Why I 'bitch' about Brian Anderson

by The Wizard on Oct 30, 2007 7:24 PM CDT

Brian starts his rookie season (he had 34 ABs in 13 games in 2005) and struggles in his first 2 months (.152/.250/.264/.514)

While he struggles Ozzie is happy to play him every day and keep leaking 'brian is a garbage' stories to the press

Then Brian starts hitting to the tune of .263/.313/.408/.721 the rest of the way (June 11 to the end)
If you look on the period between June 11 and Sept. 11 he hits .278/.323/.423/.754
UPDATE: Between June 11th and September 17th (a span of 58 starts out of 80+ Sox' games), BA had a line of .284/.333/.438/.771 with 21 doubles and only 39 K's. Thanks to Jeeves for that stat.
If Brian was playing every day, I'm confident he could hit something around .290+ after June 11

The moment Brian starts hitting, Ozzie starts thinking on how he can put a stop to this
What do I do now he says? I can't have this CA pretty boy do this
Ozzie finds an infielder he doesn't use much and puts him in his place
This "substitution" doesn't work at all
The infielder commits error upon error and the team losses games
Tough break Sox fans, Ozzie can't be out-shown by a damn rookie, this is what matters
Season ends, team misses playoffs by FIVE games

Offseason starts
Ozzie starts thinking what to do, hmmm, a veteran outfielder can do the trick
He talks his GM into getting one as "insurance"

Spring training starts, Brian outhits the veteran but it doesn't matter
Brian is benched and gets 17 sporadic ABs once the season starts
After he doesn't hit well on these 17 ABs, he goes down to the minors and gets injured and things go bad

BTW, my 'bitching' is amplified by the players Ozzie parades at CF. Mack, Erstad, Owens. I mean Darin Erstad? How do you square that?

We lost our CFer by a bad 2 months span...

Ozzieball

Moronball

-------------------------------------------

Some Numbers:

XBH%

JO: (9+2+1)/95= 12.6%
BA: (23+1+8)/82= 39%

SouthSideSox is a community driven site. As such, users are able to express their thoughts and opinions in a FanPost, such as this one, which represents the views of this particular fan, but not necessarily the entire community or SouthSideSox editors.

Tweet Comment 56 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I think someone made the argument here

that BA must've slept with OZzie's wife or got pictures of Ozzie doing something naughty.

"God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise."

by Shoeless In SC on Oct 30, 2007 7:48 PM CDT reply actions

the numbers are certainly undeniable

but with his comments to the press both recently and a few months ago, i'm wondering what this guy was saying/doing while he was with the team. some of those stories that you allude to being "leaked" were about attitude issues. while i discounted them at the time, it certainly sounds like those were dead-on. was ozzie to blame for some of the problems? i wouldn't bet against it. were some of the other players to blame? maybe. was BA to blame? i'm certainly allocating more blame to him after this and his previous comments.

maybe the sox just weren't a good fit for BA. if he goes someplace else and thrives it will certainly lend a great deal of credence to that. but i'm not so sure anymore if it wasn't BA that was the main problem.

by larry on Oct 30, 2007 9:27 PM CDT reply actions

Just what i was LQQKING FOR

Im glad you showed me this.

Ok guys I did my own formula. I took the previous 10 days of the stats acquired and added on the rest of the season from the dates 6-01-06 to 10-01-06 drum roll please
BA OBA Slug% OPS SB% AB/HR
.251 .299 .388 .688 25.00 63.75

If those were his middle months than they were pretty pathetic. WOW WHERE DID THOSE 33 POINTS GO??? LET ME GUESS... strike outs, ground outs, more strike outs, fly ball to the warning track. For those that don't understand stats... that ops is horrifying.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 12:25 AM CDT reply actions

And what OPS did Erstad produce this year

0.645

You'll notice that 0.645 OPS <0.688 OPS. So if you think BA sucked, Erstad sucked harder with worse defense.

Jerry Owens was at 0.636 OPS this year, if that helps.

I think you should also examine the standings for 2006 and where BA's performance was relative to when the team tanked, etc. IIRC, the Sox were sitting pretty until mid-July when the Twinkies were truly scorching hot. Also, 90 wins is a pretty good win total, so it's not like the team was really that bad, they just came up short.

That said, this is all a bunch of hot air since it's probable that BA won't ever be patrolling the outfield of Comiskey in a White Sox uniform again.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

by rhythm on Oct 31, 2007 12:49 AM CDT up reply actions

WOW AGAIN

You guys are completely missing the point. Not once have I mentioned erstad or owens. I was referring to these doctored stats that this guy tried passing by me like I was born yesterday. I completely agree that we need a center fielder. All I did was add the previous 10 days and 10 days after this supposed hot streak of batting a whopping .280. and proved that a measly 20 days (and who knows how many starts in those 20 days) lowered his batting average 30 some odd points.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 1:59 AM CDT up reply actions

Wiz, pretty much agree with you...

Anderson made some mistakes and has some things to learn but the Sox can't afford to throw away his talent. I have to believe that a better organization would have nurtured him better and he would have developed into a damn good player.

I hope that it's not too late for the Sox to get him back on track. They can't get shit for him now anyway.

by White Sox Randy on Oct 31, 2007 8:08 AM CDT reply actions

yes

maybe boston or new york could afford to throw his talent away but not the white sox

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 7:44 PM CDT up reply actions

No one can "afford" to throw away

talent (read: $) in this day and age. The margin for forgiveness is much narrower than years past. GM's across the board are smarter than 20 years ago, and even deep-pocketed teams are running on budgets that are not unlimited. The business of baseball, like all other business, has been refined greatly because of talent/competition in management and ownership (well, except for the Orioles). Even the Royals and Rays are smarter.

God, I love this country.

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Oct 31, 2007 7:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Hard on for America, WU?

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 9:42 PM CDT up reply actions

This is MY country!

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Nov 1, 2007 8:19 AM CDT up reply actions

This is MY city!

Ugs, when are you going to start up a boy band down in O-Town? I understand there's currently an impressario void.

"We've missed a little bit of that grind and edge and we've got to get that back." - Kenny Williams

by ChicagoPete on Nov 1, 2007 9:04 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm not nearly fat enough

Lou Pearlman (soon to be jailed) is as wide as Jerry Krause was (God rest his skin-flinty soul). Though there's quite the talent pool here.

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Nov 1, 2007 11:37 AM CDT up reply actions

The flip side...

Chris Young will be a damn good CF for the D'backs for years to come.

Brian Anderson will keep mouthing off and find himself a star with another team.

And, we'll be left with Jerry "if I run fast enough, I can beat out this weak groundball to the pitcher" Owens.

by nancyrocks on Oct 31, 2007 11:43 AM CDT reply actions

Hey wizzard

If Guillen is so intimidated by rookies then why did he stick with bobby jenks in 05? Its because Jenks is not the mental midget that brian anderson is. He he was so afraid of rookies he would have put hermanson (bad back and all) to close games in the playoffs. He benched B.A. because he wasn't doing the job asked of him. He probably wanted to see how Brian handled adversity to make him a better player in the future. Unfortunately Brian cried and pouted and stunk it up from 06-01-06 all the way until 10-01-06 as you can see from my analysis. Unfortunately they chose the wrong guy in the draft, we need to cut our ties because no one will ever want this guy. If you were a g.m. why would you want a player that had a entire season to produce and failed. Now he has a bitter attitude? He does throw a hell of a hay maker though.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 12:08 PM CDT reply actions

why?

because he couldn't stand BA's attitude

BA must've brushed ozzie in the wrong way somehow

do you remember during brian's early struggles, ozzie's statements that 'I can't believe how this guy [brian] is struggling so much but doesn't get discouraged,' and 'I'm worried about brian's mentality and maybe better to ship him to AAA'

I remember there was everyday an ozzie quote about how would he like to ship brian to charlotte 'so he doesn't give up'

ha! that's why ozzie started benching him when he heat up

remember when brian started hitting the ball ozzie's 'we better leave this guy on the lineup' quote? brian was then benched

another thing was that ozzie didn't like BA's and BMAC's hangouts
do you remember ozzie's 'I know all the hangouts in chicago, and I know where those 2 were, and I don't like it'
so what ozzie? are you some kind of sox rookie cop?

or the 'why is this guy going out when he's hitting .150'?
and then brian heats up and ozzie can't stand being on the wrong side of the argument and benching brian?

[I hope I don't have to think about this again because my blood boils when it comes up]

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 8:40 PM CDT up reply actions

PS

strike the last sentence of my post from the record:

<strike>[I hope I don't have to think about this again because my blood boils when it comes up]</strike>

by The Wizard on Nov 1, 2007 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions

What I wanna know...

is why one bad (and not even completely awful) rookie year (and 17 sporadic at-bats) automatically means he's going to suck for the rest of his Major League career to some people.

by joeforthree on Oct 31, 2007 12:32 PM CDT reply actions

What I find ridiculous about the whole situation

is that two years after his mlb debut in 2005 BA is still a question mark, and after the ill-fated Erstad experiment CF is still a gaping hole in the roster. That's why I thought it was a huge mistake for Ozzie to make Erstad the regular CF this year, there was a lot more to gain by finding out once and for all if this punk can play in the majors. So now you might have to go out this winter and waste $10mm+/yr on a long term FA contract for someone like a Rowand, when it could very well turn out that you have a major league minimum long term solution sitting on your doorstep. Then that hypothetical Rowand money could definitely be put to better use finding a decent corner outfielder or SS, for example. If we got a decent right fielder then the immobile Dye could be moved over to LF, so you fix that problem too.

But it appears we'll never know if BA can play CF for the CWS will we? Both sides are acting like idiots in this dispute, and a pissy battle of egos is a major loss to the organization.

"We've missed a little bit of that grind and edge and we've got to get that back." - Kenny Williams

by ChicagoPete on Oct 31, 2007 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions

we're not talking small sample sizes here

400 ABs is pretty substantial for what we're talking about, which is projecting a player. and, sorry, it was completely awful. a .212 eqa is pretty much the poster child for that. and he was pretty bad in charlotte last year, to boot.

it doesn't automatically means he's going to suck. but it's better, probably much better, than 50/50 that a player who puts up those sorts of numbers does suck. BA, in my opinion, is probably a better player than those numbers indicate. but i don't think it's an absurd argument by any means that BA is a bust.

by larry on Oct 31, 2007 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions

I dont buy it.

The 2nd half was still better than the 1st in 06. The games played with him didnt help in the least. I think under those circumstances it is too small a sample. The best thing I read was it IS completely ridiculous not to know at this point and there is plenty of blame to go around there.

"Find out what you are doing wrong and STOP doing that."

by Tdogg on Oct 31, 2007 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions

I am solidly in the larry camp here

He was basically given the job and choked it up, IMO. Does everyone forget the intense pressure every at-bat wrought on the poor kid? He folded up like a card table and it was strictly a mercy killing when he finally was sent down for the last time.

And I've always thought his attitude sucked after he started getting pub - we incessantly joked about it, but if you at all "old school", like Ozzie is, this kid who has earned basically nothing on the field and was given big bonus $ mouthing off, pissing and moaning, not taking one for the team, has to be grating. It chapped MY keister, and I have no skin in the game here.

And we're still discussing it! This continues to amaze me, though I understand it's hard to see the dreck that has served as our CF trotted out there. Even so, I don't think BA was, is, or will be the answer. So why not move on to Subject Matter 2-50?

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Oct 31, 2007 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions

This coming from

Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford, take #15.

At least BA is on our roster, it makes more sense to argue his situation than spending another month rehashing endlessly TB guys who'll never be on this club.

"We've missed a little bit of that grind and edge and we've got to get that back." - Kenny Williams

by ChicagoPete on Oct 31, 2007 2:27 PM CDT up reply actions

Hey, I only counterpunch

I sure as hell don't initiate the contact, bro. And Baldelli has NEVER been a topic I have embraced, since I want to steer clear of that bag of bones.

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Oct 31, 2007 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions

is that so?

Ok, I'm gonna pull a Larry on you and put you on an official Carl Crawford watch from now on.

"We've missed a little bit of that grind and edge and we've got to get that back." - Kenny Williams

by ChicagoPete on Oct 31, 2007 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Baldelli makes me cringe

Loads of talent but what good does it do on the dl? Crawford is a monster but why trade away our pitching when we can address this need in the free agency. I want to see andrew jones in a sox uniform. I can't take the pulse of the clubhouse so I don't know how much he means to these guys but rowand always rubbed me the wrong way. Plus I admit I was chanting WE WANT GRIFFEY!!! in 05.

Overcompensating for my embarrassingly small penis

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions

So now Rowand rubs you the wrong way too?

Damn man what do you want a Japanese bow before every at bat? I alluded to that earlier, its a whole lot more waste of time talking about Crawford which ain't gonna happen.

"Find out what you are doing wrong and STOP doing that."

by Tdogg on Oct 31, 2007 2:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Rowand does rub me the wrong way... heres why

I understand alot of the guys like to hunt, fish, and do what ever else they do in the off season. Rowand on the other hand he likes practicing back flips with his 4-wheeler.
The fire and the passion
He runs aimlessly into walls and makes routine plays look spectacular. This makes him prone to serious injuries. Just ask the phillies if they would have taken that out or lose their starting center fielder for a couple of weeks.
He makes bad jumps on balls causing him to have to go full speed toward walls.
Career year offensively in the N.L. going into a contract year.
There are so many better options.
The fire and the passion.

I'm 5'8"

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions

lol

Okay Ill grant you that. In those ways he is irritating.

"Find out what you are doing wrong and STOP doing that."

by Tdogg on Oct 31, 2007 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions

400 ABs is the entire year

can't you "forgive" a rookie's first two months

alex gordon had a bad start too you know

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 8:47 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, but they aren't predicting him

to be the all-everything centerpiece for the Royals' next great team anymore.

Peperony and chease

by colintj on Nov 1, 2007 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions

who made this non-prediction?

by The Wizard on Nov 1, 2007 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions

blogs?

i don't know, i'm just sort of summarizing the last 6-12 months of stuff i've read about him.

Peperony and chease

by colintj on Nov 1, 2007 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions

exactly!

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 8:42 PM CDT up reply actions

JOEFORTHREE YOU JUST DONT UNDERSTAND

I dont care about stats... I care about a winning attitude and not a me first attitude when you suck. get it? He will fail because he obviously sucks as a person... not just in baseball... more of a character assassination. We all know he's got the tools to be great... but upstairs he DOES NOT GET IT! He shouldn't be guaranteed shit going in to spring training! He's got all the tools but what good is it if he is a tool himself.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 12:57 PM CDT reply actions

Because Erstads winning attitude helped

out so much this year right? My God what is your problem? The guy who deserved the job didnt get it and the guy with the winning attitude started in CF despite not having the talent.

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions

DO I NOT EXPLAIN MYSELF???

LISTEN UP YOU PRIMITIVE PRIMATES! When I talk about a winning attitude not once did i mention erstad... so all of you out there shut up with these erstad comparisons. I hate erstad more than most of you do! When I talk about a winning attitude I am talking about not hot dogging it in the outfield. Not making poor excuses why you can't play winter ball every year when it is clear that you need it. DID I EXPLAIN MYSELF BETTER THIS TIME? If brian had a winning attitude he would have accepted the assignments that the organization had set for him with no questions asked. Does anyone else think that was pretty fishy that he got a stomache virus and lost 25 lbs? He didn't look 25 lb's lighter during spring training. He is a big baby that stunk it up when he got his chance... and showed no commitment to the organization. No one will want this guy the sox did everything they could to make him succeed. For all of you that want to argue that mack was in center for so many games... that was to protect anderson because he was doing so terrible they didn't want to completely ruin his confidence. Wake up people.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions

lest we forget

that cocky walk to the plate BA flaunts.

by larry on Oct 31, 2007 1:40 PM CDT up reply actions

I miss that walk

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions

esp with those long flowing locks

Larry I dont think that was a cocky look... I think it was more "oh my god, oh my god, what am i doing here?" look.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions

this HAS to be a joke

there are so many absurdities here...

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions

Its a pretty twisted one at that

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree!

Good points solja boy.

If you die with your eyes open you deserve it.

by Solja's Puppet on Nov 3, 2007 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions

'I don't care about stats?'

Que?

by HulkSmash on Oct 31, 2007 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions

"Immobile Dye"

chicago pete im sorry but you are a tool. Dye was playing through a bad quad all year long... give the guy a break.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 1:00 PM CDT reply actions

Dye is old

No break needed. He is immobile. I love him but a gazelle he is not.

"Find out what you are doing wrong and STOP doing that."

by Tdogg on Oct 31, 2007 1:16 PM CDT up reply actions

I think he should replace his 23 on his jersey

with DH.

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions

hey bill'o take it somewhere else

by The Wizard on Oct 31, 2007 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Honestly

They only opinion that matters is your own so why bother those that are willing to discuss things civilly.

"I'm not a 6-year-old." -Brian Nikola "Ungrindy" Anderson

by omnipotent grab on Oct 31, 2007 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions

This

is a hilarious thing for you to say. You're making excuses for Jermaine Dye, yet you laugh at us "primitive primates" for saying that BA can't play because his wrist is messed up? GMAFB.

by joeforthree on Oct 31, 2007 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions

omnipotent

sometimes it's hard to talk civilly to such hard headed people.

If you die with your eyes open you deserved it.

by Soulja Boy on Oct 31, 2007 1:40 PM CDT reply actions

whats the dif?

I may be late to this, but some one explain to me why BA is a bust but Danny Richar is still a hot prospect. Seems to me BA is a better out fielder then Richar is an infielder and the offense was comparable during their "try out" periods

by spadog on Nov 3, 2007 9:32 AM CDT reply actions

Timing... personality

BA took the heat because the team was in a competitive run (Ozzie for some reason would not put it in on Pods and Uribe in '06) - plus there is some personality clash between him and Ozzie.
If the D-Backs took the same attitude with Young, he'd be playing in Mexico this season too.

Basically I think in part its an in-experienced manager (when it comes to rookies) learning at the expense of a couple players (BA and Tracy). Thank gosh this didn't occur to Jenks - again a lot prob has to do with personalities.

by Brush Back on Nov 3, 2007 9:45 AM CDT up reply actions

BA reminds me of...

Brian Anderson reminds me of when Royce Clayton played SS in 2002. Remember this guy? He hit under .200 the first half and over .300 the second half to finish with a whopping .252 batting average. Then he bitched and moaned when the Sox let him go. Brian Anderson may have only hit .225 in 2006, but he hit .255 in AAA last year. Say it out loud....two fifty-five in AAA ball! C'mon, kids.

by nancyrocks on Nov 3, 2007 10:18 AM CDT reply actions

Well played, nancy

2010 - the waiting is the hardest part.

by winningugly on Nov 3, 2007 5:04 PM CDT up reply actions

Great point nancy!

Kinda of like what solja boy was saying. He is a cry baby! He did horrible in the minors this past year as well injured or not.

If you die with your eyes open you deserve it.

by Solja's Puppet on Nov 3, 2007 7:13 PM CDT up reply actions

Injured or not?

His minor league numbers in 07 are tainted. What about his 05 AAA numbers? But it really doesnt matter. Anderson will probably be gone soon enough. And we can take great pleasure in him being a productive member for some other team.

"Find out what you are doing wrong and STOP doing that."

by Tdogg on Nov 4, 2007 11:13 AM CST up reply actions