posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 1:52 AM by Jim

Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

We knew from, oh, early to mid-May that Carlos Quentin was All-Star material.

Joe Crede?  Not so much.

But both of them are headed to Yankee Stadium next week to take part in the All-Star Game -- and nobody from the league's best pitching staff will be joining them.

Oddly enough, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays suffer from a similar issue, because the league's best team only has two representatives as well.  It's a shame teams can't engineer trades for All-Star berths, because the roster would look a whole lot better with Evan Longoria in place of Crede, and John Danks in place of Scott Kazmir.

Longoria has Crede beat in just about every offensive category, not to mention their seasons are on opposite trajectories.  He's performing better with the glove as well.  While Crede does have Longoria beat in range factor and zone rating, the sheer amount of errors is difficult to ignore.  Crede has a dozen more!  Overall, the Fielding Bible rates Longoria as +12 defensively, while Crede is +8.

Meanwhile, Kazmir's having a fine season -- he just has too little season.  He's only thrown 72 innings after missing the first month.  Danks, even with some issues regarding his efficiency, has thrown 35 more at a lower ERA.

I figured Gavin Floyd would've been the best bet with his gaudy win total and solid complementary stats, but Danks has been the pitcher.  The biggest difference between them is roughly three runs of support.  Floyd has received an average of 6.44 runs per start, while Danks is third-to-last in the American League at 3.31, though that will rise slightly after the Sox supplied him with a robust total of four Sunday.

Make that switch alone, and I would be happy with the Sox's representation.  I'm even hoping Jermaine Dye becomes the first White Sox candidate to not win the 32nd Man spot, because he could use a few days off.  He may look a little better in the field, but the fact of the matter is the guy has some old-assed legs.

Scott Reifert and the White Sox PR crew are sounding the trumpets, but I don't think I'll be heeding this call.

********************

Minor league roundup:
  • Charlotte 9, Rochester 1 (8 innings)
    • Danny Richar went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer.
    • Paul Konerko went 1-for-2 with a double, RBI and a walk.
    • Charlie Haeger went the distance, allowing seven hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out five.
    • Jason Bourgeois had three hits and walked once; Dave Cook hit a two-run homer.
  • Birmingham 3, Huntsville 2
    • Aaron Poreda allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings, scattering three hits and two walks and fanning five.
    • Ricardo Nanita went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI; Robert Hudson drove in two.
  • Bristol 3, Elizabethton 3 (Susp. 6 innings)
    • Joucer Martinez pitched three shutout innings; John Doyle allowed three runs in the other three, but only one was earned.
    • Juan Silverio, Kenneth Gilbert and Andrew Garcia each had a hit and a run.
  • Great Falls 12, Missoula 9
    • Johny Celis went 2-for-2 with a triple, RBI, walk and four runs scored.
    • Lyndon Estill homered and drove in four; Jordan Cheatham had three RBI.
    • Jesus Avila went 3-for-5 for his third consecutive multi-hit game.
    • Ronald Morales pitched two shutout innings for the save.
  • Winston-Salem vs. Kinston PPD
  • Kannapolis OFF

Comments

# Final Vote Contest

Monday, July 07, 2008 9:40 AM by doublem23
Love the blog, but the Sox have already had 4 candidates for the "Final Man" vote lose; Frank Thomas twice ('03 and '04), Paul Konerko ('04), and Magglio Ordonez ('02)... Though I guess in 2002 the All-Star Team only had 30 members so he technically wasn't up for the "32nd Roster Spot."

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 10:11 AM by Fundman
Why do people keep talking about trading Uribe and not trading Crede? Serious question. He's a hole in the line-up most days, his fielding has really become an issue, and the guy is leaving after next year. I'm assuming this is a market issue, no demand, correct?

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 10:24 AM by Jim Margalus
Did the Sox have huge marketing efforts for the final man vote before Pods in '05? It's entirely possible that they could've slipped my mind, but I don't recall at all any big push for votes the way Pods did in '05 for The 32nd Man.

I can't imagine there's any demand for Crede, plus he was outhitting every AL third baseman but A-Rod before his slump. With Fields not being healthy, it'd be way too dangerous to trade him now for what would likely be a small, small return.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 11:41 AM by soxfan1
I remember a bit of a PR campaign for Pods in '05 but it wasn't a huge deal. The cool thing that year was that the Sox received word that Pods was voted in during a Sunday game in which he was playing LF. They announced it and he received a huge ovation while taking the field between innings. It was a really a neat game to be at. He was a fan favorite then.
Any chance the Sox will re-sign Crede?? Joe Cowley says there is no way it will happen with Scott Boras involved. Thoughts on this??

# Final man Vote

Monday, July 07, 2008 1:53 PM by doublem23
I don't remember there being big campaigns before Podsednik's in 2005 and honestly the only one I remembered off the top of my head was Frank in 2003; I didn't even remember Konerko, Maggs, and Frank's 2nd defeat until I looked them up.

I'm guessing a lot of that has to do with the fact that Brooks Boyer became the Chief Marketing Director for the Sox in April 2005, So Maggs in 2002 and Frank in 2003 didn't recieve the benefit of his work and then in 2004, how do you campaign for 1 of the 2 guys without playing favorites?

And, actually, they announced that Scotty Pods had won during, I believe the Wednesday July 6 game against TB (I don't remember the exact game, but I know it was that series), as he was coming out to play defense in LF. I remember because I was there, it was pretty special moment, especially since I didn't think he had a chance to beat Derek Jeter in the voting.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 2:11 PM by Salty Dog
"It's so damn hot...milk (Crede) was a bad choice."

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 4:00 PM by bigsether
It's fun to play "Kenny Williams" once in a while. A couple years back I annoyed all my friends about going after Carl Pavano, and then Barry Zito, and in this past off season, I was upset because the Tigers got the D-Train and M Cabrera when we could have if we just took 'a left handed starter who won a ring.' So, with that being said, I'm an idiot. BUT, if I could play Kenny Williams right now, I'd be willing to part ways with Crede, Uribe (shocker), and Paul Konerko. I'm not including Thome because I don't know of a team that would make sense for him to be moved to. Maybe if he was right handed, I could say Tampa Bay, but he's not so it's a waste of time.

Uribe: I could see him landing with the Dodgers because of Furcal's latest setback and they have no offensive production out of anyone who has tried to play there. At this point, I would ask the Dodgers for the rights to sell Dodger Dogs for the month of August in return.

Crede: I agree with Fundman here in that he is a liability in the field and almost Thome-esk at the plate. I would love to be able to trade him to the Angels for Chone Figgins and over the off season, I thought that was reasonable. What about the Phightin Phils? Is Pedro Feliz better than Joe Crede? I don't know much about the Phils and any prosects they may have but I'd definitely only want a top tier guy for him. Does anyone know his class status with free agency? Do we get picks for Crede if he signs somewhere else? If so, I'd rather just keep him.

Konerko: Paul gives me Bonerkos when he's on, but I'm cool with saying good bye to the sweet swingin 1st baseman. I think he would be perfect on the D-Backs. Conor Jackson is a nice player, but Paulie instantly makes that team better offensively and he adds veteran leadership to a team that seems to be sinking right now. What could we get back? I don't know but I would expect we could gnab something of value from Arizona's supposed stocked farm system.

CC on the Brewers is also awesome. Him and Prince look like cousins or something. Who wins in a fight? I'd take Carsten Charles, the guy is a monster.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 4:04 PM by Jim Margalus
Crede's going to free agency. Boras clients always do, and it's a weak market. If he makes it through the rest of the season healthy, he's in for a big payday, and that's one place the Sox will get cheaper with a healthy Fields.

I voted plenty for Pods. I didn't think he deserved it, but it was neat to see something galvanize the team and fan base that much.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 4:07 PM by bigsether
Is he a class A free agent? If he walks, do we get anything for him?

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 4:10 PM by Jim Margalus
Crede is a B, so the Sox would get a sandwich pick. Between letting Cabrera and Crede go, they would get a pretty nice haul for the first and second rounds.

I would take Fielder. He's actually pretty swift.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 4:36 PM by bigsether
I'd assume a big Kenny Williams initiative is to get the Sox farm system built back up after all the complaining that's been done about it so it makes sense to let Crede walk for a pick.

What class free agent would Uribe be?

Does anyone else notice Hawk says "Era" when he is trying to say "error?" Since we got rid of the Maple Bat Death Toll, we should start something where we count Hawk saying "get on back there" or "stretch" for routine fly outs.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 5:12 PM by Joist
A couple of things:

Does anybody know when the player votes are collected/submitted? Because, sure, Crede's selection looks awfully shaky now, but I remember thinking at one point (probably after his 2-game, 4-homer stretch) that he actually is the second best 3B in the league, even given the weird errors, and he probably deserved an All-Star nod.

Also, A.J. got way more screwed than anybody else on the Sox - that Varitek was voted by the players is just about the most indefensible inclusion I can remember.

Seems to me like maybe they're righting past wrongs. Crede is well-respected around the league, but he missed out on an All-Star berth when he arguably deserved one ('06) and he's (unfairly) never won a Gold Glove. As for A.J., he was not deserving of the final spot in '06, so maybe they're making up for that by leaving him off this time around.

If Longoria continues the way he has been, I don't think he has to worry about missing too many more All-Star games.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 8:57 PM by El Duque's Raft
AJ did get the screw job but if you think about it, there's no way he's going to win the fan vote. The players certainly aren't going to vote him in. The only chance he has is if he gets the 32nd Man or the manager picks him. So even though Varitek is hitting well below his weight, he made it more because of the fact 97% of the baseball world doesn't want to punch him in the face, A-Rod not included.

All this Crede angst this season is actually quite comical. It's actually like a microcosm of his whole White Sox career. In '03, '04, and the first half of '05, he was arguably more reviled than the '07 Uribe. Then, he became one of the more popular players in recent memory. This season, he started off hot, Kenny's gotta re-sign him, cooled off, let him walk, then got scorching hot, lifetime contract, and now is ice cold. With his poor fielding this year, is there really that much of a difference now between him and Fields? Obviously Fields is hurt now but assuming he comes back healthy next year, I'm going to go out on a limb and says he's an upgrade to making them a more consistent lineup.

# re: Crede gets free flight, chance to tweak his back again

Monday, July 07, 2008 11:22 PM by Jim Margalus
Yeah, the glove thing is what's getting me. I didn't want Crede dealt at the trade deadline in 2005 because he obviously makes his pitchers happy when he's on, and I didn't want anything to mess with the pitchers' success.

I had him pegged for .249/.295/.439, so obviously he's doing enough with the bat for me.