Nobody pinch Brent Lillibridge, I don’t want him to wake up from his amazing dream. In a season where there have been may stories to talk about, the one of Brent Lillibridge could be the most surprising. A lot of people still are not convinced of his recent success in the 2011 season, and they may have a case about it, but as of right now, nobody can take away the numbers he has put up so far. Is he a guy that can go out there everyday and produce this way? Maybe, but the answer is most likely no. Steve Stone said it himself when he was on 670 The Score when he said that with a player like Lillibridge he is not an everyday player for a reason. He says that if the Sox were to put him out there everyday they would quickly see why he isn’t an everyday starter.
With all of that being said, Brent has made the most of his opportunities this year hitting .308 with the most homeruns on the team (6) and an OPS over 1.048. I remember when Brent was in AAA Ozzie was asked about him and why he doesn’t get more of a shot as a bench player on the big league club. His answer was that Brent needs to learn how to not swing for the fences and become more of a line drive hitter and use his speed to hurt opponents. By his power numbers this year it seems that Brent still believes he is a home run hitter, which is why I think if he were to start everyday, his numbers would start to dip dramatically. He has only had 65 at bats this season, and out of his 20 hits, half of them have gone for extra bases.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that he is an important part of this team and needs to stay on the team, I just think that he needs to be played very carefully. He is a great weapon to have in late inning situations if someone like Konerko or Dunn get on base and we need a pinch runner. His defense is decent as we all saw from the New York series, and even after that game he has never really been a problem in the outfield. Also, his versatility is a great thing to have if Beckham needs a rest they could plug him in the infield as well.
As I said before, right now I believe that we all have to sit back and enjoy the ride that Brent Lillibridge has been bringing us on in this 2011 season. He was a very big reason that we were able to sweep the Red Sox this year, and will hopefully be a big part in getting back into some kind of contention this season. One thing cannot be denied though: Brent Lillibridge is quickly becoming a fan favorite on the south side of Chicago.
