AJ not worried about future...

[prochisox]

CHICAGO -- It's easy to support the theory of A.J. Pierzynski standing out as one of the most valuable players on the White Sox roster during his five-year tenure in Chicago.

 

 

Pierzynski does a solid job of handling the White Sox pitching staff, the primary concern for any South Siders backstop, and is as durable as they come behind the plate. This year, he recorded at least 1,000 innings caught for an eighth straight season, a Major League mark matched only by Jason Kendall during that time frame.

 

Pierzynski's durability has become even more important considering the White Sox haven't exactly had highly productive backups stationed behind him. He has double-digit home run power, is good for a RBI total in the range of 50 to 70. Also in 2009, he became the first White Sox catcher to hit .300 in a single season.

 

"To have that happen is pretty cool, and it seems like something like that would be impossible to not have happened before with the White Sox," said Pierzynski of no previous White Sox catcher hitting .300, with his .300 average putting him second behind Joe Mauer's .365 mark among American League catchers in 2009. "It's something they can write on my tombstone someday."

 

Even the distractions coming along with Pierzynski from time to time, media scrutiny that other players might not choose to deal with or be able to handle, often takes the focus and even some pressure off of his teammates. With all of those positive attributes on his resume, not to mention playing an integral role during a World Series title run in '05, the '10 season still could be Pierzynski's last one in Chicago.

 

His three-year, $18.35 million extension, signed on Oct. 3, 2007, and replacing the final year of a previous three-year deal in '08, runs out with his $6.25 million salary for '10. Top catching prospect Tyler Flowers is waiting in the wings, but Pierzynski won't let such an uncertain matter distract from his primary goal.

 

"There's nothing I can do," said Pierzynski, who made a brief stop in Chicago last week to attend the Champions for Children's charity event on Thursday night, hosted by Kerry and Sarah Wood for Children's Memorial Hospital at the Palmer House Hilton.

 

"[sox officials] will make decisions that help the team win," Pierzynski said. "Tyler is a great kid, a great player and a great person. If they think he can help us win, I'm all for it. I just want to win games. If we go out and win, it all will work out in the end."

 

In just these somewhat early stages of the offseason, Pierzynski has watched veteran teammate Jermaine Dye have his ties severed with the White Sox and leadoff man Scott Podsednik possibly following down a similar exit path. The same situation transpired for Jim Thome and Jose Contreras back in September.

 

Questions to be answered for the White Sox, where Pierzynski's long-term employment is concerned, center on when Flowers, 23, will be ready for everyday catching duties, and in the interim, whether the South Siders will give Flowers a chance to work with Pierzynski as part of the Major League roster. Then again, it's hard to pass up a player possessing Pierzynski's intangible skills, even with a hard-hitting talent such as Flowers in the picture.

 

"Hopefully, we have a great year as a team and they will be in a situation where they want to bring me back, because I would be all for it," Pierzynski said. "We haven't really talked about it, but everyone knows I would love to stay here and be a part of the White Sox for as long as I play.

 

"That's something I'm not going to worry about. If they want to come and do something, we'll be more than happy to talk about it. At the same time, I'm prepared to let it play out and see what happens."

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...nerId=rss_cwsvi

Edited November 24, 2009 by iamshack

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I hope AJ never leaves. He can start now, and then when he shouldn't be starting anymore he can become Sandy Alomar again, and then when that's no longer an option he can become a coach.

[elrockinMT]

Sign AJ for a couple more years

[southsider2k5]

Unless Flowers is traded this winter, the writing is on the wall.

[bobryansson]

The article starts out talking of AJ being under consideration for the Sox' overall MVP through his 5 years here, which, of course, included his contributions to the world Series run in 2005. (I do think his getting to first on ruled-dropped third strike totally turned the Angels series in the Sox direction.) I guess I can't think of anyone who, through the whole duration, would strikingly deserve it more than AJ. Anyone disagree?

[elgonzo4sox]

I love AJ. He's not a league MVP-caliber or future Hall-of-Famer catcher, but he adds so much to the Sox and he brings it, every day.

 

He had a great season in 2009. He became an even smarter hitter, boosting his average by taking the ball to the opposite field and dinking it, if that's what the situation demanded and the pitcher gave him. With the improvements made over the course of the season by the pitchers doing a better job holding runners on and throwing to home quicker, he boosted his percent caught stealing number, which had been the main knock against him.

 

But most important, he is one of the smartest players in all of MLB. The dropped third strike in the 2005 ALCS Game 2 is the prime example, but there are many others (the win over the Rays at USCF in the 2008 regular season when he got an interference call during a run-down between 3rd and 2nd, which won the game for the Sox) where his heads-up play has directly benefited the Sox. He sets a great example by working every angle to gain an advantage, by playing the game hard, and by disrupting the opponents. He even handles the media well, never shying away during tough times, In many ways he has indeed been the player who is most demonstrably passionate about winning (even if he does have a soft spot for watching SEC football games).

 

[elgonzo4sox]

p.s. And I do think that AJ, if he puts the childish behavior behind him, would be the best current Sox player to someday replace Ozzie as manager.

[YASNY]

The article starts out talking of AJ being under consideration for the Sox' overall MVP through his 5 years here, which, of course, included his contributions to the world Series run in 2005. (I do think his getting to first on ruled-dropped third strike totally turned the Angels series in the Sox direction.) I guess I can't think of anyone who, through the whole duration, would strikingly deserve it more than AJ. Anyone disagree?

 

Not me.

[Texsox]

Not me. I love old catchers and young pitchers. Long walks on South Padre Island's beaches. Can he play left?

[Kyyle23]

AJ's durability is really the amazing thing about him. We have all seen him take foul balls off every conceivable body part and he just walks it off and puts the fingers down again.

 

That being said, watch him get signed and go down with some freak injury

[WCSox]

Not me. I love old catchers and young pitchers. Long walks on South Padre Island's beaches. Can he play left?

 

If Paulie's gone as a FA next winter and there's no Adrian Gonzalez to take over at 1B, I'm wondering if re-upping AJ and moving Flowers to 1B might be an option. In this scenario, there would be the option of transitioning Flowers to C and AJ to 1B at some point. If AJ keeps hitting like he's been over the past four years and provides good veteran leadership in the clubhouse, why not keep him around for a few more years?