Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

[Dice]

Reading the Chicago Suntime today they had an interesting article on Podsednik. To me, he's the White Sox's Co-MVP with Jon Garland. As I was reading I started to think if Scotty can pull of this feat. It hasn't been done since 1987. At the rate he's going he'll steal about 90 bases but I think he can do it.

Here's some reasons why he'll do it:
- He has more stolen bases than 18 TEAMS IN BASEBALL!
- With Tim Raines as your baserunning coach you can't go wrong.
- He already has two games this year where he's stolen 4 bases in a game.

Here's some reason why he won't do it:
- Injury.
- If the Sox are secure a playoff spot early then Ozzie might pull the reigns on Scotty so he'll be fresh for the playoffs.
- The AL Central has Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez as the opposing catcher, which would be tough for any base stealer. Even John Buck of the Royals has a excellent throwing arm.

What do you guys think?

[Stu]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I think Stolen Bases are overrated. He has 26 SB and 25 runs. He's tied for 25th in the AL in Runs. He also leads the AL in CS with 6. What good are the SB's if he isnt scoring?

[Dice]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I think Stolen Bases are overrated. He has 26 SB and 25 runs. He's tied for 25th in the AL in Runs. He also leads the AL in CS with 6. What good are the SB's if he isnt scoring?

Well considering this is coming from a Red Sox fan who's team is dead last in the majors. Looking at the division leaders in the AL they all rank in the top 5 in SB's in the AL.

Just like with the homerun, it's not how many BUT how you use it. If Podsednik was not leading off Iguchi would not be batting over .300 right now because pitchers are so worried about him stealing instead of focusing on the batter.

So call it overrated if you want but I know the Marlins won the series two years ago with speed. Aneheim won the WS being thrid in the league in SB. The Yankees during their championship dynasty was always in the top 10 in steals.

Stolen bases is a lost art and needs to be utilized more.

REMEMBER: Hitting and Pitching can always go on a slump. Speed NEVER goes into a slump. Either you have it or you don't.

[glucklich]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Well considering this is coming from a Red Sox fan who's team is dead last in the majors. Looking at the division leaders in the AL they all rank in the top 5 in SB's in the AL.

Just like with the homerun, it's not how many BUT how you use it. If Podsednik was not leading off Iguchi would not be batting over .300 right now because pitchers are so worried about him stealing instead of focusing on the batter.

So call it overrated if you want but I know the Marlins won the series two years ago with speed. Aneheim won the WS being thrid in the league in SB. The Yankees during their championship dynasty was always in the top 10 in steals.

Stolen bases is a lost art and needs to be utilized more.

REMEMBER: Hitting and Pitching can always go on a slump. Speed NEVER goes into a slump. Either you have it or you don't.

Thank you and thats one reason that Whitey Herzog should be among the alltime greats of managers. I can still remember how lethal those Cardinals of the mid 90s were.

Two things: Guys who can run often improve your defense on speed alone. Also, if you have the stolen base as a threat, hitters generally see more fastballs. I can remember Rickey Henderson getting in the heads of the pitcher when he was with those Oakland As teams. I know theres a school of thought out there that cites data in asserting that if you dont have at least a 70% success rate its not worth it...but that theory is problematic in that it exists in a vacuum. In other words if every team were to subscribe to this, it would then alter the way the game is played potentially rendering this theory useless.

[snepp]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I can still remember how lethal those Cardinals of the mid 90s were.

I'm assuming that was a typo (80's). And yes, they ran, then ran some more, and after that they ran again....

[glucklich]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I'm assuming that was a typo (80's). And yes, they ran, then ran some more, and after that they ran again....

Correct, I meant the mid 80s. Coleman, McGee, Smith...those guys were unbelievable on the bases. Man Coleman would fly down that first base line.

[Stu]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Yah being a Red Sox fan is a big part of my opinion, but the Red Sox led the league in runs in 2003, 2004 and are 4th so far this year so I think they're doing ok without the stolen base.

Don't get me wrong, I think there is a time for the SB, but it just doesn't make sense to do it on a regular basis in the AL. You're argument about the division leaders using SB doesn't make sense since the Devil Rays are #2 and in last place.

Stolen bases can be helpful to teams that don't have strong hitting or are slumping but over the long run they don't have much affect on how a team performs over the season. The White Sox aren't winning because of their stolen bases, they're winning because their pitching staff leads MLB in ERA.

[glucklich]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Yah being a Red Sox fan is a big part of my opinion, but the Red Sox led the league in runs in 2003, 2004 and are 4th so far this year so I think they're doing ok without the stolen base.

Don't get me wrong, I think there is a time for the SB, but it just doesn't make sense to do it on a regular basis in the AL. You're argument about the division leaders using SB doesn't make sense since the Devil Rays are #2 and in last place.

Stolen bases can be helpful to teams that don't have strong hitting or are slumping but over the long run they don't have much affect on how a team performs over the season. The White Sox aren't winning because of their stolen bases, they're winning because their pitching staff leads MLB in ERA.

Its funny how the Red Sox win because of their hitting but the DRays lose because of their stolen bases while the White Sox win because of their pitching but not their stolen bases. Yeah, pitchings always a big part of it. The reason the Red Sox lineup is so effective is because they have (and have had) this sense of working pitchers collectively...and you can see that in pitches per at bat.

There is an article in SI this week that has it right (for once) about the approach to baseball minus the power hitters pre-steroid testing. The funny thing is though that of todays teams, the Marlins are the team that best utilizes speed (incl the stolen base) and they won the WS two years ago in the "steroid era" even though they didnt have the powerhitters many other teams did. If running teams dont work, its often because of the pitching. When power hitting teams dont work, its often because their offense is too streaky and because their defense doesnt support their pitching because power hitters are often slow.

[shugknight]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I think Stolen Bases are overrated. He has 26 SB and 25 runs. He's tied for 25th in the AL in Runs. He also leads the AL in CS with 6. What good are the SB's if he isnt scoring?

You think stolen bases are overrated????

Watch a WHITE SOX game. a REAL baseball game, and you'll see how the game really plays. No offense to Boston fans, but it seems nowadays, its all about power for them. No defense, no speed, just power. And even with that, they're not doing too well.


If you think about it...Pods leads off.

If he somehow gets to first, whether via a walk or a hit, he has a chance to steal 2nd. Once he steals second, he already is in scoring position, and with his speed, 99.9% of all basehits will score him. If he steals second, theres been many occasions where Ozzie has given him the green light to steal 3rd. Think about that. Leadoff man gets on base, steals 2 bases, and with a sac fly, base hit, or a pass ball, he can easily score because he's just 90 feet away from home. How is that overrated?

Maybe if your Boston Red Sox werent so concerned about the Yankees, they wouldve signed some better defense. Well last night showed you what happens, when your defense is sub-par.

Also being able to steal 2nd 99% of the time helps his teammates confidence, because they never have to worry about hitting into a double play.

[Stu]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Its funny how the Red Sox win because of their hitting but the DRays lose because of their stolen bases while the White Sox win because of their pitching but not their stolen bases.

I didn't say the D-Rays lose because of their stolen bases, I said they steal a lot of bases but still don't win.

[glucklich]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

I didn't say the D-Rays lose because of their stolen bases, I said they steal a lot of bases but still don't win.

Fair enough, but then you turned around and discredited the increase in steals by the White Sox when mentioning how they are winning. And like I said, faster players often means better defense. Id certainly prefer Podsednik in LF defensively over Carlos Lee on speed alone. How many fly balls does Podsednik get to that Carlos Lee has no shot at? Podsednik is helping the pitching as well.

[Stu]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

You think stolen bases are overrated????

Watch a WHITE SOX game. a REAL baseball game, and you'll see how the game really plays. No offense to Boston fans, but it seems nowadays, its all about power for them. No defense, no speed, just power. And even with that, they're not doing too well.

Contrary to popular belief the Red Sox are not "just power." Their approach to hitting is to get men on base and work starting pitchers, which they do very well. They leade MLB in OBP and are 4th in runs scored.

If you think about it...Pods leads off.

If he somehow gets to first, whether via a walk or a hit, he has a chance to steal 2nd. Once he steals second, he already is in scoring position, and with his speed, 99.9% of all basehits will score him. If he steals second, theres been many occasions where Ozzie has given him the green light to steal 3rd. Think about that. Leadoff man gets on base, steals 2 bases, and with a sac fly, base hit, or a pass ball, he can easily score because he's just 90 feet away from home. How is that overrated?

It's overrated because he is only 1 batter out of 9. For him, his SB's havn't been translating into runs. He accounts for more than 50% of the White Sox SB's. If an entire team has speed like the 2003 Marlins then it's a much more effective approach.

Maybe if your Boston Red Sox werent so concerned about the Yankees, they wouldve signed some better defense. Well last night showed you what happens, when your defense is sub-par.

I didn't realize this thread was about the Red Sox problems, I thought it was about SB's.

Also being able to steal 2nd 99% of the time helps his teammates confidence, because they never have to worry about hitting into a double play.

There are some disadvantages to the stolen base as well. The 1B no longer has to hold the runner on, team's can use the intentional walk to setup a double play or skip a good hitter.

[Stu]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Fair enough, but then you turned around and discredited the increase in steals by the White Sox when mentioning how they are winning. And like I said, faster players often means better defense. Id certainly prefer Podsednik in LF defensively over Carlos Lee on speed alone. How many fly balls does Podsednik get to that Carlos Lee has no shot at? Podsednik is helping the pitching as well.

I did discredit the SB's because I don't think they have a huge effect on whether a team is winning or not. Especially in a case like the White Sox where most of the SB's are coming from 1 guy.

I completely agree that faster players means better defense. I'm not trying to say speed is overrated, just SB's.

[snepp]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

And like I said, faster players often means better defense.

Which makes this the perfect opportunity to mention Roger Cedeno.

[Dice]

Re: Will Scott Podsednik steal 100 bases this year?

Yah being a Red Sox fan is a big part of my opinion, but the Red Sox led the league in runs in 2003, 2004 and are 4th so far this year so I think they're doing ok without the stolen base.

Don't get me wrong, I think there is a time for the SB, but it just doesn't make sense to do it on a regular basis in the AL. You're argument about the division leaders using SB doesn't make sense since the Devil Rays are #2 and in last place.

Stolen bases can be helpful to teams that don't have strong hitting or are slumping but over the long run they don't have much affect on how a team performs over the season. The White Sox aren't winning because of their stolen bases, they're winning because their pitching staff leads MLB in ERA.

Your point is well taken. YES. Tampa Bay is one of the worst teams in the league and they are 2nd in SB's. BUT my argument about the division leaders being in the top 5 in SB's DOES make sense because it's FACT. All of these teams utilize the SB in their offensive arsenal. Of course, not too many teams can bash the ball outta the park like the Red Sox but like I said hitting can go into a slump. Speed never slumps.

As I stated before, it's not how many BUT how you use it.

As far as the White Sox. YES. Pitching is a big part of their success. BUT how do you think we're scoring runs to win games? With no Carlos Lee, no Magglio Ordonez and no Frank Thomas we're sure not bashing the ball outta the park like we used to. If we weren't scoring runs like we should be would be losing a lot of games 1-0.

Run scoring is a big part of baseball success. Teams do it in a different way. The Red Sox take you out of the park. The White Sox steal bases to get runners in scoring position. I've yet to see a team in major league history to win a game and not score a run.