Lillian

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 7, 2013 -> 06:14 PM) Apparently you have never heard of the great Pete Kozma You mean the same Pete Kozma who has produced an OBP of .287 over his last 845 at bats in the Pacific Coast League?

The scouting report on Sanchez is that he is very good at short or second. That skill translates immediately, and won't take time to develop, as hitting does. He is supposedly very good at handling the bat, and I'm still not convinced that he couldn't be an effective number 2 hitter, even now. You have to be impressed with this article: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=2...;vkey=news_milb Anytime you start comparing a player to Roberto Alomar, I'm sold!!!

I agree that the Sox should be not simply be dumping the contract, but looking for something worthwhile in return. My suggestion was one of the Cardinal's many RHP.

The point that Sanchez is too young to be brought up is well taken. I hope that he demonstrates the same skills at AAA, and affords the Sox an opportunity to trade Alexei in the off season. I just don't think that Ramirez is a $10 million player. The Cardinals may be looking for a SS to replace Furcal next year as well, as his contract is expiring, and they still have a plethora of RHP, something the Sox minor leagues lacks. Floyd will likely be gone after the end of the season, if not sooner, and the starting staff is unusually weighted with lefties. I'm not sure any right hander in the minors projects to be an effective starter.

The point that Sanchez is too young to be brought up is well taken. I hope that he demonstrates the same skills at AAA, and affords the Sox an opportunity to trade Alexei in the off season. I just don't think that Ramirez is a $10 million player. The Cardinals may be looking for a SS to replace Furcal next year as well, as his contract is expiring, and they still have a plethora of RHP, something the Sox minor leagues lacks. Floyd will likely be gone after the end of the season, if not sooner, and the starting staff is unusually weighted with lefties. I'm not sure any right hander in the minors projects to be an effective starter.

QUOTE (southside_hitman @ Mar 7, 2013 -> 05:03 PM) Yes, you are wrong. 8-1 Sox over Cubs in the 9th! I wish I had your confidence.

There is still $26.5 million remaining on Alexei's 3 year contract, and his play last season was not close to that value. He's getting pretty old to expect much improvement, but I hope that I'm wrong. A big intangible in Sanchez' favor is that he is an ideal #2 hitter, something the Sox lack. Keppinger is currently slotted there, but that is not where he batted last year, in his best offensive season. By contrast, Alexei is not capable of hitting in the two hole, and doesn't really profile especially good in any spot in the lineup.

Let's just hope that Alexei can improve on his OBP. I understand that he was dealing with a very sore wrist after the collision with de Aza, but how does that explain taking just 16 walks, and having an OBP of .287?

I just really like Sanchez and would like to see him get a shot. I know that he's very young, but the scouting reports say that he can play.

The Cardinals need a replacement for the injured Furcal, who will miss the entire season, in the last year of his contract. Alexei Ramirez has a fairly expensive contract, and the Sox have Carlos Sanchez as a possible replacement. 10 of the Cardinals top 15 prospects are RHP. If the Sox could land one of the better ones, in exchange for Ramirez, and clear some salary for a potential signing of a big left handed bat(Grady Sizemore in June), would that make sense?

Is there any TV coverage? There isn't any on MLB.COM

Personalities are great, and fun for the fans, but I remember that Swisher sometimes made me cringe, as a fan. The blow up doll, the shaving cream pies, Captain Morgan poses with Cabrera, the elaborate High Fives, the looking up in the sky for "Granny," and that whole "Mr. Cool" personna, he always seemed to be portraying, was just a bit too much. I can imagine how it would have been even worse in the clubhouse. We probably never saw half of it. Everyone has their own perception of such things, but for me personally, he was too much, and impressed me as being "Bush League".

Yes, I acknowledged that Sizemore is not expected to be ready to play until around June. I also stated, in an earlier post, that since the Sox don't play the Tigers until just before the All Star break, they might be able to wait for him. The point of this latest post was to simply refer to the article which reaffirms the fact that the Sox still need another, middle of the order, left handed bat. When players are openly discussing it, it is at the least, a perceived short coming. They may qualify their remarks, and offer rationalizations, but it is obviously on their minds, and well it should be. The article states precisely what I have been arguing; That the Tigers, as well as the rest of the Central Division, have a lot of tough right handed pitchers.

Apparently, even a few of the Sox players are as concerned about the lack of left handed hitters on their roster, as some of us are: http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...ws&c_id=cws Sizemore could really help.

Since the Sox don't play the Tigers until just before the All Star break, perhaps they could wait until then to find that left handed, middle of the order bat. Sizemore would be ideal, if he were anywhere near as productive as he was when he was in his mid twenties. He was especially good against RHP. Voila!!!

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jan 31, 2013 -> 02:18 PM) They competed last year with Viciedo not hitting RHP. Wanting to compete does not necessitate abandoning all young players who have weaknesses. Not on this team, and not on any other. You know, if this roster had more good hitters, it would be a lot easier to hide Viciedo's production vs. RHP. Unfortunately, they don't. I think that the sox have to start somewhere, and getting that left handed bat is as good a place as any. So then, the question is; whom would that left handed bat replace? There is no room anywhere else, is there? He wouldn't replace Konerko, and we couldn't replace Dunn, because no one would take him, Rios is one of the bright spots, centerfield in not a likely place to look for an impact left handed bat, and left handed hitting third basemen are rare. So, it comes down to LF. Another good thing about my scenario is that you could still keep and play Viciedo, and let him learn to hit RHP, little by little. I suggested that he could get some experience spelling Konerko ocassionally. Of course, some on this site seem perfectly willing to go into the season with the roster just the way it is. I just don't think that his offense can compete with Detroit, and I don't expect them to fair much better against the Tigers in head to head competitition than they did last season. So, I'm dreaming about solutions, OK?

This all goes back to the basic question; "Is this team interested in trying to compete for the Central Division crown this season?" If they are, then they better not rely on Viciedo suddently learning to hit RHP. Moreover, they better not try to beat the Tigers RH pitchers with the current lineup. I don't care if they decide to rebuild, but I wonder why they resigned Peavy, if that is the plan.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Jan 31, 2013 -> 12:10 PM) Viciedo's line against RHP two years ago in Charlotte was .305/.357/.501 in 373 PAs. Better than he hit against LHP that season. He's not going to be as bad against RHP as his major league split suggests. Yes, but at the Big League level, pitchers have discovered that he can't lay off the hard breaking balls away. I'm not saying that he can't make the adjustment, but so far it is clear that he has not. He's a monster vs. LHP, where that pitch is not a factor.

As good as Ethier is vs. RHP, he is that bad vs. LHP. He's awful, like 100 points lower batting average. It's an openly stated, big concern of the Dodgers. I understand that they are rumored to be interested in moving him, and his contract, in order to acquire a true center fielder, who could lead off. If they could find a taker for Ethier, they apparently would like to sign Bourn, as I mentioned. I just don't understand what is wrong with maximizing the talents of two players, given the right price, if you can have them put up combined numbers like the ones they accomplished last season, from a hypothetical platoon. We aren't just talking about decent numbers. We're talking about the best offensive numbers that this current roster could be expected to get from any of the existing players. Who on this roster is going to hit .331 with a approximate .400 OBP, and still provide respectable Slugging numbers? The answer is no one. That platoon instantly becomes our #3 hitter, while adding that badly needed left handed bat vs. RHP. You can say that it is unrealistic to think that the Dodgers would make the trade, or that the Sox would spend the money. But I am not convinced that it wouldn't be a good idea, if they could pull it off. If Viciedo could get enough at bats vs. RHP, while spelling Konerko, he could demonstrate his ability to hit righties, and eventually become a full time player. With both Dunn and Konerko likely gone in the next couple of years, Viciedo would have a spot on the roster. But who in the meantime thinks that he is going to be good enough vs. RHP, to bat in the middle of the order? You have to think about the "3 year board". This organization does not have a single impact left handed bat anywhere on that horizon. The first candidate would be Keo Barnum, and he just finished high school. Ethier could be a solid offensive contributor, from the left side for almost all 5 remaining years of his contract. Dunn will hopefully be gone after next season, and the Sox will likely be looking for at least one more left handed bat to replace him. Ethier would have significant value to this team for the next several seasons.

I appreciate all of your comments on this subject, but what about the basic question of acquiring the LH bat, and the fact that Ethier is terrible vs. LHP? This suggestion of platooning Viciedo and Ethier is not just a matter of getting Viciedo's bat out of the lineup vs. RHP.

Look, we can assume that Viciedo will soon learn to hit RH pitching, and that may be. However, Ethier is a case in point. He still hasn't learned to hit LH pitching, and he's a 31 year old veteran. I just think that this is a viable solution to a glaring offensive deficiency on the Sox roster. You platoon two corner outfielders, maximizing their strengths, you get the left handed presence you need, you fill the hole in the middle of the lineup, and you do so without having to give up anyone whose absence would create another hole. Again, the key would be to move some salary, and Thornton is the best candidate for that. I think that Veal would be a great LOOGY, and the Sox certainly have plenty of LH arms. Didn't the Dodgers express interest in acqiring a LH reliever?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 31, 2013 -> 07:11 AM) pretty sure Hahn already stated that Viciedo will not be platooning under any circumstances Well, maybe he ought to rethink that. Here are Viciedo's stats versus RHP last year: AVG .225 OBP .271 SLG .380

To those who might reject this idea out of hand, take a closer look. If you acknowledge that the Sox need a higher OBP, a left handed middle of the order bat, and that there are few options available, then consider that they could accomplish all of those goals, and perhaps do so without giving up anything off the MLB roster, which they can not really afford to do, with the exception of trading Thornton If the Dodgers took Thornton, and his $5.5 million 2013 salary, plus that $1 million buy out at the end of the season, it might make Ethier's salary affordable Ethier's contract is still the biggest question, regarding this suggestion. I think it may be worth it, but that is arguable, of course.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 31, 2013 -> 06:24 AM) That would be one expensive platoon. Yes, you're right, and I acknowledged that. However, he might be available without having to give up anything off the roster. The Dodgers would like to acquire Bourn to play CF, and they have Alex Castellanos waiting in the wings. Here are the combined 2012 stats of an Ethier/Viciedo platoon: AVG .331 OBP .396 35 doubles 25 homers 83 RBI's in 458 total at bats. That production might be worth the combined salaries of those two players. We don't have a player on the roster who came anywhere close to those numbers. You could simply plug in those numbers in the #3 hole and you have a pretty potent offense. Here's the lineup: De Aza Keppinger Ethier/Viciedo Konerko Dunn Rios Ramirez Flowers Beckham Viciedo is young enough that it wouldn't hurt him to platoon for a couple of seasons. Moreover, he could probably get some at bats spelling Konerko occasionally. Paulie will likely need some rest. That would give Viciedo a few at bats versus RHP.

This article suggests that Ethier might be available: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/art..._la&c_id=la I don't know what it would take, and that contract is pretty expensive, but he is the kind of left handed #3 hitter who could really help versus RHP. His split stats are among the most dramatically different of all the good hitters in the game. He really hits RHP well, and is terrible vs. LHP. If Viciedo were not traded, he would make a great platoon with Ethier in LF. I suggested that once, some time ago, in another thread.