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The time is now Young Crede finally a big part of White Sox's big plansPosted: Monday March 24, 2003 10:55 PM
TEMPE Ariz. -- Anyone who happened to stumble across Joe Crede toward the end of last season, when the Chicago White Sox were pretty much done and looking toward 2003, knew he was ready. It maybe took him a little longer than he thought it should have to get ready. Certainly, the White Sox could have used him a little earlier. But by the end of last season he finally was ready. Now he gets a chance to show everyone how ready he is. The White Sox have big plans in a not-so-big American League Central this season, and a big part of those plans rests with Crede, their young third baseman and, they hope, stud of the future. Listen to Paul Konerko, or Frank Thomas, or any number of White Sox players and they'll tell you: Crede is the real deal. The glove, the bat, the whole package. Crede can play. "Had he been down in the minors, well, you don't know," says the White Sox manager, Jerry Manuel. "But when we brought him up last year, it was to get him ready for this year. And he played well. I think he's ready." Crede had been to spring training with the Sox, but he hadn't done enough convincing. At least not to the right people. "In my mind, going into spring training, I felt like I could help the team," Crede says now. "But I guess they had different ideas." So Crede played at Class AAA Charlotte, where he was, simply, a monster. Elected to the Class AAA All-Star team, he hit .312 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs. The White Sox, meanwhile struggled in the first half, fell behind the Minnesota Twins and, by the end of July, were five games under .500. The call went out to Crede on July 30. At one time, Crede was a can't-miss player. But two September call-ups in the previous two years had failed to impress. It definitely was time for Crede to start showing his skills. He didn't, at least not right away. He had 16 hits in his first 20 games. He was hitting .216. The Sox were 8-12 in that stretch. But the Sox had made the commitment -- they told him when they called him up that he would play every day -- and they were going to stick with Crede through the end of the year, whatever happened. "Obviously, the caliber of pitching is a lot better [in the big leagues]," Crede says. "You just have to be able to adjust, day to day, sometimes at-bat to at-bat. Sometimes pitch to pitch. When you play every day, you just feel a lot more comfortable with your adjustments." Sometime around late August, Crede began to catch on. And when he did, he didn't let go. In the last month of the year, the last 33 games, Crede hit .325 with eight homers and 11 RBIs while the Sox went 22-11. He had an 11-game hitting streak in the last month in which he hit .463. He was named American League Player of the Week late in the year when he hit .409. He had two homers and seven RBIs in a single game against Toronto. After hitting .285 overall, with 12 homers and 35 RBIs in the 53 games, he was around to stay. "I see someone who doesn't' show any fear about getting up there in a big-game situation," Manuel says of Crede, who hit .400 in late-inning clutch situations. "And at third base, we feel he can play good defense at the major league level." Manuel plans to hit Crede in the No. 7 hole, a seemingly low spot for someone who hit a home run every 16.7 at-bats last season. But Crede won't be 24 until April. And the White Sox have plenty of power higher in the order with hitters like Magglio Ordonez and Konerko and Thomas. "That way, he can play without the pressure of trying to be the guy, trying to be the man," Manuel explained. "We feel that way he can develop there." Crede, of course, is just happy to be sticking around with the big club and happy to have the chance to play every day. Finally. "I've got some confidence in my abilities. Last year definitely gave me some confidence," Crede says. "Playing every day, when you can get used to making adjustments, that helps a lot."
A whole new worldMaybe the toughest task for new San Francisco Giants manager Felipe Alou will be finding room for all his good players. It's uncharted territory for the longtime Montreal Expos skipper. "The talent there [with Montreal] was prospects. When we brought a prospect to camp, he very much had a job," Alou said. "Over here, prospects have to break through a lot to make it." The Giants lost All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent to free agency. Two thirds of their outfield from last season's World Series team, Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton, has moved on. There are different players in a lot of different places. But Alou looks especially to the younger players in the organization, the guys who already have put in their minor league time, and reports that the Giants are loaded. "If I was a scout with another team, I'd find a gold mine here with the guys we have," he said. "We have some pretty good guys who are going to have to go to Triple A ball. That's the bottom line. And some pretty good guys who are going to have to be on the bench."
Spring strugglesYou can never tell about spring statistics, but new Cubs manager Dusty Baker has to be a little concerned about a couple of his players. Right-hander Matt Clement continued his spring struggles Sunday, giving up seven hits, walking two, striking out five and allowing four runs in five innings against the Giants in Scottsdale. In four starts this spring, he has a 7.07 ERA with 13 strikeouts and nine walks in 14 innings. He is projected as the No. 2 starter behind Kerry Wood. Before the game Baker told reporters that no job is guaranteed. He was talking especially of second baseman Bobby Hill, who is struggling this spring with a .157 average (9-for-51) and has made five errors.
Camping outAlou has seemed to have settled on third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo as the answer to one of the spring's biggest questions: Who will hit behind Barry Bonds this season? The middle of the lineup will evidently look like this: No. 3 Rich Aurilia, No. 4 Bonds, and No. 5 Alfonzo ... One benefit of the Royals moving to Arizona: They drew a Royals record 11,517 Sunday in Surprise for a game against the Diamondbacks ... Alou, on some players holding back during spring training so as not to tip off rivals: "What new plays can you come up with in this game? There's no new plays under the sun." ... How far has Alou come? The Expos' payroll is projected to be around $36 million this season. The Giants' sits around $78 million ... The Devil Rays are 6-16 this spring. Are we sure spring records mean nothing? ... Oh, wait. The Royals are 15-8, the best record in the Cactus League. Spring records must not mean a thing. ... Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly is going with Byung-Hyun Kim as his No. 5 starter, leaving the closer role to Matt Mantei. Spring Training Buzz appears every Monday and Thursday until Opening Day. |
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