Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - Posts

All access A.J.

ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs offers a comprehensive look at A.J. Pierzysnki, trying to figure out the age-old question, "What's he all about?"

This part struck me as the biggest oddity:
Williams and Guillen did their research and talked to colleagues around the league. Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson suggested the team give Pierzynski a shot.

"Hawk said, 'You're going to love this kid. He's a gamer. He'll do everything he can to help you win games,'" Guillen said. "Hawk was right."

When it comes to playing White Sox GM, Hawk Harrelson would be the last guy I'd listen to, considering he's already tried it and failed miserably. As general manager, Hawk:
  • Fired Tony LaRussa
  • Released longtime Sox executive Roland Hemond
  • Traded Bobby Bonilla for 1 1/2 years of Jose DeLeon
  • Pissed off Carlton Fisk by shifting him to left field so Joel Skinner could catch
And that was all in 1986, Harrelson's only year on the job.  At 3.0, Hawk might have the highest average of managers/year in the history of general managers. 
posted Wednesday, March 15, 2006 11:29 PM by Jim with 0 Comments

The Behind-Pods Squad

Mark Prior isn't the only guy in town with a mysterious shoulder ailment.  Scott Podsednik requested an MRI for a shoulder that's impeding his swing, though given how hard he hit the ball last year, I wonder how anybody could tell.

Jokes aside, this isn't nearly as big a deal for the Sox as Prior's shoulder problems are for the Cubs, mainly because Kenny has backed up the regulars with a versatile group of reserves.  While his offseason moves have weakened a now-thin bullpen, they've simultaneously made the bench one of the strongest in the American League. 

In Joe Cowley's article, he writes:
The Sox better hope [it's good news]. They were a different team last August when Podsednik went on the disabled list with a groin strain, posting a 5-9 record in that stint.
First of all, my finds bear a slight discrepancy from Cowley's.  The game logs I see show Podsednik out for 11 games in late August during a 15-day period, and the Sox went 4-7 during that time.  It's true that they were a different team, but it's easy to see why that was, and why that's not the case any more.

Exhibit A:  Timo Perez received seven starts.  And in each of those seven starts, he batted leadoff.  That's giving the worst player on the team the most at-bats.

Exhibit B:  Brian Anderson was baptized by fire; specifically by flamethrowers such as Randy Johnson, Johan Santana and Felix Hernandez, though he hit that last one pretty well.

Exhibit C:  When Timo didn't play, Pablo Ozuna and his below-average OBP led off.

Now, thanks to the Cintron acquistion, Rob Mackowiak can now serve as a fourth outfielder first and a fifth infielder second.  And it's safe to say that Mackowiak is better than Timo, Pablo and a rookie-year Anderson.  And if Mackowiak needs a day off, having Joe Borchard, Ross Gload or Jerry Owens filling in wouldn't be the worst situation, either.

Unlike Prior, who the Cubs were inexplicably counting on this season, Podsednik can take his time getting back.  It isn't 2005 anymore, and when considering the outfield options behind Podsednik, that's a good thing.
posted Wednesday, March 15, 2006 10:51 PM by Jim with 0 Comments