Jeff Diebold, Chicago
Subj: Overrated?
How can you say Scott Podsednik is overrated? Saying he isn't doing "his job" because he hasn't hit a home run. Do you watch any White Sox games? Yeah, I didn't think so. If you did, you would know that his "job" isn't to hit home runs, but to get on base and to score runs. He does both of these very well. Looking at yesterday's double-header at Texas, you can see what he does to this team. Scotty P. has been on the DL, and the whitesox have been in an offensive slump. Scott comes back yesterday, and the sox score 6 runs in the first game and 8 in the second game. Overrated? I don't think so. He is a leadoff man. The job of someone hitting leadoff isn't to hit home runs, it is to get on base and to get into scoring position. I would love to hear what you think.
Perry: I also live in Chicago, so I've seen more than my share of White Sox games this year. That changes nothing. In today's game, which is still one, in historical terms, dominated by offense, teams must get power production from the corner positions. As mentioned Podsednik has zero home runs on the season and is on pace for only 28 extra-base knocks this year. What's more, he's slugging only .297 (!) away from hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular. That's just awful power production for a left fielder, and nothing he does can compensate for that fact.
As for Pod's native merits, getting on base and scoring runs, well, he's not particularly adept at those, either. Podsednik's on-base percentage of .345 ranks only 74th in baseball, and his runs scored tally, which is a flawed, team-dependent measure to begin with, ranks ... wait for it ... 74th. Also keep in mind that Podsednik's offensive abilities, such as they are, are made to look better by the tendencies of U.S. Cellular.
Podsednik has his merits. He's an excellent defender in left, and he runs the bases well. However, there are quite literally more than 200 other hitters who have been more productive with the bat this season. Podsednik is the most overrated player in baseball, and it's not a particularly close call.
KT: End of discussion. I mean it.
Labels: dayn perry, scott podsednik
