chitownsportsfan

I think we should be clear there are two different aruments here: 1) Pods' abilities 2) His value to the team and his future with the Sox. I think it would help if people are clear on what they are arguing. Of course they are related, but I think an argument can be made that PODS isn't a very good player, but he's valuable as the best leadoff hitter we currently have, regardless of his defensive worth. The Sox can win with PODS on this team despite his suckitude. His defense is bad, but LF defense is only worth so much. The players capable of replacing him in left are not better options. Mackowiak is more usefull in an utility role, Ozuna as well. Gload has no role on the team. Widge blows. PODS needs to continue his trend of getting OB and hitting with a bit of pop. He had an otherworldy (read: fluke) first half last year and than went back to mostly crap in the 2nd, although injuries could have played a role. But his career numbers suggest he just isn't that good of a hitter: Career OPS+ of 92 with a career OBP of .345. His career slugging is (puke) .385. Hell, this year, PODS is beating his career OPS by a full 8 points and it's a "lofty" .744. Remember, this is for a LF! Pods is 7th out of 10 among qualified LF in the AL in OPS. In MLB, he is 16th out of 20. ISO power, (Slg-BA) Pods is 2nd to last, only beating...the glorious Matt Murton. Point is, PODS is a terrible LF all around. He can't field a very easy position (relatively), and he can't hit either. He's a below average league hitter in the 2nd best offensive position in baseball. Corner OF is the place for sluggers, not slap hitters. He's the best option this year, next year, we need an upgrade in LF.

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Jul 11, 2006 -> 06:05 PM) No, because like many have pointed out, Pods does NOTHING positive to help this team. I've made this case several times throughout this thread, but I guess because there is no stat for it, it doesnt count (at least at soxtalk) I've read every post of yours on this topic, and not one of them has been worth anything. Statistics is one of the ways used (some would say the most important, myself included) to measure a players worth. Observation clearly being the other major way. So if you don't want to use stats, at least try and use observations to defend Podsednik. Say he's a good baserunner, say he brings young hotties to the ballpark. Say something.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Jul 11, 2006 -> 12:32 PM) Apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't "get" The Dugout. Not even slightly funny. Red Stater? Do you like Jon Stewart? Do you drive a Volvo and eat sushi?

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jul 11, 2006 -> 01:19 AM) There's no question about it. That's why I stick to weed. Once you start smoking crack, you're pretty much f***ed for life. LOL... Marijuana is not a drug. I used to suck dick for coke! Now that's an addiction man, you ever suck some dick for Marijuana? Boo this man!!!

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 09:57 PM) Obviously. The point I'm making is he really was mediocre to sucking last year. Everyone talked about how he disrupted pitchers on the bases. If he really bothered pitchers that much, he would have scored more than 80 runs. Since he hit a homer to win a WS game, I will say he was mediocre last year. The THBT's did an informative piece on the effects basestealers have on pitchers and concluded--not much. I believe they said that Podsednik added about 2 net runs per year due to baserunning "intangibles"

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 07:41 PM) Dumb question, but didn't our late summer swoon coincide with Pods' injury last season? Is it possible that he contributes an intangible to the bench that helps motivate our team to win games? I'm sure there's a statistic for that somewhere, but I totally failed that class. No, we all know Aron Rowand provides that intangible.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 07:12 PM) i agree, thats a name i tossed out there in previous threads as well...the problem is that he is relatively young, cheap, and good...and thats the combo KC is looking to keep, not to get rid of, but a package of good prospects would get it done....another name i like alot is eric byrnes Has he been injured? He only has around 100 AB this season. It seems like he's buried on the bench.

QUOTE(Damen @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:52 PM) I didn't base my picks on who MVP voters are actually going to pick, I picked who I thought should win these awards. Yeah Hafner has played on a disappointing Indians squad, but as I said previously, that is in no way connected to what he has done on the field. If I were to pick the league MVP, I'd give it to the best hitter in the league. After the first half, the honor belongs to Hafner. Yea, Aboz you're right about the voters being rather uniformed (or perhaps willingly ignorant) of advanced stats when it comes to voting. I'll faint of someone actually cites VORP as a stat they look at in the MVP voting.

QUOTE(SoxnGiants @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:44 PM) Pods is a solid hitter in the leadoff spot - not too much available that would be a big upgrade there. Defensively, however, he's below average and I think he should be replaced next year. I'd doubt that someone will be brought in this year but a guy who really interests me a lot is David DeJesus. He's young, plays well defensively and has an OPS of .881 (.804 last year). He could also spell Anderson against tough righties. I'm not sure what his availability is but he plays for KC so I figure there's got to be a chance. Interesting name! I just looked up his stats on Fangraphs and almost every important offensive indicator he is trending up with! His walk rate, OBP, K/BB and ISO are all rising. He's in his prime at 27 next year and will be there for another 2 years a so. He has a career OPS+ of 110 and has an OPS of over .800 again this year. I'm intriqued. If he's still got a few years left on his ARB clock, he'd be a very wise investment via trade. Somehow, he isn't getting much burn on the Royals.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:46 PM) Well, if for the sake of this argument you keep things to strickly HR/RBI production which is what I was talking about right there. Manny has more HRs and RBIs on the road than at home, was nearly equal last year and did have more HR/RBI at Home in '04. But yeah, if you're looking at BA/OPS and such the numbers are higher at home but for whatever reason, so far this year Hafner has been much more productive at home than on the road. Alright, I'll concede his HR/RBI numbers are better. I do however contend there are much better stats we have available to measure total offensive production.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:36 PM) Their pure offensive production numbers (HR/RBI/etc) really aren't even close. I think Fenway helps Manny out quite a bit.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:29 PM) Manny Ramirez Kicks the s*** out of Travis Hafner. It's close, but Hafner has put up better OPS+ numbers the past two seasons, which is as good as comparison (park adjusted) as I care to use right now. Maybe their VORP numbers show something else, but I know they both have been healthy and mashing with plenty of PA's, so I'd guess they are probably similiar in VORP too.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:22 PM) I didn't say you can't discuss it. I'm not one of those people who says you can't criticize players or the team. In fact, I said I'm not a big fan of his either. All I'm saying is that it's hilarious how everybody is piling on. Next game, he'll single, steal second and score the winning run and everybody will be in love with him. There's also a reason Pablo is 32 and has never, ever been a regular for any major league team. And, a reason Mack is 30 and has never nailed down a regular spot in someone's lineup. If Kenny can trade for Chone Figgins or Crawford and not get robbed, God bless him. Seems a bit of a stretch that the Angels or Rays would trade those guys. I agree completely. PODS is the best option in LF/Leadoff for 2006. Next year, no--can him. I also agree Mack and Ozuna are bench players only. Ozuna is putting up a fluke year and god bless him, but he's not a regular by any stretch of the imagination. Mack is a also a bench player. Jack of all trades, master of none.

QUOTE(Damen @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:21 PM) His numbers are better. He probably wouldn't win because of the Indians struggles, but that is in no way connected to Hafner. He is the best hitter in the game right now, and has been since 2004. I think Albert Pujols just puked a little in his mouth. And strained his oblique.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 06:14 PM) If the season ended today, He'd win one of the two, if not both. He's been the best reliever in baseball, period. I agree Papelbon for the now retired "Rolaids Relief Man".

Hafner for MVP and Cleveland as most dissapointing team--but not because of Hafter--he's been the best hitter in the AL for a year now. Pujols single handedly made the Cardinals a .600 winning team for awile. If he gets hot again, he can still take it.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 05:56 PM) No. You've got it about right. Don't forget the bullpen and the backup catcher...oh, and Iguchi sometimes when he doesn't get a hit and Gload is terrible because he made a bad baserunning play. Ozuna should be in the Hall of Fame, except when he butchers balls in left and swings at bad pitches. This board cracks me up. I'm not a big Pods fan by any means, but everyone forgets about the games he has helped win with clutch hits. Yea, we should keep Pods around because he's clutch, dude. He's more clutch than Papi... Why is discussing a players flaws such blasphemy? You'd think Pods was a first ballot HOFer. THere is a reason the guy didn't stick around MLB until he was 27-28.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 04:46 PM) The most glaring stat about Pods is the Sox record when he steals a base: 18-3. That is amazing. For a stat that is supposed to not have that much meaning, that is pretty remarkable. You can look at it two ways, he is stealing when the Sox have a lead or he is actually somehow affecting the outcome of the game. The Sox are also 42-10 when he gets a hit. First off, it's a very large assumption to say that Pods' steals are the main factor behind the White Sox wins. There are so many variables involved, and SB's are just one of many. Perhaps Pods plays on days when the "regular 9" play. Perhaps he steals most his bases against RHP's, which the Sox fare better against. I could go on and on... It's better to just assume his SB's add very little to the run expectancy for the inning and thus the game. SB's aren't that useful for an offense. The only way Pods should be stealing is if he's above a 80% clip. Even then, their benefit is marginal. Call me new fashioned and a stat-head pencil pusher, but I guy that steals bases, gets on base at a .350 clip, hits for zero power in LF, and plays terrible defense as well--is not a good player. He's a replaceable player. I hope Pods is gone next year and if he's gone and no other better options exist, Iguchi should be the leadoff hitter. And that Verducci article is junk. Talk about misleading use of statistics.

Yea, but it begs the question: are the starters being overworked? Not claiming they are, just throwing that out there.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) Yesterday's preformance by the pen was nothing short of spectacular. 13 IP 2 ER, and both ER were given up by Jenks in his third inning of work. Imparticular, where the hell did Cliff Politte find that change up? That pitch had some incredible movement on it, and if he can throw it for strikes like yesterday, it doesn't matter if his FB is 91 or 96, he is going to be really hard to hit. All of the sudden, I actually want to see more of Cliff, if he is does indeed have that pitch now. I still don't trust Politte and I still believe his career with the Sox is done. Yesterday's game changed nothing in my mind. If he can string some performances together, I'll change my tune. I predict he's done though. Level of trust without snarkiness: 1. Jenks -- Proved me wrong after a poor and out of shape (even for the big guy) spring. 2.Cotts -- Doesn't possess overpowering stuff but misses enough bats and is very consistant with throwing strikes. 3.Thornton -- Didn't see this one coming, wow. Life arm, suddenly good control, what's not to like? 4. BMAC -- needs to find his A game changeup more often 'cause when he does, he's very useful for "bridge" work. 5. Riske -- Haven't seen enough to rank him higher, but has been solid so far. 6. Politte -- see 1st paragraph or summarized by : DFA Please. The bullpen looks pretty solid right now, outside of Politte. But how many important innings will Ozzie give him? Personally, I want him only in mopup situations when the Sox are up or down by more than 5 (yes, 5) runs. In other words, he has no role on the team and should be DFA now.

What's Fields' defense like at 3B? Does he project as a 3B in MLB? I have to imagine that within the next year he will a) learn how to play LF, or "b)" be traded.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 12:39 AM) He might be good for one inning in certain games, but I don't expect much from him otherwise. In most his outings of late, he gets through his first inning fine, and then totally dies in the second. Besides, two of his outs today were JUST missed. I agree, if he can string together some MEDIOCRE outings (damn the expectations have fallen for him) he'll have use as the mop-up guy. If he can't even do that, he needs to be DFA.

Sweet, I luv posts like this because then I get to go back into the archives of ESPN and prove them wrong. Lets see, on this date in 2003 the Sox were...43-46, and had been outscored 372-382. This year they are...57-31 and have outscored opponents 520-415. But sure, these two teams are exactly alike.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 01:39 PM) That's hilarious! Young has yet to play in the majors, and I seriously doubt that you've ever seen him play (color me presumptuous), but we can just go ahead and put him down for 3000 hits and 900 stolen bases, correct? He is tearing up AAA this year so far. I posted a comment over at SSS that he'll be at least a league average CF for the next 8 years and one guy got all pissed and said how could I presume that. Um, maybe 'cause Young was rated the best prospy in the Sox last year and BA had him at #6 in MLB at one point?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 01:18 PM) Uh yeah, I would say so. This is where we differ then...ERA+'s of 92 and 99 the last too years, K/9 down again this year, he's trending down if you ask me. He could still pull it out.