winninguglyin83 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Here is the take from Baseball America on the Uribe for Miles Swap: White Sox, Rockies swap infielders By Jim Callis December 2, 2003 The Rockies once considered Juan Uribe their long-term shortstop, but on Tuesday they decided they'd rather go in a different direction. Colorado traded him to the White Sox for veteran minor leaguer Aaron Miles. Uribe, 24, has Gold Glove skills at shortstop but has yet to prove he can hit major league pitching. He batted .253/.297/.427 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs in 87 games this season, missing the first two months with a stress fracture in his right foot. He does have some pop—though that was enhanced by Coors Field—but he has poor plate discipline and a less-than-smooth swing. Uribe, who made $300,000 in 2003 and won't be eligible for arbitration until after 2004, is a career .258/.298/.408 hitter (.227/.271/.345 away from Coors) with 24 homers and 135 RBIs in 314 games. Chicago may use him as a regular second baseman or utilityman in 2004, and views him as the possible successor to Jose Valentin at shortstop. Miles, 26, signed with the Astros as a 19th-round pick in 1995 out of a California high school and joined the White Sox via the 2000 Triple-A Rule 5 draft. He's the opposite of Uribe: a proven hitter with questionable defensive skills. He was the Double-A Southern League MVP and batting champion (.322) in 2002, and followed up by batting .304/.351/.445 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs in 133 games at Triple-A Charlotte. He also got his first big league callup in September, going 4-for-12 with three doubles in eight games. Though managers rated him the best defensive second baseman in the International League this year, he doesn't have much range at second base. Copyright 2003 Baseball America. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Site Map | FAQ/Troubleshooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I reiterate: a. Uribe can hit lefties just fine, evidenced by the 800 OPS last year. His Gold Glove defense at 2B + speed + bunting will partially offset Tony G's bat. However, we still have to remember Graff only excelled against lefties in the last couple of seasons, and his career OPS is something like 700 against them. He was by no means a sure thing in 2004 in that respect. b. When will people realize Uribe's 1.5 seasons in 2001-02 we the f***ing learning curve? Crede had the luxury of coming into the league at 24 and still struggled mightily for half of 2003. Uribe can just as easily experience a Junior Spivey-type breakthrough in 2004. And even if he doesn't, at his price, he is a fine platoon player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Starting 2B? I would think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Starting 2B? I would think so Did I start he would start? That's why we have Willie Harris to hit against righties if Uriba doesn't have a break-through in that department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Did I start he would start? That's why we have Willie Harris to hit against righties if Uriba doesn't have a break-through in that department. What??? I didn't read most of the posts in this thread, that's why I only wrote that. Too much crap to flip through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I reiterate: a. Uribe can hit lefties just fine, evidenced by the 800 OPS last year. His Gold Glove defense at 2B + speed + bunting will partially offset Tony G's bat. However, we still have to remember Graff only excelled against lefties in the last couple of seasons, and his career OPS is something like 700 against them. He was by no means a sure thing in 2004 in that respect. b. When will people realize Uribe's 1.5 seasons in 2001-02 we the f***ing learning curve? Crede had the luxury of coming into the league at 24 and still struggled mightily for half of 2003. Uribe can just as easily experience a Junior Spivey-type breakthrough in 2004. And even if he doesn't, at his price, he is a fine platoon player. Great post Brando. This guy has had two partial seasons and one full season in the show right now. At 21 over half a season he hit .300. THats pretty freaking impressive. I see no reason to give up on him. The Rocks aren't exactly sucess stories when it comes to raising their own prospects. Lets see what the Sox coaches can do with him and one thing Ozzie will be good at is relating to him and hopefully Ozzie doesn't give him any ideas on how to take a walk..leave that to Walker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winninguglyin83 Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 As I said earlier, I gotta believe Ozzie endorsed this one after watching the kid play in the National League Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 This is definitely a good gamble on KW's part. Uribe's upside is much greater than Miles. I think Miles will have some success and Uribe may just flop though. Miles will get a shot, and as of right now a good shot, at being the Rox starting 2B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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