posted on Friday, December 23, 2005 2:33 AM
by
Jim
A.J. Pierzynski
Taking a look at the guy who will be entering the first year
of a three-year, $15 million deal.
Overview: The
White Sox were able to pick up A.J. Pierzynski on the rebound after the San
Francisco Giants dumped him. He wore
out his welcome in the city by the bay in a hurry – pitchers accused him of not
preparing for games, choosing instead to play cards in the clubhouse. And then there was that rumor that he kneed
his trainer in the ‘nads.
The Sox grabbed Pierzynski for cheap ($2.5 million),
immediately upgrading the catcher position that had been split between Jamie
Burke and Ben Davis the year before.
Pierzynski became an immediate hit in the clubhouse, paying
Joe Borchard $100 for hitting a homer off Brett Tomko, one of the Giant
pitchers who badmouthed him the year before.
He became one of the Three Stooges (with Joe Crede and Aaron Rowand),
and we all know what happened in the playoffs.
Who knows what actually happened in San Fran, but Chicago
saw an ornery son of a gun who helped his team.
Hitting: His
heroics, coming in various forms throughout the season, masked what was his
worst offensive season since he became a full-time starter in 2001. He entered the season with a .300 lifetime
average, but he only hit .257 in 2005.
Similarly, his on-base percentage also hit a career-low.
He hit satisfactory against righties, but he didn’t resemble
anything close to the same hitter against lefties – he drew zero walks in 87
at-bats. As can be expected, he didn’t
hit them very well, and Chris Widger saw most of the action against
southpaws.
Not there weren’t positive things in his performances. He hit a career-high in homers with 18,
including a two-run walkoff homer that capped off a dramatic comeback in the
bottom of the ninth against the Dodgers on June 18. He also cut his double plays in half, grounding into only 13 of
them after racking up 27 of them in 2004.
His walk rate was the best of his career, but that’s not saying much.
He had a solid postseason, hitting just about as well as he
did during the regular season. Of
course, despite hitting three homers, he’ll be best known for his strikeout in
the bottom of the ninth of Game 2 of the ALCS that led to the game-winning run.
Fielding: Pierzynski
isn’t the worst defensive catcher, but there are some things to worry
about. He only threw out 22.5 percent
of baserunners, a career-low for him, and also allowed seven passed balls and a
couple dozen wild pitches.
It didn’t help that he was catching Freddy Garcia and Jose
Contreras, who tied for the league lead in wild pitches with 20 apiece. Contreras led the league in 2004, so it
wasn’t Pierzynski making the difference.
He could do more behind the plate, but he does get credit
for staying healthy. Additionally, he did make a
nifty play to pick Alex Rodriguez off third base in a game on August 20, so he
does come up with plays when nobody’s expecting it. In the postseason, he was best known for a catcher’s interference
that wasn’t called during Steve Finley’s at-bat. He ended up grounding into a key double play.
2006 Outlook: Pierzynski
received a lot of credit for the incredible job done by the White Sox pitching
staff in 2006, and it helped that he was behind the plate for Jon Garland and
Jose Contreras’ breakout seasons.
Whether he actually helped them with his pitch-calling, he
had an excellent working relationship with all the pitchers on the staff, which
is the opposite of what his Giant teammates said about him. Mark Buehrle said he rarely had to shake
Pierzynski off, and on the other hand, he deferred to Orlando Herndandez when
El Duque insisted on throwing off-speed pitches while getting out of the
bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the ALDS.
Still, he could do a little more with the bat to help make
the Sox’s $15-million investment completely worth it – and no, wrestling on the
side won’t help him much. It’d help him
immensely if he could stand taller against left-handed pitching, even if he
continues to not do much with it. One
walk is all I’m asking.