Konerko's Farewell Tour

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

I'll be glad to see him get more ABs from here on out. For one reason or another I haven't been able to make it to the park for too many games this year, so I'd like to make up for lost time, and now that the objective of the remainder of 2014 is very clearly draft position, it works out beautifully. Even if he goes 4-4 with 3 HR every night, I have no doubt that the bulldairycowpen knows it's role by now and won't fail those in the front office tasked with preparing for a draft.

[greg775]

If he wants to manage long term, before the Sox hire him I'd prefer to see him take at least a year off to actually spend time with his family and take a break after a nearly 20 year career counting time in the minors. That way, at least he's had some time to think about whether he wants to get back into a locker room full time after a breather.

 

I would definitely like him to spend time as a coach somewhere before the Sox make him their manager. Even if its behind a novice.

Makes total sense. Probably would be best.

 

I'll be glad to see him get more ABs from here on out. For one reason or another I haven't been able to make it to the park for too many games this year, so I'd like to make up for lost time, and now that the objective of the remainder of 2014 is very clearly draft position, it works out beautifully. Even if he goes 4-4 with 3 HR every night, I have no doubt that the bulldairycowpen knows it's role by now and won't fail those in the front office tasked with preparing for a draft.

Good post, and funny, too. The pen is so bad it's good for draft position.

[ptatc]

By all accounts Wilkins will do the exact same. I was actually against the Konerko signing from day one, usually don't care for the nostalgic stuff. At this point though, if he's not blocking anyone important and Dunn doesn't need to be showcased, let him have a few last games in the lineup, maybe he'll have a special moment to remember.

He has never at an MLB at bat. There is no "by all accounts" They should never take a players with no MLB experience and make him a pinch hitter, if they think he has any talent.

[greg775]

Not to hijack the thread, but this is Dunn's farewell tour, too. I notice in the Wilkins thread, a lot of people still think some team is going to acquire Dunn for the stretch run. Looking at his splits and his stats, he also looks like a guy, just like Paulie, who is finished and I dispel any thought he'll be joining a contender.

Adam can't hit a lefty just like Paulie can't hit a righty and like Paulie, he can't run either. I think Dunn will retire after this season.

[ptatc]

Not to hijack the thread, but this is Dunn's farewell tour, too. I notice in the Wilkins thread, a lot of people still think some team is going to acquire Dunn for the stretch run. Looking at his splits and his stats, he also looks like a guy, just like Paulie, who is finished and I dispel any thought he'll be joining a contender.

Adam can't hit a lefty just like Paulie can't hit a righty and like Paulie, he can't run either. I think Dunn will retire after this season.

Dunn will play somewhere next year. Konerko will not.

[kitekrazy]

Giving PK more at bats will not harm this team.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Not to hijack the thread, but this is Dunn's farewell tour, too. I notice in the Wilkins thread, a lot of people still think some team is going to acquire Dunn for the stretch run. Looking at his splits and his stats, he also looks like a guy, just like Paulie, who is finished and I dispel any thought he'll be joining a contender.

Adam can't hit a lefty just like Paulie can't hit a righty and like Paulie, he can't run either. I think Dunn will retire after this season.

 

 

In 169 plate appearances, Paul Konerko has 7 walks and 5 homers. He has an OPS of .654 and an ops+ of 82.

 

In 386 plate appearances, Adam Dunn has 61 walks and 17 homers. He has an ops of .768 and an ops+ of 115.

 

Greg, stop embarrassing yourself and close the computer.

 

[greg775]

In 169 plate appearances, Paul Konerko has 7 walks and 5 homers. He has an OPS of .654 and an ops+ of 82.

 

In 386 plate appearances, Adam Dunn has 61 walks and 17 homers. He has an ops of .768 and an ops+ of 115.

 

Greg, stop embarrassing yourself and close the computer.

 

Insult aside, talk about Dunn vs lefties please. I truly think he of the whopping 44 RBI is on his farewell tour too

[Y2Jimmy0]

Insult aside, talk about Dunn vs lefties please. I truly think he of the whopping 44 RBI is on his farewell tour too

 

 

Dunn is bad against LHP. Here's my point though: Dunn is better against LHP than PK is against RHP. Konerko has 4 homers vs LHP all year. If you let Dunn hit against LHP all season, he'd have a lower batting average for sure but he'd definitely have more than 4 home runs. Konerko is offering nothing. Unless he is hitting for power he's useless because he's horrible on the bases.

[Dick Allen]

Dunn is bad against LHP. Here's my point though: Dunn is better against LHP than PK is against RHP. Konerko has 4 homers vs LHP all year. If you let Dunn hit against LHP all season, he'd have a lower batting average for sure but he'd definitely have more than 4 home runs. Konerko is offering nothing. Unless he is hitting for power he's useless because he's horrible on the bases.

The White Sox offense has been fine. Konerko on the roster probably cost Jordan Danks a spot, and he was horrible when he got a chance, so you really were not right. It won't cost the Sox a playoff appearance, their DHs have one of the best OPS in the league, and Paulie gets to go out on his terms. I really can't understand the disdain some White Sox fans have with Paul Konerko. Considering at least what on message boards is perceived to be a total embarrassment, he has never been one. A class act, a team all time great, and a guy who was a huge part of a WS. This is how he wanted to go out. I wonder how many years it will be until Chris Sale and Jose Abreu are persona non grata around here. Appreciate Paulie. He has done more for the White Sox than Andy Wilkins will do in his dreams, even if he does contribute some day. If you don't want to watch him, no one is forcing you.

[greg775]

The White Sox offense has been fine. Konerko on the roster probably cost Jordan Danks a spot, and he was horrible when he got a chance, so you really were not right. It won't cost the Sox a playoff appearance, their DHs have one of the best OPS in the league, and Paulie gets to go out on his terms. I really can't understand the disdain some White Sox fans have with Paul Konerko. Considering at least what on message boards is perceived to be a total embarrassment, he has never been one. A class act, a team all time great, and a guy who was a huge part of a WS. This is how he wanted to go out. I wonder how many years it will be until Chris Sale and Jose Abreu are persona non grata around here. Appreciate Paulie. He has done more for the White Sox than Andy Wilkins will do in his dreams, even if he does contribute some day. If you don't want to watch him, no one is forcing you.

 

Thank you Dick Allen! I've also sensed some message board disdain toward Paul Konerko. Frankly it sickens me. I love what you wrote about him in this post. I like your line "appreciate Paulie." I mean why the hell not appreciate him? He's gonna be here another six weeks. Savor him. People get mad when I bring this up, but folks, there is a damn good chance that one World Series will be the only one we get as Sox fans in our lifetimes. Baseball is just a weird sport and it's almost impossible to win a title if you have "Chicago" in your name. Paulie got one. Enjoy the last six weeks of Paulie for gosh sakes. Resist the tempation to blast him. Yes he's slow. So is Dunn. Yes he does the shoulder shrug. Until recently he was hovering close to .250. Not so bad in limited at bats.

He's been a damn fine pinch hitter as well. He's turned on some pitches in games I've watched and has actually hit some ropes, again in limited at bats.

Like Dick said, he's never been embarrassingly bad. I worship Pudge Fisk as well and at the end he couldn't see the ball and it was whizzing past him on various occasions at catcher.

Paulie forever!!

Edited August 9, 2014 by greg775

[ewokpelts]

I'm not one of his biggest fans, but he means a lot to the team, it's fans, and the owner. Let him play.

 

He was brought back to sell tickets and tshirts. This is essentially a gold watch and a pension for him.

As for his future, I suspect he'll go home and enjoy his retirement for a year or two, and then come back as a st instructor. I doubt he wants to manage.

[greg775]

I'm not one of his biggest fans, but he means a lot to the team, it's fans, and the owner. Let him play.

 

He was brought back to sell tickets and tshirts. This is essentially a gold watch and a pension for him.

As for his future, I suspect he'll go home and enjoy his retirement for a year or two, and then come back as a st instructor. I doubt he wants to manage.

 

Just curious. Why are you not one of his biggest fans? I sometimes don't get fan mentality. What more could Paulie have done in his career? He had a stretch of SEVERAL amazing seasons and in one of them the Sox won it all.

People have the right to like whoever they want. I just don't understand what Paulie has done for people to not be eternally happy about him. I guess he's so slow people think he's a stiff for some reason.

 

[Balta1701]

Just curious. Why are you not one of his biggest fans? I sometimes don't get fan mentality. What more could Paulie have done in his career? He had a stretch of SEVERAL amazing seasons and in one of them the Sox won it all.

People have the right to like whoever they want. I just don't understand what Paulie has done for people to not be eternally happy about him. I guess he's so slow people think he's a stiff for some reason.

He has been incredibly disappointing for the past 2.5 seasons, literally costing the team a chance at a playoff birth in the first of those, while being paid well over $20 million for the privilege of being really bad over that time period.

[ptatc]

He has been incredibly disappointing for the past 2.5 seasons, literally costing the team a chance at a playoff birth in the first of those, while being paid well over $20 million for the privilege of being really bad over that time period.

That makes you not a fan of him and his career. It happens to almost all players in their twilight years. His entire career as a White Sox player with all the good he has done means nothing?

[Balta1701]

That makes you not a fan of him and his career. It happens to almost all players in their twilight years. His entire career as a White Sox player with all the good he has done means nothing?

Why can't there be an in-between ground between lionizing him as a veritable deity like one particular poster in this thread and "not being a fan of him and his career"?

 

He shouldn't be on this team this year and he's been in the way for the last 2.5 years. As much as anyone, his falling apart with the bat in 2012 was absolutely key to that team missing the playoffs, and he's been paid a lot for the privilege. He had a couple rough years early in his career, had a great peak, was a key to both the 05 and 08 playoff runs, but in hindsight the White Sox would have been better off not signing him to either of his last 2 contracts.

[ptatc]

Why can't there be an in-between ground between lionizing him as a veritable deity like one particular poster in this thread and "not being a fan of him and his career"?

 

He shouldn't be on this team this year and he's been in the way for the last 2.5 years. As much as anyone, his falling apart with the bat in 2012 was absolutely key to that team missing the playoffs, and he's been paid a lot for the privilege. He had a couple rough years early in his career, had a great peak, was a key to both the 05 and 08 playoff runs, but in hindsight the White Sox would have been better off not signing him to either of his last 2 contracts.

I thought the question was if you you a fan of his not whether he was the best player in baseball?. I thought that was a middle ground. Has he been bad lately, yes. Am I still a fan of his because of his career, yes.

[Balta1701]

I thought the question was if you you a fan of his not whether he was the best player in baseball?. I thought that was a middle ground. Has he been bad lately, yes. Am I still a fan of his because of his career, yes.

The specific post I replied to asked "why would you not be one of his biggest fans" and included the sentence "I just don't understand what Paulie has done for people to not be eternally happy about him".

 

I think that responding negatively to that is perfectly fair as that's pretty far from any reasonable middle ground.

[caulfield12]

What's next, we will bring back Juan Uribe and Neal Cotts?

 

There's a big difference between APPRECIATING everything Konerko has done for the team and Reinsdorf and simultaneously having a plan or goal to compete in 2015 and beyond.

 

Now that's not going to be hurt by Konerko's presence, UNLESS there's someone in the front office who believes Andy Wilkins could be a full-time DH next season, and not platooned against LHP.

 

However, they'll never know what Wilkins can even do against RHP if they don't figure out some way to get Dunn off the roster (along with Beckham and DeAza).

 

 

I'm not going to go as far as pointing to him specifically as THE reason we lost in 2012....it was a combination of Ventura's managerial inexperience, the team just wearing down (Sale and Quintana), injuries and MOSTLY the fact that very few believed they were actually better than the Tigers, so I'll just say it was 25% the White Sox choking and 75% the more-talented Tigers just prevailing in big games when it really counted.

[Balta1701]

What's next, we will bring back Juan Uribe and Neal Cotts?

 

There's a big difference between APPRECIATING everything Konerko has done for the team and Reinsdorf and simultaneously having a plan or goal to compete in 2015 and beyond.

 

Now that's not going to be hurt by Konerko's presence, UNLESS there's someone in the front office who believes Andy Wilkins could be a full-time DH next season, and not platooned against LHP.

 

However, they'll never know what Wilkins can even do against RHP if they don't figure out some way to get Dunn off the roster (along with Beckham and DeAza).

 

 

I'm not going to go as far as pointing to him specifically as THE reason we lost in 2012....it was a combination of Ventura's managerial inexperience, the team just wearing down (Sale and Quintana), injuries and MOSTLY the fact that very few believed they were actually better than the Tigers, so I'll just say it was 25% the White Sox choking and 75% the more-talented Tigers just prevailing in big games when it really counted.

The fact that right now they have not moved Dunn and given Wilkins an opportunity is for me right now generating frustration roughly equal to that generated by Konerko being on the roster

[greg775]

Why can't there be an in-between ground between lionizing him as a veritable deity like one particular poster in this thread and "not being a fan of him and his career"?

 

He shouldn't be on this team this year and he's been in the way for the last 2.5 years. As much as anyone, his falling apart with the bat in 2012 was absolutely key to that team missing the playoffs, and he's been paid a lot for the privilege. He had a couple rough years early in his career, had a great peak, was a key to both the 05 and 08 playoff runs, but in hindsight the White Sox would have been better off not signing him to either of his last 2 contracts.

 

Wow, tough grader.

Bad for 2.5 years? Are you counting this year? This year he's not being given a fair chance. He's actually still a decent player in my book. He's still the best at scooping throws. Until the last 20 or so at bats was around .250. I won't go on my diatribe about Mr. 44 RBI Adam Dunn, but Paul Konerko is the LEAST of the Sox problems the past several years IMO.

I can't understand why Sox fans aren't showing him total love like Yankee fans with Jeter. This guy won us a world series. Let me ask you. What do you think the odds are of the Sox ever winning another one in your lifetime? I'd say the odds are about 50-1. Jerry isn't going to win another one. It will be a matter of who gets the team and if it's Jerry's relative, the odds remain at best 50-1 in your lifetime IMO. If it's somebody like Cuban with money money money the odds will improve. Thank u Paul Konerko!

Edited August 10, 2014 by greg775

[ptatc]

The specific post I replied to asked "why would you not be one of his biggest fans" and included the sentence "I just don't understand what Paulie has done for people to not be eternally happy about him".

 

I think that responding negatively to that is perfectly fair as that's pretty far from any reasonable middle ground.

Ok, I still disagree. Usually the saying I'm not one of his biggest fans means you aren't a fan of his. You should also be happy with his career here. Was it all great, no. But few careers are. The whole of his career should have any White Sox fan, happy he was here and should be a fan of his.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Wow, tough grader.

Bad for 2.5 years? Are you counting this year? This year he's not being given a fair chance. He's actually still a decent player in my book. He's still the best at scooping throws. Until the last 20 or so at bats was around .250. I won't go on my diatribe about Mr. 44 RBI Adam Dunn, but Paul Konerko is the LEAST of the Sox problems the past several years IMO.

I can't understand why Sox fans aren't showing him total love like Yankee fans with Jeter. This guy won us a world series. Let me ask you. What do you think the odds are of the Sox ever winning another one in your lifetime? I'd say the odds are about 50-1. Jerry isn't going to win another one. It will be a matter of who gets the team and if it's Jerry's relative, the odds remain at best 50-1 in your lifetime IMO. If it's somebody like Cuban with money money money the odds will improve. Thank u Paul Konerko!

 

 

I have no reply to this because I will get suspended and I enjoy this site quite a bit

[ewokpelts]

Just curious. Why are you not one of his biggest fans? I sometimes don't get fan mentality. What more could Paulie have done in his career? He had a stretch of SEVERAL amazing seasons and in one of them the Sox won it all.

People have the right to like whoever they want. I just don't understand what Paulie has done for people to not be eternally happy about him. I guess he's so slow people think he's a stiff for some reason.

1. His comments and attitude over the years.

 

2. He was a ken Williams guy. And the reason that frank was ultimately pushed into a DH role.

 

3. Since he was a KW guy, he never lost his spot in the lineup in his atrocious 2003 season, despite the fact that frank was killing at 1b in inter league play that year.

 

4. He is beloved more for what he is/represents versus his actual accomplishments. The average sox fan is less critical of a bonerko than of a frank thomas.

 

5. He is the DP KING. He found amazing ways to hit into double plays. ALL THE TIME.

[greg775]

1. His comments and attitude over the years.

Ewo: Are you serious? I don't think of Paulie as being controversial at all. He's as bland in interviews as they come. What the heck are u referring to?

 

2. He was a ken Williams guy. And the reason that frank was ultimately pushed into a DH role.

I'm not a Williams guy, but KW was the GM who got us fans the elusive WS title.

 

3. Since he was a KW guy, he never lost his spot in the lineup in his atrocious 2003 season, despite the fact that frank was killing at 1b in inter league play that year.

I guess your argument here is reasonable.

 

4. He is beloved more for what he is/represents versus his actual accomplishments. The average sox fan is less critical of a bonerko than of a frank thomas.

No. You are wrong. He had great great accomplishments offensively and digging throws at first! And I love Frank Thomas and most Sox fans (all Sox fans?) do as well.

 

5. He is the DP KING. He found amazing ways to hit into double plays. ALL THE TIME.

So what. He was extremely productive in the meat of our order.

 

I added responses in the upper portion of the quote. Hope it's not annoying.