Jurr
12-08-2004, 12:57 PM
I have been hearing all of the complaints about the Sox over the last week, especially since KW hasn't been making all of the moves that other teams have been making. Yes, there are some holes, but does the idea always have to be "add, add, and add some more"????
We do need to make a couple of moves to get things where we need them. We all know that the Sox need a set up guy for Shingo (or Damaso). We need a right fielder. But, do we need to get really nuts and make a paper champion?? I'm a little torn on this subject, and I wanted some of your opinions....
Let's see what we have.
Infield:
Right now, we are looking at Konerko, who can generate plenty of offense and can play the field proficiently. Gload is a capable player, and with an opportunity, he may be very solid. If you can absolutely project what he would put up in a season, you're a better man (or woman) than I. Could we give Paulie a DH spot and let Gload play the field?? As far as Frank goes, I am sitting here very concerned about the prospects of him playing at a high level ever again. He depends on his feet too much, and losing that foundation to injury scares me to death, so I'm not even including him in this assessment right now.
Joe Crede is a good defensive player, and his numbers weren't spectacular this season. He definitely deserves another year to let us see if he can turn it around offensively. Konerko was buried going into last season by a lot of fans on this site, and he turned it around. Can Joe?
Shortstop is set. I believe that Juan, with another season of seeing AL pitching, can be a consistent performer, and we know he can play the position like a champ. A second basemen would be good to get (Cairo?), but does Willie have a shot at being good? Last year was his first with consistent playing time. With more time, could he be a serviceable second basemen? Every team has question marks, and we are no different.
Outfield: Rowand got his chance and ran with it. After so many people said the last few years that Rowand would never be more than a AAA player, he stepped up and shut alot of mouths. It's easy to discount a player as crap if they've never produced, but sometimes it clicks, and then they become good. (Could this happen to Willie Harris?)
Carlos Lee can still carry an offense at times, and he can play a good LF. The question mark is in right, and I would really like to see if Carl Everett can play that position. Remember, when Carl was healthy just two seasons ago, he was an All Star outfielder for the Rangers. Maybe he can do this for the Sox. If not, we may possibly get Dye to take that spot. Don't forget about Timo, either. I think he's a good backup and did some great things for the Sox last year.
Pitching: Garcia, Buehrle, and Contreras are solid, and Garland is still an enigma. I'm overtaken with the feeling that he will be traded this offseason, but we'll see. Who knows..if Loaiza can suddenly figure baseball out, maybe Garland will, too. As far as the fifth guy goes, there's not too many teams I know of that have a great ballplayer in that fifth slot. You want to win one out of every two games your 5th guy pitches. We should get SOMEONE to fill that role. No Leiber, no Clement, no Wright, and no other guy that's making 7+ mil a year is going to be a fifth starter for the Sox (and I don't know many other teams that have a fifth guy making that much.) So, we should end up getting someone serviceable enough to get us that elusive win out of the fifth slot.
The bullpen has some question marks, but I truly believe that Cotts and Adkins are going to be solid this year. They learned a ton on the job last season, and they can take that learning experience and do something with it. I know that the first handful of times I ever worked on a patient, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I damn sure didn't do the procedures as well as an established professional with experience. That's about where Adkins and Cotts were last year--getting experience. Combine those two with Politte, Marte, and Shingo, and we have a good pen. Yes, we do need one more guy to tie it all together, and I'm confident we can at least afford that guy......
The thing is, folks, I'm not totally convinced of anything with this ballclub yet, and I'm not a big enough expert to know for certain that this team is a WS contender or a last place team. There's too many confounding variables:
1. Does the team catch stride with Ozzie gaining experience and come out of nowhere to contend? Who can say?? Florida and Anaheim did it with rosters that many would consider suspect. You just don't know what kind of year any player is going to have outside of a couple. If everyone knew exactly who was going to break out and be a good (or great) player, then baseball would be a pretty boring sport and fantasy baseball would be a breeze. We just don't know if Willie, Joe, and others will produce. If they do, this team could be great. If not, well, that sucks.
2. If the team is pretty decent this year and gets to the break with a shot, we could end up getting some help (por ejemplo: what if SF tanks and unloads Vizquel to us at the break....or we get someone 10 times better?? Who knows??) I would have never thought we'd get Garcia last year. As far as I knew (from this site), the Sox had so many holes going into last season that being at or near first place at the break was a joke!!
The point is, we don't know a DAMN THING about what this team is going to end up being. Adding 30 million dollars in payroll may not win you a damn game. Ask the Dodgers of the late 90's-early 00's. You don't know how those players will fit in, what they will do, etc. I don't give a damn if Adrian Beltre hit 49 homers...is he going to do that in another city? Is Troy Percival going to pitch great next year because he did 2 years ago? No...we can't project that kind of situation.
The Sox aren't a paper champion this year. Not by any stretch. They have players that aren't proven at a few spots. Will they become proven next year? If you know, then you're a friggin' genius. I sure don't. So, in conclusion, I think it is best to sit and watch and keep my amateur opinion of what the team is going to do next year based on who they have or don't have to myself.
They may be the world champs before the 2005 season's over. The Marlins lost to the Red Sox in interleague play by 15 runs or so in one game. They were a joke...a team full of holes, unproven players, and no chance. They ended up champs. We don't know what the Sox are going to do, but I can't wait until April of '05 to see what happens. Go Sox.
We do need to make a couple of moves to get things where we need them. We all know that the Sox need a set up guy for Shingo (or Damaso). We need a right fielder. But, do we need to get really nuts and make a paper champion?? I'm a little torn on this subject, and I wanted some of your opinions....
Let's see what we have.
Infield:
Right now, we are looking at Konerko, who can generate plenty of offense and can play the field proficiently. Gload is a capable player, and with an opportunity, he may be very solid. If you can absolutely project what he would put up in a season, you're a better man (or woman) than I. Could we give Paulie a DH spot and let Gload play the field?? As far as Frank goes, I am sitting here very concerned about the prospects of him playing at a high level ever again. He depends on his feet too much, and losing that foundation to injury scares me to death, so I'm not even including him in this assessment right now.
Joe Crede is a good defensive player, and his numbers weren't spectacular this season. He definitely deserves another year to let us see if he can turn it around offensively. Konerko was buried going into last season by a lot of fans on this site, and he turned it around. Can Joe?
Shortstop is set. I believe that Juan, with another season of seeing AL pitching, can be a consistent performer, and we know he can play the position like a champ. A second basemen would be good to get (Cairo?), but does Willie have a shot at being good? Last year was his first with consistent playing time. With more time, could he be a serviceable second basemen? Every team has question marks, and we are no different.
Outfield: Rowand got his chance and ran with it. After so many people said the last few years that Rowand would never be more than a AAA player, he stepped up and shut alot of mouths. It's easy to discount a player as crap if they've never produced, but sometimes it clicks, and then they become good. (Could this happen to Willie Harris?)
Carlos Lee can still carry an offense at times, and he can play a good LF. The question mark is in right, and I would really like to see if Carl Everett can play that position. Remember, when Carl was healthy just two seasons ago, he was an All Star outfielder for the Rangers. Maybe he can do this for the Sox. If not, we may possibly get Dye to take that spot. Don't forget about Timo, either. I think he's a good backup and did some great things for the Sox last year.
Pitching: Garcia, Buehrle, and Contreras are solid, and Garland is still an enigma. I'm overtaken with the feeling that he will be traded this offseason, but we'll see. Who knows..if Loaiza can suddenly figure baseball out, maybe Garland will, too. As far as the fifth guy goes, there's not too many teams I know of that have a great ballplayer in that fifth slot. You want to win one out of every two games your 5th guy pitches. We should get SOMEONE to fill that role. No Leiber, no Clement, no Wright, and no other guy that's making 7+ mil a year is going to be a fifth starter for the Sox (and I don't know many other teams that have a fifth guy making that much.) So, we should end up getting someone serviceable enough to get us that elusive win out of the fifth slot.
The bullpen has some question marks, but I truly believe that Cotts and Adkins are going to be solid this year. They learned a ton on the job last season, and they can take that learning experience and do something with it. I know that the first handful of times I ever worked on a patient, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I damn sure didn't do the procedures as well as an established professional with experience. That's about where Adkins and Cotts were last year--getting experience. Combine those two with Politte, Marte, and Shingo, and we have a good pen. Yes, we do need one more guy to tie it all together, and I'm confident we can at least afford that guy......
The thing is, folks, I'm not totally convinced of anything with this ballclub yet, and I'm not a big enough expert to know for certain that this team is a WS contender or a last place team. There's too many confounding variables:
1. Does the team catch stride with Ozzie gaining experience and come out of nowhere to contend? Who can say?? Florida and Anaheim did it with rosters that many would consider suspect. You just don't know what kind of year any player is going to have outside of a couple. If everyone knew exactly who was going to break out and be a good (or great) player, then baseball would be a pretty boring sport and fantasy baseball would be a breeze. We just don't know if Willie, Joe, and others will produce. If they do, this team could be great. If not, well, that sucks.
2. If the team is pretty decent this year and gets to the break with a shot, we could end up getting some help (por ejemplo: what if SF tanks and unloads Vizquel to us at the break....or we get someone 10 times better?? Who knows??) I would have never thought we'd get Garcia last year. As far as I knew (from this site), the Sox had so many holes going into last season that being at or near first place at the break was a joke!!
The point is, we don't know a DAMN THING about what this team is going to end up being. Adding 30 million dollars in payroll may not win you a damn game. Ask the Dodgers of the late 90's-early 00's. You don't know how those players will fit in, what they will do, etc. I don't give a damn if Adrian Beltre hit 49 homers...is he going to do that in another city? Is Troy Percival going to pitch great next year because he did 2 years ago? No...we can't project that kind of situation.
The Sox aren't a paper champion this year. Not by any stretch. They have players that aren't proven at a few spots. Will they become proven next year? If you know, then you're a friggin' genius. I sure don't. So, in conclusion, I think it is best to sit and watch and keep my amateur opinion of what the team is going to do next year based on who they have or don't have to myself.
They may be the world champs before the 2005 season's over. The Marlins lost to the Red Sox in interleague play by 15 runs or so in one game. They were a joke...a team full of holes, unproven players, and no chance. They ended up champs. We don't know what the Sox are going to do, but I can't wait until April of '05 to see what happens. Go Sox.