If I was Ozzie...

[YonderLaroche]

First thing I would do is send this team a wake up call. The starting pitching has been excellent all year and this team NEEDS TO HIT and win these games! This team should have atleast 6 or more wins than they do. The can't win them all but the hell three losses in a row with absolutely no offense.

 

First: Call up Jerry Owens, they need him to lead off and get some speed going. Sit Konerko, Thome, Quinten, and Swisher once a week and he could be plugged in the lineup some way. They need to stir up this lineup somehow and get some speed. When he was in the lineup in Spring Training he played good.

 

Second: Send Ramirez to AAA so he can play everyday. He will be good someday but needs experience. Its almost as bad as Uribe when he's out there, almost and automatic out.

 

Third: Make a trade. Get rid of one: Konerko, Thome, Dye or if you have to trade Crede just to get some kind of bat in return. A major change would freshen up this lineup and all it needs is someone who hits for average and can steal more than one base a year. I know theres a team out there that needs a power hitter and has plenty of guys who can hit over .250....

 

Fourth: AJ is a good hitter and fits in great with this team but he probably cant even throw out Konerko trying to steal second. This is also killing this team and guys will just keep running on him. A new backup (Toby Hall sucks) who can hit and throw guys out would help...

 

Fifth: Juan Uribe - That's all I gotta say, everyone is sick of him, get rid of him somehow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BearSox]

I'm hoping we can somehow find a trade with Texas to get one of their many stud catcher prospects. Taylor Teagarden would look awfully good right now playing in a role similar to Kelly Shoppach.

[South Side Fireworks Man]

I would try this lineup:

 

Swisher

Cabrera

Quentin

Crede

Thome

Dye

Konerko

Pierzynski

Uribe

 

As soon as Dye starts hitting again I'd move him to fourth:

 

Swisher

Cabrera

Quentin

Dye

Thome

Konerko

Crede

Pierzynski

Uribe

 

Time to move Thome down in the order. He's still good, but not as good as he used to be.

[BearSox]

First thing we need to do with any lineup is make sure Uribe is far away from it. I'd keep the lineup vs. the righties pretty much the same, except replace Uribe with Ramirez. As for vs. lefties:

 

1. Swisher, CF

2. Cabrera, SS

3. Quentin, LF

4. Konerko, 1B

5. Thome, DH

6. Dye, RF

7. Pierzynski, C

8. Crede, 3B

9. Ozuna, 2B

Edited May 3, 2008 by BearSox

[witesoxfan]

The first thing I would do to shake up this lineup would be to trade Jerry Owens so he can never come near the Chicago White Sox locker room ever again. Preferably in a deal for Brian Roberts.

 

 

If you really wanted to shake up the lineup, you'd call up Fields. Sure, he brings the same power as everyone else, but it's against lefties. You play him against every lefty and in place of Crede once a week (which will generally be 2-3 starts a week) and then you have him ready any time a lefty reliever comes in, and he can probably get 200-300 ABs.

Edited May 3, 2008 by witesoxfan

[rangercal]

If we really need speed, it should be from second base. Leave the outfield alone.

[Chet Lemon]

The first thing I would do to shake up this lineup would be to trade Jerry Owens so he can never come near the Chicago White Sox locker room ever again. Preferably in a deal for Brian Roberts.

 

With each passing game, I am becoming more in favor of seeing the Sox make a move for Roberts. Their offense is anemic and something needs to be done to shake things up. I am as big a fan of Richar as anyone around this place, but I do not think he will provide that spark whenever the hell he returns. Perhaps a deal of Broadway + Richard or Cassel + Richar could bring Roberts on board.

 

[whitesoxfan101]

Not much Ozzie can do right now. The pitching is fine, and he's stuck as is with our lineup due to the roster KW handed him. You can (and should) bench Uribe and move Quentin up in the order, but i'm not sure what else we can do. There is nowhere for Owens or Fields to play.

[elrockinMT]

Not much new here. I'll check another topic on the list

 

 

[WilliamTell]

If I was Ozzie I'd be a crazy man. Let's try a lineup in either numerical or alphabetical order, can't be any worse and I think Uribe would still bat last, haha.

 

Alpabetical

 

Cabrera

Crede

Dye

Konerko

Pierzynski

Quinten

Swisher

Thome

Uribe

 

Numerical

 

Uribe

Pierzynski

Konerko

Cabrera

Quinten

Dye

Crede

Thome

Swisher

[greg775]

If I was Ozzie I'd make Harold hitting coach and have Walker do Harold's job whatever that is.

[witesoxfan]

With each passing game, I am becoming more in favor of seeing the Sox make a move for Roberts. Their offense is anemic and something needs to be done to shake things up. I am as big a fan of Richar as anyone around this place, but I do not think he will provide that spark whenever the hell he returns. Perhaps a deal of Broadway + Richard or Cassel + Richar could bring Roberts on board.

 

I think it would take a bit more than that, but I've been thinking a potential package centered around something like that could possibly work. Just so long as the deal does not include Josh Fields, I would almost certainly be content with it.

 

Of course, if Josh Fields were in it, I'd almost immediately hate it. Baltimore might also want to give Costanzo a shot too, so they may not prefer Fields be in the deal anyways. It's hard to figure out what Baltimore would even ask for in a trade for Roberts. If you look at what the Cubs were offering them and the Tejada trade, it would appear they are just trying to stockpile minor leaguers who have a bit of talent. If that's the case, I'd offer them Broadway/Egbert, Richar, Russell, and perhaps even Cassel or someone similar. I'd give up a glut of talent to get Roberts, so long as it doesn't take Fields. I guess that's just personally how valuable I feel Fields is to the White Sox.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Hate is a strong word, but I dislike Owens. Even so, something needs to happen with this "offense" (i use the term lightly) and for a limited period of time I'd be willing to give JO an audition in the stead of Alexei, with Swish playing first while Thome/Konerko rotate based on the matchup. Ideally Anderson would find some AB's too.

[joejoesox]

this team is gonna be bad tomorrow, and the next 6-7 days, hopefully these outrageous-type threads won't pollute the whole board because you KNOW what you're gonna get from this team the next week or maybe longer

i don't see these guys just flipping on the switch and magically hitting all at once

 

also what i'm curious about is, it seems there's some psychological problem with our position players and their ability to hit

 

we had a terrible offense last year, and now we have Swisher, Cabrera, and Crede (he wasn't really part of our offense last year), and over the last 3 days, sans a Homerun.. Quentin inserted into the lineup and guess what, THEY'RE bad too. Why is this happening? One has to wonder about the clubhouse and the things that are going on in there, though I as a fan have been lead to believe that our clubhouse is perfect and everyone loves each other. So who knows, but something is causing guys to just suck offensively for this team, even when you plug in people who weren't anywhere near this team last year, what the bleep is going on..

 

also, why don't our hitters make adjustments, most of the lineup consists of veteran players that should know by now that you have to make adjustments in order to be successful. they came into last nights game as if they had no f***ing clue they were facing a guy who rarely throws a fastball for a strike. how could that be, it's like they're being fed WRONG scouting reports or something

[greg775]

Maybe Reinsdorf should give bonuses to players who hit line drive shots in the gaps and actually drive the ball after hitting it where it is pitched.

[G&T]

I've never really seen the need to fire Walker because I blame the players, generally. But every time these guys swing they all look the same from the feet to the hips to the hands. I think Walker is probably a fine mechanics coach, but he has no clue how to tell a hitter how to adjust during an at bat. Case in point from an article yesterday:

 

Rizzo, now an assistant GM with Washington, said he believes the frequent changes that initially baffled the Sox's coaching staff are Quentin's way of trying to improve with each at-bat

Link Talking about Quentin's stances.

Then, if you recall, there was that Rowand article where he basically said that his success was due to the hitting coach in Philly because he taught how a swing should feel, rather than simple mechanics.

If true, then I wonder how this organization doesn't know what it looks like to make adjustments, and how long Quentin will continue to succeed, and whether the hitting problems will ever end.

 

I guess my point is, no lineup change is going to turn around the hitting problems that started years ago if, putting together what I read, the organization's hitting philosophy doesn't change.

 

 

[kapkomet]

I've never really seen the need to fire Walker because I blame the players, generally. But every time these guys swing they all look the same from the feet to the hips to the hands. I think Walker is probably a fine mechanics coach, but he has no clue how to tell a hitter how to adjust during an at bat. Case in point from an article yesterday:

 

Link Talking about Quentin's stances.

Then, if you recall, there was that Rowand article where he basically said that his success was due to the hitting coach in Philly because he taught how a swing should feel, rather than simple mechanics.

If true, then I wonder how this organization doesn't know what it looks like to make adjustments, and how long Quentin will continue to succeed, and whether the hitting problems will ever end.

 

I guess my point is, no lineup change is going to turn around the hitting problems that started years ago if, putting together what I read, the organization's hitting philosophy doesn't change.

Good post - it's much better and more thought out then WALKER SUCKS FIRE HIS AZZ!!#!###!### LOLZ!#!###! that we get most of the time around here.

 

The PHILOSOPHY needs to change - and quickly.

[knightni]

But that's the point.

 

Walker is not skilled in the ability to teach in-depth when it comes to teaching the art of hitting.

 

That's why the Sox should either get him that training, or let him go.

 

This is the fourth season in the last five that, for the most part, the entire team goes into a slump hitting-wise and Walker appears to be flummoxed as to how to rectify the situation.

 

Is it coincedence that the new arrival player seems to be least affected by the slump each year?

 

2004: Rowand

2005: Iguchi/Dye

2006: Thome

2007: Fields

2008: Quentin

[knightni]

I wonder how much JR's loyalty to Walker is keeping him employed?

 

Ever since he had that seizure and had to retire, I think JR's had a soft spot for him.

 

 

[Kyyle23]

But that's the point.

 

Walker is not skilled in the ability to teach in-depth when it comes to teaching the art of hitting.

 

That's why the Sox should either get him that training, or let him go.

 

This is the fourth season in the last five that, for the most part, the entire team goes into a slump hitting-wise and Walker appears to be flummoxed as to how to rectify the situation.

 

Is it coincedence that the new arrival player seems to be least affected by the slump each year?

 

2004: Rowand

2005: Iguchi/Dye

2006: Thome

2007: Fields

2008: Quentin

 

 

fixed, Dye was an Athletic in '04

[elrockinMT]

What are the qualifications to be a hitting coach anyway?

[knightni]

What are the qualifications to be a hitting coach anyway?

 

I would assume minor league hitting instructor experience, which Walker had.

 

But, how good was he?

 

Rowand was about the last home-grown hitter we've had that succeeded in the majors, and even he slumped after '04 when Walker was out of the minors and on the Sox.

 

This is Walker's first mlb job, I think.

[stretchstretch]

at some point you have to dump Walker, as it's been said, if veteran's don't need a hitting coach why keep one on the staff at all?

 

His job is to work with them on mechanics, opposite field hitting, bunting, and plate discipline, none of which is evidenced on this ballclub for a couple seasons.

 

In watching a lot of Angel baseball in SoCal, you see hitters with a very standardized new-age stance, you know the one, think Grady Sizemore, weight on back leg, front foot toed out, back elbow up, torso turned in for uncoiling power---the majority of the team hits this way, you can see that the hitting coaches are able to teach old dogs new tricks and it pays off in wins

 

We can dump the head coach, dump all the players, or start with the least risky move, the hitting coach, and escalate the action from there until a solution is found.

[Soxfest]

Walker has had plenty of chances time for someone else this is a 2 year thing now!

[South Side Fireworks Man]

I've come to the point where I feel if Ozzie doesn't care why should I care anymore?

 

He has repeatedly expressed his faith in Greg Walker even though his hitters have sucked for over a season and a half.

 

He keeps trotting the same unproductive batting order out there day in and day out despite the fact that his top and middle of the order are not producing and the offense as a whole is not scoring runs.

 

His best hitter (Quentin) is still batting seventh and the AL HR co-leader and Sox' best clutch hitter keeps batting eighth. Meanwhile his third and cleanup slots are occupied with .220 hitters. I guess he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of his aging veterans or his hitting coach.

 

But hey, Ozzie gets paid to worry about these things, not us. So I'll just resign myself to sitting back and watching what happens.