Its Time For The Josh Fields Era To Begin...........

[Kalapse]

Im sure he will be around his career numbers.

 

Also, Thornton doesnt need to just be a LOOGY. He can basically pitch to RH and LH batters. If Polite is struggling, its obvious Ozzie has the confidence in Matt to put him out there against anyone.

So you're saying Politte is going to have around a 3 ERA the rest of the year? He hasn't shown any improvement of late, I don't see him just suddenly snapping out of his suckiness and becoming a very good reliever any time soon.

[Felix]

Uh oh, break out the 18-year-old minor league expert brigade to trot out drivel when they have no clue what they're talking about. While I'm not for bringing up Sweeney, his SLG% doesn't translate into BA, so I have no idea what logic you're trying to use. And to whoever made the quip about Sweeney playing in a bandbox, the majority of his hits are singles, so it's not like those are going to disappear if he gets promoted.

I'm not really relating his slugging percentage to his batting average. I'm saying that he will not be productive in the major league level, and his extremely low slugging percentage in the minor leagues right now will not magically get any higher. If his slugging percentage is low, then chances are his OPS will be low, and probably be about the same as Andersons right now.

 

The reason I think his average will drop is because he is not ready for the majors. Sure, he has a .300 average down in AAA right now, but Anderson hit .295 last year (while being a more complete and better hitter), and look at how he's doing in the majors right now. He's a prospect, and you can't expect him to come into the majors hitting .280. And even if he did hit .280, by some miracle, he would not be that productive because of an absurdly low slugging percentage/OPS.

[SoxAce]

I'm glad I didn't get to post in this thread until now...

[southsideirish]

QUOTE(fathom @ May 31, 2006 -> 04:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A lot of people have pointed to Iguchi's failed bunt attempt as a big turning point in the game. We're giving up a lot of outs on bunt attempts this season without successfully advancing the runners.

 

And this has to do with Brian Anderson how? How does the move of Josh Fields to left and Pods to CF help Iguchi put down a bunt. Brian Anderson's fundamentals seem to be fine to me.

 

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 31, 2006 -> 04:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Problem is...at the current rate, 40-50 of those losses are going to be due to bad fundamental baseball.

 

And Brian Anderson is the culprit of this bad fundamental baseball? I am just not understanding this. Unless we are getting off the topic of moving Pods to center and bringing up Josh Fields to play left.

[Kalapse]

And this has to do with Brian Anderson how? How does the move of Josh Fields to left and Pods to CF help Iguchi put down a bunt. Brian Anderson's fundamentals seem to be fine to me.

And Brian Anderson is the culprit of this bad fundamental baseball? I am just not understanding this. Unless we are getting off the topic of moving Pods to center and bringing up Josh Fields to play left.

Did you even read the last few pages, the thread has moved off the ridiculous original topic. Determining the teams biggest weakness is currently being discussed.

[WCSox]

So you're saying Politte is going to have around a 3 ERA the rest of the year? He hasn't shown any improvement of late, I don't see him just suddenly snapping out of his suckiness and becoming a very good reliever any time soon.

 

I wouldn't bank on Politte throwing a 3.00 ERA for the remainder of the season. I'm thinking he's going to be more in the 3.50-4.00 range... and it could easily be worse.

 

Regarding all the talk of BA and Uribe s***ting themselves at the plate, I'd rather stick with these guys (platooning BA with Mack) for their defense. If KW's going to make a move before the deadline, I'd rather see another righty or two in the 'pen than a CF.

[Balta1701]

I wouldn't bank on Politte throwing a 3.00 ERA for the remainder of the season. I'm thinking he's going to be more in the 3.50-4.00 range... and it could easily be worse.

 

Regarding all the talk of BA and Uribe s***ting themselves at the plate, I'd rather stick with these guys (platooning BA with Mack) for their defense. If KW's going to make a move before the deadline, I'd rather see another righty or two in the 'pen than a CF.

I would love to give BMac a shot pitching every other day as a setup man before we really make a move for another righty.

[J-MAN]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...tesox-headlines

 

Josh Fields is batting .326 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs in his first 39 games with Triple-A Charlotte. He has been playing third, but that could change if he continues to develop hitting as quickly as he has in his first seven weeks with the Knights.

 

Fields could switch to the outfield.

 

"We might have to consider this for Fields, simply because Joe is at third base, and Joe is the best in the business," general manager Ken Williams said....

 

"[Fields] is a good athlete," Williams said of the former Oklahoma State quarterback. "… We may be forced [to switch his position] because Josh is coming, and he's coming fast."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

* So Fields would come up and move to LF.

 

* Podsdnik would move back to CF (his natural position)

 

* Then Send Anderson to AAA so he can idk, "find himself".

I think its a good idea.

 

 

I remember when Joe Crede came up and played good defense and couldn't hit for squatt - If we had given up on him as fast as people want to give up on Brian Anderson where would we be now?

 

Give the guy a chance to work it out !

 

 

[Friend of Nordhagen]

Which is why I edited the post to say I'd prefer Cameron or Erstad. We are talking about the back of the order. If Erstad is healthy (and we have a month or two to evaluate that) he is a solid pickup. He's extremely over-rated by some, but we wouldn't have to give up any top prospects to get him and he's got plenty of playoff experience.

 

He's a very good baserunner and can get a clutch hit from time to time (don't know what his stats are, but I've seen him get plenty of em in Anaheim). Defensively he's not what he once was, but when healthy he's solid. If he proves he's not heatlhy, than thats an obvious pass.

 

Cameron would need to prove he's healthy as well. I doubt I'd give up the prospects for Hunter, especially since I think the Twins would demand Anderson (who is a Hunter clone- TOOLS WISE) plus a guy like Valido and probably even a Whisler type).

 

I am sure a few other solid enough CF's will enter the market, but the most important thing is finding defense. If Mark Kotsay didn't have such a high salary, I'd consider making a deal with the A's, but Beane really likes him and I think Kotsay is signed relatively long term (plus the A's aren't dealing unless they get major league help in return so it would have to be a 3 way deal; if by some shocker the A's were out of contention than there may be a possibility).

 

I see I'm not the only one who thinks that Erstad, evaluated for the next month or two for health and batting ninth in our order, is a possibility on the cheap. I brought it up in another thread, knowing that he's always been a favorite of Kenny Willams's, is a "grinder," and is in a walk year.

 

Nevertheless, I agree with folks here that settling our bullpen problems is a bigger concern than centerfield.

[fathom]

I remember when Joe Crede came up and played good defense and couldn't hit for squatt - If we had given up on him as fast as people want to give up on Brian Anderson where would we be now?

 

We weren't in World Series or bust mode when Crede was breaking into the majors. Also, Crede was a much more accomplished minor league player than Anderson was.

[beautox]

We weren't in World Series or bust mode when Crede was breaking into the majors. Also, Crede was a much more accomplished minor league player than Anderson was.

Thank You. I'm growing tired of the "but we waited for Crede to devlop at the plate at the ML level" argument. We weren't defending world champs and as you stated Crede had a more acomplished Milb career, if im not mistaken he was a 2 time mvp? anyways in Kenny i trust i know hes high on Brian and im still in the kids corner but if he can't pick it up we need a complete CF simple as that.

[Balta1701]

I see I'm not the only one who thinks that Erstad, evaluated for the next month or two for health and batting ninth in our order, is a possibility on the cheap. I brought it up in another thread, knowing that he's always been a favorite of Kenny Willams's, is a "grinder," and is in a walk year.

 

Nevertheless, I agree with folks here that settling our bullpen problems is a bigger concern than centerfield.

2006 salary for Erstad...$8,750,000. Prorate over 3/4 of the year, and he still costs $6.5 million. Getting the Angels to pay part of that would cost actual talent, given that they can just let his ass walk at the end of the year. He is not "Cheap".

[southsider2k5]

We weren't in World Series or bust mode when Crede was breaking into the majors. Also, Crede was a much more accomplished minor league player than Anderson was.

 

Wait we weren't trying to win a World Series in 2003-2004? I think that is news to Kenny Williams.

[J-MAN]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...tesox-headlines

 

Josh Fields is batting .326 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs in his first 39 games with Triple-A Charlotte. He has been playing third, but that could change if he continues to develop hitting as quickly as he has in his first seven weeks with the Knights.

 

Fields could switch to the outfield.

 

"We might have to consider this for Fields, simply because Joe is at third base, and Joe is the best in the business," general manager Ken Williams said....

 

"[Fields] is a good athlete," Williams said of the former Oklahoma State quarterback. "… We may be forced [to switch his position] because Josh is coming, and he's coming fast."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

* So Fields would come up and move to LF.

 

* Podsdnik would move back to CF (his natural position)

 

* Then Send Anderson to AAA so he can idk, "find himself".

I think its a good idea.

 

 

Kenny Williams is on the SCORE with Murph right now - doesn't sound like Brian Anderson is going anywhere!

[Balta1701]

Kenny Williams is on the SCORE with Murph right now - doesn't sound like Brian Anderson is going anywhere!

Did he specifically say BA wouldn't be demoted?

 

If so, given that negotiations had broken off with Garland's people and Contreras's people, and we had confidence in Boone Logan and he wasn't going anywhere, I'd say B.A. has a few days left.

[Kalapse]

Did he specifically say BA wouldn't be demoted?

 

If so, given that negotiations had broken off with Garland's people and Contreras's people, and we had confidence in Boone Logan and he wasn't going anywhere, I'd say B.A. has a few days left.

He said that he'll be sticking with BA until he loses confidence in himself. He mentioned Brian's great glove and how a trade to replace him is unrealistic.

[pcullotta]

This is kinda interesting....Brian's Stats at the Cell:

.256 Avg | .333 OBP | 3 HR | 9 RBI | .488 SLG | .821 OPS

 

I never thought to look those numbers up. It's not that he's killing the ball at home but those numbers are pretty servicable for a 9 hitter.

 

For comparisons sake, here are Juan's numbers at the Cell last year:

.234 Avg | .285 OBP | 10 HR | 40 RBI | .422 SLG | .707 OPS

 

Granted Anderson's numbers suck on the road this year, I just thought it was interesting to see those numbers. Brian is right on pace with Juan's (9th hitter last year) HR's and RBI's and he actually has a higher AVG and OBP (at the cell).

Edited May 31, 2006 by pcullotta

[Kalapse]

Any other nuggets to pass along Kalapse?

I only heard the little clip they played during the update, I turned off the radio a while ago. I suppose since it was Mike Murphy who was asking the question that there really was nothing else of note.

 

This is kinda interesting....Brian's Stats at the Cell:

.256 Avg | .333 OBP | 3 HR | 9 RBI | .488 SLG | .821 OPS

 

I never thought to look those numbers up. It's not that he's killing the ball at home but those numbers are pretty servicable for a 9 hitter.

 

For comparisons sake, here are Juan's numbers at the Cell last year:

.234 Avg | .285 OBP | 10 HR | 40 RBI | .422 SLG | .707 OPS

 

Granted Anderson's numbers suck on the road this year, I just thought it was interesting to see those numbers. Brian is right on pace with Juan's (9th hitter last year) HR's and RBI's and he actually has a higher AVG and OBP (at the cell).

An .821 OPS in the 9 hole is beyond serviceable, if he only played at home he'd be one of the best 9 hole hitters in baseball.

[fathom]

Wait we weren't trying to win a World Series in 2003-2004? I think that is news to Kenny Williams.

 

We didn't have a 100 million dollar payroll during those seasons, and we hadn't traded our top prospect in order to put together a world-class pitching staff. Of course, KW was going for the WS that season. However, I think the organization would have been thrilled with a trip to the playoffs. This year, I don't think they'd be like the fat girl at the prom. Rather, instead of just being in the playoffs, they want to win it all.

[WCSox]

2006 salary for Erstad...$8,750,000. Prorate over 3/4 of the year, and he still costs $6.5 million. Getting the Angels to pay part of that would cost actual talent, given that they can just let his ass walk at the end of the year. He is not "Cheap".

 

I don't want Erstad, Griffey, or any other big-name, big-paycheck, past-their-prime-four-years-ago CFs in a Sox uniform.

[Friend of Nordhagen]

2006 salary for Erstad...$8,750,000. Prorate over 3/4 of the year, and he still costs $6.5 million. Getting the Angels to pay part of that would cost actual talent, given that they can just let his ass walk at the end of the year. He is not "Cheap".

 

I'm well aware of what his salary is. It would be prorated for 2 months, not 4. (I presume we'd wait on Anderson until the end of July. If you're not going to wait that long on BA, by the way, please feel free to articulate some alternatives to him right now.) And we wouldn't give up a ton in prospects because, if we thought he was the right guy, we'd pay him. Our budgetary situation is not the same as in years past.

 

But, again, I'd rather spend that money on the pen.

[southsider2k5]

We didn't have a 100 million dollar payroll during those seasons, and we hadn't traded our top prospect in order to put together a world-class pitching staff. Of course, KW was going for the WS that season. However, I think the organization would have been thrilled with a trip to the playoffs. This year, I don't think they'd be like the fat girl at the prom. Rather, instead of just being in the playoffs, they want to win it all.

 

They wanted to win it all, all along. To be honest I would argue winning in 2006 is LESS vital than it was in 2004-2005 when the Sox were in danger of being completely over shadowed by the potential Cubs "dynasty" coming off of being 5 outs away from the world series. I am not quite sure which prospect you are referring to when you talk about trading away our best one, but for years we have been selling off the cream of our farm system in order to get players. Don't forget the screams when we acquired Freddy Garcia, Carl Everett, Robby Alomar and who we gave up for them. etc. Nothing has changed in the last few years except for the fact that we finally DID win a World Series, Kenny Williams has been going for broke for years now.

[fathom]

They wanted to win it all, all along. To be honest I would argue winning in 2006 is LESS vital than it was in 2004-2005 when the Sox were in danger of being completely over shadowed by the potential Cubs "dynasty" coming off of being 5 outs away from the world series. I am not quite sure which prospect you are referring to when you talk about trading away our best one, but for years we have been selling off the cream of our farm system in order to get players. Don't forget the screams when we acquired Freddy Garcia, Carl Everett, Robby Alomar and who we gave up for them. etc. Nothing has changed in the last few years except for the fact that we finally DID win a World Series, Kenny Williams has been going for broke for years now.

 

I agree with you that this season isn't as important to win it all as previous years. However, I honestly think KW and JR are going for the juggular in terms of trying to make Chicago a "Sox town". KW has been going for broke the last 3 or 4 seasons, but JR really is going for it all this season.

[southsideirish]

QUOTE(Friend of Nordhagen @ May 31, 2006 -> 06:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I see I'm not the only one who thinks that Erstad, evaluated for the next month or two for health and batting ninth in our order, is a possibility on the cheap. I brought it up in another thread, knowing that he's always been a favorite of Kenny Willams's, is a "grinder," and is in a walk year.

 

Nevertheless, I agree with folks here that settling our bullpen problems is a bigger concern than centerfield.

 

He will never be that healthy.

[southsider2k5]

I agree with you that this season isn't as important to win it all as previous years. However, I honestly think KW and JR are going for the juggular in terms of trying to make Chicago a "Sox town". KW has been going for broke the last 3 or 4 seasons, but JR really is going for it all this season.

 

To be honest, I think JR and the management have been giving Kenny the same "effort" for years now. He gets whatever the income is to spend for payroll. The Sox have always been a zero sum profit team, and this year isn't any different. It just looks different because the Sox income last year was so much higher because of the trip to the World Series.