fathom

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 10:33 PM) I don't mean to be a wet blanket because I know we got Thome for this but... I just hope we're not forgetting small ball/Ozzieball/smartball, whatever. I think the more we play not to only score "one" run, the better our offense will be. I'll say this though....PK is going to hit into a ton of double plays this year (that's a compliment to Thome).

For the person who asked if Thome hits homers in bunches......following him on the Indians over the years, I remember how he would go through periods where you could throw a 85 mph fastball down the plate, and he'd strikeout on it. However, there would also be times where he'd hit 10 homers in a 15 or 20 game stretch. He's a very streaky hitter, much the way Jermaine Dye is. Another guy who's incredibly streaky is Mackowiak.

QUOTE(ChiSoxCE2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 08:34 PM) Damn Freddy...c'mon, we need one solid outing before the season. We do? He pitched very well in the WBC. Freddy might care less about spring training than any pitcher in baseball.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 08:23 PM) The wind screwed Iguchi on that one but I've noticed that he is terrible at making catches when he has to backpeddle into the outfield. He actually got so bad at it last season that he'd be scared to go after some pop flies behind first base or in shallow RF. Luckily, you don't see too many of those type of plays during a season.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 08:18 PM) Iguchi CANNOT make a catch running backwards, although the wind probably had an impact. I bet Cintron would have caught it

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 08:10 PM) Seriously, if you aren't watching, its quite funny. He's basically doing his best Kevin Hickey impression. I thought that's what he did in the first inning of every game

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 06:13 AM) Huggins reminds me of Pat Kennedy. They are awesome recruiters, but they suck at coaching so they usually don't get the best out of their players. I'm not a fan of Huggins, and I would hate to root for a team with him as a coach. However, he's a much better coach than Kennedy. At least Huggins gets his teams to play tough and rebound well.

QUOTE(He_Gawn @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:42 PM) I dont think Barnes has any intention of leaving Texas anytime soon. He'll be back in the ACC within 3 years.

QUOTE(Misplaced_Sox @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:30 AM) Wow what is SSH2005 problem? Are these just inside jokes I just dont get? I mostly lurk and not post but he seems like a head case He's actually one of the best posters on this site, in my opinion. He's not afraid to express how he feels, and I think he starts a lot of great threads.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:24 AM) Yep. And that was with a sports hernia injury too. So we know he can play through the stuff a little bit. He just has to get comfortable with the scar tissue. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's going to be seriously injured. I'm more worried about his psychological state of mind on the bases.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:22 AM) One thing about Podsednik is that speed doesn't last forever. Podsednik isn't old having just turned 30 years old but his speed will eventually decline, if it hasn't started to already. Juan Pierre will also be virtually worthless when he inevitably loses his speed. Base stealers or like closers in baseball. As they get older, they lose their speed. The ones that can adjust can have a prolonged career (ie..Trevor Hoffman).

I'll take the 2005 postseason Podsednik (except for the horses*** throwing arm, of course).

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:14 AM) Where is all of this DL talk coming from? Ozzie was talking about a few days. He said he would rather not have him play the opening series than lose him to a DL stint by him getting hurt worse. He just has a strain and Herm said it's as much mental as it is physical. Lots of people who have sports hernia surgery feel little pulls. I think Pods gets kind of nervous about it, but most of them don't bother people after a couple of days. Everybody is just wondering about making it back Sunday, possibly even Friday. I don't think next week is a concern. Herm said that he could have gone out there today if it were an important game. I think he might miss Sunday or maybe Tuesday, but I doubt it is more beyond that unless he reaggrevates something. Considering how careful they were with him last season, the MRI diagnosing a groin strain will probably make the Sox very careful with him. The latest stories on chicagosports make it seem 50/50 that he'll be ready to go by Opening Day. If he continues to struggle adjusting to the scar tissue, I can't see Ozzie putting him out on the field. The most important thing though is that he gets confident in his own body. We saw last year what happens when he's tentative on the bases.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:09 AM) Unfortunately, I think you're right. It's very frustrating. It looked like we were gonna get through the spring with any significant injuries (I don't count Hermanson. It's obvious now that he wasn't gonna be ready to start the season). Hermanson now admits he won't be ready for the first half of the season. I don't think I'm alone in saying that I'm not thrilled with the way his injury was handled.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:05 AM) He was well on his way to 80+ steals. Can we legitimately expect him to be healthy enough for an extended stretch of the season to be dangerous on the bases again?

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:03 AM) Pods > Henderson Well, he would've scored well over 100 runs last season had he been healthy all year. Which would've be a pretty good total considering how erratic we were offensively. I mean, he's no Johnny Damon. It would sure be nice to see what Pods could do with a Jim Thome hittin' 3rd for a full year. Will just agree to disagree about Mack. It's one thing to replace a Brian Anderson or Joe Crede, which I think he could do for a while, totally another thing to replace a speedy freak, table-setter like Pods. Yeah, you're making good points, and I appreciate the debate. The only thing that puts Crede and Anderson ahead of Pods, in my opinion, is their defensive value. I'm definitely not a fan of Podsednik's defense, and I think he's going to end up spending some time on the DL in April.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:01 AM) Well if Pods has to go on the DL I guess Plan B for any length of time would be Owens. That is, if they want to keep Mackowiak in the rotating 3B/CF/RF role and use Pablo as a true bench guy. The thing that concerns me is Owens didn't look very impressive this month, he didn't look close to being ready to me. I honestly think Plan B would be a platoon of Ozuna/Mackowiak, and Plan C would be Sweeney. I don't think they're extremely high on Owens yet.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:47 AM) Yes, he has done a fine job with the bench but when I mention team speed I should have amplified ... stolen base proficiency speed. Gload isn't slow but he's not a guy you look to for stolen bases. Where's Ruddy Yan?

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:46 AM) Well, they both have very different roles. I wasn't implying that we would be alright without Konerko--just that we would have more options. Ozuna/Mack do not equal what a healthy Pods can do for us. Not even close. Are we talking about Podsednik, or Rickey Henderson? Podsednik doesn't score a lot of runs for a leadoff hitter, and he doesn't drive in a lot of runs. He can be a good table-setter, but someone like Mackowiak, if he was to start for a month in place of Pods (on the DL) could help out the offense in different ways.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:42 AM) Very true. Gload deserves to be on the team, no doubt, and I like his defense at 1B. I just have a bias for lots of team speed. Thankfully, Gload has pretty good speed. I couldn't agree with you more in regards to wanting more speed on the bench. I've always wanted a righty power hitter on the bench (someone like Jason Dubois), but I think KW has done a very good job with our bench.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:37 AM) Buehrle, Garcia and Garland all struggled a bit. But it wasn't hard to see the difference between a White Sox team with a 100% healthy Pods compared to a not 100% healthy Pods. We just don't have anybody that can do what he does. Hell, even if Konerko got hurt, we'd have a lot more options to play with than if Pods is out for any real length of time. Konerko's contributions are far more valuable than Podsednik's are. If we lose PK's bat, any replacement would be a significant downgrade. I'm confident enough in Ozuna and Mackowiak that they can do what they have to in order to help the offense.

QUOTE(JimH @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:35 AM) Pods is the straw that stirs the offensive drink. He is extremely important to the offense. Ozuna can fill in but it weakens the bench. IMO they need another speed guy, given Guillen's preference to have a running team. If Terry Francona were managing the team I'd feel differently. But I have a bias toward having as much speed as possible, and using it. I know that Pods is important, and that when he's getting on early and often, it makes the offense very potent (at scoring one run in an inning). With a guy like Thome batting 3rd, I'm more concerned about saving outs than I am playing smallball. However, I might as well save my breath, and I'm sure we'll play Ozzieball (and Ozzie deserves to keep playing this style).

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 03:29 AM) I hope people aren't fooling themselves in thinking will be alright without Pods for any long-stretch, or with him at less than 100%. Could we get by without him for a little while? I think so. But he's easily the most irreplaceable of all our position players. What happened last year when he was put on the dl was no fluke. Didn't all of our pitchers hit the wall over that same span? I actually think Pods is one of our most replaceable players, especially if he's not 100 percent. Also, JimH, don't you think Ozuna fits that speed category? He's the fastest player on our team.

Just like what rotoworld said, if Pods can't steal bases, he's a mediocre player. I'd have no problem with an Ozuna/Mackowiak LF platoon if Pods is hurt.

Here's the thing with Ozuna...he could have just as easily hit .100 vs lhp instead of .300 vs lhp last season. He had to lead the world in fewest feet per hit. However, he does a lot of little things right on the field, and there really isn't a significant drop-off between Pods and Ozuna.