Scott Podsednik

[Chisoxrd5]

I've been one of his biggest supporters all season. He was arguably the offensive MVP of the first half and his ability to steal bases ignited and undoubtly changed the whole mentality of the offense from station to station HR ball to a more fundamental approach to scoring runs (moving over the runner, etc).

 

His value as the White Sox LF is and always has been tied to his SB's and OBP. If you look at the second half of the season both of these crucial statistics are on the decline. He is no longer having as many quality at bats (note that his walks are down slightly and his OPB is down .033 from the first half). As we all have noted he is unable to steal bases at the same clip.

 

                  G AB  R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS   
Pre All Star    74 282 50 83 14 0 0 17 34 41 44 9 .294 .369 .344 .713   
Post All-Star   40 163 24 46 12 1 0 7 10 26 12 12 .282 .326 .368 .694  

 

Now, I understand he was injured and in fact still looks a little gimpy out there now. If he is still slightly injured and it is indeed hampering his ability to steal bases should he be on the field? Probably not. A speedy leftfielder who has no power and plays average defensively is not a valuable asset when you take away the stolen base. His throwing arm has been exploited a few times in the past week and his routes to flyballs has been described as poor by numerous posters on this site.

 

So this brings me to my question. Do we stick with him because he got us to where we are today? Or do we use Brian Anderson, Joe Borchard and yes, TIMO PEREZ in LF. Brian Anderson single handedly won us a game in Seattle and Joe B is 3-3 since rejoining the team. I did also look at Scotty's stats against Cleveland (.324 avg, 9/10 in SBs in 10 games) so he has been a catalyst against them. But I ask you, is this the same Scotty Pods that played against the Indians in April and June?

Edited September 16, 2005 by Chisoxrd5

[tonyho7476]

But I ask you, is this the same Scotty Pod's that played against the Indians in April and June?

 

He is out hottest hitter right now...so he needs to continue playing, especially given the other choices. His SBs are scaring me right now, but his bat needs to be out there.

[shakes]

I've been one of his biggest supporters all season. He was arguably the offensive MVP of the first half and his ability to steal bases ignited and undoubtly changed the whole mentality of the offense from station to station HR ball to a more fundamental approach to scoring runs (moving over the runner, etc).

 

His value as the White Sox LF is and always has been tied to his SB's and OBP. If you look at the second half of the season both of these crucial statistics are on the decline. He is no longer having as many quality at bats (note that his walks are down slightly and his OPB is down .033 from the first half). As we all have noted he is unable to steal bases at the same clip.

 

                  G AB  R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS   
Pre All Star    74 282 50 83 14 0 0 17 34 41 44 9 .294 .369 .344 .713   
Post All-Star   40 163 24 46 12 1 0 7 10 26 12 12 .282 .326 .368 .694  

 

Now, I understand he was injured and in fact still looks a little gimpy out there now. If he is still slightly injured and it is indeed hampering his ability to steal bases should he be on the field? Probably not. A speedy leftfielder who has no power and plays average defensively is not a valuable asset when you take away the stolen base. His throwing arm has been exploited a few times in the past week and his routes to flyballs has been described as poor by numerous posters on this site.

 

So this brings me to my question. Do we stick with him because he got us to where we are today? Or do we use Brian Anderson, Joe Borchard and yes, TIMO PEREZ in LF. Brian Anderson single handedly won us a game in Seattle and Joe B is 3-3 since rejoining the team. I did also look at Scotty's stats against Cleveland (.324 avg, 9/10 in SBs in 10 games) so he has been a catalyst against them. But I ask you, is this the same Scotty Pods that played against the Indians in April and June?

 

That's a good idea. I loved seeing Timo in the leadoff spot.

[elrockinMT]

Joe Borchard is our hottest hitter. He is batting 1.000. Of course he is only 3 for 3, but I think he should be playing. I think McCarthy should be starting. The line up needs a shake up. I am not going to say that Pods needs to come out, but we have 3 OF'ers so rotate someone. Get new blood out there to play.

[3E8]

He should bat 9th I think.

[shakes]

He should bat 9th I think.

 

Who would you have leadoff?

[Kalapse]

Scott Podsednik in September:

 

12G, 47AB, 9R, 3 2B, 1 3B, .362/.427/.468

 

His baserunning may be sucking right now but the guy is getting on base, you cannot take that bat out of this lineup.

[3E8]

Who would you have leadoff?

Rowand.

[Chisoxrd5]

Rowand.

 

I would be all for giving Rowand a try in the leadoff spot...btw, this is NOT going to be a popular recommendation on this board.

[tonyho7476]

I would be all for giving Rowand a try in the leadoff spot...btw, this is NOT going to be a popular recommendation on this board.

 

Of course not...did you not look at Pods stats in September? He is doing great. If the Everetts, and Dyes, and AJs turned it up, we might have something. And Ozzie, quit taking TAGUCHI out of the lineup.

[Chisoxrd5]

Of course not...did you not look at Pods stats in September?  He is doing great.  If the Everetts, and Dyes, and AJs turned it up, we might have something.  And Ozzie, quit taking TAGUCHI out of the lineup.

 

The point of my thread was more that Scott Podsednik's best is not currently good enough to play a starting corner outfield position on a major league club. I'm not saying I'm right by any means, I was just wondering what everyone elses opinion was on this topic.

[Balta1701]

I would be all for giving Rowand a try in the leadoff spot...btw, this is NOT going to be a popular recommendation on this board.

I agree it's not going to be a popular reccomendation.

 

I see 2 different types of leadoff hitters in the league who work very well. First, guys like Podsednik, with speed enough to cause teams headaches by bunting, getting infield hits, slapping the ball places, and causing havoc on the basepaths.

 

The other kind is the kind who is not necessarily as fast, but the kind who gets on base a lot via a high batting average and taking a lot of walks. This guy works because even though he's not distracting the pitcher as much, he's always on base for whatever boppers the team has behind him.

 

Rowand is a moderately fast hitter, but he fits into neither of these categories. He's a .280 hitter this year who doesn't take many walks, doesn't cause problems on the basepath, doesn't take enough pitches to let the people behind him see what the pitcher is throwing, and he would probably end up scoring less runs than Podsednik in the 1 hole.

[Balta1701]

The point of my thread was more that Scott Podsednik's best is not currently good enough to play a starting corner outfield position on a major league club. I'm not saying I'm right by any means, I was just wondering what everyone elses opinion was on this topic.

I think that Scott Podsednik's best right now is still plenty good to earn him a starting spot on a major league ballclub...he's just not at his best on the basepaths right now, for whatever reason. Almost everything else seems to be clicking for him.

 

Don't forget when you're looking at 2nd half stats that not only did Pods's stolen bases suffer when he got hurt, but he spent a week or two trying to play through the pain and wound up barely getting any hits at all during the stretch. That was right before he went on the DL.

[tonyho7476]

I agree it's not going to be a popular reccomendation.

 

I see 2 different types of leadoff hitters in the league who work very well.  First, guys like Podsednik, with speed enough to cause teams headaches by bunting, getting infield hits, slapping the ball places, and causing havoc on the basepaths.

 

The other kind is the kind who is not necessarily as fast, but the kind who gets on base a lot via a high batting average and taking a lot of walks.  This guy works because even though he's not distracting the pitcher as much, he's always on base for whatever boppers the team has behind him.

 

Rowand is a moderately fast hitter, but he fits into neither of these categories.  He's a .280 hitter this year who doesn't take many walks, doesn't cause problems on the basepath, doesn't take enough pitches to let the people behind him see what the pitcher is throwing, and he would probably end up scoring less runs than Podsednik in the 1 hole.

 

Well said.

[fathom]

How ironic is it that last year, we struggled all season for a leadoff hitter, so we traded Carlos Lee, our number 3 hitter. Now, this season, we've basically struggled all year to find a number 3 hitter?

[WSoxMatt]

Cut Pods some slack, he never played in an important game in September, like a rookie he is learning how to play in a pennant chase!!! The rest of the Sox team has competed till the end, not Pods!

[DBAHO]

With his OBP, you can't take him out of the lineup. The thing is, and I think this is an issue the Sox are going to have to decide on, I don't think you can keep both Rowand and Pods for next season, and hear me out here. Yeah Rowand is great defensively, but has he done enough offensively for an OF position? No I don't think he has. The issue is though, is Pods good enough defensively in CF? Well at the monent probably not, he's be a major downgrade from Rowand. And you've got Brian Anderson waiting in the wings as well.

 

The thing is this, our offense has basically struggled all season. We need more power production from our lineup. Uribe has turned his season around, and is pretty much a lock to return next season as the starting SS, unless someone like Rafael Furcal decides the Southside is where he wants to be. That pretty much leaves 3B, and a DH/OF spot to upgrade (assuming Konerko re-signs). I think if you want to upgrade this offense, one of Rowand or Pods will probably have to go, and I would go with Rowand, because I think the difference Pods makes leading off is bigger than what Rowand offers from his defense. It's probably not going to be popular, but it's something we have to consider to upgrade the offense. Doubt it will happen though.

[SoxFanForever]

How ironic is it that last year, we struggled all season for a leadoff hitter, so we traded Carlos Lee, our number 3 hitter.  Now, this season, we've basically struggled all year to find a number 3 hitter?

It isn't irony, it is Sox management

[fathom]

I'd keep Rowand, simply because his defense is light years ahead of Pods. Also, Rowand is able to contribute a lot more than Pods on the offensive end in terms of driving in runs. Rowand has a very managable contract for the next few years, especially compared to other guys in CF like Kotsay. Rowand is a great player to have on your team if he's surrounded by power hitters in RF and LF.

[DBAHO]

I'd keep Rowand, simply because his defense is light years ahead of Pods.  Also, Rowand is able to contribute a lot more than Pods on the offensive end in terms of driving in runs.  Rowand has a very managable contract for the next few years, especially compared to other guys in CF like Kotsay.  Rowand is a great player to have on your team if he's surrounded by power hitters in RF and LF.

The thing is who replaces Pods as the top of the lineup? I agree that Rowand is good if you've got power players surrounding him in the OF but at the moment we don't. Pods has got 1 year left on his deal at just over a million IIRC.

[Balta1701]

It isn't irony, it is Sox management 

It isn't Sox management, it's a fractured foot.

[Chisoxrd5]

With his OBP, you can't take him out of the lineup. The thing is, and I think this is an issue the Sox are going to have to decide on, I don't think you can keep both Rowand and Pods for next season, and hear me out here. Yeah Rowand is great defensively, but has he done enough offensively for an OF position? No I don't think he has. The issue is though, is Pods good enough defensively in CF? Well at the monent probably not, he's be a major downgrade from Rowand. And you've got Brian Anderson waiting in the wings as well.

 

The thing is this, our offense has basically struggled all season. We need more power production from our lineup. Uribe has turned his season around, and is pretty much a lock to return next season as the starting SS, unless someone like Rafael Furcal decides the Southside is where he wants to be. That pretty much leaves 3B, and a DH/OF spot to upgrade (assuming Konerko re-signs). I think if you want to upgrade this offense, one of Rowand or Pods will probably have to go, and I would go with Rowand, because I think the difference Pods makes leading off is bigger than what Rowand offers from his defense. It's probably not going to be popular, but it's something we have to consider to upgrade the offense. Doubt it will happen though.

 

Great post

 

Our entire outfield collectively has not produced enough offense. Plain and simple your OF has to house some serious run producers and we have definitely missed that all year long. Dye has been about what we all expected offensively (defensively, meh)...but in total the offense just has not been there.

 

If I was to choose between Rowand and Pods, I would possibly consider keeping Pods. Mostly because I think Rowand could pull a lot in a trade.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Chisoxrd5

[fathom]

It isn't Sox management, it's a fractured foot.

 

Well, most people on here have argued that Thomas was never part of our plans this season. At least, that's the excuse many gave for why no move was made to replace him when he was hurt. And BTW, Frank is nowhere near a number 3 hitter now. He'd be a perfect number 5 hitter with his approach.

[Balta1701]

I'd keep Rowand, simply because his defense is light years ahead of Pods.  Also, Rowand is able to contribute a lot more than Pods on the offensive end in terms of driving in runs.  Rowand has a very managable contract for the next few years, especially compared to other guys in CF like Kotsay.  Rowand is a great player to have on your team if he's surrounded by power hitters in RF and LF.

I would be with you on this if I were confident in 1 thing...that Brian Anderson could fill in for Podsednik without us losing a lot in terms of play on either offense or defense. Right now, at this point in the season, I'm not.

 

Anderson is going to hopefully be a very good player for us one of these days. But he's probably not there yet. He is hitting .185 in the big leagues thus far. He may very well need a year or two before he can become a solid everyday player - lots of rookies/2nd year guys do.

 

The only reason right now to panic and replace a guy hitting .280+ with a rookie who hasn't proven himself in the big leagues would be a big difference in salary...i.e. if the guy out there was making $10 million a season and you could replace him with a rookie making $400k a year. But with Pods making only $1 million a season, that's not the case either.

 

Next year, I hope that Anderson (and Borchard, if he's still around) will get the chance to play the Timo Perez (or maybe Carl Everett) backup role and really see how he handles the big leagues. They're both relatively cheap in terms of total salary, so they're good guys to have on the bench for that reason alone, and if either one of them can perform, that plays into whether or not you decide to spend the money to resign Pods or pick up the option on Dye.

[fathom]

The thing is who replaces Pods as the top of the lineup? I agree that Rowand is good if you've got power players surrounding him in the OF but at the moment we don't. Pods has got 1 year left on his deal at just over a million IIRC.

 

Leadoff position in the AL isn't too important, in my opinion. The only time it's important is if you have a superstar like Vlad in the 3rd spot. Rather, with the likely team we'll put on the field, we need offensive balance throughout.