Complimenting Getz by Adding Insult to His Injury

I opened my news feed today to find [an article about Chris Getz] that the White Sox had put on their front page. I read to see if there was anything new. The article made me think it wasn’t going to tell me much. It began with a tale of his 10-credit-hour semester at Ann Arbor, saying he’s not doing winter ball because he broke his wrist August 31^st when he was hit by a pitch. (Happy birthday to you. Poor kid's birthday was the day before) But the writer –eventually- got down to business.

What I read lead me to believe that Getz is poised to be the 2009 starting second baseman. Why? Not because he’s spectacular, that’s for sure. He’s been compared to Nick Punto. Said Getz, "Nothing stands out in terms of tools, but he's [Punto] just a baseball player -- I appreciate his game and players like that.” What does that mean? I don’t know. The article continues to read, “His power numbers won't reach 25 home runs. His stolen base total won't hit 40 or 50, and Getz might not win a Gold Glove at second.” With that said, the writer concludes, “Combine this high praise with Williams' expressed desire to fill some 2009 openings from within, and Getz could be anointed the team's starter at second.” Aw, shucks. How sweet of these guys. Not to mention the references sprinkled in throughout of how everyone viewed him as more of a ‘utility player’ than an everyday second baseman. You know… they could have at least tried to disguise their words and make it seem as if they were paying a compliment. Not throw out an insult and call it a compliment. Unless mediocre defense, offense, and base running are your idea of the tools that comprise the ideal baseball player.

Okay, so with that in mind, let’s do some digging on 25-year-old Chris Getz. His career average is .286. He would average around 13 stolen bases per season. And maybe 4 home runs. He had a minor league career-high 11 this year. An Orlando Cabrera of sorts. A much more inexpensive, younger, non-praised Orlando Cabrera. I will say that whoever wrote the Gold Glove thing wasn’t kidding. Not sure if it was the constant moving around from station to startion or just lack of dexterity, but Getz has accumulated quite a few errors. Even in the outfield, believe it or not. What I like about Getz? Base hits. Consistently, in almost any situation. If you check out [his numbers for the year at Charlotte], you’ll see that day, night, lefties, righties… he hits them all well. Not equally well, but over .266 in every occasion. What I don’t like? Well, I would like him to be a Gold Glove second baseman. If he shows defensive improvement, I will readily accept him as a starter next year.