What do we have in Viciedo?

[beautox]

Pedro Guerrero.

That isn't a bad comp, provided Dayan can learn to take a pitch; and doesn't develop a coke problem. Pedro was a more patient hitter through out the minors but he also had time to really develop at AAA.

[Wanne]

I'm pretty excited about this guy too. He's got some serious pop in his bat. Vlad and Pedro G are pretty good comps. It's hard to put a finger on him really...but for some reason I keep seeing some Kirby Puckett in him at the plate. Friggin ball explodes off his bat though...hard to keep this dude out of the lineup really.

[beck72]

I admit, I wasn't a fan of Dayan--Can't take a walk, his defense may never be avg. Yet he's won me over. He isn't striking out. He's hitting balls hard all around the field, and hitting pitcher's pitches as well. And his defense at 3b isn't as bad as his struggles in the minors would suggest.

 

It's way, way too early to say what the sox have in him, though I do like the Vlad comparison. With the way Kenny's gushing about him, Dayan would seem to be a key bat going forward. You'd prob. keep him at 3b, with PK a decent bet to re-sign on a 2 yr deal, ala Dye's deal a few years back. Then the sox could trade Teahen in the offseason. At least the sox would only have to back players with more equal upside to Getz and Fields [i still think Getz would be decent--no all star but better than he showed in KC this year]

[iamshack]

A bad, bad man...

[WHITESOXRANDY]

He looks nothing like Bill Madlock.

 

He actually reminds of Manny Ramirez.

 

I don't think he'll be that good but I wouldn't trade him unless it was part of a big deal for a very special player that would be here for a long time.

[soxrwhite]

Not Juan Uribe. Uribe is totally wild at the plate. Viciedo while still undicsiplined will never be that kind of free swinger. Of course he will never have Uribe's glove either. I'm thinking more of a Carlos Lee. Is his future already that of a DH? You can't use him at third he'll kill us there with that iron glove.

[hawkjt]

Juan is having another good year for the Giants...so comparing Tank to him is no insult.

But, he makes contact more than Juan,so far.

Not sure what we have yet,but I like what I see.

I am so glad that Kenny did not give him to the Nats along with Jackson for Dunn.

Keep playing him vs lefty starters at least,and maybe occasionally against rightys.

He could be an X factor for us in this pennant race.

[winninguglyin83]

my heart says to love his stroke and the way the ball jumps off his bat.

 

My head says beware of going too crazy about a guy who has eight walks in a combined 309 plate appearances this season./

 

They should stop the game and give him the ball when he finally walks in the big leagues. Any pitcher who throws him a strike should be fined.

[scenario]

I'm envisioning alot of freaking out when he is sent to Charlotte soon.

 

But... I suggest that it is both inevitable... and a good thing.

 

Inevitable because we will have to play a few roster games due to scheduling, who's going to start in doubleheaders, bringing back Teahen, etc.

 

A good thing because he should not be sitting on the bench waiting for an occasional at-bat. Get him regular playing time so he can help us later in the season.

 

We know we've got a good asset in Dayan. Sending him down is not a demotion. It may simply be necessary and the right thing to do.

[BigSqwert]

I'm envisioning alot of freaking out when he is sent to Charlotte soon.

 

But... I suggest that it is both inevitable... and a good thing.

 

Inevitable because we will have to play a few roster games due to scheduling, who's going to start in doubleheaders, bringing back Teahen, etc.

 

A good thing because he should not be sitting on the bench waiting for an occasional at-bat. Get him regular playing time so he can help us later in the season.

 

We know we've got a good asset in Dayan. Sending him down is not a demotion. It may simply be necessary and the right thing to do.

I completely disagree with your last sentence. Why send down a guy who is actually helping the team now so that we could keep a guy on the team that is not contributing at all?

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

What we have is a very young man who has continued to hit very well while playing sporadically against mostly lefties. I'm one of the 1st in line when he comes to using hyberbole when it comes to Tank. But we can be sure we'll see growing pains especially against righties, we'll see his K's increase . He won't walk so pitchers will throw him a lot more stuff off the plate. We'll see how he adjusts when he's not getting too many strikes to hit.

 

I know we all want to see him playing more but so far the results point to Oz doing a good job picking and choosing who he faces. In the middle of chasing a division title OZ can't really play him too much at 3rd base so he needs to DH a lot more. Problem is with Teahen coming back soon it will cut into his chances to play even more. If only Oz or KW dumped Kotsay. There's really no reason to keep him when he can only play 1st and pitch hit. Then Teahen, Tank and Omar can all share 3rd and DH and I think we'll all feel better about the team going forward.

[Kyyle23]

Say Ozzie really uses Viciedo a lot up until the time that Teahen comes off the DL, and he maintains his current BA and shows that he belongs in the majors. Does anyone think there is a possibility that Dayan stays? I do think there is a slight chance that Ozzie will be forced to keep him if Viciedo shows that he can hit righties effectively. The only thing is, we never see him hitting against righties. Hopefully that changes.

[scenario]

I completely disagree with your last sentence. Why send down a guy who is actually helping the team now so that we could keep a guy on the team that is not contributing at all?

 

I don't disagree that he is adding value to the team.

Hell, I'd love to keep him in Chicago, but...

Let's just play this out for a minute...

 

Carlos Torres is going to get called up to pitch the second game of the double-header on Tuesday.

 

So, what is the corresponding roster move?

Dump the only left-handed pinch hitter we have (Kotsay)? Maybe but unlikely

Send down the only backup SS/2B we have (Lillibridge)? Unlikely.

A relief pitcher like Threets? Possible.

We don't have any players who are candidates for coming down with a mysterious injury.

Tank may simply be the most movable player in the short term... and a trip to Charlotte might benefit him by giving him more at-bats against right-handed pitching... which could help us out later in the year.

 

I do agree that when Teahen comes up it probably makes more sense for Kotsay to go though.

Because Teahen would fill the LH hitter spot... and either Viciedo or Teahen could play 1B.

Edited August 1, 2010 by scenario

[whitesoxfan101]

Say Ozzie really uses Viciedo a lot up until the time that Teahen comes off the DL, and he maintains his current BA and shows that he belongs in the majors. Does anyone think there is a possibility that Dayan stays? I do think there is a slight chance that Ozzie will be forced to keep him if Viciedo shows that he can hit righties effectively. The only thing is, we never see him hitting against righties. Hopefully that changes.

 

If Viciedo keeps hitting, he has to stay and Kotsay has to go when Teahen comes back. I don't have a great deal of confidence that is what will actually happen if he keeps hitting (Kotsay just won't go away no matter how much he sucks), but it's what should happen. Once Teahen comes back, there is no no reason or excuse for Kotsay to be on the roster.

Edited August 1, 2010 by whitesoxfan101

[fathom]

I don't disagree that he is adding value to the team.

Hell, I'd love to keep him in Chicago, but...

Let's just play this out for a minute...

 

Carlos Torres is going to get called up to pitch the second game of the double-header on Tuesday.

 

So, what is the corresponding roster move?

Dump the only left-handed pinch hitter we have (Kotsay)? Maybe but unlikely

Send down the only backup SS/2B we have (Lillibridge)? Unlikely.

A relief pitcher like Threets? Possible.

We don't have any players who are candidates for coming down with a mysterious injury.

Tank make simply be the most movable player in the short term.

 

I do agree that when Teahen comes up it probably makes more sense for Kotsay to go though.

Because Teahen would fill the LH hitter spot... and either Viciedo or Teahen could play 1B.

 

Omar can play SS/2B...and I really could care less about a lefty PH, as who in our lineup would Ozzie even use a PH for? Heck, he let Andruw Jones face a righty closer last weekend with Kotsay on the bench.

[whitesoxfan101]

Yeah I'm sure the lefty PH thing is an excuse the team would use that Kotsay is still here. But we play in the American League so pinch hitters really don't mean anything, and who would Ozzie even PH Kotsay for? This all not even pointing out the fact that Kotsay can't hit, so that kind of kills the idea of having him as a pinch hitter.

[fathom]

Yeah I'm sure the lefty PH thing is an excuse the team would use that Kotsay is still here. But we play in the American League so pinch hitters really don't mean anything, and who would Ozzie even PH Kotsay for? This all not even pointing out the fact that Kotsay can't hit, so that kind of kills the idea of having him as a pinch hitter.

 

Kotsay's well on his way to being one of the most disliked Sox players ever on this board, especially with what is possibly going to happen over the next few days.

[whitesoxfan101]

I really don't hate Kotsay that much, seems like a nice enough guy. I hate the way the organization is handling a washed up player who belongs in the minors.

[scenario]

Yeah I'm sure the lefty PH thing is an excuse the team would use that Kotsay is still here. But we play in the American League so pinch hitters really don't mean anything, and who would Ozzie even PH Kotsay for? This all not even pointing out the fact that Kotsay can't hit, so that kind of kills the idea of having him as a pinch hitter.

 

The lefty PH thing, his defense at 1B, and the fact that he hit .351 in August/September last year will be the excuses.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the decision to keep Kotsay over Viciedo in the short term, I'm just suggesting it's not as illogical as some people are going to try to make it look.

 

But if it does, I'm sure we'll be treated to the traditional barrage of "Worst decision in the history of baseball... Kenny and Ozzie should be fired NOW" posts that take place when unpopular moves are made.

Edited August 1, 2010 by scenario

[whitesoxfan101]

The lefty PH thing... And the fact that he hit .351 in August/September last year will be the excuses.

 

I'm not saying I agree with the decision to keep Kotsay over Viciedo in the short term, I'm just suggesting it's not as illogical as some people are going to try to make it look if it does happen.

 

But if it does, I'm sure we'll be treated to the traditional barrage of "Worst decision in the history of baseball... Kenny and Ozzie should be fired NOW" posts that take place when unpopular moves are made.

 

That mirage in meaningless games has hurt the team this year a great deal, a classic example of that while some games are meaingless, not everything that happens in them is.

 

As for your other points, if they call up Torres and send down Viciedo for the doubleheader, I won't lose my mind yet because you can just call Dayan back up after the game since Torres won't be staying (unless I'm missing something). But if Teahen comes back and Kotsay is kept, a lot of people will lose their mind, and understandably so. There is no excuse for Kotsay to still be here once Teahen is back.

Edited August 1, 2010 by whitesoxfan101

[Kyyle23]

That mirage in meaningless games has hurt the team this year a great deal, a classic example of that while some games are meaingless, not everything that happens in them is.

 

As for your other points, if they call up Torres and send down Viciedo for the doubleheader, I won't lose my mind yet because you can just call Dayan back up after the game since Torres won't be staying (unless I'm missing something). But if Teahen comes back and Kotsay is kept, a lot of people will lose their mind, and understandably so. There is no excuse for Kotsay to still be here once Teahen is back.

 

I think there might be a different callup.

[fathom]

The lefty PH thing, his defense at 1B, and the fact that he hit .351 in August/September last year will be the excuses.

 

But if you're adding Teahen, that gives you your back-up 1B. Again, the lefty PH thing is worthless, as Ozzie's been reluctant to use him in that role.

[whitesoxfan101]

I think there might be a different callup.

 

I had heard on WSCR this morning that Jackson won't pitch until Wednesday, so I'm assuming somebody has to be called up to start one of the twin bill games (although we do have tomorrow off of course). Would it be Harrell again?

Edited August 1, 2010 by whitesoxfan101

[whitesoxfan101]

Cowley says Torres is starting Tuesday btw.

[Kyyle23]

Hopefully Torres throws strikes. im sick of our minor league pitchers coming up and walking the yard, it pisses me off