White Sox interested in SS Ian Desmond

[Saufley]

I definitely think he would start the season as our SS, but if he can play a solid LF, he provides us with a significant amount of flexibility for our roster. Allows Saladino (or Anderson at some point) to slide into SS if Desmond is needed in the OF. If we go the Fowler route, we are riding & dying with Saladino at SS. There wouldn't be much of a backup plan.

 

Why do I see some posts casually mentioning Desmond playing the outfield? Since 2009 he has played 920 games. In 2009 he played 1 game in RF and in 2010 he played 1 game in RF. If the Sox are going to sign him I would think they are looking at him playing SS.

 

[knightni]

He had an awful first half then bounced back pretty big in the 2nd half. .262/.331/.446 is nothing to sneeze at IMO.

He had a very good 2012-2014 too.

[Dick Allen]

I wouldn't mind Desmond. I think Fowler makes the team better.

[lasttriptotulsa]

Why do I see some posts casually mentioning Desmond playing the outfield? Since 2009 he has played 920 games. In 2009 he played 1 game in RF and in 2010 he played 1 game in RF. If the Sox are going to sign him I would think they are looking at him playing SS.

 

Desmond and his agent have been selling himself on his willingness to play the outfield. Whether he would actually be good at it is a different question.

[Dick Allen]

Desmond and his agent have been selling himself on his willingness to play the outfield. Whether he would actually be good at it is a different question.

I have stated before, if you don't want Desmond to play SS or 3B, or 2B, you should probably just get a real OF. For all we know, he might make Avi look like Dwight Evans in RF.

[Saufley]

Desmond and his agent have been selling himself on his willingness to play the outfield. Whether he would actually be good at it is a different question.

 

Your point in rebuttal to mine is???? At this point, Desmond and his agent should be selling himself on his willingness to play all positions.

 

[Buehrlesque]

Desmond and his agent have been selling himself on his willingness to play the outfield. Whether he would actually be good at it is a different question.

I don't see the appeal of this. Desmond is a good hitter for a SS — a limited pool where the bar is not super high and he plays acceptable defense. His offensive production as an outfielder — where there are more choices available and a higher bar to clear — would make him pretty uninspiring. And that doesn't even take his defense into account — who knows if he'd be good relative to his position as an OF like he is at SS with the glove.

[shysocks]

Your point in rebuttal to mine is???? At this point, Desmond and his agent should be selling himself on his willingness to play all positions.

I mean, you asked why people are mentioning Desmond in the OF, and he told you. That's all.

[lasttriptotulsa]

Your point in rebuttal to mine is???? At this point, Desmond and his agent should be selling himself on his willingness to play all positions.

 

Where did I even offer a rebuttal? You asked a question I gave you the answer. I never said I wanted him to play the outfield or that the Sox would look at him as an outfielder.

[elrockinMT]

I saw Heyman on MLB Network and seeing Desmond's stats makes me think he was one of the more consistent SS in baseball and would be a good option for the Sox. I have always thought Saladino would work better in a super sub role in the IF. Heyman believes the Sox need the upgrade at SS more than the OF

[Saufley]

I mean, you asked why people are mentioning Desmond in the OF, and he told you. That's all.

 

and because his agent says something we should buy in? I don't think so. Desmond is NOT an OF. If we want an OF we can surely do better!!

 

[bmags]

Is your first sentence a question? I couldn't tell with only one punctuation mark. Always use multiple.

[Eminor3rd]

I saw Heyman on MLB Network and seeing Desmond's stats makes me think he was one of the more consistent SS in baseball and would be a good option for the Sox. I have always thought Saladino would work better in a super sub role in the IF. Heyman believes the Sox need the upgrade at SS more than the OF

 

I think Heyman is emphatically wrong about that.

[bmags]

Yeah, that's crazy talk.

[NorthSideSox72]

I think Heyman is emphatically wrong about that.

100%.

 

[SoxSteve]

The problem with your argument is Desmond is not a below average defensive player. He's been pretty much average and when combined with his bat it's made him a top 5 SS prior to last season. Unless you believe his one bad half in the last four seasons, which happened to occur last year, is predictive of the player you'd be getting, signing Desmond to a reasonable contract could be the streal of the offseason.

 

And no offense, but the Markakis idea is terrible. He is a bad defender with no power, who is being paid a lot of money. Yes we need more OBP, but he's the absolutely wrong guy to get.

What is your fascination with power? KC HIT 97 and 135 homers the last 2 years and were one out away from another World Series win. SF won multiple World Series with little power as did the Cardinals. We have enough power to win if we had better OBP IMO. And Markakis would be a huge upgrade over either on of our corner outfielders hands down. He is not a gold glover anymore but still above average for sure and i think he might have won a GG in 2014. Do we really want to add a guy like Desmond who has been declining the last few years and not just ist half of last year? Averaging 171 strikeouts and 24 errors over the last 3 years is a steady decline and not just a bad half. He just seems like a bad fit for a team that needs better defense and OBP than power.

[SoxSteve]

What is your fascination with power? KC HIT 97 and 135 homers the last 2 years and were one out away from another World Series win. SF won multiple World Series with little power as did the Cardinals. We have enough power to win if we had better OBP IMO. And Markakis would be a huge upgrade over either on of our corner outfielders hands down. He is not a gold glover anymore but still above average for sure and i think he might have won a GG in 2014. Do we really want to add a guy like Desmond who has been declining the last few years and not just ist half of last year? Averaging 171 strikeouts and 24 errors over the last 3 years is a steady decline and not just a bad half. He just seems like a bad fit for a team that needs better defense and OBP than power.

And for those WAR followers how does a guy who has averaged 24 errors and 171 strikeouts over the last 3 years with a 311 OBP have a good war? Maybe a good fit for some teams but for us not good at all IMO. Thanx

P

[Dick Allen]

What is your fascination with power? KC HIT 97 and 135 homers the last 2 years and were one out away from another World Series win. SF won multiple World Series with little power as did the Cardinals. We have enough power to win if we had better OBP IMO. And Markakis would be a huge upgrade over either on of our corner outfielders hands down. He is not a gold glover anymore but still above average for sure and i think he might have won a GG in 2014. Do we really want to add a guy like Desmond who has been declining the last few years and not just ist half of last year? Averaging 171 strikeouts and 24 errors over the last 3 years is a steady decline and not just a bad half. He just seems like a bad fit for a team that needs better defense and OBP than power.

Those teams played half their games in ballparks not as conducive to hitting home runs. White Sox teams that don't hit HR since moving into USCF, with maybe one exception, have totally sucked. The park has played as a pitcher's park except for home runs in recent years.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Dick Allen

[Y2Jimmy0]

And for those WAR followers how does a guy who has averaged 24 errors and 171 strikeouts over the last 3 years with a 311 OBP have a good war? Maybe a good fit for some teams but for us not good at all IMO. Thanx

P

 

 

Because he's a good defender and hits very well for his relative position. 20 HR power and good defense from SS is valuable

[lasttriptotulsa]

And for those WAR followers how does a guy who has averaged 24 errors and 171 strikeouts over the last 3 years with a 311 OBP have a good war? Maybe a good fit for some teams but for us not good at all IMO. Thanx

P

 

Without context, citing the number of errors a player had means nothing. A player with great range who commits 24 errors could very well be a better fielder than a player with poor range who commits very few errors.

 

Strikeouts are in no way figured into a WAR calculation. What difference is there between a strikeout and a pop up to the catcher? None.

 

Desmond still has a good WAR for 3 reasons.

 

1. He is an average to above average fielder at a premium defensive position (despite your assertion that he is not due to the number of errors)

 

2. He has been an above average base runner every year of his career except for one in which he was barely below average

 

3. Despite a mediocre OBP he has substantial power and had put up wRC+ numbers of 128, 116 and 108 before last year at a position where big offense is not expected or common.

[SoxSteve]

Those teams played half their games in ballparks not as conducive to hitting home runs. White Sox teams that don't hit HR since moving into USCF, with maybe one exception, have totally sucked. The park has played as a pitcher's park except for home runs in recent years.

Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!!

[fathom]

Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!!

 

Yeah, Thome was just awful on the Sox. I think many would be disappointed to hear that the 2005 White Sox hit a lot of home runs.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!!

 

 

The Sox hit 200 homers in 2005

[Dick Allen]

Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!!

It was fashionable to say Scotty Pods et al was a different mix, but 2005 was won with power and pitching. They scored the same percentage of runs in 2005 via the longball vs. 2004, hit fewer home runs, but scored a lot fewer runs. What won, was the pitching and homers. Without, the drought would be almost as long as the Cubs.

[OmarComing25]

Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!!

Just because a couple recent teams succeeded in spite of their lack of power doesn't suddenly make power a bad thing. The last Sox playoff team was the fourth most HR-dependent team in MLB history. All the good Sox offenses of the past couple decades have had a lot of power. The 2005 offense was overall mediocre but good enough due to having a lot of power, it was also almost as HR-dependent as the 2008 team too. The idea that it was a "balanced offense" is a myth. LaRoche sucked last year partly due to the fact he didn't hit for enough power. Not sure why Thome is on your list, he was great here, and I'm sure we'd all take 2006 Thome on this team in a heartbeat. It also makes a lot of sense to play to the strengths of your own ballpark.

Edited February 12, 2016 by OmarComing25