Brian Anderson

[Balta1701]

And if he can hit .360 during the course of the year, that'd be amazing; that's why his OPS is over .800, not because he's hitting with much power. If you hit .360, that generally means more balls are finding the gap than normal, and you are going to get more extra bases out of it. Whoop-dee-s***. I'd bet about everything I'm worth that he's not going to hit .360 during the season seeing as how only 3 players in the AL have done so over the past 10 years.

Asking for or expecting Owens to hit in that area is pretty crazy unless he's become a much better bunter than we've seen so far.

 

I think that personally, for Owens to be effective, I want to see him pretty much put up numbers similar to Podsednik in 05. Hardly any home runs, but keeps his average around .300, keeping that OBP at about .350 or above, and on pace for about 70 or so steals at a high percentage. If he could put up those numbers, he won't be the greatest player in MLB, but he'd be pretty darn effective at what he was doing and it would make our team better. The more he drops below those numbers, the less playing time he deserves.

[southsideirish71]

Asking for or expecting Owens to hit in that area is pretty crazy unless he's become a much better bunter than we've seen so far.

 

I think that personally, for Owens to be effective, I want to see him pretty much put up numbers similar to Podsednik in 05. Hardly any home runs, but keeps his average around .300, keeping that OBP at about .350 or above, and on pace for about 70 or so steals at a high percentage. If he could put up those numbers, he won't be the greatest player in MLB, but he'd be pretty darn effective at what he was doing and it would make our team better. The more he drops below those numbers, the less playing time he deserves.

 

I would be shocked if he hits above .275 with a .325OBP. And with that he will steal 50 bases and Ozzie will gush over him. This is a guy who barely hit the ball out of the infield last year. He had 95 hits, and for all that speed he only had 12XBH. Thats pathetic. A speed guy should be able to stretch a single into a double from time to time. Or hit one in the gapper and leg it out. But not Mr. Owens. He barely hit the ball back to the pitcher and used his speed to run it out. Great. If he doesnt get on base at at .350 he is worthless. No matter how fast he is.

Edited March 25, 2008 by southsideirish71

[witesoxfan]

Asking for or expecting Owens to hit in that area is pretty crazy unless he's become a much better bunter than we've seen so far.

 

Merely suggesting that because that's how he has an .800 OPS in Arizona right now, not because he's suddenly turned into Carl Crawford overnight.

[Cerbaho-WG]

It's not that Owens is a bad player - he definitely is - it's who he's blocking. There is no question in my mind that Carlos Quentin or even Brian Anderson could make a better all around impact than Owens. If Quentin is healthy, he should be patroling LF and hitting 25-30 HRs a year, period.

[RockRaines]

That is why he's overrated, and that's why I'm a bit flustered by this whole situation. If Owens had shown any type of power whatsoever to this point in his career, I wouldn't be nearly as upset about the situation, because then the Sox would have a great situation to deal with here. As it is, the best player between Owens and Anderson is likely to ride the bench/be sent to AAA/be dealt.

POWER!!! WE NEED POWER!!!!!

[witesoxfan]

POWER!!! WE NEED POWER!!!!!

 

Yeah it has nothing to do with Anderson's GG-caliber defense in CF or his better all-around game than Owens.

 

There's also a reason Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the game and not Juan Pierre.

[knightni]

There's also a reason Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the game and not Juan Pierre.

Looks better in a g-string?

[iamshack]

Yeah it has nothing to do with Anderson's GG-caliber defense in CF or his better all-around game than Owens.

 

There's also a reason Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the game and not Juan Pierre.

 

Yeah, but it just goes to show you some dumb team will pay a guy like Pierre $9 million a year...

[BearSox]

POWER!!! WE NEED POWER!!!!!

It has little to do with power but the fact Owens sucks.

[RockRaines]

It has little to do with power but the fact Owens sucks.

Obviously, even though 99 percent of Soxtalk was calling for Owens when Anderson sucked. But thats also not what was said, and what I was referring to.

 

If Owens had shown any type of power whatsoever to this point in his career, I wouldn't be nearly as upset about the situation, because then the Sox would have a great situation to deal with here.

 

Basically it was said if Owens had ANY power, then it would be ok for him to start.

[Heads22]

It simply comes down to who gives this team a better chance to win. And with three questionable arms at the back of the rotation, I tend to think that BA's defense + extra base ability negates Owens' speed.

[YASNY]

It simply comes down to who gives this team a better chance to win. And with three questionable arms at the back of the rotation, I tend to think that BA's defense + extra base ability negates Owens' speed.

 

Nothing against Owens because he might perform better that I expect, but I agree with you.

[Controlled Chaos]

It simply comes down to who gives this team a better chance to win. And with three questionable arms at the back of the rotation, I tend to think that BA's defense + extra base ability negates Owens' speed.

I agree 100%. I'm a BIG believe in Defense. Brian's ability to stop singles from becoming doubles and his ability to play a little more shallow because of his jumps saves hits and runs. It saves pitchers. I think this year more than ever the sox will need someone of his caliber out there.

[Heads22]

Nothing against Owens because he might perform better that I expect, but I agree with you.

 

Yeah, sometimes it seems like I might have something against Owens, but before we got Quentin and Swisher, I was fine with the idea of him being our left fielder. I just think he's overmatched in center, something we got tired of seeing from Mackowiak. It's not the player's fault if they are misused.