caulfield12

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 03:49 PM) No, but the idea that players can improve their base stealing technique with age is not a novel concept. Once again, is DeAza that that coachable? Who on our coaching staff is suddenly going to turn around all these mistakes in the field and basepaths that couldn't do it last year?

Napoli's free agent asking price just went up about $5 million to the total deal.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 03:39 PM) The real key is if the fans stick around when things are bad. I can't think of an organization in any sport that better qualifies for this standard than the Chicago Cubs. Anyone can be a fan when a team is winning. That is easy. How much of this is actually driven from out-of-state fans during the summer months? The typical Des Moines grandmother with the 47 different Cubs' pins in her cutesy floppy hat? If you took them out of the equation...the Wrigley Field factor, the equation changes. All that time, NOBODY went to St. Louis in the old stadium because of the cookie-cutter shaped stadium with the AstroTurf. It was for the team, the franchise, period.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 03:35 PM) The chicago cubs have the most loyal fans in all of sports and I do not think there is a close second. When they were going good it was good for all of baseball as they draw incredibly well on the road. Not if you go back to the 1970's and most of the 1980's....until maybe 1984. That's when the tide really changed and it switched over from the Sox to the Cubs...SportsVision/SportsChannel, whatever that saga. WGN took off....WTBS for the Braves, etc. Remember "America's Team" advertisements for Atlanta all those years....like the Dallas Cowboys, but...not. If you want to go back to the most consistent franchise in terms of support in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, it HAS to be the Cardinals, and it's not really that close.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 12:21 PM) When the Sox traded Scott Linebrink to Atlanta, they sent $1.5 million along with him. I would venture to guess, that is about what Robin is making. So whether you want to believe it or not, if the higher ups really thought Robin was the reason the team was horrible, logic indicates he would no longer have the job. If the team is an 85-90 win team without Robin as the manager and close to a 100 loss team with him as the manager, it makes no financial sense to keep him, even if it means having to pay another manager. The White Sox paid Mike MacDougal $2,650,000 in 2009. He pitched 4 1/3 innings for them that year before they (Cooper) finally gave up....and he ended up being claimed by the Nationals.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 01:35 PM) Rios is 32 and stole 40 bases, his career best. Alexei stole his career best, 30, at age 32. De Aza is only 29. And you expect 30-35-40 from DeAza this year, consequently?

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 03:21 PM) No, I don't. I live in St. Louis and I hear it from sports talk radio hosts, but I have heard, "The Cardinals have the best fanbase" or some equivalent come out of very few people's mouths. If it's NOT the Cardinals, then who would they possibly claim? The best, most loyal, most consistent over the last 20-30-40 years, which team? Nobody's going to say the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Cubs for that one. You could possibly argue the Orioles, but the last 10-15 years has wiped that out, surely. The Braves? NO way. Giants or Rangers? Nah. Some MIGHT argue the Phillies, but I still see no way they would be picked ahead of the Cardinals for that distinction. A decade ago, you could have picked the Mariners over the Cardinals, but not anymore, and I still would have gone with STL. Indians, same thing. I would go with either the Dodgers or the Cardinals, with the edge to St. Louis and with the Angels having risen into that territory until Moreno screwed everything up by making personnel decisions over there on guys like Pujols, Greinke and Josh Hamilton.

Wow...six consecutive strikeouts for Verlander, after a tongue-in-cheek "rough start." Comparisons to 1968. "We're not watching the Marlins...the Twins, the White Sox..." Tigers' radio. The Red Sox are a VERY GOOD hitting team, and they're being made to look like Little Leaguers.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 12:43 PM) I really wish you would stop posting entire articles. You single-handedly kill my interest in reading multiple threads doing that. Just post the link like everyone else. Make sure to get upset with knightni too, lol. He posted a full article about Abreu, so fine, no more articles ever again if it will make you happier.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 11:51 AM) He waived his hands, healed Hanley, healed Greinke, and called up Puig. And just to note...even if the Sox thought Ventura did everything he could have wrong this year...they don't like eating money on contracts unless they have to. You know that as well as I do. Dammit, man...what's wrong with Jesus "What Happened to the Mint Value of My Donruss Rookie Card" Mattingly? If only he had ALSO healed Matt Kemp and Josh Beckett, or at least kept him away from the KFC Bucket and a couple of six-packs....they would be on the verge of clinching the series already tonight.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 12:04 PM) 99 losses because of the manager is a reason to eat what essentially is maybe half what Jeff Keppinger makes a season. If that. Balta's going off the deep end these days. Must be that whole government shutdown thing. Or maybe he's annoyed with the quite un-scientific Gravity movie, haha.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 12:02 PM) As I have stated, better players can transform someone from an idiot to a genius. I would imagine Mattingly's baseball IQ and the way he went about his business wasn't much different from when they were losing to when they were almost unstoppable. People put too much both good and bad on managers. I have even seen people judge managers on the team's record vs. it's pythagorean record. Did you know if you did that, Joe Maddon wouldn't be so highly thought of. This year was only the 2nd time out of his 8 seasons as a manager the team's actual record was better than it's pythagorean. See Phil Rogers. Ozzie and Gardenhire (until recent years) always had good results in this category... If Greg775 was managing the team this year, I can't imagine they would have finished much worse. There would have been more fun and frivolity in the post-game quotes....we would have gone from Bill Self to Ozzie drinking beers in Applebee's to the death penalty. I could have been the 1st base coach and thrown in random quotations from Malcolm Gladwell books, lol.

So glad Chris Carpenter is retiring. He is a big jerk always using the f word on the mound, etc. No one was more disrespectful in his glorifying winning ways than Carpenter disrobing on the Philly pitching mound in celebration in 2011. St. Louis wants it all one way, their way! The whole town is overbearing this time of year with boastfulness, bragging, and telling down right lies about Cardinal greatness. It is one of the most dishonest sports towns in America when it comes to their beloved Cardinals. No, you can't keep calling yourself the World Series Champions a full two years after the fact. That was disrespectful to San Francisco. So you change that to 11 Time World Series Champs. Do you see the Yankees boasting 27 times World Series Champs? What ever happened to mid-western modesty? The STL media boasts the Cardinals have the best record in baseball but once I looked, no less than six other teams has the same or a better record than the Cardinals. You write articles and leave out match-ups in post season which you lost to the Dodgers in 2010 in Divisional play. Lastly, the town refuses to acknowledge St. Louis's long time compliance and accessory in the steroid scandals of the late 1990s and 2000s. LaRussa knew and encourages steroid use when in Oakland as well as in St. Louis. And Pujols looks like he followed suit when he played here in St. Louis. People will run one out of town for writing the truth about Cardinal baseball. Much is wrong here in the best baseball town in America. Funniest post of the day, under the previous article....

Because KYLe loves these articles... http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/62969376/ The saddest thing about this National League Championship Series is that we don't get to see Chris Carpenter pitch to Yasiel Puig. That's a matchup that could make worlds collide. Chris Carpenter is perhaps the most beloved Cardinals pitcher of the last decade -- once he officially, officially retires, it's likely you'll see this on the wall of Busch Stadium -- which is funny because he's the player other team's fans just despise. He's angry all the time, he's always cursing and scowling and he's known for aiming fastballs as hitters' ribs just for the sport of it. He's an ornery old cuss. Cardinals fans adore him, but we understand why you don't. Yasiel Puig is so much fun to watch that you want to put him in a headlock, the way you wrestle with your 10-year-old nephew just get to him to slow down already. I'm not sure there has ever been a more Yasiel Puig play than his triple on Monday off Adam Wainwright. After struggling all series, mostly because of overaggressiveness, he finally squares up a pitch and smashes it deep into right field. He jumps up and flips his bat like he just won the World Series on a walk-off and begins to strut down to first base. Of course, the ball doesn't leave the park … so he sprints for a triple anyway. The play was Peak Puig: ridiculous natural talent, boneheaded self-celebration and enough freak talent to make up for it. He is dumb, youthful exuberance personified. He thinks he will never die. These two men needed to get together this series. Chris Carpenter has a long history of disgust with his opponents outwardly displaying emotion, which is sort of rich coming from the guy who did this after the biggest win of his career. His career is peppered with anti-joy protests, often followed by fastballs near someone's ear. My favorite was the time he started a bench-clearing pseudo-brawl after forcing the Astros' Carlos Lee to pop out. Carpenter threw a terrific pitch that fooled Lee, who hit a weak floater to end the inning. Lee, upset with himself, slammed his bat into the ground and started cursing himself out. For reasons that perhaps only Carpenter fathoms, this infuriated Carpenter. He started screaming at Lee, which led to the benches emptying. Carpenter after the game blamed Lee for the ruckus, saying, "He's the one that caused everybody to come out, not me. I was just telling him there's no need for it." Then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, a lightning rod for this sort of thing, said afterward, "Routinely now, hitters pop up a pitch they think they should do (something) with, and they start making noises, and that really is disrespectful to the pitcher. Most of the pitchers just turn around and ignore it. Carp doesn't. And I think Carp's in the right. I think respect should go both ways." (Sometimes, I'll confess, I have flickers of comprehension as to why people might not like the Cardinals.) Carpenter is a lunatic about this stuff. It is what drives him competitively. It is what makes him him. You learn to love it. You learn to adopt it, because he's yours. What would Puig make of a person like Carpenter? His teammates and, especially, his manager, keep trying to explain to him why the other team is so angry with him, and he nods like he understands, but it's not clear he does. And why should he? This is sports. This is a game in which young men in their pajamas swing a stick of wood and then run around in a circle. What's the big deal? What's everyone so worked about? You mean to tell me that I get to make tons of money running around in the grass for three hours every night, with every creature comfort I might possibly desire both on and off the field, with thousands of people cheering my name … and I'm supposed to pretend I don't enjoy it. What's wrong with you people? Puig is reasonably confused: There's a right way and a wrong way to run around and play? Well then what is the point of playing? When interviewed in the dugout during Game 3, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly couldn't stop himself from laughing when talking about Puig, and he said something telling: "He's like a Little Leaguer out there." Puig is 22 years old, so he's only a few years removed from Little League … or would be, anyway, were he not already being forced to play for the Cuban National Team at 16. Considering the circumstances Puig has had in his life, the amazing thing is that he does still enjoy baseball. It is, in the most literal way possible, his escape. Cardinals fans adore Chris Carpenter because he plays for their team. Dodgers fans adore Yasiel Puig because he plays for their team. They do things in the exact opposite way, but they both do it out of genuine affection for the game. Carpenter thinks it needs to be protected; Puig thinks it needs to be celebrated. Neither is necessarily wrong. But they are diametrically opposed, playing the same game. They are two sides of baseball. But they are both baseball. If Chris Carpenter weren't hurt this series, we'd get to watch the old school go against the new school, two fierce competitors, out to prove the other wrong, out to defend everything they stand for. You'd be cheering for and against both of them. They're both right and they're both wrong. Baseball takes all kinds. If only we could have seen it. They might have both spontaneously combusted; they might have both just burst into flames. Baseball is a sport that takes all kinds. It takes every kind. * * * Email me at [email protected], follow me @williamfleitch or just shout out your window real loud, I'll hear you. Point is, let's talk.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 11:45 AM) All you can do is work on the same things. There will be a new hitting coach, so I'm sure there will be something a bit different. What did Mattingly do differently that transformed the Dodgers from a last place team, and about to lose his job,to a team that may win the WS, and a probable extension almost overnight? I really think blaming the 2013 season on spring training is wrong and old. It's already been stated by people who were actually there (Hawk, Stone, Hahn, Robin) that the White Sox actually worked more on fundamentals this past spring than they did in 2012. If it was the country club some here say it was and the Sox lost 99 games, there would be a new manager. Gene Lamont, who won 2 division titles in a row, was fired by the Sox about 30 games into the 1995 season and replaced by Terry Bevington. The reason.......spring training was a country club and they weren't ready to play. JR said as much. Besides, you don't boot grounders in August because they didn't hit you enough fungos in March. This team was bad, but will be better when they get better players. Except Mattingly has about a 50% chance of getting fired if they don't make the World Series. Even in the playoffs, the games they've lost, the LA writers have immediately pounced/pounded on Mattingly, almost incessantly. The reason the Dodgers turned their season around was/is Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig and some other veterans like Crawford, Ethier and Uribe showing up and playing well all at the same time.

The backlash to the anti-Puig backlash, lol http://finance.yahoo.com/news/carlos-beltr...-140525451.html The Dodgers got back into the NLCS series with a win over the Cardinals thanks in large part to a big triple by Yasiel Puig. But it was Puig's reaction during and after the triple that once again has fans and some in baseball screaming foul (see GIFs below). Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, the player who fielded the ball in right field, was one player who was outspoken after the game (via ESPN.com): "As a player, I just think he doesn't know [about how to act]...That's what I think. He really doesn't know. He must think that he's still playing somewhere else...He has a lot of passion, no doubt about that — great ability, great talent. I think with time, he'll learn that you've got to act with a little bit more calm." This has been a common criticism of the exuberant Puig all season. But if the traditional (i.e. fun is bad) faction of baseball gets its way, it is the worst thing that could possibly happen to the sport. For the first time in a while, Major League Baseball has a surge of young superstars who will attract more fans to the sport. You can make a case that 2-3 years ago, the only true superstar left in the sport, a player who even non-baseball fans reacted to, was Derek Jeter. He's in his late 30s. But now baseball has guys like Puig and Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. These are the players who will resonate with young fans and young fans want to see things like this bat flip... In this case, the ball wasn't a home run, so maybe it wasn't the smartest move ever. But Puig still got a triple out of the play and Major League Baseball got a highlight worth watching and talking about. There was also concern that Puig over-celebrated at third base... The Cardinals just gave up a big hit. The last thing they should be worried about is whether or not Puig over-celebrated a big hit in a big game. Sports are supposed to be fun and if baseball is going to compete for viewers with football and basketball, it needs more Yasiel Puigs, not fewer. So let's hope Puig ignores the critics and continues to have fun.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 10:45 AM) Frankly, that lineup grosses me out. As much as we want to write Puig and Abreu in for .900+ OPS's next year, they could just as easily fall off the map like Cespedes did this year. McCann is a nice hitter, but he's been injury prone as well. More likely is that lineup still is in the bottom 5 in runs scored, plus the defense is going to be erratic as well. I'm not saying I wouldn't take Puig. I'd love him on the White Sox. He's certainly not the end all, be all for the White Sox though. I don't think Abreu will be that great, actually... I'll put him down for 750 or 775, no better. Especially if he's in the AL. There's no line-up out there/available that's not going to gross you out because there's no way in hell we're going to shell out the money for Ellsbury or Choo. There's no quick fix, other than McCann, at catcher, and that's a very flawed quick fix at that. Adding Granderson and subtracting DeAza won't do much, if anything, except up the payroll. There aren't very many fixes at 3B, and the one most fans wanted coming into 2013, Headley (who would have cost us a bundle in terms of what's left of our farm system and pitching staff), had a terrible, fall off the map season, not unlike Cespedes. You can put Kendrys Morales at 1B, Granderson in CF, and it's still going to be a 75-80 win team, probably. 83-85, tops. As long as AGone, Ramirez and Kemp are around, Puig will have a LOT of protection in that LA line-up. That's three MVP quality players, IF IF IF healthy. Carl Crawford in his prime was close to an MVP caliber player, and he's still an important piece. Ethier's no slouch. And AJ Ellis is a decent bat at catcher.

I have a question for Dick Allen. What would you do if you were Robin Ventura, starting today, to turn around next year's White Sox team....even before Spring Training? And how would you conduct your Spring Training differently? Do you think you would do everything exactly the same? Do you think spring training has ANY bearing on regular season performance? If not, what corrections are realistic in the middle of the season, if any?

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 10:43 AM) The Tigers have less speed than any team in baseball and they are successful. Next slowest team after the Tigers---St Louis. PITCHING, and Miguel Cabrera/Fielder/V. Martinez. With the Cardinals, of course they've gotten surprising results from Carpenter, Molina (compared to expectations), Freese (less this season), Craig, Adams, Jay...and then the veteran leadership with Beltran and Holliday. But that pitching.... Earlier in the season, you would have said Shelby Miller was one of the best in the NL, right? Combined with Wainright, Joe Kelly, Wacha, Shelby Miller, Lance Lynn.....Jaime Garcia, Carpenter, Jake Westbrook, Carlos Martinez, Lyons, Gast, it's incredible. That's 10 deep. Almost all of them under 25, except for Wainright, Carpenter and Westbrook.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 07:25 AM) So if the White Sox had signed Yasiel Puig, all of their problems would have been solved. Is that what you're saying? Because if it is, think about what you're saying, say it out loud to yourself, and then come back and post again. You are not likely to say the same thing because of how absurd it is. He would have started off like Sosa his rookie season, then been traded for this year's version of Jorge/George Bell. Half their problems would have been solved, though. Not all. You'd have Puig, A. Garcia and Viciedo to build your offense around. Dunn's usual numbers. Still would have to address catcher, but you could live with the following line-up: DeAza Ramirez Puig McCann Garcia Dunn Viciedo Gillespie/Keppinger Beckham At worst, an average AL line-up. But possibly much better, if everyone stayed healthy. And it could have been done for under $100 million.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) So do the Dodgers go with Nolasco tonight or Kershaw on short rest again? http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...y#axzz2hni3Fwb2 I think you'll see Greinke on 3 days' rest and then Kershaw following him for the probable series-shifting Game 5. Bill Shaikin, latimes.com For the true baseball fan, Cuba is a mecca. There are no giant video screens with animated hands demanding that you clap. There are no overcaffeinated and overamplified cheerleaders pressuring you to make some noise. In Cuba, there is no artificial passion. The excitement comes from within the hearts of the fans, and from the joy of the players. That is the essence of watching Yasiel Puig, and the Dodgers are more than happy to put up with the occasional culture clash. He plays in a way few others can, celebrates in a way few others do, ignites this city in a way few others have. America could have enjoyed all this in the All-Star game. America passed, in favor of a guy from the Atlanta Braves. What America missed could be seen in one play on Monday, in the Dodgers' 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. Puig hit a drive deep to right field, so deep he assumed the ball would clear the fence. Puig flipped his bat, and threw his arms high to celebrate the home run. Alas, the ball hit the wall, and Puig charged around the bases and into third base, with a stand-up triple. He put his hands together in applause even before he hit the base, then thrust his arms skyward after he did. He ran so fast that Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter, sitting in the box adjacent to the home dugout, seriously thought Puig might get an inside-the-park home run — after Puig had stopped to admire the flight of what he thought would be an outside-the-park home run. Let us not lose sight of the primary point. Puig's triple was his first hit of the NLCS. He had no hits in 10 at-bats in the first two games of the series, both losses. He had two hits in three at-bats on Monday, in the Dodgers' first victory. His talent is so extraordinary that the Dodgers can marvel at any facet of it on any given night. On this one, the box score showed that Puig and A.J. Ellis each tripled, even though Puig hit the pause button before running. "He got his triple easy," Ellis said. "I started running when I hit the ball, and I barely made it." But the play sparked another chapter in the running debate about whether Puig simply plays with flair, or whether his actions disrespect the other team. Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran, an eight-time All-Star, went with the latter take. "As a player, I think he doesn't know," Beltran said. "I think he still thinks he's playing somewhere else. He has a lot of passion, no doubt about that, a lot of talent. "I think with time he will learn that sometimes you have to be a little more calm, not only with not showing up the other team, but with the umpires, and the way he plays the game." Don Mattingly, the Dodgers' manager, sighed at the topic. He said he would have preferred that Puig run out the play, at least until the ball actually clears the fence. "We've been dealing with this all year," Mattingly said. "He's just emotional." Ellis said he did not believe Puig was showing up the other team. The kid just does not have an off switch for his energy, he said. What, we wondered, would constitute showing up the other team? "Barking at people," Ellis said. And? "Pimping a home run," he said. Wait a second. That is what Puig did, except for the detail about the ball not going out. "He pimped it a little bit," Ellis conceded, "but then he took off and he got a triple. You've got to play with a little bit of individualism, a little bit of flair. It's good for the game. He didn't show up the other team, in my opinion." Not that the Dodgers are worried about etiquette at the moment. They are 69-35 when Puig starts, 27-38 when he does not. Their two best hitters, Puig and Hanley Ramirez, play with flair becoming of the co-owner who flashes a championship smile and five rings. Puig is magic, and this is showtime.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 10:19 AM) No, a premature evaluation is stating that Puig is the best rightfielder since Clemente after a months worth of games. You can keep comparing him to white sox players to boost up his value in your eyes, but it doesnt change the fact that he is spinning himself into the ground in the playoffs swinging at everything he sees. Best raw tools...sure, I wouldn't disagree with that. Maybe to say someone is the best or they have the ability to be the best...well, those are two different things. He's pressing. Without Ramirez in the line-up, there was a lot more pressure on him and Adrian. It's his first time in the playoffs. Let's not forget, a year ago he was in the Cuban League. People are expecting a lot for a rookie who has never played 150 games in a season in his life. Last year, he played 23 games total in the US. It's hard to sustain that style of play and level of energy over a long, grueling baseball season. And the whole Dodgers' team played September as if they were bored and waiting for the playoffs to begin.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 09:44 AM) You know what would have been more inspiring? An inside the park home run in the playoffs Or...for the Dodgers to fire Mattingly when/if they lose this playoff series. Let's see what happens when they try to bring in a disciplinarian to reign in Puig. Heck, the White Sox spent the entire season making boneheaded plays across the board and nobody did anything about it. It never changed. At least the Dodgers have TALKED about trying to control Yasiel.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 09:44 AM) Yeah, with less home runs and extra base hits, the value of a successful stolen base should increase, thus decreasing the threshold at which one is successful would be considered a net positive. Bring back Astroturf and the 80's versions of the Cardinals and Royals. The players' union would hate it, but we might not be far away in the post-steroids era from a team building another version of the Metrodome/Skydome/Kingdome and trying to orient their entire style of play around speed, pitching and defense. The Mariners SORT of tried it at Safeco, but it doesn't work unless you have a little power. Remembering that Cardinals' team, they had McGee, Pendleton, Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman that would run at all times. Herr could take some bags....David Green, Lonnie Smith, etc. It's the opposite of teams like the 2000 White Sox have 20+ homer guys at every position. And the White Sox are going to have to adapt...

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2013 -> 09:30 AM) All it is saying is that these guys were valuable on the base paths. If you look at the bottom 20 on that list, you see a who's who of old dudes, fat dudes, and old, fat dudes. The two names that stick out to me are Yasiel Puig (-4.2) and Norichika Aoki (-3.9). Puig was 11 of 19 on steals and his baserunning blunders are well documented. Aoki was 20 of 32 in steals. I think the underrated part of those is taking an extra base. De Aza may not have good instincts when the pitcher has the ball in his hand, but he tends to read the ball well off the bat and takes the extra base. Therein lies the rub. The Dodgers also know how many times he's taken an extra base...pushed a single to a double, a double to a triple....1B to home on a double, etc. They don't want to take away his natural exuberance. At his age, can he be taught to curb or reign in his instincts and still be the same dynamic player? That's the question with basestealers AND/OR players who often push for extra bases. If they start becoming hesitant to make mistakes, then they lose a lot of their value. (And their mistakes can often ruin rallies and bring life/momentum to the other team). For example, Pods in his second time around wasn't nearly the basestealer, and he made up for it with clutch hitting, but he still wasn't the same type of disruptive force on the game (and yes, that's impossible to measure or quantify, just like you can't do that with the PNC crowd and Cueto). Can DeAza be much better on the basepaths? Or will his losing a step or two cause him to make even more mistakes? Alex Rios, for example, had a boatload of stolen bases this year without being an incredibly fast or explosive runner...can DeAza "learn" instincts like those? Most would probably argue no...that when guys like Pods, Pierre or Figgins get older, they just go downhill quickly.