Richar

[kman]

I was out of town for the weekend and saw he had 2 hits on Buehrles day. How did he look at the plate over the weekend? How did his hits look, bloopers or line shots? His defense?

[iamshack]

I was out of town for the weekend and saw he had 2 hits on Buehrles day. How did he look at the plate over the weekend? How did his hits look, bloopers or line shots? His defense?

 

His two hits were ground balls through the infield. One up the middle, another just past Glaus at third. He looks like he has good plate discipline, looks like he has a clue. But I'm not particularly fond of his stance nor his swing- it's not the prettiest in the world.

 

He does look very solid defensively though, which I was pleasantly surprised by.

[EvilJester99]

He looks to have pretty good range in the field.

[South Side Fireworks Man]

I like his arm.

[briguy27]

Looked good yesterday hitting, but not so much today. Good arm though.

 

He looks like that's all he will do, find holes on the ground. He also looks like he could be a Luis Castillo kind of player.

[BearSox]

Looked good yesterday hitting, but not so much today. Good arm though.

 

He looks like that's all he will do, find holes on the ground. He also looks like he could be a Luis Castillo kind of player.

 

No one in the whole lineup looked good hitting today.

[FlaCWS]

He also looks like he could be a Luis Castillo kind of player.

 

 

I'll take that in a heartbeat.

[beck72]

Richar looked like Robinson Cano at bat-his stance, swing and a little swagger. He looked confident, and seemed to have a solid approach.

Edited July 30, 2007 by beck72

[bigred3535]

He had a pretty good walk rate at AAA. I'd say he'll be more patient than Cano and more powerful than Castillo. Not neccessarily a better all around player than either of those two, but in those respective aspects I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (it's only 7 AB!).

[iamshack]

Thats really not a bad comparison. I don't think were ever going to see Richar hit anywhere close to .340, but I also don't think we will ever see Cano hit that again. Richar will have an OBP heavily weighted by his average, and from the 7 AB's he has taken, he has shown very little plate discipline.

 

I think his plate discipline has been fine. He's faced two pitchers with remarkable control. I'm not sure I've seen him swing at a pitch outside of the zone yet...

[max power]

I think hes got quite a bit more power than luis castillo.

[witesoxfan]

I'll throw a comparison out there - Orlando Hudson.

 

and I'm obviously not talking defensively here.

[beck72]

Thats really not a bad comparison. I don't think were ever going to see Richar hit anywhere close to .340, but I also don't think we will ever see Cano hit that again. Richar will have an OBP heavily weighted by his average, and from the 7 AB's he has taken, he has shown very little plate discipline.

Right now, Cano is hitting .298/.338/.452. That's more in line with what I'd hope Richar could provide than Cano's 2006. But Richar seems to have the kind of live bat can make something happen.

 

While it's very, very early, if I'd rate the "prospects" in terms of short and long term value to the sox, I 'd rate Fields #1, Richar #2 , and Owens 3rd.

[Gregory Pratt]

I'll throw a comparison out there - Orlando Hudson.

 

and I'm obviously not talking defensively here.

 

What brought you to that conclusion? (My first instinct is to say, No way, but I want to see what you looked at to get you there.)

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

Now that the initial euphoria has worn off, are we still sold. The guy has not cracked .190. His defense, which was supposed to be his flaw, has actually been reasonably solid. Seems to me that this guy is getting a free pass while Owens is taking a beating. Only difference is that Richar has more potential. But then again, a lot of guys have potential.

[greg775]

Second basemen are a dime a dozen.

Hitting sub .200 is not so good.

The Sox brass better make some good decisions on whether these young guys have the tools or not.

I can't imagine the fans turning out in these numbers again next year if the product remains this horses***.

[Kalapse]

He's shown infinitely better pop and plate discipline than mister Owens. He's playing the position of least consequence on the field and hitting 9th, Owens is playing one of the most important positions and is looking like the frontrunner for the leadoff spot in '08. Not really comparable situations in my book. And I'd say Owens' approval rating is somewhere in the 60% range right about now, there's really only a select few that have been giving him a beating.

[kapkomet]

Which is kinda sad, because A lot of the hate comes from factors Owens can't really control. I know when I look at Owens, I get upset because he is a guy, like you said, that is probably is going to be given the lead-off spot for 08, and that just shouldn't happen. Owens is a guy that could have substantial value to a team, if used right. He is a young, cheap plus defender with speed to burn. They don't grow on trees. However, because of the situation at hand, Jerry has been forced to take on 1 spot in the order, which in turns angers the fans, myself included.

What slot do you think he belongs in?

 

[Kalapse]

Owens would provide some very nice speed off the bench while acting as the backup CF.

[kapkomet]

As of right now, on the bench.

 

At his full potential, a good 8-9 hitter.

I was thinking ideally he should be in the 9 spot. Just curious what you thought.

 

 

[DBAHO]

Owens would provide some very nice speed off the bench while acting as the backup CF.

Yeah he'd be an ideal 4th OF for this team, with his speed etc.

 

In no way should he have a starting job handed to him next season. I mean people bash Podsednik, but he has an OBP better than Owens, so what message are you sendin there if you give Owens a leadoff spot?

 

That's why Ichiro getting re-signed really hurt, he would have been absolutely perfect for this team.

[kapkomet]

Yeah he'd be an ideal 4th OF for this team, with his speed etc.

 

In no way should he have a starting job handed to him next season. I mean people bash Podsednik, but he has an OBP better than Owens, so what message are you sendin there if you give Owens a leadoff spot?

 

That's why Ichiro getting re-signed really hurt, he would have been absolutely perfect for this team.

There's NO way Ichiro would have come here anyway... that's just plain ridiculous.

 

[greg775]

Obviously we absolutely need to sign Hunter, although he is 32 and will be 33 next season.

He will help the order a lot.

Dye and Hunter on paper will be 2/3 of a pretty good outfield.

Either Pods or Owens or Fields can play lf.

 

Then we need to acquire Renteria and hope the rest of the guys who had bad seasons

suddently have good seasons.

 

Look at this lineup

Owens or Fields lf

Renteria ss

Hunter cf

Thome dh

Paulie 1b

Dye rf

AJP c with a healthy Hall playing against a LOT of lefties

Crede 3b

Ozuna or Cintron 2B, or somebody we acquire cheap (trade for Grudzalanek?) if Richar is our second baseman we're in a world of hurt

 

Mark, Jon, Vaz, Danks, Floyd (or sign a veteran starter)

Sign a free agent reliever to go with the current cast of stiffs

Bobby closer

 

You have to admit the addition of Hunter, Renteria and some "name" second baseman

we can get on the cheap to go with a veteran starter and I've fixed our team.

And yes I've simply released Contreras.

 

I defy you to come up with a better solution than what I've proposed.

Edited August 26, 2007 by greg775

[witesoxfan]

What brought you to that conclusion? (My first instinct is to say, No way, but I want to see what you looked at to get you there.)

 

Got to this a little late. Anyways, that was just a first thought from reports I had heard about his hitting...solid power, good speed, and pretty solid plate discipline. I don't know that I'd back that comparison right now from what else I've heard, but I still have never seen him play, what with working 40 hours a week at night, so I don't know that I can make a solid comparison.

[southsideirish71]

Obviously we absolutely need to sign Hunter, although he is 32 and will be 33 next season.

He will help the order a lot.

Dye and Hunter on paper will be 2/3 of a pretty good outfield.

Either Pods or Owens or Fields can play lf.

 

Then we need to acquire Renteria and hope the rest of the guys who had bad seasons

suddently have good seasons.

 

Look at this lineup

Owens or Fields lf

Renteria ss

Hunter cf

Thome dh

Paulie 1b

Dye rf

AJP c with a healthy Hall playing against a LOT of lefties

Crede 3b

Ozuna or Cintron 2B, or somebody we acquire cheap (trade for Grudzalanek?) if Richar is our second baseman we're in a world of hurt

 

Mark, Jon, Vaz, Danks, Floyd (or sign a veteran starter)

Sign a free agent reliever to go with the current cast of stiffs

Bobby closer

 

You have to admit the addition of Hunter, Renteria and some "name" second baseman

we can get on the cheap to go with a veteran starter and I've fixed our team.

And yes I've simply released Contreras.

 

I defy you to come up with a better solution than what I've proposed.

 

Richar so far has been working counts, playing solid defense, and putting the ball in play. He is not overmatched, and doesnt look like it. You wanting to put Cintron or Ozuna as a starting 2nd baseman tells me how far off you are on this. The rest of this year is about letting the kids play and seeing what they are doing. Let wait until the end of the year for these silly assessments on players with less than a month of major league experience. You would of ran Robin Ventura the hell out of town because he didnt hit right off the bat. Its one thing if the kid is up there putting the first pitch in play, or striking out all the time.

 

I understand its painful to watch this. Its very painful to have tickets still on a plan left with this crap. The only thing that brought me to go to the game was the fact that I wanted to see some of the kids play. Richar went 2 for 4 today. Out of his 2 outs, one was a liner to left. Fields made a dumb move when he didnt fire home. It happens. Let them take a beating for the rest of the year and lets see if they get better. If not, sure make changes.