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The Bard’s Room
Sox need to do some Holiday shopping
" width="200px" class="photo_vertical" /> Corey Patterson would provide some much needed speed for the Sox. Photo by: Anthony Amobi, MVN
Greetings everybody and Happy Holidays! I am brand new here at MVN and excited to be one of your Chicago White Sox columnists. If you want to learn more about me, visit my information page. But let’s get right to it. With the Holiday season in full swing, I thought I would write my inaugural column about what the White Sox need to have on their Holiday shopping list. Here’s what should be on the list:
#3) A second baseman: I’m mildly interested in seeing whether or not Danny Richar can develop into a full-time major leaguer. In just 56 games in 2007, he showed some decent power (18 of his 43 hits went for extra bases) and okay speed, but batted just .230 and struck out 33 times. Not getting a second baseman wouldn’t be the end of the world, but Richar is unproven and would benefit from another year off the bench.
Wilson’s top choice: Marcus Giles
The Sox should have reacquired Tadahito Iguchi, but San Diego was quick to sign him because Giles was going to be a free agent. Giles would be a nice fit for the Sox providing he can be as consistent as he was from 2003-2006 when he was with the Braves. He’s a lifetime .277 hitter, but hit a career low .229 last year with the Padres. Even so, he’s still young (29) and would be worth the money to add experience to a key position, but MLB.com reports the Rockies are interested as well. Only once has he played in more than 140 games in a season, so Richar will likely see no less than one start per week.
If they don’t acquire…then can Uribe play there? The Sox signed him to a one-year deal in November. Unlikely but possible.
#2) A starting pitcher: Is anyone else terrified at the thought of having both John Danks and Gavin Floyd in this rotation? Everybody praised Danks at the beginning of the 2007 season for keeping his team in the game and pitching with little run support, but the stats don’t lie. A 6-13 record with a 5.5 ERA isn’t good enough for any rotation, and it should be concerning having those kind of numbers from a guy who will be number four if no other moves are made. Floyd (6.30 lifetime ERA) didn’t do anything last year either. In 2007, he went 1-5 in 16 major league appearances (10 starts) with a 5.27 ERA.
Wilson’s top choice: Shawn Chacon
This is a little out there, but to be honest, there isn’t much available in terms of starting pitching. Chacon could play a very interesting role in the White Sox rotation because he is so versitial. He was a starter-turned-closer by the Rockies in 2004, then spot started in the Bronx for two years before returning to the bullpen with Pittsburgh last year. He’s been a starter for most of his career and can go deep into games when healthy. He finally was in 2007 and posted a career best 3.94 ERA. Moving Floyd to the bullpen to give Chacon his chance in the rotation certainly wouldn’t hurt the Sox, and if it doesn’t work out then at the very least you’ve added another setup man for Bobby Jenks in a depleted bullpen.
If they don’t acquire…then this is it. Danks and Floyd will start the season four and five, and Lance Broadway will most certainly welcome the opportunity that he’ll get by June when one (if not both) of them screw up.
#1) An outfielder: Or maybe two. And preferably someone who can play center. Jerry Owens will be good, but I doubt he’ll ever be great. And Brian Anderson may wow the minor league scouts, but as we saw in 2006, he’s no big leaguer. The Sox missed out on two golden opportunities when Torii Hunter chose the Angels over the Sox and Aaron Rowand was snagged by the Giants. You can’t really complain about the Carlos Quentin trade, but it definitely doesn’t solve all of the outfielding problems. I thought for sure that Kenny Williams only resigned Jermaine Dye so he could trade him in the offseason, but now it looks like he’s the only rock in the outfield.
Wilson’s top choice: Corey Patterson
Patterson would be a good fit for a lineup that lost speed and veteran leadership with the departures of Scott Podsednik and Darin Erstad. If Patterson were to end up on the south side, he could join Orlando Cabrera at the top of the lineup and provide a spark in front of the most dynamic 3-4-5 punch in the American League. Patterson’s two best years in terms of stolen bases were his two years with Baltimore in 2006 and 2007, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. A lot of people in Chicago don’t like him, but it’s hard to see how the lineup wouldn’t be drastically better with him in it.
If they don’t acquire…then I have an interesting proposition. Keep Joe Crede, put him at third, and move Josh Fields to left. Ozzie Guillen said he wouldn’t do this, but Fields deserves to be in the lineup every day over Quentin, Ryan Sweeney, Pablo Ozuna or any other outfielder on the roster. He hit 23 home runs last year in just 100 games and seemed comfortable with the everyday role. He’s a natural outfielder, and if he can cut down the strikeouts, he’s the guy.
Tomorrow: Breaking down the White Sox’ offseason moves.
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on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 10:44 pm and is filed under Transactions.
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10 Responses to “Sox need to do some Holiday shopping”
December 20th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Welcome aboard. Nice first post. I look forward to reading more of your breakdowns.
I know pickings are slim this time of year, but to add both Corey Patterson and Marcus Giles would take a big chunk out of the OBP this team could produce. If you’d like to sign Giles, I think you’d be better off seeing if Uribe can play over there first.
Patterson has alot of ability and can tease you with it, but he’d need a platoon partner most likely. There are other options out there that might make more sense. But, overall good ideas for your first piece.
Eric, thank you for reading and for your compliments. I should clarify that I wouldn’t expect the Sox to get more than one guy on that list, but I don’t think it would hurt the team’s OBP. Patterson is a risk, but one I feel is worth taking.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Some good thoughts, however Fields can’t play LF, have you watched the White Sox play before? Fields spent September playing worse LF than Carlos Lee. Additionally, why would you sign Giles for a lot more money when he and Richar hit the same, I’d rather keep the cheap guy if my choices are .229 and .230 - you can’t just sign guys because they were good 3 years ago. Finally, the White Sox do not have the “most dynamic 3-4-5 punch in the American League” I know you are writing for mostly White Sox fans, but come on Thome, Konerko and Dye aren’t even the best 3-4-5 in the AL Central (peek at Detroit’s roster) and can’t hold a candle to the Yankees or Red Sox.
Justin, thank you for reading and for your post. I understand Giles is a risk, but I’m hoping last season was just a down year, and as I said, I wasn’t at all impressed with Richar. As far as Fields goes, him in left is a last resort, but I’d rather have his bat than Quentin’s glove, but I’d be okay with them splitting the time. And yes, by the raw power numbers, the White Sox DID have the best 3-4-5 punch in the AL. The Detroit arguement is valid because of the Cabrera addition, but Boston and New York are below Chicago in terms of power production from 2007. I know these guys are getting old, but I still love them in the middle. By the way, who are the Yankees’ 3-4-5 exactly? It wasn’t consistent in 2007.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Nice article. I featured it on MVN Outsider’s Around the Blogosphere post for today.
Alex, Thank you for reading and for the honor!
December 20th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I feel that Brian Anderson should be placed in center. His fielding was above average. We won in 1959 with Jim Landis( who barely batted 200, but was excellent on defense). The pitching, hitting, and speed should be the main targets. ie. Second base, Left field, lead-off are the main focus for positions needing improvement. We need singles doubles hitters, not all or nothing type hitters, this has been the problem with the team the last 2 years.
Bill, thank you for reading and for your insight. I agree with you that pitching and speed are the key ingrediants needed, and your assessment of their positional needs closely aligns with what I indicated in this column. And although you bring up a good point about the ‘59 team, I don’t think Anderson would benefit the team when there are better hitters out there who can play solid defense. I’m hopeful for Patterson, but if not then giving Jerry Owens a shot would be interesting to watch.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I THINK COREY PATTERSON WOULD BE A GOOD MOVE BUT I ALSO TRY TO ANDERSON THE 2CND BASEMAN FORM THE O’S ALSO
I’D TRADE URIBE,OWENS,ANDERSON,RICAR
TO TRY TO GET THE ABOVE
Thank you for reading and commenting. The point of the article was to get those players in free agency since they are all free agents, but I wouldn’t be opposed to making a few key trades before opening day if opportunities presented themselves.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Jaryd, you worry too much about the starting staff.
Would you prefer someone who started 35 games last year, went 10 and 15 with a 5.17 era?
Furthermore, would you sign that guy to a 3 year extension at about 10million a year?
That’s what the tiggers did.
Relax and stop reading so much. The Sox staff is not their problem and can stand up to the other teams in the AL Central.
I’m just glad I’m not Kenny Williams.
Scott, thanks for reading and for your comment. I’m not sure how Willis will perform in Detroit, it’s a tough call. But in my opinion (which I think I share with many others who know this division) the Sox’ rotation can NOT compete with the lineups in the Central. Our rotation is not as good as Detroit and Cleveland’s, and maybe not even as good as Minnesota’s. We definitely need help here if we want to be good this year.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
You just wrote a player evaluation column in which you failed to reference, explicitly or implicitly, BABIP, on base percentage, ISO, VORP, walk rate, k rate (for pitchers, anyway, which is the far more relevant one) or groundball rate. I don’t mean to be dismissive, but I’m not sure how you’d properly understand what makes a baseball player good without checking some of those things where applicable.
Colin, thank you for reading and for your analysis. Very true, some of those statistics I did not check, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what makes a baseball player good. I can tell you that while looking at strikeout rate, none of the other free agent starters jump off the page, while Chacon provided nearly one strikeout per inning in relief for Pittsburgh last year. On base percentage was indeed something I looked at, which is part of why I said the Sox should get Patterson before putting Owens, Anderson or Fields in the outfield. Do you think the Sox would be better suited getting other players than who I named?
December 21st, 2007 at 1:03 am
I think Giles has a gigantic fork in his back. Uribe played 77 games at second in ‘04 and did just fine — his defense wouldn’t be a concern.
62 Ks in 76 2/3 innings isn’t that close to 1 per inning, aside from simple rounding up. The average NL reliever struck out 7.4 batters per nine innings; Chacon averaged 7.3. In other words, not remarkable enough to offset the fact that he’s a flyball pitcher and would be moving to a much smaller park.
The Sox desperately need OBP. Patterson isn’t going to give it to them, and neither is Crede. Fields might, but unless he can catch up to a better-than-average fastball on a regular basis, he’ll be lucky to crack .330.
Quentin is one of the only Sox — at least under-30 — to have a long track record of drawing walks. They need to give him every shot to stick. Mike Cameron would be a better stopgap veteran CF option for the same reason.
At any rate, glad to have another Sox blogger out there, as well as a Mizzou guy. I was wondering what happened to the entire Bard’s Room staff, anyway. There were like six at one point…
Hey thanks for reading and responding. You mentioned a few things that I had discussed as alternatives for the Sox if they don’t shop, including playing Uribe and Fields in different positions. I would much rather see Uribe at second than Richar if possible, but I disagree with you about Fields. He strikes out way too much and doesn’t have the plate discipline Crede has. It will be interesting to see how Crede bounces back from the back injury. As far as Mike Cameron goes, he was my number two choice behind Patterson, but I like Patterson’s speed, and the White Sox needc a legitimate base-stealing threat.
As far as the old Bard’s Room staff, I really don’t know much about that, but thank you for checking out the site!
December 21st, 2007 at 10:48 am
Jaryd, good to see your writing and sharing your thoughts you propose some interesting ideas and I’ll watch to see how others respond. I have lost interest in Brian Anderson, Richar is very problematic, Danks and Floyd need our prayers, Corey Paterson has shown some weeks of being very good but I would rather see Owens given a chance. I do not see how we can, or should, keep Fields out of the line-up and we must find someone to teach out hitters patience and avoid the low and outside pitches which have plagued us from both sides of the plate.
Jim, thank you for reading and commenting back. It looks like we have similar views (glad to see someone agrees with me) and I agree with you that our hitters strike out way too much. Cabrera will help fix that, but yes, our hitters need to show patience. Fields especially if he is going to be an everyday player.
December 21st, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Patterson, Chacon and Giles? You can’t be serious..
What is this — the inaugural “sign players past their prime” offseason?
Sam, thank you for reading and responding. Yes, signing any of these players would be a risk, but they would no doubt improve our team. Kenny Williams has never been afraid to sign a veteran, and guys like Giles, Patterson and Chacon would provide much needed help. Plus, there’s not a lot out there in the free agent market.
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