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Thread: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

  1. #406
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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Can Jr. handle center?
    Chicago thinks he'll be upgrade over Swisher

    Analysis by John Erardi • jerardi@enquirer.com • August 1, 2008

    Ken Griffey Jr. will bat fifth and play mostly center field for the Chicago White Sox.

    Based upon what he has shown as a Red this season, his shortcomings offensively can be hidden better batting fifth than they were batting third here.

    But because every statistical fielding service says Griffey no longer has any range in the outfield, all indications are that he will be exposed even more playing center than he was playing right for the Reds. He presently ranks among the bottom third defensively among all National League right fielders.

    One well-known and much-used statistical service goes so far as to rank Griffey 30th defensively among major-league right fielders this year. He ranked 25th in 2007 and didn't even finish in the top 30 in 2006.

    Griffey himself was concerned that White Sox general manager Ken Williams wants him to play mostly center and fill in some in right and occasionally spell Jim Thome as the designated hitter.

    "When I talked to Junior, he was very honest," the Sox general manager told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He said, 'Well, I've got to tell you, I don't know if you're going to see the guy from Seattle.' I said, 'We're not looking for that guy from Seattle.'"

    Griffey hasn't played center field since 2006, when he was deemed no longer fast enough to cover the necessary ground.

    There were some comments in the media Thursday stating that Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field is more spacious than Great American Ball Park, but that isn't true. The fielding services rate them about equal.

    The White Sox left fielder, Carlos Quentin, is rated a below-average fielder, and right fielder Jermaine Dye is rated slightly above average. So Griffey won't be getting help from the corners.

    The only advantage he brings the ChiSox is a modest boost offensively. Griffey isn't having a good year (.245 batting average, .355 on-base percentage, 15 home runs and 53 RBI), but it's better than the hitters he is replacing.

    The White Sox GM considers Griffey a defensive upgrade over Chicago center fielder Nick Swisher, but the statistical services don't agree with that assessment. They rate Swisher as league average.

    Swisher apparently will be moved to first base to replace the slumping Paul Konerko. Swisher isn't hitting well, either, but he's hitting better of late.

    One respected sabermetric service ranks the Reds' No. 3 hole hitters and right fielders (in both cases, almost exclusively Griffey) 23rd out of the major leagues' 30 teams this season.

    That doesn't say much for Griffey. And yet, despite how much his power has eroded, he's still a decent upgrade over Konerko. If there's a net-plus in this for Chicago, that's where it lies.

    Chicago entered Thursday 60-46 and leading the American League Central Division by 11/2 games over Minnesota. The White Sox are viewed as inferior to the AL West-leading Angels and whoever wins the AL East. But anything can happen if a team can make it to the postseason.

    The White Sox are also fighting an intra-city war with the crosstown Cubs for fans and media attention. Some of that media already are proclaiming that while Griffey isn't the Cubs' Jim Edmonds in center field, he gives the franchise some buzz.

    Overall, the Reds got good marks Thursday from sabermetricians who write blogs. These fellows pay close attention to all the numbers, including financial ones. Justin Inaz, who makes regular contributions to a sabermetric column that runs on Sundays in The Enquirer, said that "strictly from the vantage point of removing his salary and lack of performance from the roster, it looks like the Reds did well by this deal."

    More Inaz: "I don't expect that the players they're receiving in return for Griffey (relief pitcher Nick Masset and Triple-A second baseman Danny Richar) will amount to much of anything, but given that they are making the league minimum, it doesn't matter all that much."

    http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...808010349/1071


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  3. #407
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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine View Post
    According to the Enquirer, Griff will bat 5th and play CF most of the time with the Sox.
    there are a lot of ways to win a WS

    I'm stumped trying to think of a WS champ with a less mobile CFer.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    BTW Chris Dickerson is no longer listed on the Louisville roster which could mean he's getting called up to Cincy.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine View Post
    BTW Chris Dickerson is no longer listed on the Louisville roster which could mean he's getting called up to Cincy.
    I wouldn't mind seeing a Hairston/Dickerson platoon in CF for awhile.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by BRM View Post
    I wouldn't mind seeing a Hairston/Dickerson platoon in CF for awhile.
    Agreed. Dickerson crushes RHP to the tune of .294/.396/.537 - .932. I'd start him against RHP and Hairston against the lefties.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine View Post
    Agreed. Dickerson crushes RHP to the tune of .294/.396/.537 - .932. I'd start him against RHP and Hairston against the lefties.
    Hairston is still listed on the Bats roster right now. That could change soon though.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Reds look to future
    Griffey in their past, club getting preview of 2009 after trade of star

    By John Fay • jfay@enquirer.com • August 1, 2008

    WASHINGTON - The post-Ken Griffey Jr. era was set to begin when this season ended.

    But the Chicago White Sox let the Reds jump-start their future Wednesday afternoon, when they made an inquiry that eventually led to a trade for the outfielder.

    A deal for the Reds star quickly was worked out, and the post-Griffey era officially begins tonight when the Reds open a three-game series with Washington Nationals here.

    The two players the Reds obtained - right-handed pitcher Nick Masset and minor-league infielder Danny Richar - aren't expected to have a great impact on this year's team. But the fact that the Reds traded their best-known - and one of their highest-paid - players for prospects suggests this team is at least retooling, if not rebuilding.

    On Thursday, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said the team already had decided it wouldn't pick up the option on Griffey's contract for 2009. By trading Griffey this season, the team is in a position to see what its potential 2009 outfield might look like.

    Starting tonight, Jay Bruce will go from center field to right. Jerry Hairston Jr. probably will come off the disabled list and start in center. Adam Dunn will start in left.

    "It will give us a chance to see how that outfield works and evaluate for the future," Jocketty said.

    If the mix works, the club might re-sign Dunn; his contract status is the next big decision facing the franchise. Leading up to Thursday's trade deadline, there was more speculation about Dunn being traded than about Griffey.

    Dunn said he was relieved to still be a Red when the 4 p.m. non-waiver deadline passed. But he's a free agent after this season, and the Reds have not talked to his representatives about extending his contract, he said.

    "I don't know what's going on there," Dunn said. "It's one of those things. I haven't heard anything from anyone."

    Jocketty sounded as if he were open to the idea of Dunn returning to the Reds.

    Dunn is having a much better season than Griffey. Dunn's hitting .243 with a major league-leading 32 home runs and 74 RBI. Griffey's hitting .245 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI.

    But Dunn's not the only potential free agent on the Reds' roster - there are 12 in all, including key contributors such as Hairston; pitchers David Weathers, Mike Lincoln and Jeremy Affeldt; and catchers David Ross, Paul Bako and Javier Valentin.

    So Cincinnati remains a team in flux. Jocketty said the Reds had a chance to make other deals but chose not to.

    "We thought we were better off holding on to our players and trying to win as many games as we can," he said.

    And how the Reds fare in their remaining 53 games this season will affect what they do during the offseason. Heading into tonight's game, Cincinnati is 51-58.

    As for the new Reds, Masset, a 26-year-old right-hander, will go on the roster and be used as a reliever. He was 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA and one save with the White Sox this season.

    Richar, a 25-year-old infielder, has been assigned to Triple-A Louisville. He hit .262 with nine homers for Triple-A Charlotte.

    "Masset is a guy our scouts liked as an amateur," Jocketty said. "They like his arm, his versatility. (Danny) Richar is a guy I liked in the past. We looked at him when I was in St. Louis."

    Masset will be used in relief for now, but the Reds could use him as a starter.

    Jocketty said Bob Castellini, the Reds' chief executive officer, was supportive of Thursday's action.

    "We felt it was best for the long-term future," he said. "We're getting players we control for a number of years. We're kind of retooling."

    http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...808010400/1071

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by Nugget View Post
    That's what they should of done but I think for a number of purposes they accrued the entire expense of Junior's salary in each year. Given the nature of the contract - set times, set rates of interst and set deferals it would have been easy to write an annuity which covered the deferred payments.
    How the Reds handled the transaction on their books and how much they actually paid in cash to fund a financial instrument that covers the payments may be two different things. I'm sure they found a product such a s single premium deferred annuity that saved them some money by funding the thing up front. Also, budgets are a different category than how the Reds' expensed these transactions on their books annually, as well.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine View Post
    "Masset is a guy our scouts liked as an amateur," Jocketty said.
    "he looked pretty good a really long time ago, just like Junior"

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    This was in the Sun Deck, but Griffey will be wearing the number 30. Nick Swisher gave up the number and will be wearing the no 1.

    Kudos to Nick. One thing about this trade is that it will be easier for me to pull for the ChiSox in the playoffs with Griffey and Swisher both playing there.
    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.

  12. #416
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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by WVRed View Post
    Kudos to Nick. One thing about this trade is that it will be easier for me to pull for the ChiSox in the playoffs with Griffey and Swisher both playing there.
    That's what I was thinking earlier. I get to root for a fellow W.Vian and my favorite player. This might be the only Chicago team I'll ever root for in my life.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by Degenerate39 View Post
    That's what I was thinking earlier. I get to root for a fellow W.Vian and my favorite player. This might be the only Chicago team I'll ever root for in my life.
    Don't forget Swisher is a Buckeye, so all the more reason to like him.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine View Post
    BTW Chris Dickerson is no longer listed on the Louisville roster which could mean he's getting called up to Cincy.
    I think that would be a safe assumption.
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooter View Post
    A little bit off topic, but do you guys think that Jesse Winker profiles more like Pete Rose or is he just the next Hal Morris??

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    Dickerson is back on the Louisville roster, fwiw. But Hairston is too.

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    Re: Griffey Jr Traded to the White Sox

    One more (sleep-deprived) take on the trade
    Posted by JohnFay at 8/1/2008 1:08 AM EDT on Cincinnati.com

    Basically, the White Sox did the Reds a huge favor here. The Reds weren't going to pick up Ken Griffey Jr.'s option anyway. By trading for him, the White Sox allowed the Reds to test drive the Griffey-less offense for the final two months of the season.

    If Jeff Hairston Jr. can stay healthy -- a rather large if -- the Reds will have a good idea if the Hairston, Adam Dunn and Jay Bruce outfield works. If does, you'll probably see Dunn back here in '09.

    I think the sentiment inside the baseball department still is to Dunn him go, but if he continues to hit close to what he's hit in July that could change.

    You all see a new clubhouse dynamic. I don't think Griffey was terrible influence on the young players. But he wasn't the type to rally the troops either. Now, that he's gone others have the chance to step up.

    I know there's been a lot of debate on the batting order. My guess:

    Hairston cf

    Jeff Keppinger ss

    Dunn lf

    Brandon Phillips 2b

    Jay Bruce rf

    Edwin Encarnacion 3b

    Joey Votto 1b

    David Ross/Paul Bako c

    Phillips could be third and Dunn fourth. I'm not one to get too worked up about the order.

    As for Griffey, I wish him nothing but the best. He was good to the beat guys. He's genuinely good guy. He did some thing wrong here, i.e, the Jeff Brantley thing and the fan incident.

    Things didn't work out here for him as a player. That was because of injuries.

    He looked for most of this year like his skills had dropped off tremendously. But he's been hitting since the All-Star Break. People with the Reds are shocked the White Sox want to play him in center. But, again, I wish all the best.


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