Lee or Konerko?

[greg775]

Why aren't we bringing Freddy back?

He'd be worth a small contract wouldn't he? He was OK.

[macsandz]

I vote for Konerko.

I think whatever fall-off PK would have next season is mitigated by having Dunn hitting behind him. Paul has never been protected like this. Not even by Thome.

[Rowand44]

Konerko has a better bat.

It's actually very close, Lee has a higher career ops though.

[SoxAce]

Besides the fact that D.Lee is one whole year older, everything else is in his favor. He's got a higher career ops, much better defender, better athlete and will make much less money on this upcoming contract and once again, this is a real easy decision imo. The fact that Derrek had a bad first half of last season while battling some injuries doesn't change that fact.

 

I thought it was too easy. DLee would be the much smarter decision. Hell our IF defense would be very, very good. I don't think many realize how underrated Lee is with the bat as well. Put up some nice splits with Atlanta after the trade as well (albeit small sample size) so he's far from done.

Edited December 5, 2010 by J.Reedfan8

[ScottyDo]

Besides the fact that D.Lee is one whole year older, everything else is in his favor. He's got a higher career ops, much better defender, better athlete and will make much less money on this upcoming contract and once again, this is a real easy decision imo. The fact that Derrek had a bad first half of last season while battling some injuries doesn't change that fact.

Yah he's got everything except age and recent performance. Somehow, with a 35 year old, I value injury and recent performance a little more than career OPS which includes seasons 5 years removed from now.

[Rowand44]

Yah he's got everything except age and recent performance. Somehow, with a 35 year old, I value injury and recent performance a little more than career OPS which includes seasons 5 years removed from now.

He's a whole 6 months(thanks 3e8) older than Pauly and he literally had one bad half of baseball while producing at a very solid clip in the 2nd half last season. If I were a betting man, Lee and PK will put up similar offensive production this upcoming season.

[gatnom]

Yah he's got everything except age and recent performance. Somehow, with a 35 year old, I value injury and recent performance a little more than career OPS which includes seasons 5 years removed from now.

 

You say this as if Konerko hasn't had relatively recent injury and performance issues.

[sircaffey]

He's a whole 6 months(thanks 3e8) older than Pauly and he literally had one bad half of baseball while producing at a very solid clip in the 2nd half last season. If I were a betting man, Lee and PK will put up similar offensive production this upcoming season.

I agree. Both Lee and Konerko had huge age-34 seasons after producing VERY similarly. One you're going to have to pay for the age-34 season, the other you will have to pay for their more realistic level of production.

[VAfan]

Does health explain a lot of PK's and D Lee's 2010 seasons? PK was completely healthy for the first time in years, while Lee fought various ailments?

 

If this is true, and there is any chance Lee is not fully healed, then it would be silly to invest in Lee when you are trying to win a championship. Konerko was a top-5 hitter in baseball, measured by RC 27. He generated 8.32 runs/game. Lee generated 4.77 runs/game, to rank 87th. Overall runs created was 121.1 to 76.9. Carlos Quentin was more productive than D Lee last year.

 

If your interest was trying to maximize production on the cheap, then you might sign Lee and hope he rebounds by being healthier. But if you are trying to pass the Twins and win the championship, you can't give up the potential run-producing difference between PK and D Lee.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Does health explain a lot of PK's and D Lee's 2010 seasons? PK was completely healthy for the first time in years, while Lee fought various ailments?

 

If this is true, and there is any chance Lee is not fully healed, then it would be silly to invest in Lee when you are trying to win a championship. Konerko was a top-5 hitter in baseball, measured by RC 27. He generated 8.32 runs/game. Lee generated 4.77 runs/game, to rank 87th. Overall runs created was 121.1 to 76.9. Carlos Quentin was more productive than D Lee last year.

 

If your interest was trying to maximize production on the cheap, then you might sign Lee and hope he rebounds by being healthier. But if you are trying to pass the Twins and win the championship, you can't give up the potential run-producing difference between PK and D Lee.

 

I don't think anybody is implying that PK wasn't worlds better than Lee last year.

[sircaffey]

MLBTradeRumors said that STL gave Berkman more money in order to get only 1 year ($8 mil). I assume that means that 2 years at ~6 mil was discussed. If you could get Lee for a similar 2 year deal, that would be a fantastic deal.

[ScottyDo]

i'm just saying that any drop in performance or accumulation of injuries COULD be an indication of a permanent downslide. Judging by the most recent evidence, I trust Konerko over Lee.

[Balta1701]

i'm just saying that any drop in performance or accumulation of injuries COULD be an indication of a permanent downslide. Judging by the most recent evidence, I trust Konerko over Lee.

You're right to say so. However...you're also wrong if you say that Konerko doesn't have a history of injuries in recent years. His thumb bothered him for more than a season and he struggled for a long time from that, and he's been dealing with a hip issue for years.

[joeynach]

The nice thing is there are several options at first base, some better than others, but still several solid choices to choose from. I would be very hesitant in the long run... which is the ultimate goal for any business/franchise. People are throwing around the idea of a large commitment to konerko, on top of two huge commitments to rios and dunn? The sox have one of the biggest question marks in the game with all things considered in peavy. Peavy is guaranteed 33 million over the next two years to be nothing more than what i already mentioned, a question mark. A smart move has to be made.

 

A smart move, in my opinion, is not retaining a player at 10+ million for 3 years, given our situation. Floyd/ danks will eventually get paid, and get paid well, soon. Let's say quentin just so happens to tear the cover off the ball (one of the leagues bests) this up coming season. Unrealistic? Yes, probably. Beyond belief? No. But the man would be paid, and he would be paid by the white sox. These things have to be considered.

 

There is a ton of money potentially locked up in only a select few. One or two more long term, extremely expensive contracts, over the next two seasons will be enough to cripple this team for many years to come. I see someone coming in on a one year deal, and there very well could/will be an option for a second year. If not, a straight up two year deal can not be written out of the equation for whoever is brought in.

 

I'm not against what happened today, i'm all for it, but what people have to remember is there will always be three sides to every story ever told.

 

I dont think a 2/24 or 3/36 deal for Konerko qualifies as a monster long term that is difficult to unload. I think the 7/126 the cubs gave Soriano falls in line with that thinking.

[joeynach]

I thought it was too easy. DLee would be the much smarter decision. Hell our IF defense would be very, very good. I don't think many realize how underrated Lee is with the bat as well. Put up some nice splits with Atlanta after the trade as well (albeit small sample size) so he's far from done.

 

I dont think the concern with DLee is that he will just be bad like he was in the first half of 2010. Which by the way is a direct product of being surrounded by garbage and losing Aramis Ramirez most of the season. I think the real issue here is our assumption that DLee will cost less and therefore the sox can have DLee + Putz/New Bullpen Arm for the price of Konerko. Again thats an assumption. I think the real question is if you can have DLee + Putz/New Bullpen Arm, or Konerko + Putz/New Bullpen Arm, would you then still want to DLee.

[Balta1701]

I dont think the concern with DLee is that he will just be bad like he was in the first half of 2010. Which by the way is a direct product of being surrounded by garbage and losing Aramis Ramirez most of the season. I think the real issue here is our assumption that DLee will cost less and therefore the sox can have DLee + Putz/New Bullpen Arm for the price of Konerko. Again thats an assumption. I think the real question is if you can have DLee + Putz/New Bullpen Arm, or Konerko + Putz/New Bullpen Arm, would you then still want to DLee.

The one other thing not noted is that if Konerko Walks, you also get 2 draft picks, so that has to fit into the equation as well.

[greg775]

How come we always talk about age of players on here and the Yankees don't give a flip about age.

They are gonna sign Jeter and Mariano to huge deals and there's a chance their performances could start dipping because of age.

 

I saw somebody concerned about Lexi's age. That to me is kind of nutty.

[That funky motion]

How come we always talk about age of players on here and the Yankees don't give a flip about age.

They are gonna sign Jeter and Mariano to huge deals and there's a chance their performances could start dipping because of age.

 

I saw somebody concerned about Lexi's age. That to me is kind of nutty.

Because, they can afford to make mistakes.

[witesoxfan]

How come we always talk about age of players on here and the Yankees don't give a flip about age.

They are gonna sign Jeter and Mariano to huge deals and there's a chance their performances could start dipping because of age.

 

I saw somebody concerned about Lexi's age. That to me is kind of nutty.

 

Mariano Rivera is ridiculously good still; like, best closer in the majors still. They are just being dumb with Jeter, but they kind of have to retain him.

[greg775]

Yeah, just like we have to kinda retain Paulie and Buehrle.

Just gotta do it.

[joeynach]

How come we always talk about age of players on here and the Yankees don't give a flip about age.

They are gonna sign Jeter and Mariano to huge deals and there's a chance their performances could start dipping because of age.

 

I saw somebody concerned about Lexi's age. That to me is kind of nutty.

 

To me its not about age per say about its mileage and skill set. Dont tell me how old a pitcher is, tell me how long his been pitching in the MLB, tell me how many IP he has. For a hitter its a little more tricky, tell me what kind of skill set he brings to the table, is he a station-station slugger, a guy who steals bases and needs his legs to get on base. Then based on his tenure you can figure out if time is factor that would reduce his ability to perform based on his skill set. For example, Im much more concerned with signing Carl Crawford for 5-6 years than I would be signing Konerko for 2-3 years. Crawford is a guy who needs to be healthy, nimble, and quick on his feet to add value to your team, something that I would be worried about maintaining for the next 6 years. Konerko is more a stationary slugger, his value comes from standing in the batters box and smacking the ball over the fence. His skill set is something that isnt as risky, something that Thome has showed us wont be an issue even in your 40s.

[ScottyDo]

You're right to say so. However...you're also wrong if you say that Konerko doesn't have a history of injuries in recent years. His thumb bothered him for more than a season and he struggled for a long time from that, and he's been dealing with a hip issue for years.

Granted. But it's clear, based on a whole season's performance, that all of those issues are not currently a problem for Konerko. They may be in the future, but that's a guess no matter who you're talking about. Can you say the same for Lee?

 

As far as Lee + Putz vs. Konerko, sure, I'd rather have the former, but we don't have any idea what this team's budget is. We assume we're approaching the max, but we have no idea, really. So if you're asking Konerko v. Lee straight up, I'm going Konerko all the way.

[Chicago White Sox]

Granted. But it's clear, based on a whole season's performance, that all of those issues are not currently a problem for Konerko. They may be in the future, but that's a guess no matter who you're talking about. Can you say the same for Lee?

 

As far as Lee + Putz vs. Konerko, sure, I'd rather have the former, but we don't have any idea what this team's budget is. We assume we're approaching the max, but we have no idea, really. So if you're asking Konerko v. Lee straight up, I'm going Konerko all the way.

Agree completely. If the budget allows it, I think Konerko is the best option for winning in 2011. Sucks losing out on the draft picks, but you can't let that affect your decision if you're attempting to go all in.

[Chi Town Sox]

Jon Heyman on twitter reporting that a 7 year offer for Lee was put on the table by a "mystery" team

[bschmaranz]

Jon Heyman on twitter reporting that a 7 year offer for Lee was put on the table by a "mystery" team