It’s easy to mock the acquisition of Scott Podsednik as the desperate move of a desperate GM foolish enough to put his stock in the likes of Dewayne Wise and now Jerry Owens. You could take it a step further and say Pods’ diminished speed, less-than-stellar defense and total lack of plate discipline make him a perfect fit for this model Sox. But those things would be downright foolish, not because of what Pods means to us as fans but because of what Pods actually means to these 2009 White Sox.

The Charlotte Knights, for starters, are down a centerfielder now that Jerry O has made the long, strange trip back north and one could argue the organization is wise (Wise!) to sign a low-risk, high-upside veteran to a minor league deal rather than rush another prospect up to the next level prematurely. Likewise (like Wise!), if Pods actually has any pop in his bat he could just as easily take the place of Jerry O as the speedy left-handed outfielder, seeing as Scotty’s glove is no more flawed than Owens’.

(Side note: MLB.com needs to turn off article commenting forever:

rocknrolla05 wrote:
I love this move I miss scotty pods…you guys mean to tell me you have faith in owens?? not a chance we’ve been waiting around for him since pods left and his hasn’t done JACK SQUAT!!! I’ll take my chances with pods and his sexy wife any day!!

commenter wrote:
im glad to see were gettin pods back! the sox will finally be back to stolen bases and high averages

ericmaze wrote:
Man it will be great to see Podsednik again in a whitesox uniform, if hes healthy he is the man to have in center field.

Apparently Lisa Dergan can bat leadoff and Podsednik is some kind of baseball Lazarus. Who knew?)

But if you’re looking for the real crime of the situation, forget about Scotty Potty and look more at the Sox’ centerfield situation and note how, after all is said and done, it’s even worse than anyone thought:

• Option A: All glove, no bat, just enough speed
• Option B: No glove, no bat, no speed
• Option C: No glove, no bat, some speed
• Option D: No glove, no bat, some speed

There is no solution, and there never was one. It’s fitting then that the loss of Option B shoots the whole outfield in the right shoulder; as the commercials will tell you, there are traditions and then there are White Sox traditions.

That said, welcome back Scotty Pods. That home run was awesome.