August 3, 200421 yr Do you guys think our team speed is a problem? I am thinking it is and tend to obsess about it, but am open to your more astute comments.
August 3, 200421 yr I think this is a big problem for us. It is so critical to be able to go from first to third on a base hit with less than 2 outs. Then a groundball or a flyball can score you. As opposed to our team where we only take one base on a single. Not only going 1st to 3rd but stealing bases is key and we suck at it, scoring more easily on sac flys (see...PK's out a home), getting doubles on could be triples, etc.
August 3, 200421 yr Not really sure if speed is the issue.Rowand, Harris Valentine, Lee run pretty well. The problem I see is knowing HOW to run bases. Either we take foolish chances and try and stretch someing out when there is clearly no chance to, or we get too tentative and have a fear of making a mistake on the bases that causes second guessing and hesitations that in turn either accomplishes nothing at all, or an easy out. The only speed problem is PK, but he makes up for it with his bat.
August 3, 200421 yr Do you guys think our team speed is a problem? I am thinking it is and tend to obsess about it, but am open to your more astute comments. Greg, you have a good point, the Sox could use more team speed. But then again, so could most any major league team. More of the issue IMO is the Sox don't have particularly "baseball smart" players. We've got guys doing things like: Willie Harris, with above average speed who isn't stealing bases and doesn't really know how to get a bunt down. Juan Uribe, swinging at all sorts of pitches out of the zone, and inexplicably bunting with Paul Konerko on 3rd base. Jose Valentin, constantly swinging at breaking balls off the plate, even though his experience should tell him those pitches are coming. His next strikeout will be #100 for the season folks. Jon Garland, who can't seem to get over the hump mentally. Paul Konerko who can't seem to stop beating himself up every time he happens to get down in the count ... and then promptly lofts a weak pop up or fly ball. Joe Crede, who despite all the confidence in the world placed in him, can't seem to place any confidence in himself. Scott Schoeneweis, who feels the need to to nibble, nibble, nibble until he's behind in the count 3-1 and then gets smoked on the next pitch. I could go on, but these examples are more than enough. Funny, but good execution outweighs shortcomings about 100% of the time.
August 3, 200421 yr All I can say about team speed, is I'd love to have an offense like the devilrays.
August 3, 200421 yr We seem to get thrown out a lot and/or miss the hit and run sign. The game on Sunday had three Sox erased on the base paths if I remember right. They run themselves right out of the inning.
August 3, 200421 yr All I can say about team speed, is I'd love to have an offense like the devilrays. God they are fun to watch. Crawford is my favorite non Sox player now.
August 3, 200421 yr God they are fun to watch. Crawford is my favorite non Sox player now. Crawford is a very exciting player. Hell, I enjoyed it a ton just to watch Gathwright run for the couple days he was up in the bigs. Overall, I just love how that offense is constructed, tons of speed, guys that can run like no other and a slugger right in the middle of the order. I also love how their outfield is setup defensively, as they're constructed right now they have two speed demons and a gold glover, next year they're most likely going to have 3 guys that are incredibly fast, they're going to take away so many hits and so many runs away from the opposition.
August 3, 200421 yr Personally, I think team speed is overrated. You Billy Beane? I don't think it's overrated at all, hitting goes in slumps, speed doesn't, if your bats go dead for a while you can still score many runs by ways of manufacturing.
August 3, 200421 yr Personally, I think team speed is overrated. Earl Weaver? Is that you? "You get those damn fleas on the bases and they get picked off and kill rallies, give me some f***ing cocksuckers who can hit the ball out of the damn ball park." -Earl Weaver
August 3, 200421 yr qwerty is that you in your avatar? Uh Oh, here comes the avatar loving. And no that's not him.
August 3, 200421 yr Uh Oh, here comes the avatar loving. And no that's not him. I was gonna say, a hot girl who loves the White Sox and knows what she's talking about??? Too good to be true...
August 3, 200421 yr Uh Oh, here comes the avatar loving. And no that's not him. Nor one of the Olsens. You could fit about 5 of them into his avatar.
August 3, 200421 yr I was gonna say, a hot girl who loves the White Sox and knows what she's talking about??? Too good to be true...
August 3, 200421 yr Offensively, speed and good baserunning puts pressure on the other team and can force the other team to rush and make mistakes. Defensively, speed helps for obvious reasons. However, I think that stolen bases are an overrated part of the game, but I'd rather see a steal attempt or a hit and run than a sacrifice bunt. I hate giving up outs.
August 3, 200421 yr Do you guys think our team speed is a problem? I am thinking it is and tend to obsess about it, but am open to your more astute comments. What's "team speed"? We have NONE! Haven't for years. We are TOO reliant on the home run, and are station-to-station on the base paths; thats why the Sox cannot "manufacture" runs.
August 3, 200421 yr Frank needs to drop about 20 lbs., It's not like he's gonna lose power. He and Konerko need to work with a track coach. I refuse to believe that Paulie cannot move any faster.
August 3, 200421 yr Some guys are just slow...there's nothing you can do about it. As "they" say, "Ya can't teach speed.".
August 3, 200421 yr I don't think you can teach a guy to be lighting fast, but you can teach a guy to run faster. The problem with Paulie is that he has poor form and no agility or athleticism. I'd pay to see him run the tires in a football drill. He has a good glove, but his defensive stats are deceiving, his range and mobility could be better, stats don't measure that.
August 3, 200421 yr I don't think you can teach a guy to be lighting fast, but you can teach a guy to run faster. The problem with Paulie is that he has poor form and no agility or athleticism. I'd pay to see him run the tires in a football drill. He has a good glove, but his defensive stats are deceiving, his range and mobility could be better, stats don't measure that. I think PK is okay...I heard the Sox tried to get Carlos Delgado, but he wouldn't waive his no-trade clause. I'd take Carlos over PK any day of the week!
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.