posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 12:36 AM by Jim

Brian Anderson

ESSENTIALS
2006 OVERVIEW

OFFENSE

When identifying the epicenter of the White Sox's struggle to play cohesive baseball during the second half of the season, many people point to center field, and either Brian Anderson's play there, or Ozzie Guillen's handling of Anderson.

Anderson didn't make matters easy when he started out the season hitting .152 into the middle of June.  The stretch featured very few high points, and the brightest spot -- his game-tying homer off Eddie Guardado April 24 -- dimmed a little when Pablo Ozuna did the same thing two weeks later.  It certainly didn't match his lowest point -- April 14 -- when he stretched a hitless streak to 16 at-bats by going 0-for-5 with two double plays and stranding nine runners.  It stood the test of time as the worst single-game performance of the season.

There's not much else to say about that time.  He struck out about once every three at-bats, and when he did make contact, it didn't really scare anybody.

His season took a turn for the better on June 11, when he sparked a furious late-game rally against Cleveland with a three-run homer.  For the next two and a half months, Anderson hit at a .291/.346/.448 clip, yet still spent a fair amount of time sharing center field with Rob Mackowiak even though he hit righties as well as lefties.  He even performed with runners in scoring position (.351/.419/.514).

Unfortunately, he petered out in September during the stretch run, at the same time Ryan Sweeney received his call-up, taking Ozzie's breath away in the process despite his inconsequential line of .229/.229/.229.

BASERUNNING

We know the story here -- one has to get on base in order to run the bases.  As you might expect, Anderson scored a 0 in the Bill James Handbook.  He didn't look particularly good or bad running, but with his OBP and Scott Podsednik and Pablo Ozuna hitting behind him in the second half, he didn't get much exercise out there.

When it came to stealing bases, Anderson definitely underperformed, successful on only four of 11 attempts.  It was supposed to be an aspect of his game to work on during winter ball, but Anderson grew ill and returned home early.

DEFENSE

Anderson's glove kept him on the major-league roster.  Had he been the equivalent of Scott Podsednik defensively, he probably would've found himself playing in Charlotte in May.  He made a number of key grabs, including a snare of a Travis Hafner blast that saved a game June 10.  The next day, he started hitting.

Unfortunately, Anderson didn't maintain that high level all the way through the season, at least according to Zone Rating.  I don't recall his defense being that much worse in the second half, though I definitely remember that he wasn't getting as great of jumps.  Then again, compared to Mackowiak, Anderson looked like Willie Mays with a rocket pack.

2007 OUTLOOK

The signing of Darin Erstad pretty much relegated Anderson to backup status upon the arrival of Punty McGrindgrit, but Anderson performed well enough in spring to avoid being sent down to Charlotte despite murmurs of a demotion.  He actually outperformed Erstad, Podsednik and Luis Terrero, but he'll finish third in major-league at-bats among that group.  At least until the first two hurt themselves.

Early indications point to Guillen deploying Anderson as a true fourth outfielder, getting time at all three positions.  The Sox brass, whether or not they like Anderson, understand he's the best defensive outfielder the Sox have, so he should see time late in games at the very least.

Anderson, at least among this group, deserves more playing time, however, since neither Erstad or Podsednik can claim they've outperformed him as of late and they're both left-handed.  Either way, I'd say he's survived the worst.

PROJECTIONS

Brian Anderson
 AB HR RBI
 BA
 OBP SLG OPS
2007 ZiPS
 360
 9
 43 .247 .312
 .392 .704
2007 BJS
 197
 6
 27
 .259 .324 .421 .745
2007 JCM
 333
 10
 39 .262 .330 .425 .755

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