Anyone know who is going to be PK backup?

[johnny_mostil]

Anyone -- and I mean anyone -- can back up first base in a pinch. It's a joke -- the easiest position by far on the diamond (DH obviously excluded). Heck, Ron Kittle played first base for a while, remember? (OK, he was kind of bad at it, but not truly horrible).

[kittle42]

Originally Posted by tick53

The Sox have a power-hitting first baseman named Chris Carter, oh I forgot Williams traded him for Carlos Quentin.

Oh, please. Yeah, he would have gotten the call after playing in A ball.

[kittle42]

Originally Posted by johnny_mostil

Anyone -- and I mean anyone -- can back up first base in a pinch. It's a joke -- the easiest position by far on the diamond (DH obviously excluded). Heck, Ron Kittle played first base for a while, remember? (OK, he was kind of bad at it, but not truly horrible).

Ron Kittle never did anything badly!

[Taliesinrk]

Originally Posted by johnny_mostil

Anyone -- and I mean anyone -- can back up first base in a pinch. It's a joke -- the easiest position by far on the diamond (DH obviously excluded). Heck, Ron Kittle played first base for a while, remember? (OK, he was kind of bad at it, but not truly horrible).

Incorrect. The easiest position on the field is LF. I would then argue second base, and then first base; but you could maybe make an argument for first base ahead of second.

[thedudeabides]

Originally Posted by Taliesinrk

Incorrect. The easiest position on the field is LF. I would then argue second base, and then first base; but you could maybe make an argument for first base ahead of second.

I'll disagree about first being more difficult than second. A second baseman has to turn a double play, has to have a much better range, more athletic ability to cover on steals and pickoffs, and has to be able to throw more consistently than a first baseman.

In a pinch most second baseman could play first, you can't say that about first baseman playing second.

[Jjav829]

Originally Posted by oeo

Yeah, so when Paulie goes down to injury, it's a great thing that we have that mediocre relief pitcher.

Hey, I'm not saying we don't need to improve our pitching (or our outfield), but you shouldn't just be shrugging off a lack of a good, diverse bench. We still have an old team, and if injuries hit again, we're going to be even worse than last year seeing as though we have an even ****tier bench.

When? Really? When? Did he suddenly become J.D. Drew? Konerko's games played since 2001: 156, 151, 137, 155, 158, 152, 151. The 137 came in 2003 when Konerko was missing games not due to injury, but because he was in the worst slump of his career. Other than 03, Konerko has played in 150+ games every year since 2001.

Is this really a concern? Yes, if Konerko gets injured, we're in trouble at 1B. But you can't protect your team against everything. I'd love to have a 1B sitting on the bench who could step in and perform just as well if Konerko gets hurt. But it isn't a worthwhile useless of a bench spot, considering we have an unproven 2B and LF/CF. We need protection for those positions more than we need some big lug on the bench who can play 1B if Konerko goes down.

Originally Posted by kittle42

Oh, please. Yeah, he would have gotten the call after playing in A ball.

A ball, Major Leagues...really, what's the difference? Hell, they should have kept Carter and let him battle it out with Konerko for the starting position in Spring Training.

[TheVulture]

I'm sorry, the notion that anyone can just step in and play a major league quality 1b is ridiculous. Sure, anyone can step in and play a bad firstbase, but I'd prefer someone at each position who knows what they're doing out there.

[voodoochile]

Originally Posted by TheVulture

I'm sorry, the notion that anyone can just step in and play a major league quality 1b is ridiculous. Sure, anyone can step in and play a bad firstbase, but I'd prefer someone at each position who knows what they're doing out there.

There are probably 6 guys on the Sox who could play an average 1B with as little as a few games practice. Uribe could do it for sure after all he can play every other infield position and probably LF too. Crede and Fields could also because 3B can normally switch over with little problem. Add in Dye and hall and you are at 5 without breaking a sweat.

[Billy Ashley]

Originally Posted by voodoochile

There are probably 6 guys on the Sox who could play an average 1B with as little as a few games practice. Uribe could do it for sure after all he can play every other infield position and probably LF too. Crede and Fields could also because 3B can normally switch over with little problem. Add in Dye and hall and you are at 5 without breaking a sweat.

It can’t be as easy as your making it out to be. If it was, players like Michael Lamb, Eduardo Perez, Andy Phillips and numerous others would never have had major league careers. Yes, first base is one of if not the least difficult position on the defensive spectrum to become proficient at it does also require a specific skill set that not every player can simply adjust to. To be a league average first basemen one needs soft hands, steady footwork and some degree of flexibility. Additionally, they must also have enough experience at the position to know when to take their foot off a bag rather than stretch on an errant throw. They must also need to know how to cover the bag with a runner on and to move back into position as best they can as the pitcher enters his motion towards the plate. Also it helps very much to be left handed.

If it were that easy to transform into a first basemen that several White Sox players could fill in there and be adequate with in weeks one would have to wonder why Todd Hundley, Mike Piazza, Javy Lopez or numerous other crappy fielding awesome hitting Catchers didn’t have more success moving to first as they aged.

If were it were as easy as you claim it to be, wouldn’t the Reds stick Dunn as first as he’s awful in left (they have, and each attempt has been ugly), wouldn’t the Red sox play Manny Ramirez in left? Hell, why not Wily Mo Pena when he was with the Reds or Red Sox or Nationals (the cases of Dunn and Pena are interesting as both are very athletic for such big men, Pena has well above average foot speed and of course Dunn was a multi sport athlete).

While this doesn’t matter at all given the skill level being discussed by this next point but anecdotally, I can tell you that while I was a really decent defensive 2b and SS (compared to my peers) through High School I would have been horrific at first base.

[voodoochile]

Originally Posted by Billy Ashley

It can’t be as easy as your making it out to be. If it was, players like Michael Lamb, Eduardo Perez, Andy Phillips and numerous others would never have had major league careers. Yes, first base is one of if not the least difficult position on the defensive spectrum to become proficient at it does also require a specific skill set that not every player can simply adjust to. To be a league average first basemen one needs soft hands, steady footwork and some degree of flexibility. Additionally, they must also have enough experience at the position to know when to take their foot off a bag rather than stretch on an errant throw. They must also need to know how to cover the bag with a runner on and to move back into position as best they can as the pitcher enters his motion towards the plate. Also it helps very much to be left handed.

If it were that easy to transform into a first basemen that several White Sox players could fill in there and be adequate with in weeks one would have to wonder why Todd Hundley, Mike Piazza, Javy Lopez or numerous other crappy fielding awesome hitting Catchers didn’t have more success moving to first as they aged.

If were it were as easy as you claim it to be, wouldn’t the Reds stick Dunn as first as he’s awful in left (they have, and each attempt has been ugly), wouldn’t the Red sox play Manny Ramirez in left? Hell, why not Wily Mo Pena when he was with the Reds or Red Sox or Nationals (the cases of Dunn and Pena are interesting as both are very athletic for such big men, Pena has well above average foot speed and of course Dunn was a multi sport athlete).

While this doesn’t matter at all given the skill level being discussed by this next point but anecdotally, I can tell you that while I was a really decent defensive 2b and SS (compared to my peers) through High School I would have been horrific at first base.

We're in theory talking about 10 games next year where PK will DH or sit out instead of playing first. Hall actually is trained in this act even if he did injure himself last year while doing it. I imagine they will work up Fields or Crede to handle an emergency situation beyond that. There is also Thome who can do it in a pinch, though I am sure they don't want to risk his back that way unless they absoultely have to.

Edit: there's a reason the worst defender on the team has traditionally played 1B. I would think that would make it self-evident that it's simply not that tough of a position to pick up.

[Paulwny]

Originally Posted by voodoochile

Edit: there's a reason the worst defender on the team has traditionally played 1B. I would think that would make it self-evident that it's simply not that tough of a position to pick up.

Yep, what other positions could guys like Frank and Ortiz play? It would be amusing to see either one chasing a fly ball.
1st base has always been the position for the big slugger with limited range and agility.

[voodoochile]

Originally Posted by Paulwny

Yep, what other positions could guys like Frank and Ortiz play? It would be amusing to see either one chasing a fly ball.
1st base has always been the position for the big slugger with limited range and agility.

I don't understand why so many people are concerned with this issue. The Sox have a guy they expect to start 150 games at 1B next year. Thus we are talking about a guy who most likely is 25th on the depth chart. If they go get someone to be that 25th guy it's a waste of resources.

[Frater Perdurabo]

Those who claim that 1B is a difficult defensive position to play seem to subscribe to the Jerry Manuel school of thought, where the ability to turn the 3-6-3 DP is paramount!


Now that Cabrera is the SS, PK will not have to pick as many Uribe misfired lasers out of the dirt.

[voodoochile]

Originally Posted by Frater Perdurabo

Those who claim that 1B is a difficult defensive position to play seem to subscribe to the Jerry Manuel school of thought, where the ability to turn the 3-6-3 DP is paramount!


Now that Cabrera is the SS, PK will not have to pick as many Uribe misfired lasers out of the dirt.

I actually mentioned PK's throwing arm as a strength one time to a buddy and he said, "I've never heard anyone talk about a 1b throwing arm before." He said this while snickering and he's a freaking flubbie fan. It was a shameful moment for me and I vowed to never speak of it again...

[Frater Perdurabo]

Originally Posted by voodoochile

I actually mentioned PK's throwing arm as a strength one time to a buddy and he said, "I've never heard anyone talk about a 1b throwing arm before." He said this while snickering and he's a freaking flubbie fan. It was a shameful moment for me and I vowed to never speak of it again...

At least you can own up to it now!