Is Crow On The Menu? (Part II)

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Yesterday I discussed the big intangible Teahen brings to the table that might just save his acquisition and contract extension from being a major bust - something I absolutely thought it would be originally. As my buddy posted in the comments section, just being funny sounds like a pretty rah-tarded thing to make up for mediocre play on the field.

Sort of true, but one guy really can make a difference in the demeanor of a team, and that difference can mean you win more ballgames. Plus, as I should have stressed, 3B for most teams is not somewhere you get much for production. Look around the league and aside a handful of guys like ARod, Longoria, and a few others, most teams have nothing but offensive mediocrity at the hot corner.

If Teahen can be like so many of those others and hold his own defensively while playing every day, he'll be a serviceable 3B. And a serviceable 3B who help keeps your team with the right attitude? I'll take it.


But today I'm not asking you to make such an intangible leap of faith. Instead, I look at the very tangible reasons adding Andruw Jones this offseason could end up not looking stupid - another outcome I originally thought to be fairly definite.

Why the change on Andruw Jones - it's pretty straight forward stuff. I will say I still can't believe they committed to a guy who hit under .220 in four straight months last year, all while playing in Texas, where EVERYONE hits, and had regressed so far defensively that he was mainly a DH.

But I've since learned he didn't get $1M, but instead only a $500k deal. It's not the difference in dollars per se, it's that $500k basically is the league minimum. So they paid the least amount of money they could to fill a roster spot. Viewed that way, why not take a shot at some career rejuvenation? Jones is still only 32 and with his financial gravy train doneski, maybe the motivation is now restored.

That still doesn't justify counting on a guy like Jones to play a significant role on the team, which at this point the Sox are. They didn't sign a true DH, which I like in principle, but am leery if the plan is that Jones can somehow handle a portion of those at-bats. Again, in June, July, August, and September of last year, he couldn't manage to hit over .220. In Texas. Where Milton Bradley and Gary Matthews (the two biggest salary dumps of this off-season) were offensive stars.

But two things are changing my mind. The first is simple - if there's anything in baseball that's easy to get, it's a right-handed bat. If you don't care what position he plays and don't need him to bat from the left side (both true for the Sox), then you pretty much can go to about half the teams in the league and they'll have someone they can offload on you. If Jones doesn't get it done by the end of April, Kenny can easily find himself another option via trade. So can I really sit here and say that I think the Sox downfall will be relying on Jones when I know they can so easily replace him?

The other thing - Jones has looked and sounded like a different player this spring. He's lighter, he's driven, and he's producing. Sure it's Spring Training, but it's definitely better than him not doing those things. At least the possibility is still there. And everything he's been saying sounds like he wants it bad. Jones is not content to be a right-handed bench option. He's not even content to be the main DH or a semi-regular OF.

No, Druw Jones expects to win that starting CF spot at sometime this season. And not just with his bat - he's apparently driven to show that he can still play center as good as anyone in the game. That's a statement that used to be undeniable, but in recent years seemed impossible.

Is Jones about the 10,000th player to come into camp in great shape and profess a new lease on life? Yep. Is he the 10,000th player to tantalize with a return to previous stardom? Yep. Could he be one of the small, small minority who actually comes through? Why not. The guy always was a head case. Even at his peak, you weren't sure you were getting his all. No one ever put a ceiling on this guy. He could steal, hit for power, and holy cow could he cover center.

At 32, there's no reason to think he's done. Will he be the Gold Glover he was for a decade? Probably not, as even fully committed, defense is a young man's game. But could he be a plus defender in all three OF positions? Yep - very plausible. And could he really get his offense back? Well, he never was a guy who hit for average, but he could definitely hit for power and drive in runs. Why couldn't he do it again? Plenty of players have good to great years from 32 to 34.

And that could end up being very necessary for the Sox. Rios and Quentin are huge question marks in the OF. Rios could hit .200 again and/or Quentin could be back on the shelf. Or a fluke injury to Pierre or Konerko (both impressively injury-free in their careers) or even Kotsay could put extra pressure on the Sox. And the guy who answers the bell might just be Jones. You can't think of a single good season by any team in baseball that didn't involve somebody unexpectedly stepping up and coming through in spades.


Look, I'm not pulling a 180 and saying these two moves which I previously loathed are now going to be the reason we win another ring. I'm just saying that I'm not as assured as before that I'm going to hate these moves. Teahen could be serviceable at third and bring something I find very necessary to the team dynamic. And Druw Jones could just rediscover what once made him good, at least enough to earn some starts in all three spots in the OF and to help the club with his 300-400 ABs.

The possibility is there, which is all you ask for. And as a fan, that's what you're hoping for - I want to be able to get a little bit excited about every part of this club. Despite my earlier assurances I couldn't, I'm starting to come around. There's a glimmer of hope that Teahen and Andruw Jones won't be stains on Kenny's resume. And that hope is what makes this time of year so fun in baseball.

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Is Crow On The Menu? (Part I)

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I'm pretty damn pumped about the Sox this season and while I'm always the optimist, this year really has a special feel to it. I am buying into the way they've figured out that their best year was in 2005 and thus intelligently tried to replicate it.

Gone is the softball lineup, back is the speed and top-to-bottom dynamic approach (and I'd argue, done so in an even better way than in 2005).

Gone are unproven arms in the pen, back is a stable of guys who might end up being a dominant 7th, 8th, or 9th inning arm this year (five different guys have a long history of doing just that).

Gone are unreliable youngsters and gutless vets in the rotation, back is a one through five group where anyone can win 17 (all but Danks already have).

However, I haven't agreed with everything Kenny and Ozzie have done. Specifically, I was totally blown away by the decision to acquire Mark Teahen and give him $15M for the next three seasons. And I didn't see any wisdom to bringing in Andruw Jones and counting on him for significant semi-regular production.

Today - why I no longer hate the Teahen moves. Tomorrow - why I no longer hate the Andruw Jones move.

With Teahen, I've since come around on the motivation to move Getz. Beckham is a franchise cornerstone and the team wanted him at 2B. That means Getz had to go, despite the scrappy value and upside he had. Hey, that happens - you can't always find a spot for everyone and certainly Getz doesn't seem like a guy who will be remembered as "the one that got away."

However, I'm still uncertain if the corresponding move was to add Teahen. And then give him $5M per for three. To me his stats SCREAM mediocre utility IF, and those guys are a dime a dozen, easily had for $1M and a one year deal. Heck, even if you see his high end as a legit starting 3B, you can't expect him to be better Juan Uribe or Pedro Feliz, who both signed only one year deals for around $4-5M. And both of those guys are known as plus glove men, which Teahen is not.

But here's the thing - I may end up eating crow on this. Teahen's career numbers (outside of a fluke stretch in 2005) and his Spring numbers suggest otherwise. But I'm starting to come around to the idea that Teahen brings more to the table than the numbers. Maybe hitting .270 in the #9 hole and being average defensively at third will be enough.

Why? Because Teahen apparently is a bigtime jokester. Sounds like a ludicrous reason to forgive a stunning lack of production and overpayment, but I'm a big believer in chemistry. Not just in how the guys like each other, but what they bring out of each other. I made a big deal at the beginning of last year that losing The OC and Swish would hurt this team. They both brought something necessary to the clubhouse and I didn't see anyone replacing it.

Was that the reason we struggled instead of returning to the playoffs? You know, I think it was part of it. Not the major part, but a part. And just like a utility infielder or second lefty out of the pen, even smaller parts are important when your goal is winning the whole damn thing. So yeah, I think it hurt to lose The OC's intense, dickish need to perform.

The guy has done nothing but play in the postseason since he was traded from Montreal to the BoSox in 2004 - I think his attitude is one of those reasons. You need a guy who you don't feel too comfortable around, who you fear you'll piss off. Who keeps you focused on doing your job because you don't want to deal with his bitchiness if you don't. Given how low key so many of the Sox leaders were, I think they needed OC around. Combined with AJ, you had a few guys ratcheting up the intensity, not in a rah-rah way, but in a this-shit-is-for-real way.

Swish actually brings the opposite, but I think it's equally necessary to having a winner. The guy's light-hearted, goofy approach is a crucial to surviving a marathon schedule. A 162 game season filled with weeklong roadtrips twice a month, with games each and every day. Hell, for most of these players, even being home isn't really home - they live in other parts of the country (or world) during the off-season.

It ain't easy to get up for every game, but it sure helps if you've got a guy who's making it fun along the way. Especially as you hit those slumps or losing streaks or just dog days of summer. Swish brought an idiocy to that 2008 team that everyone commented on - it was a clubhouse unlike any other. This from a team who'd spent 2006 and 2007 being a bunch of boring, low key stiffs incapable of getting the most out of their impressive collection of talent.

And that's why I'm mildly hopeful that my three different off-season posts whining about the idiocy of the Teahen acquisition and extension won't be part of my Best Hits compilation. From everything I've heard, he's a force of personality who will bring the joy and camaraderie that a team needs to reach that next level. Loosen guys up, keep them having fun with the game, and keep the energy level where it needs to be night in and night out.

That stuff matters. Every one in the bigs has talent. Every team is capable of winning, especially if you just want to talk about a single game. So having that slight edge of feeling loose, feeling good, being excited about baseball - that might be what you need to bring out the full talent of the squad and getting it playing beyond the sum of its parts.

You can't watch sports and not believe that the intangibles play a major part. What's predicted on paper rarely is what plays out. So I'm buying into this possibility - that Teahen's mediocre play will suffice, given what's needed of him (just not be a sure-out in the lineup or a detriment in the field). Because he's going to be important to keeping an interesting mix of personalities in the right mindset to play some special baseball this year.


Tomorrow - why Andruw Jones might not be Ken Griffey Junior Part II.

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