In Hindsight
Looking back over the 2006 season I am convinced that had Aaron Rowand been in CF we would have a half dozen more wins than we currently have. BA's overall weak offensive output and the continual platooning of Mack have cost the Sox dearly. Having the stability that Rowand provides from both a defensive and offensive standpoint would, I believe, have us in first place today.
Now to have Rownad in CF that means we don't have Thome as DH. It is easy to say this now but it is becoming clearer each day that we would have been better off staying with Frank Thomas. Thomas started out slowly, but as DJ likes to continually remind us about Uribe's capabilities, is carrying the A's into the post season.
I do not have the stats to prove the following statement but I would wager they are true. HR for HR I believe more of Thomas' homers have been game changing than Thome's. This is no attack on big Jim, he has had a remarkable season but is it just me or are a large number of Thome's HRs non-game chamging? So often he has failed to deliver one when we needed it!
KW was wrong on this on. Depending on Thomas for production this season was a gamble but then again trading away probably your best defensive position player was a gamble as well. Now had we received a quality arm in exchange then a case could be made. The cold hard facts are that Thomas has been every bit the offense machine as Thome. Oh to have that production along with Rowand in CF. What a thought. If the Sox finish out without making the post season the gamble will be a losing one.
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it's all about pitching
i personally think it's quite debatable whether PK would still be here if the thome trade had not been made.
by larry on Sep 16, 2006 6:00 PM CDT 0 recs
Read the Comment
Can you sit there and tell me that the lack of consistency in CF hasn't cost us at least six games??????? We would be better off with Rowand in CF! Rowand is not Cooperstown stuff be he gets the job done, consistently.
Only Crede could be considered better defensively. OK I'll re-phrase it, Rowand was our best defensive outfielder. With the stats that Thomas is producing it is crystal clear that trading Rowand has turned out to be a major mistake no matter how you slice it.
Keep the emotions out of the comments and let's review the stats.
by waitonhim on Sep 16, 2006 6:12 PM CDT 0 recs
i read it
i don't think trading rowand was a mistake at all. i don't think he's anything more than an average player. and i certainly don't think dumping thomas was a mistake. he was a huge gamble on his health and a poison in the clubhouse. i really don't think PK would be here if thomas was brought back. the two of them do not get along at all.
and offensive consistency from rowand? not sure i buy that, either. i'd have to go back and look at his splits but, if memory serves, he's pretty hot/cold (like uribe) - but maybe i'm just thinking of last season where he was good from may-july and junk the rest of the season.
like i said, i think people have been coming down with a little of the "grass is greener" syndrome when it comes to rowand. he's an average MLB player - nothing more.
by larry on
Sep 16, 2006 6:25 PM CDT
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Comment About Konerko
by waitonhim on Sep 16, 2006 6:18 PM CDT 0 recs
so then we'd be over-paying for PK?
thome is certainly more expensive than thomas, by about $4.5 mil or so.
by larry on
Sep 16, 2006 6:28 PM CDT
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one more point and i've said my piece
six wins seems a bit of an extravagant estimate but if someone wants to quantify it by doing something more than pulling a number out of the air i'd be interested.
by larry on Sep 16, 2006 6:36 PM CDT 0 recs
That is extravagant
Mackowiak hasn't performed as well, due to his defensive deficencies, but he hasn't been awful. Together, the pair's been about as good as Rowand would have been had he played the whole year. With his injuries, our pair is better than him.
The difference b/t Aaron Rowand hitting like 2004 and fielding like 2005 would probably have been about 4 games. Sadly, Rowand will never hit like that again.
So I'd say the difference between BA+Mack and Rowand is about 0 games, to perhaps 2 games on the outside, depending on how awful Mack's defense has been.
by Stealfirstbase on
Sep 16, 2006 7:02 PM CDT
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Say what?
On the season, Anderson is batting .234 and has an OBP of .301. With all of his speed, he only has 4 stolen bases. He has 80 strikeouts in just over 320 at bats, which means he strikes out once every four at-bats. That's a lot for a power hitter and absolutely unacceptable for a hitter like Anderson.
He could be the best defensive player in the history of baseball and you couldn't combine that with his offensive numbers make a good case that he is above average.
He's been a bad player and he should be sent packing after this season.
by Ooga on
Sep 17, 2006 7:59 AM CDT
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Anderson's been a good player
Since June 11: .284/.334/.430
Aaron Rowand: .238/.313/.369
That's Rowand in the same amount of ABs, since he's been on the DL for the last couple of weeks. Anderson's also grounded into seven fewer DPs during that stretch.
Impatience is a virtue of many a terrible team. The guy's a rookie, for chrissakes. Joe Crede and Jon Garland would've been on other teams two years ago if KW was half as fast to give up on a guy as some Sox fans. I don't hear anybody bitching about them now.
by Sox Machine on
Sep 17, 2006 8:18 AM CDT
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Actually Ooga
by kaskomm09 on
Sep 18, 2006 1:19 PM CDT
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Ozzie gut instincts = puking and vomitting:
Then why the pitching change? Guillen, the guy who won a pennant managing with his gut, said he was going by the book, calling on Thornton so he would have the lefty-lefty edge against Nick Swisher and Dan Johnson, Oakland's No. 7 and 8 hitters.
by southsidefan on Sep 16, 2006 10:24 PM CDT 0 recs
Hindsight, not so much 20/20 for you...
by DeeDubs24 on Sep 18, 2006 9:58 AM CDT 0 recs
Quit making sense...
by Chiburb on
Sep 18, 2006 1:15 PM CDT
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