Brian Anderson's strong words about Winter Ball...

[Balta1701]

Mexicali is a border town like 2 hours from here. I might have to take a drive down there and check out BA.

I wonder how many Americans, let alone Sox fans go down there to watch the games. I bet he'd freak if he heard me yell his name.

Want some company?

[LosMediasBlancas]

Want some company?

 

 

More like protection. They see a couple of us northerners and they'll be feeding us tequila like it's cool aid only to leave us naked, broke and possibly violated.

[scenario]

He came on stronger in the second half of 06 and carried it to spring training 07, then got benched for someone who put up lesser stats but got a better chance at spring training success.

I get the impression you didn't watch any of the spring training games. Brian was given first shot and was VERY inconsistent. Hit well for a week... disappeared for two weeks... then started to hit well again. And you could have driven a Buick through the holes in his swing during the entire period.

 

Erstad stepped in when Brian faltered and played well... consistently. So BA has no one to blame but himself.

 

And then Brian went to Charlotte, couldn't hit triple A pitching, and sulked acting like he had been wronged.

 

Sorry... His immaturity, poor play, and inconsistency are the reasons he is in his current situation.

 

He needs to suck it up, grow up, and start playing better baseball if he wants another shot.

Edited October 31, 2007 by scenario

[Wanne]

who cares? he was an awful draft pick. KW should be ashamed of hanging onto him and letting CY go.

 

How can you possibly say he was an awful draft pick? That's a friggin ridiculous statement.

Comment from MLB '03 draft board:

 

COMMENT: Five-tool palyer with Major League body. Quality bat potential. Feel for wood with light tower power. Agresssive in all areas of game with plus instincts. Plus arm, plus range.

 

He was lauded as one of the top minor league prospects quickly. He's given the starting CF job after Kenny traded away Rowand. So he's a bust after one year?!?...he's given ONE YEAR to prove anything. I love this thinking....IT'S GREAT!!!

 

If that was actually the case that the DBacks actually wanted Anderson instead...Kenny called tails and it was heads. Who knew. I wouldn't give up on Anderson. I can see why he's pissed....but he should just shut his mouth and go out there and improve. He'll end up leaving and blossoming somewhere else since the bridges seem to have been burned already. Pretty stupid IMO. But to say he was an awful pick...no, he wasn't.

[striker]

I'd feel sorry for the guy if it wasn't for the fact that he whines all the time and acts like he's Bonds. He batted .225 as an everyday player, was eventually sent down in 2007 where he batted .255 at AAA. Shut up and play.

 

He wants to know what the Whitesox "plans" are with him. There are no plans if you can't play.

[gosox41]

And then when you continue to read, his own agent says the Sox told discussed it with his agent, and his agent discussed it with him. Sorry, after a season like ours, our officials are focused on more than a struggling minor leaguer that may or may not be healthy enough for winter ball in the first place. As far as getting at bats early in the season, did he earn any? Did he blow everyone away in ST or something? Focus on playing some ball, getting healthy, and proving you're worth a damn before you whine about being talked to like a man. Being sent down was a shot at your ego? Try batting below the Mendoza line for the first half of 06, and see what KW's ego was feeling like.

 

I used to like this kid, and thought he'd be a good player. Maybe he still will be, but his attitude in unjustified to how he's played to date. He needs to stay quiet and carry a big stick. Maybe then he's make some contact...

 

 

How did Erstad's numbers compare to BA's in spring training. Now consider who has upside and who is in the decline. Lastly, Erstad is still living off of 2000.

 

 

 

 

Bob

[The Ginger Kid]

Tired because you don't have any reasonable counter argument?

Counter argument to what? It's tired because this board had about 30 brian anderson threads going last spring all discussing the same idiotic topic of who deserved to play CF coming out of ST.

[jackie hayes]

Counter argument to what? It's tired because this board had about 30 brian anderson threads going last spring all discussing the same idiotic topic of who deserved to play CF coming out of ST.

Idiotic decisions inevitably become idiotic discussions.

[Linnwood]

More like protection. They see a couple of us northerners and they'll be feeding us tequila like it's cool aid only to leave us naked, broke and possibly violated.

 

 

Sounds like a road trip!

 

I'd feel sorry for the guy if it wasn't for the fact that he whines all the time and acts like he's Bonds. He batted .225 as an everyday player, was eventually sent down in 2007 where he batted .255 at AAA. Shut up and play.

 

He wants to know what the Whitesox "plans" are with him. There are no plans if you can't play.

 

I have to agree with this. Put up or shut up.

 

----

 

FYI: http://www.aguilasdemexicali.com.mx/roster1.html

Edited October 31, 2007 by Linnwood

[greg775]

I sort of feel sorry for Anderson as well.

He just seems to have no clue at the plate. He looks like a bad hitting pitcher up there.

Hope he makes it somewhere else.

He's done with the Sox obviously.

[max power]

I get the impression you didn't watch any of the spring training games. Brian was given first shot and was VERY inconsistent. Hit well for a week... disappeared for two weeks... then started to hit well again. And you could have driven a Buick through the holes in his swing during the entire period.

 

Erstad stepped in when Brian faltered and played well... consistently. So BA has no one to blame but himself.

 

And then Brian went to Charlotte, couldn't hit triple A pitching, and sulked acting like he had been wronged.

 

Sorry... His immaturity, poor play, and inconsistency are the reasons he is in his current situation.

 

He needs to suck it up, grow up, and start playing better baseball if he wants another shot.

How do you consider a guy who batted .308 and had an obp of like .380 get to be considered some one who has "faltered" in only 52 at bats? Oh, yeah bias.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

The Sox would be STUPID to give away Anderson. He's going to be a good player in this league. His failures have been just as much the Sox fault as his. In a better organization, such as Minnesota, he would be fine.

[scenario]

How do you consider a guy who batted .308 and had an obp of like .380 get to be considered some one who has "faltered" in only 52 at bats? Oh, yeah bias.

Like I said... it's obvious you didn't watch the spring training games. Hot one week. Ice cold two weeks (which is when he opened the door for Erstad). And then hot at the end when he feasted on marginal pitchers teams were evaluating to determine if they'd make the final cut. It made his overall numbers look good, but you can't go into the tank for two weeks during spring training... and look bad doing it... and just expect management to anoint you the starter.

 

Many of his at-bats in spring training were just BRUTAL. They illustrated the same problems he was having last year... hole in the swing... bad pitch selection. Sox management was hoping he'd show improvement in those areas. He didn't.

 

His performance at Charlotte makes the whole 'poor Brian' argument moot anyway. When Erstad and Pods went down with injuries, the Sox needed help. Owens was batting .300 at Charlotte, Brian was batting in the low .200's. If it had been the other way around, Brian would gotten the call. (He was too busy throwing himself a pity party to focus on playing baseball.)

 

Regardless of what you may think, the Sox management people are not stupid and they ARE trying to put a team out there that gives them the best chance to win. If Brian gets that through his thick ego and starts playing better baseball, rather than expecting things to be handed to him, he might get another shot here. But I doubt it will happen.

 

I read an interview with him back in 2003, right after he was drafted, with Phil Rogers. In Brian's opinion, he was ready for MLB right away, but said he knew he 'probably would have to pay dues'. (Hello reality... I'd like to introduce you to Brian.) The fact is that his over-inflated opinion of himself, and sense of entitlement, are a HUGE part of the problem.

Edited October 31, 2007 by scenario

[Hideaway Lights]

I hope he gets another chance, because the bottom line was that he was completely mishandled here and it didn't give him a good enough chance to succeed.

 

However, the White Sox have MUCH bigger fish to fry than Brian Anderson right now.

[WilliamTell]

The Sox would be STUPID to give away Anderson. He's going to be a good player in this league. His failures have been just as much the Sox fault as his. In a better organization, such as Minnesota, he would be fine.

 

if he went to Minnesota he'd magically bat 300, have 20 homers, and be a gold glove center fielder.

[witesoxfan]

The Sox would be STUPID to give away Anderson. He's going to be a good player in this league. His failures have been just as much the Sox fault as his. In a better organization, such as Minnesota, he would be fine.

 

There needs to be some major work done with his swing before he'll even be a respectable hitter.

[scenario]

I hope he gets another chance, because the bottom line was that he was completely mishandled here and it didn't give him a good enough chance to succeed.

 

However, the White Sox have MUCH bigger fish to fry than Brian Anderson right now.

The biggest mistake the WhiteSox made in handling him was not having a reasonable backup plan.

 

That forced the Sox hand to leave Brian in the lineup despite his struggles when he would have been better served by a recovery stint in Charlotte.

 

But what were they going to do? Make Mackowiak the regular CF? Ozuna? Beeeeep.

 

There was no Plan B thought out and both Anderson and the team suffered because of it.

[29andPoplar]

The biggest mistake the WhiteSox made in handling him was not having a reasonable backup plan.

 

That forced the Sox hand to leave Brian in the lineup despite his struggles when he would have been better served by a recovery stint in Charlotte.

 

But what were they going to do? Make Mackowiak the regular CF? Ozuna? Beeeeep.

 

There was no Plan B thought out and both Anderson and the team suffered because of it.

 

There you go, exactly right.

 

Not to keep harping on this, but the only way to do that is to go out of the way to draft CF prospects and keep running them through the pipeline. EVERY team is looking for good CF's and if they aren't they will be, with precious few exceptions.

 

The Sox are now in a position where they have to arguably overpay a FA CF, or trade pitching to pry a younger guy from another team. Not the best scenario.

[Steve9347]

Good for BA, he got dicked around enough... hopefully he succeeds elsewhere.

[Wanne]

There needs to be some major work done with his swing before he'll even be a respectable hitter.

 

Gee...and who's job is that to help with and correct?!?

Paging Mr. Walker...Mr Greg Walker....please answer the white courtesy phone.

 

[supernuke]

There needs to be some major work done with his swing before he'll even be a respectable hitter.

 

 

Looks to me like the attitude needs to be fixed before anything can be worked on. He just comes off as a primadona who thinks everything is owed to him and I beleive that attitude is why the orginization has "dicked him around".

[WHITESOXRANDY]

The bottom line is that with Anderson the Sox have a seriously good young talent. They are not getting what they should out of him but another organization will and that's a shame and a black mark against the White Sox.

 

Look at all the teams that have somehow managed to work with much more difficult personalities or have stuck with young players for a few years until they got it right.

 

As someone said, the Sox have a tendency to suddenly completely count on a young player just because he had success in the minors. These guys often need more time and they need to be prepared for that with a reasonable fall back plan.

 

Note to White Sox: Andy Gonzalez is not a reasonable fall back plan.

[max power]

Like I said... it's obvious you didn't watch the spring training games. Hot one week. Ice cold two weeks (which is when he opened the door for Erstad). And then hot at the end when he feasted on marginal pitchers teams were evaluating to determine if they'd make the final cut. It made his overall numbers look good, but you can't go into the tank for two weeks during spring training... and look bad doing it... and just expect management to anoint you the starter.

 

Many of his at-bats in spring training were just BRUTAL. They illustrated the same problems he was having last year... hole in the swing... bad pitch selection. Sox management was hoping he'd show improvement in those areas. He didn't.

 

His performance at Charlotte makes the whole 'poor Brian' argument moot anyway. When Erstad and Pods went down with injuries, the Sox needed help. Owens was batting .300 at Charlotte, Brian was batting in the low .200's. If it had been the other way around, Brian would gotten the call. (He was too busy throwing himself a pity party to focus on playing baseball.)

 

Regardless of what you may think, the Sox management people are not stupid and they ARE trying to put a team out there that gives them the best chance to win. If Brian gets that through his thick ego and starts playing better baseball, rather than expecting things to be handed to him, he might get another shot here. But I doubt it will happen.

 

I read an interview with him back in 2003, right after he was drafted, with Phil Rogers. In Brian's opinion, he was ready for MLB right away, but said he knew he 'probably would have to pay dues'. (Hello reality... I'd like to introduce you to Brian.) The fact is that his over-inflated opinion of himself, and sense of entitlement, are a HUGE part of the problem.

I did watch the games. Well, not every game but quite a few of them. Its obvious that you base your argument on assumptions and false dilemmas, amoung other fallacies.

 

Many of his at bats produced walks or hits, more walks than erstad, more hits as a percentage than erstad.

 

He got injured at charlotte, shortly after getting there and after sitting on the bench, getting ice cold, and having his career stifled by ozzie.

 

I never said sox management is stupid, but I think they made a terrible decision, and the results WERE terrible. I really don't see how you can argue on the side of this decision.

 

Brian has since been humbled, this should be obvious to you by some of things he said in the article this thread is about. Example: having pity on himself, overcoming it.

Edited November 1, 2007 by max power

[Rowand44]

Well he got screwed by this organization and now he's acting very unprofessional. I really couldn't care less at this point, he was never going to play for this team again, I guess after being lied to by the organization he just finally lost it.

[Texsox]

Mexicali is a border town like 2 hours from here. I might have to take a drive down there and check out BA.

I wonder how many Americans, let alone Sox fans go down there to watch the games. I bet he'd freak if he heard me yell his name.

 

Where is a schedule? Is Reynosa, Tamaulipas in the same league? I haven't been over there for a game in years, but would to see Brian.