Thad Bosley

This inning illustrated more than any other why we can't just simply make Thornton the "9th inning guy", i.e. "the closer". He is and always will be a situational guy - and based on this inning, that ain't such a bad thing. He fought through a very tough and lefty-heavy part of the order that happened to be coming up in the 8th inning of this particular game. We don't have anybody else capable of taking on that type of lefthanded onslaught late in the game. So while I'm concerned about Bobby and what not with the 9th inning closing chores, I'm still inclined to continue using Thornton in just the way we've successfully used him in the past few years.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 11, 2010 -> 09:23 PM) Teahen really needs to just be in a platoon with Nix, he has no prayer against LHP not named Mark Buehrle. Fully agree. I think that's the way the third base situation will evolve in the coming months.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 11, 2010 -> 08:03 PM) His OBP is still 4th best in today's starting lineup, and his at bats are usually decent. And what, praytell, leads you to that conclusion?

QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 11, 2010 -> 07:52 PM) I'd still like to see them try Teahen hitting second. A line-up featuring Teahen as a regular is unfortunate enough. A line-up regularly featuring Teahen in any of the 1-7 slots would be, well, let's just say, indicative that we have some serious holes.

QUOTE (jeffro2525 @ May 11, 2010 -> 07:35 PM) .230, .193 and .217 due up in the 3rd. I smell rally! Only one direction for those batting averages to go, and that's up! = D

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2010 -> 12:37 PM) I think the original post there is wrong. Alexei originally signed a 4 year deal, so he should still be under contract next year. Yes, I thought it was a four-year contract for something very dirt cheap (relatively speaking, of course), like $4 million in total.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 10, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) I thought I was depressed...lol...well, you can still at least make an argument for Teahen over Punto/Harris at 3B. And it's hard to say Morneau is clearly better than Konerko based on 2010 results alone, they're pretty even. And for most of our starting pitchers and bullpen head-to-head against the Twins' pitchers in the same slots. What a riveting conversation that would be! Geesh!

Anybody up for a three spot right about now?

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ May 6, 2010 -> 03:16 PM) it's not so much that teahen is a great OBP guy, it's that we can't afford to lose what little we have. like someone else mentioned, he's 4th on the team. well, 5th if you include donny lucy who's leading the team. Lol - he's in the middle of a pack whose combined on-base % is .313. So the story here isn't that Teahen's particularly good at getting on base. It's that, sadly, many of his teammates have been quite dreadful at getting on themselves thus far in the early going.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ May 6, 2010 -> 09:45 AM) yet we need to cut mark teahen according to some. What do good on-base % and Mark Teahen have to do with one another?

What's interesting about this whole Mark Teahen situation is that he was brought here with the suggestion that he would become a better player than the one featured in Kansas City these past five years because a.) he'd presumably be playing for a contender for the first time in his career and b.) he wouldn't be bouncing around from position to position anymore, that he'd be able to call one position his home for the forseeable future. So I now wonder if, in the event, this new and improved Teahen never materializes, are the Sox willing to tolerate the one who's been around for the last five years, and now the first six weeks of this season, for the next three years?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2010 -> 05:18 PM) SouthSide, I lived in KC before I moved abroad and have seen him play a lot in person. I never liked him as a player or prospect....off the field, great "media-friendly" addition, a lot like Joe Borchard, but much more confident in himself. We'll see 14-18 homers, a good number of doubles, 120 K's, maybe 55-70 RBI's (with our offense as presently comprised)...260 - 275 BA. Nothing horrible, but his defense makes him a liability on a very good/great/elite team. Still better as an Xavier Nady type that can play multiple positions off the bench, but certainly not a starter that will lead us to the playoffs or be anything more than a complementary component. We put up with Crede at 725-775 OPS because of his defense and "clutch" hitting, not to mention a bit more overall pop in his bat. Teahen will more or less provide the same (less homers, more walks), but, once again, it's a net negative due to his defense and his lack of 800-950 OPS ability at a corner/power spot on diamond. Those amount of strikeouts are simply not acceptable for a player who does not hit for power.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2010 -> 04:25 PM) Premature evaluation!!! Give Teahen some more time. It's EARLY. He's a great clubhouse guy, does interviews for anyone who asks (even school newspapers) and an all-around good guy with a great sense of humor. You will come to know and love him like many Kansas Citians did with Joe Randa, another under-rated performer at the hot corner who never got the full amount of respect he was due because he played for the Royals and Pirates mostly. Not one thing premature about any of these assessments made so far. Teahen is the same player now that he was in KC for the past five years - a poor defending, light-hitting, strikeout machine. "Under-rated performer" could not be a more misused phrase if it's being used to describe Mark Teahen's baseball playing ability. And with all due respect, I could care less if Teahen spends all of his free time helping old ladies cross the street and saving cats stranded in trees. He's not here to win a Mr. Congeniality award. He's here to play third base for our White Sox, and so far he's not doing a very good job of it.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 4, 2010 -> 10:00 PM) Oh no doubt. Especially since Chris Getz and Josh Fields are tearing some s*** up. Well, they managed to get themselves out from under committing 150 games a year to Teahen. I don't think the combination of Getz and Fields will result in that kind of unfortunate exposure, unless Getz manages to earn such playing time.

I wonder how many Royals' fans are out there saying to themselves "Glad Teahen's yer problem now!".

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 4, 2010 -> 08:49 PM) Maybe so, but I love the Hawkeroo....there is something about having someone up there that you feel is going through the same s*** as you...a lot more people are going to miss him when he's gone...and then he will become legendary. Couldn't agree more. My angst = Hawk's angst

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 4, 2010 -> 07:47 PM) Teahen looks so stiff to me. He also looks like a guy who would rather be in a million places other than USCF right now. I can think of a million places other than USCF that I'd like him to be as well. This is one lousy player we have on our hands right now.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 4, 2010 -> 07:37 PM) Not really. The black uniform tops pretty sharp. Seconded

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:43 PM) This is true. How much better of a ballplayer is Mark Teahen than a guy like Geoff Blum? Is he 3 times the player? Blum has never made more than $1.5 million in a season. The White Sox inexplicably guaranteed Teahen $15 million. Well, I'm willing to extend such a discussion to say 'how much better of a ballplayer is Mark Teahen than a guy like....Jayson Nix'? Seriously! What does Teahen do that Nix can't do? He's not better defensively than Nix is at third. As bad as we might think Nix is at third, hey - is Teahen really better? I haven't seen any evidence that would convince me that he is. Teahen's defensive stats at third base to date in his career have been rather abysmal. Meanwhile, offsensively, I would submit to you that over a 150+ games season (the number of seasons that Teahen has had the priviledge of playing with the Royals over the past five years), I think Nix would hit more than 20 homers and 70 RBIs in those seasons, while stealing upwards of 20-25 bases. Teahen has yet to meet those accomplishments. Yes, Nix would still strike out way more than we'd like, but I think his production would still be more productive than anything Teahen has accomplished over his past five years. I remind you: Teahen has yet to eclipse 20+ homers and/or 70+ RBIs in a season in his five full seasons in the big leagues. I think this is an issue where I'm only suggesting that Jayson Nix is a better player than the guy we've apparently we've handed third base over to for the next three years.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ May 3, 2010 -> 09:12 PM) And why bring in Thornton in a game we winning 5-0, this would be a time for Putz. And I'm with you on this one - that does NOT make sense to me.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ May 3, 2010 -> 09:11 PM) Why would Ozzie bring Peavy out for the 8th, can he not just let him leave a start feeling good about himself? Ozzie is letting him leave the game to the sound of a standing ovation. That makes sense to me.

It really makes me ill to see Kotsay's name in the 5 hole as the DH, knowing full well that those at-bats should be going to Jim Thome. Sigh.......

QUOTE (fathom @ May 2, 2010 -> 09:46 PM) Phenomenal post...Teahen would be better being a utility guy off the bench for a team like the Yankees. Bingo! I think that is ultimate answer with Teahen - utility guy off the bench, and not just necessarily for the Yankees. I don't think he should be a starter at the Major League level, period. He is below average offensively and defensively and has proven so pretty much throughout his entire career. The one quality he does bring to the table, though, is versatility. And the last time I checked, versatility was an attribute considered to be quite valuable for someone coming off of the bench. In Teahen's case, you can theoretically run him out to five positions on the playing field. And even though he isn't particularly good defensively at any one of those positions, in short stints that kind of versatility could come in quite handy for a manager over a long season. Additionally, as is the case with so many good bench players out there, they seem to hit better in limited action vs. having their weaknesses exposed as a full-time player. So to me, Teahen would be acceptable as a super sub, but as a regular player, I just don't think he cuts it - ESPECIALLY in a line-up that also frequently features the names Pierre, Vizquel, and Kotsay along with Teahen's.

This man has a body of work from which to judge. He's played five full seasons in the big leagues, and as far as I can tell, he's performed at below-average in nearly every facet of his game. He came to us with a reputation as being a poor defender, as evidenced by the fact that the Royals bounced him around from position to position trying to find one that he might at least be passable at. They failed in that endeavor. And in his five seasons, he's yet to eclipse either 20 home runs or 70 RBIs, hardly an impressive fact when talking about a corner infielder. What he has been able to do, though, is strike out at an alarming rate over the years. So based on all of that, his performance thus far has not been a surprise to me in the least, but sadly, what I expected. And what's even sadder is the fact we're tied into this guy for the next three years. Oy!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 22, 2010 -> 09:38 PM) You watch some of these infielders and it really makes me appreciate Ozzie and Ventura defensively. They were throwing to the Big Hurt. They make throws like that, they are errors. Lol - and at the moment, it makes me appreciate our current first basemen, at least on the defensive side of things. Those low throws are starting to become a little alarming with their frequency.