Whose return will have bigger impact: Carlos Quentin or Aramis Ramirez?
DEBATE
The White Sox and Cubs each have a big bat rehabbing in Triple-A, and when each returns to his spot in the middle of the order, which club will reap the most benefit?
Carlos Quentin vied for the American League MVP award last year before going down with an injury and missing the final month of the season in addition to the playoffs. He’s been out since May 25 with plantar fasciitis and will look to get right back into his power hitting ways when he returns, hopefully later this week.
Meanwhile, Aramis Ramirez, out since May 8 with a dislocated left shoulder, has been one of the best hitters in the National League since joining the Cubs in 2003. The guy has a career .503 slugging average and is an annual lock for 100 RBIs. Those are things the Cubs sure could use right about now.
So, whose return means most to his respective club, TCQ or A-Ram?
Steve Contorno’s pick: Ramirez
Steve says: Surprisingly, both teams have near identical records without arguably their best players (Cubs 23-16; White Sox 23-15) and have managed to stay in the playoff hunt. The play of Scott Podsednik in Quentin’s absence has not only helped the Sox stay afloat, it has also given them an option in center once he returns.
Ramirez says he still has pain in his left shoulder, which is critical to his swing. He’ll be playing through it the rest of the season. Quentin will have the benefit of easing back into a lineup that has been much more potent and won’t have to rely on his contributions immediately.
However, other than the resurgence of Derrek Lee, Ramirez has little protection around him. That’s never hurt him before, but pitchers will be testing him and his sore shoulder from the get-go. Still, the way Cubs hitters have talked about how much they miss him, his return should bring confidence back to the rest of the lineup. Ramirez got off to such a hot start to the season (.364/.417/.591), I don’t think he’ll be able to mimic those numbers immediately. But his impact on the players around him make his return more important than Quentin’s.
David Just’s pick: Quentin
David says: I like Steve’s analysis, but I disagree with his conclusion.
Let’s get something straight, neither team was hitting well when Quentin and Ramirez were in the lineup. The Sox hit .243/.313/.358 as a team with Quentin from the start of the season to May 24, the day before he went down. The Cubs hit .248/.330/.406 with Ramirez up to May 8.
The White Sox have seen their OBP rise more than 40 points to go along with a 100-point slugging leap since Quentin’s absence began. The Cubs, on the other hand, have stagnated, which is about what you’d expect when your best hitter goes down.
When I think about the definition of impact, I think about the effect a player has on a team’s playoff hopes. The fact of the matter is, the Cubs offense is too pathetic for Ramirez’s return to matter. One player is not going to be able to change the team’s hitting woes, and I’ll believe the “confidence is contagious” mantra when empirical evidence suggesting as much is presented to me.
Quentin is returning to an offense that seems to have found its stride, so he’ll be able to provide bigger, better numbers. The move of Podsednik to center can’t be stressed enough, either. The arrival of Quentin means the removal of Dewayne Wise/Brian Anderson from the lineup. Never before has addition by subtraction been so important. There will be no pressure on Quentin, since he only needs to perform around replacement level to be an improvement on the current situation. Of course, we all know he’s capable of much, much more than that.
…………
So, what do YOU think? TCQ or A-Ram?
Scott Green
David Just
Steve Contorno
Quentin is more of an upgrade over existing options. Just wins.
A-Ram is the better player, so I think the easy answer is that he will have a bigger impact. I think Sox fans are counting on Quentin a little too much. He has had one good season. Am I missing something?
The fact that Podsednik has done so well leads me to believe that Quentin’s return will not nearly have the same impact as Ramirez.
Both Just and Contorno mentioned a Podsednik move to center, I can’t imagine anything worse for the White Sox defensively than having Podsednik in Center. Just and Contorno must be thinking in Fantasy Baseball terms, or maybe this whole “baseball thought” from both of them is just fantasy.
Assuming Podsednik will slide to center, Quentin is essentially replacing Wise/Anderson, who are notoriously poor batters. Ramirez is essentially replacing Jake Fox, who has hit like he made a deal with the devil. There’s no question the gap between Quentin and Wise/Anderson is leagues larger than the one separating Ramirez and Fox. Quentin’s return is therefore the bigger one.
It astounds me that defense plays absolutely no role in any of the RLR Staff’s opinions.
I guess you’re the only one that thinks of magical diving catches when considering impact players.
Oh, I’m sorry…I forgot how great Scott Podsednik has been defensively in Left, and how well that is going to translate to Center.
And Jake Fox’s glove at 3rd Base has been amazing. It really is one of his expertise his handy glove work. No need to get Ramirez back for that reason.
I didn’t say you were wrong about Podsednik being a terrible outfielder. I insinuated that nobody cares about defense when judging impact. Except you, obviously.
Readers:
Am I really the only one who values defense? Please reply and let me know. If I’m the only one, I’ll drop this argument.
I think defense is important and often gets overlooked. Podsednik seems to currently be a mediocre left fielder which translated to a bad center fielder. This will hurt the Sox, but not enough to completely eliminate the the benefit of Quentin’s hitting upgrade over someone like Wise. Podsednik’s bad defense will probably be offset a little by Anderson coming in as a replacement in the late innings as well. If Podsednik was a very good centerfielder, then Quentin’s return would no question be more valuable than Ramirez’s. Since he will hurt their outfield defense, it makes it close. I reiterate my vote yet again for Alexi playing center if Podsednik does not keep up his offense production (which he probably won’t).
A-Ram fan Scott, yes Quentin is that good of hitter and is not being overvalued. When healthy, he his an MVP-type. He did it most of the season last year and was one of the best hitters in the AL again at the beginning of this season. He was a top prospect in baseball and maybe one day earn the credit by avoiding injury.