Mr. Lisa Dergan Is Back
This is three day old news, yet I still feel compelled to say something about it.If someone were to ask me a month ago the probability of the White Sox offering arbitration to Scott Podsednik, I would have said it was somewhere in the range of slim to none. And of course I would have been correct.
If someone were to ask me a month ago the probability of the White Sox offering Scott Podsednik an actual contract, I would have said it was as likely as me meeting, bedding and marrying Halle Berry.
Well, I guess I might have a chance with B.A.P.S.
The White Sox offered Pods a one year, $2.9 million contract under the ruse that championship experience outweighs talent. The real reasons had more to do with cost certainty and market inflation. And Pods was smart enough to know he'd not get much more in arbitration.
Personally, I think the contract itself is a bargain. Considering the market for starting LFers with "lead-off skills," I think it's a steal. Pods' 2006 was certainly a struggle, but nagging injuries and the pressure to repeat no doubt affected his play. A rebound season is not as unlikely as it seems.
And with a wife like his, I'd milk my struggles for all it's worth.
This doesn't register as a hot button topic with me the way it's done so with others, so here's the great Podsednik link dump so you can see what other White Sox fans are saying...
- The Podzilla is back. The Podzilla is back! (ChiSox Blog)
- Crazy doesn't begin to explain this signing to some people. (Foul Balls)
- Some people think the signing doesn't mean he'll be back. (South Side Sox)
- Then there are the disappointed ones. (The Bard's Room)
- Some bargain the idea as a better risk. (Sox Machine)
- Some ask Kenny Williams exactly what he's was thinking. (Nathan Whalen's Blog)
posted by jamesmnordbergjr at 10:42 AM
5 Comments:
I got tired of waiting for the SOUTH SIDE SOX link to load, so here are my thoughts.
Williams knows that Pods sucks. In his interview he essentially said that he was a spacetaker until he(Williams) could find somebody, anybody better. I'm paraphrasing but it concluded, "he is our starting left-fielder...for now". Sound like a ringing endorsement?
Pods will be on the team as long as it takes our team's GM to sucker, I mean, convince another team's GM what a great value that 2.9 million dollar contract is in the world of cost certainty.
Five seconds after that trade (hopefully for a young arm or middle-relief) whoever Williams is really looking at for the position will be in the next trade (probably in the long awaited started pitcher trade). Of course, that is all written in mayo.
It won't be for the Yankers starting third baseman. Carl Crawford would be nice, but if it were just sitting there, that trigger would already have been pulled. If anybody, for that matter, was just sitting around as a surplus, non-problem player with a great contract, none of these conversations would be being had in the first place.
I still maintain that (like I'm gonna guess South Side Sox is saying) Williams is only bringing Pods back as trade bait. Probably not without some inkling as to where he is going with him.
Not to say that our GM isn't capable of making mistakes, but this doesn't seem like his kind of mistake. If anything, Williams has a record of finding ways for the players he doesn't like to go away. He really doesn't like Pods(on the field play, of course). The minor league guys couldn't do much worse. (Yes, I've heard of Brian Anderson.) Pods will go away.
If not, put me under confused AND depressed.
I think the bottom line is that when a contract is this short, there is almost no downside. I agree that Pods will most likely not be the Sox starting LF next season. But they can throw him in on a trade, or keep him around as a 4th outfielder at that price. As a 4th outfielder he's an adequate defender with a good on-base percentage. He's only a bad bat if he's an everyday corner outfielder being asked to hit leadoff. And no matter how bad he is, it's very little money spent, and it comes off the books at the end of the year. So, I'm only confused or depressed if this means Pods will be playing left field and hitting lead off next year, and I can't imagine that's the case.
As a fourth outfielder (and late game pinch runner), I like the move, but the Sox have six potential OFers (Dye, BA, Pods, Mack, Pablo and Terrero -- not to mention Sweeney)right now. Someone has to be on the move.
Exactly the point. Too amny guys playing the same positions, most playing them terrible to not very well. At the PC to announce the resigning, there was no indication that Pods wouldn't be the starting LF, at least until traded. If the Sox can't do better than him as a starting LF, they can plan vacations for late October now. I hope that one of the young guys (Sweeney, Owens)in the system can pull a rabbit out of somewhere.
Owens will never be a full time big leaguer, not a good enough hitter -- worse than pods -- so if he's starting for the Sox, then they really have problems.
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