Also, the White Sox have a nearly-ready 3B in Josh Fields. I wouldn't be surprised if Figgins is used with the White Sox as he was with the Angels.

Another free agent hitter seems to be off the market shortly. It is reported that Carlos Lee is on his way to Houston to sign a 6 yr, 90 million contract with the Astros.

It'll probably take a lot more than Figgins to get Crede.

Figgins isn't a good third baseman. Strong arm for a little guy but he's awful. He's lucky he has a lot of speed in Cf to make p for thefact that he can't judge balls hit north and south. I went to 41 Angel games last year. Figgins is an awful fielder.

This is as asinine as the Santana for Garcia rumor only in the other direction. Figgins is nothing more than a nice baserunner who strikes out WAY too much for a lead off hitter. Joe Credes worth FAR exceeds Figgins who would be only a slight improvement over Podsednik on the bases and a huge downgrade defensively if the White Sox put him in CF over Brian Anderson. Crede is one of the very best offensive AND defensive 3B in the game. Figgins is an adventure, probably better suited to LF than CF. Only way a deal could happen is if the Angels added a couple of young pitchers to the deal. Don't delude yourself into thinking any rational person would consider such a lopsided deal straight up.

Crede has about 100 more PA in his career. They both have more than 2300 PA, so it's fair to look at their career numbers.

We can debate their merits as fielders. Crede is a solid 3b. Figgins is good at several positions but not great at any of them. If a manager favors roster flexibility, that's a plus for Figgins.

Their batting contributions have been about the same:

Adjusted OPS
Crede 95
Figgins 97

RC/27
Crede 4.78
Figgins 4.75

Ok Keith, I'll bite. Who do you think will have the higher adjusted OPS next year? Who do you think will be the better defender at third base next year?

That's all you really need to know. The only thing that's going to stop Joe Crede next year is his back. His 0-25 with 5 GIDP string in september stopped him from hitting .300 and getting to 100 RBIs this year, and its no coincidence that that stretch came right after his trip to the disabled list for his back. Even with a balky back, though, Crede's out of Figgins's league. There's just no comparison.

Crede is a 'solid' defender? More like Gold Glove-caliber.
Which positions is Figgins good at? I've yet to see it...

White Sox can keep Crede as far as I'm concerned. Even in his best year he could not match Figgin's OBP in his worst year. In a normal year Figgins beats Crede by 40 points of OBP. Crede certainly has more power, but take him out of the cell and he projects to 20-25. That's not nearly enough to make up for Figgy's advantage in getting on base and running the bases.

Crede is a better defender, but he's also more of an injury risk. Both will be 29 so no edge there.

if the angels want a really good 3B they should call the astros.

i'm sure they would be HAPPY to trade mo ensberg for a LOOGY.

warning - mo ensberg has good plate discipline and won't swing at ball 4

You're comparing OBP of a leadoff hitter to that of a middle of the order power hitter? Is that supposed to be a joke?

Even so, Figgins has a HORRIBLE OBS for a leadoff guy, mostly because he strikes out way too much. The ONLY reason the Sox are looking to replace their leadoff hitter is because Podsedniks OBP was poor at .330 and he struck out 96 times. Figgins was nearly identical at .336/100. For their careers Pods is .342 to Figgins .345 OBP. Why on earth would the White Sox give Crede away just to replace Pods with a guy who is nearly identical to him?

Credes OBP was .323, Figgins was .336. Hardly a huge difference.

Crede struck out 58 times. Figgins 100 times.

Crede OPS .829, Figgins .712

Your Characterization of the Cell helping Credes HR numbers is wrong, too. 16 HR at home 14 on the road.

Most importantly you have to consider Credes gold glove caliber D at the hot corner vs. Figgins mediocre D anywhere on the field.

In short, it would be a stupid trade for the White Sox to give up Crede in an effort to replace Pods with a guy nearly identical to him.

I certainly understand why the Angels media would love to do that deal. I'm sure Angels management would jump on it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately for the Angels, Kenny Williams isn't as brain dead as some of the sports writers in California ;-)

If you put the too lopsided rumored deals together it would make more sense. IE, Crede and Garcia for Santana and Figgins. THAT deal would make much more sense for both teams. It hurts the White Sox at 3rd because while Josh Fields is ready, he's not nearly the defensive player Crede is but...Crede and Garcia are both un-restricted free agents after '07 and the Sox are unlikely to re-sign either of them while Santana is under team control for a couple of more years.

I was gonna chime in here, but Michael's nailed it with the last two posts.

Last three years, Crede's Win Shares were 8, 14, and 20. Figgins' were 20, 22, and 17.

Larry

I'd take Crede if he and Figgins were guaranteed to exactly repeat their most recent seasons forever.

But their not, and Figgins was a better player in 04 and 05. You can keep your Crede. I don't want him.

Figgins was a better player than Crede? Uh, not ever. Not even close.

Here are the career averages of Figgins and Podsednik (Who the White Sox would be replacing with Figgins if this deal were legit)

162 game averages:

.275 102SO .342OBP 58SB 18CS 60BB 96R 43XBH
.285 100SO .345OBP 48SB 16CS 59BB 97R 43XBH

Tell me which is which and why on earth the White Sox would give up one of the best offensive AND defensive 3B in the game in order to replace one with the other. They both make virtually the same amount of money and have the same amount of service time. The ONLY advantage Figgins has is he *can* play a mediocre 3B, but who on earth wants a 3B with his offensive production? Besides the Sox already have a good 3B off the bench.