"Crash" Rowand Breaks Ankle

[witesoxfan]

I highly doubt Philly's gonna dump him though...

 

I wouldn't think so, but I have seen organizations make dumber moves in the past. San Francisco trading Liriano, Nathan, and Bonser for Pierzynski? San Francisco non-tendering Pierzynski?

 

I dunno, those are both pretty dumb to me.

 

/another necessary potshot at Brian Sabean

[NorthSideSox72]

I am sure I will get shot here for saying this, but Rowand should not of been going after that ball like he did. Yeah, he's a grinder, yeah, he gives it his all, but that was Utley's ball and he was there easy. Rowand even slowed down for the ball after utley called it, then decided to go back in for it.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love ARow's hustle. He is a true old school balls out player and I respect him for that, but he broke his ankle on that play and nearly hurt the teams best player in doing so.

I thought they both called for it, and that ball always belongs to the outfielder anyway. He got hurt doing exactly what he is supposed to do.

[Balta1701]

Touche. I should have clarified that I was never criticizing KW for making the move, just that losing Rowand probably hurt more than we initially realized. I loved the move, and still do.

 

However, Thome's philosophy offensively is to hit the ball as hard as you can, and to try and hit homers. The rest of the offense has taken on this mindset, and thus you do not see grinderball or smallball anymore, with the exception of Podsednik occasionally trying to steal a base, and getting picked off of first base like an assclown. We are very 1-dimensional offensively.

I don't think that's as much Thome's fault as it is the fault of guys like Podsednik. Last year, we had the impression of a moving team, because we had a guy with 60 stolen bases at the top of the order. Now, the guy who used to cause the most havoc on the basepaths is a joke on the basepaths. On top of that, the bottom of the order was weaker for quite some time than any of us expected, which also hurt.

[whitesoxfan101]

I thought they both called for it, and that ball always belongs to the outfielder anyway. He got hurt doing exactly what he is supposed to do.

 

Even the die hard of die hard Rowand fans admit he gets bad reads and horrible jumps on balls hit in front of him, which was probably about 50 percent of the problem. However at the same time, Utley has to get the hell outta the way because that's not his ball and Rowand looked like he was still going to get there.

[Dick Allen]

.262 after being hot for a week or so 12 homers and 47 rbi is pretty weak production, especially considering where he plays and the NL pitchers he faces. Rowand brings a lot of intensity to any team, and while losing the rest of the season on a play that had been made by a teammate against the Cubs may not be the smartest thing, to say something to him about it, and try to change him, would not be wise. If he starts thinking too much, the aggressiveness goes away, and if he doesn't have that, he's really not good enough to overcome it. I love his aggressiveness and attitude, and he would be a great 4th OF. Other than that, I really think if you look close enough, he's really nothing more than an average regular, if that.

[witesoxfan]

I don't think that's as much Thome's fault as it is the fault of guys like Podsednik. Last year, we had the impression of a moving team, because we had a guy with 60 stolen bases at the top of the order. Now, the guy who used to cause the most havoc on the basepaths is a joke on the basepaths. On top of that, the bottom of the order was weaker for quite some time than any of us expected, which also hurt.

 

This year has felt a lot like 01-04 all over. One fast player in the entire lineup, a very weak bottom of the order, a strong top of the order, and mediocre pitching everywhere.

 

Last year the Sox were a faster team. Willie was still here, Dye and Iguchi ran a little, Rowand ran, Podsednik was healthy for the most part, and they were just a faster and more fundamentally sound team. I look at this year's team and I saw 3 guys fail to get down a bunt last night. I saw no one trying to steal a base. It's sad, really.

 

Thome has caused our offensive "problems" this year...Podsednik being a dbag hasn't helped, but by and large Thome is the reason the Sox are a station-to-station offense. Not that that's a horrible thing, I just hope that KW adds a little more speed to both the bench and lineup.

[whitesoxfan101]

This year has felt a lot like 01-04 all over. One fast player in the entire lineup, a very weak bottom of the order, a strong top of the order, and mediocre pitching everywhere.

 

Last year the Sox were a faster team. Willie was still here, Dye and Iguchi ran a little, Rowand ran, Podsednik was healthy for the most part, and they were just a faster and more fundamentally sound team. I look at this year's team and I saw 3 guys fail to get down a bunt last night. I saw no one trying to steal a base. It's sad, really.

 

Thome has caused our offensive "problems" this year...Podsednik being a dbag hasn't helped, but by and large Thome is the reason the Sox are a station-to-station offense. Not that that's a horrible thing, I just hope that KW adds a little more speed to both the bench and lineup.

 

This offense blows the hell away any of the '01 through '04 ones. THEY ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, and neither is the bullpen. The fact that we've had 1 pitcher all year (Count early, Garland later on) that doesn't suck is the problem.