We all know Kenny's stance on grinders...he loves them. Kenny wants to build a team around grinders, the type of player that will do whatever necessary to get the runner over, field balls consistently, see more pitches, etc. Herein lies the problem, this current roster is seemingly grinder-free. I, too, feel that a group of grinders is the best way to go, but I don't think Kenny has assembled that type of team just yet.

 

Here are my White Sox Grinders

 

Aaron Rowand-This guy has epitomized the role of the grinder. He went above and beyond the call of duty this year. He played all over the outfield, moved positions in the lineup, and did nothing but produced all the while. If we had a team of Aarons, we would be in good shape. I have no reason to believe Aaron isn't capable of producing at the same level next year.

 

Mark Buehrle-The most consistent Sox pitcher in the past 5 years. Year-in and year-out Mark brings it. He eats innings, turns in good outing after good outing and is a great presence in the clubhouse.

 

That's It!!!

 

Those are the only guys that I can think of that fulfill the "Grinder" criteria.

 

Now, to define "hogie."

 

A "hogie," for the sake of argument, is a one-trick pony, a one dimension player. However, this doesn't mean a team shouldn't have a few one-trick ponies. I think a team needs a defined HR guy, an OBP guy, etc. but we had WAY too many.

 

Valentin- Mustache/K Hogie

 

Paulie- HR Hogie (although he was greatly improved this year)

 

Garland- "Just Hasn't Lived Up To His Potential" Hogie

 

Crede- "I Can Pull the Ball" Hogie

 

Borchard- Light Tower Power Hogie

 

Am I way off base here or could we be on to something? I think Kenny has his work cut out for him.

Navy Beans, Navy Beans...

 

Gload is a grinder. So is Davis. Willie is close, if not a grinder also. They might not be as good as the other two, but they do whatever it takes as far as your definition of them.

Gload is a grinder. So is Davis. Willie is close, if not a grinder also. They might not be as good as the other two, but they do whatever it takes as far as your definition of them.

The jury is still out on Gload and Davis. But, yeah...that's the general idea.

 

You all know my stance on Willie

The jury is still out on Gload and Davis.  But, yeah...that's the general idea.

 

You all know my stance on Willie 

I don't know Why the jury's still out on BD.

 

He's had 1500 ML AB's, and he's .237/.306/.366 --

 

And Gload just need's to be given a shot... He's a .304 hitter over his minor league career. The guy can flat out hit.

--

 

And Gload just need's to be given a shot... He's a .304 hitter over his minor league career.  The guy can flat out hit.

Agreed.

We all know Kenny's stance on grinders...he loves them.  Kenny wants to build a team around grinders, the type of player that will do whatever necessary to get the runner over, field balls consistently, see more pitches, etc.  Herein lies the problem, this current roster is seemingly grinder-free.  I, too, feel that a group of grinders is the best way to go, but I don't think Kenny has assembled that type of team just yet.

 

Here are my White Sox Grinders

 

Aaron Rowand-This guy has epitomized the role of the grinder.  He went above and beyond the call of duty this year.  He played all over the outfield, moved positions in the lineup, and did nothing but produced all the while.  If we had a team of Aarons, we would be in good shape.  I have no reason to believe Aaron isn't capable of producing at the same level next year.

 

Mark Buehrle-The most consistent Sox pitcher in the past 5 years.  Year-in and year-out Mark brings it.  He eats innings, turns in good outing after good outing and is a great presence in the clubhouse.

 

That's It!!!

 

Those are the only guys that I can think of that fulfill the "Grinder" criteria.

 

Now, to define "hogie."

 

A "hogie," for the sake of argument, is a one-trick pony, a one dimension player.  However, this doesn't mean a team shouldn't have a few one-trick ponies.  I think a team needs a defined HR guy, an OBP guy, etc. but we had WAY too many.

 

Valentin- Mustache/K Hogie

 

Paulie- HR Hogie (although he was greatly improved this year)

 

Garland- "Just Hasn't Lived Up To His Potential" Hogie

 

Crede- "I Can Pull the Ball" Hogie

 

Borchard- Light Tower Power Hogie

 

Am I way off base here or could we be on to something?  I think Kenny has his work cut out for him.

I see Jamie Burke as a grinder too.

I like the effort Juan Uribe gives....I'd call him a grinder.

 

Agree on Gload, Burke, Rowand and Buehrle.

uribe, shingo, garcia and maybe carlos lee= grinders

I don't know Why the jury's still out on BD.

 

He's had 1500 ML AB's, and he's .237/.306/.366 --

 

And Gload just need's to be given a shot... He's a .304 hitter over his minor league career.  The guy can flat out hit.

Gotta agree with that. I'm rather disappointed the Sox are ready to have Davis start next year. I know the FA catching crop is thin, but still...there's got to be someone they can get (Zaunn or Miller...). I actually would rather have Burke start I think.

 

I do agree on Gload as well. If Sox do trade Konerko or Lee, I hope it's Konerko. Gload looks like he can hit ML pitching. I haven't seen that from Borchard, Escobar, or the other OF options.

 

Finally, this isn't a knock against this thread, but the "grinder" talk coming from the Sox kind of annoys me. Teams win because their players perform better than others. Whether the performance is due to talent or effort ("grinding") doesn't matter to me. I don't want a team the just tries really hard, I want a team that plays well. The best players usually work hard and have talent. To me "grinding" sounds suspiciously like a PR phrase used to sell fans on the idea that we don't want those high priced talented prima donnas, we want a team of guys that hit .250 (and are cheap) but really bring it everyday. It also plays into the idea that the last 4 years the talent was in place, but the players just didn't try hard enough. I don't know enough to say whether that's really true or not, but I'm suspicious in that it lets the Sox organization off the hook. The bottom line is the performance wasn't there, whether from talent or effort. I'll stop ranting now...

a team of "grinders" is always nice to have, but give me "heros" everytime.

 

 

ok that was lame.

Gotta agree with that. I'm rather disappointed the Sox are ready to have Davis start next year. I know the FA catching crop is thin, but still...there's got to be someone they can get (Zaunn or Miller...). I actually would rather have Burke start I think.

 

I do agree on Gload as well. If Sox do trade Konerko or Lee, I hope it's Konerko. Gload looks like he can hit ML pitching. I haven't seen that from Borchard, Escobar, or the other OF options.

 

Finally, this isn't a knock against this thread, but the "grinder" talk coming from the Sox kind of annoys me. Teams win because their players perform better than others. Whether the performance is due to talent or effort ("grinding") doesn't matter to me. I don't want a team the just tries really hard, I want a team that plays well. The best players usually work hard and have talent. To me "grinding" sounds suspiciously like a PR phrase used to sell fans on the idea that we don't want those high priced talented prima donnas, we want a team of guys that hit .250 (and are cheap) but really bring it everyday. It also plays into the idea that the last 4 years the talent was in place, but the players just didn't try hard enough. I don't know enough to say whether that's really true or not, but I'm suspicious in that it lets the Sox organization off the hook. The bottom line is the performance wasn't there, whether from talent or effort. I'll stop ranting now...

Well...that argument can go one of two ways...

 

1) Yes, in fact, it can be a PR ploy to justify the dismissal of high-priced talent in place of low-priced "hard workers"

 

But I'd also have to argue that...

 

2) Jeter is a grinder, and he makes gazillions. All-stars can be grinders.

 

I was also enacting the use of irony in this thread.

 

Although KW is so big on this type of player...he refuses to stock his team with them.

uribe, shingo, garcia and maybe carlos lee= grinders

I don't agree. I like them all alot, but I don't see them as grinders. I haven't seen enough of Shingo Takatsu or Freddy Garcia, but CLee isn't and I don't think Juan really is.