If it goes Pods and Erstad 1 & 2...?

[ScottyDo]

Red Sox:

1.) Julio Lugo

2.) Covelli Crisp/Kevin Youkilis

On a completely random side note, when did people start calling Coco by his full name? It's not nearly as funny...I'm boycotting Covelli.

[witesoxfan]

On a completely random side note, when did people start calling Coco by his full name? It's not nearly as funny...I'm boycotting Covelli.

 

call him what you want I say. I'll always call him Coco

[Kalapse]

I refuse to call a grown ass man Coco. I've been calling him Covelli since the day the Indians called his skinny ass up and I will continue to refer to him as Covelli until he retires.

 

Same goes for John Bonser damn it.

[witesoxfan]

I refuse to call a grown ass man Coco. I've been calling him Covelli since the day the Indians called his skinny ass up and I will continue to refer to him as Covelli until he retires.

 

Same goes for John Bonser damn it.

 

Larry Jones hates you

[Y2HH]

It just looks ridiculous on paper.

 

LF - Podsednik - L

CF - Erstad - L

DH - Thome - L

1B - Konerko - R

RF - Dye - R

C - Pierzynski - L

3B - Crede - R

2B - Iguchi - R

SS - Uribe - R

 

How can Ozzie in conscience write out that lineup before every game? It's just looks terrible.

 

And by age:

 

LF - 32

CF - 33

DH - 36

1B - 31

RF - 33

C - 30

3B - 29

2B - 32

SS - 27

 

AVG OF = 32.67 yo

AVG IF = 30.60 yo

LINEUP = 31.44 yo

 

Didn't Ozzie try something similar last season with Uribe #2 while dropping Iguchi lower into the order during spring training, and it didn't work, so Ozzie quickly put them back where they belonged?! Perhaps the same thing will happen again. At least we can hope.

 

Flip Iguchi and Erstad and I'm ok with the lineup if BA doesn't make the team.

[retro1983hat]

1. Aaron Rowand

2. Slow, overrated CF

3. ARow

4. Grinder

5. Row

6. AR

7. Crash

8. Chicago-kind-of-player

9. Poor Baserunner

[BigSqwert]

1. Aaron Rowand

2. Slow, overrated CF

3. ARow

4. Grinder

5. Row

6. AR

7. Crash

8. Chicago-kind-of-player

9. Poor Baserunner

At some point this season Ozzie will literally place an oven-grinder sandwich in the batter's box at a key moment in the game.

[joeynach]

It just looks ridiculous on paper.

 

LF - Podsednik - L

CF - Erstad - L

DH - Thome - L

1B - Konerko - R

RF - Dye - R

C - Pierzynski - L

3B - Crede - R

2B - Iguchi - R

SS - Uribe - R

 

How can Ozzie in conscience write out that lineup before every game? It's just looks terrible.

 

And by age:

 

LF - 32

CF - 33

DH - 36

1B - 31

RF - 33

C - 30

3B - 29

2B - 32

SS - 27

 

AVG OF = 32.67 yo

AVG IF = 30.60 yo

LINEUP = 31.44 yo

 

Yuck thats awful. That 1,2,3 combo is a combined .225 against LHP. Looks like we will be dismal against Lefties again this year and make the Kyle Synder's and Mark Redman's of the world look like cy young. And even against righties thats just bad, all the opposing manager has to do in tight game to shut our lineup down is just bring in a lefty reliever for the top of our order and a righty for the bottom and we neutralized. Thats why you break up the LH and RH hitters to provide better matchups or force more pitching changes. This is baseball 101 and we saw last year what a lack of it does.

[pcullotta]

Yuck thats awful. That 1,2,3 combo is a combined .225 against LHP.

 

Ozzie specifically said Erstad would bat #2 against Righties. I highly doubt he would put that 1,2,3 combo out there against a Lefty. Plus, we usually use about five lineups a week so I'm sure there will be plenty of variations. We also now have Toby Hall to do the catching against some southpaws and he hit .292 against lefties last year.

Edited March 20, 2007 by pcullotta

[Damen]

Ozzie specifically said Erstad would bat #2 against Righties. I highly doubt he would put that 1,2,3 combo out there against a Lefty. Plus, we usually use about five lineups a week so I'm sure there will be plenty of variations. Plus, we have Toby Hall to do the catching against some southpaws and he hit .292 against lefties last year.

 

Which doesn't make a lick of sense since Iguchi hits righties well.

[pcullotta]

Which doesn't make a lick of sense since Iguchi hits righties well.

 

Well, then putting him down in the order might help since there is a chance he will be in more RBI and power situations.

[Kalapse]

Ozzie specifically said Erstad would bat #2 against Righties. I highly doubt he would put that 1,2,3 combo out there against a Lefty. Plus, we usually use about five lineups a week so I'm sure there will be plenty of variations. We also now have Toby Hall to do the catching against some southpaws and he hit .292 against lefties last year.

So what dos he do in the 8th inning when the top of the order (Pods, Erstad, Thome) is due up and a LOOGY is warming in the pen?

[pcullotta]

So what dos he do in the 8th inning when the top of the order (Pods, Erstad, Thome) is due up and a LOOGY is warming in the pen?

 

Prob'ly sends up Ozuna who hit .322 against Lefties and .273 as a Pinch Hitter

[southsideirish71]

So what dos he do in the 8th inning when the top of the order (Pods, Erstad, Thome) is due up and a LOOGY is warming in the pen?

 

If we go by last year, he will allow the LOOGY to come in and quickly strikeout all 3 and then hope for the best in the 9th.

[Kalapse]

Prob'ly sends up Ozuna who hit .322 against Lefties and .273 as a Pinch Hitter

Ha, he didn't do that one time last year. I highly doubt he changes his ways now besides Erstad was partially brought here for his clutch late game hitting and he NEVER pinch hits for Pods. What if he already has Pablo in the lineup giving Crede or Iguchi a day off? He tends to do that a lot. Ozzie is just setting himself up for failure with this top of the order, no manager would stack the top with lefties especially 2 of them as bad at getting on base as Erstad and Podsednik.

[southsideirish71]

Ha, he didn't do that one time last year. I highly doubt he changes his ways now besides Erstad was partially brought here for his clutch late game hitting and he NEVER pinch hits for Pods. What if he already has Pablo in the lineup giving Crede or Iguchi a day off? He tends to do that a lot. Ozzie is just setting himself up for failure with this top of the order, no manager would stack the top with lefties especially 2 of them as bad at getting on base as Erstad and Podsednik.

 

Why is Ozzie so worried about the right handed matchups, considering we did very well against righties last year. It was the lefties, and the loogy's that just worked us over last year. Maybe he should worry about that.

 

Here is rotoworld on the subject.

 

Asked Monday about Darin Erstad's role on the team, manager Ozzie Guillen said, "When the season is over he is going to have 500 at-bats.''

In conjunction with that, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Brian Anderson "is now standing on his thinnest ice ever" and "could be headed for a crossroads."

 

Jesus f***ing christ.

 

Anderson has no f***ing shot

Edited March 20, 2007 by southsideirish71

[NorthSideSox72]

Why is Ozzie so worried about the right handed matchups, considering we did very well against righties last year. It was the lefties, and the loogy's that just worked us over last year. Maybe he should worry about that.

 

Here is rotoworld on the subject.

Jesus f***ing christ.

 

Anderson has no f***ing shot

He still has a shot. To wit...

 

''I think he can push Brian to get better,'' Guillen said. ''You always need somebody to push you to make you better, no matter if it's your parents, your coaches or another teammate.''

 

Why would the starter be pushing a guy in AAA? The answer is he wouldn't. It seems clear from the quote that Ozzie still thinks BA has a shot. Erstad isn't a given just yet.

 

Also...

 

Guillen's best backup plan was utilityman Rob Mackowiak, whose misadventures showed he isn't suited for center field. Guillen made that clear early in camp, saying Mackowiak's days in center are over. ''I want to keep my job,'' Guillen had said, ''and I think Mackowiak wants to keep his job, too.''

 

Enter Erstad.

 

''We've got security,'' Guillen said. ''We have a legit center fielder. It's not like an experiment, you know he can play there.''

 

He is referring to Erstad as security.

 

If Oz is stupid and puts Erstad as the starting CF, then I'll be just as upset as you are right now. But that article actually reaffirms my belief that Ozzie is being Ozzie - he thinks BA has an attitude, and he's giving him the 3rd degree by saying Erstad is solid out there. I think some people might be surprised come April 1st or so.

 

ETA: Check out the quote at the end of the article...

 

''How he is used,'' Guillen said, ''depends on how Brian does the rest of spring training.''

 

Combine that with him saying Anderson won't be a backup, and I think its pretty clear Anderson is still in the picture for starting in CF.

Edited March 20, 2007 by NorthSideSox72

[Y2HH]

Sounds to me like it's already set in stone and unless Anderson has an insane final 1.5 weeks in ST, he's going to AAA to start.

 

Oh well...not like I was the biggest Anderson backer anyway. Look at it like this, if Erstad fails in CF or as a #2 hitter, I'm sure Ozzie will do something about it...not much you can do about the Anderson thing...we all know how good he can be, but until he is, all of this is a moot point. I don't believe Erstad will be any worse than Anderson and being that he's healthy again, maybe he will have a big year...all we can do is hope for the best at this point...rather than b****ing about someone whos prooven nothing thus far.

Edited March 20, 2007 by Y2HH

[southsideirish71]

Sounds to me like it's already set in stone and unless Anderson has an insane final 1.5 weeks in ST, he's going to AAA to start.

 

Oh well...not like I was the biggest Anderson backer anyway. Start cryin' guys.

 

I think we will be crying when Pods and Erstad are not on base, and our 3-4-5 guys hit all those homers with no one to score besides themselves.

[Y2HH]

I think we will be crying when Pods and Erstad are not on base, and our 3-4-5 guys hit all those homers with no one to score besides themselves.

 

Well like I said, if that starts happening, Ozzie needs to adjust the lineup. Iguchi's career OBP is about .005 higher than Erstads, so does it really matter THAT much?!

 

And I realize that Erstad may be on the downhill side of his career, but Iguchi will be, also...considering they are the same age. I'm just trying to look on the bright side here, guys...maybe Erstad will bounce back in a big way with the change of scenery. :/

Edited March 20, 2007 by Y2HH

[Damen]

Well like I said, if that starts happening, Ozzie needs to adjust the lineup. Iguchi's career OBP is about .005 higher than Erstads, so does it really matter THAT much?!

 

That's pretty deceptive, considering he has reached his career average only once in the last 6 seasons, while averaging a terrible .317 OBP in that span.

 

So yes, it does matter that much. Erstad will not get on base anywhere near the rate that Iguchi will, unless he reverts to a form he hasn't been anywhere near the past few years, and hasn't shown so far in Spring Training.

[Balta1701]

Jesus f***ing christ.

 

Anderson has no f***ing shot

Am I the only one who noticed that the DeLuca story gave all of Anderson's spring numbers and none of Erstad's spring numbers? From talking about Anderson's slow start, to him getting up to .348 a week ago, to his recent 0/8, it's all in there. But Erstad's 0/4 3k day yesterday gets no mention, his .635 OPS gets no mention, but his planned 500 at bats do.

[witesoxfan]

worst news of the day that I could wake up to.

 

Time to hope for a 3.50 team ERA again...you know, Ozzieball!1!1!!!!!!

[hitlesswonder]

I don't believe Erstad will be any worse than Anderson and being that he's healthy again, maybe he will have a big year...all we can do is hope for the best at this point...rather than b****ing about someone whos prooven nothing thus far.

 

I think there's a good chance Erstad will be worse than Anderson this year. And I don't think Anderson will be very good.

 

What exactly has Erstad proven? That he was a great player for one season seven years ago? He hit worse than Anderson last season. So, he was injured and supposedly healthy now. That doesn't mean he's sure to improve any more than Anderson is sure to improve becuase he's had a year of experience now.

 

Erstad OPS from 2001 on: .691, .702, .642, .746, .696, .605

Erstad OBP from 2001 on: .331, .313, .309, .346, .325, .279

 

Look at those numbers. It seems like he's a good bet for a sub-.700 OPS this season, doesn't it? A .330 OBP would be a triumph, I don't think he'll get very close to that. And Guillen just promised him 500 at-bats.

 

If the Sox think Anderson can't play, thats fine. Then go out and a get another outfileder that can actually hit and field. A team with $100M payroll shouldn't start 2 sub-.700 OPS players in the outfield.

 

 

Am I the only one who noticed that the DeLuca story gave all of Anderson's spring numbers and none of Erstad's spring numbers? From talking about Anderson's slow start, to him getting up to .348 a week ago, to his recent 0/8, it's all in there. But Erstad's 0/4 3k day yesterday gets no mention, his .635 OPS gets no mention, but his planned 500 at bats do.

 

I saw that too. For DeLuca, the problem with quoting Erstad's numbers is that it gets in the way of his storyline that Erstad is pushing BA, that Erstad is a professional hitter that can really handle the bat, that it's a tough competition for the CF job.

 

Once you look at the numbers, the truth becomes more apparent: Erstad was given the starting CF job when he signed and there is no actual competition. Also, Erstad probably can't hit a baseball real well.

[southsideirish71]

I am upset about this but this shouldn't shock anyone.

 

Last year he trotted out a groinless hitless OBP less Pods who also couldn't play D. All and all he was rotten. He played over and over and over. Why because once upon a time he was fast. Mack should of been in LF, however really where Ozzie felt he should play was in CF. This is like trotting Crede out to play CF. Even when Brian started to hit a bit, f*** no. Keep putting Mack out in CF.

 

So who really believes that Ozzie will give up on Erstad for a long long time, when he allowed Prancer to have a sub .300 OBP and a .241BA for a half of a year.