[Pods Recalled]

At least Podsednik has produced for the Sox and was producing this year prior to injury I'd rather producers who jog on outs, that hackers who run as hard as they can on outs and make a lot of them, but who don't produce squat.

[Ozzie extension rumor]

Not a day for good rumors. First the rumor that we're going to sign yet another crappy veteran, and an extension to the manager who has successfully convinced the GM to discard talent and load the team up with crappy veterans.

[That's a White Sox loser]

Just bring up Anderson and Sweeney and let em play with Fields.

 

I certainly could go for that. We couldn't do any worse and we'd perhaps help the future.

But to do that, Ken Williams needs to have a sit down with his manager and say "patience with the young hitters my man; and keep thy ego in check".

 

Williams needs to make the personnel decisions. Input from the manager - sure, like the input of 04 and 05 - not of 06 and 07. Williams built one world champion...he can do it again.

[That's a White Sox loser]

Ozzie Ball - take a world champion, add hackers and lungers, banish those ball players who dared to cross Ozzie or Ozzie Jr; and presto, you have the worst team in baseball.

[Owens sent down]

You don't develop a guy like him into a five-tool player, and not every productive outfielder has to be. Owens could make a pretty good living as a slap-hitting terror on the basepaths who plays an adequate left field.

 

I agree with that;

And what is our alternative? More PT for Cintron, Mack and Gonzalez? Ooooh Erstad is coming back - some guaranteed .310 OBP. Can't wait.

Any team that uses the woeful Cintron as a designated hitter is putting agendas ahead of winning and improving the club.

[Owens sent down]

Anyone want to do a little bit of digging and see what the Sox record is with Erstad leading off and what the record is so far since he's been gone ?

 

How many titles did we win with Timo Perez and how many with Erstad; or what was our winning percentage with Anderson and what was it with Erstad?

 

My questions are silly and irrelevant.

But ERstad is no leadoff hitter under any analysis, except Ozzie Guillen's who wants swing at everything types atop (and throughout) the lineup.

For sure Podsednik is a far more accomplished leadoff hitter than is Erstad.

[And That's A White Sox Loser]

Look at the lineup Ozzie wheels out there game after game - every hacker, slapper and grinder you can imagine; this team is so obviously overmatched that it begs for high ceiling call-ups. But why play them when hackers like Cintron, Mack and Gonzales can cover the positions?

 

Pinch hit for Cintron? ARe you kidding - it's Cintron who does the pinch hitting on this ballclub. I expect Cintron to bat cleanup tomorrow. Minus 2 injured slappers, this is the team ozzie wanted - hackers and slappers up and down the lineup: the result? 10 below, 10 out with 60% left to play.

[White Sox vs. Marlins, 6/18/07 (W)]

This is karma for laughing at the Cubs all those years waiting on Wood and Prior. Here we are waiting on Pods and Erstad.

At first I laughed when I read that. But now I want to cry.

It's so true, so true.

[White Sox vs. Marlins, 6/18/07 (W)]

Well the big news from the 2 hour Sox brain trust meeting this afternoon ... KW on the pregame basically says they (the players) want to see how they perform when Podsednik and Erstad get back, to see if the team can go on a run. Konerko was at the meeting, as was Guillen and Hahn and of course Williams.

 

So it does not look like any trades will be made for now. My guess is they will evaluate where they are in two weeks, like July 1st.

Yea, we'd be right in the thick of it if we hadn't lost erstad's 2 homers and .310 obp.

And if they perform back to their .500 level, that will get us exactly, uh, where? If they perform better than that it won't get us anywhere.

 

What are the players supposed to say: please trade us because this season's hopeless?

[Aaron Cunningham Traded to Zona for IF Danny Richar]

With Owens, we need speed to replace Erstad and Pods at the top of the line-up. I think Owens will go back down this week if he continues to struggle and they might have to bring up either Sweeney or Anderson again...or Erstad/Pods will come back.

Don't forget Torrero, another player Ozzie has no problem with.

 

This goes back to my basic question about Ozzie Guillen. Jerry Owens leads off for Guillen and in a month can't muster a single walk. Not one. How is that possible if Guillen and Walker are really teaching patience? That stat is so bad that it seems they are teaching impatience. Further, the fact that he can't get on base doesn't dissuade Ozzie from leaving up up top. He loves Erstad and his .310 OBP at the top; Except for 1 season (maybe 2) Erstad has been below average at getting on base, but he's exactly what Ozzie wants at leadoff. Where is there any evidence that Ozzie values patience, much less a leadoff man actually being able to get on base?

 

I agree that Sweeney wasn't ready. But neither is Owens, Torrero and Gonzales never will be. It appears that we traded an outfielder with potential for another Ozzie-style low-ceiling utility infielder. I guess the idea is to leave the utility players up as they have limited potential anyway, and they have plenty of role models on this team.

 

Meanwhile, Ozzie-ball is last in the AL in offense and 9 below .500 and dropping.

[Aaron Cunningham Traded to Zona for IF Danny Richar]

Guillen has been right about every prospect he decided couldn't play. Anderson, McCarthy, and Sweeney have done absolutely nothing to prove Guillen was wrong. I don't think it's the major league coaching staff's fault that Sox prospects don't develop into impact major leaguers.

 

They haven't been given a chance. Ozzie jerks Anderson around; despite a good second half and good spring, he benches him and gives him a handful of at bats in the first month. Sweeney played 1 month. (I certainly hope, Ozzie didn't put him into his dog house; he wasn't hanging around Ozzie, jr, was he?). We don't know that they're busts. Did Ozzie and Walker enable their development and allow them to bring out their best, whatever it may be.

On the other hand, Jerry Owens, who has the lowest ceiling of the prospects and a .178 OBP (zero walks) stays up. Gonzales, a potential major league utility infielder, is playing outfield - he's not a serious prospect, but he gets serious playing time.

Pretty soon Ozzie won't have any choice - he'll have to play prospects and hopefully he'll try to develop them. They don't need coddling (he does that with Vasquez, and it 's a failure) - they need teaching, leadership and development.

[The Greg Walker Lynch mob thread]

Most of the players on this team don't even know how to bunt.

Greg Walker, Joey Cora - that's just comedy.

Ozzie isn't exactly surrounding himself with potential successors.

[Aaron Cunningham Traded to Zona for IF Danny Richar]

Guillen loves Danks and Sweeney, for two, but I'm not going to debate the rest of it all with you because last time you had htis discussion you kept insisting that Ozzie Guillen a. thinks he was a particularly good hitter, that b. Ozzie hates good hitters and c. Ozzie hates OBP all of which is absurd.

 

PS: Ozzie didn't construct the bench.

Really, tell me, give me some hope that ozzie gives a whip about OBP. What is there that makes you think he does?

I forgot about Guillen's love for Torrero. Another hack at everything hitter.

 

Wouldn't ONE of these players (other than the middle of the order hitters) have a decent OBP or walk rate if Ozzie and Walker cared about or taught plate patience? Hell, Jerry Owens doesn't have a walk all season. Not one. Ozzie calls erstad and his .310 obp a .400 quality hitter. I don't see it.

[Aaron Cunningham Traded to Zona for IF Danny Richar]

For the people worrying about Ozzie + rookies/prospects,

 

There's a big difference between having a player with the right attitude sucking and the wrong attitude sucking and taking care of them accordingly.

 

Also: there's a difference between a rebuilding year and a follow up to the World Series and how you baby development.

 

I'm sure Ozzie knows the difference and will put his murderous hatred for his players aside.

 

What I do know, however, is that Ozzie gives his backups more playing time than anyone in baseball, and there's nothing wrong with keeping them so sharp. But let's not confuse that with bad managing.

Sure Ozzie gives his backups playing time - look how he loaded the bench - his backups are all swing at everything slap hitters with little patience - the type of hitting ozzie loves. He can stick a cintron or rob out there day after day hitting .230 with no problem - but put a rookie out there and he can't stand it.

 

 

He has no choice with Fields.

 

What evidence is there that he's willing to develop a young position player? He was unwilling to let Anderson play stellar D in center and bat 9; Sweeney didn't last a month. Right now, he has Gonzales (not a serious prospect) playing left.

So who has Ozzie Guillen been willing to develop and teach? What young hitter has this coaching staff improved?

[Aaron Cunningham Traded to Zona for IF Danny Richar]

What is the love affair with Arizona infielders? First Cintron and now Richar I just do not see it!

Let's hope this guy is a legitimate 2b prospect and not yet another hacker who hits in the image of ozzie guillen.

[The Greg Walker Lynch mob thread]

I don't see how Walker can keep his job. Maybe it isn't his fault (talent isn't the best; organizational philosophy, etcl) - but someone's got to be responsible for the bottom line. Shut out by a mediocre pitcher.

[Hey Ozzie....]

But lesser of four evils or "maybe not worse than" doesn't get you much, at best, a .500 ballclub.

 

I guess Anderson has now become the poster child (like Rowand) for "what ifs," and I'm not buying it. The same people who think we would be contending with Rowand instead of Thome are probably arguing Ozzie's "vendetta" against Anderson is killing the organization.

 

The problem with all the anti-Anderson stuff is 1) KW is either complicit in it, 2) KW has no balls to go against Guillen's wishes for the ballclub...3) KW and OG are on the same page, for better or worse, despite what everyone here thinks and wishes.

 

Or 4) there is a real rift between KW and OG and we just don't know about it.

The argument for Anderson is not that he will bring better production. He probably won't. It's that he's young and might turn out to be a really good player. That's better than guaranteed mediocrity (although Rob M and the rest aren't even delivering mediocrity; and what is Cintron even doing on the team?).

 

Rob M at leadoff; bunting to put the pressure of tying the game on a rookie and Rob M - the Sox sure aren't getting much help from the baintrust either.

[Our Top Prospects]

None of Sweeney, Fields or Owens was ready this year and the Sox knew they weren't ready. It's unfortunate that they had to be called up this year. Owens obviously has a fairly low ceiling, is a LF, but if he works hard (including learning how to take a walk for goodness sakes - I doubt he'll learn or develop that skill in this organization) he could be a Pods type. Sweeney could be a really good hitter - what is he now, 22?

 

Anderson had a decent 2nd half last year, a good spring and plays stellar defense. That wasn't good enough for Ozzie to stick in the 9 hole and leave alone. Regardless of whose fault it is, Anderson's value is significantly depressed, so his future better be with the Sox because we won't get much for him if we traded him.

[Hey Ozzie....]

The thought that Girardi was anything but an abominable manager last year is maybe the most incredible farse I've ever seen portrayed in baseball since I've watched it.

 

Why do you say that?

I don't know anything about him, except that W/L wise, the Marlins did a lot better than most expected.

 

Just wondering what his story is.

[Hey Ozzie....]

In Owens, we have a lead off hitter who is still looking for his first major league walk. Now I realize that the circumstances are different, but Ozzie wouldn't let Anderson start and hit in the 9 hole for 2 straight days last year, much less 2 straight weeks. I think Owens will be a decent little player, with some coaching and experience.

 

This team will hack away at just about any pitch. It's remarkable how little patience these hitters have. I love AJ slapping at ball 4, straight into a double play.

 

The team is bad because the roster is bad. That's partially Ozzie's fault, imo, but also injuries and Williams. I just hope Ozzie and Walker are spending time working with the young hitters and improving them.

[The Reason This Team is Bad, and Yes: It's Ozzie's Fault]

This post is the biggest bunch of B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T I have read today. When did Ozzie make it seem like he likes the players you suggested? Walker always talks about players hitting it back up the middle and not worry about homeruns because they will come. Everyone likes high OBP guys and hitters with patience. This may be the most moronic post of the century. Either that or it is a bunch of sarcasm that can not be detected.

Oh, yea, Ozzie's a big believer in plate patience and taking walks and waiting for a ball that you can hit. What a howler that is. And you call my post BS? The "evidence" you provide is walker saying he wants players that can hit up the middle. There's a big difference between not swinging for the fences and plate patience.

On the other hand, this staff has: drooled over free-swinging Erstad and labelling Erstad a .400 quality hitter when he was hitting below .200. When he uses Alex Cintron as a pinch-hitter. When he loads the team up with free swingers.

 

If they believed in patience wouldn't at least ONE of the slap hitters take walks. You'd think, but none do under this staff. Do you see hitters taking walks when Guillen and Walker coach them? Do you ever see Guillen criticiizing a player (which he loves to do in general) for swinging at everything.

 

The Sox aren't alone. The Angels aren't an OBP team either and they've had success. The Sox won a WS with free swingers. You can do it if you get good hitting free swingers. Right now, we feature Rob M., two rookies, and Alex Cintron as pinch hitter (and a cold rest of the team). THAT is the problem.

[The Reason This Team is Bad, and Yes: It's Ozzie's Fault]

I think these "homer or bust/push-pull" teams are more a creation of KW and this annoying theory that White Sox fans have always preferred home runs and .500 teams to "small ball" and playoff contenders...or maybe, it's the idea that if the majority of teams are going to be "average," it's best to entertain them with offense instead of defense?

 

At any rate, I think Ozzie knows the writing is on the wall with this team (the current version) and he is disengaging a little bit, which coincides with our second half slide and first half fizzle this year. And I think the whole Mariotti flap really changed him too, for the worse.

I think it's more Ozzie - Ozzie likes free swingers, including, if not especially, those with no power. Ozzie was a free swinger with no power and Ozzie considers Ozzie to have been a good hitter (he was a well below-average hitter). Ozzie doesn't like the walkers, he likes the slap hitters. That's what we've got a team full of - hitters that swing at everything. And I see no evidence that Ozzie or Walker is interested in more OBP or plate patience.

 

That said, I think this roster, when healthy, is not championship quality. So, there's only so much Ozzie can do. BUT I think Kenny gets the players that fit Ozzie's philosophy.

[The General Manager's Guide to Power Arms and Grinders]

The philosophy of Ozzie Guillen, as excecuted by Williams.

 

Ozzie thinks Ozzie was a good hitter.

[How about??]

Dusty did a bad job with the cubs but I believe that bringing him with the white sox would give this team the lift it needs!

 

We'd just as soon bring back Bevington. And for sure I'd prefer Jerry Manuel.

[I can't blame Ozzie anymore....this is ALL on Kenny]

Another problem is the change in organizational philosophy which has been implemented to a much greater extent now than it was 2 years ago. What is the genesis of the orgranizational philosophy of a)speed of fastball being the top credential for a pitcher and b)free swingers greatly preferred over hitters with plate discipline. I think that's all Ozzie and Kenny is getting players that Ozzie likes.

 

Williams hasn't done the best job the last 2 years filling holes; BUT the "Swing at everything" offensive philosophy and judging pitchers on fastball speed (which is why I doubt they re-sign MB) is also fault.