Keyser Soze wrote:
lacticsolardust wrote:
Rowand was a catalyst for the 05 team and a great clubhouse guy. The Sox did fine in 05 without having a slow left-handed power hitter in their lineup - why Kenny Williams made that trade I'll never know.
A team’s success is not just about player’s stats, but it has a lot to do with team chemistry. By making that trade the team’s chemistry was forever affected in the wrong way.
If Rowand is such a great 'chemistry guy' why did the Phillies win the World Series the year AFTER he left the team?
I don't claim that team chemistry is the only factor to a team's success, but I do believe it is a important component. Teams who generally don't get a long with each other do not play well together - excluding the A's of the 70's. A.J., Crede, Buehrle, and Rowand were all good friends and I think it took the wind out of their sail when Rowand was dealt.
Frank Coztansa wrote:
lacticsolardust wrote:
The Sox did fine in 05 without having a slow left-handed power hitter in their lineup
There was a slow, left handed power hitter that absolutely carried that offense thru the early part of June. Look at Carl Everett's numbers the first half of that seasons. Tons of key hits and RBIs.
Point taken. However, you do have to admit the Sox have become overburden with slow power hitters since 2005, i.e. Thome, Konerko, Griffey, and Dye. Too much to have on 1 team when Ozzie prefers to have a team with more speed and defensive abilities.
The Original Kid Cairo wrote:
lacticsolardust wrote:
Rowand was a catalyst for the 05 team and a great clubhouse guy. The Sox did fine in 05 without having a slow left-handed power hitter in their lineup - why Kenny Williams made that trade I'll never know.
A team’s success is not just about player’s stats, but it has a lot to do with team chemistry. By making that trade the teams chemistry was forever affected in the wrong way.
This is clearly a case of absence making the heart grow fonder. The Sox didn't win the World Series in 2005 just because Aaron Rowand was on the team. They won the World Series because they had a great rotation, a good bullpen, and they knocked the cover off the ball.
Yes, Rowand patrolled the hell out of center field but I don't like it when people try to say that Aaron Rowand's exit from the team was the demise of the White Sox. That's simply not true. In 2006, the White Sox had an equally good team and would've gone to postseason if their bullpen had been able to keep them in games. I also remember Javy Vasquez having a pretty bad September in 2006 also.
My point: Aaron Rowand is not the "end all, be all"...but Pablo Ozuna is.
- Heroin
This is my point exactly. Williams, for some reason, felt the need to reconfigure the 05 team and in doing so completely f'd it up. Why did he even trade for Javy? Orlando Hernandez was a huge part of the 05 team as well and Chris Young is hitting home runs all over the park in his short career. Why did he trade Iguchi and get nothing back in return? I'm grateful the Sox were able to win it all in 05, but they could have won more if the team stayed intact and Pods stayed healthy.