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Year		Comment
2013		That Podsednik ended up in Boston was strange. That he did it twice approached creepy. After losing the spring battle with Juan Pierre for the last spot on the Phillies bench, the former White Sox spark plug found himself playing for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. His play matched the effort level you expect with “Iron Pigs” emblazoned on your chest (493 OPS). But an injury blizzard blanketed the Red Sox outfield and Boston needed warm bodies. Podsednik soon found himself in Boston, where, shock of shocks, he crushed the ball! Just kidding. No ball crushing, but Podsednik ended up with an 893 OPS primarily due to a .434 BABIP. He went to Arizona in a deadline trade, but when the Diamondbacks optioned him to Triple-A he refused the assignment, became a free agent, and re-signed with Boston. The return trip wasn’t as kind, (574 OPS), and the Podfather will likely be looking at another minor-league deal for 2013.
2011		Podsednik signed with the Royals in January for a mere $1.75 million, and reeled off a carbon copy of his 2009 offensive numbers for the first two-thirds of the season while playing some especially strong defense. With Manny Ramirez serving his third stint on the disabled list and eventually bound for another destination, Ned Colletti traded two prospects for Podsednik, perhaps hoping he was getting a cheaper Juan Pierre. Podzilla spent about six weeks as the starting left fielder but didn't find any of Pierre's magic 2009 pixie dust, and was eventually sidelined by plantar fasciitis. How such an injury will affect a player whose value depends upon his speed is an open question given that most who've dealt with that injury have been sluggers. Podsednik declined his side of a $2 million mutual option after the season, an act of hubris out of proportion to his modest skills.
2010		With their perpetual need for a center fielder and the injury to Carlos Quentin, the White Sox signed Podsednik after he was cut by the Rockies. While he's a bit short defensively up the middle, Podsednik had his best year at the plate since his 2003 rookie campaign. While his batting average is on the empty side due to a lack of power and walks, he did an admirable job in filling what was a gaping hole in the club's roster. Podsednik is a free agent as we go to press, but the White Sox are interested in bringing him back, albeit in a more limited role.
2009		Podsednik won the extra outfield job in Colorado in spring training, but he didn't do much with it. He's the kind of player who needs to hit at least .280 to be valuable, as he has only an average walk rate and zero power; when he hits .250, he's an offensive black hole. Nonetheless, he still runs well and can play all three outfield positions, so the Rockies are thinking of giving him a return invitation. If they don't, somebody else surely will.
2008		Even at the best of times, Podzilla was a guy who made his dollar legging out grounders; if he ever got under anything all he'd do is tap it to the opposite field. Now that he's increasingly fragile and not as speedy, not even the White Sox believe the dubious proposition that his bat is affordable in an outfield corner. Cut loose in November, he could hang around by reinventing himself as a sort of Orlando Palmeiro-type pinch-singles-hitter on wheels, but if he can't adapt to a bench role, he'll disappear quickly.
2007		A year ago, we fretted about the White Sox getting locked into Podsednik on the basis of his feel-good role on the 2005 championship team. Speed-only players don`t tend to survive long into their thirties, and even Podsednik?s speed is in question given his on-again, off-again relationship with his hamstrings. Thankfully, it appears that those sort of self-destructive commitments are something the White Sox will leave for the team that plays on the other side of town. Podsednik had been reduced to a platoon player and number-eight hitter by September of last year, and while he might or might not be the left fielder on Opening Day, the White Sox no longer view him as anything more than a stopgap.
2006		Podsednik almost never swings at a bad pitch, and sees almost four pitches a plate appearance; the middling walk rates are mostly a consequence of pitchers having no incentive to throw him anything outside of the strike zone. On defense, he gets great jumps on the ball, the result of good instincts and hustle rather than physical tools. He was caught stealing a lot last year, but almost all of that came in the second half, when he had a strained groin and Guillen wouldn`t stop running him; exclude that post-ASB performance and he`s stolen at an 83% clip on his major league career. His overall baserunning was a little bit off last season, but is usually going to be worth an extra couple of runs. All of those things add value. The problem is that if Podsednik hits any worse than he did last year, he goes from being an unorthodox corner outfield solution to an unplayable one. At this point, the Sox`s defense of Podsednik`s abilities has become a cause unto itself, and it has probably become politically impossible to bench him for any length of time. So long as Brian Anderson and Chris Young were both in the system, there was the hope that one of them would force the issue, but with Young gone Podsednik will now get an almost infinite amount of slack. If Podsednik`s performance reverts back to 2004 standards, there is an active trade market at the deadline, and the White Sox find themselves just a hairsbreadth behind the Twins or the Indians, that could be the ultimate litmus test for Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen.
2005		The man known as Podzilla's 2003 season was so far out of line with his career performances that one could only expect a serious collapse in 2004. After a hot start to the season, that crash materialized and Podsednik went from the toast of Milwaukee to being shipped off to Chicago in the Carlos Lee trade. His calling card is his speed, and he did steal 70 bases while only getting caught 13 times. However, he lacks power and doesn't reach base often enough to justify a regular spot in the lineup, and his defense is erratic at best. Despite his speed, he takes poor routes to the ball and has reactions that would make Starr Jones look swift. If utilized properly, he could be a nice bench player, but as the White Sox starting left-fielder, he's going to do quite well in helping Minnesota win another AL Central crown.
2004		The headliner for the new Brew, Podsednik swiped the job in center from the ridiculously overplayed Alex Sanchez in May. From there, it was a season of bliss, as he reminded the locals that there's a big difference between Sanchez's brand of flamboyantly brainless hustle and Podsednik's more stolid approach. Podsednik is no mere low-wattage Luis Castillo at the top of the order. Sure, he can run, and yes, he does a solid job of reaching base; he also puts a charge on the ball, making pitcher bunting that much more valuable, and making things tough on opposing pitchers. His 47-game on-base streak was second only to Bonds's 58-game run. The real question is whether somebody's supposed to wake up: Ned Yost, Podsednik, Brewer fans? They had no idea they finally had a starting center fielder on their hands when they signed him. Now that he's here, he affords them a year or three to sort out which kid in the minors has a future in center. If they sign him to a four-year deal instead, you'll know Doug Melvin's taken a big step backward.

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