BECKHAM IS BACK

[Special K]

He had two solid hits tonight, a hit last night, and has been making solid contact with nothing to show for it. Although his average his low, he is starting to conribute and it's very encouraging to see for this offense and the team. I think if he starts heating up, and (don't hold your breath) Quentin starts heating up we can be a very competitive team that can actually give Minnesota some troubles, who have been struggling as of late.

 

Criticism ensue...

 

[TitoMB345]

Gimme a few more games and I'll be convinced. But 2 is not enough.

[caulfield12]

Yeah, give me a 10 game stretch.

 

Like the team, Beckham seems like he's coming out of it, then he'll go into a funk and disappear again. A low 500's OPS isn't going to get it done, obviously, unless you're Chris Getz and that's your MLB ceiling.

 

We just need to figure out a way back to .500, we've been stalled between 5-8 games under now seemingly for weeks. Of course, playing TB and Texas, it's not so easy to reel off 4 or 5 victories in a row, but we're pretty lucky to get the Rays when they're struggling like they are now.

[southsider2k5]

Its not just two games if you guys had been watching.

[SoxAce]

He teased us just a few days ago when he went 2-4 against Cleveland then went 0-7 2 K's the next couple of games. Like the above posters said, give him a few games (maybe when his average is up 30+ points, or a 7-10+ game hitting streak) then I'll be sold. I don't jump on Beckham like alot of posters do here since he gives the sox a very good BB rate on this team.

Edited May 29, 2010 by SoxAce

[greg775]

I think we are all hoping the headline for this thread is true.

[witesoxfan]

He teased us just a few days ago when he went 2-4 against Cleveland then went 0-7 2 K's the next couple of games. Like the above posters said, give him a few games (maybe when his average is up 30+ points, or a 7-10+ game hitting streak) then I'll be sold. I don't jump on Beckham like alot of posters do here since he gives the sox a very good BB rate on this team.

 

Seriously. If anything, I commend Beckham. Players, especially young players, go through funks. The fact that he was doing whatever he could to not only try and right himself but also to try and help the team is all you can ask for sometimes. This is a guy that people felt in the offseason was going to be the face of the franchise for the next 10+ years (and they still should feel that way, because I know I do). To jump on him and be completely and totally down on him after a bad month and a half is pretty short-sighted.

[Lemon_44]

Yeah, give me a 10 game stretch.

 

Like the team, Beckham seems like he's coming out of it, then he'll go into a funk and disappear again. A low 500's OPS isn't going to get it done, obviously, unless you're Chris Getz and that's your MLB ceiling.

 

We just need to figure out a way back to .500, we've been stalled between 5-8 games under now seemingly for weeks. Of course, playing TB and Texas, it's not so easy to reel off 4 or 5 victories in a row, but we're pretty lucky to get the Rays when they're struggling like they are now.

If there is any way to get Beckham and Quentin going, you'll likely see a streak. Along with Rios, they are,on paper, the 3 best everyday players. Having two of them struggling to hit .200 is hard to overcome. Teahen and Alexei are starting to show some life and you know you'll go through streaks with Konerko so if CQ can get on track, watch out.

[joejoedairy]

that would be great

 

lot of ifs. i guess theres been a lot of "ifs" all season

 

 

 

 

[bighurt4life]

I don't think that Beckham went anywhere to begin with. He's been in a funk for the better part of a month now, but has also been hitting into pretty low BABIP percentages this year and has been making a lot good contact for a while. It's only a matter of time before the hits start coming in bunches.

[iamshack]

For whatever reason, the Rays did not give him a steady diet of breaking balls. It's as if they did not advance scout us or something...Gordo was lost against the Indians' pitchers, who fed him a steady diet of sliders, and Tampa came right out and threw him fastballs for the most part.

 

Hopefully this will get his confidence up, which is the most important thing for us all...

[JohnCangelosi]

Probably the most disappointing thing about this season is Beckham's performance in my opinion. I know JFP has sucked as has TCQ, but I really thought Beckham was going to be All Star material this year.

 

Obviously all players have to pay their dues in this league and he's no different I guess. Let's hope he's going to come out of it and be a better player because of it, but I am not going to say he's back just yet.

[soxrwhite]

The bigs are not a developemental league. Either he gets it going for real now or I'd rather see Vizquel at short and Ramirez at second. If Beckham can get his average over 250 maybe put vizquel at 3rd and make Teahan utility or trade him for a prospect. Teahan, Ramirez, Beckham, what an infield. Average at best defensivesly and can't hit the floor if they fell out of bed. Whew are they bad! Sox fan forever and always will be., but lets not candy coat the truth.

[iamshack]

The bigs are not a developemental league. Either he gets it going for real now or I'd rather see Vizquel at short and Ramirez at second. If Beckham can get his average over 250 maybe put vizquel at 3rd and make Teahan utility or trade him for a prospect. Teahan, Ramirez, Beckham, what an infield. Average at best defensivesly and can't hit the floor if they fell out of bed. Whew are they bad! Sox fan forever and always will be., but lets not candy coat the truth.

Vizquel is hitting much worse than Beckham.

[WCSox]

The bigs are not a developemental league. Either he gets it going for real now or I'd rather see Vizquel at short and Ramirez at second. If Beckham can get his average over 250 maybe put vizquel at 3rd and make Teahan utility or trade him for a prospect. Teahan, Ramirez, Beckham, what an infield. Average at best defensivesly and can't hit the floor if they fell out of bed. Whew are they bad! Sox fan forever and always will be., but lets not candy coat the truth.

 

Teams are constantly developing young talent in the bigs. For example, we did this in '07 with Danks and Floyd. In the case of Beckham, I don't see the point in sending him down. Replacing him with Vizquel in the lineup would be a step backwards, as I'm pretty sure that Beckham's OPS is going to be higher than Vizquel's at the end of September. Also, sending Beckham down to face minor-league pitching isn't going to help him hit major-league pitching.

 

It's nice to see Beckham respond positively to adversity. He certainly has the mental makeup to be successful in the bigs.

 

[The Critic]

I hope Beckham can start producing consistently, although I have enjoyed the break from the bizarre man-crushes.

[Balta1701]

Its not just two games if you guys had been watching.

At least to my eyes though...not too many more.

[dmbjeff]

He is batting .318 over his last 7 days. He is certainly showing some signs of breaking out. Nearly all struggling players rise to career norms by the end of the season, just as nearly all hot players(see Konerko), fall back to career norms. Now if we can just get Q, Alexei,Teahen to also get back to career norms, we may just have a shot at turning things around.

[Kyyle23]

He is batting .318 over his last 7 days. He is certainly showing some signs of breaking out. Nearly all struggling players rise to career norms by the end of the season, just as nearly all hot players(see Konerko), fall back to career norms. Now if we can just get Q, Alexei,Teahen to also get back to career norms, we may just have a shot at turning things around.

 

the weird thing about Konerko is earlier this year it seemed his average wasnt all that great, but his power numbers were crazy. So maybe if Konerko "regresses" to the mean, his average will go up but his power numbers will drop off a bit.

 

 

[dmbjeff]

the weird thing about Konerko is earlier this year it seemed his average wasnt all that great, but his power numbers were crazy. So maybe if Konerko "regresses" to the mean, his average will go up but his power numbers will drop off a bit.

 

Konerko's power has dropped off already this month with only 3 HR and slugging an abysmal .349. He also is batting .205 this month. He simply had an amazingly hot start and followed it up with a cold May. Nothing new for PK, who has proven to be as streaky as they come over the course of his career with the Sox. Hopefully we get an average month out of him in June with 6HR's and 15-20 RBI and a 275AVG.

[Quin]

The bigs are not a developemental league. Either he gets it going for real now or I'd rather see Vizquel at short and Ramirez at second. If Beckham can get his average over 250 maybe put vizquel at 3rd and make Teahan utility or trade him for a prospect. Teahan, Ramirez, Beckham, what an infield. Average at best defensivesly and can't hit the floor if they fell out of bed. Whew are they bad! Sox fan forever and always will be., but lets not candy coat the truth.

 

Yes, Teahen is a mediocre defender, but at best Gordon and Alexei could be the best SS-2B tandem out there.

 

Also, hitting wise, Alexei is a far better hitter with warmer weather, and he's heating up. Gordon still has great potential, and Teahen, well, he's Teahen.

 

Lets not candy coat the truth, but lets not cover it in **** either.

[witesoxfan]

For whatever reason, the Rays did not give him a steady diet of breaking balls. It's as if they did not advance scout us or something...Gordo was lost against the Indians' pitchers, who fed him a steady diet of sliders, and Tampa came right out and threw him fastballs for the most part.

 

Hopefully this will get his confidence up, which is the most important thing for us all...

 

Fangraphs actually says that the only pitch that Beckham has really been able to hit with any authority this year is a curveball. A steady diet of sliders would work on him, but Tampa atleast thought they knew what they were doing.

[elrockinMT]

He had two solid hits tonight, a hit last night, and has been making solid contact with nothing to show for it. Although his average his low, he is starting to conribute and it's very encouraging to see for this offense and the team. I think if he starts heating up, and (don't hold your breath) Quentin starts heating up we can be a very competitive team that can actually give Minnesota some troubles, who have been struggling as of late.

 

Criticism ensue...

 

 

I think you are right. This offense needs to produce more for sure though and I hope it is starting to turn around. Beckham and Quentin have too much alent to live withj a BA under .200

[soxrwhite]

Yes, Teahen is a mediocre defender, but at best Gordon and Alexei could be the best SS-2B tandem out there.

 

Also, hitting wise, Alexei is a far better hitter with warmer weather, and he's heating up. Gordon still has great potential, and Teahen, well, he's Teahen.

 

Lets not candy coat the truth, but lets not cover it in **** either.

 

 

Ramirez and Beckham the best in the league? Are you voting for them as all stars?

[jenksycat]

Ramirez and Beckham the best in the league? Are you voting for them as all stars?

 

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