Pablo

[CWSGuy406]

If Uribe starts at 2nd, I'm going to be an angry person.

 

At least Richar is left-handed. If he was righty, I'd have more concerns, but Richar should be getting all at-bats against righties and most against lefties. I'm not a huge fan of platooning young players. Let Richar prove he can't hit lefties before we platoon him.

Edited December 9, 2007 by CWSGuy406

[TheChrisSamsa]

I'm going to be completely honest here and say that I *hate* when people use the "Oh, it's already the playoffs, why play the regular season" card, because it's stupid. Really, it's not the playoffs yet, there's a season to be played? No s***? Thanks!

 

The Sox are not a contender this year; if you don't realize this now, then you are blind. They will not put a product on the field that will be considered a favorite or even a good team by nearly everyone on the planet. That doesn't mean they can't potentially be a good team if the planets align and a meteor hits the earth and etc etc what not else. All I'm saying is that playing Pablo puts the Sox in no better of a position this year than Richar does, and Richar gives you hope for the future, where Pablo gives you none.

 

And by the way, let's look at the Colorado Rockies...the team that scored the 2nd most amount of runs in the NL last year and put up a 4.32 ERA, which was good for middle of the pack, and beyond that, had a bullpen that put up an ERA of 3.85 for the year, which is outstanding. Thus, the Rockies were a damn good team, and the Sox don't have near the talent level the Rockies did.

 

Please relax. It's just sports. Nobody is dying over this... I love the white sox.. and i realize that they're not necessarily a favorite.. but stranger things have happened than a team like the white sox will field having something of a shot at making things interesting... all i'm saying is, why play the youth from day one if you have a more seasoned and a more reliable option to plug in "the youth's" place..?

 

and as for my Colorado Rockies reference.. nobody expected them to put up the numbers they did.. and they did, nobody expects much out of the white sox.. and maybe the team will play past it's projected potential. Maybe the young arms will pitch like kings and the oldtimers will return to form. Who knows? Let the games be played.

[HoosierSox]

This is why games are not played on paper. They are played on the FIELD. Besides its still December who says were finished this offseason.

[witesoxfan]

Please relax. It's just sports. Nobody is dying over this... I love the white sox.. and i realize that they're not necessarily a favorite.. but stranger things have happened than a team like the white sox will field having something of a shot at making things interesting... all i'm saying is, why play the youth from day one if you have a more seasoned and a more reliable option to plug in "the youth's" place..?

 

and as for my Colorado Rockies reference.. nobody expected them to put up the numbers they did.. and they did, nobody expects much out of the white sox.. and maybe the team will play past it's projected potential. Maybe the young arms will pitch like kings and the oldtimers will return to form. Who knows? Let the games be played.

 

Everything's fine and dandy, I just look at the team and don't see a contender. Trust me, I take it seriously, but it's not life or death.

 

Also, I'm not sure how Pablo is any more reliable than Richar; if Pablo doesn't hit .320 (or so), he's pretty bad.

[Vance Law]

Joe Cowley visits with Ozzie Guillen in Sunday's Sun-Times:

 

"Q: Who is going to play second?

 

A: Right now, I'm looking to [Danny] Richar. But I have Juan Uribe to compete with him."

 

So no mention of Pablo, and as I mentioned above, if Uribe is still on the team you can expect to see him on the field quite a bit.

 

You don't say, "We are desperate to get rid of Uribe. We'll take any offer for him." You say, "Uribe's going to play."

 

[southsideirish71]

You don't say, "We are desperate to get rid of Uribe. We'll take any offer for him." You say, "Uribe's going to play."

 

If 2nd helpings is still on this team, he will be the starting 2nd baseman. There will be a "competition" that will wind up with Uribe winning it. Hawk will talk about how Uribe can carry a team, and how Uribe and Cabrera would be the bestest infield in the history of baseball. Ozzie will talk about a "new and refocused" Profundo who will once again swing at balls that bounce it. If he is on the team come ST, he will start. I would be completely shocked if Richar starts if Uribe is still here. On the same thought, if Crede is here Ozzie will park Fields on the bench or they will send him down to get him solid ABs. We will go for it, only to fail and cost our kids an opportunity to get better. Its a vicious circle of craptitude.

 

 

 

[sircaffey]

If 2nd helpings is still on this team, he will be the starting 2nd baseman. There will be a "competition" that will wind up with Uribe winning it. Hawk will talk about how Uribe can carry a team, and how Uribe and Cabrera would be the bestest infield in the history of baseball. Ozzie will talk about a "new and refocused" Profundo who will once again swing at balls that bounce it. If he is on the team come ST, he will start. I would be completely shocked if Richar starts if Uribe is still here. On the same thought, if Crede is here Ozzie will park Fields on the bench or they will send him down to get him solid ABs. We will go for it, only to fail and cost our kids an opportunity to get better. Its a vicious circle of craptitude.

 

So true.

[max power]

That would infuriate me. I'd become almost as pessimistic as the average board poster.

[Balta1701]

If 2nd helpings is still on this team, he will be the starting 2nd baseman. There will be a "competition" that will wind up with Uribe winning it. Hawk will talk about how Uribe can carry a team, and how Uribe and Cabrera would be the bestest infield in the history of baseball. Ozzie will talk about a "new and refocused" Profundo who will once again swing at balls that bounce it. If he is on the team come ST, he will start. I would be completely shocked if Richar starts if Uribe is still here. On the same thought, if Crede is here Ozzie will park Fields on the bench or they will send him down to get him solid ABs. We will go for it, only to fail and cost our kids an opportunity to get better. Its a vicious circle of craptitude.

But then, somehow, Uribe will actually come out and put up a .900 OPS next year, and suddenly everyone in MLB and especially every Sox Fan will forget about all of the years of mediocrity beforehand and will come out and say that we need to offer him 4/$55 right away because that's a fair value for his level of player.

[southsideirish71]

But then, somehow, Uribe will actually come out and put up a .900 OPS next year, and suddenly everyone in MLB and especially every Sox Fan will forget about all of the years of mediocrity beforehand and will come out and say that we need to offer him 4/$55 right away because that's a fair value for his level of player.

 

That would be pretty impressive considering his career OPS is .722 and his career high over a full season was .833 with him slugging over 500. His OBP will be the killer for Snacks and Cakes.

 

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Uribe would be a solid bench piece, if he didn't cost $4.5M. But even that scenario is better than him displacing Richar, which if Richar is healthy, would be pretty dumb.

 

[Balta1701]

That would be pretty impressive considering his career OPS is .722 and his career high over a full season was .833 with him slugging over 500. His OBP will be the killer for Snacks and Cakes.

If you catch my reference, I'm trying to allude to the fact that if he did that, his career would suddenly bear a striking resemblance to another player that was once described repeatedly on this site as a "4th OF" and who, when we was traded, made us all happy that we were losing his $5 million a year salary because few felt he deserved that at the time...who suddenly put up 1 year of a nearly .900 OPS in a contract year, after several years of mediocrity, and who now it seems 3/4 of this page wants to give 4/$55 or whatever the current offer is to bring him back.

[southsideirish71]

If you catch my reference, I'm trying to allude to the fact that if he did that, his career would suddenly bear a striking resemblance to another player that was once described repeatedly on this site as a "4th OF" and who, when we was traded, made us all happy that we were losing his $5 million a year salary because few felt he deserved that at the time...who suddenly put up 1 year of a nearly .900 OPS in a contract year, after several years of mediocrity, and who now it seems 3/4 of this page wants to give 4/$55 or whatever the current offer is to bring him back.

 

Running a bit slow today. Trust me, I dont wand Rowand either. I want Fukudome.

 

 

 

[ptatc]

If 2nd helpings is still on this team, he will be the starting 2nd baseman. There will be a "competition" that will wind up with Uribe winning it. Hawk will talk about how Uribe can carry a team, and how Uribe and Cabrera would be the bestest infield in the history of baseball. Ozzie will talk about a "new and refocused" Profundo who will once again swing at balls that bounce it. If he is on the team come ST, he will start. I would be completely shocked if Richar starts if Uribe is still here. On the same thought, if Crede is here Ozzie will park Fields on the bench or they will send him down to get him solid ABs. We will go for it, only to fail and cost our kids an opportunity to get better. Its a vicious circle of craptitude.

 

If Crede is still around, he will start. Only to showcase him to prove he is healthy to bring more in a trade.

[southsideirish71]

If Crede is still around, he will start. Only to showcase him to prove he is healthy to bring more in a trade.

 

So Fields get shipped back to AAA. Thats great.

 

 

 

[Dick Allen]

So Fields get shipped back to AAA. Thats great.

I'm surprised you're a Fields guy, considering 95% of the time he's trying to hit it on to the LF concourse.

[CWSGuy406]

I'm surprised you're a Fields guy, considering 95% of the time he's trying to hit it on to the LF concourse.

 

To be fair, Fields isn't a dead pull hitter -- better than 25% of his homers at US Cellular were to right or right-center. Most of his other homers were to left-center. He only had one homer that ended up in or over the top of the Sox bullpen.

[Gregory Pratt]

To be fair, Fields isn't a dead pull hitter -- better than 25% of his homers at US Cellular were to right or right-center. Most of his other homers were to left-center. He only had one homer that ended up in or over the top of the Sox bullpen.

 

Indicative of an inability to really rip the fastball.

[CWSGuy406]

Indicative of an inability to really rip the fastball.

 

You could say that, I suppose, although I wouldn't agree with it. I don't think his bat speed is slow -- it's just the loading with the hands (or whatever it is -- "cocking" , whatever the term is) that seems slow. In any case I think you're much too harsh on Fields, although I suppose we shall get a pretty good answer from a full-seasons worth of at-bats in 2008.

[southsideirish71]

I'm surprised you're a Fields guy, considering 95% of the time he's trying to hit it on to the LF concourse.

 

He has a hard swing. But unlike the typical lift and pull hitter he hits the breaking pitch better than the traditional fastball. Low and Away is not his weakness like the typical lift and pull guy, its up and in. From the progression of a hitter, I would like to see him eliminate the high and inside fastball which he had a hard time with last year. I would also like to see him cut down his swing a bit on 2 strikes to lower the strikeout numbers. He is also a kid. Lets see what happens over the course of a full year.

 

 

[Gregory Pratt]

You could say that, I suppose, although I wouldn't agree with it. I don't think his bat speed is slow -- it's just the loading with the hands (or whatever it is -- "cocking" , whatever the term is) that seems slow. In any case I think you're much too harsh on Fields, although I suppose we shall get a pretty good answer from a full-seasons worth of at-bats in 2008.

 

I'm not harsh on him. I say I like him and he's got good potential but he needs to learn how to play defense and prove he can hit the fastball; especially with the latter, he will prove himself a real player. Otherwise he is a fluke, a nothing, who can not play professional major league baseball for long. You must hit the fastball and hard or else you'll get it inside and never produce. The league will soon adjust to him; he has to, too. But I think he can do it. I really do. I'm just saying -- if the dude doesn't, he's got no MLB future. He's got significant room to improve, and much room to fall backwards. It's a very easy fall, too.

 

I agree his bat's not slow, just his loading and his beginning.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Gregory Pratt

[Vance Law]

If 2nd helpings is still on this team, he will be the starting 2nd baseman. There will be a "competition" that will wind up with Uribe winning it.

Won't happen.

 

On the same thought, if Crede is here Ozzie will park Fields on the bench

Won't happen.

 

 

if Crede is here

Won't happen.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Vance Law

[lostfan]

I notice there's a lot of people down on Richar, with the Sox' recent track record developing young talent that doesn't surprise me. I saw quite a bit of potential in Richar's bat and after a shaky start, he was playing excellent defense. He's gonna be really good with patience... and if he loses playing time to Uribe I'm gonna be pissed. Actually I'll be kind of worried if Uribe doesn't get dealt before the season starts, because I just can't shake the feeling that Ozzie will be tempted to play Uribe if he's there.