Crede vs. Fields

[danman31]

Josh Fields 2007: .244/.308/.480 17 2B, 1 3B, 23 HR, 67 RBI, 54 R, 35 BB, 125 K in 373 AB (100 games)

Joe Crede 2008: .259/.327/.483 17 2B, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 39 R, 29 BB, 40 K in 304 AB (89 games)

 

Crede has a little more on-base and doesn't strike out as much, but Fields had more power. More or less the same production and Crede isn't playing his best defense by any stretch this year, which was the biggest difference between the two. I know Fields is not doing that well in AAA, but Crede isn't worth the paycheck he's gonna want (whatever it is).

 

I know this is relatively random, but I saw Crede's stats and thought they looked similar to what Fields put up so I looked it up.

[WilliamTell]

Crede has only struck out 40 times, that's pretty good for him.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

There is no reason to bring back Crede next year.

[whitesoxbrian]

There is no reason to bring back Crede next year.

Agreed. "Clutch Crede" is no more and his bad defense isn't going to be worth 8-11 million per like he's probably going to ask for.

[Whitewashed in '05]

Crede has been pretty bad lately, but you can't take away how clutch he's been in his career for us. This year he isn't fielding anywhere near his best, and he's still better than Fields. While I agree Crede has to go, he's still a very solid 3B.

 

Don't expect Fields to hit .300 consistently either. They actually have similar numbers in their minor league careers.

 

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=3247

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=4755

 

The only reason at this point to take Fields over Crede is because Fields is way cheaper.

[danman31]

I didn't say Fields was going to hit .300, but Crede isn't a .300 hitter anyway. My point was that Crede is not better than Fields during his rookie season. If Fields improves at all, he'll make up for his defense.

[Whitewashed in '05]

I didn't say Fields was going to hit .300, but Crede isn't a .300 hitter anyway. My point was that Crede is not better than Fields during his rookie season. If Fields improves at all, he'll make up for his defense.

Sorry, if it looked like if I was aiming my post at you because I wasn't. I was just stating that just because Crede sucks right now doesn't mean automatically Fields is better. Fields will be exciting to watch, but people must remember he will K a ton.

[danman31]

Sorry, if it looked like if I was aiming my post at you because I wasn't. I was just stating that just because Crede sucks right now doesn't mean automatically Fields is better. Fields will be exciting to watch, but people must remember he will K a ton.

I know, I agree. If you factor in age, potential, price, and health issues for Crede it's a no brainer for 09.

[greg775]

Some team will be lucky to get Crede. His home run/RBI numbers are pretty good for a guy who had serious back surgery. Anybody who knows baseball knows he's a great defender, and his D this year has been a fluke.

[Wanne]

I'll take the couple of draft picks and Fields ANY DAY! Sure...Joe's made some OUTSTANDING plays on the corner that have saved some runs/big innings...but his propensity for the easy error extending innings is really getting old. Plus...I honestly don't think his total of K's means squat...let's equate that into number of popouts. I love Joe and all he's contributed to this franchise...but's its time to move on. Pretty much the same feelings I have about Paulie too.

 

I'd venture to say that Fields would have less than 20 errors at this point in the season too....maybe 15 or so...but who knows.

Edited July 21, 2008 by Wanne

[elrockinMT]

I think this constant talk about Crede and Fields is getting out of hand. Enough is enough in my book.

Edited July 21, 2008 by elrockinMT

[Wanne]

I think this constant talk about Crede and Fields is getting out of hand. Enough is enough in my book.

 

 

Why's that? What do ya wanna talk about?

[DBAHO]

Anybody who knows baseball knows he's a great defender, and his D this year has been a fluke.

How can you know that for certain?

[Princess Dye]

I love Joe and all he's contributed to this franchise...but's its time to move on. Pretty much the same feelings I have about Paulie too.

I guess there is a comparison there

 

In both cases, we have to move on because of price.

 

 

 

If Paulie weren't here, I suppose we could just have Crede and Fields at the corners next yr, which would be better than what we're looking at (Fields/PK)

 

[Dick Allen]

Fields hasn't been good this year, and also has been injured. His defense is no better than the defense Crede has shown this year. His errors are about the same and Crede while most don't want to admit, has saved a lot of runs. Offensively, Crede has been better in the major leagues this season than Fields has been at AAA. In fact, Fields has struck out at a higher rate in AAA than Jim Thome has fanned in the major leagues. For this season, the decision was correct. Next year,Crede will be gone and chances are Fields will be up in Chicago.

[Texsox]

Fields will be, at worst, an adequate replacement for Crede. At best, he will be an improvement. Y'all can argue projections all you want. Jon Rausch was Cy Young reincarnated when drafted. I'm just happy we have someone that could step in and play at the MLB level. But from what I've read about Fields (I have not seen him play this season) and see with Crede, for this season, I'm glad Crede is still on the roster. Further, if we are going to stay in the race and make some noise, Crede is the guy into October. Some can say it sucks we will not be getting as much for Crede because we are in a pennat race, but I'm just going to enjoy the race.

[WCSox]

Agreed. "Clutch Crede" is no more and his bad defense isn't going to be worth 8-11 million per like he's probably going to ask for.

 

I'd say that $11 million per year is going to be on the lower side of what he'll be offered.

 

Anybody who knows baseball knows he's a great defender, and his D this year has been a fluke.

 

You sure about that? I find it a little more than coincidental that a defensive bad-ass, still in the prime of his career, suddenly commits a ton of throwing errors right after undergoing back surgery. It's possible that Joe will be able to make the necessary adjustment and play Gold Glove-caliber defense for the next 4-5 years, but I don't expect Kenny to pay $50+ million to find out.

 

Fields will be, at worst, an adequate replacement for Crede. At best, he will be an improvement.

 

I doubt that he'll be an improvement defensively. As a hitter, it's certainly possible. For starters, it looks like he has better power.

 

Y'all can argue projections all you want. Jon Rausch was Cy Young reincarnated when drafted.

 

Joe was also supposed to be the next Mike Schmidt. As good of a clutch hitter as he's been, I'd say that he fell a bit short of that.

 

I'd love for Kenny and Boras to find a way to keep Joe in Chicago for a few more years at a reasonable price, but we all know that's not going to happen. Being a Boras client, Joe wants as much money as he can get. I wish him all of the luck in the world, but I'm happy that Kenny knows better than to over-pay for a player with a bad back on the downside of his career.

 

[DBAHO]

Right now I think if the Sox were able to "dump" Contreras, and then find a third baseman to replace Crede who would;

 

1 - Give you better defense than what Joe has given this season.

2 - Get on base more than either Crede or Fields

 

Then they would look to move Fields for a young starting pitcher in the Danks mould who could become that 5th starter in the rotation.

 

Of course that's very unlikely to happen, but I think with the Sox moving more towards finding hitters who are able to get on base more than the "all or nothing" approach, Fields may not be a fit for this team in the long - term both offensively and defensively (if he can't improve there either).

[nitetrain8601]

Right now I think if the Sox were able to "dump" Contreras, and then find a third baseman to replace Crede who would;

 

1 - Give you better defense than what Joe has given this season.

2 - Get on base more than either Crede or Fields

 

Then they would look to move Fields for a young starting pitcher in the Danks mould who could become that 5th starter in the rotation.

 

Of course that's very unlikely to happen, but I think with the Sox moving more towards finding hitters who are able to get on base more than the "all or nothing" approach, Fields may not be a fit for this team in the long - term both offensively and defensively (if he can't improve there either).

 

 

Someone with better defense than Crede and better OBP than him or Fields. We're looking at bonafide All-Stars.

[elrockinMT]

Why's that? What do ya wanna talk about?

 

 

Winning baseball games my friend, winning baseball games

[WCSox]

Someone with better defense than Crede and better OBP than him or Fields. We're looking at bonafide All-Stars.

 

No kidding. These guys don't exactly grow on trees. I suppose that Kenny could pry an aging vet like Lowell from the Red Sox for the right price, but I don't think that's the right move for the organization. Whether Kenny wants to admit it or not, the Sox are probably not going to be competitive two years from now, with all of the roster turnover. Unless he can get a 3B equivalent of Alexei or Tad on the cheap from overseas, the Sox are best off going with a young guy who will be cheap and under team control for the next 3-4 years. This is a better strategy than paying $10 million a year for a productive veteran to be in Chicago during a two-year rebuilding process and then leave when they're competitive again.

 

[Balta1701]

No kidding. These guys don't exactly grow on trees. I suppose that Kenny could pry an aging vet like Lowell from the Red Sox for the right price, but I don't think that's the right move for the organization. Whether Kenny wants to admit it or not, the Sox are probably not going to be competitive two years from now, with all of the roster turnover. Unless he can get a 3B equivalent of Alexei or Tad on the cheap from overseas, the Sox are best off going with a young guy who will be cheap and under team control for the next 3-4 years. This is a better strategy than paying $10 million a year for a productive veteran to be in Chicago during a two-year rebuilding process and then leave when they're competitive again.

Why do people keep asserting that the team will not be competitive in year x? First of all, we're still sitting on Trader Kenny as our GM, so our team will almost certainly look nothing like it currently does in 2 years.. Secondly, we'll have cleared a hell of a lot of salary space 2 years from now with Jose, Konerko, Thome, Dye, AJ, Dotel, Crede, Cabrera, and Javy all off the books. But we'll still be sitting on Danks, Floyd, Buehrle, Fields, Alexei, Richar, Quentin, Swisher, Anderson, and whoever else from the minors we can develop in to something useful. That's probably as good of a position to be in as any team other than Arizona and Tampa bay has, where they're competitive now but are doing so with a decent number of young guys already in. Third...people insisted until they were blue in the face that we wouldn't have a shot this year and it was a rebuilding year. Then suddenly Danks and Floyd pitched up to their potential and now we're hoping we can beat the Twins this year and we've pushed the year people are writing off 2 years down the road.

[chitownsportsfan]

Why do people keep asserting that the team will not be competitive in year x? First of all, we're still sitting on Trader Kenny as our GM, so our team will almost certainly look nothing like it currently does in 2 years.. Secondly, we'll have cleared a hell of a lot of salary space 2 years from now with Jose, Konerko, Thome, Dye, AJ, Dotel, Crede, Cabrera, and Javy all off the books. But we'll still be sitting on Danks, Floyd, Buehrle, Fields, Alexei, Richar, Quentin, Swisher, Anderson, and whoever else from the minors we can develop in to something useful. That's probably as good of a position to be in as any team other than Arizona and Tampa bay has, where they're competitive now but are doing so with a decent number of young guys already in. Third...people insisted until they were blue in the face that we wouldn't have a shot this year and it was a rebuilding year. Then suddenly Danks and Floyd pitched up to their potential and now we're hoping we can beat the Twins this year and we've pushed the year people are writing off 2 years down the road.

 

 

Yea, I'm not sure where that "we won't be competitive in two years from now" came from. I mean, MB, Danks and Floyd is a solid 1,2, and 4. Alexei and Q and Fields will all be cheap above average starters, Richar should be an average starting 2B, then with all the money coming off the books that will mean money to spend on all the other holes.

 

KW has proved he's right more often than not. I don't see any reason why a team with a 100+ million payroll won't be in contention more often than not, especially with KW at the helm.

[Wanne]

Winning baseball games my friend, winning baseball games

 

Amen to that!

[whitesoxbrian]

Right now I think if the Sox were able to "dump" Contreras, and then find a third baseman to replace Crede who would;

 

1 - Give you better defense than what Joe has given this season.

2 - Get on base more than either Crede or Fields

 

Then they would look to move Fields for a young starting pitcher in the Danks mould who could become that 5th starter in the rotation.

 

Of course that's very unlikely to happen, but I think with the Sox moving more towards finding hitters who are able to get on base more than the "all or nothing" approach, Fields may not be a fit for this team in the long - term both offensively and defensively (if he can't improve there either).

Richard is capable, IMO.