South Side Sox: Omar Vizquel’s free pass to your 2011 White Sox

“dull, conscientious, dependable, and loyal” Oh, wait…that was said about Omar Bradley not Vizquel.

I know Vizquel is a really nice guy.  I’m sure he’s awesome in the locker room.  I don’t doubt that he offers solid mentoring to the young players.  He definitely has the intangibles.  However, coaches can be in the locker room.  And they can also mentor.  Using an active roster spot on an intangibles player is a luxury for a team.  And, at some point, a sub-.500 team should realize they can’t afford luxuries that don’t clearly show up in the box score.  Those teams need production.

And Vizquel is simply not productive.  Pick your poison.  His triple slash is .252/.285/.303.  His OPS+ is 60.  His wOBA is .257.  So the offense is Rios-bad.  As for his defense, his FRAA is -3.2.  And if you don’t trust defensive statistics, focus your eyes.  He gets a pass from some because he makes plays look pretty.  Of course, the only plays he can actually make look pretty are those approximately five feet to either side of him.  That’s his “competence.” He simply cannot play shortstop anymore. He is a huge liability at third.  He’s a slightly less huge liability at second.

...Basically, you had management wearing blinders, refusing to change their preconceived notions of the players and their roles for the season, and you had entitled players refusing to give up those roles - all in the midst of some of the worst individual baseball performances in history.  That’s how obstinence sunk the 2011 White Sox.  And Omar Vizquel, miscast in the role of Competent Utility Infielder, was a small part of it.