I'm finally off of the Podsednik bandwagon (long)

[knightni]

So... what you're saying is...

 

Without Pods being a major factor in helping the Sox win 6 games this year, that they'd be 8 back of Detroit right now and behind the Yanks for the WC?

 

[Rowand44]

I really can't stand watching Pods in left field at all, it's truely one of the more frusterating things to have to see. That being said, I actually like his offense at the top of the order which I know most of you hate. Also, we do win when he's in the lineup and we do lose when he's out of the lineup. So while he might be frusterating as all hell, he does seem to help this team.

[AngelasDaddy0427]

Anyone remember when Willie Harris was our leadoff hitter... Now stop your b****ing...

[Capn12]

The Pods issue is not quite cut and dry like we want it to be though. Everyone on here by now probably knows how harsh I am on Pods, and for IMO good reason. But the fact is this:to replace Pods' shoddy defense in LF, you have to not only get a solid defending LFer, but you also HAVE to get one that can hit leadoff for you. Look up and down our order, there is not 1 guy who could even pretend to fill the role as "Leadoff Hitter"....and don't tell me "Iguchi" because we all know better than that, and hes the closest to a fit there is.

 

With that said, its alot harder to go out on the market telling yourself as a GM "OK, I need to find this team a LFer that can play pretty good defense, AND who has the mentality and ability to leadoff for my team. Someone who will take his share of pitches, sacrifice himself to move runners over, not get flyball greedy."

 

KW has his work cutout for him, and no, Josh Fields is not the answer with our current roster setup.

[innersanctum]

Literally the ONLY thing that Scott Podsednik arguably provides us with over any other major league replacement is steals and runs, and as it turns out, the value of those two numbers seems to be inflated.

 

His defense is atrocious. He is 18th out of 21 in Qualified Fielding Percentage for Left Fielders. He is a mediocre 10th out of 21 in Range Factor despite his tremendous footspeed, and 11th out of 21 in Zone Rating.

 

He is 8/9 in qualified AL leadoff hitters in OBP and OPS. He is 7/9 in RBIs. 8/9 in home runs. This means he doesn't walk enough and he doesn't have nearly enough pop. Pretty much all of his OPS is generated by his ability to stretch a double into a triple.

 

Now he IS third in runs, and he IS second in steals. However, the runs are more of a product of the success behind him than the runs he is generating with his legs this season. I'm going to argue in this thread that probably less than half of his steals have been truly meaningful in terms of determining the outcome of the game.

 

Additionally, a lot of his offensive numbers in terms of hits and RBIs are occuring in blowout games. In fact, six of the first seven games in which he had an RBI were lopsided victories for the White Sox: 10-4 Sox over Cle April 1st (1 RBI), 9-0 over KC April 17th (1 RBI), 7-1 over MIN April 21st (1 RBI), and 9-1 and 12-5 over LAA two consecutive days May 9th and 10th (1 RBI each). The lone game he contributed to that was close in that stretch was @ LAA, where he had two RBIS in a game where we still won by a larger margin than that (3). Additionally, 7 other RBIs out of his 32 total occurred in lopsided games in which the White Sox won, and a handful of other RBIs occurred in losses for the White Sox. Aside from the Grand Slam against Houston, less than 10 of Podsednik's RBIs this season have been at all meaningful in terms of determining the outcome in a White Sox victory over 6 total games. And all of those games he had 1 RBI.

 

Now, Podsednik's stolen base log for 2006:

 

1) April 16th vs. Toronto. 1 Steal. Podsednik steals second with 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd in after the Sox score 3 in the first against Toronto and have a 3-0 lead. He takes thrid on an Iguchi groundout, allowing Thome to swing away for a sac fly, which he ends up hitting out for a 2-run job. The Sox go up 5-0 and hang on 6-4 in a game that was closer than expected. Net Result: stolen base generated arguably 2 runs, the difference in this game.

 

2) April 18th vs. Kansas City. 2 Steals. Pods steals second in the 5th inning with the sox up 3-1, takes third on an errant throw and is stranded on third after an Iguchi K, a Thome walk and a PK strikeout. Pods steals second in the 7th inning with the Sox up 3-1, and scores an insurance run on a 2-out single by Thome. Net Result: stolen base generates 1 insurance run, but Kansas City had virtually nothing going against Jon Garland all game and was never really a threat.

 

3) April 25th at Seattle. 1 Steal. Pods is part of a double steal with Anderson as the lead runner in the third inning, and both end up scoring the first runs of an eventual 13-3 blowout which featured dominant pitching from Javier Vazquez. Net Result: Hard to argue that his steal as a trail runner in a blowout really contributed much to the success of the evening.

 

4) May 1st at Cleveland. 4 Steals Scott is the centerpiece of an 8-6 win by stealing 4 bases in 5 chances on Victor Martinez and scoring three runs. Net Result: Podsednik probably won us this game with his legs, but Vic Martinez is pretty easily to steal off of

 

5) May 9th at LAA. 1 Steal. Steals a base in a 9-1 whitewashing of a struggling Kevin Gregg. Yawn. Net Result: Nada.

 

6) May 14th at Min. 1 Steal. Steals a base and scores a couple of runs, also has a couple of RBIs and hits against Minnesota in a close game. Net Result: Podsednik was crucial to the Sox winning this game

 

7) May 15th at Min. 1 Steal. Pods' home run probably had more to do with the victory here than his stolen base. He stole second in the 4th but was stranded. Net Result: Nada.

 

8) May 16th at Tampa. 3 Steals. Steals 3 bases in a 10-7 loss. Net Result: Hard to argue that three stolen bases in a losing effort really provided much for the team.

 

9) May 19th vs Cubs. 1 Steal. Steals second base with the Sox up 6-1 in the 6th inning of the first game at the Cell. Net Result: Totally meaningless steal.

 

10) May 23rd vs Oakland. 2 Steals. Steals third and scores the first run of the game on a wild throw by Kendall. The Sox go on to touch up Saarloos in a game that is never close and ultimately resulted in a 9-3 win for the palehose. On the other steal Pods was stranded. Net Result: Podsednik was a catalyst in the game, but the game wasn't close. Still, his steal contributes to the victory.

 

11) June 1st at Cleveland. 2 Steals. The first steal did score a run, but only after Iguchi walked (which would've sent Pods to second anyway) and Thome doubled (which would've scored him from first anyway. The second steal was a meaningless down-4 steal in the top of the ninth inning that could've probably been ruled Defensive Indifference. Net Result: None, he did not contribute to a win nor did his speed put us in a position to win the game

 

12) June 3rd vs Texas. 1 Steal. Podsednik steals third after doubling in a couple of runs and later scores. His steal partially provides the difference in this 8-6 win. Net Result: Scott was a big part of this game, and it's hard to argue that his stolen base wasn't part of it.

 

13) June 18 at Cincinnati. 1 Steal. Podsednik steals but is stranded in an 8-1 drubbing of the Reds. Net Result: Nada.

 

14) June 24th vs. Houston. 1 Steal. Pods stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a manufactured run via a Thome sac fly to allow the Sox to go up 1-0 in the first inning. Although the Crede slam was primarily responsible for paving the way to an eventual Sox win, Pods run in the first is just as important and was the difference. Net Result: Podsednik's run generated by the stolen base was the difference in this game

 

15) June 27th at Pittsburgh 1 Steal. Pods stole second and scored in the first, and although the White Sox never trailed in a close game, the run was crucial. Net Result: Pods' SB was key to the Sox maintaining a slim margin over the Bucks.

 

16) July 1st at Cubs 1 Steal Pods stole a base and was stranded in an 8-6 win. Net Result: Nada

 

17) July 4th vs Baltimore 1 Steal Pods stole a base in the second inning with the Sox already up 4-0 and on their way to a 13-0 drubbing. He was later stranded. Net Result: Nada

 

18) July 5th vs Baltimore 1 Steal Pods stole second and scored the first run in a tight 4-2 Sox winner. Net Result: Scotty contributed to this win with his legs.

 

19) July 8th vs Boston 1 Steal Pods stole a base and got us within a run at 5-4, but ultimately the Sox lose 9-6 to the Red Sox. Net Result: Pods stolen base didn't contribute to a win.

 

20) July 9th vs Boston 1 Steal Scotty steals second in the 12th but is stranded. Net Result: Nada.

 

What's the bottom line?

 

Out of 20 games in which Podsednik steals a base,

11 times (55%) the stolen base(s) didn't effect the outcome whatsoever.

2 times (10%) the stolen base(s) generated a run and contributed to a win, but the game was not really close

7 times (35%) the stolen base(s) directly led to runs that help to insure a win.

 

So out of all the games Podsednik is stealing bases for us, almost 2/3rds of the time the stolen bases don't really affect the outcome. This is a very telling statistic, and I think one in which maybe emphasizes that the Stolen Base is overvalued when there isn't a whole lot else accompanying it. Sure, it's a vital part of a good leadoff hitter's repertoire, but relying on this alone is not enough to keep a guy around in my opinion.

 

I'm not really advocating to get RID of Podsednik this season, but I would like to see a full-time platoon with Ozuna. If we're really resigned to giving up that much defensively in left, we might as well get OBA, OBP, OPS and other things out of it rather than just steals. Ozuna has got something like 200 points of OPS on Scotty. I realize that Ozuna is not going to hit .413 for a season, but even if he just hit .290 he'd STILL have 70 points on Scotty in OPS. Ozuna strikes out far less too, only 8 times in 92 ABs.

 

So why not platoon them? Sorry for the long-winded rant, I just felt this stuff was interesting.

 

In his defense, we lose those 7 games his steals directly contributed to winning the game, and we would be 50-38 and no where near Detroit and probably closer to Minnesota with Minnesota winning one more because of Pods missing this "crucial" steal.

[Dick Allen]

In his defense, we lose those 7 games his steals directly contributed to winning the game, and we would be 50-38 and no where near Detroit and probably closer to Minnesota with Minnesota winning one more because of Pods missing this "crucial" steal.

You are also assuming the player that takes his place does absolutely nothing to help the White Sox win games. I guarantee Podsednik being in the White Sox line-up has not resulted in 7 extra victories.

[TitoMB345]

Look at SABR metrics all you want, but they don't provide intangibles at all.

 

Scott HAS heart, and the team loves that.

[southsideirish71]

Look at SABR metrics all you want, but they don't provide intangibles at all.

 

Scott HAS heart, and the team loves that.

 

Tell him to use that heart to catch easy fly balls that he f***s up. I dont care if he doesnt make the amazing play, just f***ing catch the balls hit to you.

 

And if you have a poor arm, in late inning situations, you can play a few steps off of the warning track. You dont have to put your back to the track, especially if you are fast.

 

If he does that sure.

[watchtower41]

Should be great to see all these same people that are always b****ing to shut up again once Pods goes over .300 in the 2nd half. The same people in this thread that said we should have relased him to waivers at the beginning of the season. Pure ignorance.

 

Two things or threads you can always rely on seeing at soxtalk

 

Overwhelming hatred for Podsednik.

 

Overwhelming and Overrated love for Mark Buehrle and Jerry Owens. Afterall, they are both the present and the future. :headshake

 

 

No coincedence that one of the most beloved White Sox players takes a bigger beating than Travis Hafner on this board. Ohh well, must be the soxtalk good ole Cubs fan philosophy kicking in again. Who cares if a player is on your team, if you dont like him, F him. Thanks for the good jokes though... Pablo and ROb playing better D in Left. f***in hilarious, I'm quite sure thats why we see them there so much when Pods was slumping. Has Rob even played LF this year?? LOl I know Pablo has, I think Anderson is still trying to help him up off the ground after diving for a routine fly ball and letting it roll to wall.

[Balta1701]

Has Rob even played LF this year??

Rob has actually come in a couple of times late in games as a defensive replacement for Scott.

[Milkman delivers]

Should be great to see all these same people that are always b****ing to shut up again once Pods goes over .300 in the 2nd half. The same people in this thread that said we should have relased him to waivers at the beginning of the season. Pure ignorance.

 

Two things or threads you can always rely on seeing at soxtalk

 

Overwhelming hatred for Podsednik.

 

Overwhelming and Overrated love for Mark Buehrle and Jerry Owens. Afterall, they are both the present and the future. :headshake

No coincedence that one of the most beloved White Sox players takes a bigger beating than Travis Hafner on this board. Ohh well, must be the soxtalk good ole Cubs fan philosophy kicking in again. Who cares if a player is on your team, if you dont like him, F him. Thanks for the good jokes though... Pablo and ROb playing better D in Left. f***in hilarious, I'm quite sure thats why we see them there so much when Pods was slumping. Has Rob even played LF this year?? LOl I know Pablo has, I think Anderson is still trying to help him up off the ground after diving for a routine fly ball and letting it roll to wall.

 

Jesus Christ. Take it easy there, killer. If we knew you were Lisa Dergen, we would've been nicer to you.

[southsideirish71]

Should be great to see all these same people that are always b****ing to shut up again once Pods goes over .300 in the 2nd half. The same people in this thread that said we should have relased him to waivers at the beginning of the season. Pure ignorance.

 

Two things or threads you can always rely on seeing at soxtalk

 

Overwhelming hatred for Podsednik.

 

Overwhelming and Overrated love for Mark Buehrle and Jerry Owens. Afterall, they are both the present and the future. :headshake

No coincedence that one of the most beloved White Sox players takes a bigger beating than Travis Hafner on this board. Ohh well, must be the soxtalk good ole Cubs fan philosophy kicking in again. Who cares if a player is on your team, if you dont like him, F him. Thanks for the good jokes though... Pablo and ROb playing better D in Left. f***in hilarious, I'm quite sure thats why we see them there so much when Pods was slumping. Has Rob even played LF this year?? LOl I know Pablo has, I think Anderson is still trying to help him up off the ground after diving for a routine fly ball and letting it roll to wall.

 

 

If Pods can hit, catch balls hit near him fine. If pods cant hit, or catch balls near him, then exactly what does he provide. If you think his D has been good at all this year, then I suggest you take the homer glasses off for a minute. Why do you think that he has been pulled for Mack for a defensive replacement late in games. So that answers your, has he played LF this year.

 

Ozuna is not good in LF either. But Mack probably is better than both as he is more of a corner OF not a CF.

 

I dont think Jerry Owens is anything special. As for Mark Buerhle. Whats not to like. He is a guy who is a horse, that gives you a mid 3 ERA.

 

Who is attacking Hafner on this board? He is a beast.

[watchtower41]

Jesus Christ. Take it easy there, killer. If we knew you were Lisa Dergen, we would've been nicer to you.

 

 

No, I just don't treat the players on my beloved team as if I were a Cubs fan.

 

I find it funny that nobody in this thread cares to mention on how much Pods will get into SP's heads and out of their groove by making himself their top concern. No pitcher or defense wants Pods on base, yet every time he is up you see him with a full count. If he does get a hit or takes a walk, Iguchi benefits huge from several pickoff attempts.... usually resulting in 1-0, 2-0 count. By the time Iguchi's AB is over, regardless of the outcome, between pickoffs and actual pitches, we have the opposing pitcher throwing close to 15 times for two batters. The upside is one of the HUGE crooked number innings that we come to take for granted when all cylinders are kicking. But you guys are all right, Pods does nothing to help this team.

 

Who is attacking Hafner on this board? He is a beast.

 

 

 

Exactly nobody is attacking him here...why would they??? He is more beloved and respected than players on our own team.

 

 

Of course Rob has played Left, we can all agree.... Has he started?? Even when Pablo has been hurt and Pods was slumping???

[Damen]

Look at SABR metrics all you want, but they don't provide intangibles at all.

 

Scott HAS heart, and the team loves that.

 

:puke Okay Hawk. Lots of ballplayers have heart. In fact, I'd say the vast majority have heart. Those that don't have "heart" have enough natural ability and talent to make up for that, or else they wouldn't be in the majors. Pods by all accounts is a nice guy. When he's hot, he's great at working pitchers into deep counts. He steals bases, but he gets caught quite a bit too, unnecessarily so considering the power coming up behind him. He can't read the ball and he has a terrible arm.

 

In short, he's below average and an easy position to improve upon. I'm not saying we should trade him this season, but I was disappointed Kenny couldn't move him over the offseason when his value was highest, and I'd be more disappointed if he was our starting LFer next year.

[Milkman delivers]

No, I just don't treat the players on my beloved team as if I were a Cubs fan.

 

I find it funny that nobody in this thread cares to mention on how much Pods will get into SP's heads and out of their groove by making himself their top concern. No pitcher or defense wants Pods on base, yet every time he is up you see him with a full count. If he does get a hit or takes a walk, Iguchi benefits huge from several pickoff attempts.... usually resulting in 1-0, 2-0 count. By the time Iguchi's AB is over, regardless of the outcome, between pickoffs and actual pitches, we have the opposing pitcher throwing close to 15 times for two batters. The upside is one of the HUGE crooked number innings that we come to take for granted when all cylinders are kicking. But you guys are all right, Pods does nothing to help this team.

Exactly nobody is attacking him here...why would they??? He is more beloved and respected than players on our own team.

Of course Rob has played Left, we can all agree.... Has he started?? Even when Pablo has been hurt and Pods was slumping???

 

So he isn't better in LF than Pods because Ozzie doesn't start him in LF? That's what you're saying?

[Damen]

Exactly nobody is attacking him here...why would they??? He is more beloved and respected than players on our own team.

 

Why shouldn't he be more respected than some players on this team? He's one of the best hitters in the game. You're not allowed to respect that because he doesn't do it in a Sox jersey?

[Milkman delivers]

Why shouldn't he be more respected than some players on this team? He's one of the best hitters in the game. You're not allowed to respect that because he doesn't do it in a Sox jersey?

 

He wants you to be a homer. Hate everyone that's not on your team, and love everyone unconditionally without ever questioning their ability if they are on your team.

[Kalapse]

Of course Rob has played Left, we can all agree.... Has he started?? Even when Pablo has been hurt and Pods was slumping???

If you start Mackowiak in LF then where does your leadoff man come from? Ozzie always has to have his speed guy in the lineup even if he's struggling that's why you see either of Ozuna or Podsednik startinging in LF everyday. Mack has frequently come in as a defensive replacement for Podsednik in the late innings because his arm is so much stronger and because he knows how to catch a flyball that's hit to him.

 

I'm not just going to blindly love some player because he's on the Sox, that would be foolish. I cheer for laundry in general.

[hammerhead johnson]

No, I just don't treat the players on my beloved team as if I were a Cubs fan.

 

Oh yeah? Well, your baseball thoughts are that of a prototypical Cub fan.

 

Mackowiak is literally ten times the corner defender that Pods is. You are one of the select few who did not know that. Congratulations.

 

Presumptuous and blindly loyal = a terribly sad combination. Good luck with that.

[CWSGuy406]

Look at SABR metrics all you want, but they don't provide intangibles at all.

 

Scott HAS heart, and the team loves that.

 

Well, I'm convinced. No arguing with that...

 

St00pid statheads, don't you know the game isn't played a spreadsheet? Get yer head outta the computer!

 

:rolly

 

Overwhelming and Overrated love for Mark Buehrle and Jerry Owens. Afterall, they are both the present and the future.

 

Who the hell loves Jerry Owens? You mean the guy currently with a .311 OBP at Charlotte? Even last year, when he was hitting .340 or whatever, I still think I had him pegged as a 4th OF type.

[Balance]

Seems to me that, more often than not, Scott is doing what this team needs him to be doing. I'm not saying he's the best leadoff man in the game, but I don't see him as a liability that is costing the Sox games, either.

[hammerhead johnson]

Scott HAS heart, and the team loves that.

 

How many hours of sleep has Ozzie lost this year thinking about botched pop-ups out in LF? Why do you think he has a picture of Pods on his dartboard with the words TRIPLE A BLEEP etched onto his forehead?

 

My miniature pinscher has heart. He'll go heads up with the meanest pitbull in little Poland (NW side). That doesn't mean that he should be playing major league baseball.

[Milkman delivers]

Seems to me that, more often than not, Scott is doing what this team needs him to be doing. I'm not saying he's the best leadoff man in the game, but I don't see him as a liability that is costing the Sox games, either.

 

The Sox need outfielders to drop easy pop-ups, throw like girls, take terrible routes to balls, get caught stealing more than anyone else in baseball, have a low average, and not be able to bunt?

 

In that case, I think I'm exactly what this team needs!

[Kalapse]

The Sox need outfielders to drop easy pop-ups, throw like girls, take terrible routes to balls, get caught stealing more than anyone else in baseball, have a low average, and not be able to bunt?

 

In that case, I think I'm exactly what this team needs!

Don't forget his awesome ability to be picked off first base at the drop of a hat.

[southsideirish71]

Don't forget his awesome ability to be picked off first base at the drop of a hat.

 

 

Last years version of Pods, hit line drives, hit the ball on the ground. Played okay defense with a noodle arm. had good reads on the basepaths and stole bases.

 

This years version of Pods, hits a lot of popups, rarely hits the ball on the ground. Plays bad defense with a noodle arm, doesnt have good reads when he is on base, and he doesnt steal bases nearly at the pace he did last year before he got hurt.

 

 

If you want to take a look. Pods in his rookie season to Pods in his 2nd season. Pods started to put the ball in the air more trying to get more pop on the ball. His BA dropped like a rock from the year before. Kind of similiar to what has happend from last year to this year. I think also Pods is still gunshy because of his hernia last year.

 

Also last year we struggled to put runs on the board. The speedster getting into scoring position so we could scrape a run was much more important due to the situation. This years team can absolutely bomb you Hiroshima style from so many different players. Its a much more offensive team.

Edited July 11, 2006 by southsideirish71