Crede pops up

[YASNY]

From the Daily Southtown

 

Crede still working on his swing shift

 

White Sox third baseman has adjustments to make

 

Thursday, March 10, 2005

 

 

 

 

By Joe Cowley

Staff writer

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PEORIA, Ariz. — Joe Crede is in no danger of losing his starting job as the White Sox third baseman.

Not yet, anyway.

 

He has been relayed that message from both general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen. Not that Crede was overly concerned about his status in the first place.

 

"I'm confident that I'm going to come out of the spring with the job," Crede said very calmly Wednesday. "It's really not something I'm going to worry about. I'll let them worry about that."

 

That fact is, Crede has plenty else to worry about in spring training.

 

After finally agreeing with hitting coach Greg Walker late last season that a swing change was needed, Crede spent the winter working on those corrections. He visited with Walker in Chicago, as well as spending numerous hours in a batting cage he had built in his house, taking cuts in front of a video camera held by his wife.

 

While Walker liked what he saw on those tapes, no one was quite sure what the end product would be once Crede showed up for spring training.

 

And as far as Walker is concerned, the jury is still out.

 

"He's accomplished a lot of it, but there's still a few little things we're working on," Walker said. "The main thing is he has to be comfortable with it. He's looked outstanding in batting practice and (in) the cages and all that stuff, but he just hasn't gotten comfortable in a game yet.

 

"We already told him that he's going to get a lot of at-bats in the games. I'm encouraged, but cautiously optimistic."

 

The major flaw that caused his 2004 average to dip to .239 involved a bad habit of leading his swing with his back knee, setting his bat on an uphill plane. To counter that, and in an effort to get a more level swing, they've worked on keeping that knee "quiet" by adding a slight inward kick with his left leg.

 

In batting practice, Crede has looked like an All-Star during spring training. Come Cactus League games, however, it's been a completely different story.

 

The 26-year-old entered Wednesday's game against San Diego 1-for-13 (.077), with one walk and three strikeouts. And it's not like there's a "Plan B" that excites the Sox if Crede fails. If push comes to shove, they could move shortstop Juan Uribe to third, but that would leave a question mark at shortstop.

 

"He has to learn how to monitor his swing," Walker said of Crede. "It's going to be an ongoing process. We're not even in maintenance mode yet. For us to get there, he has to have some success. That's where we want to get to. We want to get him some success so we have something to build off, something to coach off, so he can say, 'Now I understand why I missed with this swing.' "

 

There is still a lot of time for Crede to reach that understanding. Even in Wednesday's game against San Diego, there were positive signs.

 

After flying out in his first at-bat and then swinging and missing at the first two pitches in his second at-bat, Crede ripped a hard liner past the third baseman for an RBI double in the fourth inning.

 

"It's just a matter of taking that leg kick into the game and getting the timing down," Crede said. "It's a big timing issue right now, especially when things start speeding up in the game. But I have time to work on that, and I'll do everything I can to prepare myself before we leave here."

 

In his third at-bat Wednesday, Crede jumped on a first-pitch offering and harmlessly popped out to third base.

 

The work in progress continues.

[DBAHO]

This was to be expected, it wasn't like he was magically going to come out with his new swing and hit over .300 with lots of power. I'd expect him to iron out the kinks in the first few months of the season, and come on strong later on, as he is a 2nd half hitter.

[YASNY]

This was to be expected, it wasn't like he was magically going to come out with his new swing and hit over .300 with lots of power. I'd expect him to iron out the kinks in the first few months of the season, and come on strong later on, as he is a 2nd half hitter.

 

We can't afford to wait for him to hit in the second half. Those games in April and May count as well.

[DBAHO]

We can't afford to wait for him to hit in the second half.  Those games in April and May count as well.

That's what I'm worried about with Crede. The Sox need him to hit well early, otherwise there'll be big pressure to make a move at the deadline, to acquire a guy like Joe Randa to replace him as a stopgap until Fields is ready. Whether Crede can do that or not, I don't know.

[YASNY]

That's what I'm worried about with Crede. The Sox need to hit well early, otherwise there'll be big pressure to make a move at the deadline, to acquire a guy like Joe Randa to replace him as a stopgap until Fields is ready. Whether Crede can do that or not, I don't know.

 

I hear that. Let's hope he can.

[jphat007]

Considering he is pretty much our 9th hitter, I don't think it's critical that he be "awesome" as long as he can be mediocre. .250 with 23-25 bombs and a bunch of ribbies won't be all that bad. Sure, we'd like him to be much better than that, but if he can just supply some pop from the 9 hole I think our lineup would still be pretty solid.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Considering he is pretty much our 9th hitter, I don't think it's critical that he be "awesome" as long as he can be mediocre. .250 with 23-25 bombs and a bunch of ribbies won't be all that bad. Sure, we'd like him to be much better than that, but if he can just supply some pop from the 9 hole I think our lineup would still be pretty solid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

250 would be an improvement over 04. Considering he's at 077 in ST where do you see this 250 coming from?

[LosMediasBlancas]

We can't afford to wait for him to hit in the second half.  Those games in April and May count as well.

 

Amen to that, even the strongest Crede supporters have to admit he has two months to s*** or get off the pot. The team had been fair and patient, no more coddling.

[AddisonStSox]

At least he has sucked in his pride and is willing to work with Walker now.

 

Now, I don't know if that situation was made worse by the media than it actually was, but for a while there, it seemed like Creded didn't want to listen to anybody.

 

To his credit, his swing has looked better. He has a much more level swing and his weight distribution seems improved.

 

For his sake, he better hope he gets on track, young Josh is breathing down his neck.

[CanOfCorn]

250 would be an improvement over 04.  Considering he's at 077 in ST where do you see this 250 coming from?

 

C'mon Juggs...he has 13 at-bats. Give him at least until the last week of March. Even the best hitters go into a 1-13 slump.

[AnthraxFan93]

This was to be expected, it wasn't like he was magically going to come out with his new swing and hit over .300 with lots of power. I'd expect him to iron out the kinks in the first few months of the season, and come on strong later on, as he is a 2nd half hitter.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I see him "turning" around June right around When Frank is back in stride..If we can have our #8/9 hitter hitting anything above .260.. people we have a great team.

[3E8]

After just watching yesterday's game, I noticed something about Crede's at-bat in the 4th inning. On the two breaking balls Crede got, his swing looked just as long as it did last year. No improvement. But on the last two fastballs, the one he fouled and the one he doubled on, offensively he looked like a completely different hitter. His swing was incredibly short. So I'm not sure which Joe we're going to get, hopefully the latter.

[Credepopsup]

It's certainly make or break time for Joe - I'm rooting for him.

 

Oh, and YASNY - A great choice of thread name, although I feel it's only fair to warn you that you'll soon be hearing from my lawyer, due to the fact that you have used "Crede pops up" without my permission - I've held copyright on that for quite a while now. Pat Riley has "three-peat", I have "Crede pops up"

 

In fact, everytime Hawk or DJ used that phrase last season, I got 25 cents from the broadcasters. Unfortunately (for Crede and the Sox) at the end of the season they had to write me a check for 2.6 million dollars..

[YASNY]

It's certainly make or break time for Joe - I'm rooting for him.

 

Oh, and YASNY - A great choice of thread name, although I feel it's only fair to warn you that you'll soon be hearing from my lawyer, due to the fact that you have used "Crede pops up" without my permission - I've held copyright on that for quite a while now. Pat Riley has "three-peat", I have "Crede pops up"

 

In fact, everytime Hawk or DJ used that phrase last season, I got 25 cents from the broadcasters. Unfortunately (for Crede and the Sox) at the end of the season they had to write me a check for 2.6 million dollars..

 

Crede pops up is three words. Your handle is one word. You have no claim whatsoever ... or ... what so ever.

[Credepopsup]

Crede pops up is three words.  Your handle is one word.  You have no claim whatsoever ... or ... what so ever.

 

Hmm.. a small technicality. This may change things a little..

[beck72]

After just watching yesterday's game, I noticed something about Crede's at-bat in the 4th inning.  On the two breaking balls Crede got, his swing looked just as long as it did last year.  No improvement.  But on the last two fastballs, the one he fouled and the one he doubled on, offensively he looked like a completely different hitter.  His swing was incredibly short.  So I'm not sure which Joe we're going to get, hopefully the latter.

 

I thought the same thing. Those offspeed pitches made Joe look worse than he did last yr. that's all Joe is likely to see though if he can't make the adjustments. And if he can't hit a breaking ball, the sox should be looking for someone to take his spot midseason

[DonkeyKongerko]

Yeah but Crede always hits KC pitching. That's gotta be worth an extra win or two. I'd rather have him and his .250 with occasional pop in the 9-hole than Uribe at 3rd and Valdez or Ozuna playing short.

 

Also we're supposed to be built on pitching and defense. Crede's D has never bothered me.

[shakes]

I thought the same thing. Those offspeed pitches made Joe look worse than he did last yr. that's all Joe is likely to see though if he can't make the adjustments. And if he can't hit a breaking ball, the sox should be looking for someone to take his spot midseason

 

 

I would like to see how Crede would respond to some competition or pressure. He has been given ample time to develop and has always been reassured he's the man at third. If he struggles for a couple of months, I think some pressure needs to be applied.

[JUGGERNAUT]

02-04 Crede: Pre-AS 233/675, Pos-AS 277/809

02-04 Crede: v Left 274/778, v Rght 248/732

 

He's slighty better than avg vs LH, & slightly below avg vs RH.

 

02-04 Crede: RISP 264/324O/437S, RISP,2O 252/333O/442S, CL&L: 299/376O/506S

 

He's looking better now right? Remember the 2005 White Sox expect to have many more CL&L games than the 04 team.

 

Joe's consistently a slow starter but seems to rise to the occassion when there's more at stake. I think we're over-reacting.

[Tannerfan]

The way things are going, I say Osuna at SS, Uribe at 3rd, and Crede can be a beer vendor.

[YASNY]

The way things are going, I say Osuna at SS, Uribe at 3rd, and Crede can be a beer vendor.

 

The dude is just now facing live pitching with his new hitting mechanics. Give him a few weeks before you bury the guy. :headshake

[The Critic]

I thought the same thing. Those offspeed pitches made Joe look worse than he did last yr. that's all Joe is likely to see though if he can't make the adjustments. And if he can't hit a breaking ball, the sox should be looking for someone to take his spot midseason

"Straight ball, I hit very much. Curve ball, bats are scared....."

This line comes in SO handy!!!!

Pedro Cerrano!!!!

[Tannerfan]

The dude is just now facing live pitching with his new hitting mechanics.  Give him a few weeks before you bury the guy.  :headshake

 

I just don't think Crede is ever going to be a big time player. He's just another in a long line of guys who starred in AAA, and are not good enough in The Show.

[YASNY]

I just don't think Crede is ever going to be a big time player. He's just another in a long line of guys who starred in AAA, and are not good enough in The Show.

 

Whatever. You can "think" what you want. I'm more interested in seeing what the man can or cannot actually do.

[Tannerfan]

Whatever.  You can "think" what you want.  I'm more interested in seeing what the man can or cannot actually do.

 

Whatever. We've already seen what he cannot do.