Since a
Sun-Times guy was singled out here a couple of days ago, it's only fair to take the Tribune to task as well. This time, Phil Rogers tosses out
a couple of doozies in his latest column. One is just wrong, as in copy-desk-shoulda-caught-it wrong:
In left field, where Scott Podsednik had a better year as a hitter than he did during the World Series season, but not as good as a runner or a fielder, the Sox finished with a .280 average, four homers and 57 RBIs. Their .720 OPS was 12th, ahead of Cleveland and Baltimore, and they were last in home runs and RBIs.
Here's what taking a couple seconds to type in "podsednik" on Baseball-Reference.com tells us:
| Year | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS
| LOPS | OPS+ | BWS |
| 2005 | .290 | .351 | .349 | .700 | .754 | 86 | 8.2 |
| 2006 | .261 | .330 | .353 | .683 | .562 | 76 | 6.8 |
Okay, I got the batting Win Shares from
The Hardball Times, but you get the idea. LOPS is OPS against lefties, which plummeted dramatically. It's scary to think that if
Pablo Ozuna didn't have himself a career year, Pods' numbers would look even worse.
The only category Podsednik improved was in the slugging column -- and that was a step up, considering he increased not only the number of homers, but triples as well. However, he failed at his primary task, and that was to get on base for the thumpers hitting behind him. Rogers' method of reasoning is close to judging Jim Thome's season on his total of infield hits.
Perhaps if he had been a consistent .330 OBP guy throughout the year, he would've been more valuable. But when he failed to get on base for basically the entire second half (.296 OBP), that really handicapped the team. There were too many outs wasted at the top of the order.
The second point is not an error, but more of a mere disagreement:
This is hard to believe, but Omar Vizquel and Randy Winn are the only veteran position players under contract in San Francisco. (Vizquel to the White Sox in a package built around Juan Uribe, Podsednik and prospects would be a nice get for Williams.) …
I wouldn't call that a nice "get" for Kenny Williams as much as I'd call it a "self-inflicted wound." Podsednik isn't the issue, because 1) he doesn't have a future with the Sox and 2) the Giants wouldn't take him anyway, since
they are adding Dave Roberts.
Now, the part about Uribe and prospects (yes, plural) being involved -- that's ridiculous.
Uribe for Vizquel
could be considered a fair deal depending on what the priorities are. Vizquel offers a much higher OBP, consistent offensive play and is a quality defender, even if he's lost a step. Uribe has far more power, a longer contract (under Sox control through 2008) and, well, he's
a dozen years younger.
Considering the amount of flux the White Sox's roster will experience between 2007 and 2008, I'd take the player in his prime with the longer, reasonable contract over a guy who will turn 40 before the first month of the season is over, and who is in the last year of his deal. I definitely wouldn't throw in a single prospect (much less prospects, plural), considering how barren the farm system is.
The only way this would be a "get" for the Sox is if they only consider OBP without any of the surrounding factors. But only a couple paragraphs before, Rogers just said Podsednik had a better season even with a significant drop in OBP. Things aren't adding up here.