Scout's take on PK, Manny, CQ and Sale
Several players were packing up their belongings in the White Sox’ clubhouse this afternoon.
Up in the pressbox, there are just as many scouts that have followed the Sox much of the season filing their season-end reports.
Had a chance to talk to one of them, and his insight was outstanding.
Here are some of the highlights:
*Talked to the scout about Paul Konerko, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.
“Just a great, great hitter, and he hits right-handers and left-handers, it doesn’t matter. He’s going to attract a lot of interest, and I can see him eventually becoming a full-time designated hitter.”
Any guess on Konerko’s asking price this winter?
“Three years and $45 million,” the scout said.
*Manny Ramirez’s name came up next.
“He just can’t hit the fastball anymore,” the scout said. “The one home run he hit (for the White Sox, on Sept. 17) was a changeup up in the zone. He should have hit that pitch 500 feet.”
There is maybe a 1 percent chance the White Sox bring Ramirez back in 2011, and the scout pointed out the obvious _ Manny can’t play left field anymore.
“That cuts the field in half, because he’s got to be a designated hitter in the American League,” the scout said. “The only team I can think of having an interest in him is Oakland.”
*Carlos Quentin came up next.
“When he puts it all together, he is some kind of a player,” the scout said. “But his timing always seems to be a little off, and there are injury issues there. That’s why they’re probably looking at (Mark) Teahen in right field, but I think there are a lot of teams out there that would love to have Quentin if Kenny (Williams) is thinking of moving him.”
*Chris Sale.
“The more you watch him, the more you see Randy Johnson,” the scout said. “They kid’s got an arm, and my question is, how did he drop to (No. 13 overall) in the draft?”
...is just such a force when he is on his game that I would rather find someone in a coaching role that can help him stay healthy and focused rather than give up on him.
Cooper seems to be really good in that regard for our pitching staff, but I'm not sure that Walker brings those same tools. At WS Fest last January, I was surprised (actually shocked is more like it) at Walker's laid back, hands off approach to his hitters.
Maybe a more hands on guy would help us to hit better in the clutch against division rivals, and could maybe keep Quentin off the DL and more zeroed in.
Talents like Quentin don't come along every day. I'd rather try to fix him than ditch him.
Stanley Cup is exactly right on Quentin and Sale.
Quentin, when healthy, can flat out hit. Sale is a monster talent.
The Sox's biggest offseason need is to add a big time hitter to the lineup.
Not sure whether Sale will become a closer or a starter at this point but in any case his 98mph heater will be helping the club next season without question.
Carlos Quentin is the real question mark out of the names mentioned above. When this guy is healthy he hits.....and hits.....and carries the club. He hits lefties, righties, curve balls, high heat and every other kind of pitch. The problem is that he never stays healthy longer than a few weeks and he's killed this team this year trying to play through one of a dozen injuries.
Kenny is going to have a tough decison to make with Quentin this offseason.
Right on scotgreg !
by asking about Kotsay. Why didn't Ozzie reward Viciedo with a start in tonights game?
With 4 games left why is Kotsay even playing? You would think that Konerko would playing in the last few games of season just for the fans attending the games. Nobody is paying to see Kotsay play. That leads me to one complaint about Ozzie. He always seems to rely on players with questionable talent. This year it was Kotsay. In the past, he would use players like Cintrom, Timo Perez, Jerry Owens, Ozuna.
want Viciedo hitting against Josh Beckett...he didn't like the matchup. And Konerko just needed a rest.