Well, that was uneventful. Jesus Christ Superstar Shortstop gets the call to the big club and what happens? A whole lot of 0-fer, that’s what, unless you count that TOTALLY AWESOME fielder’s choice or that routine grounder. Man, those were AMAZING!!!
And remember that one popout? THE FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT I HAVE TO WEAR A RADIATION-PROOF SUIT!
More importantly, beyond fueling the inexplicable hope and psychotic expectations of an increasingly bewildered fanbase, Gordon Beckham’s non-spectacular debut probably tells us more about the 2009 White Sox than we think it does.
For one, the Sox may very well be throwing in the towel. Sure, the division is easy and Blackout Game and grinder/grit/2005, but that’s exactly the point: if the division is so easy, why are the Good Guys having such a hard time staying afloat in it? and why do they think huge upside is the answer?
Yes, okay, the Tigers just took a thorough and serious beatdown from the Boston Red Sox. This would normally be encouraging were it not for the fact the Red Sox are currently the second-best team in the sport’s most dominant division, a division so solid its fourth-place team (Tampa Bay, 28) has as many wins as the Central’s first (Detroit). Couple that with the woodshedding the last-in-the-American-League-they-probably-thank-God-for-the-Nationals A’s just handed the Sox, and suddenly the day just grew a little darker.
Playing a weak team while your division leader plays a strong one; this is when gaps are supposed to be narrowed, not stagnated.
But what we also know by Beckham’s arrival is that someone among the White Sox infield is inevitably leaving (Wilson Betemit doesn’t count). Alexei Ramirez is too marketable and too highly-marketed (and actually playing well) while Chris Getz is just about as acceptably average as a rookie infielder can be, leaving either scrappy lil’ Jayson Nix or Josh “Jim Thome, Jr.” Fields relegated to trade bait, bench duty or manning the hot corner for Charlotte’s fearsome ace right-hander.
Smart money says Fields, as Beckham’s glove makes his fielding obsolete and Thome’s whiffing makes his bat superfluous. Which is too bad, because once upon a time Josh Fields was supposed to save us all. Good thing we have Beckham!
This is what bothers me about the Beckham call-up– the expectations will be so high that the fans and the media will turn on him if he doesn’t have a Longoria type season. Let’s all try to be realistic and not ruin this kid.
Too bad Josh Fields already wears number 7–or maybe his days in a Sox uni are numbered?
It’s pretty bad that we have to count on a rookie instead of our veterans or even our hitters in their second year (Quentin, Ramirez), but I think Beckham will be a very elite player someday. Which to say, having him with us can’t hurt us, and he can’t be any worse than Josh Fields has looked. 🙁
Tom hit it on the head. What happened to the best hitter in the AL? The mightiest grand slammer of all-time? The thunder-wielding third baseman? Beckham’s arrival isn’t bad in and of itself, but is donright miserable in the context of admitting so much else has gone wrong – and as I’ve said before, he’ll at best solve one problem; one of countless problems, all drastically larger than one man.
I’m really confused as to why they’re playing him at 3B. I thought he was projected to be our 2B of the future. I’ve heard that Ozzie plans to play him at both 2B and 3B this season. Talk about screwing him up! Getz is average at best. Fields, while recently below average, has a much higher upside especially with his improved defense (assuming it keeps improving). Nix should stay (can back up 3B and 2B) and Getz should get sent back down. Fields should remain at 3B and Beckham should start everyday at 2B, where he’s expected to be throughout his career.
And while we have had a terrible start to the year, we are fortunate to be only 3.5 games back when we haven’t had good or any production from: CQ, Thome, Fields, 2B, CF, Floyd, Danks, Ramierez or Contreras. If half of these issues straighten themselves out, we will definitely contend for this division.
Gordon Beckham is anything BUT a lousy baseball player. Have you ever heard of Rookies having a jitters before their major league debuts? Writing him off as lousy is ridiculous. The kid’s good. And he’s going to mean a lot to the Sox in the coming years. He should play SS, where he’s played all his life, and Ramirez should move to center.
Agree w James. Give him a few years and he’ll be unstoppable. Excited to watch him play.