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Sox sign 1B Bucky Jacobsen


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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/spor...onenotes25.html

Larry Stone's Notes: M's favorite, if only briefly, signs with Sox

 

By Larry Stone

Seattle Times baseball reporter

 

He was a Mariners folk hero and then a Mariners discard, and now he's a member of the White Sox organization.

 

Bucky Jacobsen, who made an indelible impact in his brief Seattle tenure, on Friday signed a minor-league contract with Chicago. His agent, Joe Speed, said Jacobsen will report to the White Sox minor-league camp in Tucson, Ariz., on March 6.

 

While the White Sox are set at first base (Paul Konerko) and designated hitter (Jim Thome), Jacobsen seized the chance to show that he is over the knee injury that virtually wiped out his 2005 season.

 

He played in just 18 games for Class AAA Tacoma, hitting .136. The Mariners removed him from their 40-man roster in September and made no effort to re-sign him, allowing Jacobsen to become a minor-league free agent. Jacobsen's camp says he's healthy, fit and rarin' to go.

 

"The reality is that the guys starting in front of him are All-Stars," Speed said. "This is an opportunity for Bucky to go to spring training, play as hard as he can, and try to work his way back to the big leagues."

 

In 2004, Jacobsen finally made it to the big leagues with Seattle after nearly a decade in the minors. And he made an instant impact, hitting .275 with nine homers and 28 runs batted in in just 160 at-bats. His girth and outgoing personality make him an instant fan favorite.

 

The following winter, Jacobsen mused publicly about making the All-Star team, but his knee never cooperated. Eventually, he had surgery that sidelined him most of the year.

 

"In a perfect world, if we had known how the recovery would go, maybe he would have continued to play on it," Speed said. "But at the same time, we're looking at his career in the long term, not the short term."

 

Speed explored opportunities in Japan and even Mexico this winter before accepting the White Sox offer. He believes that Jacobsen, 30, will work his way back to the major leagues, though he is likely to start this season at Class AAA Charlotte of the International League.

 

"Bucky's mind is set — when he's healthy, he believes he can play in the big leagues," Speed said. "He proved that in 2004, and his goal is to get back to that level of play. That's what he's working toward."

 

2001972442.jpg

This dude can hit moon-shots, haha. He's the first base version of Borchard. Here are his stats:

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/J/b...-jacobsen.shtml

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/players/playerpage/25762

Edited by SSH2005
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Ross Gload, your ticket is punched.

Excellent point. There's really no reason to dump Borchard now.

 

This dude is a monster.  LOL@that announcer saying Buckymania.

I remember this dude being EXTREMELY popular among Mariners' fans that season (2004). Fans love him. He hits absolute monster bombs.

Edited by SSH2005
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QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 03:10 AM)
Excellent point.  There's really no reason to dump Borchard now.

I remember this dude being EXTREMELY popular among Mariners' fans that season (2004).  Fans love him.  He hits absolute monster bombs.

 

And it's not like Safeco is an easy park to hit them in. I love this signing. Even if it's just for depth/insurance.

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LOL.  Where do you find this stuff?  I'm gonna join that club right now.

I googled his name. I was looking for an article about him by Peter Gammons or some other sports writer. I seem to remember a story about Jacobsen hitting a few homers well over 500 feet in the minors.

Edited by SSH2005
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QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 03:17 AM)
I googled his name.  I was looking for an article about him by Peter Gammons or some other sports writer.  I seem to remember a story about Jacobsen hitting a few homers well over 500 feet in the minors.

 

Cool. Do you have any idea why it took him so long to make it to the majors?

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Cool.  Do you have any idea why it took him so long to make it to the majors?

Jacobsen seems to have had a very up and down career in the minors according to his numbers. I would guess it's partly for that reason and maybe because he's probably not very good at 1B and is more of a DH. Another reason is pretty ironic. When Jacobsen was in the Brewers' minor leagues in 2000 and 2001, they already had Richie Sexson at 1B. Then when he was in the Cardinals' minor leagues in 2002 and 2003, they already had Tino Martinez and Albert Pujols. Then when he went to the Mariners the last couple seasons, they went and signed Richie Sexson last year. Looks like he's been screwed by Sexson twice in his career. :P Hard to get a 1B/DH job with that kind of talent ahead of you.

 

I'm surprised that the Mariners didn't just keep Jacobsen and give him their DH job instead of spending (wasting) money on Carl Everett. Jacobsen is a fan favorite in Seattle so it's not like there would have been a big backlash against the move. I guess his knee injury was the reason the Mariners didn't consider this route. But I wouldn't be surprised to see this guy outproduce Everett if given a full-time DH job in the majors. Like you mentioned earlier, playing at Safeco you would want your DH to have the kind of massive power that Jacobsen possesses. Everett is going to hit a lot of warning track shots at Safeco in 2006.

Edited by SSH2005
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I loved watching Bucky, too bad there is little room for him.

The only way we will see him is if either Konerko or Thome get hurt. Let's hope that doesn't happen. But I think YASNY is right though. We now have a decent 1B/DH option at Charlotte. I think Gload is as good as gone and Borchard will get the last outfield spot.

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QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 04:22 AM)
The only way we will see him is if either Konerko or Thome get hurt.  Let's hope that doesn't happen.  But I think YASNY is right though.  We now have a decent 1B/DH option at Charlotte.  I think Gload is as good as gone and Borchard will get the last outfield spot.

 

Also, on Feb 20 the Sox signed first baseman Matt Dugan.

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QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 10:22 AM)
The only way we will see him is if either Konerko or Thome get hurt.  Let's hope that doesn't happen.  But I think YASNY is right though.  We now have a decent 1B/DH option at Charlotte.  I think Gload is as good as gone and Borchard will get the last outfield spot.

 

I'd say he's more of a DH option. 1b he has to show he could handle the defense. The Sox could get a good look at him in AAA to gauge that. Esp after being hurt all of '05.

 

I don't see this affecting Gload's chances of making the team.

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I'd say he's more of a DH option. 1b he has to show he could handle the defense. The Sox could get a good look at him in AAA to gauge that. Esp after being hurt all of '05.

 

I don't see this affecting Gload's chances of making the team.

The Sox now have a good option to call up from Charlotte if either Konerko or Thome gets injured. If Konerko gets injured, Thome could play 1B and Jacobsen could DH or vice versa. If Thome gets injured, Konerko would play 1B and Jacobsen could DH. Now there isn't as much of a need for a backup 1B/DH on the 25-man roster since there will be a good option at Charlotte. They may as well keep the best strictly outfield option now and that would be Borchard.

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QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 11:50 AM)
They may as well keep the best strictly outfield option now and that would be Borchard.

If the sox were looking for the best 5th OFer option, no doubt it would be Borchard. But if they were looking at things besides someone who may once a week in the late innings [like as a backup 1b man, pinch hitter, pinch runner for Thome/ PK] Gload may get the nod. We'll see the quotes and the reports as ST progresses.

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QUOTE(beck72 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 06:03 AM)
If the sox were looking for the best 5th OFer option, no doubt it would be Borchard. But if they were looking at things besides someone who may once a week in the late innings [like as a backup 1b man, pinch hitter, pinch runner for Thome/ PK] Gload may get the nod. We'll see the quotes and the reports as ST progresses.

No doubt Casey Rogowski is pleased.

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QUOTE(beck72 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 06:25 AM)
:huh

Should have been green, I had pictured Rogo in AAA at 1B this year but they keep bringing in guys ahead of him. If Jacobson and Dugan (and possibly Gload) are in Charlotte then its probably back to Bhama again.

 

Casey's getting Rowandesque, every time I see him play on TV (in the spring games), he looks like a nice player, but management keeps bringing in guys over him. He's on the 40 man, so we know they are not giving up on him. He's like the guy who finally gets ahead in the rat race and they bring in a new rat.

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QUOTE(YASNY @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 08:08 PM)
Ross Gload, your ticket is punched.

About a month ago, I started a thread about this exact topic, and players like Walter Young were mentioned as possible targets.

 

I just thought at the time, after what happened with Gload in 2005, and what he said when he was called up, there were some bridges that were burnt, and it was going to be hard for him to stay here.

 

Now it will be interesting to see if KW is able to move Gload in a deal or not. Not sure if Gload is out of options or not.

 

Now onto Jacobson. I'm guessing the Mariners gave to DH job to Everett simply because of the fact Everett's got the runs on the board, and that Safeco is much more benficial to LH power hitters, than it is for RH power hitters. Why else would they re-sign Raul Ibanez for an extra 2 years after this season (well Bill Bavasi is still one of the worst GM's in the game today).

 

Now Jacobson can crush lefties. He put up a 1.040 OPS against them in 50 AB's in 2004. And away from Safeco he had splits of .317/.360/.488.

 

Reading some things that the M's fans say of him though, his plate discipline needs work, as does his eye. But the good news is, they say he can hit the opposite way, and he's got good power to the gaps.

 

He's a perfect backup plan in case Jim Thome gets hurt. Excellent signing by KW here. He's covering all of his bases here.

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QUOTE(TLAK @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 11:59 PM)
Should have been green, I had pictured Rogo in AAA at 1B this year but they keep bringing in guys ahead of him.  If Jacobson and Dugan (and possibly Gload) are in Charlotte then its probably back to Bhama again.

 

Casey's getting Rowandesque, every time I see him play on TV (in the spring games), he looks like a nice player, but management keeps bringing in guys over him.  He's on the 40 man, so we know they are not giving up on him.  He's like the guy who finally gets ahead in the rat race and they bring in a new rat.

Rogo can also play in the OF for Charlotte, and that's what he'll probably have to do if he ever wants to make it for the White Sox.

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