Joe Crede Article

[DBAHO]

Good read here about the Crede Situation and the future;

 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Because he's quiet, because his brow furrows quicker than his lips smile, because he has only in the briefest glimpses hit the way a man who looks so much like a baseball player ought to hit, you have to wonder about Joe Crede.

 

Specifically, you have to wonder this: Is he a head case?

 

Thankfully, White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker considered the question seriously rather than angrily.

 

"Not extreme," he said. "He's not an extreme head case at all. I've dealt with a lot tougher."

 

Walker didn't name names, but he did reveal that if Crede's problems were located from the neck up, it owed not to a mental weakness but plain old hard-headedness.

 

"The thing I think happened with Joe is he's had a lot of success in professional baseball," said Walker, who was Crede's hitting coach at Triple A in 2002. "He was the MVP of several minor league seasons, in 2002 he had an incredible year in Triple A, got called up with a third of the year left and just really was a good player for the White Sox. So in Joe's mind, why change?"

 

Because the Sox felt they identified a swing flaw. Clearly, big-league pitchers began to exploit it the more they saw him, and Crede's average tumbled from .285 over 53 games with the Sox in '02, to .261 in '03, to .239 last year.

 

The last two seasons have been difficult for taciturn Crede, who was a league MVP in Class A and Double A, and twice an All-Star in Triple A.

 

"The thing was was that in the minor leagues I would come out of slumps much faster," Crede said. "I went into a couple of slumps down there and I was able to come out of them faster. ... In the big leagues it seems like I would get into a slump and it would get deeper and deeper, then I'd come out and I'd go right back in."

 

Perhaps it seems like a lot to ask from a No. 8 or 9 hitter, but the Sox simply can't afford to have that happen again if they wish to compete for the AL Central crown. In the first place, there's no way they ever projected Crede to sink so low in the lineup at this stage of his career, and second, they need more than ever for their third baseman to be a run-producer in a lineup shorn of considerable power in the offseason.

 

Worse, if Crede stumbles again, the Sox have no options. They're talking up Josh Fields, rated the best power hitter in the organization by Baseball America, but the former Oklahoma State quarterback is slated to start the season at Double A.

 

In reality, the next option after Crede is to start shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Maybe Juan Uribe moves to third, Tadahito Iguchi goes to short and Willie Harris takes over second. Or maybe Iguchi goes to third. Or maybe the as-yet-undecided 25th man takes over.

 

In short, if not Crede, it's a mess.

 

"Yeah, that's a pretty good read on it," general manager Ken Williams said. "But you know what? Every club out there has got the same problem at third base. What are the Cubs going to do? What are the Yankees going to do?"

 

Well, if Aramis Ramirez goes down, the Cubs can probably afford to buy their way out of trouble. If Alex Rodriguez goes down, the Yankees might be able to afford having Mike Schmidt cloned.

 

The point, however, is that they're starting with Ramirez and Rodriguez. Crede is neither, at least not yet.

 

"I believe I'm a .280, .290 hitter," said Crede, who would probably push 30 homers and 90 RBI with an average that high. "But I'm going to believe it when I actually do it."

 

To his credit, Crede is putting in the work.

 

He built a batting cage behind his home in Westphalia, Mo. He used a pitching machine some days, and on others had his younger brother come over to throw to him.

 

Most important, Crede came to Chicago a few times over the winter to work with Walker. The two agreed Crede, after fussing with his swing unsuccessfully during 2004, needed to come up with a proper stroke over the winter and stick with it.

 

Walker wanted Crede to get rid of what he called an "uphill" swing in favor of something that would keep his bat in the hitting zone longer. To oversimplify, Crede needed a more level swing — and how he got there, Walker said, was mostly the player's idea.

 

"The best-case scenario is for these guys to figure it out in their own words, their own feelings," Walker said. "There's all kinds of ways of hitting, of getting to the right spot.

 

"We came up with something together that has all the good mechanics involved, and he thinks he can monitor and maintain into the season."

 

So far, Walker likes what he sees. Crede, a standout fielder, is obviously a tremendous athlete and strong as a bull, so the ingredients are there.

 

"He should have success this year," Walker said. "The next battle is taking it against live pitching and maintaining it. That's a battle for every hitter.

 

"We'll see how it turns out, but right now I'm encouraged."

 

Good. When it comes to Crede, if the Sox aren't encouraged, they're sunk.

[Yossarian]

Flaws in the swing are difficult to correct. Most eventually fall back into old and comfortable habits. Crede's flaw is evident even to a rank amateur like me. Still, it is correctable with a minor adjustment or two. Now Joe Borchard is another story. That is a truly awful swing.

Edited February 26, 2005 by Yossarian

[JDsDirtySox]

I am rooting for Joe Crede to have a good season more than any other player on this team. I hope he turns it around this year, and puts all of his doubters to bed.

[WilliamTell]

I'm rooting for both the Joe's. But I have a feeling that in the near future, neither will be playing for the Sox.

[MurcieOne]

If that becomes true.... and the Joe's are sent packing... thats how im going to remember this era of Sox baseball, these two guys were supposed to be the cornerstones of our franchise for years to come. Not trying to be unfair to them, but its the truth in my eyes.

[WilliamTell]

If that becomes true.... and the Joe's are sent packing... thats how im going to remember this era of Sox baseball, these two guys were supposed to be the cornerstones of our franchise for years to come. Not trying to be unfair to them, but its the truth in my eyes.

 

 

 

Yeah I agree with you about that. And I know we got Freddie Garcia and I was for the trade, but I'm gonna still keep my eye on Miquel Olivo and Jeremy Reed to see how they do.