justBLAZE Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 NEW YORK -- The White Sox find themselves in search of a big finish to what has been a tremendous year-long effort atop the American League Central. For Josh Fields, on a purely individual basis, the 2008 campaign can't end quickly enough. From being sent to Triple-A Charlotte out of Spring Training -- after hitting 23 home runs and driving in 67 for the White Sox in 2007 -- to dealing with a bad right knee for much of this season, this current run has played out quite a bit differently than Fields expected when arriving in Tucson, Ariz., back in February. "Oh, no doubt," said Fields, sitting at his locker in the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. "It would have been a lot better if when [Joe] Crede unfortunately did go down, I would have been at full strength and playing good -- kind of like when he went down last year. I could have felt more like a part of the team and helped the team out. "It just wasn't in the plans this season," Fields added. A major part of Fields' 2008 struggles dealt with right knee pain, exacerbated by a couple of early-season collisions in the field while playing for Charlotte. He was on the International League disabled list from May 5-12 and from June 16 to July 4. That problem should be taken care of as soon as the season comes to a close, with Fields scheduled to undergo knee surgery. "I'm excited to finally know what's going on and get it taken care of," said Fields of the arthroscopic surgery. "I don't know how to explain it because I don't totally understand what the doctors have told me, but they understand what they need to do. "They can go in take care of it really easily. The recovery is not supposed to be hard at all." Fields, 25, entered Tuesday's contest hitting .161 over 31 at-bats with the White Sox. His defense was deemed inconsistent enough at third base by manager Ozzie Guillen and his staff that Fields was replaced by Juan Uribe as the everyday player after Crede went down with back problems. Without making any excuses, Fields' overall play was hampered by the knee issue. The correction will make his approach to 2009 much stronger physically, and Fields hopes the mental strength will follow. "Yeah, I don't want to make an excuse, because pretty much everyone is playing hurt," Fields said. "But it has been a physically and mentally tough season. Mentally, the whole season has taken a big toll on me." www.whitesox.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 (edited) Poor Josh. Horrible season after last year's good one. I hope he can bounce back next year. With Crede gone, he'll have the real opportunity to win the job at third base. Edited September 17, 2008 by greg775 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthshiner Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 in all honesty, and I can't believe I am saying this, I think Uribe deserves a considerable chance at being our third baseman next year. He has played great defense and has hit like .300 while being our 3B. Two things I question that Josh could do. We know Uribe has the ability to hit around 20 HR and 70 RBI. I like Fields and thought he should have been our guy going into next year but sometimes you have to look at what is right in front of you. There should be some competition next year in spring. At the very least it seems Uribe can be a hell of a bench player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 (edited) I hoping Josh can bounce back as well. I haven't given up on him. Uribe has definitely played himself into the pole position, though. Never thought I would say this, but we gotta keep Juan around. Edited September 17, 2008 by Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 It was clear he wasn't all there in the limited AB's this year, and I hope he comes back healed. You don't just trip and fall on 23 home runs in a shortened (rookie) season. It would be great to go into the offseason feeling certain about the infield- with Fields healthy you could simply slide Juan over one bag and place Ramirez back in his natural habitat. As it stands now I guess you could still roll the dice on that scenario, but with the surprising season the Sox are having I think Dubs is at the least looking for a backup plan should that blow up in his face. On the other hand, Fields didn't exactly take the batting crown and we currently have a 25-30 HR guy in the lineup hitting .220 or so. Probably a fluke (Nicholas' season), but to have two guys like that in the regular lineup...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I want nothing to do with Uribe being handed a job out of ST. I want nothing to do with him being the opening day starter at any position in the infield going into ST next season. I would love to have him back in a utility role next season, but it'd be nice if he were a security blanket rather than just a guy they count on to play a lot of games. If he is resigned and has under 200 PAs, it'd be a good year for Sox infielders. I've also said before that I don't think Fields is in the organization next year. Perhaps they'll give him a chance to get healthy, but I think whatever value he has will be used by Williams to get someone he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 While Uribe has filled in nicely and has been a nice surprise in taking over the 3B position I definitely dont want him to be starting for us in any position next season. Fields has seemingly been hurt whole season so its hard to judge him, but many people seemingly think he isnt going to hack it. Im on the Beltre train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Juan will sign with another team for a big payday since he's a free agent after he becomes World Series MVP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swingandalongonetoleft Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I'd be upset if we didn't give him a reasonable offer with a chance to be an everyday player. If someone comes along and gives him Ft. Knox, then we did all we could do. If the offers flying in at him are anywhere in the ballpark of what we'd be willing to pay, you sign him. He's done enough over the years to justify this. Also, if you do decide to let him go, it sure as hell better be AFTER you find a replacement. I seem to recall a situation that involved getting rid of Garland for a SS weeks after we had signed one... Last offseason's CF situation also relates to this. Plans A and B failed because we weren't willing to pay up. I'm not saying this didn't work out because I'm fond of our OF situation, but I think we got lucky. It certainly could have been worse, or even better, Jerry Owens might have plagued our lineup all year. Close call, learn from the mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 12:31 AM) While Uribe has filled in nicely and has been a nice surprise in taking over the 3B position I definitely dont want him to be starting for us in any position next season. Fields has seemingly been hurt whole season so its hard to judge him, but many people seemingly think he isnt going to hack it. Im on the Beltre train Have I ever told you how smart you are? lol Seriously though, I just think Beltre is the perfect choice for the Sox; there's no long-term committment, you should get compensation at the end of the season, he doesn't cost an arm and a leg monetarily (though he's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination either), he shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to trade for though he won't be stolen either, and he's a very underrated player - I don't think .270 30 .825 is seriously out of the question for him, and he plays fantastic defense at 3B too, which is incredibly important. As far as I'm aware, there are no serious injury concerns (though he is having surgery for a torn ligament on his hand...he wanted to play through it so it obviously wasn't effecting him a terrible amount). Beltre just seems too perfect. I also don't want to look too far ahead either because there's still plenty of season left to be played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Well hopefully that is going to fix the kid, because him being a complete bust is a worst case scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 07:40 AM) Well hopefully that is going to fix the kid, because him being a complete bust is a worst case scenario. How come we draft more quarterbacks than the Bears do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 hopefully the knee was the major problem and he can bounce back next year. http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bspli...2&year=2007 He had a real good september last year and it seemed like he was having more quality ABs too as far as taking pitches etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 08:50 AM) How come we draft more quarterbacks than the Bears do? The sad thing is Borchard, Richards, and Fields would probably be better than what they have now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 08:03 AM) The sad thing is Borchard, Richards, and Fields would probably be better than what they have now... We should try something unique in the future. Let's try drafting baseball players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 09:06 AM) We should try something unique in the future. Let's try drafting baseball players. To be fair, the jury is still out on two of those three kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 08:14 AM) To be fair, the jury is still out on two of those three kids. Absolutely true. But ... I like guys that have grown up playing the game of baseball. The most valuable tool a player can have is the one between his ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaseballNick Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 FWIW Joe Cowley has said on several occasions that the Sox will pursue Chone Figgins in a trade this offseason to play 3B for next year's team. It looks like there's just no confidence in Josh at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 09:40 AM) FWIW Joe Cowley has said on several occasions that the Sox will pursue Chone Figgins in a trade this offseason to play 3B for next year's team. It looks like there's just no confidence in Josh at this point. That would kill two birds with one Chone for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurcieOne Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 08:42 AM) That would kill two birds with one Chone for sure. That was a clunker. we all know that Chone is pronounced like Shawn, what a jerk you are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I don't know what effect his knee injury had on swinging and missing, something he did with even more regularity this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 09:58 AM) That was a clunker. we all know that Chone is pronounced like Shawn, what a jerk you are! Don't hate because I beat you to the punch... AGAIN. Jealousy doesn't look good on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 04:19 PM) I don't know what effect his knee injury had on swinging and missing, something he did with even more regularity this year. He has no balance at the plate, and if he has a balky knee, that could contribute to the lack of strength in his swing. It's a really tough call for the organization, as I don't think anyone knows what type of player he'll be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elrockinMT Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Trade Josh Fields. Those knee injujries can really haunt you later just like back surgeries. I think Uribe should get first crack at 3B as long as we sign him to a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 17, 2008 -> 10:28 AM) Trade Josh Fields. Those knee injujries can really haunt you later just like back surgeries. I think Uribe should get first crack at 3B as long as we sign him to a deal. Who is going to trade for a guy that put up the numbers that he did this year AFTER he has knee surgery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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