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

[Milkman delivers]

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

 

I can do that, too!

 

And I can K looking with the best of 'em.

Edited July 11, 2006 by Milkman delivers

[VAfan]

What struck me about the original post was that the writer concludes that a stolen base by Pods was a significant factor in 7 victories by the White Sox -- in other words, 12% of our 57 wins -- and then concludes, paradoxically, that he's not valuable and should be replaced!

 

Now, I'm not going to sing the praises of Scott Podsednik. I think as soon as he moves into more expensive contract territory, he'll no longer be worth his pay grade.

 

But if just his stolen bases have contributed to 12% of the team's victories, then it seems to me a testament to his value, not his lack of value. And I do think having Pods at the top of the lineup will create scoring opportunities in tight ballgames down the stretch and in the playoffs that are not presented by the other types of hitters in our lineup. If we can come close to pitching like we did last year, then Pods' value to this team will increase as the season goes on. As may his actual production, which has yoyoed from cold to hot on a month-to-month basis.

[watchtower41]

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.

 

 

Never in this thread do I claim Pods to be a gold glove winner.... nor did I rally people to "HATE" Pronk or anyone else thats not on this team. Sure Hafner is a great ballplayer, does that mean he should get more love than Konerko on a WHITE SOX board??? Why shoudl I root and love players from other teams??? I came here to justify Pods against the haters in this thread that say he does absolutely noting right or positive for this team. If you truly think that, you are CLUELESS. Call me a Cubs fan, do whatever your little heart desires to make you feel better about yourslef becoming a GM someday. Ask any fantasy player that owns Pods if he doesnt do anything postive for the Sox. LOl He ranks just as high as any leadoff hitter not named Soriono.

[Milkman delivers]

Never in this thread do I claim Pods to be a gold glove winner.... nor did I rally people to "HATE" Pronk or anyone else thats not on this team. Sure Hafner is a great ballplayer, does that mean he should get more love than Konerko on a WHITE SOX board??? Why shoudl I root and love players from other teams??? I came here to justify Pods against the haters in this thread that say he does absolutely noting right or positive for this team. If you truly think that, you are CLUELESS. Call me a Cubs fan, do whatever your little heart desires to make you feel better about yourslef becoming a GM someday. Ask any fantasy player that owns Pods if he doesnt do anything postive for the Sox. LOl He ranks just as high as any leadoff hitter not named Soriono.

 

Haha, alright...you win. Pods has a lot of worth in fantasy leagues. I cannot argue his usefulness to this team, then. My God, are you good.

[Greg Hibbard]

What struck me about the original post was that the writer concludes that a stolen base by Pods was a significant factor in 7 victories by the White Sox -- in other words, 12% of our 57 wins -- and then concludes, paradoxically, that he's not valuable and should be replaced!

 

Now, I'm not going to sing the praises of Scott Podsednik. I think as soon as he moves into more expensive contract territory, he'll no longer be worth his pay grade.

 

But if just his stolen bases have contributed to 12% of the team's victories, then it seems to me a testament to his value, not his lack of value. And I do think having Pods at the top of the lineup will create scoring opportunities in tight ballgames down the stretch and in the playoffs that are not presented by the other types of hitters in our lineup. If we can come close to pitching like we did last year, then Pods' value to this team will increase as the season goes on. As may his actual production, which has yoyoed from cold to hot on a month-to-month basis.

 

I didn't conclude that at all. I concluded that his stolen bases were a contributing factor to 7 victories.

 

I can think of at least three instances in which podsednik's defense was a contributing factor to a loss, too.

[RockRaines]

I didn't conclude that at all. I concluded that his stolen bases were a contributing factor to 7 victories.

 

I can think of at least three instances in which podsednik's defense was a contributing factor to a loss, too.

Can you give those specific examples, with in game references to situations? Thanks

[Damen]

Never in this thread do I claim Pods to be a gold glove winner.... nor did I rally people to "HATE" Pronk or anyone else thats not on this team. Sure Hafner is a great ballplayer, does that mean he should get more love than Konerko on a WHITE SOX board??? Why shoudl I root and love players from other teams???

 

I still don't get this. Travis Hafner is a better hitter than Paul Konerko, because the numbers prove it. That doesn't mean I'm rooting for Hafner to do well, unless he's playing the Twins or Tigers, it just means I can recognize reality. You can root for you own guys to do well and still understand that other players in the game are better. It's called not being 7.

[Gregory Pratt]

I have 100 posts per page.

I can't access the first page.

But I'll say this: I like Pods. That is all.

[hammerhead johnson]

But I'll say this: I like Pods. That is all.

 

f*** you, Greg.

[longshot7]

I traded Pods back to Milwaukee for Carlos Lee on MLB 2K6, and man is my team good right now. I am hitting so many homers it's not funny.

[watchtower41]

Haha, alright...you win. Pods has a lot of worth in fantasy leagues. I cannot argue his usefulness to this team, then. My God, are you good.

 

 

Changing your tune?? Before you said he did NOTHING positive for this team, and can do NOTHING right. If you have to keep arguing your case, does that give you more confidence in making believe you are right?? No all you comback with is quoting the poster on top of you yuo I'm pretty sure even the biggest Pods haters on this board can admit that he DOES in fact do positive things for the Chicago White Sox. This thread is useless, your "comeback" reasoning has gone way past pointless, your posts have nothing to offer other than "I HATE PODS," obviously there is nothing that anybody, including Pods, can do to reverse how much you dispise him as a player and on the White Sox. So we'll agree to disagree, I know Pods is not the best LF in baseball, but he is on the White Sox, and for that reason alone I will support him as much as I can. I guess you can go back to practicing your bunts.

[iamshack]

Hey guys, long-time lurker, first-time poster.

 

I think most of us realized in the first half of last year that Scottie was not the defensive player that was advertised prior to joining us (to think we debated moving Aaron to left and putting him in center), and he has been even worse the first half this year defensively. To my eyes, however, it appears that ever since Ozzie's comments, and Scott's own description of his play ("horses***") in the field, he has been improved. He seems to be hustling a little more, going back on balls better, taking better routes to line drives, and even making better throws into second base. He'll never be mistaken for Torii Hunter in the field, but I feel that he has made a conscious effort to improve and indeed has.

 

In terms of his offense, he seems as though he may have lost a step in the offseason, which may be natural due to his age. However, I think he is hitting the ball every bit as hard if not harder this year than last, it's just that he isn't getting the bunt hits and other infield hits that he did so well with last year. I can only remember a few off the top of my head this season, whereas last year he had several (I believe he may have led the league?). If you factor in his inability or unwillingness to get the infield hits, I think it is extremely clear why is average is down from last season.

 

Finally, while I think it helps out other hitters (and is indeed part of his role as a leadoff hitter), I don't necessarily believe that seeing so many pitches helps him out. He often is left hitting with two strikes, whicht takes away from his game slightly because the threat of the bunt no longer exists. I think he is a better hitter when he is aggressive at the plate and he can keep defenses off-balance. Perhaps he could be slightly more aggressive when he is not the first hitter to see a pitcher, since the hitters behind him don't necessarily need him to see more pitches at that point.

[Greg Hibbard]

Changing your tune?? Before you said he did NOTHING positive for this team, and can do NOTHING right. If you have to keep arguing your case, does that give you more confidence in making believe you are right?? No all you comback with is quoting the poster on top of you yuo I'm pretty sure even the biggest Pods haters on this board can admit that he DOES in fact do positive things for the Chicago White Sox. This thread is useless, your "comeback" reasoning has gone way past pointless, your posts have nothing to offer other than "I HATE PODS," obviously there is nothing that anybody, including Pods, can do to reverse how much you dispise him as a player and on the White Sox. So we'll agree to disagree, I know Pods is not the best LF in baseball, but he is on the White Sox, and for that reason alone I will support him as much as I can. I guess you can go back to practicing your bunts.

 

This is the worst sort of rah-rah homerism imaginable.

 

Let's review, shall we?

 

The guy is one of the worst defensive left fielders statistically and has cost us several outs over the course of the year.

 

The guy is one of the worst AL leadoff hitters in several major offensive categories statistically (RBIs, HR, OBA, OPS, etc. etc.)

 

The things the guy does well are either mostly a product of the great hitting behind him (runs) or an overvalued statistic PROVEN in this thread to be a contributing factor in only 1/3rd of the games the statistic occurs in (steals)

 

Therefore, the guy is at best a mediocre player. Sorry this doesn't sit well with your rooting interests.

[Milkman delivers]

Changing your tune?? Before you said he did NOTHING positive for this team, and can do NOTHING right. If you have to keep arguing your case, does that give you more confidence in making believe you are right?? No all you comback with is quoting the poster on top of you yuo I'm pretty sure even the biggest Pods haters on this board can admit that he DOES in fact do positive things for the Chicago White Sox. This thread is useless, your "comeback" reasoning has gone way past pointless, your posts have nothing to offer other than "I HATE PODS," obviously there is nothing that anybody, including Pods, can do to reverse how much you dispise him as a player and on the White Sox. So we'll agree to disagree, I know Pods is not the best LF in baseball, but he is on the White Sox, and for that reason alone I will support him as much as I can. I guess you can go back to practicing your bunts.

 

I wasn't changing my tune at all. I was pretty much calling your post dumb for using the fact that Pods is a good fantasy player to defend him. I was just trying to do it without actually saying that.

 

Of course Pods does some positive things for the Sox, but he does many more things that are negative. But I guess it's just because I despise him.

Edited July 11, 2006 by Milkman delivers

[watchtower41]

I still don't get this. Travis Hafner is a better hitter than Paul Konerko, because the numbers prove it. That doesn't mean I'm rooting for Hafner to do well, unless he's playing the Twins or Tigers, it just means I can recognize reality. You can root for you own guys to do well and still understand that other players in the game are better. It's called not being 7.

 

 

See that's where I differ from most "so-called" Sox fans on this board.

 

 

I agree Hafner is an outstanding hitter, Hafner's numbers may even be a shade above Paulie's (even though he's the only player on his team with over 60 rbi's, but whatever) Does that mean I should be obligated to want to have Hafner on the White Sox and should root for him more than Konerko?? Not a chance. Hafner has never hit over 40 HR in his career, Paulie will do it for his 4th consecutive year this season. Not to mention Pronk has never even taken a whiff of playoff baseball, let alone hit a slam in the WS. Should I have rooted for the Astros in the series last year too just because they had better aces on their staff??

 

Grass is always greener somewhere else around these parts....

[Gregory Pratt]

f*** you, Greg.

 

[Milkman delivers]

See that's where I differ from most "so-called" Sox fans on this board.

I agree Hafner is an outstanding hitter, Hafner's numbers may even be a shade above Paulie's (even though he's the only player on his team with over 60 rbi's, but whatever) Does that mean I should be obligated to want to have Hafner on the White Sox and should root for him more than Konerko?? Not a chance. Hafner has never hit over 40 HR in his career, Paulie will do it for his 4th consecutive year this season. Not to mention Pronk has never even taken a whiff of playoff baseball, let alone hit a slam in the WS. Should I have rooted for the Astros in the series last year too just because they had better aces on their staff??

 

Grass is always greener somewhere else around these parts....

 

What the f*** are you talking about?

[Pods22]

I will start to put more faith in Pods when he doesnt look like a little leaguer in left field.

[Damen]

See that's where I differ from most "so-called" Sox fans on this board.

I agree Hafner is an outstanding hitter, Hafner's numbers may even be a shade above Paulie's (even though he's the only player on his team with over 60 rbi's, but whatever) Does that mean I should be obligated to want to have Hafner on the White Sox and should root for him more than Konerko?? Not a chance. Hafner has never hit over 40 HR in his career, Paulie will do it for his 4th consecutive year this season. Not to mention Pronk has never even taken a whiff of playoff baseball, let alone hit a slam in the WS. Should I have rooted for the Astros in the series last year too just because they had better aces on their staff??

 

Grass is always greener somewhere else around these parts....

 

Put aside the fact that Konerko plays in one of the most homer friendly parks in baseball, you are completely missing the point. I love Konerko, I love him being the leader of this team. That doesn't mean I can't recognize that Hafner is a better hitter. And that doesn't mean I root for Hafner. It simply means I recognize the obvious. That he's a better hitter. That doesn't take anything away from Konerko, it only shows that Hafner is a really great hitter. That's it. Using your ridiculous Astros reference, Roger Clemons is better than Jose Contreras. It's okay for you to say this without having to 'root' for Clemons to beat Contreras.

 

Honestly, how old are you that you can't understand this?

[Controlled Chaos]

Hey guys, long-time lurker, first-time poster.

 

I think most of us realized in the first half of last year that Scottie was not the defensive player that was advertised prior to joining us (to think we debated moving Aaron to left and putting him in center), and he has been even worse the first half this year defensively. To my eyes, however, it appears that ever since Ozzie's comments, and Scott's own description of his play ("horses***") in the field, he has been improved. He seems to be hustling a little more, going back on balls better, taking better routes to line drives, and even making better throws into second base. He'll never be mistaken for Torii Hunter in the field, but I feel that he has made a conscious effort to improve and indeed has.

 

In terms of his offense, he seems as though he may have lost a step in the offseason, which may be natural due to his age. However, I think he is hitting the ball every bit as hard if not harder this year than last, it's just that he isn't getting the bunt hits and other infield hits that he did so well with last year. I can only remember a few off the top of my head this season, whereas last year he had several (I believe he may have led the league?). If you factor in his inability or unwillingness to get the infield hits, I think it is extremely clear why is average is down from last season.

 

Finally, while I think it helps out other hitters (and is indeed part of his role as a leadoff hitter), I don't necessarily believe that seeing so many pitches helps him out. He often is left hitting with two strikes, whicht takes away from his game slightly because the threat of the bunt no longer exists. I think he is a better hitter when he is aggressive at the plate and he can keep defenses off-balance. Perhaps he could be slightly more aggressive when he is not the first hitter to see a pitcher, since the hitters behind him don't necessarily need him to see more pitches at that point.

 

Welcome and to a great first post.

[Dan Pasqua's Rec Specs]

286 BA, 397 OBP, in the playoffs. Not great but very serviceable. Not to mention one of the biggest home runs in white sox history. Pods led us to our 1st world series title in 88 years as our lead off man and I recognize the fact hes not the best lead off man in the world, but for right now he is playing well enough to deserve some respect from the fans. He is an integral aspect of team chemistry and we have a few glaring needs to improve on. If we are gonna rip Pods then lets rip Mark Buehrle, Fraddy Garcia and Jon Garland. Should we get rid of them? I think not

[fathom]

Hey guys, long-time lurker, first-time poster.

 

I think most of us realized in the first half of last year that Scottie was not the defensive player that was advertised prior to joining us (to think we debated moving Aaron to left and putting him in center), and he has been even worse the first half this year defensively. To my eyes, however, it appears that ever since Ozzie's comments, and Scott's own description of his play ("horses***") in the field, he has been improved. He seems to be hustling a little more, going back on balls better, taking better routes to line drives, and even making better throws into second base. He'll never be mistaken for Torii Hunter in the field, but I feel that he has made a conscious effort to improve and indeed has.

 

In terms of his offense, he seems as though he may have lost a step in the offseason, which may be natural due to his age. However, I think he is hitting the ball every bit as hard if not harder this year than last, it's just that he isn't getting the bunt hits and other infield hits that he did so well with last year. I can only remember a few off the top of my head this season, whereas last year he had several (I believe he may have led the league?). If you factor in his inability or unwillingness to get the infield hits, I think it is extremely clear why is average is down from last season.

 

Finally, while I think it helps out other hitters (and is indeed part of his role as a leadoff hitter), I don't necessarily believe that seeing so many pitches helps him out. He often is left hitting with two strikes, whicht takes away from his game slightly because the threat of the bunt no longer exists. I think he is a better hitter when he is aggressive at the plate and he can keep defenses off-balance. Perhaps he could be slightly more aggressive when he is not the first hitter to see a pitcher, since the hitters behind him don't necessarily need him to see more pitches at that point.

 

Please post more, as these are excellent observations you make. Probably the most frustrating thing with Pods is how many called 3rd strikes he takes. If you're not a power hitter, you better be able to fight off tough pitches when you have 2 strikes. Especially considering that, in theory, he should be able get a good amount of infield hits, he needs to be putting the ball in play. Another clearly frustrating thing about Pods are his horrible fundamentals. His bunting is pure crap now, and he just doesn't have a very high baseball IQ. For as much as we hate him, it sure makes me laugh to think how the Astros lost to him on a walk-off homer.

[Damen]

286 BA, 397 OBP, in the playoffs. Not great but very serviceable. Not to mention one of the biggest home runs in white sox history. Pods led us to our 1st world series title in 88 years as our lead off man and I recognize the fact hes not the best lead off man in the world, but for right now he is playing well enough to deserve some respect from the fans. He is an integral aspect of team chemistry and we have a few glaring needs to improve on. If we are gonna rip Pods then lets rip Mark Buehrle, Fraddy Garcia and Jon Garland. Should we get rid of them? I think not

 

I'd love to get rid of Freddy Garcia.

[SABR Sox]

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.

 

Or we can just make it simple.

 

His production from LF blows. He can't get on base or slug at a great rate, and his OPS is pitiful from a corner OF'er. Oh yea, and he can't field at one of the easiest positions.

[KeithFranklin]

I always thought that one of the big reasons to like a player like PODs offensivly is that not only can he steal a base, but also because the players batting get better pitches to hit because of the pressure a base stealer adds. Doesnt Iguchi, Thome, Konerko, Dye see more fastballs if PODs is on base?