Oh Captain Our Captain: The White Sox Need Paul Konerko To Start To Hit

            Remember back in early May when the White Soc couldn’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag?  It seems an eternity ago when the Sox lineup included up to six sub .220 hitters.  The likes of Jim Thome, Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, Alexei Ramirez, and Paul Konerko would all show up at the ballpark hitting down hear the Mendoza line.

             Miraculously the Sox stayed the in race behind the strength of their pitching and the incredible production of Carlos Quinten.  Since then the bats have woken up.  Orlando Cabrera has excelled in the leadoff roll and has lifted his average to a respectable .265.  Nick Swisher and Jim Thome have both started to crush the ball and become the run producers they were billed as. 

            The biggest turn around belongs to Alexei Ramirez who has rebounded from an average just below .150 to a .307 clip in just over two months.  Behind the strength of the resurgent offense and a pitching staff that has done just enough to hold on to its early season success the White Sox sit poised to break away in the AL Central going into a huge 7 game stretch against Detroit and Minnesota

            And then there is team captain Paul Konerko.  For fans outside of the World Series winning side of Chicago the phrase “captain Paul Konerko” might sound strange.  But make no mistake about it.  The Red Sox have Jason Varitek, the Yankees Derek Jeter, and the White Sox have Paul Konerko.  In a clubhouse with as much character as talent Konerko’s even keel an quiet leadership have earned him the “C’ on his jersey.

             But while the White Sox captain has seen his teammate bats liven up he has yet to join in the fun.  Entering play on Friday Konerko will bring his .218 BA and .364 SLG into this huge seven game stretch.  He is hitting nearly 50 points below his career average and slugging around 100 points under his career mark.

             Konerko’s lack of production has not gone unnoticed.  His near complete inability to drive in a clutch run has drawn more than a few boos from the Sox fans that love him.  Even manager Ozzie Guillen, after seeing his team stumble when its captain came off the DL went so far as to suggest that if Konerko’s slump continues he will do what he has to do to win baseball games.

             Though he did not go so far as to suggest that Konerko will ride the pine, the writing is clearly on the ivy free wall for the White Sox captain.  He needs to hit and he needs to hit soon.  If the White Sox can rack up 5 or 6 wins in the next 7 games they might never look back in this AL Central race.  To do that the Sox need to be hitting on all cylinders, and they need their captain to lead them.  At the very least he could scratch out a clutch hit or two.