Podsednik seeks backup job with Rockies
By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News
Published January 30, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.
Scott Podsednik has gone from being the catalyst of the 2005 world-champion Chicago White Sox to looking for work.
The Rockies are finalizing details that will give Podsednik a chance to regain a big-league job, a major league source said Tuesday.
Podsednik has a tentative agreement with the Rockies on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to big- league spring training, where he will bid for a backup job to center fielder Willy Taveras.
Podsednik would battle incumbent Cory Sullivan, also a left-handed hitter, for the backup role. Sullivan would seem to have an edge defensively, but Podsednik could provide the Rockies a base-stealing alternative to Taveras.
With the loss of second baseman Kazuo Matsui to Houston as a free agent, Taveras is the Rockies' only base-stealing threat. And there is a concern about what would happen to their lineup if Taveras continues to have nagging leg muscle pulls, which bothered him last season.
In five full major league seasons and two September callups by Seattle, Podsednik has hit .272. He has stolen 40 or more bases four times, including 70 with Milwaukee in 2004 and 59 with the White Sox in 2005.
Podsednik, 32 in March, was slowed by injuries last season. He spent 11 weeks on the disabled list because of a pulled right adductor muscle and three weeks in July with a strained left rib cage muscle.
HAWPE UPDATE: It does not appear much progress has been made on a multiyear deal for right fielder Brad Hawpe.
The Rockies are likely to focus on trying to reach a one-year deal with Hawpe before an arbitration hearing with the hope it eventually could serve as the first step in a multiyear deal.
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January 30, 2008
9:19 a.m.
Suggest removal
joeblow writes:
If the Rockies don't resign Brad Hawpe, they're making a mistake. He is a proven player. He's a dependable bat, he's a league leader in put-outs among outfielders and he's a player the rest of the team trusts and has confidence in. If he's allowed to leave, the player replacing him had better be just as good as him. If not, the braintrust (Dan O'Dowd) has just taken this team two steps back and allienated a lot of Rockie Fans.
January 30, 2008
5:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
Broncos4Life writes:
Do the Rockies management know that defense and pitching are the traditional items needed to win consistently? By saying this, I wonder where the pitching is going to come from this year? Last year was a once in a life time type of season for Rockie fans. We can't depend on another streak down the stretch like last year, we need pitching and alot of it!