Politte's option exercised, Everett's Declined

[GreatScott82]

Wow its crazy. We just won a championship and we are already talking about 2006! Haha its okay its better to prepare to defend our title sooner than later!

 

First I just want to say: Thank you Jurassic Carl- you had countless big hits in the first half of the year and had some big hits in the playoffs. He played a big role in our championship season!

 

KW has to take the same approach in 2006 as he did in '05. He can't count on Frank being healthy all season. Therefor I would love to get another Lefty DH to share time with Frank. Ken Griffey? I doubt it. They will still be asking for the world. Overbay? Possibly, for the right price. Any other suggestions?

[Balta1701]

NO way should Kenny pursue Furcal, unless JR suddenly desides a 110+ million dollar payroll is realistic for the next 3 years.

And even if JR did...anyone else have other ideas on where we could better spend that green? Locking up our pitching staff, for example, or maybe making a run at a really large bat in 06.

 

On a side note, but since someone brought up Uribe...I've been wondering about this...does anyone else think he could benefit from a dramatic change in the way he stands at home plate?

 

I've watched Juan for a ccouple years now, as many of you have, and I've noticed 2 things about his swing:

 

1. He murders the ball when he is seeing the ball well. This was why the leg kick helped him...he got his timing down such that he could keep an eye on the ball and not swing as wildly at pitches out of the strike zone. When he started taking more pitches, he got immediately hot.

 

2. When he stands in the box, he has his feet very very close together. When he starts his swing, he moves his front foot at least 1-2 feet forward in a large step. When he does this...his head goes flying forwards.

 

There was another hitter who in 2004 had a very similar swing problem to #2 - Andruw Jones. In 05, he came in with a new batting stance, with his legs spread out, such that his head stayed far more motionless during his swing. It allowed him to see the ball far better, and we know what the results were.

 

I think Uribe could benefit from a batting stance change. First and foremost, I wonder what would happen with him if someone could convince him to spread his legs apart by a foot or so, so that when he took his stride and shifted his weight from back to front, his head didn't go flying and he wouldn't pull off the ball as easy. Secondly, I wonder what would happen with him if someone tried to open his legs up, such that his first motion was towards the plate. This might give him the added benefit of being able to see the ball better - we've seen people dramatically improve their career by opening up their stance so that they could see the ball better as it was leaving the pitcher's hand.

 

Just some random Uribe thoughts.

[SSH2005]

He's never going to be 100 pct again.  At best, he'll be able to play 5 times a week.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How do you know this? What if his ankle heals fine, just like it is being reported?

Edited November 1, 2005 by SSH2005

[Balta1701]

KW has to take the same approach in 2006 as he did in '05. He can't count on Frank being healthy all season. Therefor I would love to get another Lefty DH to share time with Frank. Ken Griffey? I doubt it. They will still be asking for the world. Overbay? Possibly, for the right price. Any other suggestions?

Here's the big problem with that concept...how much do you want to give up for a guy who you think should "Share" time with Frank? We saw this season that we already had a little bit of trouble just with Everett sharing time with Frank - at the time, we wanted to find ways to get both of them itno the lineup, and it was just very difficult.

 

You don't find highly paid guys to "share" time with another player. You don't find high quality guys to share time. You don't make big deals, like trading for Overbay, to share time.

 

If you want someone to "Share" time, you need to find someone who is cheap and who offers you something. This means you need to find someone who firstly is young, and doesn't yet qualify for arbitration. Secondly, you need to find someone who is good enough such that you don't suffer when you take them out of the lineup, but yet someone who isn't so dynamite that when you take them out of the lineup for Frank, your fans don't get pissed off because he's not in the lineup (think Griffey here - would you really want him sitting on the bench 1/2 the time?)

 

If we're going to keep Frank, the best options for platoons are probably the ones in house. Some combination of Gload (giving Konerko added rest and allowing Paulie to DH), Brian Anderson (giving the outfield added rest as well), or Joe Borchard (again, outfield, but with worse defense than BA, even though he could still somehow manage to be the biggest bat of the 3). Rogowski could figure into this as well, but I think he's still too young.

 

We have enough youth going around that our young guys can provide a sufficient backup for the hurt at a reasonable price, and at the same time we can get them big league experience and training for the future. If we're going to go with Hurt, the best backup options are in house, and if Frank goes down for the whole season, then maybe you consider a trade.

 

If you want to go after someone like an Overbay, he should get the #3 slot in the order, no questions asked. He cannot just be expected to Share Time with Frank.

[SSH2005]

Just some random Uribe thoughts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't see why anyone wants to replace Uribe. He plays awesome defense and makes very little money. His numbers after the All-Star break when he added the leg kick and started taking more bad pitches were very good. I'd like to see what he can do with his new repertoire from the start of next season. Next season, I think Uribe will put up numbers between his 2004 and 2005. I don't see why some people want to get rid of a cheap, studly defender that puts up decent numbers batting ninth.

Edited November 1, 2005 by SSH2005

[fathom]

How do you know this?  What is his ankle heals fine, just like it is being reported?

 

A man with Frank's size doesn't just drastically recover from two major injuries like that to be 100 pct. He even talked this season about how he could barely run, and how much it hurt him. I think we're fooling ourselves to think he can be as healthy as a 25 year old player. If KW brings him back next season, he better have a contingency plan if Thomas gets hurt again.

[Rowand44]

A man with Frank's size doesn't just drastically recover from two major injuries like that to be 100 pct.  He even talked this season about how he could barely run, and how much it hurt him.  I think we're fooling ourselves to think he can be as healthy as a 25 year old player.  If KW brings him back next season, he better have a contingency plan if Thomas gets hurt again.

And he will, I guarantee it. If Frank is back there will be a backup plan in place.

[SSH2005]

And he will, I guarantee it.  If Frank is back there will be a backup plan in place.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brian Anderson in right field and Dye as our DH. Of course, this assumes that we have resigned Konerko and Anderson is our fourth outfielder to start the season.

[Balta1701]

I don't see why anyone wants to replace Uribe.  He plays awesome defense and makes very little money.  His numbers after the All-Star break when he added the leg kick and started taking more bad pitches were very good.  I'd like to see what he can do with his new repertoire from the start of next season.  Next season, I think Uribe will put up numbers between his 2004 and 2005.  I don't see why some people want to get rid of a cheap, studly defender that puts up decent numbers batting ninth.

My post earlier was me basically saying that I really think Uribe can repeat his first 1/2 of 2004, but I think he needs some serious work on his batting mechanics in order to do it.

[chitownsportsfan]

I don't think people are worrying about just Frank's ankle. He's entering his upper 30's and he's put a lot of mileage on his entire body. It isn't likely that he can give us more than 300-400 AB's next year. Of course, I don't think anybody would complain about that.

 

The problem with the DH spot right now is that a healthy frank is more than likely the best and cheapest option. But this plan needs to be backed up with something else, a contingency plan is definetly needed. If Brian Anderson is the answer coming out of spring training next season, he can play right on days dye is off or playing 1st, and split time with Frank at DH, and provide possibly a stop-gap if Frank is injured.

 

I'm really worried that Frank comes back, plays great, and then Kenny is forced to make yet another mid-season trade for Carl, and the position is still a weakness.

[Balta1701]

A man with Frank's size doesn't just drastically recover from two major injuries like that to be 100 pct.  He even talked this season about how he could barely run, and how much it hurt him.  I think we're fooling ourselves to think he can be as healthy as a 25 year old player.  If KW brings him back next season, he better have a contingency plan if Thomas gets hurt again.

I think the reason he could barely run was that he didn't have time to fully recover from the first injury and pushed himself so hard to get back that he wound up with the 2nd. If he were genuinely recovered...then it's possible that he could just be done with the foot problem and move on.

 

1 thing that might be worth thinking about is that the rest of his body hasn't really been subjected to the rigors of a full baseball season (being plunked by balls, diving into bases, lots of running) for over a year now, and it'll be almost 2 years when the season starts. It's entirely possible that this could help him stay healthier, just because he'll have been able to recover from all those other little nagging things that have been around through the years.

 

On the other hand, he is 2 years older, so that's going to work against that theory. Meh, who knows, I still want him as my DH if he can walk.

[SSH2005]

My post earlier was me basically saying that I really think Uribe can repeat his first 1/2 of 2004, but I think he needs some serious work on his batting mechanics in order to do it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know. I'm not sure if Uribe can repeat his 2004 because pitchers were serving him up a lot more fastballs then. He's not seeing many pitches over the plate these days because pitchers know he will swing at crap off the plate. His weakness is sliders and breaking stuff low and away, just like Rowand. I do think that Uribe can put up numbers between his 2004 and 2005 seasons next year, somewhere around a .770 OPS with 20 homers.

Edited November 1, 2005 by SSH2005

[GoodAsGould]

Yes Frank is a big man and he puts a lot of pressure on his ankle..... and if he played 1B it could be a problem but the man is the DH he should be able to get at least 450 bats next season.

[SSH2005]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2209505

 

"Thomas, a two-time AL MVP who is the team's career leader in virtually every offensive category, has spent his entire career with the White Sox and has said repeatedly he wants to come back. But the White Sox are expected to give him the buyout, and then negotiate another deal at a lower price."

Edited November 1, 2005 by SSH2005

[Balta1701]

I know.  I'm not sure if he can repeat his 2004 because pitchers were serving him up a lot more fastballs then.  He's not seeing many pitches over the plate anymore because pitchers know he will swing at some crap off the plate.  His weakness is sliders and breaking stuff low and away, just like Rowand.  I do think that Uribe can put up numbers between his 2004 and 2005 seasons next year, somewhere around a .770 OPS with 20 homers.

Exactly my point. His weakness with the pitches outside the plate is something that can be worked out mechanically. He swings at those pitches because he thinks they're close enough to swing at, which means we need to find a way to get him to stop swinging at them. When he added the leg kick, it delayed his swing enough that he was able to hold up on that pitch for a time, and he immediately became virtually our most dangerous hitter.

 

This is a mechanics problem. It can be solved. Normally, when a person keeps their head still, it enables them to stay back on pitches longer and drive the ball. When their head dives forwards, they tend to lose sight of the ball earlier, and are more susceptible to swinging and missing at pitches out of the strike zone. Thus...one possible solution is to try to find a way to keep Uribe from diving forwards...and this would require spreading his legs out such that he's shifting his weight without his whole body diving forward.

[Balta1701]

Yes Frank is a big man and he puts a lot of pressure on his ankle..... and if he played 1B it could be a problem but the man is the DH he should be able to get at least 450 bats next season.

Who is the pitcher in your sig?

[GoodAsGould]

Who is the pitcher in your sig?

 

Ryan Sweeney

[Jordan4life_2007]

I swear to God, if Widger isn't back next year...

 

Qwerty would go Columbine if that happened.

[greg775]

If the Royals were smart they'd acquire Carl.

[SSH2005]

If the Royals were smart they'd acquire Carl.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think the Twins will pounce on Carl to be their DH.