posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:55 PM by Jim

News of the dead

A few things to touch upon while catching up:

Joe Crede undergoes back surgery

As this surgery drew nearer, I started to wonder if the season would've been different had Crede undergone surgery in the offseason and showed up raring to go in Tucson, or at least by Opening Day.  Ultimately, I don't think he's a dynamic enough player to really carry the team through this much strife.  He offers power and defense, and his defense really didn't suffer this year.  Jermaine Dye might've been able to keep the team afloat with the season he had last year; Crede's 2006, not so much.

Crede actually comes out pretty good, considering this is the option he never wanted to face.  He gave avoiding surgery a go, won't miss a playoff push and could be in a situation where he reached free agency one year earlier.  If Josh Fields starts producing (and with that long swing, I'm skeptical), the smartest option for Kenny Williams could be to non-tender him and save $5-7 million for a redundant and unstable ballplayer.

The Sox do hurt from Crede's offseason decision, though.  Had he been healthy with the Sox tanking, it would've given them another trading chit.

Greg Walker still has a job

If you haven't noticed, it's been warm for quite a while now, and here's where the Sox rank in offensive categories (total; next lowest, total):
  • Last in batting average (.231; Kansas City, .252)
  • Last in on-base percentage (.304; Kansas City, .320)
  • Last in slugging (.352; Kansas City, .385)
  • Last in runs (234; Oakland, 262)
  • Last in doubles (77; Oakland 101)
  • Last in triples (2; Seattle, 6)
Monday night in the minors

Nothing particularly noteworthy to report, except for Kannapolis getting no-hit through 6 1/2 innings in a rain-shortened game, and Craig Wilson going 0-for-4 with two more strikeouts.  That's 28 in 61 at-bats.

Comments

# re: News of the dead

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 6:26 PM by larry
just to point out something that seems to be a misconception regarding crede's surgery. this is not really all surgery that he should (or needs) to be having. this isn't going to "fix" the herniated discs; this one is merely going to drain the fluid that is supposedly agitating a nerve and causing him pain. it's basically treating a symptom and not the actual problem.

# re: News of the dead

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 10:06 PM by Jim Margalus
Indeed, I've seen you mention that before on SSS.

For some reason, I remember reading what Herm Schneider said when Crede made up his mind in the offseason, and it didn't really seem like Herm was behind him. When in doubt, I go with Herm.

Thanks for stopping by.