It's time to get excited about Alex Rios
by shaftr on May 23, 2010 11:19 PM CDT
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PrintAt the meetup, LT told me that I need to contribue more. He is right. Although he was smiling when he told me that, part of me is frightened of him and I decided I should contribute right away.
On Saturday, Alex Rios stole a base and hit another home run. That brings his season totals (thru 40 games) to 8 home runs and 13 stolen bases. So far, 2010 has been a stark contrast to the 2009 version of Rios that White Sox fans saw. In 41 games for Chicago last year, Rios hit 3 home runs and had 5 stolen bases. He also had an OPS of .530. This year? .912 OPS.
Obviously, most of you are already aware of this. You are also aware of the fact that he plays Center Field and is very good at it. All of these are reasons to get excited about Alex Rios. Need a reason to get even more excited? I can't think of the last White Sox player with the skill set of Rios.
I know projections can be silly, but Rios is on pace for 32 home runs and 52 stolen bases. I can't remember ever watching a player in this franchise that has that combination of Power and Speed, can you? Luckily, we have Bill James' Power/Speed formula that we can use to compare Rios 2010 projections to previous White Sox players.
Bill James used the following formula to calculate a player's Power/Speed number:
Power/Speed Number = 2 (HR x SB) / HR + SB
Using Rios 32 HR / 52 SB projection, you end up with a Power/Speed Number of 39.6. Last year, Mark Reynolds and Ian Kinsler lead their leagues with a Power/Speed Number of 31.1 and 31.0. Rios currently leads the league in Power/Speed Number and is on pace to have the best Power/Speed number in White Sox history.
In franchise history, Chicago has only had three players end the season with a Power/Speed number over 25. No one has ever had one over 30.
- Tommie Agee 29.3 (1966)
- Magglio Ordonez 27.7 (2001)
- Dick Allen 25.1 (1972)
As you can see, no one in a White Sox uniform has ever exhibited the power/speed combination that Alex Rios has displayed so far this season. If he keeps it up, he'll end the season in the top 15 all time for best single season power/speed numbers.
I understand that we are only 25% of the way through the season and there are a lot of problems with projecting out a full season based on those numbers. Still, we are fans and excitement is the reason we watch this game. This season hasn't gone the way all hoped, but I'm going to remain really excited about a player who plays plus center field defense with a power / speed number that has a chance to be a franchise best.
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We're also
looking at our only All-Star this year. This was, most assuredly, one of Kenny’s best moves.
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 23, 2010 11:22 PM CDT reply actions
it'd be tough to keep the league leader in HRs off.
but he still would prolly be the 4th 1B on that team. 4th best OPS in the AL. 4th at 1B. ain’t that a bitch?
it’s almost as if the position demanded huge offensive production.
and the he’s only one on a horseshit team.
now rios, that’s a little more interesting of an argument. if it were held tomorrow, should he start? or vernon?
rios is the more valuable player, i’d think, but people love HRs and he’s got some OPS on him too.
Cashing checks and having sex.
by MarketMaker on May 24, 2010 12:00 AM CDT up reply actions
Youkilis, Morneau and Cabrera....
then Konerko. However, Teixeira (even though sucking) is likely to come close to the top…if not win fan voting (i haven’t checked the current standings- just assuming because he is a big named yankee). If that happens, no way konerko makes it unless he is voted in the last man contest (which it may take even if Teixeira doesn’t win the fan voting)
Kenwo4life=ratings
Paul Konerko does not need your support.
Wait, maybe he does.
when i was in 9th grade i was the only one in my entire boys choir to understood my teacher
by BoeJouma on May 11, 2010 5:46 PM EDT
well, he's one of the few bright spots this season, but i still reserve the opportunity to
shove a nick swisher bobblehead doll up his ass
by onlysoxfaninbasel on May 24, 2010 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions
Do people here
really hate Nick Swisher so much? It wasn’t his fault he had his worst career year here and that management gave up on him. Or is there a story that I’m missing?
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 24, 2010 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions
it's a meme.
getting to be a tired one, too, particularly when one looks at his production the past two seasons and the production the sox have gotten from their corners.
Rec'd. A lot.
when i was in 9th grade i was the only one in my entire boys choir to understood my teacher
by BoeJouma on May 11, 2010 5:46 PM EDT
i think you largely missed my point
because i agree with you, it was the saintly kong among others who were pissed at swisher, fuck kong and his leadership skills
by onlysoxfaninbasel on May 25, 2010 2:37 AM CDT up reply actions
Frank Thomas said 6 guys!
he even mentioned Ser-Gi-Oh!
Good God. That is horrible.~by 67WMAQ
god damnit.~by BuehrleMan
sigh~by Tdogg
This is fuck.~by The Actual El Guapo
reactions to Ozzies lineup 5/14(after an off day)
Oh, Frank, don't do that...
there’s no way Matt Thorton or Sergio make it….come one now Hurt….
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 24, 2010 7:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Matt Thornton has a pretty solid rep..
And is having another good year. Not many relievers with a bigger name then him at this point. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to think he has a chance to make the team.
"A common mistake made by baseball fans is to call a pitcher unhittable when that pitcher is not Matt Thornton." - Hardball Times
by Grinder in Training on May 24, 2010 8:13 AM CDT up reply actions
He's got the numbers
thus far, but I don’t think in the AL he’ll make it. No one knows enough about him. Fister and Wilson are having incredible years.
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 24, 2010 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Rios has been great. Nice post.
I endorsed Rios last year and got ridiculed by most…. i even questioned my own thinking… happily he is proving me right this year. something that freddy and dayan have been doing as well. (until today…fucking marlins).
Kenwo4life=ratings
rios has been awesome. his skillset is fantastic and the sox were lucky to get him.
he’s the kind of guy that can become very popular. speed and power. ’nuff said.
now i just wish that he had some more talent around him. this team will, however, play better from here on out.
they just dug a hold they’re prolly not good enough to get out of.
good write-up, shaftr. he’s definitely been so good that everyone has noticed, but perhaps some don’t realize just how good it’s been. he’s been a pleasure to watch on both sides of the ball.
Cashing checks and having sex.
The 'Lost' finale sucks and everyone knows it.
I got a pain in my side on this side, i got a pain on my side on this side. My knees hurt, my elbow hurts like LeBron. Most of all my head hurts, my psyche's hurt. I'm hurting all over my body!
by Where Triples Go to Die on May 24, 2010 12:25 AM CDT reply actions
I loved it
You’re probably just pissed there were Koreans and chicks not wearing aprons in it
signature
The ending where Agent Cooper is Bob was cool though.
"right now, i find people who can’t talk properly just as annoying as people who can’t hit baseballs properly." by larry on May 16, 2010
by South Side Expat on May 24, 2010 1:04 AM CDT up reply actions
I will choose to ignore the last 10 minutes existed and maintain that was some awesome television.
"Boozer's dumb ass jumped. So I dunked on his ass."-Joakim Noah
by Ozzie Montana on May 24, 2010 1:26 AM CDT up reply actions
Disagree.
America got totally ’Newhart’d’ by it, and sure, it was completely schmaltzy, but it was incredibly satisfying and I gotta give those asshole writers credit: they brought it all together. The only part about it that was questionable was Sayid/Shannon. It’s almost as if the writers forgot about Nadya or w/e her name was.
But I like happy ending.
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 24, 2010 6:31 AM CDT up reply actions
Who doesn't like a happy ending?
FUCK EVYTHING BACON RULZ WEER GONNA WIN TEH CHAMPSHIOP
...colintj, Nov8, 2009
oh wait, I thought we were talking about something other than television.
FUCK EVYTHING BACON RULZ WEER GONNA WIN TEH CHAMPSHIOP
...colintj, Nov8, 2009
I was thinking watching Family Guy + Breaking Bad would be better,
but then Breaking Bad turned out to be an hour of attempted house fly killing. Lame.
This is not early panic, it’s continued disgust with a situation we didn’t like to begin with. - Grinder in Training
I, too, am excited about trading Rios for prospects this July
signature
by billyok on May 24, 2010 12:29 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
VG.
when i was in 9th grade i was the only one in my entire boys choir to understood my teacher
by BoeJouma on May 11, 2010 5:46 PM EDT
Did I calculate this correctly?
He’s at 2.2 WAR through 42 games (not counting the Florida finale), so that’s a pace for about 8.5 WAR. Mind you, part of that is based on his excellent but unsustainable UZR so far, but most of us just wanted him to be worth the money.
One of the positive things about the Sox is that they have decent players at the tougher positions. Beckham and Rios figure to be some degree above average, while there’s a decent chance that both Ramirez and Flowers can be average-ish. If the FA market remains similar to year’s past, the Sox should be able to fill out 1B, DH and LF for less than $20 million.
We already have a LF for 2011.
His name is Juan Pierre.
Charles Barkley & Terry Boers are the two smartest men in the history of human civilization.
by 2ndHalfAdjustments on May 24, 2010 6:32 AM CDT up reply actions
Which is fine
Because we need to fill 1B, DH and 3B for less than 20 million. Mark Teahen is a utility player, an expensive one, but a utility man.
"A common mistake made by baseball fans is to call a pitcher unhittable when that pitcher is not Matt Thornton." - Hardball Times
by Grinder in Training on May 24, 2010 8:15 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah LF has sailed already for next year.
I think the team is likely above avg at SS, 2B and CF. That would be good start. Fix the 3rd base mistake pronto.
"Anywhere white people are poor, I'm afraid to go" Lawrence Holmes 670 the Score
I approve of referring to Che as "above average".
Good thing larry did not trade him.
when i was in 9th grade i was the only one in my entire boys choir to understood my teacher
by BoeJouma on May 11, 2010 5:46 PM EDT
by winningugly on May 24, 2010 10:57 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I too think Alexei's ceiling is 2 WAR
by Shoeless In SC on May 24, 2010 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions
sorry don't see it
Unless his offense just falls off the face of the earth his defense alone will begin to account for the 2 WAR value. He’s getting better. Alexei does 3 WAR this year.
"Anywhere white people are poor, I'm afraid to go" Lawrence Holmes 670 the Score
by Tdogg on May 24, 2010 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
If he gets to 3 WAR this season
His offense will have to pick up. His defense has accounted for all of his value so far and it’s been a lot better than it has in the past. His defense alone is projected to be about 2-3 wins based on what he’s done so far, but I don’t think he’s going to keep up this pace. I see his defense regressing, and his offense progressing, evening out somewhere between 2-2.5 total on the year. He has a chance to get 2.5-3, but I don’t think it happens.
The somewhat ironic thing is, OPS+ and WAR rate Alexei as a better hitter in 2008 than 2009, despite increasing his BB% by roughly 5% in 2009.
by Shoeless In SC on May 24, 2010 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions
Also, I love your optimism...
Especially when it’s based on stats, but where you see him holding onto his defensive gains and improving his offense, I see him losing his gains on defense and slightly improving his offense. I think that’s the difference here between my thought for 2-2.5, and yours for 3+
by Shoeless In SC on May 24, 2010 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah
I readily admit I totally believe in the defensive uptick for him. I have said a few times that expect him to be a Top 3 defensive shortstop over the next few years. As he settled in last year, his range has been top notch. However I do agree he does need to pick the offense, especially if you come at it with an angle of defensive regression.
Call me lonely but I honestly expect a number of around 10 for his UZR this year.
"Anywhere white people are poor, I'm afraid to go" Lawrence Holmes 670 the Score
I am glad to see him play this well
You couldn’t ask for a better start to the season, he has been very productive. I was a bit worried when he recently had 0-10 and 0-9 streaks, but those worries have been put to rest with good games vs Marlins.
And defense, man. Now when I see the ball hit to the center field, I am not thinking “oh no, let’s see how this one is gonna end”. You sort of get used to him covering the ground well and getting an out. He had many solid and some even spectacular plays out there.
Keep it up Rios! And shaftr, cheers man!
Lupe, release the balloons!
So many storylines
Can Rios keep it up? Did Paulie discover the fountain of youth? Has Carlos Quentin emerged from the Fortress of Solitude? Is Gordon Beckham back from the abyss?
Theain is the guy I Just can’t stand! pierre is almost as bad,he dose get on base more. If Quntin gets any worse trade him. WE NEED HELP!
I've been excited for a while!
Nice writeup!
This is not early panic, it’s continued disgust with a situation we didn’t like to begin with. - Grinder in Training
loved the acquisition
We gave up nothing but cash and made a huge upgrade in talent. Now if they could only find 6 more like this…
No animals were harmed during the making of this comment.
by ChicagoPete on May 24, 2010 9:13 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
was off-grid all weekend
I dug reading all the recaps and recaps of the recaps of the outing.
SSS, you so CRAAZY!
His name is Rios and he dances on the sand
I agree. I enjoyed reading the recaps and the outing recaps
Sounded like a lot of fun. I too enjoy beer, the White Sox, trivia, drunken hookups, grilled food, and bar hopping. Maybe next year I’ll have a real job and can afford to attend.
by Shoeless In SC on May 24, 2010 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
couldn't make it either
Sounds wild. WU, when you stole that cow, and your friend tried to make it with that cow…I want to party with you!
No animals were harmed during the making of this comment.
by ChicagoPete on May 24, 2010 2:47 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Lighten up, Francis.
when i was in 9th grade i was the only one in my entire boys choir to understood my teacher
by BoeJouma on May 11, 2010 5:46 PM EDT
by winningugly on May 25, 2010 2:14 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
the blue jays DFA'd dana eveland
guess his 2 runs allowed on 5 hits in 13 innings against the sox this year was not good enough…
"I Don't Believe In Accountability"- Chris Rongey
FGW
if they cancel tomorrow's game too, it'll be the second-best lossless streak of the season
How shitty are we!!
-billyok
by blackoutsox on May 24, 2010 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions
He should just sell his services on a per game basis
most actively pursuing whoever the Sox happen to be playing that day.
So, we begin a 3 games series at Jacob's field
Against the team that swept us last month (that also happens to be 16-26), against a pitcher that is 0-1 against us lifetime with a 1.59 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, .205 BAA, and a BB/K line of 5/26 in 22 IP.
I fully expect Danks to go at least 6 with 1-2 ER, and take the loss 3-1.
by Shoeless In SC on May 24, 2010 12:59 PM CDT reply actions
A year ago, who here would have foreseen praising a Sox center fielder?
Certainly not me. I was happy with the waiver claim and am very pleased with his performance so far. Eff yes, Rios.
"I just want people to remember there's a guy in between these things."
I hated the pick-up and the player from the announcement
I’ve been happily eating crow so far this year, but he cannot have a pedestal until he has done this for a half-season since he was just beyond God-awful last year and looking lost at the plate. Wait a minute – I now know what happend to Bacon. Rios paid some Voodoo priestess to transfer their talent. Now I can go on hating him. All is right with the world except for th talent transfer.
"Quantify my balls."
- KenWo
No pedestal, or bronze statue (yet),
and I’m not holding out any hope for 39.6 P/S number. However, last year with the Sox was an aberration: a slump combined with some bad luck. This year, his strike outs might come up a bit, but most other stats seem fairly in line with his career numbers.
"I just want people to remember there's a guy in between these things."
by Teahenny Penny on May 24, 2010 4:10 PM CDT up reply actions
I guess this makes up
for Nick Swisher completely having the worst year of his career with us.
With all the run support Danks has gotten lately
He has to be thrilled to see Kotsay and Vizquel in for Quentin and Ramirez. It would be an insanely wild pitch, but he should put one in his manager’s ribs.
"Quantify my balls."
- KenWo
quentin's hitting .391
and OPSing .878 the last 7 days. you gotta get the poor guy some rest and let him cool off.
i seriously just think ozzie looks at the previous game in some of these situations
When he benched Rios, although Alex was scorching that week, he was 0-4 the day before, and today same thing, Carlos has been hitting and had an 0-4 last night so ozzie feels the need to bench him.
He has his players on a short leash.
"right now, i find people who can’t talk properly just as annoying as people who can’t hit baseballs properly." by larry on May 16, 2010
by South Side Expat on May 24, 2010 5:22 PM CDT up reply actions
maybe that's a reason why we have so few players on the DL???
we all know how awesome Herm is, but Ozzie does seem to rest the players a lot. On the other hand, I am not an expert in this, don’t check other team’s lineups unless we play them, so maybe he is not that far off from others…
Lupe, release the balloons!
quentin is a china doll.
we all know this. yet people will complain now that he’s getting rested after six straight games just like they’d complain later if he gets hurt that he wasn’t rested enough.
lesson: you can't make every one happy
and I am sure Ozzie cares less what people think regarding resting players, he does his job like he thinks it should be done (or advised by people that know better: Herm, staff, etc). And there is nothing wrong with keeping guys healthy.
You know, it took me a while to get used to this idea of one player being substantially more fragile than the other, but having Q on the team (and Getz last year) really hammered it home.
Lupe, release the balloons!
Fire Greg Walker.
"right now, i find people who can’t talk properly just as annoying as people who can’t hit baseballs properly." by larry on May 16, 2010
by South Side Expat on May 25, 2010 2:41 AM CDT up reply actions
Kotsayd'h!
Good God. That is horrible.~by 67WMAQ
god damnit.~by BuehrleMan
sigh~by Tdogg
This is fuck.~by The Actual El Guapo
reactions to Ozzies lineup 5/14(after an off day)
Sox are winning tonight book it
www.reverbnation.com/czheckproductions
www.mybeatshop.com/czheckproductions
Great men are never without flaws, but neither are they without magnificent traits that caused them to rise to such heights.
If anyone wants a good laugh...
Check out mlb.com and the early AL All Star leading vote getters. I apologize in advance if you crap your pants because you laughed so hard. The list is a total joke.
You can give the fans a pass for stupidity when the sport's commissioner actually thinks it's a good idea
To award home field advantage in the World Series to whomever wins an exhibition game in mid July.
"Boozer's dumb ass jumped. So I dunked on his ass."-Joakim Noah
by Ozzie Montana on May 24, 2010 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions
i dont like the game counting, if the AL keeps winning i will like it a little more too I might add...
I just think if you are going to have the game count, let the coaching staff or maybe players, pick the team, not dumb fans.
youre making the wrong case
if you think that people wont pay to see the best players play in the all star game.
Watching this team is like jerking off 10 minutes after you just jerked off - billyok
money and sports is a complex argument, but
my point was more along the lines of: it is not about what is fair or not than it comes to the all-star game, it is all about increasing viewership, broadcast audiences, make as much “noise about mlb” as possible, giving ALL the teams a chance to make money on this thing.
Lupe, release the balloons!
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