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Why Chris Getz Injury Is Good for the Sox


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Why Chris Getz Injury is Good for the Team

By Seven Costanza

SoxNet

 

You never like to see a player get injured, but when a player getting injured allows a much better player to step in and play every day surely it's a good thing? Not according to the majority of White Sox fans.

 

Firstly, Chris Getz is not all that. He's not a great player. He's not even a good player. I hear lots of people throwing the term "future lead-off hitter" around when discussing Getz, but ideally you want a...Remainder of the Article

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Great piece Ozzie Ball. I don't agree with it, cause I like Getz and project him to be a .290/.355 or so player with great speed and intangibles at the bottom of the order but I think you've made a ton of valid points and made me warm to the idea of Nix and I am definitely intrigued to see how Nix handles being the everyday starter while Getz is on the DL.

 

There is no doubt that Nix has been having good at bats and if he can start hitting some more singles to right field we might see that average climb up and him become a very valuable everyday player.

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I don't agree with the premise either. I don't think we're looking for a quasi-power hitter that Nix is at 2B. Getz is a solid hitter and before he got hurt I believe he was leading all rookies in base hits. Listen I like Nix a lot too, but Getz is another left-handed bat and I think will be the better player at 2B than Nix will be. Nix was AWFUL at SS and I don't see how the act of fielding a ground ball, which he frequently couldn't do, changes from SS to 2B. To me, when you have to bring up stats that most people haven't even heard of, I think you're reaching to try and prove your point. Baseball isn't that complicated of a game.

Edited by ObamaKnowsBest
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I think the majority of people on this board underestimate just how good Jayson Nix is right now, and just how good he could be. The fact is Nix is flat-out out-hitting Chris Getz. This was true in spring before Nix went down with injury, and it's true again now.

Edited by Thunderbolt
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If they can both be .325 OBP guys, then I have to side with the extra power Nix gives you.

 

Because while we are sick of being homer dependent, it's good to get that from the guys that arent carrying your team. Especially w/ our park.

 

I normally wouldnt take this stance, but Nix is so impressive right now in AB/HR that it's enough to give us that Uribe/Crede effect....you get enough homers from your infield to account for several valuable wins per yr.

 

 

 

 

In short though I like the platoon.

Edited by Princess Dye
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QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 03:20 PM)
C.J. Retherford will be better than both of them.

Maybe Retherford turns into our version of Howie Kendrick. Howie wasn't a very highly touted amateur but all he did in the minors was hit and hit and hit until he became widely considered an elite prospect.

 

Retherford is clearly not at the level Kendrick is, but hopefully he turns into one of those guys that just hits at an elite level.

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QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:29 PM)
Maybe Retherford turns into our version of Howie Kendrick. Howie wasn't a very highly touted amateur but all he did in the minors was hit and hit and hit until he became widely considered an elite prospect.

 

Retherford is clearly not at the level Kendrick is, but hopefully he turns into one of those guys that just hits at an elite level.

 

Quite frankly, the jury is still out on both Nix and Getz. Mike Fontenot looked great last year, and the Cubs made numerous decisions based on expectations of his continued performance. Now, he blows, and they're screwed.

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I disagree that an injury to any player is a good thing. Especially considering that Getz was hitting the ball well right before his trip to the DL.

 

The problem with both Getz and Nix is that neither has the OBP to be a solid leadoff hitter, which is what this team really needs. Nix takes the walks, but doesn't hit enough singles. Getz is a good contact hitter, but doesn't take enough walks (and has zero power). Being a left-handed hitter with good base-stealing ability, Getz would probably have the edge for hitting leadoff but, again, his OBP is just too low right now. I always thought that Nix would be a really good utility infielder, but he's sucked so badly at SS that I'm beginning to rethink that.

 

The whole Nix vs. Getz debate is going to determined by the makeup of the rest of the 2010 team. If the Sox keep either Thome or Dye (or sign a power-hitting FA), Getz would probably have the upper hand (but may have to bat 9th). If the Sox lose both Dye and Thome, and don't come up with a replacement through FA, they're going to need Nix's power.

 

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QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:23 PM)
I think the majority of people on this board underestimates just how good Jayson Nix is right now, and just how good he could be. The fact is Nix is flat-out out-hitting Chris Getz. This was true in spring before Nix went down with injury, and it's true again now.

 

Nix had six hits, three of which were doubles, for a .462 average (LIKE OMG .1255 ops) in 13 spring at-bats. Getz had the third most at-bats out of all white sox players this past spring with 75. Getz hit .333 for a .830 ops.

 

QUOTE (bighurt574 @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:28 PM)
Firstly?

 

It's a word.

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QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 06:17 PM)
Great piece Ozzie Ball. I don't agree with it, cause I like Getz and project him to be a .290/.355 or so player with great speed and intangibles at the bottom of the order

You guys are operating under feeling. You feel like Chris Getz can make these improvements. The fact is throughout his professional career, he hasn’t. Look at the numbers. Generally, People don’t learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Chris Getz is who Chris Getz is. He’ll hit you .275 and OPS around .700. what’s at question is: do you want this guy on the roster over a guy who will walk more, hit more homers, and save about ten more runs than him on defense? The only clear advantage for Getz is that’ll he’ll steal you about 15 more bases than Nix.

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QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:01 PM)
You guys are operating under feeling. You feel like Chris Getz can make these improvements. The fact is throughout his professional career, he hasn’t. Look at the numbers. Generally, People don’t learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Chris Getz is who Chris Getz is. He’ll hit you .275 and OPS around .700. what’s at question is: do you want this guy on the roster over a guy who will walk more, hit more homers, and save about ten more runs than him on defense? The only clear advantage for Getz is that’ll he’ll steal you about 15 more bases than Nix.

You mean the Chris Getz who put up a .382 OBP in 2007 (Bham @ 23 years old), and .366 OBP (Charlotte @24). Those are both above average minor league OBP's and in those years he hit .299 and .302 respectively with a significant power increase (3 hr's vs 11).

 

He's the type of guy that I expect to actually hold up pretty well. It's also the same Chris Getz who put up a post ASB .296 AVG,.359 OBP, .767 OPS. All pretty damn solid for a 2nd baseman.

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No doubt that Nix has more power than Getz.

 

But using the numbers from their rookie seasons in the majors to make other comparisons is misleading.

 

Getz has had a MUCH better batting eye over the course of their professional careers. It's not even close. And except for the year he was pushed ahead (2006 when he went from low-A ball to double-A) and struggled, Getz's offensive production has been consistently better than Nix.

 

Yeah, Nix had a very nice year in AAA last year... but it was his THIRD consecutive year in AAA. And Getz's only year in AAA was substantially better than Nix's first two years there.

 

That said, I like Nix's power. And if he proves he can hit well enough average-wise with consistent playing time to not create a hole in the lineup, I could see him earning a shot at the regular job.

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QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:01 PM)
You guys are operating under feeling. You feel like Chris Getz can make these improvements. The fact is throughout his professional career, he hasn’t. Look at the numbers. Generally, People don’t learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Chris Getz is who Chris Getz is. He’ll hit you .275 and OPS around .700. what’s at question is: do you want this guy on the roster over a guy who will walk more, hit more homers, and save about ten more runs than him on defense? The only clear advantage for Getz is that’ll he’ll steal you about 15 more bases than Nix.

 

You're guilty of the same thing, plus projecting based on a tiny sample size. Jayson Nix is 28 years old and didn't play a single major-league game until last season. What makes you think that he'll suddenly morph into an every day, .850 OPS player? I realize that he's hitting the ball well right now, but let's not crown him and cast Getz aside based on 165 at-bats.

 

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QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 06:01 PM)
You guys are operating under feeling. You feel like Chris Getz can make these improvements. The fact is throughout his professional career, he hasn’t. Look at the numbers. Generally, People don’t learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Chris Getz is who Chris Getz is. He’ll hit you .275 and OPS around .700. what’s at question is: do you want this guy on the roster over a guy who will walk more, hit more homers, and save about ten more runs than him on defense? The only clear advantage for Getz is that’ll he’ll steal you about 15 more bases than Nix.

 

Who's operating under 'feeling' here?

 

Your analysis should say: "People don't learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Nix is who Nix is."

 

Getz had more walks than strikeouts in his minor league career (165 walks and 142 strikeouts in 1428 at-bats). Nix had 302 walks and 675 strikeouts in 3250 at-bats.

 

The small sample of major league at-bats you're using to make your point does not provide the basis for a meaningful comparison.

Edited by scenario
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QUOTE (scenario @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:14 PM)
The small sample of major league at-bats your using to make your point does not give you the basis for a meaningful comparison.

 

And that's good news for the Nix fans, as his OPS+ of 4 in 56 at-bats last year would be pretty damning otherwise.

 

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QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 12:09 AM)
Nix is a solid sub at SS and 2B even though he is prone to errors. I like him, but the injury to Getz is not good IMO. Getz is a solid young player, but I do think Getz and Nix complement each other

Nix may be somewhat prone to errors but his range is fantastic. Defensive range is easily one of the most under appreciated aspects of baseball, it's so much more important than errors that it's not even funny, yet people only remember the errors because that's what they see.

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QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 06:50 PM)
Nix may be somewhat prone to errors but his range is fantastic. Defensive range is easily one of the most under appreciated aspects of baseball, it's so much more important than errors that it's not even funny, yet people only remember the errors because that's what they see.

Why does it matter if he has the range to get to a ball in the hole only to botch it or throw it away?

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QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:50 PM)
Nix may be somewhat prone to errors but his range is fantastic. Defensive range is easily one of the most under appreciated aspects of baseball, it's so much more important than errors that it's not even funny, yet people only remember the errors because that's what they see.

 

That and the fact that the runner often gets to advance to 2nd base.

 

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QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 06:56 PM)
I haven't seen him have this issue at 2B. The guy is no doubt a plus defensive 2nd baseman.

I'd agree with that, but everyone came into the season thinking he was a great defensive player at 2nd, 3rd, and short. And it's simply not the case. He was touted for his defense, and overall, it's been subpar.

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