Lefty minor league FA out of Yankees system.

 

Cubs system, then with Pirates

Cubs system, then with Pirates

 

Eh I must have been thinking of Quintana

Interesting that it was Team Dunn vs. Team Konerko. Guess this means that the players are showing support for Dunn. Right?

 

I am hearing that Beckham looking good at the plate. That is encouraging. But didn't he start last year the same way? Hopefully this year is different.

I recall he had a good ST last year, yes.

AJ's still a crappy option as the 2nd hitter, but the people need to earn it otherwise and prove that there's a better option. The lineup gets very right handed from 3-9, especially if Dunn struggles at all. Viciedo, Ramirez, Morel, and Beckham might never see a left handed reliever.

I agree that A.J. is a crappy #2 hitter. I want some OBP from that spot and A.J. has a career .324 OBP. Then you have Rios in the 3 hole sporting a career .323 OBP. Plus those two guys hit into a ton of double-plays. So my question is who is actually going to be on base when Konerko gets up to bat?

 

I'm glad De Aza is penciled into the leadoff spot right now, but I'm not feeling the rest of the top of the lineup. I know there aren't a ton of great options on our team, but I'd be willing to roll the dice on Beckham in the 2 hole. Not sure about the 3 & 4 spots, but I'd most likely just use some combination of Konerko and Dunn.

Cubs system, then with Pirates

Sox drafted him as well. Were very high on him but he stayed in school. He was a pretty talented kid when drafted.

Sox drafted him as well. Were very high on him but he stayed in school. He was a pretty talented kid when drafted.

 

Maybe not?

I think this was posted already..

 

CF De Aza, C AJ, RF Rios, 1B Paul, DH Dunn, SS Alexei, LF Viciedo, 3B Morel, 2B Beckham.

 

Let the "whats Robin thinkin" posts come in

Lineup tomorrow (on whitesox.com at 2pm):

De Aza cf Pierzynski c Rios rf Konerko 1b Dunn dh Ramirez ss Viciedo lf Morel 3b Beckham 2b

Humber p

 

It was reported Robin plans on using this lineup long term.

I think this was posted already..

 

CF De Aza, C AJ, RF Rios, 1B Paul, DH Dunn, SS Alexei, LF Viciedo, 3B Morel, 2B Beckham.

 

Let the "whats Robin thinkin" posts come in

 

Viciedo better be a f***ing magician in left field or Rios better be a damn near Gold Glover again.

That is some confidence Robin putting Rios in the 3 hole.

That is some confidence Robin putting Rios in the 3 hole.

 

What's the MLB record for GIDP...?!

Gonzo:

“It could change, but the way I look at it, I like it,” Ventura said Sunday. “That’s why I wrote it that way.”

 

Ventura acknowledged that Rios at the third spot is the key to the lineup.

 

“He’s been swinging it great,” Ventura said. “You look at everything he has. He would be that guy who fits that spot. That’s where we’re going. I trust him.”

Reifert:

As for Morel and Beckham, Ventura said they are flexible.

 

“They are guys who have the ability to move around the lineup for me,” he said, pointing out the mix may be different for lefties than righties. “It can change.”

 

Will exhibition games help Ventura prepare for the regular season?

 

“These will,” he said. “You get guys in and out and still can do stuff defensively and offensively.”

 

Also scheduled to pitch vs. LAD are Will Ohman, Jesse Crain, Addison Reed, Hector Santiago, Pedro Hernandez, Charlie Leesman and Deunte Heath.

The way I look at it, if Viciedo tears it up and Rios goes into a funk(or, never escapes the one from last year), Viciedo will move up. If Rios has a good season, Robin was right, and if they both suck, it doesn't matter. I highly doubt Robin leaves it as is if Rios doesn't perform.

What's the MLB record for GIDP...?!

Yup, I think GIDPs will be a huge issue with top half or so of the lineup.

What's the MLB record for GIDP...?!

 

36 by HOFer Jim Rice

36 by HOFer Jim Rice

Eclipsed by July.

 

That is some confidence Robin putting Rios in the 3 hole.

 

If Rios got his head out of his ass, he'd be a really good 3-hole hitter.

 

Not sure I like A.J. in the second spot, it's putting two lefties together at the top of the order and A.J.'s slow and can't get on base. If you put Alexei there, you at least have L/R combo with pretty good speed.

Edited March 5, 201214 yr by chw42

Ramirez was horrible with situational hitting last year, though.

 

The other side of the coin is that putting him in the 2 slot, he is almost forced by a new manager to be more of a "team player" and less of a free swinger. But will that take away his aggressiveness, or make him start going back up the middle and to RF?

 

Morel seemed to "shrink" his offensive game in that type of situation, and the power only came back later when he started to feel like he belonged.

Edited March 5, 201214 yr by caulfield12

A veteran catcher that can handle the bat. I remember in '83 LaRussa moved Fisk to the 2 spot and it turned the season around for the Sox. I know AJ is no Pudge, but Pudge wasn't a speedster either. Let's give Robin a chance to put his stamp on the team and see what happens.

Ideally, Beckham would hit 3rd with Ramirez or Morel 2nd.

 

Unfortunately, nothing is ideal with the Sox for the moment.

 

As much as they claim they follow stats in the Sox front office, having Ramirez/Morel/AJ with their low walk rates at that spot in the order isn't ideal, but at least AJ's a professional hitter, albeit one who doesn't have much patience at times.

 

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-h..._ramirez_030412

Cespedes and Manny becoming fast buddies...too bad we didn't sign both of them, haha.

Edited March 5, 201214 yr by caulfield12

Ramirez was horrible with situational hitting last year, though.

 

The other side of the coin is that putting him in the 2 slot, he is almost forced by a new manager to be more of a "team player" and less of a free swinger. But will that take away his aggressiveness, or make him start going back up the middle and to RF?

 

Morel seemed to "shrink" his offensive game in that type of situation, and the power only came back later when he started to feel like he belonged.

 

Alexei's a .287 hitter in the 2 hole. He hit .294 in that spot last year. His highest OPS in any spot in the lineup is the #2 spot at .760, higher than his career OPS by 15 points. He's also played 214 games in this spot, so it's not like there's a small sample size issue. I don't see how it's really made him do anything but hit better.

Edited March 5, 201214 yr by chw42

More Spring Training pictures here.

Yup, I think GIDPs will be a huge issue with top half or so of the lineup.

Here's the problem though: in order to ground into a double-play, someone has to get on base in front of you.