Chisox Short Stop

[poorme]

HurrayHurrayHurray. La la la la. wwwwwEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Looks like Manuel has made a DECISION for once.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-spt-doug04.html

Would you rather have Crede and Valentin or Valentin and Clayton?

Clayton is a fabulous fielder IMO, but woah, what a putrid stick.

[WiredTiger]

I would say in this day in age having a purely defensive shortstop will kill you. I would rather have a guy that is an avarage hitter and an average fielder than an outstanding fielder who is a below average hitter.

[gyb13]

I dunno what the Sox have been doing playing Clayton the past coupla years. Valentin + Graffanino followed by Valentin + Crede will be much better. Can Liefer still play some third, too?

[Max Power]

I'm going to say this based on observation (so, I could be wrong) rather than looking up the stats (not enough time) - but, does not Clayton always start out slow and then turn it on?

I seem to recall him hitting under .200 in the 1st half last year and way over .300 in the 2nd half.

Can someone look this up?

[poorme]

Originally posted by Max Power
I seem to recall him hitting under .200 in the 1st half last year and way over .300 in the 2nd half.

Can someone look this up?

That's definitely true of last year. He was hitting like .095 at the end of May, but wound up hitting around .265. I'm not sure of years past. He's one of these aggravating guys who has all the tools, but just can't put it all together.

Regarding Leifer, he was drafted as a third baseman. Immediately had shoulder problems and was shifted to first. Moved to the outfield to get more AB's. (I'd be surprised if he has 20 AB's this year). He's played a few games at third, and from what I can tell didn't embarass himself. He'd be a great platoon player, but Manuel is afraid of errors - that's how we wound up in this position in the first place.

[sweaver]

The White Sox improved themselves as much as they could have in any trade.

Even more, since Williams has a habit of giving away the store.

you mean a third team has gone sour on Royce Clayton--once heralded as the heir to Ozzie Smith? Clayton is that perpetual trade bait guy cause he makes a nice throw in on trades. Slow starts aside, he has never been a great ML shortstop. His glove will keep him in the majors and somebody is always looking for a mediocre shortstop. Send him to Colorado--maybe he can hit there. Too bad Uribe is a monster....

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Max Power
I'm going to say this based on observation (so, I could be wrong) rather than looking up the stats (not enough time) - but, does not Clayton always start out slow and then turn it on?

I seem to recall him hitting under .200 in the 1st half last year and way over .300 in the 2nd half.

Can someone look this up?

From 1999-2001, Clayton is .229 / .278 / .365 pre-all star (695 AB) and .297 / .360 / .447 post-all star (716 AB)

[Max Power]

Originally posted by gyb13

From 1999-2001, Clayton is .229 / .278 / .365 pre-all star (695 AB) and .297 / .360 / .447 post-all star (716 AB)

This is why I not sure that benching him is the answer. No one ever got out of a slump sitting the bench. Seems he needs 300-odd PA to get clicking.

Makes more sense to bat him 9th, and PH when needed (like a pitcher) until he gets going.

[poorme]

Originally posted by Max Power


This is why I not sure that benching him is the answer. No one ever got out of a slump sitting the bench. Seems he needs 300-odd PA to get clicking.

Makes more sense to bat him 9th, and PH when needed (like a pitcher) until he gets going.

Forget that business. If it takes you 300 AB's to get going, you have no business being in the big leagues. Maybe he can play in the minors for the first half of the year and then come up to the bigs. I'm sure he'd like that. He's a complainer too. I'd give him the Derek Bell treatment.

[KCBOOMER]

I couldn't believe it when he was quoted as saying, "One thing for sure, I'll win a lot more games with my glove than my bat".

He's only a decent shortstop at best. He has to hit or sit.

[gyb13]

"I say this and I mean this, I'm one of the best shortstops in the game. No doubt about that. In this day and age, I don't understand the evolution of baseball. For some reason, a shortstop regardless of how good he is has to go out there and be hitting .300 at every given opportunity."
--Royce Clayton, White Sox infielder, on being benched

"The fact is that I'm leading the whole entire league in fielding percentage, which is my job. And I've done my job. So whatever other decisions that are made are out of my (control)."
--Clayton

"I'm not the kind of person that's going to go out publicly or use the media to try and voice my opinion or my point. I think people throughout baseball know what type of player I am."
--Clayton

[SmedIndy]

Just shut up, Royce. Ya statue, ya....

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by WiredTiger
I would say in this day in age having a purely defensive shortstop will kill you. I would rather have a guy that is an avarage hitter and an average fielder than an outstanding fielder who is a below average hitter.

Ditto. The Sox can't afford Royce Clayton's glove.

[poorme]

well, this story is slooooooooooooowly unwinding. Clayton has finally been released. Crede has sealed up the 3B job for next year (9 hr in 133 ab's). Valentine reclaims the SS job after 2 years of being jerked around. D'angelo Jimenez has the inside track on the 2B job, beating out Willie Harris.

It's hard to believe Jimenez was once compared to Soriano. This guy has no speed OR power.