Podsednik...

[bjm676]

Kinda long. But it shows just how important Pods has meant to the club this year.

 

Scott Podsednik doesn't just steal bases. He wreaks havoc.

 

There's a big difference.

 

When opposing teams tried to figure out a way to stop the White Sox in previous seasons, the conversation usually started with Frank Thomas and all of the team's other home-run threats.

 

Now the first topic is Podsednik -- the biggest pest on the bases in the majors since Rickey Henderson took his act to the independent leagues.

 

Go back to last week, when Cubs manager Dusty Baker was preparing for the Sox series. Podsednik was at the top of the Cubs' list of worries.

 

''You're not going to stop him,'' Baker said. ''You just try to limit him.''

 

Just the mention of Podsednik's name brought a pained look to Baker's face.

 

Sox third baseman Joe Crede is familiar with that look. He has watched opposing defenses let out a collective sigh of frustration every time Podsednik reaches base.

 

''He means a ton to us,'' Crede said. ''You see the guy get on, and [opponents] are like, 'Oh, gosh, here we go.' He's a smart runner, plus he's fast. He can put all kinds of pressure on a defense.''

 

Through the Sox' first 46 games entering Wednesday, they combined for a major-league-leading 50 stolen bases -- six more than the runner-up Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Podsednik, who appeared in 39 of the first 46 games, had a majors-best 26 stolen bases.

 

Through their first 46 games last season, the entire Sox team had only 27 stolen bases.

 

The flip side is the stack of speeding tickets the Sox have amassed. The Sox lead the majors by getting caught stealing 23 times -- meaning they're successful 68 percent of the time, putting them in the middle of the pack among baseball's 30 teams.

 

According to research done last year by Baseball Prospectus, teams are better off laying off the thefts if their stolen-base percentage is lower than 75 percent -- otherwise, you're throwing away potential runs.

 

The Boston Red Sox have adopted the safe approach. Entering Wednesday, they were 30th in the majors in stolen bases with nine in 10 tries.

 

''The vaunted secondary effects of stealing bases -- distracting the pitcher, putting pressure on the defense -- do not appear to exist,'' author Joe Sheehan wrote for Baseball Prospectus. ''In fact, most secondary effects argue in favor of keeping the runner on first base.''

 

Don't tell that to the White Sox.

 

Thirteen times after he has stolen a base -- half his total of 26 -- Podsednik has scored.

 

Of course, there are those times Podsednik would have scored anyway. Take the Sox' 10-7 victory May 7 over the Toronto Blue Jays. Podsednik stole four bases. He went on to score after three of the thefts -- all on home runs.

 

But it's a safe bet Podsednik's pestering ways were a major distraction to the Blue Jays' pitchers.

 

''Pitchers are making bad pitches because they're worried about him,'' Sox cleanup hitter Paul Konerko, who hit two of the home runs that scored Podsednik, told reporters after that game.

 

And that's the point.

 

Though he leads the majors in steals, Podsednik entered Wednesday tied for 51st with 25 runs. He leads the Sox in runs, but has only one more than the lead-footed Konerko.

 

The Sox are at the forefront of baseball's post-Steroids Era shift away from the long ball. The Sox' small-ball strategy relies on Podsednik's speed, but the results are more than just stolen bases.

 

Simply adding another 100 stolen bases -- close to the pace they're on with 1.09 a game -- doesn't guarantee the Sox a trip to the postseason. After all, the No. 2 stolen-base threat Devil Rays aren't likely to finish with a winning record. When Podsednik led the majors with 70 stolen bases last season, his Milwaukee Brewers finished in last place in the National League Central with a 67-94 record.

 

But Podsednik didn't have the supporting cast in Milwaukee, and the Brewers weren't following the small-ball formula embraced by manager Ozzie Guillen.

 

Being more aggressive on the bases helps the Sox conceal the fact they shed so much power in the departures of Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee, who was dealt to the Brewers in the Podsednik deal, plus the loss of an injured Thomas.

 

Unlike the offense the Brewers were stuck with in 2004, Guillen wants things this way.

 

Guillen loves to have that pest around to add a rare component to his offense.

 

Then there are times Podsednik's sheer speed makes all the difference when the rest of the offense isn't clicking.

 

If the power display in the May 7 victory over the Blue Jays was one extreme, then a 9-6 loss May 14 against the Baltimore Orioles was the other.

 

Podsednik led off the first inning by beating out a grounder to the pitcher for an infield single. He immediately stole second. On strike three to No. 2 hitter Tadahito Iguchi, Podsednik stole third. No. 3 hitter Aaron Rowand grounded to first, Podsednik raced home and the Sox scored their first run without getting the ball out of the infield.

 

''Every time this kid gets on base,'' Guillen said of the former Texas high school track star, ''we have opportunities to make a lot of stuff happen.''

 

And if No. 2 hitter Iguchi seems to be thriving during his first year facing major-league pitchers, the former Japanese League star owes a small thanks to Podsednik. Having a pest on the bases ahead of Iguchi translates into a higher than normal number of fastballs as teams try to keep the speedster honest. Iguchi entered Wednesday with a .307 batting average -- the Sox' only regular batting better than .300.

 

Guillen likes to point out there is no one star carrying the Sox this season. Guillen is right, but imagine where the Sox would be without Podsednik.

 

''We know, if he can just get on -- somehow, some way -- then it's on,'' Konerko said. ''We feel like he's going to steal second, maybe steal third. I don't sense we are going to win the game, like we've got this game in the bag, but we know we are going to put them in the position to have to make pitches to stop us because we are probably going to have a guy in scoring position. All it takes is a blooper or an error.''

 

Stolen bases aren't back in style

Scott Podsednik stole 70 bases last season, and that was easily tops in the majors, beating runner-up Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by 11 thefts.

 

In any other era, 70 steals wouldn't have made a blip in baserunning circles.

 

Toward the end of the 1980s -- during Whitey Herzog's final days managing the once-speedy St. Louis Cardinals -- the stolen base was losing its luster as teams treasured each baserunner with home-run totals across baseball starting to skyrocket.

 

The highest stolen-base total since 1990 was 78 steals by Marquis Grissom -- and that was in 1992.

 

The all-time record for steals is 138 by former Cub Hugh Nicol for the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1887. Rickey Henderson is No. 2 on the list with 130 steals for the Oakland Athletics in 1982 -- the most in the modern era.

 

Steal 30 bases these days, and you're considered a speedster.

 

Stolen bases were once considered such a valuable weapon, former A's owner Charles Finley employed a designated runner, track star Herb Washington, in 1974 and '75. Washington stole 33 bases in 105 games without ever batting.

 

Though baseball is moving away from the big home-run years, Podsednik's White Sox are still in the minority when it comes to using the stolen base as a key part of the offense. The Sox and Cubs each have baserunning coaches -- Vince Coleman on the North Side, Tim Raines on the South Side.

 

And though the Cubs wanted to have a more balanced attack this season without power threats Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou, they look very much like a team still waiting for a big home run to power the offense.

 

Will baseball ever return to its base-stealing heyday and produce another star such as former Cubs and Cardinals base-stealing icon Lou Brock? Unlikely.

 

Home runs still keep fans happy. If there's a major shift, it would take years to have an overall effect. Most players in the majors came up through the minors when teams still placed a higher value on home runs and any baserunners they might score.

[SoIL]

Where is this from? The writer appears to be a Cub fan.

[RockRaines]

There are a few people that were VERY opposed to have spods on this team, but I think we have all come around.

[shakes]

Where is this from? The writer appears to be a Cub fan.

 

CHRIS DE LUCA-SUNTIMES

[AddisonStSox]

Finally, a thread with some validity. I never thought I'd find solace in a thread like this.

[bjm676]

Where is this from? The writer appears to be a Cub fan.

 

 

http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-deluca26.html

 

 

I don't understand how he appears to be a Cub fan.

[Balta1701]

There are a few people that were VERY opposed to have spods on this team, but I think we have all come around.

 

When we traded for Pods, I was really worried about that .240 BA he had last year. That and his walk/strikeout ratio was also troubling.

 

Right now, he's got an OBP of .375, and he's still hitting .280 after a couple bad games against decent Anaheim pitching.

 

If he keeps those numbers up for the whole year...then man we got a bargain.

[SoIL]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-deluca26.html

I don't understand how he appears to be a Cub fan. 

It may have just been the way i read it, but these two statements: "...by former Cub Hugh Nicol for the Cincinnati Red Stockings" & "...another star such as former Cubs and Cardinals base-stealing icon Lou Brock?". Made me think the writer was a Cubs fan. I don't know dick about Nicol, but I never considered Brock to be a Cubs star. It seemed like the De Luca was going out of his way to mention these player had been Cubs. Just perception I guess.