I loves me some Pods... but WTF?

[3RDBASE]

whoa my first topic post....Ok this was a topic last year but doesn't seem to be back up for discussion after all this "Defensive Outfield" Talk...Ok so Dye is good, shows some occassional hussle, but he is older and slower due to past injuries...We know this...BA, is exactly like someone said in the game thread...Arow who? He IS showing us why they put alot of faith in this kid..critics aside(including myself) Now Mr. Podsednik..."dis ked ken run fast" Well I have seen too many plays my 33 year old fat ass could have made in the outfield and I'm more of a 3rd baseman...We know he has had groin issues...and he is getting thrown out...alot, I am very unhappy about his lack of hussle or his babying of the injury...Lets get to those ballz! In what could have been a tighter game or maybe a loss last night after another one of Contreras' superb outings (which would or could have messed up that sweet streak) Why hasn't Ozzie laid into him? It's easy to see he could have gotten there...and wioth BA...he is showing us it can be done with Hussle...ARROW STYLE! I love Podsy, but whats the story anyone heard anything? It's early but Pods doesn't look like this Groin thing is going to get him into the Allstar game this year...lol...Im not expecting that, just some hussle...come on Pods THE COUNT & THOME!

[Flash Tizzle]

I missed tonight's game, so I'm not certain whether there's a particular play you're referring to, but we're not left with many options regarding a replacement. Podsednik at 70% remains a better option than anything readily available on our bench.

 

If he's reluctant to dive for a ball or otherwise give full effort, obviously, it's a problem. Defensive gaffes are easier to overlook since Anderson patrols CF. The SB issue, however, still needs to be addressed. More so than his questionable defense. He may be able to overcome discomfort in the batters box, but unless he's 100%, his SB adventures are detrimental to this ballclub.

[tealeafreaderii]

I missed tonight's game, so I'm not certain whether there's a particular play you're referring to, but we're not left with many options regarding a replacement. Podsednik at 70% remains a better option than anything readily available on our bench.

 

If he's reluctant to dive for a ball or otherwise give full effort, obviously, it's a problem. Defensive gaffes are easier to overlook since Anderson patrols CF. The SB issue, however, still needs to be addressed. More so than his questionable defense. He may be able to overcome discomfort in the batters box, but unless he's 100%, his SB adventures are detrimental to this ballclub.

 

he got picked off once and caught stealing another time....

 

 

I donno if he just doesn't have the timing right on the steals... or if he has lost a little speed.... but he needs to be more carefull...

 

to his credit though he has been getting on base... I think he is on a 8 game hitting streak...

Edited April 30, 2006 by tealeafreaderii

[NorthSideSox72]

His lack of success stealing, often getting thrown out by a mile, is disconcerting. He looks like he is running a bit tenatively, and isn't getting good jumps either. I hope he gets some 1-on-1 sessions with the physical therapist and Rock Raines to fix any possible lingering injury issues and work on his jumps.

 

As for the defense, I don't think he is nearly as brutal out there as some complainers here make him out to be. He bumbled a play in the corner last night, but aside from that, he looks to me like a better defender out there this year than last (and yeah, I've been at or watched a lot of the games). His arm even looks a little stronger. He is certainly not at the same level as BA or even JD defensively, but he is better than a number of other MLB left fielders.

[Dick Allen]

I've always thought Pods was a bit overrated even when he was successful stealing. He and the Sox can deny injury all they want, but the facts support the notion he is not anywhere near 100% physically. In his 2 years in Milwaukee, he stole 113 bases and was caught 23 times. Before the All Star break last season, he stole 44 and was caught 9 times, pretty much the same percentage. Since then he has 19 steals and has been caught 18 times. Its not his fault he is hurting or perhaps babying his leg or groin. The Sox have to think of a different course, perhaps bunting more, or using hit and runs with him because the straight steals aren't working. Before he was hurt, he used to be safe by a mile, now even when he gets in, its usually pretty close. I'm not a fan of his, but ever since Oct. 23,2005, I will always cut him a little more slack.

[sircaffey]

All I know is we are 16-7 with our "sparkplug" not sparking...Pods was a huge need for us last year, but this year, his importance on offense has diminished significantly in my opinion. I'm worried about his personal performance, but as far as it effecting the overall team outcome, I'm not as worried.

Edited April 30, 2006 by sircaffey

[fathom]

All I know is we are 16-7 with our "sparkplug" not sparking...Pods was a huge need for us last year, but this year, his importance on offense has diminished significantly in my opinion.  I'm worried about his personal performance, but as far as it effecting the overall team outcome, I'm not as worried.

 

Our spark plug last year was our pitching. If Pods can't succesfully steal, that's fine. Stay on the base, and try to go from first to third on a single or try not to hurt yourself jogging around the bases on a Thome homer. It's unacceptable how bad he's become on fundamentals. How can you continue to fail to get every bunt attempt down? Also....maybe he needs a bigger glove, but he seems to struggle at picking the ball up off of the ground in the outfield.

[credeisamazing]

Our spark plug last year was our pitching.  If Pods can't succesfully steal, that's fine.  Stay on the base, and try to go from first to third on a single or try not to hurt yourself jogging around the bases on a Thome homer.  It's unacceptable how bad he's become on fundamentals.  How can you continue to fail to get every bunt attempt down?  Also....maybe he needs a bigger glove, but he seems to struggle at picking the ball up off of the ground in the outfield.

 

 

ok, as someone who plays softball, last year i played 3rd base. this year, i'm in the outfield now and the point of having a bigger glove is when you're in the infield so you have an inch or so, so that you can knock down the balls so they don't get to the outfield. usually outfielders have smaller gloves than infielders. 2nd of all, have you ever tried stealing a base? it's not that easy, sometimes you make it and sometimes you dont'. he's not going to give up trying to steal bases. if he does that then he's going to get out of the rhythem and then he's going to end up being worse.

[Balta1701]

Pods is definately off slightly in his baserunning. It may be his injury still bothering him, or it may be that his legs just aren't in baseball shape yet. He did have to rest those a lot to start the season. His swing may just have come back before his legs.

 

Hopefully in another month, he'll have stolen 10 in a row, and we can forget this conversation. If he's still at a 50% clip or worse then, though, he's gonna need the red light.

[sircaffey]

Our spark plug last year was our pitching.  If Pods can't succesfully steal, that's fine.  Stay on the base, and try to go from first to third on a single or try not to hurt yourself jogging around the bases on a Thome homer.  It's unacceptable how bad he's become on fundamentals.  How can you continue to fail to get every bunt attempt down?  Also....maybe he needs a bigger glove, but he seems to struggle at picking the ball up off of the ground in the outfield.

 

The pitching wasn't what made the offense go. Pods was the sparkplug to the offense last year. Yes he's struggling, but that doesn't worry me as much as it would if this was last year. Not so much because I believe he'll come out of it (Not a big believer in his talent), but because of the fact we don't rely on him as much.

[fathom]

ok, as someone who plays softball, last year i played 3rd base.  this year, i'm in the outfield now and the point of having a bigger glove is when you're in the infield so you have an inch or so, so that you can knock down the balls so they don't get to the outfield.  usually outfielders have smaller gloves than infielders. 2nd of all, have you ever tried stealing a base?  it's not that easy, sometimes you make it and sometimes you dont'.  he's not going to give up trying to steal bases.  if he does that then he's going to get out of the rhythem and then he's going to end up being worse.

 

Congrats on being wrong. Outfielders in BASEBALL have a much bigger glove than infielders. And I don't think we should be worried about Pods losing his rhythm on the bases....he has no rhythm right now, and is a liability trying to steal.

[fathom]

The pitching wasn't what made the offense go.  Pods was the sparkplug to the offense last year.  Yes he's struggling, but that doesn't worry me as much as it would if this was last year.  Not so much because I believe he'll come out of it (Not a big believer in his talent), but because of the fact we don't rely on him as much.

 

That's the thing....even when we were winning at an enormous rate to start the year, our offense was still well below average. We were winning games due to our pitchers giving up such a low amount of runs.

[hammerhead johnson]

Pods is certainly not at the same level as BA or even JD defensively, but he is better than a number of other MLB left fielders.

 

Oh really? Like who? This ought to be interesting.

 

He didn't get a regular job in the majors until he was 27, correct? What do you think kept him down there for so long? The guy couldn't judge a non-routine fly ball to save his life. He can't field grounders out there in LF, and his arm is terrible. He's a career AAA player who somehow slipped through the cracks. A product of expansion. There is no way in hell that a guy with such terrible fundamentals should be on the major league level. It boggles my mind.

 

Also, his wife showed her vagina to a bunch of complete strangers.

 

I can't seem to find any positives right now. I'll get back to y'all.

[WCSox]

The pitching wasn't what made the offense go.  Pods was the sparkplug to the offense last year.  Yes he's struggling, but that doesn't worry me as much as it would if this was last year.  Not so much because I believe he'll come out of it (Not a big believer in his talent), but because of the fact we don't rely on him as much.

 

Our offense was also wretched last year and leaned heavily on Pods' base-stealing. While an unhealthy Pods certainly hurts us, we're not going to be completely screwed if he doesn't steal 59 bases again.

[Balta1701]

Congrats on being wrong.  Outfielders in BASEBALL have a much bigger glove than infielders.  And I don't think we should be worried about Pods losing his rhythm on the bases....he has no rhythm right now, and is a liability trying to steal.

You don't find a rhythm in something by avoiding doing it.

[NorthSideSox72]

Oh really?  Like who?  This ought to be interesting.

 

He didn't get a regular job in the majors until he was 27, correct?  What do you think kept him down there for so long?  The guy couldn't judge a non-routine fly ball to save his life.  He can't field grounders out there in LF, and his arm is terrible.  He's a career AAA player who somehow slipped through the cracks.  A product of expansion.  There is no way in hell that a guy with such terrible fundamentals should be on the major league level.  It boggles my mind.

 

Also, his wife showed her vagina to a bunch of complete strangers. 

 

I can't seem to find any positives right now.  I'll get back to y'all.

 

Well, I have no comment on the wife.

 

But he is better defensively than Manny Ramirez, for example. Manny stinks even when he makes an effort, which is rarely. Last year, Pods was in the top half of baseball LF's in FPCT, was 2nd in Range Factor, and 4th in ZR. Now, we all realize is arm is less than stellar, and he had only 3 OF Assists (definitely lower half). And those stats are certainly not he entire picture. But as an overall defender, Pods is just not as bad as the complainers like to think.

 

Is that interesting enough for you, sarcasmo?

 

I am a lot more concerned about his failures on the basepaths right now than I am about his defense.

[hammerhead johnson]

 

Well, I have no comment on the wife.

 

But he is better defensively than Manny Ramirez, for example.  Manny stinks even when he makes an effort, which is rarely.  Last year, Pods was in the top half of baseball LF's in FPCT, was 2nd in Range Factor, and 4th in ZR.  Now, we all realize is arm is less than stellar, and he had only 3 OF Assists (definitely lower half).  And those stats are certainly not he entire picture.  But as an overall defender, Pods is just not as bad as the complainers like to think.

 

Is that interesting enough for you, sarcasmo? 

 

I am a lot more concerned about his failures on the basepaths right now than I am about his defense.

 

Well, Manny Ramirez is a glorified DH on 13 out of 14 AL teams, but his fielding instincts are still better than whatever Pods is bringing to the table, which ain't saying much.

 

Who else?

 

You might have an argument with Adam Dunn, another glorified DH. I suppose that Pods is on the same level as some big lumbering sluggers who don't have a position other than LF (and can't play 1B), but the Cincinatti Reds (for instance) realize that Dunn is a major liablility on defense, and they're willing to live with the negatives as long as the dude continues to produce at the plate.

[Dick Allen]

The pitching wasn't what made the offense go.  Pods was the sparkplug to the offense last year.  Yes he's struggling, but that doesn't worry me as much as it would if this was last year.  Not so much because I believe he'll come out of it (Not a big believer in his talent), but because of the fact we don't rely on him as much.

Pods scored 80 runs and drove in 25 last season. The pitching is what made the White Sox World Champions.

[chitownsportsfan]

k, as someone who plays softball, last year i played 3rd base. this year, i'm in the outfield now and the point of having a bigger glove is when you're in the infield so you have an inch or so, so that you can knock down the balls so they don't get to the outfield. usually outfielders have smaller gloves than infielders.

 

LOL, I can tell you that outfielders usually have 12-14" gloves, wherea s IF'ers usually use 10-11" gloves.

 

The smaller gloves allow the infielders to get the ball out more quickly. Obviously, in the OF, getting the ball out quick isn't as important.

 

Some IF'ers like to were a 10" halfway off their hand. Personally I was never able to do it--it takes quite a bit of skill, but I've seen a lot of good fielders do it.

[sircaffey]

Pods scored 80 runs and drove in 25 last season. The pitching is what made the White Sox World Champions.

 

Well, duh...I am saying, how Pods went, the offense went. That is not the case this year. Thus, we should not be extremely worried about Pods' performance.

[infohawk]

All I know is we are 16-7 with our "sparkplug" not sparking...Pods was a huge need for us last year, but this year, his importance on offense has diminished significantly in my opinion.  I'm worried about his personal performance, but as far as it effecting the overall team outcome, I'm not as worried.

This is exactly right. If Pods returns to 100%, a great team just becomes even greater. Even if he's not stealing he is valuable. His speed is still good for the outfield and going from first to third. Plus, he is a good lefty contact hitter.

[greg775]

Fathom said: "If Pods can't succesfully steal, that's fine. Stay on the base, and try to go from first to third on a single or try not to hurt yourself jogging around the bases on a Thome homer. It's unacceptable how bad he's become on fundamentals. How can you continue to fail to get every bunt attempt down?"

 

 

I agree with Fathom. He just shouldn't run if he can't steal the base.

If he's failing because he's not 100 percent, then pardon me Pods.

If he's healthy, though, his getting thrown out all the time is a concern.

[Balta1701]

By the way, if there's 1 place out there right now that can be useful to a base stealer trying to find his rhythm...it's Cleveland. Victor Martinez hasn't thrown out a base stealer all year.

 

Pods better be off to the races in this series. Dye, Anderson, Cintron, Iguchi, Pablo too. Those Cleveland Pitchers have done nothing to hold people close, and Martinez just doesn't seem to be throwing well at all.

[Dick Allen]

By the way, if there's 1 place out there right now that can be useful to a base stealer trying to find his rhythm...it's Cleveland.  Victor Martinez hasn't thrown out a base stealer all year.

 

Pods better be off to the races in this series.  Dye, Anderson, Cintron, Iguchi, Pablo too.  Those Cleveland Pitchers have done nothing to hold people close, and Martinez just doesn't seem to be throwing well at all.

I think he had 4 in a game there last year. If he gets on and Martinez throws him out, it may be time to think about a new leadoff man

[3E8]

Pods better be off to the races in this series.  Dye, Anderson, Cintron, Iguchi, Pablo too.  Those Cleveland Pitchers have done nothing to hold people close, and Martinez just doesn't seem to be throwing well at all.

Aren't we facing Lee and Sabathia? I'd prefer to keep the attemps down to a minimum with lefties on the mound.