Giving Adkins his due

[beck72]

I'm one of those who thought Adkins could be used as trade bait to beef up the sox bench or provide depth at AA and AAA. You look at his final stats, and it looks like any guy out there from AAA could come in and do his job. Yet looking a little closer, particularly in his final month and a half when he was overused and probably tired, he's not as replaceable as I thought.

 

Adkins had a an ERA of 3.27 on august 19th. In 45 IP, he had a WHIP of 1.44, gave up 47 H, 16 ER, 18 BB, 29k's, and 7 Hr allowed. Jon ended the season with an ERA of 4.65, with 62 IP, 75 H, 32 ER, 20 BB, a WHIP of 1.53, 44 K's and 13 HR's allowed. In that month and a half [most of it when Politte was out and the sox bullpen was tired], Jon in 17 IP, gave up 16 ER, 28 H, 6 HR allowed, 2 BB and 15 K's.

 

With reports Jon is in better shape and that Ozzie has liked him from the start of last season [and I still remember when Jon pitched against the Yanks heart of the order, made perfect pitches and set them down 1,2,3], there is no reason to believe Jon will leave the organization. Not unless another team makes the sox an offer they can't refuse. [Which may happen, as the large number of scouts attending the sox 1st game when Jon pitched may be an indication of his worth]. With Adkins proven in the bullpen and ability to start, [which he'll likely do in AAA if he doesn't make the team], I'd be against trading him at this point. Though the sox should get a UTL guy and/ or guys who could fill in at SS or 3B in case Uribe or Crede go down with an injury, the Sox might be better off trading 2 guys [say Diaz and Munoz] in a deal, where Adkins alone might get a deal done.

[YASNY]

The kid came into spring training last and shocked everyone by winning a spot on the roster. Then he held that spot for the entire season. I believe he established his value to team last season and they won't undersell if he does happen to go in a trade.

[DBAHO]

He's certainly doing his chances of making this bullpen this season no harm at all so far. I don't think it's much of a secret, a lot of us here would prefer it to see Cotts sent back down to AAA and starting to work on his secondary pitches, but KW and the Sox have to decide whether having 1 lefty in Marte and Vizcaino who's nasty againt LHH's is enouigh.

[Guest JimH]

Personally I feel they will definitely want two lefties in the pen, especially with Marte coming off a slightly down year. Ozzie likes Cotts and we'll have to see how it plays out this spring.

 

As for Adkins, credit goes to Adkins himself and the White Sox. They showed patience with him and it's a safe bet all those scouts who watched him Wed. came away impressed. The Sox gave him an opportunity and thus far, Adkins has done well with it.

 

One of the papers this morning mentioned Alex Cintron again. Diamondbacks need a guy like Adkins, it seems like a good fit. Defintely a "stay tuned" scenario.

[beck72]

Personally I feel they will definitely want two lefties in the pen, especially with Marte coming off a slightly down year.  Ozzie likes Cotts and we'll have to see how it plays out this spring.

 

As for Adkins, credit goes to Adkins himself and the White Sox.  They showed patience with him and it's a safe bet all those scouts who watched him Wed. came away impressed.  The Sox gave him an opportunity and thus far, Adkins has done well with it.

 

One of the papers this morning mentioned Alex Cintron again.  Diamondbacks need a guy like Adkins, it seems like a good fit.  Defintely a "stay tuned" scenario.

that's the key. Adkins has come around and would be worth even more than Cintron. With Ariz stocked in the IF, teams know they don't have to give up the farm for him.

 

One the papers around here? Cintron would be a guy who'd get a lot of time in. The Sox need to give Uribe, Crede and Tad a lot of time off this yr, to stay fresh. In order to do that, the sox need to put a major league caliber player in as a sub. Ozuna won't cut it, methinks.

 

Cotts should be around, unless he has a terrible spring with poor control, and very bad "stuff". Having the 2 LHP's is a must, esp. with the LH hitters in the AL central [mauer, morneau, hafner, etc]

 

With adkins being so versatile, a one dimesional guy like Baj could be made available to a team in need of a closer/ setup man. I like his control and makeup. But Baj has a lot of guys ahead of him in setup. And based on his 2004 season, teams should be looking for him.

[YASNY]

that's the key. Adkins has come around and would be worth even more than Cintron. With Ariz stocked in the IF, teams know they don't have to give up the farm for him.

 

One the papers around here? Cintron would be a guy who'd get a lot of time in. The Sox need to give Uribe, Crede and Tad a lot of time off this yr, to stay fresh. In order to do that, the sox need to put a major league caliber player in as a sub. Ozuna won't cut it, methinks.

 

Cotts should be around, unless he has a terrible spring with poor control, and very bad "stuff". Having the 2 LHP's is a must, esp. with the LH hitters in the AL central [mauer, morneau, hafner, etc]

 

With adkins being so versatile, a one dimesional guy like Baj could be made available to a team in need of a closer/ setup man. I like his control and makeup. But Baj has a lot of guys ahead of him in setup. And based on his 2004 season, teams should be looking for him.

 

 

The trading of Soxtalk members is unacceptable.

[beck72]

The trading of Soxtalk members is unacceptable.

 

If Baj isn't going to get much of a chance with the Sox [he'd likely be the 3rd or 4th guy called up as it stands now], he should get a chance somewhere else. I think his coming up hurt in Sept. didn't help him. But he should get a chance on a number of small market teams looking for relief help. While this may help the Sox, it would also help his career.

 

If Gary Majewski can catch on with Montreal, Baj could help a number of clubs to start 2005

[Guest JimH]

that's the key. Adkins has come around and would be worth even more than Cintron. With Ariz stocked in the IF, teams know they don't have to give up the farm for him.

 

One the papers around here? Cintron would be a guy who'd get a lot of time in. The Sox need to give Uribe, Crede and Tad a lot of time off this yr, to stay fresh. In order to do that, the sox need to put a major league caliber player in as a sub. Ozuna won't cut it, methinks.

 

Cotts should be around, unless he has a terrible spring with poor control, and very bad "stuff". Having the 2 LHP's is a must, esp. with the LH hitters in the AL central [mauer, morneau, hafner, etc]

 

With adkins being so versatile, a one dimesional guy like Baj could be made available to a team in need of a closer/ setup man. I like his control and makeup. But Baj has a lot of guys ahead of him in setup. And based on his 2004 season, teams should be looking for him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I can't wait to see Ozuna next week and get a better read on him, he's off to a good start but I completely agree with your thought on Cintron. One thing to consider is Cintron adds almost no speed. He is an up and coming player with quite a bit of talent for sure. Ozuna adds speed and so does Valdez and of course Harris has that raw ability as well.

 

As far as I can tell, Guillen wants speed on the bench but it's likely he and KW would like to have a talent like Cintron in the fold.

 

As for the pitchers on the cusp it will be incumbent upon them to have a good spring and also the White Sox's responsibility to give them a good opportunity to succeed. I like what they did with Adkins by giving him the first spring start. In the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal but it showcased him and also gave him a big dose of confidence I would guess. Rooney was raving about Adkins the next day, especially how he got ahead of the hitters.

 

Hard to say what guys like Adkins or Baj or Diaz might net in a trade but the Sox have a good problem, they have a few extra arms. We also need to keep in mind KW likes to have about 15 major league ready arms at his disposal so it's possible he might not be too anxious to part with these guys. Adkins for sure has minor league options left so from that standpoint there's no rush to trade him. He seems to be a guy who can fill in when someone invariably misses a start.

[CWSGuy406]

Jim, when you go down there, I have one favor.

 

Find out how hard Hermsanson throws. I don't have a definite idea, I've heard 96, I've heard lower (like 93), but nothing definite...

[beck72]

I can't wait to see Ozuna next week and get a better read on him, he's off to a good start but I completely agree with your thought on Cintron.  One thing to consider is Cintron adds almost no speed.  He is an up and coming player with quite a bit of talent for sure.  Ozuna adds speed and so does Valdez and of course Harris has that raw ability as well.

 

As far as I can tell, Guillen wants speed on the bench but it's likely he and KW would like to have a talent like Cintron in the fold.

 

 

From this article, Joey Cora is familiar with Cintron as well, workign w/ him over the winter.

 

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/NASApp...5news&fext=.jsp

[beck72]

Hard to say what guys like Adkins or Baj or Diaz might net in a trade but the Sox have a good problem, they have a few extra arms.  We also need to keep in mind KW likes to have about 15 major league ready arms at his disposal so it's possible he might not be too anxious to part with these guys.  Adkins for sure has minor league options left so from that standpoint there's no rush to trade him.  He seems to be a guy who can fill in when someone invariably misses a start.

 

Adkins would seem to have the most value, as he's proven himself in the bigs, and he can fill multiple roles [long relief, start, short relief]. I'd hate to part with him, as he'd likely be needed at some point this year. But to get a UTL guy who could also be a regular starter like Cintron, it would be hard to pass up such a deal. I think it would be a win-win deal for both sides.

 

Part of why I thought Adkins could be easily replaced was his high HR's allowed. In looking at Adkins' stats, though, he gave up 6 of his 13 HR's in the last month and a half. I also didn't realize his GB/ FB ratio was 1.34, and got 10 DP's in his 62 IP. Not bad for the cell

 

That article where Joey Cora worked with Cintron over the winter was very interesting. He should have a good handle on what Cintron could do for the sox.

[shoeless_joe21]

Hey guys, long time reader/first time poster here. Yet another immigrant from the horrible espn board.

 

This was probably already discussed, but how many positions can Cintron play?

[greasywheels121]

Hey guys, long time reader/first time poster here.  Yet another immigrant from the horrible espn board.

 

This was probably already discussed, but how many positions can Cintron play?

 

Welcome to SoxTalk!

 

SS is Cintron's primary position, but he can also play 2B and 3B.

[YASNY]

If Baj isn't going to get much of a chance with the Sox [he'd likely be the 3rd or 4th guy called up as it stands now], he should get a chance somewhere else. I think his coming up hurt in Sept. didn't help him. But he should get a chance on a number of small market teams looking for relief help. While this may help the Sox, it would also help his career.

 

If Gary Majewski can catch on with Montreal, Baj could help a number of clubs to start 2005

 

 

I certainly didn't expect that to be taken seriously.

[beck72]

I certainly didn't expect that to be taken seriously. 

 

I know. But Baj should get a chance somewhere, if not for the sox then another team in need of a closer

[DBAHO]

I know. But Baj should get a chance somewhere, if not for the sox then another team in need of a closer

Baj could be a guy who could be moved mid - season in a big deal like Majewski was, if the Sox don't want to give many of their major prospects.

[GreenSox]

I know. But Baj should get a chance somewhere, if not for the sox then another team in need of a closer

We need these young pitchers - every young pitcher we can plug in is one less we have to mash our teeth in a trade or free agent signing. If he can pitch, there will be a spot in the rotation for him soon enough

that was the smart thing about only 2 year contracts for our acquisitions - by that time, some young players can be ready and you need some of that to build a ballclub.

[beck72]

We need these young pitchers - every young pitcher we can plug in is one less we have to mash our teeth in a trade or free agent signing.  If he can pitch, there will be a spot in the rotation for him soon enough

that was the smart thing about only 2 year contracts for our acquisitions - by that time, some young players can be ready and you need some of that to build a ballclub.

 

There are only so many years the Sox can keep their young guys in the minors before they aren't young anymore. I think Baj is the 2nd guy behind Adkins. I'm all for keeping him. I just hope the sox plan on pitching him