http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...ws&c_id=cws

 

Does this guy have a shot at making the Sox bench?

Sounds like competition for L. Garcia in ST.

Sounds like competition for L. Garcia in ST.

I wonder if the Sox think his versatility makes it easier to keep Konerko on the roster.

I wonder if the Sox think his versatility makes it easier to keep Konerko on the roster.

 

I really hope not. I really wish Konerko would just retire. He may be a fan favorite and a face of the franchise, but I don't want to watch him struggle again next year while the Sox refuse to DFA/cut him out of respect. Plus, I don't want to see him take AB's away from Abreu.

I really hope not. I really wish Konerko would just retire. He may be a fan favorite and a face of the franchise, but I don't want to watch him struggle again next year while the Sox refuse to DFA/cut him out of respect. Plus, I don't want to see him take AB's away from Abreu.

I agree.

I don't think he would take at-bats away from Abreu. If anything, it will be platoon partner with Dunn and late inning bat like Giambi was for the tribe.

If he has the ability to be at least a decent enough catcher (Elmore), it would be interesting seeing him on the bench as the backup catcher that can play all over as well. Definitely would give him a lot of value to the team. This all would depend on who we brought in to be the starting catcher tho. You could end up with a bench of:

 

1. Elmore C/IF/OF

2. Paulie (platoon DH) or Keppinger (platoon at third)

3. Garcia IF/OF

4. Danks OF

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

hungry for real moves.

Might as well keep him on the roster so he can play all nine positions in one game. That's more exciting than anything that happened in 2013.

I really hope not. I really wish Konerko would just retire. He may be a fan favorite and a face of the franchise, but I don't want to watch him struggle again next year while the Sox refuse to DFA/cut him out of respect. Plus, I don't want to see him take AB's away from Abreu.

 

With all due respect, I love how people see NO possibility of Paulie bouncing back and yet they see the possibility for guys like Kepp, and Dunn still has his supporters, too. Paulie, who can still field the position very well, can still hit lefties. His power has been zapped but that may because of injury. I just don't get why people see Paulie as having zero chance of returning to Paulie form and give these other guys the benefit of the doubt.

What if Paulie ISN'T finished? What if he comes out and goes 2-5 every game the first month with an occasional homer? Four homers a month is a 24 homer season. He's capable of that.

Edited November 21, 201312 yr by greg775

With all due respect, I love how people see NO possibility of Paulie bouncing back and yet they see the possibility for guys like Kepp, and Dunn still has his supporters, too. Paulie, who can still field the position very well, can still hit lefties. His power has been zapped but that may because of injury. I just don't get why people see Paulie as having zero chance of returning to Paulie form and give these other guys the benefit of the doubt.

What if Paulie ISN'T finished? What if he comes out and goes 2-5 every game the first month with an occasional homer? Four homers a month is a 24 homer season. He's capable of that.

 

I really hate that you make me point out flaws in my childhood idol and favorite player of all time.

 

He can't field 1B well anymore.

 

He's old, he's injured. You don't recover as well when you're old.

 

You should just let him retire, stop beating a dead horse.

 

I've seen few people say that Kepp can bounce back. Dunn had some great months last year and has had 0 protection in the Sox lineup. In front of Abreu he'll get more hittable pitches. He also hit over 30 HR. Dunn still has true power, but he won't have a high average.

With all due respect, I love how people see NO possibility of Paulie bouncing back and yet they see the possibility for guys like Kepp, and Dunn still has his supporters, too. Paulie, who can still field the position very well, can still hit lefties. His power has been zapped but that may because of injury. I just don't get why people see Paulie as having zero chance of returning to Paulie form and give these other guys the benefit of the doubt.

What if Paulie ISN'T finished? What if he comes out and goes 2-5 every game the first month with an occasional homer? Four homers a month is a 24 homer season. He's capable of that.

 

What if I s*** bricks of gold?

 

Konerko is 38 years old. He can hit lefties at this point. He doesn't have the power to drive the ball off of righties. He can still get a few hits. At his very best, he'd likely hit .270/.330/.420...and that's the very BEST. He's more likely to put up .250/.310/.350. That's bad.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...ws&c_id=cws

 

Does this guy have a shot at making the Sox bench?

 

Sounds like he takes Casper Wells' spot in the bullpen.

What if I s*** bricks of gold?

 

Konerko is 38 years old. He can hit lefties at this point. He doesn't have the power to drive the ball off of righties. He can still get a few hits. At his very best, he'd likely hit .270/.330/.420...and that's the very BEST. He's more likely to put up .250/.310/.350. That's bad.

 

Which makes the Sox the worst fit for him. The Sox have all the lefties (presuming none of them get traded). If he wants to be useful hitting lefties, he needs to go to some other team and play against the Sox.

Paulie is back if Hahn can deal Dunn by the winter meetings, otherwise it makes no sense for him to be back to take AB's away from Dunn in the case he is going to be dealt or given a QO next off season.

Paulie is back if Hahn can deal Dunn by the winter meetings, otherwise it makes no sense for him to be back to take AB's away from Dunn in the case he is going to be dealt or given a QO next off season.

 

They have an offer on the table for Konerko. I honestly don't believe Dunn matters in this circumstance. I don't doubt that they'll still try to deal him anyways.

With all due respect, I love how people see NO possibility of Paulie bouncing back and yet they see the possibility for guys like Kepp, and Dunn still has his supporters, too. Paulie, who can still field the position very well, can still hit lefties. His power has been zapped but that may because of injury. I just don't get why people see Paulie as having zero chance of returning to Paulie form and give these other guys the benefit of the doubt.

What if Paulie ISN'T finished? What if he comes out and goes 2-5 every game the first month with an occasional homer? Four homers a month is a 24 homer season. He's capable of that.

 

I never said Konerko can't have a bounce back year. But look at the facts. He's going to be 38 years old to start the 2014 season. With his recent drop production and injuries he's having to deal with I think it is far more likely that he is starting to break down. Konerko had a hell of a run for his 30's compared to other players.

 

My previous comment was not meant to sound like I'm rooting against Konerko. He's been one of my favorite Sox players over the year and deserves a statue and retired number in the future. But the writing is on the wall in my opinion, and this Sox team cannot afford to keep aging players on the roster that are going to continue to get worse. They need to let the kids play and figure out if they have anything special.

 

Blame Dunn too if you want. His immovable contract doesn't allow the Sox the flexibility to carry a guy like Konerko on the roster. If the Sox found a way to dump Dunn, I might be more willing to lean towards my homer-ism and bring back a fan-favorite like Konerko, but even then I still think it is in the teams best interests to let him go. That's why I would rather him just retire, because I don't like the thought of Konerko playing his last season in another team's uniform.

 

This is eerily similar to what happened with Frank Thomas back in 2005 (he was going to be entering 2006 at 38 also). He started showing signs of declining production and injuries kept piling up. I know there were MANY other factors that determined him coming back, but if you had to pick the "safer" option as to who would have a better year, the majority would have picked Thome over Thomas any day of the week. I don't know if Konerko still has the ability to go another 1-2 seasons. I like to think he could and have one hell of a last hurrah, but not many players get that opportunity. Even Konerko is contemplating this same question. If he wasn't he would have already announced his plans for next season.

Edited November 22, 201312 yr by CWSpalehoseCWS

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