Uribe vs Richar BATTLE for 2nd Base

[yoyozuna]

Ozzie was just on the espn 1000 and stated that he was excited about the Crede/Fields AND Uribe/Richar competition for 3rd and 2nd. I thought this was interesting for a few reasons.

 

1.First off I understand Ozzie is towing the line and knows Crede will most likely be traded.

 

2.I thought Uribe was going to be slotted in a utility role.

 

3.Maybe they feel some competion can bring out a more determined Uribe.

 

So what are my fellow SOX fans thoughts. If Uribe has a good spring and comes in to ST in shape would you be excited about Uribe at 2nd base. I always thought that Uribe's defensive strength was his release and arm strength. Would this be lost playing second? Is Richar's mobility better suited for 2nd?

[Balta1701]

Richar is definitely best suited for 2nd base. He actually had problems getting down some of the skills at SS according to scouting reports when he was with the D-Backs, especially his footwork, but those issues at SS made him ideally suited for 2nd base, according to those reports again.

 

Uribe is also clearly not as valuable as a 2nd baseman when compared to being a SS, for the reasons you cite. His arm clearly being the best one.

 

That said...if Uribe puts up the whopping sub .700 OPS he put up the last 2 years, there is absolutely no reason for him to take playing time away from Danny. In his first big league season, as an incredibly raw player who is almost certain to improve with time, Richar actually put up a higher OPS than Uribe.

 

I could envision a circumstance where Uribe finally gets the message through his thick skull that his career depends on his performance, but we haven't really seen a solid performance with the bat from Uribe since 2004. If he's putting up an OPS in the neighborhood of .700 like he has the last 3 years, or below .700 like he has the last 2 years, I'd rather let the kid play and see if either he could give us those same numbers and learn something for the future, or perhaps even give us significantly better numbers.

 

If somehow the Uribe from 2004 reemerged for a few months, then that would give us an actual reason to send Danny down to the minors on the other hand. I for one just don't see that happening right now.

[spiderman]

They made a mistake in resigning Uribe to this 1 year deal, thought they could trade him, but can't because nobody wants him!

 

Now, they are stuck with a guy making $4.5 million a year on the bench so why not see if he can beat out Richar at 2B ? I would hope that Richar would win this battle, but let spring training sort it out.

[knightni]

Uribe vs Richar BATTLE for 2nd Base, What are your thoughts

 

http://www.blogofhilarity.com/american-gladiators.jpg

 

 

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Maybe I'm the only person that doesn't think that having Uribe on the bench is a bad thing.

 

I see Uribe as playing 2b against lefties, the only legit backup SS and 3B in the whole organization in case of injury to Cabrera and Fields.

 

Ozuna, who I truly hope is not on the team, can only play 2B adequately....maybe. Ramirez probably starts the season in AAA.

 

And, I expect good production from Richar but if he falls on his face there's no one else I would rather have starting than Uribe.

 

I think it will turn out to be a wise move to keep him.

[knightni]

Maybe I'm the only person that doesn't think that having Uribe on the bench is a bad thing.

 

I see Uribe as playing 2b against lefties, the only legit backup SS and 3B in the whole organization in case of injury to Cabrera and Fields.

 

Ozuna, who I truly hope is not on the team, can only play 2B adequately....maybe. Ramirez probably starts the season in AAA.

 

And, I expect good production from Richar but if he falls on his face there's no one else I would rather have starting than Uribe.

 

I think it will turn out to be a wise move to keep him.

 

 

Yes, but can "Comedor Profundo"'s ego handle the platoon delegation?

[elrockinMT]

Maybe I'm the only person that doesn't think that having Uribe on the bench is a bad thing.

 

I see Uribe as playing 2b against lefties, the only legit backup SS and 3B in the whole organization in case of injury to Cabrera and Fields.

 

Ozuna, who I truly hope is not on the team, can only play 2B adequately....maybe. Ramirez probably starts the season in AAA.

 

And, I expect good production from Richar but if he falls on his face there's no one else I would rather have starting than Uribe.

 

I think it will turn out to be a wise move to keep him.

 

 

No, I don't think you are the only one because I feel the same way you do. What difference does it make how much money the guy makes it's about whether he can do the job or not when needed. He may be the 2nd baseman or he may be a super sub at 3 infield positions. That gives us flexibility and he can always step in permanent if needed.

[Vance Law]

Maybe I'm the only person that doesn't think that having Uribe on the bench is a bad thing.

 

I see Uribe as playing 2b against lefties, the only legit backup SS and 3B in the whole organization in case of injury to Cabrera and Fields.

 

I don't think most people think Uribe on the bench is necessarily is the worst thing, but that he's not worth it at $4.5 million.

 

But I imagine that between now and the middle of the season, someone will be in the market for a shortstop (or 2nd baseman). Someone will get injured. Someone will underperform. Uribe does have some positives: his glove, some power. It's not that bad a position for us to be in.

 

It's different than the 3rd base issue because you're not putting either of Crede or Fields on the bench. Uribe can sit on the bench and potentially get traded whenever, recovering for us whatever portion of his salary. Crede, however, needs to get traded now (before the season) or else Fields will have to go to AAA.

[Vance Law]

No, I don't think you are the only one because I feel the same way you do. What difference does it make how much money the guy makes

 

It makes a difference because the Sox are not the Yankees. They have a finite amount of money. It is potentially a bad allocation of that finite money to be giving that much to Uribe on the bench, to do a job that other players (Ramirez, Bourgeois, Ozuna, Getz) could potentially do better, and for millions less. It would be neato to have those millions to allocate elsewhere-another bullpen arm? another starter to cover our asses?

[RockRaines]

Richar put up basically the same if not better numbers than Uribe offensively in his first appearance in the bigs, to play Uribe over a young improving player is asinine. Richar's range should prove better than Juans as well. Juan is a backup whether he likes it or not. He has been a decent play in a supersub role.

[WilliamTell]

With Ozuna and Ramirez, I don't see a need for Uribe on the team. With that being said, I could see him finally coming into his own this spring training and out performing Richar. If Uribe is on the team he deserves to have a chance at some playing time but I'd rather see Ozuna in at 2nd or 3rd and I'm curious to see what Ramirez can do at short.

[Kalapse]

Is Juan Uribe's $4.5M 2008 salary going to keep KW from going after a player whom he believes will make the team better? Is Juan's salary going to be a financial burden? If the answer is no (which I believe is the case) then who gives a s*** how much he's making?

[flavum]

I think it's all talk. I firmly believe both Uribe and Crede will be traded before opening day.

[Gregory Pratt]

Richar put up basically the same if not better numbers than Uribe offensively in his first appearance in the bigs, to play Uribe over a young improving player is asinine. Richar's range should prove better than Juans as well. Juan is a backup whether he likes it or not. He has been a decent play in a supersub role.

 

I doubt Richar's range will be better than Uribe's. Uribe is solid in all respects at short; Richar will never be able to handle it at the ML level, that's why he was moved.

[TheBigHurt]

Oh, for Christ's sake, play Richar. What makes ANYONE think Uribe is going to be a good 2nd baseman?

[Gregory Pratt]

Oh, for Christ's sake, play Richar. What makes ANYONE think Uribe is going to be a good 2nd baseman?

 

He could handle it defensively and, I think, better than Richar but other than that, I think it's better to play Richar. I was and am only saying that Richar will never be the SS defender Uribe is and probably isn't the 2ndbase defender, either.

[Vance Law]

Is Juan Uribe's $4.5M 2008 salary going to keep KW from going after a player whom he believes will make the team better? Is Juan's salary going to be a financial burden? If the answer is no (which I believe is the case) then who gives a s*** how much he's making?

 

Again, it's not just how much he's making. It's whether or not we have better players than Uribe for that role (Ramirez, Bourgeois, Ozuna, Getz), and oh yeah, they're cheaper. So when you're GM, and you determine that Ramirez is a better player than Uribe, and you can trade Uribe and his salary at some point during the season, you can then make a bonfire in centerfield and burn $3.5 million in cash if that's the way you'd prefer to handle it.

[BearSox]

It still baffles me why we gave a fat lazy bum who can't hit his weight, 4.5 million dollars.

[Gregory Pratt]

It still baffles me why we gave a fat lazy bum who can't hit his weight, 4.5 million dollars.

 

Because he's a fantastic defensive player and we needed some sort of insurance policy.

[southsider2k5]

Yes, but can "Comedor Profundo"'s ego handle the platoon delegation?

 

He played the best ball he played for us in 2004 when he was a supersub.

[BearSox]

Because he's a fantastic defensive player and we needed some sort of insurance policy.

No amount of defense can make up for having his kind of horrible bat.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

No amount of defense can make up for having his kind of horrible bat.

 

 

When there were no viable free agents and no one on the farm who could be counted on to be a SS and not much on the trade market, signing a guy who can be counted on (aka you know you're gonna get .220/18/65 with upper echelon defense) for one year at 4.5M is not that bad. I hate it when people ask that question. What else we were going to do? We didnt have OCab yet and there werent any rumors he was coming here. Would you rather have paid Eckstein 8M for 3 years? Or would you rather we moved Richar to SS? Ozuna? Sign Vizquel? Again, we had very few options at the time and we made the safe move. It may not have been a great idea to sign him, but given the other options, there could have been many far worse decisions made.

[Gregory Pratt]

When there were no viable free agents and no one on the farm who could be counted on to be a SS and not much on the trade market, signing a guy who can be counted on (aka you know you're gonna get .220/18/65 with upper echelon defense) for one year at 4.5M is not that bad. I hate it when people ask that question. What else we were going to do? We didnt have OCab yet and there werent any rumors he was coming here. Would you rather have paid Eckstein 8M for 3 years? Or would you rather we moved Richar to SS? Ozuna? Sign Vizquel? Again, we had very few options at the time and we made the safe move. It may not have been a great idea to sign him, but given the other options, there could have been many far worse decisions made.

 

Good post.

[Greg The Bull Luzinski]

Uribe is the openning day 2B only if

 

A) Richar is awful in all aspects of his game in spring training

 

B ) Uribe has a monster spring, stays out of jail, and is actually in shape

[Soxfest]

I do not like either option.