Gene Honda Civic Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Somebody was gonna post it, So I figured it might as well be me.... http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...tesox-headlines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Might as well. Anyway. It sounds like Borchard's close to stepping off the Sox plank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Tizzle Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 (edited) Borchard putting together a quality spring is the best Williams can hope for. Give him some value; perhaps some team will believe his potential can be harnessed in a new environment. Sure as hell can't identify any other selling points besides isolated, Bunyonesque power. Any rate, I'm glad he's out of the picture. No more talk about "making judgements with a small sample size," or insisting Jo-Bo can breakthrough because "[insert Player] wasn't great for [insert Years] either." Edited February 25, 2005 by Flash Tizzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan4life_2007 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Can somebody paste the article? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFanForever Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 TUCSON, Ariz. -- It would be easier for everyone in the Sox organization and for those who know Joe Borchard if he was just a jerk. His yearly struggles to establish himself as a major-leaguer wouldn't be so painful to witness if he was rude or acted as though he was entitled to a roster spot because he was a first-round draft pick who signed for a team-record bonus Because of this, he is going to make this spring—like past springs—difficult to watch. The odds of Borchard making the Sox are slim. Borchard knows it and general manager Ken Williams confirmed it Thursday. "The odds are stacked against him right now to make the club, and I think that's not a secret to anyone here," Williams said. "We tried to come into camp with as few question marks as possible." With Scott Podsednik, Aaron Rowand and Jermaine Dye as the starters and Timo Perez the main backup—plus the options of Willie Harris and Ross Gload—there doesn't seem to be much room for Borchard on the 25-man roster. "You just look at the overall numbers, it doesn't look good," Borchard said. "But if I come in here and do what I'm capable of, that could open a few eyes and at least make it interesting." That's about the best Borchard can hope for, to make the decision to option him back to Triple-A Charlotte difficult or to catch the attention of other teams that may be interested in trading for him. About the only question left regarding Borchard is whether he has a future in Chicago and whether it might be best for him to get a fresh start somewhere else, where he won't be the draft pick in 2000 who received a still-record $5.3 million bonus. "I haven't really thought about that a whole lot," Borchard said. "The beauty is I'm not the manager or the general manager so I really don't have to think about that too much. I just have to focus on what I'm doing on the field." Williams, like Borchard a former football player at Stanford, still sees a future in Chicago for Borchard—if he can put expectations of others behind him and just have fun. "I'm really understanding with regards to his predicament, any first-round or highly-touted-type guy," Williams said. "You feel like you let people down. He just needs to release all that and go out and have fun and play." Williams conceded Borchard may not be able to release all those expectations and remove the signing-bonus albatross as long as he stays in the Sox organization, but he hopes he can. "He has immense talent," Williams said. "He's a guy who can be a plus-type player and personally, I'd like to see it come together here." Borchard had a golden opportunity presented to him last season when Magglio Ordonez went down with his knee injury. He had a chance to claim the right field spot and make losing Ordonez palatable. But Borchard hit .174 in 201 at-bats with nine home runs—including a 504-foot tape-measure shot last August—and 57 strikeouts. Those numbers forced Williams to go out and sign Dye. In 301 at-bats in Charlotte he hit .266 with 16 home runs and 68 strikeouts. "Having a chance to look at my numbers, I definitely felt it was a lot worse when I was going through it than when I was looking back on it," Borchard said. "It's really not all that bad, I just didn't have too many things go right for me. Those things happen." Borchard was hoping to get a jump start on spring training by having a solid season in Mexico over the winter. But he struggled badly and was released early in the campaign. Now he's hoping he can put together a solid March and maybe have a break go his way. "Being a guy who has gotten hurt in spring training in the past, I know at any point it can be my opportunity to step in and help," Borchard said. "This year I would just like to stay healthy and play the way I'm capable of." Even that isn't likely to prevent another trip to Charlotte, where Borchard has spent most of the last three seasons. It would be logical if Borchard pondered whether he made the right choice to give up football for the more unpredictable life of baseball. He hasn't. "It's difficult when things don't go your way," Borchard said. "But if you can maintain that you still don't regret it at all, I think that says a lot for your character." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLAK Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Now that the bonus baby aura has worn off, Joe will have to play his way into the big leagues. Whats fair is fair. I'd like to see him again, because that would mean he earned his way back up the ladder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 It would be easier for everyone in the Sox organization and for those who know Joe Borchard if he was just a jerk. This is so true. I hate to see a nice guy like Joe struggle, while assclowns like Canseco can have a big career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjm676 Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 I hope he has a good spring, too. Hopefully some team can take him. Joe seems like a nice guy and a class act. I hope he gets another opportunity somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 I'm also hoping he has a good spring. Just for his confidence level. As of now, we're full for starting outfielders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 yeah i always been a Borchard fan but now with our current OF and guys like Anderson, Sweeney, and Chris Young in the minors i think Borchard needs a new home maybe the nationals can give him some playing time or the devil rays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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