Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
In one of those "I've never seen that before", during the bottom of the ninth, Scott Podsednik led off the inning with a single. Josh Fields attempting to move him into scoring position bunted to the right side, which Tigers pitcher Zach Miner tried to throw to first base. The ball sailed away from the covering Placido Polanco, going into right field. Podsednik's speed enabled him to come all the way from first to home, just beating the throw and giving the White Sox a 4-3 victory. Yes, the old walk-off sacrifice bunt.
I'm not the biggest Scott Podsednik fan, as he is a one-dimensional player, but he was the key to the 2005 championship year. His ability to score in the first inning of so many games seemed to mean the team would win the game an amazing amount of times. I know this isn't very sabermetrical, but after doing some research on it, just look at the White Sox record when Podsednik played and when he didn't.
| Year | record in lineup | record not in lineup |
| 2005 | 92-49 | 18-30 |
| 2006 | 81-59 | 9-13 |
| 2007 | 13-9 | 32-47 |
| Overall | 186-117 | 59-90 |
Sure I know this type of win/loss differential couldn't even be the work of just one leadoff man, even if it was Rickey Henderson during his prime. Having said that, it is really amazing to consider the remarkable record the White Sox have when he plays. Hey, I'm not sure I would even re-sign him, but considering the rabbit's foot he brings to the park, I guess I would have to offer him a contract. Scott Podsednik is a guy who has blessed with a lot of luck.
Note: My math might be off a bit on this one, but even if I'm off by 20 percent, the win/loss differential is still amazing .
The stork population in Europe is also declining.
Therefore, storks bring babies.
Have you looked at the W/L differentials for all of the 2005 regulars? What do they look like?
No storks turned a sacrifice bunt, a wild throw into a 1st to home game winning run. Obviously this is a unique event, but from someone who has watched the team over most of these games, the team just plays differently when he is healthy and on the field. Not to the extent of the record above, but it is worth more than I believe sabermetrical analysts would give him credit for.
Thanks for Iguchi though Scott!
Podsednik made less than a million during 2005 and not a very high salary the other 2 years. Sure I'd like to have 2007 Ordonez, but I would have never taken the risk the Tigers did back in 2005.
http://soxmachine.com/blogs/soxmachine/archive/2007/07/27/7473.aspx
I don't check it a lot, but the Sox Machine blog is really well done and with southsidesox.com, has become the 2 best all-white sox blogs. I do miss southsideadventures.com, though, as it mixed white sox talk with erotic pics and stories. Talk about filling a niche!
- Brad from The US News Desk at TheNewsRoom.com
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