Hello!
It's been awhile. Again.
So...Mark Teahen is now on the South Side, traded for Josh Fields and Chris Getz. Or Chris Getz and Josh Fields. JHC! Does it really matter?
Phil, once the rumors became less-than-unsubstantiated or something, offered a quick national baseball columnist reaction; a reaction that barely involves an assessment of Teahen while offering a drooly coda over Chris Getz along with a weird Paul Konerko prediction.
I can barely type this next sentence because it feels so freakin' trite. If you have taken the time to read all the Mark Teahen articles at the Tribune over the last two days, you know why people don't bother to read the newspaper. Get more lazy and old.
Seriously, is it that difficult to hire a guy that offers something sabermetrically-inclined a couple of times a week? Or even someone who doesn't pepper their articles with 'leadership' and 'passion'-type tropes?
Let's get started.
A hair below Major League average? The Sox were 79-83 this year. That's a collective hair-below Major League average. If Kenny Williams values 79-83, then Phil is 100% correct.
He's a good hitter and he can move all over the field, making him a candidate for playing time at third base, second base, first base, left field, right field and DH.
(Glurp) Well...I suppose I should type this stuff just for posterity.
Mark Teahen's UZR/150 at each position:
First base: A grand total of 34 games played = 6.0. Fine.
Second base: The experiment lasted all of three games before Gordon went down = -32.1
Third base: This is where he saw the most ML time = -10.1 (-10.9 last year)
Right field: Second-most time, known for his strong arm and lack of range = -2.0
I don't hate Mark Teahen. In many ways, it's a fine enough swap. Not like the Sox gave up anything.
Something that hasn't been mentioned anywhere, though, about the deal - which is soooo Chicago - is that Teahen's a free agent in 2011 and will only see an arbitration-eligible raise that should max out at $4-5 million. It's one year and he'll probably become a Cub because Hendry also has a hard-on for his MLB averageness.
Even Steve Stone inexplicably sung his praises, saying his line drives will become home runs in U.S. Cellular. To what? From 10 to 15 homers? He also said Teahen is a good defensive player, which he's not by any and all metrics available.
BUT...it's only one year and he's at his prime production year at the age of 28. When it comes to the 'gonna git paid!' world, 2010 is Teahen's watershed moment. Motivation is there. He's playing for the unrestricted free agent paradise.
Like the signing of first baseman-outfielder Mark Kotsay, Teahen's arrival -- not yet official, although widely reported -- would position the White Sox to deal Paul Konerko this winter, assuming Konerko is willing to waive his no-trade rights.
Geesh. Who's picking up the $12 million contract for His Slowness?
Konerko has one year left on his contract and isn't believed to have received overtures about staying past 2010. He could be attractive to teams looking for leadership and run-production, with San Francisco, Arizona, Boston and the Angels among the possibilities. Shedding his $12-million salary would make it easier to pursue a top free agent, such as the long rumored Chone Figgins.
Consistency! I demand it!
Arizona? They're going nowhere. And what happens to Phil's man-crush Brandon Allen?
Cripes. If you kept up on Arizona baseball things, you would know they're trying to shed payroll.
Boston? Fine, whatever. Won't happen, but fine.
San Francisco? I can see it, oddly. This is a mildly solid suggestion. A move to the NL could easily prolong his career and I think he should seriously consider any NL team that wants him.
Angels! WHAT THE MOTHER FUCK!!!!!
Who hit .306/.355/.569 with 34 homers and 108 RsBi for the Angels at first base?
Who? I mean, what does Morales have to do? And he's a better defensive first baseman than Konerko.
What? For DH? They can re-sign Guerrero for $5 million (mark my words) and save $7 million!
Angels are fine, kind sir, in the dumbass Leadership department.
And here we go on the Figgins thing. Figgins is one of the best third basemen in the league. He's. Not. Moving. Off. Third! God!
(BTW, Bernstein said Figgins is getting $15 million per for five years. BAH! No fucking way he touches that!)
No one is saying the White Sox are going to trade Konerko.
Didn't Phil just make that point?
Unless someone pays a premium for him, they shouldn't.
But...but....but....Phil. You just gave reasons.
He and Mark Buehrle are still the cornerstones this team is built upon.
People age in life. Read the inside of the boxtop.
But with Williams' perpetual need to do something, you never know.
He hasn't made more moves than other GMs. Look it up.
Like Clayton Richard, who was sent to San Diego in the Jake Peavy trade, Chris Getz will be missed.
Are we really lamenting the loss of Clayton Richard still? News to me.
He's a good young player who was a pleasure for everyone he encountered around U.S. Cellular Field. The questions with him are his bat and his health.
Chipper attitude wins baseball games in Phil's world. Let's see. Can't stay healthy and can't hit. That's a recipe for awesomeness!
Yes, those are big drawbacks.
Do you feel it? Phil thinks whenever a player leaves town, it's his job to give a glowing parting shot, like it's part of some historical record or something. Let's continue, I guess.
Getz's instincts and speed make him an exciting player, the kind the Sox consistently lacked in the Konerko- Jermaine Dye- Jim Thome era.
Am I wrong? I missed more than a few games this year but did Getz ever create a body of work that jettisoned him into the realm of exciting? He was pretty much just a guy. Perfect Royal in that respect.
But take a good look at his line from the 107 games he played last season: a ,261 batting average, .324 on-base percentage and .408 slugging average.
Yes. Let's take a look. .261 = meh. .324 = bad. .408 = WRONG!!!
Phil, you took Nix's slugging and attributed it to Getz. Getz's slugging was .347 in 2009, which is absolutely horrendous. Getz had an OPS+ of 73. MY. GOD! That's horrible.
Now look at the same numbers for Jayson Nix.
Okay. Nix's OPS = .716. Getz's OPS = .670. Nix plays a superlative second (14.5 UZR/150 in 2009). Getz doesn't (-6.7). Right there. Add it up. Nix was a two win improvement over Getz in just defensive ability.
There. Done.
Nix, not a sure thing himself, put up his numbers in a tougher role –off the bench. He is a more productive hitter than Getz at this point. His fielding skills have been underrated in Chicago.
This is the point where Phil found out that Nix plays good defense. Probably accidentally turned to the Nix page in the Bill James Handbook and was shocked by what he saw. Therefore, Nix is underrated by all of Chicago because Phil didn't previously know it.
And prospect C.J. Retherford, who hit .297 with 10 home runs included in his 60 extra-base hits last year for Double-A Birmingham, is on essentially the same level as Getz and Nix.
Heard good things about Retherford. BUT. He'll need to play in the Major League baseball games before we declare him on par with both Getz and Nix.
Point is, Getz was almost as expendable as Josh Fields, who failed when given his big-league shots.
The Teahen trade, like the Kotsay re-signing, isn't a huge move. But it makes sense.
The question, as always with Williams, is what comes next?
Phil does love the phrase 'it makes sense'. Covers all the bases and leaves him accountable for nothing.
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