Player I like to see KW go out and get

[sayitaintso]

Erstad has an OPS of .749.  That is 20th out of the top 1B men in the majors, and more typical of a light-hitting middle infielder, much less a first baseman. 

 

His 6sb's?  20 for the year?  Big freaking deal.  He's probably going to wind up with 10-12 HR's, where again, your average quality team first baseman is going to hit 25 at a minimum.  Those 20 sb's translate into what, 10 runs at most (and that is excluding the outs created by the five caught stealing's he'll have.) I'm not sure how your attention to detail is, but you might have noticed that first basemen are usually called upon to swing a big stick.  Not to mention that Konerko is at best an average fielding first baseman, yet name me one game the Sox have lost this year because of poor d at first.   

 

Putting pressure on the pitcher is great, but it doesn't mean crap if you can't back it up with some muscle in the middle of the order.  Take away Konerko and replace him with Erstad and we're going to be on the short end of a lot of 3-1 and 4-2 games.   

The game where timo played first.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

I posted it in anotehr thread but I think an Al Leiter for Hernandez swap could make sense for both sides in a month

[Milkman delivers]

I posted it in anotehr thread but I think an Al Leiter for Hernandez swap could make sense for both sides in a month

 

Is Leiter a groundball pitcher? Because if he isn't, I'm not interested and I hope KW isn't either.

[sayitaintso]

I posted it in anotehr thread but I think an Al Leiter for Hernandez swap could make sense for both sides in a month

Hasn't Leiter been roughed up this year?

 

EDIT: Here are his number's

Team G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA

FLA 12 12 2 6 0 0 0 57.1 61 44 43 6 41 36 6.75 1.78 .286

 

He hasn't done well at all this year. I would pass on this.

Edited June 20, 2005 by sayitaintso

[kev211]

Hasn't Leiter been roughed up this year?

 

EDIT: Here are his number's

Team G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA

FLA 12 12 2 6 0 0 0 57.1 61 44 43 6 41 36 6.75 1.78 .286

 

He hasn't done well at all this year. I would pass on this.

Yah, El duque numbers havent been great, but he gets himslef out of jams.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

I think Leiter would be a buy low candidate. I also think he'd be more valuable out of the pen in the postseason. let's face it, you cna't move him for a guy without imperfections

[JUGGERNAUT]

First basemen are usually called upon to swing a big stick.  Not to mention that Konerko is at best an average fielding first baseman, yet name me one game the Sox have lost this year because of poor d at first.   

 

Putting pressure on the pitcher is great, but it doesn't mean crap if you can't back it up with some muscle in the middle of the order.  Take away Konerko and replace him with Erstad and we're going to be on the short end of a lot of 3-1 and 4-2 games.   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And guess what LF? Are expected to be HR hitters as well. You don't build your team based on what you think is the norm in MLB. You build it based on your own team's strength & weaknesses. If KW was following the norm then he would have kept Lee.

But he say that his team was so slow that it rarely pressured the opposition into making close plays or mistakes. The changes he made with Pods, Iguchi, keeping Harris, & getting Ozuna changed all that.

 

Some of you keep suggesting a weakness in the bench but I don't see it. Harris & Ozuna mean that Thomas/Everett can pinch hit for any starter with the exception of Konerko. We have seen that manifest itself into wins since Thomas returned. Koney is a streak hitter who has improved greatly in his OBP this year but you still want to have the option of being able to pinch hit for him. Timo is not the best choice, but Gload is still expected to fill that role in the 2nd half.

 

2nd Half bench: Widger, Thomas/Everett, Harris, Ozuna, Gload

That's a pretty strong bench when you consider the options it gives you in managing a game.

 

What the team needs is a solid dependable arm in the pen. Period.

Guardado is that guy. As soon as Seattle gives up all hope of winning the ALW I expect KW to get him. This trade makes sense for so many reasons. Many still do not believe that Hermy can be called upon to save a CL&L game against a contender.

Guardado can. Wagner is not a bad option either if it makes sense $. He's a classic heater closer with very limited exposure to AL hitters. That could prove to be a big lift.

 

I've said this before & I'll say it again. What matters most to the team we have now are guys who can hit in RON situations. Erstad has proven career & 2005 numbers to be a guy who can do that more consistently than others.

 

If Paulie wants to stay for 25/3 after this year, sign him up. If it's not acceptable then offer him arbitration. If he declines it's out of your hands. Take the opportunity to get a good, gritty, tough-nosed, solid RON hitting 1B who will greatly improve your defense at 1B at a bargain price. It's better than expecting Gload to put up a quality year as a starter there.

[witesoxfan]

Anybody who wants play Gload over Erstad is smoking some crack..

Gload is a great bench player while Erstad is a great defensive player with some speed and could hit 300

 

Gload was great off the bench for us last year, so who's to say that he won't be good enugh as a starter? Or, at the very least, better than Darin Erstad?

 

He's quite honestly probably just as good offensively, if not better, he's a good defensive player, and he will cost you $3-4 mill less than Erstad will too.

 

The need for great defense at $4-5 mill per year at 1B is a bit ridiculous too. The offense is mediocre, while the defense is very solid. Why upgrade the defense and downgrade the offense?