New White Sox import Alexei Ramirez is having a good spring, and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen believes he is ready to play at the MLB level. Although he was the best player over in Cuba, his 6'3, 185 pound body will probably hit for more average than power. I think the White Sox are making a mistake by keeping him on the roster. The Cuban leagues are comparable to High-A ball at best, and they already have a lot of depth at second base at their roster. I have said it before, but anyone can hit .300 during Spring Training. You are almost guaranteed a fastball for the first pitch, and it should be over the plate. Early on, all the pitcher is trying to do is get ahead in the count so he can work on his second and third pitch. When the season starts, it will be completely different. Starting him in Triple-A might even be pushing it, but he might be ready. In Triple-A, he will be allowed to get his swing down and adjust to American baseball. That is my opinion, maybe the White Sox see something I don't see.When I shared this opinion with one scout he agreed, for the most part. He thought that because teams are not familiar with him, he would be successful, at least for most of 2008: "He is a very smart player." Does that mean you should go out and pick him up in your fantasy league? Not just yet, but he could be someone you watch for early on.
7 comments:
What you don't see is Alexi's potential. You are talking about anyone hitting .300 well hes hitting close to .400 with a .381 BA. This kid is the real deal.
You've been down on him all spring. Also, you hated just about every move the White Sox made this offseason. I kinda get the feeling Eli doesn't want the ChiSox to succeed. I think Ramirez will do well and not because it's some epic fluke, but because he's a hard-worker and has proven he can be successful.
Perhaps, but I think he would benefit from a month or so in Triple-A. Also, I have been down on some of their moves this off season. Yes, they have revamped their outfield and it looks good, and Cabrera should be solid, but what about Crede, Konerko, Prysnkski (sorry for spelling), and thome. They failed to improve their pitching and failed to acquire the big outfielder they promised. We'll know more this season, but I do not think they made great decisions. Going back to the Swish trade, they trade three top prospects (basically the best they got) for one guy. Maybe I am Kenny Williams hater, but I think better decisions could have been made.
1st off Dye, Konerko, Crede, Thome, and AJP had carrer worst last year as a colletive. Nothing really went the Sox way last year. It's hard to explain but just because they did bad last year doesn't mean they will do bad this year. Example Konerko is a beast so far in ST and seems to have a chip on his shoulder from last year. So far everyone has shown in ST that they are back to normal.
2ndly the Sox tried their best to aquire Hunter and Fukudome. They didn't come to Sox because of other reasons Hunter got a really outragous deal and even if the Sox wanted to top that they didn't get a chance to. Fukudome was also about to come to the Sox but went to the Cubs not because of money but because he wanted to be the first Japennese player in the franchie, as well as play RF. The Sox did aqurie a big time outfielder in Swisher who is dirt cheap, locked up for a couple more years, and he is in the prime of his career. Let's not forget he is a team player who brings a lot to this club. Sure the Sox lost a good starter but they gained a All-star and gold glove shortstop. Plus they have improved their BP tremedously with Dotel and Linebrink. 3rd the Sox did a lot this offseason to get rid of dead weight just look at what Kenny did. He got rid of Erstad, Pod's, and so on. They also aquried Alexi who has turned out to be a great asset so far. So before you go saying thing about my White Sox do your homework and double check your facts. If you are Kenny hater don't bring it into your blogs because true sports writers are not biased and do not write slander about other teams, players, or managment.
To call the Cuban leauge A ball is BS. The Cubans came and beat the best major leaugers from all over the world in the Baseball Classic last year. They hit Colon, they hit Santana, they shut down Ortiz and everyone else. The US has never gotten the best of the Cuban league players over here.
Maybe I shouldn't, but I think some bias makes this blog unique. I do bring in my opinions and that is what generates these positive arguments. I have been skeptical of his moves in the past couple of years since the WS because i thought they should have built off it, and they didnt. while they werent, the tigers, indians, and royals have built teams that gearing up for the future.
I disagree with that assessment. The White Sox have been very active since their World Series Championship. While they traded away Aaron Rowand for Jim Thome, the Sox did upgrade offensively in that deal. They lost a clubhouse guy and a defensive gem. They got the clubhouse guy back in Nick Swisher this year.
All signs pointed to Brian Anderson being ready to take over the center field spot. Based on that, it was a fantastic move.
They also let an ailing Frank Thomas go, which seemed like the thing to do with his injury history in 2005. Thome replaced him nicely.
They traded an aging Orlando Hernandez for Javier Vazquez. Javier has blossomed into a wonderful number 2 starter.
When the team broke down in the middle of 2006, Kenny went to work to try to make something fit. Since mid 2006, there has been a mix of freak injuries and career low years. Kenny keeps cutting the dead weight and holds on to those who have a history of bouncing back.
Erstad was a chance that failed to fill in for the oft injured Podsednik. Even the signings in the bullpen were great, the players just didn't respond like they should have. MacDougal is a prime example.
Toby Hall was a good pick up, but he was injured in Spring Training of 2007 and hasn't been the same since.
Sometimes what looks good on paper doesn't translate into wins. Unfortunately, you can't predict when someone is going to get injured of have an off year.
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