game and that any one of the stupid decisions we made along the way could have been the difference. I'm actually shocked that this many people are against optimizing our chances of winning. And before anyone else says "it's just one game, who cares", with the addition of the second wild card, one game is going to make or break a lot more seasons going forward. I'm sure Texas Ranger fans have a long list of items that could have made the difference for them last year.

 

It's 10% of our starting lineup for one game. This is absolutely not anything to get worked up about.

[Jerksticks]

I don't think anyone advocating starting PK on Opening Day is advocating increased playing time along with it....(maybe greg).....it's letting a dude that helped bring us our first World Series since 1917 and a dude that's been here since 1999 - one of the very best White Sox in team history, start his final Opening Day.

 

I understand that some people would like to get rid of all sentiment sometimes, but dear Lord, even if he doesn't want to do it, he should be trotting out there for one last Opening Day.

 

Absolutely. Respect.

[Chicago White Sox]

It's 10% of our starting lineup for one game. This is absolutely not anything to get worked up about.

And an Adam Dunn HR could be 100% our offense on any given day. Until we're legitimately out of the race, his left-handed bat needs to be in the lineup everyday against RHP. Konerko will get plenty of opportunities against LHP, where he can actually provide some value, he doesn't need a token start on opening day. Honestly, if you want to appease the fans, have an on-field ceremony for him before the game. Just don't let the sentiment affect your decision-making and start him over Dunn. As long as the primary goal is winning games, then lineup decisions should always be about maximizing production.

[southsider2k5]

No, not exactly, but if you combine this with the Dunn getting starts in the outfield thread, there's still a lot of talk about finding playing time for a guy who was very content with only being a part-time player.

 

It isn't about getting Dunn starts. It is about getting him value to the other half of baseball. There isn't a doubt in my mind about it.

 

[southsider2k5]

I don't think anyone advocating starting PK on Opening Day is advocating increased playing time along with it....(maybe greg).....it's letting a dude that helped bring us our first World Series since 1917 and a dude that's been here since 1999 - one of the very best White Sox in team history, start his final Opening Day.

 

I understand that some people would like to get rid of all sentiment sometimes, but dear Lord, even if he doesn't want to do it, he should be trotting out there for one last Opening Day.

 

 

This. Totally this.

 

Enjoy the game, and what is means to you. While winning is nice, there is a lot more the the game that you miss if you only are worried about the box scores.

[southsider2k5]

Why does it matter if we the fans isolate that moment as the reason for missing out on the playoffs? The fact would be that we missed out on the playoffs by one game and that any one of the stupid decisions we made along the way could have been the difference. I'm actually shocked that this many people are against optimizing our chances of winning. And before anyone else says "it's just one game, who cares", with the addition of the second wild card, one game is going to make or break a lot more seasons going forward. I'm sure Texas Ranger fans have a long list of items that could have made the difference for them last year.

 

If Sox fan's are that obsessed with winning, they are missing the entire point of sports.