Sox Sign Erstad

[YASNY]

I don't see much of a connection at all. The talent levels aren't even close. Just because Erstad is old and injury prone doesn't mean he's similar at all to Dye nor is his situation similar.

 

When healthy, they are both allstar caliber major league outfielders, albeit with a different skill set. I'd say it's a very similar signing.

[SuperSteve]

With this signing, I think it more than just to play. He is a veteran who could help Brin Anderson. Who would you rather have him learning from, Pods or Erstad?

[Kalapse]

What if he's hitting .340 when he DH's?

The probability of that happening is basically zero so I don't have much use for the hypothetical question. The guy is not the type of hitter you want DHing for him mainly because he doesn't hit well.

 

With this signing, I think it more than just to play. He is a veteran who could help Brin Anderson. Who would you rather have him learning from, Pods or Erstad?

The coaching staff.

[bmags]

wait til cooper gets to 'em

[Kalapse]

When healthy, they are both allstar caliber major league outfielders, albeit with a different skill set. I'd say it's a very similar signing.

Erstad had one good season offensively, 1. He is not All-Star caliber as a matter of fact he was an All-Star caliber player for 2 seasons of his career (98 is debatable) and the last season was 7 years ago. He has no power, doesn't drive in runs and can't really run anymore so I'm wondering what exactly makes him All-Star caliber?

[SuperSteve]

The probability of that happening is basically zero so I don't have much use for the hypothetical question. The guy is not the type of hitter you want DHing for him mainly because he doesn't hit well.

The coaching staff.

Your just being difficult. BA should watch how Ozzie gets ready for a game?! Goes about stuff game day, its not like Erstad was a defensive OF... its different. And never say never..

[spiderman]

With this signing, I think it more than just to play. He is a veteran who could help Brin Anderson. Who would you rather have him learning from, Pods or Erstad?

 

He's an insurance policy with a chance to earn more playing time.

 

If you end up not like Erstad, look at Brian Anderson and Scott Podsednik - if they're injured/ineffecitve, Erstad will be playing a lot more than you're probably hoping for.

[Kalapse]

Your just being difficult. BA should watch how Ozzie gets ready for a game?! Goes about stuff game day, its not like Erstad was a defensive OF... its different. And never say never..

He could always watch Jermaine Dye if he's in dire need of a mentor. As for never say never, starting Erstad at DH would be like starting Timo Perez at DH, sure he could hit .340 but seeing as how he's a bad hitter and all it's probably not a going to happen. There's a reason why they call it designated hitter, it's a position designated for a player who's good at hitting.

[witesoxfan]

Your just being difficult. BA should watch how Ozzie gets ready for a game?! Goes about stuff game day, its not like Erstad was a defensive OF... its different. And never say never..

 

C'mon Steve, the coaching staff is not exclusively Ozzie. Players don't get better because they are surrounded by good players, otherwise Podsednik, Uribe, and Anderson don't have s***ty years offensively last year.

 

Coaches and instructors - Harold Baines, Joey Cora, Greg Walker - get paid for a reason, and it's not to sit around and do nothing. They are the ones who are supposed to help Anderson, not Erstad.

 

I also highly doubt Erstad is here just to teach Anderson; he's still trying to earn paychecks for future seasons. For all we care, he might not give a s*** about Anderson.

[SuperSteve]

C'mon Steve, the coaching staff is not exclusively Ozzie. Players don't get better because they are surrounded by good players, otherwise Podsednik, Uribe, and Anderson don't have s***ty years offensively last year.

 

Coaches and instructors - Harold Baines, Joey Cora, Greg Walker - get paid for a reason, and it's not to sit around and do nothing. They are the ones who are supposed to help Anderson, not Erstad.

 

I also highly doubt Erstad is here just to teach Anderson; he's still trying to earn paychecks for future seasons. For all we care, he might not give a s*** about Anderson.

I wish my letters worked so I could debate, but here goes...

 

I'm not zqying hez here to teqch Briqn. I qm zqying Briqn could leqrn ztuff from him. Coqchez qnd teqmmqtez qre two different thingz. Hqving Erztqd to juzt even tqlk to qbout certqin thingz, I would be willing to bet Erztqd would be willing to help him, he'z q grinder qnd hqz qlwqyz zeemed like q good clubhouze prezence. Cool letz hqve Hqrold tqlk to Briqn qbout centerfield, wow I wqnt to be on thqt teqm.

 

I wqz juzt bringing up q pozzibility. Yqh I qgree I don't wqnt him DHing etc, but thiz iz qn qdded bonuz. Remember Uribe q few yeqrz qgo bqtting hiz qzz off, .200 hitterz hqve good ztqrtz zometimez. Erztqd hqz zomething to prove too.

 

Your looking qt thiz wqy too nqrrowly IMHO.

[DBAHO]

Steve please post more often.

[knightni]

qmqzing

[SuperSteve]

Steve please post more often.

I would but I don't wqnt to mezz with everyone reqding my ztuff, zo I juzt reqd. I don't think I'd even zigned in for qwhile hqhq.

[Chisoxfn]

What if he's hitting .340 when he DH's?

We did win the world series with Timo Perez at DH . By the way, good seeing ya stop on by Steve. Hope all is well

[Hideaway Lights]

this is a really bizarre thread

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

By the previous logic (ie: citing GG that were won 5 years ago as evidence to a players capabilities defensively) Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Shawn Green and Steve Finley are all currently above average defenders.

 

One more thing, if Darin Erstad starts a single game at DH next season then this was a terrible signing.

 

Funny that u have my whole post in front of you but somehow you reckon that I said previous GG's mean "current" above average defender. What I actually said or implied was that he would be a better option then Mackowiak in center since he has won 2 gold gloves at the position compared to 0 for Mac ( and I'll go out on a limb to say Mac will never win any GG's in center).

 

Gold Glove winners have intangibles such as getting a good jump, a good read, taking good routes , hitting cutoff men, and throwing to the right base more consistently than a player like Mac. That consistency will save ballgames. Those are the little things that mean so much. You do not lose these intangibles because you have lost a few steps. But because of the lost speed I doubt he'll play much center unless the time off last year did a lot of healing. He's 32 yrs. old not 42. He's very capable of off season conditioning to strengthen his body. The Sox brass has to be pretty satisfied in his current condition to even consider signing him.

Edited January 24, 2007 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[witesoxfan]

I wish my letters worked so I could debate, but here goes...

 

I'm not saying hes here to teach Brian. I am saying Brian could learn stuff from him. Coaches and teammates are two different things. Having Erstad to just even talk to about certain things, I would be willing to bet Erstad would be willing to help him, he's a grinder and has always seemed like a good clubhouse presence. Cool lets have Harold talk to Brian about centerfield, wow I want to be on that team.

 

I waz just bringing up a possibility. Yah I agree I don't want him DHing etc, but this is an added bonus. Remember Uribe a few years ago batting his ass off, .200 hitters have good starts sometimes. Erstad has something to prove too.

 

Your looking at this way too narrowly IMHO.

 

There's possibility for Anderson to learn a thing or two from Erstad. It shouldn't be counted upon however.

 

I really can't say one way or the other how willing Erstad will be to help Anderson. I've never met the guy, and I've never really heard anything about him in the clubhouse.

 

And it's also obvious Anderson wouldn't talk to Baines about CF. He'd talk to Baines about hitting. Baseball teams have coaches and instructors at some level for absolutely everything. Hell, if he's struggling badly enough at the plate, I'm sure he could call an old hitting coach and see what advice he has to offer. Frank Thomas has done it before.

 

The comparison to Uribe really doesn't work out either. Uribe was a 25 year old hitter when the White Sox traded for him who'd shown flashes but never any consistency. Erstad's an 11-year veteran whose best days are likely behind him.

 

Maybe I'm completely wrong, and there's something behind the numbers and numerous injuries that I'm missing here. I probably am. I just can't persuade myself to like this move at all, and if I can't do it, no one will be able to (except maybe Erstad and about $50K).

 

Funny that u have my whole post in front of you but somehow you reckon that I said previous GG's mean "current" above average defender. What I actually said or implied was that he would be a better option then Mackowiak in center since he has won 2 gold gloves at the position compared to 0 for Mac ( and I'll go out on a limb to say Mac will never win any GG's in center).

 

Gold Glove winners have intangibles that Mac doesn't such as getting a good jump, a good read, taking good routes , hitting cutoff men, and throwing to the right base. You do not lose these intangibles because you have lost a few steps. But because of the lost speed I doubt he'll play much center unless the time off last year did a lot of healing. He's 32 yrs. old not 42. He's very capable of off season conditoning to strengthen his body. The Sox brass has to be pretty satisfied in his current condition to even consider signing him.

 

Gold gloves are the about the WORST argument you can use to defend a player defensively. Torii Hunter won a gold glove this year based upon reputation, and Derek Jeter has won back to back gold gloves because he's a really good hitter.

 

And how much does it matter how good he is defensively if he can't stay healthy when in CF?

[knightni]

Typing like thqt iz qwezome dude.

[SuperSteve]

There's possibility for Anderson to learn a thing or two from Erstad. It shouldn't be counted upon however.

 

I really can't say one way or the other how willing Erstad will be to help Anderson. I've never met the guy, and I've never really heard anything about him in the clubhouse.

 

And it's also obvious Anderson wouldn't talk to Baines about CF. He'd talk to Baines about hitting. Baseball teams have coaches and instructors at some level for absolutely everything. Hell, if he's struggling badly enough at the plate, I'm sure he could call an old hitting coach and see what advice he has to offer. Frank Thomas has done it before.

 

The comparison to Uribe really doesn't work out either. Uribe was a 25 year old hitter when the White Sox traded for him who'd shown flashes but never any consistency. Erstad's an 11-year veteran whose best days are likely behind him.

I meqn more hiz prezence. Tqke the Michigqn Ztqte wreztling teqm for exqmple. When I wqz there, we'd hqve guyz who were wqy pqzt their prime come in qnd wreztle. They'd get their qzzez kicked, but juzt ztoriez qnd little thingz they mqy point out. It will be frezh too, obviouzly it didn't click lqzt yeqr with the coqching ztqff. I'm not zure how to explqin whqt I qm trying to zqy.

 

I don't expect him to be q zqvior, but I think he will be fine here. Ezpeciqlly if he doezn't plqy everydqy, he could be heqlthier. Zo whqt if he'z not whqt he once wqz. Hell, Dye hqz q .172 bq in 2003. Time will tell.

 

Typing like thqt iz qwezome dude.

It took zo long to get uzed to. Now itz normql for me. Everyone lovez it on qim. Hqhq

 

We did win the world series with Timo Perez at DH . By the way, good seeing ya stop on by Steve. Hope all is well

I've been greqt. One more zemezter left qt MZU, then I get to go be qn qdult hqhq

[RockRaines]

With this signing, I think it more than just to play. He is a veteran who could help Brin Anderson. Who would you rather have him learning from, Pods or Erstad?

i still dont get how this is a signing to help BA. Its obviously help for our HUGE hole in LF considering PODs wont be back for 8+ weeks.

[qwerty]

You know the signing is pointless when multiple pages in the thread is discussing trivia ( no offense to anyone who participated in the trivia).

 

Will there be a day that anyone other than wite and kalapse make any sense in the foreseeable future?

[SuperSteve]

i still dont get how this is a signing to help BA. Its obviously help for our HUGE hole in LF considering PODs wont be back for 8+ weeks.

I qm not zqying it'z to help him, but it zurely won't hurt him to hqve zomeone who hqz been through the wqrz. Nevermind guyz, you're too pezzimiztic.

[knightni]

Do you have a desktop or laptop?

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

Gold gloves are the about the WORST argument you can use to defend a player defensively. Torii Hunter won a gold glove this year based upon reputation, and Derek Jeter has won back to back gold gloves because he's a really good hitter.

 

And how much does it matter how good he is defensively if he can't stay healthy when in CF?

 

If u think winning gold gloves is one of the worst arguments a person can use to say sumone is/was a great defensive player then you are lost. Sure I'll admit that some are based on reputation or maybe above average defense combined with above average hitting. But winning a GG signifies the cream of the crop defensively and I cannot see winning a GG as anything but a positive thing. Sometimes getting a gold glove based on reputation is just a makeup for not winning it earlier in your career when some more established player was winning it. It all evens out. I would venture to say that all GG winners are above average fielders and most are truly the best full time players at their position.

 

And again I'll say it for the 3rd time. I don't see him playing too much centerfield.

Edited January 24, 2007 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[SuperSteve]

Do you have a desktop or laptop?

Lqptop... I'll get q new keyboqrd eventuqlly. My ex wqz goinq get me one, but zhe hqtez my new girl zo yqh I tqke it thqtz out hqhq.