Bleacher Report - Articles by JJ Stankevitz

2009 White Sox Player Review: Bobby Jenks

JJ Stankevitz — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:10:05 -0400

While it's no guarantee that Bobby Jenks pitched his last game with the Sox Sept. 17, if the Sox are looking to shed salary in the offseason Jenks likely will be first on the chopping block. He'll probably be due about $7 million after arbitration, and with Matt Thornton waiting in the wings, the Sox wouldn't be completely out of line to deal away Jenks.

He's been their full-time closer for the last four seasons, and he's been pretty successful over that time. But a closer is the easiest player to replace on a roster—and Jenks is no exception. We don't know if Thornton would do worse than Jenks' 29 saves to six blown saves, but there's a good chance he wouldn't be worse than that given the track record of former setup men taking over a closer role.

I'm not sold on trading Jenks, but I'm also not sold on keeping him. He could end up costing more than he's worth in 2010, yes, but trading him would deplete the team's bullpen depth if Thornton does move into that closer role.

Key stats
G: 52
IP: 53.1
W: 3
L: 4
ERA: 3.71
FIP: 4.47
BB: 16
BB/9: 2.70
SO: 49
K/9: 8.27
K/BB: 3.06
S/BS 29/6
HR/9: 1.52
WHIP: 1.28
OPS: .725
GB/FB: 1.47
BABIP: .298
WAR: 0.4

Coming into 2009, Jenks had allowed 12 home runs in 235.2 career innings. He allowed 12 in 53.1 innings in 2009. That's an incredibly significant jump, and if the White Sox do choose to keep Jenks heading into 2010 they'll have to hope that '09 home run total was an outlier and not a trend.

You have to wonder if those home run issues were caused by Jenks overusing his fastball. While Jenks threw that pitch harder than he did in 2007 and 2008 (94.8 mph in '09, 93.8 and 93.9 mph in '08 and '07), he threw it with the highest frequency of his career. Prior to 2009, the most Jenks had ever thrown his fastball was 72.4 percent of the time—in his rookie year of 2005. In 2009, Jenks threw it 76.4 percent of the time.

On top of that, FanGraphs rated the pitch as below average . So those numbers say Jenks threw what was a somewhat ineffective pitch too much.

Maybe Jenks lost confidence in his curveball, which he threw just 8.5 percent of the time—the lowest percentage of his career. However, FanGraphs rated his curveball as his best out-pitch, so maybe it wasn't a confidence thing. It could have been that Jenks and the Sox were being too selective with that pitch.

Given Jenks' career history, that's not a good thing. Over the course of Jenks' career, the more he throws the curveball, the more swings and misses he gets on pitches out of the strike zone.

Year	CB %	O-contact %
2006	17.4	41.8
2005	15.9	47.5
2007	12.4	50.9
2008	9.5	57.7
2009	8.5	58.8

That's not exactly groundbreaking—especially because Jenks isn't consistently throwing his fastball in the upper 90's like he did when he first came up—but what is telling is Jenks' BABIP over the last three years.

Jenks was able to get away with throwing a fewer percentage of curveballs in 2007 and 2008 because his BABIP in those two years was low (.252 and .261, respectively). The jump in contact—both out of the strike zone and overall—didn't lead to decreased success because a low percentage of batted balls were falling for hits.

However, Jenks' BABIP rose to a more sustainable .298 in 2009, meaning that more of those pitches hitters made contact with out of the zone fell for hits. That's a good way to explain at least some of Jenks' jump in FIP to a career high 4.47 (1.20 higher than his career average).

The reasonable thing to do to combat that BABIP would be to throw more curveballs then. That'll hold especially true if Jenks doesn't have good command of his fastball—which was behind many of the home runs and hits Jenks gave up in 2009. And given that he threw more fastballs in 2009, it's not surprising that '09 was the worst year of Jenks' career.

But you know what? If in the worst year of Jenks' career he still saved 29 of 35 games, that's really not awful. I'd have to hope that he'll make some adjustments heading into next year, and I'd have to think that those adjustments would lead to more success.

I'm not guaranteeing that Jenks will have success, but if he throws fewer fastballs with better command and throws more curveballs, I think he'll do just fine. Will it be good enough to justify his impending pay raise? Maybe, maybe not.

But if Jenks makes those adjustments, he'll be worth keeping around. The last thing the 2010 Sox need will be to have a bullpen that's not as deep as it could be, and keeping Jenks will keep the depth of the bullpen at a good level.

So unless the Sox find a way to get a good setup man in return for Jenks in a trade, they probably should keep him around and see if he can rebound.

This article was originally written for Examiner.com .

Check out my previous player reviews at my Examiner page :

White Sox Trade Jim Thome to Dodgers, Jose Contreras to Rockies

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:00:36 -0400

I've been liveblogging the Jim Thome/Jose Contreras trade saga over at my Examiner.com page (check there for the most recent updates and thoughts), but I thought I'd share my thoughts on the trade here at B/R, starting with the first update from around 10:40 pm:

Various twitter reports are surfacing that the White Sox have traded slugger Jim Thome to a yet-to-be named team [we now know it's the Dodgers]. This news broke literally minutes ago, but stay with me through the night as more details emerge.

Update, 10:52 pm: Nothing new to report (I know, sorry), but there's going to be something to report before the end of the night. 11:00 pm is the deadline to make any deal if the team acquiring a player wants that player to be on their postseason roster, so we should know details of where Thome is going (if anywhere) sometime in the next half hour.

I already have some thoughts on this, but I'll save them until there's something finalized.

Update, 11:12 pm:

This completely came out of left field:

Breaking News: Thome went to the Dodgers, while Jose Contreras was sent to the Rockies. Two class guys now gone.

I'm shocked Thome was traded to a National League team. Really surprised. But the Dodgers just got themselves a heck of a bench player if that's what he's going to be there.

I can't see the Dodgers playing Thome at first—he's only played one game at 1B since 2007.

But to the White Sox side of things: I'm very, very curious to see what player(s) the Sox get back in return. Thome was projected to be a type A free agent, which means the Sox would have received two draft picks had they offered him arbitration and he signed elsewhere. Maybe the Sox weren't planning on offering Thome arbitration, but it wouldn't have been the end of the world if they offered him arbitration and he accepted.

And, again, if he declined, the Sox would have received some significant draft compensation. So that's why it's somewhat curious that the Sox traded him—but then again, we haven't seen what's going to the White Sox in this deal.

I think I speak for all Sox fans when I say this: go Dodgers. Jim Thome is by all accounts a class act and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He deserves a World Series ring. So here's hoping the Dodgers go on an October run and get Thome that championship he deserves.

I'll miss Thome—for the years he was in Chicago, he was one of the most consistent offensive forces in the middle of the lineup. While his power started to decline in recent years, you know that you're going to still get a stellar OBP and SLG% out of Thome year in and year out. Plus, like I mentioned before, he's one of the classiest players in all of baseball.

He's had a few great moments in a Sox uniform, from his 500th career home run to his mammoth blast off Nick Blackburn in game No. 163 in 2008. Those were fun, and they've certainly erased the sometimes-traumatic memories of Thome in a Cleveland uniform.

Oddly enough, Thome being traded to a National League team wasn't the most surprising news of the night. The Sox somehow unloaded Jose Contreras to the Rockies—probably for nothing. Contreras didn't project as a type A or B free agent, so trading him away just frees up a rotation spot for Jake Peavy or a minor leaguer.

Alright, we've got some players. From the Dodgers, the White Sox get 26-year-old single-A infielder Justin Fuller. Obviously, Thome's value at this point was next to nothing, because Fuller can't have any kind of value as a prospect.

The Sox may have actually got a better player from the Rockies for Contreras in triple-A pitcher Brandon Hynick. His peripherals don't scream "major league pitcher" but with a 3.83 ERA in 26 starts with Colorado Springs, he at least has had some success and isn't all that old at 24. It's unlikely he'll make an impact in the majors, but hey, at least it looks like he has a better chance than Fuller.

One final note on Thome. Something that has annoyed me for the last four years has been people complaining about Thome hitting into the shift every time he pulls the ball. Whoever thinks that needs to actually watch the locations of the pitches that Thome swings at. Yeah, Thome is a pull hitter, but you know why the shift is effective? Because pitchers consistently bust Thome inside. When they miss out over the plate, Thome often would bomb those pitches over the left-centerfield fence for home runs.

Yeah, Thome would roll over some of those pitches, but getting angry at Thome for doing so and ignoring all the times Paul Konerko or Jermaine Dye rolls over outside pitches for groundouts to short or third is absolutely, 100 percent absurd.

Or, maybe try playing baseball and trying to hit an inside pitch the other way. See how easy that is and get back to me.

(As you can tell, I've become a big defender of Thome's in the last year or so. He's not perfect, but as a middle-of-the-order bat, Thome has been great for the White Sox from 2006-2009.)

Also, another note: the Dodgers also made a deal with the Diamondbacks for Jon Garland. Funny thing about that: the Dodgers were playing the Diamondbacks when the deal went down. At least he won't have to travel any more than a few feet to get to his new team.

I lied. One more note:

Hynick threw the ninth perfect game in Pacific Coast League history and the first since June 25, 2007. The seven-inning gem was the Sky Sox's first no-hitter since Franklin Morales, Chris George, Matt Daley and Steven Register combined to beat Albuquerque on May 11, 2008.

(h/t MLBTradeRumors)

Hynick also was named the Rockies' Minor League Player of the Year in 2007. He also has his own website. (ht to White Sox Cards on that one).

I can't find any scouting reports on Hynick, but he doesn't get a lot of strikeouts (just over five per nine innings). If I had to guess, I'd say he's a good ground ball pitcher. So, maybe he's just a better version of Jeff Marquez.

Either way, it's nice that the Sox at least got a player worth talking about for Contreras.

Alright, fine. More thoughts on this, since there apparently are a lot of you out there reading:

Scott Podsednik is slated to be the team's DH for the time being. With Tyler Flowers being called up, though, it'll be interesting to see if he'll get some time DH'ing down the stretch. Since these moves signal a shift to looking forward to 2010, why not give Flowers some significant playing time against major league pitching to start to figure out where he's at in terms of development?
This also means that Alex Rios should play in every game from here on out. I wrote the other day that playing Rios every day is exactly what the White Sox need to do down the stretch so he'll have a more solid foundation on which to start 2010. Looks like that'll happen, and that's a good thing regardless of what Rios hits in the final month.
I mentioned compensation for Thome earlier, and it's still somewhat puzzling why they traded him for such a low-level player. However, if the Sox made the trade out of courtesy to Thome—who has played in two World Series (1995, 1997) but never won a title—then I'm okay with it. There are some things that are more important in baseball than one or two supplemental draft picks. Again, if that is the case, nobody's going to be complaining about the lack of return for Thome.
Jake Peavy picked the wrong night to have some good news. He apparently still can't throw without pain, but if he can find a way to make it back for one or two late-season starts to get his feet wet in a Sox uniform, it could be beneficial to the team's chances in 2010.
Speaking of those 2010 chances, I'm already looking ahead and thinking about how nice of a roster foundation the Sox already have for next year. The rotation of Mark Buehrle/Peavy/Gavin Floyd/John Danks is tantalizing and an offense built around a [hopefully] healthy Carlos Quentin, Paul Konerko, AJ Pierzynski, Alex Rios, and Gordon Beckham has some nice potential for success. If the defense can get better (which, with Rios in CF, Dye no longer in RF, and Beckham improving at 3B could definitely be the case) and the bullpen solve some of its issues (no guarantees there, though), the Sox certainly will contend for the division in 2010.

A Look at the Alex Rios Acquisition

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:56:13 -0400

Most players in baseball are placed on waivers come August. And, when a certain player is claimed, more than often that player is revoked and stays on his original team.

A few players who are claimed are traded every year. Rarely do you see a team just let a player—and his entire contract—go to the team that claims him on waivers.

But that's what happened Monday afternoon when the Toronto Blue Jays waived outfielder Alex Rios to the White Sox.

So, the White Sox acquired Rios for nothing—on the surface. Rios is under contract until at least 2014, and he won't come cheap. He's owed $59.7 million through the end of his guaranteed contract, and he has a $13.5 million club option for 2015 with a $1 million buyout.

Rios' contract will certainly create a problem for the White Sox come the offseason, when they have to decide what to do with Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye. Thome's contract is up after the year and Dye has a $12 million mutual option for 2010.

So the Sox will have a couple of tough decisions on their hands. Rios will slide into a starting outfield spot for the long-term future, so if the White Sox do decide to bring back Dye, it'll be as a designated hitter—which is what they should have done anyway even if Rios wasn't dumped on their hands.

What's working against Dye is that he bats right-handed—like Rios. If the Sox retain Dye and let Thome go, the Sox would no longer have a left-handed bat to break up the right-handed power in the middle of the lineup.

So, even though Dye sounds like he wants to return, the Sox may end up letting him go and re-signing Thome or bringing in a left-handed free agent like Bobby Abreu.

Or, the White Sox could let Scott Podsednik go, pick up Dye's option, and sign a cheap outfielder who could lead off.

In the end, though, the most likely option is going to be the cheapest one. And that would probably mean the White Sox would bring back Podsednik and sign a cheaper left-handed DH or first baseman. The Sox better hope the free agent market is down again, because if it's not, they could be stuck with a major lack of left-handed power.

And this is all looking into the future. With Rios in the fold, the White Sox will have an outfield logjam to deal with for the last two months of the year. Rios, Podsednik, Dye, and Carlos Quentin will all have to fight for playing time in August and September.

It also probably means Dewayne Wise is finished with the White Sox. The White Sox don't have to make a roster move until Tuesday, but the Sox probably will choose to dump Wise over Mark Kotsay to make room for Rios.

It's not like Rios is hitting the cover off the ball, either. He'll join the White Sox with a .744 OPS, and unless he experiences some great offensive rebirth in the season's last two months, his OPS will decline for the second straight year.

Furthermore, his defense hasn't been as stellar as it has in the past. In 2008, Rios' outfielder UZR was 23.9—making up for the dip in offensive performance he had that year. This year, his defense hasn't been able to cover for his offensive decline as his OF UZR is just 0.8.

What's interesting is that Rios' BABIP is about league average this year, sitting at .294. In the last three years, Rios never had a BABIP lower than .324. So unless Rios' BABIP returns to those high levels, the White Sox may have to deal with paying a player $12 million a year for a .750 OPS for the next five seasons.

It's too early to make a finite judgment on this move, but Rios is going to have to make some improvements offensively and defensively to make it worthwhile.

We don't know if Williams made the claim to block Rios from going to a rival team like Detroit. But Detroit's not exactly in a good situation financially, so it's unlikely they would have had the cajones to put a claim on Rios and the nearly $60 million he's owed under his contract.

Nobody's questioning that Rios makes the White Sox' roster better on paper for 2009. But the impact he may have on the White Sox' roster in the next five or so years could be pretty big.

I'm not trying to make this sound like this move is the end of the world. Apparently Reinsdorf signed off on the money and Williams says it won't affect the team's decisions on Dye and Thome in the offseason.

Even if Rios' defense doesn't rebound back to its previous UZR levels, he's still a huge improvement over Dye or Quentin. He's not a terrible hitter by any stretch of the imagination, and he hasn't been bad all year (May OPS of .868) so maybe he can find that stroke in these last two months + five years.

We won't know the true impact of this move until the offseason, though, when Williams will have to make decisions on Dye, Thome, and Podsednik.

For now, the Sox are a better team on paper. However, they've been the best team on paper in the AL Central for most of the year and it hasn't put them in first yet, so we'll see how getting better on paper translates to wins in the division.

A Look at The Jake Peavy Trade

JJ Stankevitz — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:19:58 -0400

Over two months after trading for Jake Peavy and having the 2007 NL Cy Young winner invoke his no-trade clause, the Sox finally got the man they wanted.

It's safe to say that nobody saw this trade coming. While all the attention was on Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell in San Diego, Williams flew under the radar and nabbed Peavy for what probably was the same package of players he offered in May.

And while Peavy is on the disabled list right now, this still looks like a pretty good trade for the White Sox on the surface.

That's not to say Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell wasn't a high price to pay. It was—but to get something, you do have to give something up.

So, with all that in mind, here's my breakdown of the trade:

The return

Peavy's an ace, plain and simple. His career WHIP of 1.19 is sixth-best among active starting pitchers and his 3.10 K/BB is ninth-best, just to name a few stats.

Now, I've read some concerns of people who don't think Peavy can pitch outside the pitcher-friendly Petco Park in San Diego. However, when you look at his home/road splits in his career, you can see that he's been pretty consistent both at home and on the road—except for 2008. Of course, he's been better at home—anybody who pitches at Petco Park would be—but he hasn't been terrible on the road.

Whether that carries over to him pitching half his games in a hitter-friendly park in the better hitter's league remains to be seen. He has fared well in 20 career interleague starts, posting a 3.29 ERA in 120.1 innings.

Obviously, we won't really know how Peavy pitches in the American League until we get a larger sample size with him on the Sox. I don't think anyone should expect the kind of numbers Peavy put up in San Diego, but it would be disappointing if Peavy doesn't put up top-of-the-rotation numbers.

Keep an eye on Peavy's FIP—that will be the true indicator of whether Peavy can pitch at a high level in the American League. If it rises significantly, it'll be because a lot of the fly balls Peavy was giving up in San Diego are going for home runs in Chicago.

It's not like pitchers can't pitch at U.S. Cellular Field, though. In the end, Peavy coming to a hitter's park probably isn't that big of a concern.

The players dealt

Richard, Poreda, Carter, and Russell—the best part about this package is that Daniel Hudson wasn't included.

The Sox sold high on Richard, who was coming off two stellar starts after the All-Star break after really struggling in the rotation earlier in the year. I liked what I saw from Richard in those two starts (obviously)—he was throwing from a higher angle and that helped his fastball touch the mid-90s, for the most part. His slider and changeup both looked very good as well—and, most importantly, he was throwing strikes.

I don't know if that was a two-start fluke or the start of something great for Richard, but his value hasn't been higher than it was when he was traded. Granted, it really doesn't matter because he was a part to the original trade back in May, but it is nice to see that the Sox got something for Richard in case of a flameout.

There's a chance that Richard develops into a good, consistent starter, yes. And, yes, if Richard does that he'll be making about $14 or so million less than Peavy, which won't look good when the Sox have to deal with contracts/arbitration to/with Carlos Quentin and John Danks.

I'm very interested to see what career path Richard follows, though. He showed that he has the stuff to be a good starter in the majors, but whether he can be consistent with that stuff hasn't bee determined yet.

Poreda still has the highest ceiling of any player in this deal, but he'll only reach that if he can develop a changeup. If he doesn't, he still could be an effective middle reliever or even closer, but just throwing a fastball and a slider won't get him by in any MLB starting rotation.

Despite Richard's recent success, Poreda still was the centerpiece of this trade. Left-handers with the kind of fastball he possesses don't come by all that often, and remember—he was only drafted two years ago. He still has a lot of time to develop in the minors, and he should have a bright future ahead of him in the majors. It might be as a starter, it might be as a reliever—but Poreda should see some level of success in the bigs before his career is over.

Carter racked up a ton of strikeouts—143 in 118.0 IP with Kannapolis—before being dealt. He's still very raw, but could have a high ceiling as a starter or reliever.

He's years away from sniffing the majors, but any time you see those strikeout totals, it's going to get your attention at any level.

Finally, there's Russell, who Kenny Williams intimated was throwing a whole lot better in recent months. His ceiling is probably a serviceable middle reliever at best, but he almost certainly wasn't all that important in this trade.

So, on the whole, it's a pretty good haul for San Diego—but, like all deals for prospects, there are no guarantees in here. There's a chance that every single one of these players ends up spending their careers in the bullpen, or there's a chance that the Padres picked up three quality starters for the future. As with most cases, the reality likely will fall somewhere in between.

The money

Money certainly is an issue with this trade. Peavy is due $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012 with a $22 million team option for 2013 (via Cot's Baseball Contracts). The Sox will pay all of Peavy's remaining contract, which totals to $48 million for the next three years ($70 MM if they pick up the option). That's a lot of cash.

So where will that money come from? First, Jose Contreras and his $9 million will come off the books after this season.

Second, the Sox probably will let one of Jermaine Dye ($11.5 million) or Jim Thome ($13 million) go. If it's Dye—which I personally think it won't be—the Sox will have to pay $1 million to buy out his $12 million mutual option.

So, with Contreras' and Thome's contracts off the books, that'll save the Sox $22 million. Octavio Dotel's $6 million should come off, too, so that'll be $28 million freed up.

If the Sox need to save even more money, they could consider moving AJ Pierzynski and the $6.5 million he's owed in 2010. That would be contingent on Tyler Flowers improving his production with Triple-A Charlotte, though. Flowers has an OPS of .707 in just 11 with the Knights after posting an OPS of .993 in 77 games with Double-A Birmingham this year.

The Sox will have a hole to fill either in right field or at DH (hopefully, right field because the Dye's best days as an outfielder are behind him), backup catcher, and middle relief—so unless Kenny Williams gets creative, he'll need some money to fill that hole. Peavy's contract will take up a lot of that money that the Sox could use toward those spots, and without any real options in the organization, it could get a bit pricey.

Granted, the Sox are likely a better team with the more expensive Peavy instead of the cheaper Richard/Poreda/Carter/Russell.

It'll be interesting to see what the Sox do in the offseason and the next few years, though, as Peavy becomes the highest-paid player on the team in 2010.

The injury

Peavy's ankle injury obviously wasn't a big concern to the White Sox, who expect him back in late August. Here's the thing, though: even if Peavy doesn't pitch another game this year, the Sox still have him for at least three more years. He's not a half-year rental, he's a three or four-year investment—so keep that in mind if he doesn't make a start in a Sox uniform this year.

Remember, it's not an arm injury, it's an ankle injury that he sustained while running the bases. The White Sox aren't the Blackhawks—I'd have to think they poured over Peavy's medical report before pulling the trigger on this trade.

For fun, now: think about the Sox rotation In 2010. If all goes well, the White Sox could have a rotation of Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks.Most teams in the AL would be hard-pressed to feature four starters as good as that.

Final thoughts

I think both teams got a good deal with this trade. The Sox got a very good pitcher to add to their rotation for the next three or four years while the Padres got a nice haul of prospects who all could be big pieces in whatever rebuilding they're doing there.

Neither team made out like bandits, neither team got fleeced. In the end, I can see this trade working out very well for both teams.

Should The White Sox Consider Trading Bartolo Colon?

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:21:43 -0400

I usually don't like to deal with trade speculation or rumors, especially those that have no basis, but here goes nothing:

The White Sox should try to trade Bartolo Colon.

I have no basis to even think the Sox are looking into dealing Colon, but since I don't think anybody wants to think about the upcoming three-game series in the Metrodome, let's think about some trade possibilities with Colon.

It's feasible to think the Sox could trade Colon, at the least. Clayton Richard has tossed back-to-back great outings and could keep his rotation spot if Colon was traded. If Richard was to falter or, say, Jose Contreras was to get hurt, the White Sox always have Carlos Torres waiting in the wings. A little further down the road, the team could maybe even call on Freddy Garcia, who threw three shutout innings for Kannapolis yesterday, to enter the starting rotation.

Granted, any time a team that's in contention trades starting pitching at the deadline, it's going to be dangerous. You never can have enough starting pitching, but in the White Sox' case, they may have enough where dealing away Colon wouldn't hurt all that much.

If the Sox were to deal Colon, they almost certainly would look to pick up a left-handed reliever in return since that's what they would be losing by re-inserting Richard into the rotation.

So where could Colon go? A few possibilities:

Milwaukee. Manny Parra has been absolutely awful for the Brewers this year, sporting a 6.42 ERA and a 1.802 WHIP in 16 starts this year. If Milwaukee's unable to acquire a top-of-the-rotation starter (which is unlikely given their unwillingness to trade top prospects Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel), a guy like Colon could become attractive to them as the deadline nears. Problem is, they only have one lefty reliever who might interest the Sox—and that's Mitch Stetter, who has been pretty solid out of Milwaukee's bullpen. In the end, this match probably wouldn't work.
Texas. The Rangers are relying heavily on high-touted rookies Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter to round out their rotation, and while Hunter has had success in five starts, Holland has struggled. A move back to the bullpen wouldn't be terrible for Holland and the Rangers, especially if they were able to acquire Colon on the cheap. There's little chance that the Sox could pry away Eddie Guardado unless they added in another significant piece to go along with Colon. The Rangers' bullpen has been a surprising strength for them this year, and there's no way the Sox will get the other lefty in Texas' bullpen, as Ozzie Guillen hates CJ Wilson. While Texas does have somebody the Sox could use in Guardado, it's hard to see them trading from a strength when they could just wait and see if Holland improves.
Florida. The Marlins are only 3.5 games out of the NL Wild Card right now, and if they're serious about contending (which is never a given), Colon would be a good starter to have at the back of their rotation. The Marlins do have some bullpen depth to work with, and if the Sox could find a way to get Reynel Pinto in return, it wouldn't be too bad. His WHIP isn't very impressive at 1.50, but I can see him being a decent enough second lefty in the Sox bullpen. Now, if I'm getting really ambitious, I'd shoot for Andrew Miller, a power lefty with just the kind of stuff that would make Don Cooper excited. There's little or no chance the Sox could get Miller in return in any deal—he was one of the centerpieces of the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade—so it's just wishful thinking on my part.
Houston. The Astros don't have a gaping need for a starter, but if one came along with a cheap price tag like Colon, it's not out of the question that they would bite. Wesley Wright isn't an integral part of Houston's bullpen and could be a very likely option to come over in a trade if the Sox were to deal Colon to Houston. While Wright doesn't have the kind of stuff the Sox like to see in relievers, he does have some limited experience starting and could be used as a one-or-two inning lefty out of the bullpen. Again, if the Sox were to find a way to ship Colon to Houston, Wright very likely would be the return.
New York (Mets). Given the Mets' luck, Colon would throw two pitches in a bullpen session, pull a hamstring, and be the 500th player to land on the disabled list for them this year. The Mets insist that they're going to be buyers at the deadline, and while a fourth of fifth starter like Colon wouldn't get them anywhere near contention, he couldn't hurt. The Mets can't seriously expect to contend with Oliver Perez pitching every fifth day, so getting Colon would be a way for them to dump the overpriced Perez from the rotation. Pat Misch isn't the most attractive option the Sox would have, but he could be an affordable second lefty in the 'pen.

There are some other teams that could be in the mix for Colon—such as the Cardinals, given Todd Wellemeyer's struggles—but it's hard to see them parting with any of their left-handed relievers for a fifth starter.

Again, keep in mind that this is all 100 percent speculation. Maybe I'm overvaluing Colon, who's only made one start since coming off a pretty long stint on the disabled list. The Sox likely would have to pitch in another player or two—likely, mid-level prospects—to complete most of these deals.

And that's all contingent on the Sox even trading Colon, which, in the end, nobody should expect them to do.

But hey, it's something fun to think about, right?

No Need to Worry About White Sox' Offense...Yet

JJ Stankevitz — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:35:50 -0400

From about mid-June through the All-Star break, the White Sox' offense was clicking. Starting with interleague play and leading through the unofficial end to the first half, the White Sox' offense failed to score three or more runs just twice in those 27 games.

Never did the Sox score fewer than two runs in that span, which is amazing given that in the 12 June games leading up to interleague play, the Sox were shut out three times and scored one run once.

Since the All-Star break, though, the White Sox have manged to score only two runs twice and one run once (all losses). Granted, some credit does have to be given to opposing pitching, but a lot of blame rests on the Sox' inability to hit with men in scoring position—if they can get men in scoring position at all.

Let's start with Sunday's loss to Baltimore. The Sox only had four hits in the entire game as Jeremy Guthrie tossed maybe his best start of the year. This game was out of hand from the start, as the Sox pitching wasn't exactly stellar. So, the 0-1 the Sox posted w/RISP obviously didn't hurt the team that much.

Then came a very good win to open the series with Tampa Bay on Monday. However, the offense wasn't exactly great in this game, either. The Sox got a ton of men on base, but if not for Paul Konerko's three-run homer off David Price in the third, the story of this game would have been the Sox' 3-14 effort with men in scoring position.

Although the Sox lost the next game of the Tampa Bay series, pitching was the story of the day. Clayton Richard's career-best eight-inning effort was followed by a blown save by Bobby Jenks that was set up by his struggles Monday night. So, once again, something masked the Sox going just 2-9 w/RISP that day.

James Shields was dealing on Wednesday night, but the Sox pulled out a win against a shaky Rays bullpen despite only having three at-bats as a team with men in scoring position. Two of those went for hits and accounted for three of the four runs on the day. There wasn't a problem getting men on second and third in this game, there was just a problem getting men on base against a very good pitcher in Shields.

The Sox didn't have a bad day with men in scoring position in the series finale (3-9), but, you know, this happened so nobody really cared. Still, it was a bit troubling to see 80 percent of the Sox' runs coming on one swing of the bat.

All these offensive problems that were masked by winning three of four in the Rays series popped up in yesterday's doubleheader. Justin Verlander wasn't great in game one, but the Sox never were able to really capitalize on the scoring situations handed to them by Detroit.

Four walks by Verlander and an error by Miguel Cabrera, along with six hits by the Sox' offense, gave the lineup plenty of opportunities to score. However, the Sox went just 1-9 with men in scoring position, and that one hit came with AJ Pierzynski on second—so that hit didn't even amount to a run scoring.

A lot of credit does have to be given to Verlander, though. When he got into jams, he was consistently able to dial up a good fastball, curveball, or changeup to get out of them. That being said, the White Sox didn't do a very good job of getting the little things done to score runs.

After Dewayne Wise doubled to lead off the third, Alexei Ramirez failed to hit a ball to the right side that would have moved Wise into third with one out. Instead, he popped out to short. After Jermaine Dye walked, Jim Thome struck out and Paul Konerko grounded out—it's important to note that he swung at the first pitch he saw, which was a low-and-away curveball—to end the inning.

That situation and the ninth inning were microcosms of the Sox' offense in game one. In the ninth, Pierzynski, Carlos Quentin, and Chris Getz began with inning with three straight singles to load the bases for Gordon Beckham. On the third pitch of his at-bat, Beckham chopped a ball right back to Verlander, who promptly turned it into a 1-2-3 double play to kill the Sox rally.

Okay, so game one was frustrating for the Sox from an offensive standpoint, but game two was far worse. The Sox couldn't solve Eddie Bonine, picking up just three runs against a pitcher who had a 4.67 ERA in AAA this year. All three runs came via the home run, and the Sox only had a handful of at-bats with men on second and/or third (1-4 w/RISP).

Maybe there still was a hangover from Mark Buehrle's perfect game, maybe they were caught in-between because of Verlander, or maybe the offense is just going through one of those slumps that every team sees at some point in the year. Most likely, it's a combination of facing good pitching and going through one of those RISP variances that are going to happen over the course of a 162-game season.

So don't panic if the Sox can't pick up four or five runs off Edwin Jackson this afternoon. The Sox do need to at least split these next two games with Detroit, but know that these offensive woes won't last the rest of the season. Eventually, the Sox will start to pick up those timely hits—and I'm not saying that because I have a lot of confidence in the Sox lineup, I'm saying that because eventually, every team goes into and comes out of offensive slumps (yes, even the Royals).

There's still a lot of baseball to be played this season, and eventually, the offense will turn it around. Look at Detroit—the Tigers' offense really scuffled after the All-Star break, but they faced a lot of good pitching, too. Not to say they haven't faced decent pitching in the first two games against the Sox, but their offense looked pretty good on Friday.

Slumps rarely last forever, and if they do, then bad luck has a lot that team or player's struggles.

For a full archive of my articles, check out my page at Examiner.com.

White Sox First Half Report Card: Starting Pitchers

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:18:30 -0400

Infielder Grades

Outfielder + DH Grades

On the whole, the White Sox starting rotation has been very solid this year. Five of the six pitchers who have seen time in the rotation have an ERA+ above 100—and no other team in the AL Central has more than three starters with an ERA+ over 100.

So now, a look at those starters:

Mark Buehrle

Buehrle had his usual Buehrle-esque success in the first half, making his fourth All-Star game with a 9-3 record and a 3.66 ERA (126 ERA+). He's been, without a doubt, the most consistent starter in the Sox rotation in the first half. In 15 of his 18 starts, Buehrle has thrown six or more innings, and only a handful of those starts haven't been at least quality.

Once again, advanced stats don't like Buehrle. His first-half FIP of 4.56 would be a red flag for most other pitchers, but given that Buehrle's career FIP of 4.17 is 0.38 runs higher than his career ERA of 3.79, it's not that big of a cause for concern.

What is, though, is Buehrle's first-half BABIP of .267. That's far below his career BABIP of .292, and that's a stat that often will normalize itself over the course of a full season. If more balls begin to find the outfield grass, Buehrle obviously won't have the kind of success he had in the first half in the second half.

Now, there could be an explanation for Buehrle's low BABIP. He's throwing his cutter the most he ever has in his career at 25.6 percent, or just over one in every four pitches. When that pitch is working, he's jamming righties in on the hands, leading to a lot of weakly hit popups and grounders.

In a lot of ways, though, Buehrle's 2009 could shape up to be much like his 2007. FIP didn't like him that year and he gave up a lot of fly balls, but he still ended up finishing the year with over 200 innings and an ERA of 3.63. If he can find a way to avoid a BABIP-induced regression, he'll be just fine in the second half.

Grade: A-

John Danks

After starting the year off with three dominant starts, Danks went through a rough stretch of eight starts in which only two of them were quality. However, Danks came out of that rough patch and turned in a string of five very good starts before a questionable outing against Minnesota before the All-Star break (I say questionable because the strike zone that day was really, really small).

The fact that Danks lowered his ERA from 5.10 on June 5 to 3.91 heading into the All-Star break is pretty impressive. He still has a lot of room to improve—mainly, being more efficient with his pitches and lowering his walk rate—but he has built himself a nice foundation to work with in the second half.

I don't think anybody should expect Danks to throw like a Cy Young candidate in the second half, but if he can string together some quality starts and pepper in two of three really good starts, it'll be a success. Remember, Danks is just 24 years old. Granted, I had high expectations for him coming into the year, but given how well he pitched last year it's not surprising that the league made a concerted effort to make adjustments against him. It took him a little while to adjust to that, but now that it appears he has, he should be in good shape for the second half.

Grade: B

Gavin Floyd

I don't know what to make of Floyd's first half. He was anything but good for the first month and a half of the season—after his May 17 start, he had an ERA of 7.71.

When the Jake Peavy saga was going down, Peter Gammons made this quick note during an ESPN interview:

Gammons says that the White Sox believe Gavin Floyd has been tipping his pitches, and they think it's something they can fix before Floyd's next start.

While Gammons was ultimately wrong about the Peavy trade (he thought Peavy would accept and go to the Sox), he was on to something with Floyd. From May 22 through June 29, Floyd might have been one of, if not the, best pitcher in the league—and yes, I have heard of Roy Halladay.

Date	IP	R	ER	HR	K	BB
5/22	8.0	0	0	0	8	2
5/27	8.0	3	3	0	8	2
6/1	7.0	2	2	1	8	3
6/6	6.2	2	1	0	7	1
6/11	8.0	1	1	1	5	0
6/18	7.0	1	1	0	2	3
6/24	6.2	3	1	0	3	2
6/29	7.2	0	0	0	5	2

That's, um, really good. Floyd went from looking timid on the mound to supremely confident over those eight starts, attacking the strike zone with his fastball and throwing his curveball for strikes. That's the Floyd that the Phillies thought they were getting when they drafted him with the fourth overall pick in 2001.

Unfortunately, Floyd didn't continue that success in his two July starts. He wasn't bad against Minnesota, he just threw a pair of bad pitches to Joe Crede that went for home runs.

It'll be tough for Floyd to find that form he had for those eight late May/June starts, but if he can settle down and pitch well—not great—he could end up with some pretty nice numbers for the season. His BABIP isn't insanely low at .299 and his FIP is far lower than his ERA this year, so barring something unforeseen, Floyd shouldn't experience any sort of regression in the second half.

Grade: B

Jose Contreras

In his six starts since coming back from Triple-A Charlotte, Contreras has pitched as good as he did in the second half of 2005 and first half of 2006. He's thrown eight innings in three of those six starts, allowing no runs in the first two. His ERA went from 8.19 on June 8 to 4.54 on July 8. He went from having 17 strikeouts in his first six starts to 38 in his last six. And walks? He had 16 before going down to the minors and just six since returning.

Maybe it's Ramon Castro, maybe it's that's he secretly Benjamin Button, maybe it's that he's simply regained his confidence. Whatever it is, Contreras has pitched like an ace since coming back from Charlotte. Over the course of his career with the Sox, Contreras has been tough to project, but barring injury or some severe loss of confidence, Contreras could be that ace-in-the-hole that the Sox will need if they want to make a run at the division.

He's certainly done it before, that's for sure.

Grade: B

Clayton Richard

Richard's return to the rotation actually started off pretty well, as he fired three straight solid outings in late May. However, after that, Richard descended into the realm of mediocrity and may not have a rotation spot to call his own for much longer.

If he's going to have second-half success, Richard needs to start by getting ahead in more counts. He's falling behind in too many counts, and that's leading to a lot of walks (4.07 BB/9).

His BABIP is high at .334 and his FIP (4.79) is far lower than his ERA (5.42), but even those mean an improvement in his numbers is in store, it may not be enough to warrant keeping him in the rotation.

What will be interesting is what the Sox do with Richard if he indeed is dropped from the rotation. If he's moved to the bullpen, it probably would mean Aaron Poreda would be sent down to the minors. However, if Poreda is sent to the minors, he'd likely enter Charlotte or Birmingham's rotation. That could mean that if Bartolo Colon (who would be the guy to take over for Richard in the rotation) falters or gets hurt, Poreda could be more in line to enter the rotation than Richard.

Grade: C-

Bartolo Colon

For throwing over 90 percent fastballs, Colon actually wasn't all that bad before going on the DL with a "knee injury." His ERA+ of 109 is better than average, and while he only lasted six or more innings in three of his 11 starts, he really wasn't terrible for a fifth starter.

He brings more than Clayton Richard, at the least. While he'll have his bad outings, he'll usually give the Sox five innings and give up three or so runs. Nothing great, but at least enough to keep the Sox in the game.

Colon likely will get a start in the July 24 doubleheader in Detroit, and if he pitches well in that, he could slide in to the rotation for Richard—assuming Richard struggles. If they both pitch well, it'll be interesting to see what the Sox do. They could keep Richard in the rotation, but it wouldn't surprise me if Colon stays in the rotation and Richard gets bumped to the bullpen with Poreda going to the minors given Richard's experience in the bullpen.

That could mean a fifth starter tandem of Colon and Richard, with Colon going four or five innings and Richard picking up two or three to get the Sox into the rest of the bullpen.

I'm not completely dissatisfied with Colon, but I'm not entirely pleased with his performance in the first half. I don't think he's the answer to the Sox' fifth starter problem, but then again, I don't think Richard is either.

Grade: C-

First Half Report Card: Outfielders, and Jim Thome

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:17:44 -0400

Yesterday: infielders

Again, these grades are based on a combination of my own personal expectations and each player's WAR.

For a full archive of my articles, check out my page at Examiner.com.

Jermaine Dye

If Dye keeps hitting the way he did in the first half, the Sox will have an interesting situation on their hands at the end of the season. Dye has a $12 million mutual option with a $1 million buyout, and if he ends up hitting 35 home runs with a .919 OPS like ZiPS projects, it's not out of the question for the Sox to pick up their half of the option.

He'll be 36 in January, but a move to first base or DH would not only prolong his career but eliminate his biggest deficiency: defense. Dye's UZR has been pretty bad over the last three years, and this year, it's no different (-7.3 in the first half).

It's for this reason—defense—that Dye's WAR is at just 1.7 in the first half. His offense has been excellent, but lack of range has hurt the Sox on occasion. Dye is a smart fielder, though, and knows how to position himself to make some tough catches at his age. Still, as Dye gets older, there are only going to be more and more balls that drop around him in right.

In the end, Dye's offensive production has made up for his defensive issues in the first half—just like every season except 2007 that he's been in a Sox uniform. He leads the team in home runs, slugging, OPS+, and is tied with Paul Konerko for the highest batting average. He's been one of the few stable forces in the lineup all season long and, barring injury, will continue to be a rock in the lineup for the rest of the season.

Offensive grade: A

Defensive grade: D+

Brian Anderson

With Carlos Quentin due back sometime after the All-Star break, Anderson is going to see his playing time significantly cut (or, he could be sent to the minors. See below) This year was supposed to be Anderson's chance to prove that he could hit at the MLB level. Outside of a short few spurts, Anderson never hit the ball well with any sort of consistency and goes into the All-Star break with an OPS+ of 66, worst of any regular on the Sox.

He had just 11 extra-base hits in 183 at-bats in the first half, contributing to him having a slugging percentage (.317) lower than his on-base percentage (.320). He doesn't have enough at-bats to be qualified, but if he did, his slugging percentage would be fourth-worst in baseball only ahead of Jason Kendall (.275), Willy Taveras (.297), and Russell Martin (.314).

To pile on a bit more, his .637 OPS would only be better than Taveras (.585—remember when the Sox wanted him? Thank God that didn't work out), Kendall (.597), and Emilio Bonifacio (.628).

Anderson is far better suited for a fourth outfielder role, coming to play left for Quentin or right for Dye late in games. His 1.0 UZR isn't great, but it's a marked improvement over what Quentin or Dye can do defensively. He just doesn't have the bat to be an everyday major leaguer right now, and he proved that in the first half.

Offensive grade: D

Defensive grade: B-

Scott Podsednik

Even though the Sox are just 34-33 since Podsednik joined the team May 1, it's hard to imagine being two games over .500 at the All-Star break without his production at the top of the lineup. He fueled the Sox' charge in June, posting a .389 OBP for the month as the team's leadoff hitter.

While he tailed off heading into the All-Star break, the fact that Podsednik is hitting .299 in mid-July is pretty incredible given that he couldn't crack Colorado's opening day roster this year. The adjustments he's made at the plate—namely, his shuffle move—have worked wonders. He's likely going to have to make more adjustments to keep hitting in the second half, but he's obviously at the point where he's willing to try anything no matter how unconventional it is.

Defensively, Podsednik has been pretty solid, too. He has a UZR of 1.6 in left, but when Carlos Quentin comes back, he'll shift to center where he has a UZR of -0.3 in 99.2 innings this year. If he can find a way to keep his UZR in center around 0, the Sox should probably call that a win. Unfortunately, the UZRs of Dye and Quentin won't be great, but hey, I guess anything's better than the outfield of Quentin/Dye/Ken Griffey Jr. that the Sox trotted out at times last year.

Offensive grade: B+

Defensive grade: B-

Carlos Quentin

12 games into the season, Quentin looked like he had answered all questions about his surgically-repaired wrist. He was looking unstoppable at the plate with seven home runs and an OPS of 1.040. Then, something happened—whether it started as a slump and ended with an injured heel or started as an injured heel and turned into a slump, we don't know—but Quentin only hit one more home run after April 19 and saw his OPS drop to .783.

Quentin was pressing, that's for sure. When he went on the disabled list in mid-May, he was swinging at 54.4 percent of the pitches he saw—exactly five percent higher than in 2008. He went from being a selective hitter who waited for a pitch he could drive to a hitter who jumped on the first pitch he saw, usually weakly popping or grounding out.

It's going to be very interesting to see where Quentin is when he returns from his rehab assignment. Will he regain his home run stroke? Will his injured heel affect his already sub-par defense? Will this heel injury flare up again later?

Personally, I'm confident that Quentin's offense will start to come around a week or so after he's back. When he went on the DL, he had a BABIP of just .208—and good hitters like Quentin don't see that stat drop that much unless they're incredibly unlucky (like Nick Swisher last year) or hurt. If Quentin really is healthy, that stat will start to climb back up and as a result, so will his offensive numbers.

Whether he regains his home run stroke is a different story. The nice thing is, though, even if he doesn't the Sox still have Dye, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko all putting up nice home run totals to make up for it.

Defensively, Quentin probably will suffer because of his heel injury. If he can keep his UZR from getting completely out of control into the negatives (say, to Dye levels), though, it won't be too bad.

Getting Quentin back will be tantamount to making a deadline deal for an outfielder, except the Sox won't have to give up any prospects. Whether he produces/stays healthy after coming back remains to be seen.

Offensive grade: Incomplete

Defensive grade: C-

Dewayne Wise

Even though he's out of minor league options and Brian Anderson still has one left, Wise may be the player to go when Quentin comes back. Yes, he's the only left-handed bat off the Sox' bench right now, but he's just not hitting well enough to warrant a spot on a MLB roster. His 39 OPS+ is the worst of any hitter on the 25-man roster, and the only player who saw significant time in the majors with the Sox who has a worse OPS is Brent Lillibridge, whose OPS+ was 19 when he was sent down.

It'll be interesting to see what the Sox do between Wise and Anderson, though. According to UZR, Wise has been the better fielder compared to Anderson, but Anderson does have a better arm than Wise. He's also hitting better than Wise, although it's not like either player is really hitting the ball well at all.

What Wise brings to the table is a left-handed bat who can be used as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement late in games. Anderson brings a little less speed and a little better bat than Wise, but hits right-handed. The fact that Anderson has another minor league option isn't working in his favor, either.

But Wise has looked so lost at the plate in the first half that the fact he hits left-handed may not be enough to save him. If the Sox really want a left-handed fourth outfielder, I'm sure they could find someone better than Wise on trade market for free agent scrap heap.

Offensive grade: D-

Defensive grade: B

Jerry Owens (no longer with organization)

Not much to say here. How Owens managed to sneak in 12 MLB at-bats with the White Sox this year is beyond me. Even though it's a very small sample size, it's still kind of funny to see Owens with a -3 OPS+.

But hey, at least he had a positive UZR in his 29 defensive innings.

Note: I would've given Wise an F offensively, but that would've given him the same grades as Owens, so I gave Wise a D-.

Offensive grade: F

Defensive grade: B

Jim Thome

Everyone keeps waiting for Thome's production to tail off, but for a guy who turns 39 in August, it hasn't significantly happened yet. Thome's OPS+ of 129 is second-best on the team and his OBP of .400 is best on the Sox. He may not hit 30 home runs for the first full season of his career since 1995, but his numbers are still going to end up being very good when the year is over.

Something interesting to look at regarding Thome is his "clutch" rating. While the stat isn't perfect, it's worthy to note that Thome's rating in that department is positive (0.93) for the first time in his White Sox career. You can't say that Thome doesn't come up in big situations anymore, as the rating shows that Thome actually has been a better hitter in high-leverage situations than in low-leverage situations.

This may end up being Thome's last year in a White Sox uniform—I personally think the Sox should keep Dye and move him to DH—and if it is, he'll have put together a very nice four-year stretch with the Sox. If not, the Sox certainly could do a whole lot worse than keeping him with a one or two-year contract after his current one expires.

Offensive grade: B+

Defensive grade: N/A

White Sox First Half Report Card: Infielders

JJ Stankevitz — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:49:34 -0400

The White Sox head into the All-Star break at 45-43, 3.5 games back of the division-leading Tigers, and you know what? For where this team was earlier in the year, that's really not bad. Until this weekend's predictable series at the Metrodome, the White Sox had not lost a series since June 8-11 against Detroit.

As the weather got warmer, so did the Sox offense. The Sox have been scoring runs with a lot more consistency than they did in April and May, and with some pretty solid pitching, they've managed to climb back into the race after being as far as 6.5 games out of first in mid-June.

So now, let's take a look at some individual player grades. Note: these are based off a combination of my own expectations and each player's WAR.

For a full archive of my articles, check out my page at Examiner.com.

AJ Pierzynski

Halfway through the year, Pierzynski's numbers look like they may challenge 2006 for the best he's had in a White Sox uniform. His .305/.333/.470 haven't been aided by an overly high BABIP, so he should be able to keep producing this way through the second half.

He hasn't had a season with an OPS+ above 100 while with the Sox, but at the All-Star break he currently has a 109 OPS+. He's seriously cut down on his strikeouts, sitting at just 26 at the break. Behind that drop in whiffs is a ridiculously high contact rate—90.2 percent, nearly 7 percent higher than his career average. Maybe that'll go down in the second half, or maybe Pierzynski has made a commitment to trying to just putting the ball in play.

Either way, Pierzynski has been very, very solid at the plate in the first half. It's safe to say he's gone beyond expectations given his OPS+ in past years, so he'll earn a good offensive grade.

Defensively, he's only throwing out 13 percent of baserunners—which is pretty horrible, but it's not all his fault. It's a combination of Pierzynski not having the best arm and pitchers like Gavin Floyd being very slow to the plate. His game-calling abilities are still good enough to make up for his other defensive deficiencies, though.

Offensive grade: A-

Defensive grade: C

Paul Konerko

Through 84 games, Konerko has done everything possible to prove that his 2008 numbers were an aberration. After posting the second-lowest OPS+ of his career in 2008, Konerko has rebounded with a 124 OPS+, eight points higher than his career average. While he's never going to be a 35-40 home run hitter again, if Konerko can hit 30 home runs with a nice OPS+ and avoid hitting into a ton of double plays (he's only hit into nine this year), he'll still be a very effective first baseman for this year and next year.

His BABIP of .321 is a little high for his career average, but even if that regresses toward the mean it shouldn't hurt his numbers too much in the second half. He's hitting the ball with a whole lot more authority than last year, when it seemed like every time he came to bat, he rolled over a pitch weakly to short or third.

Finally, he's been worth a full win more this year (2.1 WAR) than in all of last year (1.1 WAR). A lot of that has to do with his offensive production, but his defense has been excellent as well. His 5.0 UZR is easily the best among MLB first baseman, and surprisingly, he's rated very well in the range component of the UZR metric (3.3, second-best in that category only to Ryan Howard's 3.7). So, if UZR meant everything, Konerko would be well on his way to a gold glove this year.

Offensive grade: B+

Defensive grade: A

Chris Getz

After hitting .340/.396/.404 in April, the league really caught up to Getz in May, a month in which Getz hit just .200/.263/.256. However, Getz made a few adjustments in late June and the results have been encouraging. Not including today's 2/4 day at the plate, Getz is hitting .394/.432/.545 since June 28. Granted, that's only in 33 at-bats, but at the least, Getz should go into the All-Star break with a lot of confidence that he hopefully can build on in the second half.

While Getz' first-half offensive grade won't be all that good, don't be surprised to come back after the season and see a higher grade. There's still a decent enough chance that .270/.330/.370 is within reach, and while that's nothing to write home about, it's not a bad building block for a rookie second baseman.

I'm far more concerned with Getz' defense than his offense, though. I never would have expected Getz to have a -3.7 UZR heading into the All-Star break, but that's exactly the case. I don't think anybody expected a through-the-roof UZR from Getz, but at the least, I thought he was going to be an average defensive second baseman. And while he's not Dan Uggla bad, it's still disappointing to see him in the bottom third of MLB second basemen in terms of defense. Combined with his offense, it's not all that surprising that he's barely rated as a replacement-level player by WAR (-0.1).

Offensive grade: D+

Defensive grade: D+

Alexei Ramirez

Is it some rule that Ramirez can only start hitting after mid-May? On May 21, Ramirez had a triple-slash of .213/.261/.276 with just one home run. To say he looked lost at the plate would be a bigger understatement than saying the Royals made a bad move in trading for Yuniesky Betancourt.

Since May 21, Ramirez has been a completely different hitter. He's at a very nice .319/.377/.503 with 10 home runs, and in that stretch, he's taken one fewer walk (17) than he did in all of 2008 (18).Ramirez is swinging at 51.5 percent of the pitches he's seeing this year, down from 59.9 percent last year. More importantly, he's chasing far fewer pitches out of the strike zone this year (swinging at 33.3 percent of pitches out of the strike zone) than last year (42.7 percent).

There seems to be a pretty good chance that Ramirez equals, if not surpasses, his 2008 numbers. And, given how terrible he was in the first month and a half of the season, that's pretty good. If only the Sox could figure out how to get him to hit in cold weather or petition the schedule makers to push opening day back to May 20...

Defensively, UZR likes Ramirez (2.0), but he still has some work to do before he can be considered an above-average shortstop. At times, he'll have lazy footwork, be out of position, and/or make bad throws that have really hurt the Sox in some games. It's obvious that he's more comfortable at shortstop as opposed to second base, but sometimes, it seems like he's too comfortable and has mental lapses that shouldn't happen.

Regardless, Ramirez has been coming on strong as of late and should be ready for a solid second half.

Offensive grade: B-

Defensive grade: C+

Gordon Beckham

After going hitless in his first 13 MLB at-bats, Beckham has hit .297/.363/.465 with three home runs (not including today's 2/4 performance, so those are actually a little bit higher). For a guy who wasn't even signed at this point last year, that's pretty darn impressive.

The White Sox handled the Beckham situation very well (which actually was a bit surprising given the "savior" comments Ozzie Guillen made about Beckham early in his time with the Sox), leaving him in the lineup to adjust to MLB pitching. He's done just that, and while he's still a long way from reaching his ceiling, he's laid a very nice foundation to build on for after the All-Star break.

Even if Beckham doesn't develop some consistent power this year, he has an outside chance of upping his OPS+ to around 100, which would be a huge success for his rookie year. At this point, I'm very pleased with the way Beckham has hit so early in his career, so while his numbers may not be through the roof, he's earned himself a good grade at the plate.

Defensively, Beckham is still very rough around the edges. He's a good athlete, but makes a lot of mistakes that shouldn't be entirely excused, but also shouldn't be held too much against a guy who's playing third base for the first time in his career. However, he's been better than Josh Fields defensively, so just keep in mind that it actually could be worse whenever he goes through defensive lapses (like today).

Offensive grade: B

Defensive grade: C-

Jayson Nix

I can't say I have any problems with the way Nix has performed as an uber-utility player. He can play second, short, third, and even a little outfield all while hitting a hard .239. He has the fifth-highest slugging percentage on the team, and if his .235 BABIP regresses toward the mean, he'll finish the year with some pretty nice numbers for a utility player.

Defensively, Nix has seen the most time at second base, where he has a 3.2 UZR. He doesn't have a ton of innings at 3B, SS, LF, and RF, but he doesn't have a negative UZR at any of those positions. Given the differences between all five positions, Nix has done a great job with the glove so far.

Offensive grade: C+

Defensive grade: A

Josh Fields

Fields is a perfect example of what can happen to a player when there's a major hole in his approach that can't be corrected and scouting reports figure that hole out. Fields hasn't been able to hit high fastballs very well in his career, but the book wasn't out on him when he hit 23 home runs in 2007. This year, the book was simple: throw Fields anything hard above the bellybutton and he probably won't hit it. Combined with cut fastballs, Fields has seen 6.6 percent more fastballs than he did in 2007, and as a result, he really struggled at the plate.

His .302 BABIP doesn't indicate any sort of bad luck, just that teams have the book on Fields and he hasn't been able to adjust. Maybe he needs a fresh start elsewhere, or maybe he'll just never be able to build off what was a very nice rookie campaign two years ago.

Defensively, Fields' work at "Camp Cora" in the offseason never seemed to pay off. He still really struggled ranging to his left and right, and as a result, he goes into the All-Star break with a -5.1 UZR, second-worst on the team to Jermaine Dye. However, Dye has been able to make up for his defensive issues with a solid offensive year. Fields hasn't been able to do that.

Offensive grade: D-

Defensive grade: D-

Ramon Castro

Castro hasn't done a whole lot at the plate, but he hasn't been out-and-out terrible and at the least, Jose Contreras has pitched out of his mind with Castro as his own personal catcher. Even if Castro doesn't start seeing better offensive production in the second half, the trade to get him from the Mets for Lance Broadway will look like a success if Contreras keeps pitching so well.

Offensive grade: D

Defensive grade: B

Corky Miller (no longer in majors)

Miller actually wasn't doing a terrible job when Castro replaced him about two months into the season. Yeah, offensively he wasn't very good, but he at least brought a solid arm to the table. Did he deserve to be in the majors? No, probably not, but I always felt like the Sox could have done a whole lot worse than Miller as a backup to AJ Pierzynski. However, like I said earlier, Castro's done his job as Contreras' personal catcher, so I don't think anybody's going to be pining for Corky any time soon.

Offensive grade: D-

Defensive grade: B

Wilson Betemit (no longer in majors)

Betemit was mercifully DFA'd in early June to make room for Gordon Beckham after posting a 53 OPS+ with awful defense. The guy who was supposed to be Juan Uribe's replacement was so bad at third and short that he was relegated to backup first base duties, in which he was still pretty terrible. He never hit the ball well and eventually became half of a testimony to how badly the White Sox got fleeced in the Nick Swisher trade (with the other half being Jeff Marquez and his incredible 10.35 ERA with Triple-A Charlotte).

Offensive grade: F

Defensive grade: F

Brent Lillibridge (no longer in majors)

Lillibridge had an OPS+ of 20 before the Sox finally figured out he's just not a major leaguer in May. All he brought to the table was speed and below-average defense. Luckily for the Sox, Jayson Nix has been good enough as a utility player that Lillibridge shouldn't sniff the majors any time soon.

Offensive grade: F

Defensive grade: D

Q&A With Tyler Flowers

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:30:04 -0400

After coming over as the centerpiece of the Javier Vazquez trade, Tyler Flowers is currently hitting .292/.439/.532 with 11 home runs as Birmingham's starting catcher. I had the chance to talk to Flowers over the phone before Monday's game against Mobile in which we went 4-for-4 with a stolen base. Flowers talked about his progress, defense, hitting and how some of his teammates have fared in Birmingham this year.

This interview was originally done for baseballdigest.com. For a full archive of my articles, check out my page at Examiner.com.

How have you made this transition easier going from Atlanta to the Sox organization?

TF: It was never too difficult. The only real obstacle in my eyes was getting used to working with the pitchers. I faced a couple of them, but never caught any of them. It was a pretty good transition, learning their tendencies. I have to help them out of tough jams and what works for them.

Our pitching coach has been a big help, he’s coached these guys for the last couple years. As far as everything else, everyone’s been great and spring training was great, everyone was nice as can be. It was pretty easy. I felt very welcome when I came over there.

Was the transition from Atlanta hard on you since you grew up there and rooted for the Braves?

TF: I still live about 15 minutes from the stadium. I have a bunch of buddies that play with them. Everyone has that childhood dream to play for your favorite team. My entire extended family lives in the Atlanta area, so I always thought about that. It won’t be that big of a deal; everyone can get on a plane now and go to Chicago.

What have your coaches said about your defense?

TF: Chicago’s expressed that they’re real pleased. Obviously, there’s certain things that me and every catcher in double-A can improve. There’s definitely stuff on my agenda to take note of and try to improve and be more consistent with.

They made it very clear that I’m going to be a catcher, and I was definitely pumped to hear that. They weren’t just excited about my bat, but they were excited about me behind the plate too. That was important to me.

Working on being consistent with my throwing and footwork. I feel like receiving’s come a long way, blocking balls has come a long way. Calling a game, our pitching coach has helped me out tremendously, especially explaining the staff to me, explaining what their put-away pitch is, going back to their tendencies how to get them to of it. It’s been pretty good.

Did you get a chance to talk to AJ Pierzynski or Don Cooper about catching in general?

TF: Coop really took some time to talk to me about their staff up there in anticipation of me getting up there this year, next year, whenever.

AJ, well, there’s not much to say about AJ [laugh]. He was actually all right. He didn’t offer up too much information. I’d ask him about certain guys how to deal with them. Some guys, he had a suggestion for, and others, he didn’t know how to deal with them either.

Did you talk to any of the hitters about hitting MLB pitching?

TF: I was in spring training this year and last year and I’ve faced some big-name guys. It’s the same game. It’s just a bigger name guy on the mound. I don’t see it being that much of a transition. The only disadvantage is the extreme scouting reports and stuff, so if you have an exposed weakness they’re going to exploit it until you figure out how to make the adjustment to it. I think that’s the big difference. As far as stuff-wise, there are a couple nasty guys out there no matter who you are. You know, Albert Pujols strikes out against those guys.

Beckham’s up there, I’ve talked to him a couple of times. He’s made it clear being with the team for a couple weeks that it’s the exact same game, you just gotta wait on your pitch and take advantage of it.

Do you feel like a promotion to AAA is coming in the near future?

You know what, I have no idea. I really don’t.

There’s a couple good catchers in Triple-A, that’s up to the organization what they want to do with it. It doesn’t make a difference being in AA or AAA. It’s pretty much the same game. You got some great prospects here, you have a couple older prospects up there in the holding pattern for the big leagues. I think either way it’s a challenge, and I’m trying to get better every day. I’m not worried about going up.

On Dayan Viciedo:

Viciedo has come a long way. I can only imagine what he’s gone through since day one coming to a different country not to many guys speaking Spanish with him. He had to feel pretty alone at the beginning, at least. Our team here is so team-oriented, and I really think he’s starting to feel part of the team and his performance is getting a lot better. He’s a special player.

He’s young, but he’s matured so much this year. He’s going to be scary about a year from now.

On Jordan Danks:

He just came up here and first game, I think he went 2for-4 or 3-for-4, something ridiculous. He just came out swinging it. He went through a little rough spell where I guess scouting report got to him. He took a couple games, made the adjustment, and he got right back on track.

He’s one of the best hitters we have here right now, and he definitely sets the table for us early in games. He can steal bases, cover a lot of ground in the outfield; he’s got a great arm. He’s definitely a five-tool player. He looks good.

On Aaron Poreda and his off-speed pitches:

From what I understood—obviously, I didn’t catch him last year—it was real inconsistent. I think JR and Champ made it a point in ST to tell him look, if you figure out this off-speed stuff, you’re going to be up there. I think he really took that to heart, and he was working hard to get to the big leagues. He was actually my roommate until he moved outta here. We talk about it all the time. He just needed to commit to it and trust himself throwing those pitches.

Once he started doing that, his slider was nasty, his changeup started becoming a good change of speeds for him and just another aspect, so they can’t sit on that fastball. And you know what, his fastball is so devastating anyway; he might not even need anything else. I heard in his appearances in the big leagues he’s only thrown a couple off-speed pitches for a couple strikeouts. If he can command that fastball it’s a huge part because hitters have to start cheating and his off-speed is right there with his fastball now.

He came a long way this year. At the beginning, he was kinda inconsistent as far as break on his sliders and change of speed on his changeup—sometimes, it’d be a little too firm. Him and JR worked on it and he committed to it and we committed to using it in the games. It started working for him, confidence started rolling, and before you know it he’s in Chicago and in his first outing striking out a couple of guys.

On Beckham’s walk-off single against the Cubs on Saturday:

I sent him a text, I’m sure he was bombarded that day. I sent him a text saying ‘good job.’ I know he’s pumped and he deserves to be up there. I tell you what, he’s about as whatever he is, a 22-year-old as you’ll ever see.

Even in spring training, he just belonged there. Right out of the gate, right from college he was ready to go. I think that’s why he got a chance this year. He’s just mature, professional, handles himself well, plays the game hard. I think he’s going to be in Chicago for a long time now.

He can go 0-for-4 and you’d think he went 3-for-4. He’s out there busting his ass on defense. He has a good time when he’s playing, too. I think a lot of guys get away from that.

The South Side Youth Movement: How Will It Effect the White Sox In 2009?

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:06:13 -0500

Following a dramatic 2008 that culminated in a division title, the White Sox' plan this offseason has been to get younger and cheaper.

That plan manifested itself in the Nick Swisher and Javier Vazquez trades, which were centered around players without any major league experience (Jeff Marquez in the Swisher trade, Tyler Flowers in the Vazquez trade). The most money the White Sox spent this offseason has been $10 million on 19-year-old third baseman Dayan Viciedo.

However, the trades and the Viciedo signing likely won't have an impact on the White Sox until 2010 at the earliest. That doesn't mean that the White Sox won't get a much-needed injection of youth into their roster in 2009, though.

The White Sox roster already has some good, young talent that had success in 2008. John Danks (23), Carlos Quentin (26), and Alexei Ramirez (27) were integral parts of the 2008 White Sox and should be back in full force in 2009 (note: I didn't include 26-year-old Gavin Floyd because I think he's due for a regression in 2009).

Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, and AJ Pierzynski will be back as will Mark Buehrle and most of the bullpen.

Youth movement or not, the White Sox will still be a largely veteran team in 2009. 2010—when Gordon Beckham, Brandon Allen, Viciedo, and Flowers might be ready to contribute—will be when the real youth movement takes hold. Aaron Poreda also might get a shot at the starting rotation in 2010 if he doesn't earn a rotation spot this year.

But for 2009, the beginnings of the youth movement may begin to take hold in a few places:

Second base

The White Sox are committed to youth at second base in 2009, with Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge, and Jayson Nix projected to compete for the starting job in spring training. The 25-year-old Getz is the early favorite after posting a .814 OPS at triple-A Charlotte in 2008, but Lillibridge or Nix could overtake him with overwhelming performances in March.

Getz only has seven major-league at-bats, though, so he's certainly an unknown.

The winner of the second base job will almost certainly end up hitting ninth in the White Sox order at the beginning of the season, so whoever wins it will have a low-pressure situation in which to develop.

If Getz/Lillibridge/Nix succeeds in 2009, it could create a middle infield logjam in 2010 if Beckham progresses nicely through the White Sox farm system this year. That's a long way off, though, but it's clear that the White Sox are going to stick with youth at second base for at least the next two or three years.

Center field

Jerry Owens looks like the early favorite to win the starting job in center heading into spring training. Of course, he was projected to be a starter on the 2008 White Sox until groin injuries and Carlos Quentin kept him in the minors for much of the year.

If Owens falters or gets hurt in March, Brian Anderson likely will end up as the starting center fielder on opening day.

The difference between the center field and second base battles is that both Owens and Anderson have track records as starters for the White Sox. Anderson had 365 at-bats in 2006 as a rookie while Owens logged 356 in 2007, also as a rookie.

While Anderson struggled in 2006, Owens had some success in 2007, hitting .267 with a .324 OBP and 32 stolen bases.

The White Sox need a leadoff hitter, and that's why the 27-year-old Owens has the inside track at the starting job in center this year.

Both Owens and Anderson will see good amounts of playing time in 2009, with Owens getting most the starts against righties and Anderson against lefties. Of course, that means Owens will get the majority of the starts.

Owens' low OBP and slugging percentage are reasons to be concerned if he earns the starting job in center. Owens needs to find a way to take more walks (0.43 BB/K in 2007) and hit more doubles (nine doubles in 95 hits in 2007) if he wants to be an effective leadoff hitter.

Granted, Anderson probably wouldn't do a whole lot better on the OBP and slugging categories than Owens. And while Anderson is the far superior defensive player, Owens does have good range (6.6 UZR in 2007) despite lacking much of an arm.

Third base

With Joe Crede out of the picture, Josh Fields finally will have a real chance at earning the starting third base job. Fields hit 23 home runs in 373 major-league at-bats in 2007 before struggling to regain that success with triple-A Charlotte in 2008.

Knee injuries likely had something to do with that, but Fields still comes into 2009 as a question mark. But it's not Fields' bat that the White Sox should be concerned with: it's his defense.

Fields was nothing short of a butcher at third base in 2007, costing the White Sox 10 runs using the UZR formula. Fielding metrics weren't even necessary to tell the story of Fields' defense: anybody who saw him play at third in 2007 knew he was below average.

There's a chance that Fields' defense will improve to the point where his defense won't cost the White Sox such a large number of runs. Chances are, though, that if Fields hits well, the Sox will overlook his defensive shortcomings.

Ultimately, Fields' best fit with the White Sox may be as the heir to Jim Thome's DH throne. He'll get his chance to play third base in 2009, but if he falters and Dayan Viciedo succeeds in the minors, we could see a switch a third base sometime this summer.

Fifth starter/bullpen

With the signing of Bartolo Colon, there will be one rotation spot open for either Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Lance Broadway, Jack Egbert, or Marquez.

Richard and Poreda are likely the two favorites heading into spring training. Richard made eight starts for the White Sox in 2008 and saw success when he kept the ball down. Richard's ceiling isn't any higher than a middle or back-of-the-rotation starter, but he might be the most major-league ready pitcher out of the group.

On the other hand, Poreda has the highest ceiling but hasn't pitched above double-A in his career. The 22-year-old lefty features a blistering high-90's fastball and nice slider, but will have to throw his changeup with a lot of consistency if he wants to have success at the MLB level.

If Richard and Poreda both pitch well in spring training, expect Richard to earn the spot in the rotation and Poreda to be moved to the MLB bullpen for the time being.

Richard also could be a good bullpen option if the Sox decide Poreda is worthy of a spot in the starting rotation. He made two very nice appearances out of the White Sox' bullpen in the 2008 ALDS and could be a very effective long reliever if necessary.

There's a chance that if [when] Colon gets hurt, Poreda or Richard won't move to the rotation, though, because it would give the White Sox an unorthodox rotation that features four left-handed pitchers.

Ultimately, Richard and Poreda are probably the two best options for the starting rotation, so unless Broadway, Marquez, or Egbert blow the Sox' brass away in March, it will probably remain that way.

The White Sox have too many unknowns heading into 2009 to call them a contender for the AL Central. However, it might take less than 90 wins to take the division crown for the second straight year, so anything could happen.

Youth may ultimately be the deciding factor in whether or not the White Sox contend in 2009. Youth perhaps was the No. 1 reason why the White Sox made the playoffs in 2008, and if the franchise wants to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in its 107-year history, the White Sox' youth is going to have to step up again.

Trying to Project Chris Getz

JJ Stankevitz — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:37:50 -0500

One of the more intriguing storylines in spring training for the White Sox will be the second base battle between Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge, and Jayson Nix. None of the three have more than 90 major-league at-bats, and for that reason, it will be interesting to see how each does against major-league pitching in March.

Everything that has come out over the winter suggests that 25-year-old Getz has the inside track to the job. He's been in the White Sox organization his whole career and put up some nice numbers at Charlotte last year before being called up to the majors in mid-August.

A quick look at Getz' minor-league numbers in 2008:

At-bats: 404

Hits: 122

Batting average: .302

OBP: .366

Slugging: .448

OPS: .814

2B: 24

HR: 11

Runs: 60

RBI: 52

BB: 41

K: 53

BB/K: 0.77

SB/CS: 11/4

Getz' power numbers were likely inflated by playing at a hitters' park in Charlotte, but there's still a lot to like with these raw numbers. He's a high on-base hitter with good power to the gaps, and as a No. 9 hitter, that's pretty good. In fact, it's essentially the exact opposite of what Juan Uribe was in the No. 9 spot over the last few years. If everything pans out for Getz, he should be an excellent No. 2 hitter for the White Sox someday. Getz seems to be a favorite of Ozzie Guillen, who has likened him to some of the White Sox-killing contact hitters on the Minnesota Twins who spawned the "piranha" label.

But minor-league success (especially at a good hitters park) is far from a guarantee of major-league success. Getz only has seven major-league at-bats under his belt, which makes attempts at predicting his success difficult.

If you believe in projections, there are two out for Getz right now. The Marcel projection shouldn't be used in trying to predict what Getz would do as a starter, as it only projects Getz to have 182 at-bats in 2009. CHONE does have a full projection for Getz, predicting Getz to hit .265 with a .327 OBP and a .696 OPS over 442 at-bats in 2009.

The CHONE projection isn't exactly impressive. It projects Getz' BB/K to be similar to what it was in 2008 with Charlotte (0.71 to 0.77), and adjusting for the major leagues, his stats go down. I'd have to agree that if Getz' BB/K this year is around what it was in the minors in 2008, then his stats will fall off. But I don't think that's an absolute, given that he still is a good contact hitter and that his previous BB/K stats were higher in previous years (1.11 with AA Birmingham in '06, 1.20 with AAA Charlotte in '07). If Getz can keep that stat around 1.00 in 2009, I can see him hitting around .280 with an OBP somewhere in the .350 range.

The numbers I've had in my head for Getz are as follows: ~.275 batting average, ~.340 OBP, ~.730 OPS. These are based on nothing more than a hunch regarding his minor league numbers. They're anything but scientific, I just feel that Getz does have the ability to make adjustments at the MLB level. He's not a "toolsy" player, but he's been able to get by pretty well with what he has so far. I don't see any reason why that can't continue at the MLB level.

Seriously, though, don't start quoting me on those numbers. Any preseason projection, regardless of the method, needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But hey, since it's January and still really cold out, these are fun to play around with.

Something I was thinking about when writing this article was the last hitter to come all the way through (from draft or signing to majors) the White Sox organization and have success. The jury is still out on Josh Fields and Brian Anderson, but both have had their struggles in recent years. Alexei Ramirez doesn't count, as he never spent a day in the minors. Over the last decade or so, I can only think of three players that fit the bill: Joe Crede, Carlos Lee, and Magglio Ordonez. None of those players debuted in the last five years, either, and even Crede only had about two really good seasons (last half of '05, 2006, and first half of '08) in his tenure with the Sox.

Maybe the current wave of young Sox hitters—Getz, Gordon Beckham, Brandon Allen, Dayan Viciedo—will reverse this trend. But it really does speak to just how bad the White Sox farm system was in the middle of the decade at drafting and developing talent.

Check out a full archive of my articles at Examiner.com

A Rejected '24' Storyline Involving the White Sox, Part 2

JJ Stankevitz — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:42:13 -0500

You probably should read part one before reading part two. Then, it'll make sense to you why Nick Punto is trying to detonate a nuclear Shamwow in Los Angeles. And now, for the thrilling conclusion:

[12:00 PM]

Marquez is still locked in the blogger's basement. The blogger sits at his computer devouring a plate of pizza puffs.

Blogger: Oooh, a new Jermaine Dye rumor from Bruce Levine! Dye for Fukudome, with the Cubs paying all of Fukudome's salary! This means no more Jerry Owens woooooooooooooooo!

Marquez: Hey, do you think I could have something to drink?

Blogger: All I have is Mountain Dew or crab juice.

Marquez: Is it legal for '24' to steal lines from 'The Simpsons'?

Blogger: Probably not, Rupert Murdoch isn't exactly a nice guy. Although I still like him better than Steinbrenner.

Marquez: You did it again. That's just lazy writing. Now, about that drink?

Blogger: Was your FIP above 5.00 in AAA last year?

Marquez: What the hell is FIP?

Blogger: Well, it was. So you'll get nothing and like it.

Marquez: You know, you're pretty reactionary and unreasonable.

Blogger: Alright, that's it. [Picks up phone, starts dialing furiously] I guess I'll have to bring in somebody to give you what you deserve.

Marquez: Aren't you a Sox fan yourself?

Blogger: Well...yes...but...shut up! [into phone] Hello? Yeah, it's me. I need your help. Thanks. See you in a bit.

Marquez: Who's Mike?

Blogger: Oh, you'll see.

[1:00]

Cut to a shot of an airplane 35,000 feet above America. Punto has forced the plane to fly to Los Angeles, but unbeknown to him, the plane is flying to Washington D.C. WHAT A HUGE CHANGE IN THE PLOT OF "24"!!!

Punto: Oh man, I can't wait to get to Los Angeles. Detonating this bomb is going to be more exciting than blooping a single into right field!

Uribe, rising courageously: You know, Punto, you don't have to do this. Blowing up Los Angeles no es divertido. Why not just continue your life of hustle and weak singles?

Punto: You don't understand what it's like to not have power, Juanie. You have the ability to hit a 450-foot home run on every pitch, even though you rarely do so. Me? I can barely hit the ball out of the infield. Having this bomb gives me power. It's my only chance to ever have power, so DON'T TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!

Punto lunges at Uribe, hustling over rows of seats to get to him.

Uribe: Take it easy, Punto. You don't want to see me when I go profundo.

Punto: I'll take my chances. [punches Uribe]

Uribe and Punto struggle for the rest of the episode. While Uribe has more power, he frequently misses golden opportunities to knock the scrappy fighter Punto out as the plane descends on Washington D.C.

[2:00 PM]

The doorbell rings at the blogger's house.

Blogger: Ah, that must be Mike now. Sit tight, Jeff. Things are about to get real ugly.

Mike: Hiya sport! Gee, it's awfully kind for you to invite me over to your place for some good old fashioned batting practice!

Blogger: Yeah, batting practice. Okay, I got everything teed up for you downstairs.

Mike goes downstairs.

Mike: Hey, there's not a tee down here at all! There's just a pitcher with a pedestrian strikeout rate tied to a chair!

Blogger: I know. I want you to practice hitting on his fibula.

Mike: Good gravy, I can't do that! It'll hurt him! Plus, I'll probably hit a rocket line drive off his fibula in the regular season.

Blogger: It'll help your batting average if you do it. I'm serious.

Mike: Well, if you say so...

Mike readies his stance to hit Marquez' leg. As he takes a step to swing, his phone goes off.

Mike: Hello?

Dayton Moore: Hey, Mike, listen...we've just traded you to Arizona for Eric Byrnes.

Mike: Wait, what? That trade makes no sense!

Dayton Moore: Well, we wanted to open up a spot for Willie Bloomquist because he's a great on-base guy, so we had to deal you away. Byrnes fits that hustle model that we've been striving for this offseason, too.

Mike: Aw shucks. Well, I better be leaving, then.

Aviles exits and the Royals become 200% more mediocre.

Blogger: Great. Now what am I going to do to Marquez?

[3:00 PM]

This entire episode consists of Kenny Williams yelling "DAMMIT" while killing terrorists who are shooting a rain of bullets at him. He's unable to find the blogger's house, but has another secret weapon up his sleeve. Stay tuned.

[4:00 PM]

Punto's plane lands at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C, but not before it nearly crashes into seven planes that buzz just a few feet over it.

Punto: Aaaah, sunny Los Angeles! I can't wait to blow this place up!

He exits the plane. It's snowing, and he somehow can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

Punto: Wait, this isn't Los Angeles at all! I've been had!

Uribe: Profundo! Los Angeles is saved!

Punto: Not so fast, my friend. I still have the nuke, and I can blow it up whenever I want.

Uribe: But that'll put the president in danger! No!

Punto: Yep. Just another groundbreaking president put in danger.

Uribe: So that means you'd just kill the United States' first non-U.S. born president, just like that?

Punto: Look, this plot makes no sense at all right now, so just go with it.

Punto gets off the plane and jumps into an unmarked white van, which speeds off the runway.

[5:00 PM]

Williams, on the phone with his secretary:

Secretary: The tracking bug you put on Marquez in the Arizona Fall League is finally responding! He's in Hinsdale, Kenny!

Williams: Brian, you've done some good work. We might actually consider giving you some playing time in 2009.

Secretary: Great! No more crying on the bench listening to "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!" for this guy! Oh, Kenny, you're getting another call. It's from a private number. I'm sending it through.

Williams: DAMMIT, BRIAN! I TOLD YOU NEVER TO DO THAT!

Scott Boras: Hello, Kenny. I hear you have a problem.

Williams: Oh, great. I thought I told you never to call me again. Doesn't this violate your restraining order, too?

Scott Boras: Whatever. Listen, Omar Minaya doesn't want to pay $70 million for Oliver Perez. You want him for that price?

Williams: I don't negotiate with terrorists. [hangs up]

Williams speeds off toward Hinsdale.

[6:00 PM]

Uribe: I gotta find that van. I gotta find that van. Who do I know in Washington that can help me? [searches phone] Yes! There we go. [dials phone]

Secret agent: Hello?

Uribe: Willie, it's Juanie. You remember, from 2005?

Secret agent: Yeah, Juanie. What's up?

Uribe: Look, I need to find an unmarked white van somewhere in the Washington DC area. I figured your super speed and versatility could help.

Secret agent: Sure. What's in the van?

Uribe: Nick Punto and a nuclear bomb.

Secret agent: PPPPPPPPPUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Uribe: Call me if you find it.

Secret agent: Definitely. Punto is as good as dead.

[7:00 PM]

Williams arrives outside the blogger's house in Hinsdale.

Williams: Alright, guns? Check. Loads of ammo? Check. Fists? Check and check.

Williams kicks through the basement window. He unties Marquez.

Williams: Marquez! Are you okay?

Marquez: I think so. Mike Aviles came to try and hurt me, but was traded to the Diamondbacks before he could do anything.

Williams: I'm so glad Jon Schuerholz didn't pass on his infinite wisdom to Moore when he left Atlanta. Okay, let's get you out of here.

Blogger: Not so fast, infidel.

Williams: A blogger! I hate bloggers!

A firefight ensues between Williams and the blogger. Somehow, nobody is hit. The blogger eventually escapes, but Williams has Marquez.

Williams: I'm so happy to have you back. Now everyone can see what your sinker can do at U.S. Cellular Field!

[8:00 PM]

Back to D.C. Willie Harris found a white van and is calling Uribe.

Uribe: You got something?

Secret agent: Yeah, it's an unmarked white van. I'm going to cut it off and see what's inside.

Harris fishtails the van and rams it into a wall. He quickly opens the door of the van, but to his surprise, Punto is not inside.

Rod Blagojevich, sitting with large bags that have dollar signs on them: What are you doing?!

Secret agent: Ummmm...nothing. What are you doing?

Blagojevich: Nothing. Nothing illegal here.

As Harris tries to comprehend what the heck is going on in the plot, another white van speeds by. Harris turns and runs it down.

Driver: What's the holdup? Nothing illegal here, either.

Secret agent: Can I see the back of your car, sir?

Driver: Okay, but I assure you there's nothing back there.

Punto jumps out the back and hustles off.

Secret agent: Hey, get back here!

[9:00 PM]

Williams has caught up to the blogger, who's running down a street.

Williams: YOU CAN'T RUN, DAMMIT! I WILL FIND YOU!

Blogger: I was doing it all for the team's own good!

Williams: No you weren't how would you know anything about the team?

Blogger: Because...I'm on the team. [suspenseful music]

Meanwhile, in D.C., Harris has caught up to Punto, cornering him in an alley. Uribe has also met up with Harris.

Secret agent: It's over, Punto! Give me the bomb!

Punto: Fine. Here it is.

Punto hands over the nuclear Shamwow to Uribe.

Uribe: That was easy. Too easy.

Uribe looks down to find the bomb is ticking.

Punto: That's right. I weakly triggered the countdown, so this bomb will detonate at 11:59.

Uribe: God, this guy is annoying. We gotta find a way to get this bomb away from civilization!

Secret agent: Where could that be? We only have a few hours to get rid of the bomb!

Uribe: Got it. If we get on a plane now, we can get a to a place where nobody goes!

Secret agent: Where's that?

Uribe: Downtown Detroit.

Uribe quickly leaves on a plane to Detroit. Of course, as it takes off, it nearly hits another one. SUSPENSE!

[10:00 PM]

Williams is confronting the blogger about his connection to the White Sox.

Williams: YOU play for the White Sox? Why don't I recognize you?

Blogger: You should. I won 17 games last year.

Williams: ...Gavin?

Blogger: Yeah. Gavin Floyd.

Williams: So why did you lock up Jeff Marquez in your basement and order Nick Punto to detonate a nuke in Los Angeles?

Floyd: It all makes sense—just hear me out. I'm not going to be as good as I was last year. I need protection at the back of the rotation, and I don't think Marquez provides that. I had to go undercover so you would realize this and sign a veteran, like Freddy Garcia.

Williams: What about Punto?

Floyd: I figured he'd destroy his already weak ability to hit in the nuclear blast. I just never wanted you to find out what I was doing.

Williams: Why's that?

Floyd: I thought you'd trade me to Baltimore.

Williams: I'd never do that, Gavin.

Floyd: So will you sign a veteran starter?

Williams: Yes. Yes, I will. [dials phone number]

The White Sox new starting pitcher: Hthlsdo?

Williams: Bartolo, I thought we had this talk when you were with the Sox. Don't talk while eating.

Colon: But I'm eating for most of my time awake!

Williams, sighing: I know. Hey, listen, you want to pitch for the White Sox next year?

Colon: Yeah, sure. How much are you going to pay me?

Williams: $700,000 base salary with a ton of incentives.

Colon: What kind of incentives?

Williams: Well, if you make the All-Star game, how about you get unlimited Dunkin' Donuts for a year.

Colon: Where do I sign? That sounds awesome! Thanks, Kenny! [hangs up]

Williams: There, problem solved. Now let's stop Punto from blowing up Los Angeles!

[11:00 PM]

Uribe is on a plane with the bomb. It's set to go off at 11:58. As the plane descends toward Detroit, Uribe's phone goes off.

Uribe: Hola?

Floyd: Juanie, it's Gavin Floyd. Have you located Punto?

Uribe: I found him, and have the bomb now. I think...I think I'm not going to be able to live through its detonation.

Floyd: What's your plan?

Uribe: I'm going to drop the bomb in the middle of downtown Detroit so nobody gets hurt. I just don't know if I can get away quick enough to escape.

Floyd: Just use your speed, Juanie. Everything will be profundo.

Uribe, feeling confident: You're right, Gavin. It will be.

Floyd: We're going to take a helicopter to come get you. Detonate the bomb, and then we'll come pick you up. You're going to be a hero, Juanie.

Uribe: Gracias.

Floyd and Williams get in a helicopter and immediately fly out across Lake Michigan toward Detroit.

[11:58]

Williams looks out the side of the helicopter to see a mushroom cloud erupt over the city of Detroit. Williams sighs, looking dismayed. Eventually, they land in downtown Detroit, completely ignoring the fact that there probably was a lot of radiation in the air.

Williams: Good lord, it's a dead zone here.

Floyd: Actually, everything looks the same.

Williams: You're right, it does. That's odd.

Uribe emerges from the dark, with the bomb/Shamwow in his hand. The clock is turned off.

Williams: Juanie, what did you do? How did the bomb not go off?

Uribe: I used my super smarts to shut it off. It really wasn't that hard, all I had to do was make one easy payment of $19.95.

Floyd: But what about the mushroom cloud we saw?

Uribe: Oh, that. I think somebody lit Magglio Ordonez' hair on fire.

Williams: Makes sense. Now let's go home.

The three walk off into the night. But Punto still lives to wreak havoc/infield singles on the AL Central. Like the terrorists in the real "24," he'll never go away.

The end.

A Rejected "24" Storyline Involving the Chicago White Sox, Pt. 1

JJ Stankevitz — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:47:22 -0500

With part one of the four-hour "24" premier airing tonight, I dug up an unused storyline for the new season that's based off the White Sox' offseason. Not surprisingly, it was passed over for another plot involving one guy trying to stop terrorists from detonating another nuke in Los Angeles and/or assassinating another president. Real original, Fox. But since this storyline won't be aired, here's the first half of what you're missing.

[12:00 AM] Digital clock ticking, making too much noise. What kind of digital clock makes that loud of a beeping sound, anyway? I wouldn't want to own one of those.

Random White Sox blogger, wearing a ratty t-shirt and ripped sweat pants. It's obvious he hasn't showered in weeks, because, you know, he's a blogger: We need a veteran starter if we want to compete. Jeff Marquez? That's your answer, Kenny Williams? [screaming into computer] HE HAD A 4.69 ERA AT TRIPLE-A LAST YEAR! AND JERRY OWENS?! HE CAN'T HIT! THERE'S NO WAY THIS TEAM CAN CONTEND IN 2009! I gotta do something about this. I have to do something. Kenny Williams is a dirty infidel. It's time my band of bloggers and I take drastic action on this situation.

Cut to Kenny Williams' office at U.S. Cellular Field.

Williams: Oh, great. Another stupid rumor from Bruce Levine. Jermaine Dye to the Bulls for Andres Nocioni? He says the deal makes perfect sense because the Bulls need an inside scoring presence, noting that Dye nearly drove in 100 runs last year, and the Sox could use Nocioni, who must be good at baseball because he has a Spanish-sounding name. I guess that still makes more sense than the Michael Young rumor. I'm so done with this. I think I'll go move to fictional African nation and settle in a small, war-torn village. Yeah. That sounds like just the trick.

Williams' secretary: Sir, I have a caller on line one. He didn't give his name.

Williams: DAMMIT! Brian, you have to get their names and their business! See, this is why you hardly play anymore. Okay, send it through.

[Aside] Secretary: God, I hate this place. I wish I could go to a place where my talents were appreciated.

Sox blogger, speaking in a raspy voice as to imply that he poses a threat: Give us what we want.

Williams: Who is this? Is this Jay Mariotti again? Because if it is, no, I'm not going to give you a lock of Jerry Reinsdorf's hair so you can practice voodoo with it.

Sox blogger: Give us another starter and somebody in center who's not Jerry Owens.

[Dramatic music] Williams: I don't negotiate with terrorists. I kill them.

Sox blogger: Fine. But I'm warning you, there will be consequences. [End first hour. Yeah, that somehow took an hour. There were commercial breaks in between, so sit back and blindly accept it.]

-----

[1:00 AM]

Williams is seen sleeping peacefully. This is the entire episode.

------

[2:00 AM]

Williams is still sleeping. And yet, this episode still would have drawn record ratings.

------

[3:00 AM]

Williams rolls over, still sleeping. His cat jumps on the bed. Is that a bad omen? Stay tuned.

------

[4:00 AM]

Williams phone goes off to "You're the Best" by Joe 'Bean' Esposito.

Sox blogger: We've captured your fondest possession.

Williams: That's not possible. [rising from bed] He was sleeping right...here.

Cut to shot of a room in Williams' house. The window is open, and a "most pedestrian strikeout rate 2008" trophy is lying on the ground after an apparent struggle.

Williams: DAMMIT! You took him!

Sox blogger: That's right, we have the Jeff Marquez. To get him back, you're going to have to sign or trade for a veteran starting pitcher. Oh, and to add suspense to the situation: you have 20 hours to do so or we'll get Nick Punto to detonate a nuke in Los Angeles.

Williams, dropping phone dramatically: PPPPPPUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNTTTTTOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

------

[5:00 AM]

Williams goes back to sleep for 30 minutes, gets up, uses the bathroom, takes a shower, and gets dressed. I think the reason why this storyline didn't make it to Fox was that Jack Bauer never does these things.

------

[6:00 AM]

Sox blogger, still in the same clothes he was at 12:00 AM: Well, Jeffrey, looks like we have a little situation on our hands.

Jeff Marquez: What did I do to ever hurt you?

Sox blogger, slapping Marquez: WE SHOULD HAVE GOT MORE FOR SWISHER! RARRGGGHHHH!!!

[Blogger picks up bat, tries to swing it at Marquez, but since all bloggers are unathletic and fat he's unable to do so]

Marquez: Okay, so you don't like me. I don't strike people out. I struggled at AAA last year with the Yankees. But why can't you give me a chance?

Blogger: Because you're a menace to society.

Marquez: Now that doesn't even make any sense.

Blogger: Whatever, the great Punto will be here soon. Then you'll experience real pain.

[Loud digital clock ticking]

Marquez: Why is that freaking clock so loud?

------

[7:00 AM]

Williams: Okay, I gotta find a way to get my Marquez back. Freddy Garcia? Pedro Martinez? Paul Byrd? All these guys won't last longer than the believability of this show.

[On the TV in the background, a SportsCenter anchor passes along a note that the Chicago Bears plan to draft a wide receiver in the 2009 NFL draft]

Williams: See what I mean? Seven hours. Those pitchers won't last more than seven hours, DAMMIT! Alright, it's time I give these clowns what they deserve.

[Grabs AK-47 out of coat closet. I don't know how he legally got the gun, but maybe it's because he's kind of maybe affiliated with some government organization.]

------

[8:00 AM]

[Doorbell rings at the house the blogger and Marquez are at]

Sox blogger: Ah, that must be Punto. I really hate that guy, but He's the only person who can help me right now.

Punto, weakly hitting his way through the door: You were too slow, so I broke in. Hope you don't mind.

Sox blogger: [aside] Seriously, this guy is annoying.

Okay, Punto, here's the deal: I need the White Sox to sign a veteran starter before midnight to fulfill all my hopes and dreams. If they don't, then I need you to detonate this nuclear bomb in Los Angeles.

Punto: Why does it look like a Shamwow?

Shamwow! spokesman: Because it's BOTH a nuke AND a super towel!

Punto: Okay, so what's in it for me?

Sox blogger: A DVD of the greatest infield singles of all time.

Punto, looking very excited: Deal.

------

[9:00 AM]

Cut to Williams running down a random street with his AK-47.

Williams, with sweat dripping from his brow: DAMMIT, no luck finding my Marquez yet. And I still need somebody to find that dangerous Punto. I'm guess I'm going to have to call my inside agent for help. It's going to be awkward, though, because I broke ties with him in November. I hope he's not too mad...

[Dials cell phone. It's picked up by the party on the other line.]

Inside agent: Buenos dias, este es Carros Buenos de Juanie, donde nosotros vendemos carros para precios profundos!

Williams: Oh, you gotta be kidding me, Uribe. You can't find work in the majors, so you're selling cars now?

Uribe, in extremely-hard-to-understand English: This is the only way I can feed my three children. Juan Luis, Juanny, and Juanie Jr. I got a lotta happy in me, but not enought to feed them every day.

Williams: Okay, well I got some work for you. While I'm looking for my lost Marquez, can you go and eliminate Punto for me?

Uribe: Pero...pero...

Williams: Do the job and I'll give you a shiny non-guaranteed contract.

Uribe: ¡Profúndo! I'm on it!

------

[10:00 AM]

Sox blogger, on the phone with Williams: I still haven't heard from you, Kenny. I'm starting to think you've lost a step.

Williams: Oh, I've only lost a step because I'm carrying so much ammunition. How else am I going to last for the next 14 hours?

Sox blogger, holding phone up to a struggling Marquez: I think your prized possession has something to say to you.

Marquez: Kenny! You gotta get me outta here! He's threatening to make me watch Bangkok Dangerous!

Williams: DAMMIT! I will find you, you scummy blogger. I will not stand for my Marquez to be tortured.

Sox blogger: Then give in to my demands. Give money to Freddy Garcia!

Williams, visibly angry: I WILL NEVER DO THAT!

------

[11:00 AM]

Punto is at the Minneapolis airport.

Security guard: Sir, please place your bag on the conveyor belt so we can x-ray it.

Punto: Certainly. [Places bag on x-ray belt]

X-ray checker: Nothing in here except a Shamwow. Enjoy your flight!

Punto, with an evil expression on his face: Good. The plan is now in action.

Security guard: Um, what plan?

Punto: Don't concern yourself with it. There is absolutely, positively nothing suspicious about this plan that I'm not going to describe to you.

Security guard: Fair enough. Enjoy Los Angeles!

In the background, Uribe is seen helping children color in their coloring books. He's a pro at this—it was listed as his "community service" in the White Sox 2007 media guide. I'm not kidding.

Uribe (alternating between English and Spanish): ¡Profúndo! Now your gato Oscar is azul!

He sees Punto hustle by.

Uribe: Este es my clue to leave. Enjoy Oscar the blue cat, chicos!

Uribe gets up in classic Uribe fashion and boards the same plane Punto does. His cell phone rings to the sound of "867-5309" by Tommy Tutone.

Uribe, chuckling at the fact the number calling him is not 867-5309: Hola.

Williams: Are you with Punto?

Uribe: Estoy en the same jet.

Williams: Good. When you land in Los Angeles, you need to stop Punto from detonating the nuke.

Uribe, loudly: Good Tebow! Punto has a nuke?!

Steward: OH MY GOD THERE'S A NUKE ON THIS PLANE! EVERYBODY PLEASE EXIT SO WE CAN CHECK YOUR BAGS AND FIND OUT WHO IS IN POSSESSION OF THE BOMB!

Punto, rising to his feet so he can barely see over the seat in front of him: Oh, we're not going anywhere. I was going to fly peacefully, but now, this is a hijacking. Pilot! Fly to Los Angeles!

Steward: Better do what he says, sir. If he gets any angrier, he might get an extra-base hit.

[Plane takes off with ominous music playing]

Suspense! Bloggers! Marquez! PUNTO! Check back tomorrow for the thrilling second half of this misguided attempt at a "24" spoof!

This spoof was originally published for Examiner.com. Check back on my website tomorrow for part two!

What Can the White Sox Expect from Josh Fields in 2009?

JJ Stankevitz — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:25:50 -0500

Check out a full archive of my articles at Examiner.com.

Most of the talk regarding the White Sox for the past month or so has centered around the back of the starting rotation—and rightfully so. But there haven't been a ton of questions about the lineup, which looks pretty set outside of second base and centerfield now that a Jermaine Dye trade is looking unlikely. All indications point to Chris Getz and Jerry Owens being the organizational favorites at 2B and CF, respectively, but they'll still have to win their jobs in spring training.

Josh Fields will have to do the same at third base. After Joe Crede's nonexistent trade value in the spring and a number of injuries ruined Fields' 2008, the Sox are finally giving him the opportunity to be the team's starting third baseman—although he could face competition from 19-year-old Dayan Viciedo and the "anvil-gloved" Wilson Betemit.

Viciedo probably will need some seasoning in the minors and Betemit's defense would almost certainly negate whatever offense he produces, so that leaves Fields as the best option, in theory.

But what can the White Sox expect from Fields in 2009? If you trust projections, CHONE has Fields hitting 20 home runs with 72 RBI and a .766 OPS. That sounds about right, but it'd be foolish to blindly follow any preseason projection—by computer or human—so I'll consider a few different directions Fields can go in 2009.

------

Argument I: Fields comes back, fully recovered from his various injuries, and improves off his 2007 performance.

Fields was placed on the minor league DL on May 8 with patella tendinitis, which began a long strong of knee problems for Fields in 2008. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after the 2008 season concluded, so hopefully that cleared up a lot of the problems he ran into. Assuming it did, that could leave Fields primed for a breakout year in 2009. He hit 23 home runs with 67 RBI and a .788 OPS in 373 at-bats in his rookie year of 2007—and if he had started on the big league club for the entire year, he may have wound up winning the rookie of the year award.

There was a lot of room for improvement in 2007, though. Fields' OBP in his rookie year was just .308 and he struck out 125 times in those 373 at-bats. Fields likely will always be a high-strikeout hitter, but he definitely can improve his on-base percentage. It's not uncommon for rookies to struggle in the OBP category their first year, as they don't know the tendencies of most of the pitchers they're facing. It boils down to a comfort thing—and as Fields gets to know the pitchers he faces better, he should have a better idea of what to lay off of and what to swing at. As a result, his walks will go up and he'll be a more selective hitter, leading to his batting average going up from the .244 it was in 2007 as well. If his OBP can settle somewhere above .350, he'll have some pretty good success in 2009.

Fields has great power potential, and if he can put everything together, he could hit 30 or more home runs. He likely would have reached that mark in 2007 had he played the entire year, so there is some basis to that claim. All in all, Fields has the ability to be an offensive force in the White Sox lineup if he's healthy in 2009.

Argument II: Fields is healthy, but stays about at his 2007 level. (Essentially, he fulfills his CHONE projection)

Fields is a decent hitter, but he's never going to be a great hitter at the MLB level. He'll get his 20-25 home runs, drive in 80 or so runs, and have an OPS somewhere in the mid-to-high .700s. He's not going to be the great player some once thought he would be, but if healthy, he can be a solid No. 7 hitter in the Sox lineup. Old habits are often hard to cure, and Fields has always struck out too much and walked too little in his career. His best professional season was 2006, but even then, he only walked 54 times in 526 plate appearances with triple-A Charlotte. He's going to have to be more selective at the MLB level if he wants to have success, but that may not ultimately happen.

The biggest concern with Fields isn't his offensive production, though—it's his fielding. You don't need defensive metrics to tell you that Fields was awful at third base in 2007—but his -10.1 UZR (meaning he cost the White Sox ten runs defensively compared to an average fielder in 2007) backs up what everyone pretty much knew—he's not great with the glove. For comparison, in 2008 Joe Crede had a UZR of 5.8, so that confirms the thoughts many Sox fans had of "Crede would have got that" when a ball got by Fields in 2007.

Fields defense may not be that bad again in 2009, but it probably won't be average, either. Hopefully, he's worked on his defense enough over the past couple of years that it will improve to the point where the Sox aren't being seriously hurt by having Fields at third base.

Argument III: Fields plays at his 2007 level, but can't stay healthy.

We won't know whether Fields' knee is truly 100 percent until we see him play for a month or two. And even if it is healthy at the start of the season, there's always the chance something flares up and lands him on the DL later in the year. He'll hit the ball fine when he's healthy, but he'll suffer big-time defensively if his knee limits his mobility.

If he cost the White Sox ten runs on a healthy knee in 2007, I can only imagine how many more he'd cost the Sox if he was playing through a knee injury in 2009. His offense would probably take a hit, too, if he ran into those knee problems—but again, when healthy, he'll have some success at the plate as a end-of-the-order hitter.

He'd be cheating himself and the organization if he tried to play through a knee injury, so hopefully if the problem comes back, he'll immediately tell somebody and rest up to get it healthy. A healthy Fields isn't bad, but it still remains to be seen if he will be healthy for 2009.

Argument IV: Fields 2008 was an indication of things to come.

Whether it's injuries or just poor play, Fields won't be able to rebound from his 2008. You have to wonder how much motivation plays into the whole equation, as Fields did play pretty well in 2007 in the majors and spent almost all of 2008 toiling away in Charlotte. The only person who knows whether or not Fields is really motivated is Fields himself and trying to quantify motivation is always dangerous, but if you were called up to the headquarters of your work, given a far better salary, and did a good job one year before being sent back to your original job and salary the following year, would you be motivated?

(Of course, the answer should be yes, because you'd want to get back to that great salary and job, right? But this isn't always the case.)

Anyways, on to things we can quantify, Fields was hurt a lot last year. And when he wasn't hurt, he wasn't all that good. When he was called up to the majors, he looked completely overmatched, going just 5/32 with only one extra-base hit on the year.

And even if Fields hits the ball decently enough, his defense is still bad to the point that he'll cost the Sox runs every time he takes the field. He's not going to hit 40 home runs to mask his poor defense like Adam Dunn, and ultimately, his defense will be a huge issue unless he takes a giant leap forward offensively.

------

These were just four paths I was able to envision Fields going down in 2009—and the one I agree with the most is probably option II, with option III close behind.

I'm not evaluating Fields against the other third base candidates, and given that Wilson Betemit hasn't played a ton of third base over the past few years, I'm not ready to say he'll be a better defensive third baseman than Fields (which, again, would be more of an indictment of Fields than a compliment to Betemit). The biggest question mark for Fields in March will be his defensive performance. If it improves, then Fields will have a lot more value to the White Sox. If it doesn't, the Sox may look in another direction at third base sooner rather than later.

This article was originally published for Examiner.com.

White Sox Player Review: Alexei Ramirez

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:12:03 -0400

The player

Alexei Ramirez

Position

Second base

Vital statistics

Batting average: .290
OBP: .317
SLG: .475
OPS: .792
Home runs: 21
RBI: 77
Runs: 65
BB/K: 18/61
SB/CS: 13/9

Coming into the season, nobody really knew what to expect from Alexei Ramirez. Signed to just a four-year, $4.75 million contract with a $500,000 signing bonus, Ramirez was viewed as a low-risk, high-reward player heading into Spring Training.

Nobody really expected the 26-year-old Ramirez to successfully assimilate to the major leagues in 2008, as it was his first year playing professional baseball in America.

Before the season began, the expectation was that Ramirez would begin the season in Double-A Birmingham or Triple-A Charlotte to get some much-needed seasoning.

However, when March rolled around, Ramirez showed off the incredible talent that he has by going 20/62 and flashing his blazing speed on the basepaths and athletic ability in the field. Of those 20 hits, eight of them were extra-base hits.

Like Carlos Quentin, Ramirez played himself on to the 2008 White Sox in Spring Training. There was no way Ramirez was going to be sent down to Triple-A after the all-around ability he showed off in March.

However, after just a week in the majors, it looked like Ramirez should have been sent down after all. After starting the first two games of the year and looking overmatched (albeit, by CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona), Ramirez took a seat on the bench for the third game of the year.

Nick Swisher moved to center field, where Ramirez played for the first two games, while Quentin garnered the starting left-field spot. Quentin took off and carried the offense through April and May, and Ramirez sat on the bench.

Ramirez saw spotty playing time in April, only getting 29 at-bats. He collected just four hits in those at-bats, and only one of them was an extra-base hit.

This sporadic poor play continued into May, and it looked like there was no end in sight. It appeared that Ramirez was destined to sit on the bench for the rest of 2008, a move that very well could have been detrimental to his development.

However, on May 16, Ramirez got his break when Juan Uribe went down with a strained hamstring that landed the incumbent second baseman on the disabled list.

In Ramirez' first game as the starting second baseman, he nailed a two-run home run—the first of his career—that broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh off San Francisco's Jonathan Sanchez. The White Sox went on to win the game 2-0, and Ramirez went on to earn his spot as the starting second baseman.

He picked up hits in his first four games as the starting second baseman, including back-to-back multi-hit games May 18 against the Giants and May 20 against the Indians.

When Uribe returned from the disabled list, Ozzie Guillen stuck with Ramirez at second. That paid off in June, as Ramirez took off by hitting .355 with a .381 OBP, three home runs, and 17 RBI. Ramirez continued to get better and better through July and August before his batting average and OBP tailed off in September, but his power numbers continued to improve.

Ramirez hit six home runs in both August and September, including his memorable go-ahead grand slam against the Tigers, which propelled the White Sox to a one-game playoff with the Twins and set the major-league record for most grand slams by a rookie at four.

For a rookie who never had played in the majors and saw more time on the bench than on the field in the first month-and-a-half of the season, it's safe to say that Ramirez had a very, very good season.

His line-drive rate/BABIP rate (.166 to .296) shows that he was just slightly lucky this year, but a dropoff in production isn't something to be too concerned about next year. Ramirez showed time and time again through 2008 that he was able to adjust to major-league pitching.

The book on Ramirez was to throw him nothing by breaking balls, and Ramirez responded by adjusting to that to stay afloat. If you think it's easy to adjust to major-league pitching as a rookie who never has played in America before, just ask Kosuke Fukudome, who fell off the map once pitchers started throwing him a steady diet of curveballs.

Ramirez drew a lot of comparisons to a young Alfonso Soriano this year. Soriano hit just 18 home runs in his first full season in the majors and had an OBP that year of .304 before taking off the next year to hit 39 home runs and raise his OBP to .332.

Both Ramirez and Soriano are lanky, powerful hitters who are extremely aggressive at the plate, but it's far too early to start comparing Ramirez to an established player the caliber of Soriano.

Defensively, however, there may be a comparison. Both Soriano and Ramirez possess extraordinary athletic ability, but neither have really translated it into great defense. All the defensive metrics show that Ramirez was a below-average defensive player, and many scouts noted that he was not as great of a defensive second baseman as people perceived.

However, personally, I'm withholding judgment on Ramirez until I see him play his natural position full-time in 2009, when he is expected to take over as the starting shortstop for the White Sox. It could not have been easy for Ramirez to try to adapt to not only a new country and style of baseball, but a new position when he came over from Cuba last year.

Now that Ramirez has settled in and will get to play his natural position, it won't surprise me if his defense greatly improves in 2009.

There certainly are things Ramirez needs to work on—most notably, his walk/strikeout ratio (which was 0.30 in 2008), but on the whole, Ramirez far exceeded expectations in 2008. He was one of the players on the White Sox who you would stop whatever you were doing and watch when he was hitting.

He put up some impressive numbers for a first-year player from Cuba, and he very well may improve off them in the next few years.

For what the White Sox are paying him—just over $1 million a year—Ramirez was overall a great success.

Also, I want to end this article with a tribute to one of my friends, Jordan Moore-Fields. Jordan tragically died in a car accident Sunday evening and was only 19. Jordan always had a smile on his face and brightened the day of everyone around him. He will be sorely missed by everyone, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Rest in peace, JMF.

White Sox Player Review: Paul Konerko

JJ Stankevitz — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:51:36 -0400

The player: Paul Konerko

Position: First base

Vital statistics
Batting average: .240
OBP: .344
SLG: .448
OPS: .783
Home runs: 22
RBI: 62
Runs: 59
BB/K: 65/80

For the second-straight year, the White Sox saw a noticeable regression from Konerko, who played a huge role in the White Sox' offense from 1999-2002 and 2004-2006. In 2006, Konerko arguably had his best season in a White Sox uniform, hitting .313 with 35 home runs and 113 RBI to go along with a career high OPS of .932.

It certainly was not a lucky season, as Konerko's line-drive rate of .246 was actually below the .120 difference threshold between line-drive rate and BABIP, which was .333 for Konerko that year.

Then, 2007 rolled around. Konerko got off to one of his trademark slow starts, and while his power numbers (31 HR, 90 RBI, .231 ISO) weren't a huge drop off, his batting average (.259) and OBP (.351) took pretty bad hits from where they were in 2005-'06.

At age 31 in 2007, Konerko's regression can be fairly assessed as unexpected—especially after the seasons he put in the three years prior. A lot of people had high hopes that Konerko would break out of whatever funk he had in 2007 and hit like he had in the past, but that was not the case.

Instead, 2008 was a year that compared very fairly to what was the worst season in Konerko's career, 2003.

Konerko hit just .234 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI in 2003. His OPS was a weak .704, and he had the lowest ISO of his career at .164—not exactly a pleasing statistic for a power hitter.

But it should be noted that, in 2003, Konerko's BABIP was .229, by far the lowest in his career. His line-drive rate sunk to .184, and while that isn't a spectacular line-drive rate, it does show just how unlucky Konerko was that year. A bounce back was inevitable, and it happened in 2004.

Fast-forward five years to 2008. All the major projections (Bill James, ZiPS, etc.) had Konerko bouncing back to about a .260-.290 batting average, with home-run numbers in the high 20s or low 30s. Essentially, if the projections did not expect Konerko to improve, at the least he was going to stay around where he was in 2007.

Instead, Konerko's performance plummeted. His OPS fell below .800 and his ISO dipped below .200 for the first time since 2003. He hit a grand total of four home runs from the start of May to the end of July and hit just 12 doubles from opening day to the end of July.

In the month of May, Konerko's slugging percentage was .255. Anybody who watched Konerko play during the first four months of the season knew that it was an event when Konerko got a hit, let alone hit an extra-base hit or home run.

While Konerko likely won't admit it, a good deal of his poor early-season performance likely had to do with a sore hand that he had been battling since the beginning of the year.

Konerko's swing looked to be off as a result, and every time a pitcher jammed him with a running inside fastball, it just looked painful.

There were calls for Konerko to go on the disabled list. There was even a front-page article in the Chicago Tribune sports section suggesting that Brad Eldred be called up from AAA-Charlotte to replace a DL'd Konerko. But he played through it, and as a result, his performance suffered.

An oblique strain may have saved Konerko's season from being one of the worst in baseball. The injury sidelined Konerko from June 14-July 8, giving him nearly a month for his hand to recover. However, when Konerko came back off the disabled list, he still was not hitting well, as his OPS for the month of July was still below .600.

Finally, Konerko began to heat up in August and September. His OPS in August shot well above 1.000, and in September it settled just below 1.000. He only hit four home runs in August, but he collected 22 hits and drew 19 walks, compared to 14 hits and four walks in July. Konerko then proceeded to hit nine home runs in September, including hitting home runs on back-to-back-to-back days, twice.

His August and September finish was a reminder of just what a healthy Paul Konerko can do at the plate. He's certainly able to put those monthly numbers up again, but over the course of a 162-game season, it remains to be seen if Konerko can put those numbers up in every month.

A concern regarding Konerko is his rising groundball rate, which jumped from 32.9 percent in 2006 to 38.0 percent in 2007 to 40.6 percent in 2008. Konerko has had good seasons in which his groundball rates were high—2002 (42.7%) and 2004 (41.4%)—but in both those years, Konerko was able to bang out a lot of doubles (30 in 2002) or home runs (40 in 2004).

I don't have the numbers on this one, but in 2008, I would have to wager that the number of times Konerko rolled over an offspeed or breaking pitch and grounded it weakly to third base or shortstop were higher than any point in his career.

When Konerko hit .313 in 2006, he was spraying the ball to all fields and hitting it with authority. In 2008, seemed to pull the ball far more than he did earlier in his career—which is a shame because Konerko has excellent power center and right field.

When he's taking the ball to all fields, he's staying on pitches better, seeing them longer, and hitting them harder. He wasn't really doing that this year, as he hit a lot of those weak groundballs and popped out far too often.

Konerko still has the ability to be a productive player in this lineup—August and September proved that—but he has a lot to fix before the start of next season. For the $12 million that the White Sox paid Konerko in 2008, they certainly did not get a great return on their investment.

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AJ Pierzynski

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White Sox Player Review: AJ Pierzynski

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:51:26 -0400

Now that the 2008 season has come to a close for the Chicago White Sox, it's time we take a look back at the season examine just how well each and every player who wore the White Sox logo did in the previous six months.

The player: AJ Pierzynski

Position: Catcher

Vital statistics

Batting average: .281

OBP: .312

SLG: .416

OPS: .728

Home runs: 13

RBI: 60

Runs: 66

BB/K: 19/71

So what explains Pierzynski's jump from a .263 batting average in 2007 to a .281 clip in 2008? Pierzynski's BABIP (batting average on balls in play) was at .281 in 2007, and that jumped to .304 in 2008, which is very close to his career BABIP of .306.

In general, a player's BABIP should be around .120 ahead of his line drive rate. Pierzynski's line drive rate was .179 in 2008, so when you compare that to his .304 BABIP, that seems about right. Essentially, Pierzynski's 2008 performance is about what should be expected out of him at this point in his career.

Pierzynski is not going to hit for a lot of power—his ISO was at .135 in 2008, compared to a .144 clip for his career. He's not going to take a lot of walks (walk rate of 3.4 in 2008, the lowest of his career), but he's also not going to strike out a lot (13.3 strikeout rate, also the lowest of his career).

Pierzynski made contact with 84.87% of the pitches he saw in 2008, jumping over two percentage points from where it was in 2007. As a No. 2 hitter, Pierzynski did his job—the problem was that he wasn't exactly surrounded by the right players.

If Pierzynski was hitting second in a lineup that wasn't as incredibly slow as the White Sox', it wouldn't have been all that bad. However, even when Carlos Quentin was healthy, the 2-6 spots in the order didn't possess much speed. This meant that the bases were often clogged, forcing the White Sox to rely on the home run to score—which they heavily did.

There wasn't a whole lot more the White Sox could have asked for offensively from Pierzynski. Yes, he had a pretty bad late-season slump that hurt his final statistics, but for most of the year, he was hitting between .290-.300 with an OBP around .320.

And, again, that's about what the White Sox can expect from Pierzynski at this point. He'll get hits, make contact, but not get on base at the rate you'd like to see.

Remember, though, that good offensive catchers are not easy to find. With Pierzynski behind the plate, the catcher position is not an offensive black hole for the White Sox.

Pierzynski also did a relatively good job calling games this year. It's easy to nitpick a few bad pitch selections here and there, but for the most part, Pierzynski did a good job noticing tendencies of his pitcher and the opposing hitters and calling pitches accordingly.

Where Pierzynski is lacking is his ability to throw baserunners out, but when the White Sox were trotting Gavin Floyd, Jose Contreras, and Javier Vazquez to the mound in nearly half the starts made by the pitching staff, it's not easy to have good caught stealing numbers for a catcher.

Regardless, Pierzynski is not a good defensive catcher—he has not been one since leaving Minneosta, and he won't be one for the rest of his career. That's just who Pierzynski is, and it certainly isn't a complete indictment of his play.

Pierzynski came up with some big hits for the White Sox this year, most notably his early-July walk-off home run off the Indians' Masahide Kobayashi in extra innings. He had runs where he was hitting the ball extremely well—usually marked by Pierzynski staying on the ball and taking it up the middle or the other way—and then he had some streaks where he wasn't hitting the ball well.

Overall, though, Pierzynski had himself another solid season for making just $5.5 million. The OBP may have been lower than it should be, but that's a product of Pierzynski being so aggressive. Pierzynski has been a more passive hitter—in 2003, his OBP was .360—but he's come a long way from his heyday in Minnesota. Maybe someday he'll return to his high-OBP days, but at age 31, it's unrealistic to expect that.

Keep in mind that catchers usually start to see a decline in their offensive statistics around their early-mid 30's. Pierzynski is locked up for 2009 and 2010 with salaries of $6.25 million in each year. If he can put up similar stats to his 2008 numbers in the next two years, then the White Sox should be satisfied with his performance.

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Chicago White Sox' Loss in ALDS Does Not Blemish a Great Season

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:38:01 -0400

Six months ago, I had no grand expectations for the White Sox.

I had this team winning 81 games and finishing third in the A.L. Central behind second-place Detroit and Cleveland, whom I had pegged to win the World Series.

On Mar. 31, the White Sox dropped a 10-8 game to Cleveland, in which Octavio Dotel blew the game on a Casey Blake home run after a few questionable calls by the umpires.

My thought after that game was "here we go again" as in, here we go towards another 90-loss season.

The White Sox subsequently got shut down by Fausto Carmona in the second game of that series, beginning the season 0-2.

The bullpen that Kenny Williams tried so hard to revamp in the offseason looked shaky. The offense that had struggled so mightily in 2007 looked just as weak. Alexei Ramirez didn't look like he belonged in the majors, and Carlos Quentin hadn't even seen the field yet, and there was plenty of doom and gloom to go around the South Side after just two games.

My, how things changed.

Grand slams, walk-off home runs, near no-hitters, blow-up dolls, and a ridiculous number of exciting games all added up to one of the more enjoyable White Sox seasons in recent memory.

No, this team did not win a World Series like they did in 2005. They didn't even win as many games (89) as they did in 2006 (90).

This team didn't play small ball. They were slow. They tried to hit too many home runs, despite leading the league with 235 longballs in the regular season. They had inconsistent starting and relief pitching at times, and they had plenty of stretches of frustrating ball where you just wanted to throw your throw your remote through the TV like a Bobby Jenks fastball.

But this team always found a way to bounce back. From May 18 onward, this team was never more than a half-game out of first place in the A.L. Central. Every game mattered down the stretch, and we as White Sox fans lived and died with every pitch.

There were the good times down the stretch, like Jim Thome's walk-off against the Angels or Dewayne Wise's grand slam against Detroit. Then, there were the bad times, like losing three of four to Minnesota and getting swept in Minnesota. Those were painful.

But I'll trade those for Alexei Ramirez' grand slam in game No. 162 on that late September afternoon. I'll trade those for the memory of the one-game tiebreaker against Minnesota, which will go down as one of the most incredible White Sox games I will ever witness.

Seeing 40,000 rowdy fans dressed in black, screaming, yelling, and hanging on every pitch is something that no Sox fan will ever forget. We'll never forget just how ridiculously far Jim Thome hit that home run. We'll never forget Brian Anderson's diving catch to secure a 1-0 win, defeating the hated Twins and sending the White Sox to the postseason.

Okay, so the White Sox lost in four to the Tampa Bay Rays. It wasn't a pretty series, as the White Sox offense looked punchless in every game but Game Three. But there's no shame in losing to the 97-win Rays, who proved time and time again in the ALDS that they simply were the better team.

And I'm okay with that as a White Sox fan. In fact, after Ken Griffey Jr., struck out to end the series, I had to smile. The Tampa Bay Rays—the butt of almost every baseball joke in the last decade—are going to the ALCS with a team that was built up the right way.

I know I'll be pulling for them against the Red Sox, and if they make it that far, against the National League Champion in the World Series.

The White Sox didn't choke. They didn't get their hearts ripped out by a team they've lost to in three consecutive playoff series. They certainly didn't lose the series because of sloppy play and an unexpected downturn by a staff ace.

Of all the three teams I just alluded to, all have reasons to feel pretty down about what their teams did this year.

Not the White Sox.

The White Sox should exit 2008 with their heads held high, knowing that they came out victorious in an intense division battle after giving their fans an extremely memorable season.

A $700 Billion Danks Bailout: Lefty Comes Up Big As Sox Stay Alive

JJ Stankevitz — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:46:53 -0400

Seriously, how good is John Danks?

In the White Sox' 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday, Danks threw 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts.

That's a good line—but not an impressive line, except when you consider what was on the the line.

The White Sox had to win this game to stay alive in the ALDS, and they had to have a good pitching performance from their starter with a very good pitcher in Matt Garza starting for the Rays.

Danks baffled the Rays through six innings before slowing down in the seventh, in which he gave up a two-run blast to BJ Upton. But in the innings before that, Danks was masterful. His changeup was picture-perfect, his fastball was located beautifully, and his cutter jammed Rays hitters all day.

Danks has built himself up into being a big-game pitcher in his last two starts. He looks confident on the mound, attacking the strike zone while not trying to be too fine.

While Brandon McCarthy struggled with injuries and his own pitching ability in Texas, Danks was great this year. His emergence has given the White Sox a solid trio of "big game" pitchers in himself, Mark Buehrle, and Gavin Floyd, who will start tomorrow against Andy Sonnanstine for the Rays.

The scary thing about Danks? He's only 23 years old. He hasn't worked a ton of innings this year, so a regression related to overuse may not be all that likely next year.

But it's too early to start talking about next year. The White Sox have lived to play another game, and it was on the back of John Danks.

White Sox' Inability to Hit Home Runs Leads to LOBonanza

JJ Stankevitz — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:01:22 -0400

Like last night's game, I suppose we should have seen this coming.

The White Sox have been a team that lives and dies with the home run all year. They hit 235 in the regular season, and nearly half of the team's runs scored came on the longball. When it came to playing small ball and picking up timely hits, the White Sox were sorely lacking.

That's exactly what happened Friday night in St. Petersburg. The White Sox collected 12 hits and drew two walks, but only scored two runs—leaving a whopping 12 men on base for the game.

The top of the White Sox order did a great job setting the table, as Orlando Cabrera went 2/4, Nick Swisher 1/3 with two walks, and Jermaine Dye 4/5. However, the middle and back of the order was what killed the White Sox, with Paul Konerko (six individual LOB) as the main culprit.

Scott Kazmir struggled through the first two innings, and it looked like the White Sox were going to be able to knock him out of the game early. However, the team's inability to hit the home run allowed the Rays to stay in the game and ultimately take the lead off Mark Buehrle, who once again threw a great game but lacked the run support necessary to get his team a win.

While the White Sox did bang out their dozen hits, they did not record a single extra-base hit in the entire game. They had no stolen bases and only one sacrifice bunt—not unusual for this White Sox team. Hitting 12 singles is something that might work out for a team like the Minnesota Twins, but not for this homer-happy White Sox team.

This isn't necessarily an indictment of the White Sox—that's just how they play. They hit home runs, and that's generally how they score. That's been the case all year, and it would be foolish to think that would change once October rolled around.

Yes, Friday's game was one the White Sox could have won. Just one more hit with men on base could have led to a couple of runs that would have put the Sox up 4-3 instead of down 3-2, and with a lead, you never know if the bullpen would have allowed those three runs to score in the eighth inning.

But that's just been the style of the White Sox this year. The fact that they made the playoffs playing this brand of baseball is a statement mainly to how good the pitching has been, for the most part. Across the board, every other team in the playoffs can manufacture runs, or at the least, has some team speed. The White Sox have neither.

It's been a fun year, though, and while I'm not completely ready to write off the Sox just yet, it's starting to look like a quick October exit is in store for the South Siders.

However, this team should bow out of the playoffs with their heads held high—first of all, they made the playoffs in one of the most exciting games ever seen on the South Side, and two, if they get beat, it will have been by a very good Tampa Bay Rays team. There's no shame in that.

Javier Vazquez Once Again Proves He is Not a Big Game Pitcher

JJ Stankevitz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:06:38 -0400

I suppose White Sox fans should have seen this coming: another meltdown by starter Javier Vazquez. The book on Vazquez over the course of his career has been that he is a great pitcher when there is not any pressure on him.

However, when there is pressure, he folds. That's exactly what Vazquez did today, earning a loss by allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk in 4.1 innings.

Vazquez didn't have "it" today—and he hasn't had "it" ever since the White Sox started needing wins out of him in mid-September. With his start Thursday, Vazquez has allowed six, five, seven, and six earned runs in his last four starts against the Yankees, Twins, Indians, and Rays, respectively.

A large part of this downturn has been a drop in velocity in Vazquez' fastball. In Thursday's game, Vazquez was consistently hitting around 89-91 mph with his fastball—this coming from a starter who usually is in the 93-94 mph range. That difference in speed is the difference between striking somebody out or having them foul off a pitch. It's the difference between a foul ball and a double, a groundout to second and a base hit up the middle. His fastball, simply put, was hittable today, as he wasn't locating it well either.

Even worse, he was staked a 3-1 lead after Dewayne Wise nailed a three-run home run off James Shields in the third inning. Vazquez went and gave it right back, allowing three runs to score in the bottom of the frame, giving the Rays a lead they would not relinquish.

Luckily for the White Sox, there may be a solution to the Vazquez problem. Clayton Richard—who had a 6.04 ERA in 47.2 innings as a rookie this year—threw 3.1 impressive scoreless innings in relief of Vazquez. Richard located his fastball well, which set up his offspeed pitches nicely.

If the White Sox advance to the American League Championship Series, maybe it's time for Vazquez to be dropped from the rotation in favor of Richard. If you told me four weeks ago that I would be typing that sentence at this point, there's no way I would have believed it, but let's be realistic—every time Vazquez takes the mound, the White Sox have a good chance of losing unless they can hit four or five home runs.

With Richard, there's at least the possibility that he might turn in a decent performance. That doesn't seem to be the case with Vazquez right now. He certainly has the potential to break out of this slide if given another opportunity, but the playoffs are not a time for hoping that somebody can break out of a slump. If a player needs to be replaced, he should be replaced.

Javier Vazquez needs to be replaced if the White Sox advance.

Four Questions Facing the White Sox

JJ Stankevitz — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:20:53 -0400

Now that the champagne has dried from Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins, it’s time for the White Sox to start focusing on the division series and the Tampa Bay Rays, who finished with the second-best record in the American League in 2008.

Despite coming into the playoffs riding high, the White Sox still have a number of burning questions that will decide how far this team goes in the postseason.

1. Javier Vazquez

The criticism of Vazquez has always been that he is not a big-game pitcher—and his doubters (including manager Ozzie Guillen) were proven right down the stretch. In his final three starts of the season, against New York, Minnesota, and Cleveland, Vazquez gave up 18 runs in just 12 innings of work.

There’s no question that Vazquez has great stuff—his fastball, changeup, and curveball are all plus pitches—but he rarely taps into the full potential of those pitches. When Vazquez is off, he nibbles with his fastball, falling behind in the count and forcing him to throw it right down the middle, making it a hittable pitch.

If he can’t throw his changeup for strikes, that puts Vazquez in an even deeper hole. If f hitters aren’t respecting his curveball or slider, he goes from being a hitter’s worst nightmare—a pitcher that can throw four excellent pitches for strikes—to a hitter’s dream—a pitcher whom you can sit back on his fastball and tee off on it.

Vazquez will start Game One in Tampa Bay for the White Sox, and he has done nothing in the last two weeks to give any indication that he’ll have success. However, Vazquez has pitched well in three outings against the Rays this year, starting games at Tropicana Field Apr. 28 (6.1 IP, 2 ER) and May 31 (7.0 IP, 2 ER) and at U.S. Cellular Field Aug. 23 (7.0 IP, 4 ER—although this line is misleading, as the bullpen allowed three inherited runners, two of whom reached on soft singles, to score).

If the White Sox can split the first two games in St. Petersburg, they have a decent shot at winning the five-game series. It all starts with Vazquez, and it will be important for the White Sox to get off on the right foot in their first October appearance since 2005.

2. The offense

This is a White Sox lineup that unequivocally relies on the home run to score. The White Sox blasted 235 home runs on the season, and those home runs accounted for just under 50 percent of the runs scored by the South Siders.

As a team, the White Sox did hit .278 with runners in scoring position this year—certainly not a bad statistic. However, that stat is somewhat misleading, as a single with Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Ken Griffey Jr., A.J. Pierzynski, or even Jermaine Dye on second won’t necessarily score them.

The White Sox are firmly an Earl Weaver station-to-station, hope for the three-run home run-type ballclub. If they aren’t hitting home runs, chances are they aren’t going to win the game.

Granted, players like Orlando Cabrera, Dewayne Wise, and Alexei Ramirez have some speed, but if the White Sox need a rally and Dye, Thome, Konerko, and Griffey are due up, it’s tough to plate some runs unless one of them blasts the ball out of the park.

The good news is that Tampa Bay’s starting pitchers are not spectacular at preventing the longball. James Shields is right at the MLB average of 1.00 HR/9, while Scott Kazmir is well below that at 1.36 HR/9. Matt Garza comes in at 0.93 HR/9, and Andy Sonnanstine at 0.98 HR/9 to round out the Rays playoff rotation.

However, this is a White Sox team whose offense is not exactly hitting its stride right now. Getting Carlos Quentin back would be a huge boost, but the chances of Quentin returning soon don’t seem to be very high right now.

3. Carlos Quentin

To continue on my last point, the White Sox's offense needs Quentin back in their everyday lineup. Since Sept. 2, the last day Quentin was in the lineup, the White Sox offense has struggled to be consistent.

They’ve had outbursts of runs (scoring 17 combined in wins over the Angels Sept. 5 and 6, for example), but for the most part, this offense has been hit-or-miss, and that’s largely due to the void left by Quentin in this lineup.

Nick Swisher’s slump and subsequent benching haven’t helped matters. Dewayne Wise was hot for about a six-game stretch in mid-September, but he has since cooled off. With all respect to Wise and Swisher, though, they can’t replace the offense of Quentin, who likely would have won the American League MVP had he not been injured.

The latest update on Quentin said that he was “making progress” but did not offer a timetable for his return. If he somehow does make it back, it would be a huge boost to the offense, but the White Sox cannot rely on Quentin to inject life into this lineup.

His comeback needs to be regarded as a bonus and not a necessity, even though it might be to get the White Sox deep into October.

4. Domes of doom

The White Sox may have a mental block against playing in a dome after going just 4-16 in dome stadiums this year (0-4 at Rogers Centre, 1-8 at the Metrodome, 3-4 at Tropicana Field). Half of those wins came in a late-April matchup with the Rays, who, while they were certainly not a bad team then, were not the intimidating Rays of now.

The White Sox are not built to play on artificial turf, where teams with speed generally have more success. The Rays have plenty of speed, especially with Carl Crawford returning for this series.

The combination of speed and turf allows the Rays to track down balls in the gap that many teams’ outfields would not be able to reach, and their ability to put the ball in play allows the Rays more chances to bounce a ball through the fast infield.

If Jermaine Dye and Ken Griffey Jr. are both in the outfield for the White Sox, that’s not a lot of speed. This is a team that isn’t as good at putting the ball in play with two strikes as other playoff teams, so that could take away some hits.

Ultimately, this series will come down to the White Sox’s ability to hit home runs off the Rays pitching. If they can’t put the ball over the fence, it could be a short October run for these White Sox.

Ramirez Blast, Floyd Dominance Sends White Sox to One-Game Playoff

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:54:55 -0400

Major league baseball plays the longest schedule of any sport, with 162 games in its season.

You'd think that would be enough to determine who goes to the playoffs—but not in the case of the American League Central.

With the White Sox' 8-2 win over Detroit Monday night, it'll take a 163rd game to decide who represents the American League Central in the playoffs.

Both the White Sox and Minnesota Twins have records of 88-74 after 162 games. The Twins had a chance to eliminate the White Sox over the weekend, but dropped two of three to Kansas City, allowing the White Sox to stay in the race and play their makeup game Monday against Detroit.

The Sox got off to a fast start against Tigers' starter Freddy Garcia, as Orlando Cabrera and Dewayne Wise took leadoff walks before Jermaine Dye singled in the first run of the game.

However, after that point, Garcia settled down and allowed just one hit over the rest of his outing. His fastball's velocity went from in the upper 80's in the first inning to the low 90's as the game progressed, and he was locating it perfectly. He also gained command of his offspeed pitches as the game went on, and as the Sox entered the sixth inning down 2-1, it looked like Garcia was going to shut them down and keep his former team from making the postseason.

Enough can't be said about Gavin Floyd's gutsy performance on three days rest, allowing just two runs (one earned) while striking out eight. He earned win No. 17 on the year and will finish 2008 with a 17-8 record and a 3.84 ERA. For somebody who was a question mark coming into 2008, that's incredible.

Despite Floyd's performance, it did not look like it would be enough to get the Sox to Tuesday. However, after a leadoff walk to Wise, Garcia threw a pitch to Dye that changed the course of the game. Dye didn't do anything with it, but Garcia was hurt. After talking with him on the mound, manager Jim Leyland signaled to his bullpen, bringing in Armando Galarraga—who had been Detroit's best pitcher this year.

Galarraga promptly threw two wild pitches, with the second one walking Dye and allowing Wise to score the game-tying run. Leyland went to lefty Bobby Seay to face Jim Thome, who struck out for the first out of the inning.

However, during Thome's at-bat, Seay threw a wild pitch that allowed Dye to advance to second. With Ken Griffey Jr., on deck—who was statistically the third-worst left-handed hitter in the majors off left-handed pitching—Seay intentionally walked to Konerko to get to Griffey. However, Seay walked Griffey to load the bases, and Leyland brought on former Sox reliever Gary Glover to try to get the Tigers out of the inning.

Going into the at-bat, Alexei Ramirez was tied with Shane Spencer for the most grand slams by a rookie with three.

The first pitch Glover threw was a slider right down the middle. Ramirez, who is notorious for swinging at the first pitch, unloaded on the ball, which landed a good ten rows back in the left field bleachers for a go-ahead grand slam. Ramirez went nuts. U.S. Cellular Field went nuts. And Sox fans across the world went nuts.

The White Sox had come back from looking dead to leading 6-2 on the most dramatic home run hit by a White Sox player since the 2005 playoffs.

Ramirez broke the rookie grand slam record and, more importantly, the tie, with one swing of the bat. The Tigers, who understandably did not have the will to come back, didn't. Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink—the two most important parts of the White Sox bullpen earlier in the year—looked like their April-June selves in their respective innings of work.

The Sox tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to assure that Bobby Jenks would not have to come into the game, saving him for tomorrow's tiebreaker against the Twins.

It's conceivable to say the White Sox have not played a bigger game in the last decade than they will tomorrow. In 2005, the Sox blew past everybody in the playoffs and never reached a do-or-die game late in September or October.

Tuesday's game is tantamount to a game seven in a playoff series. Everything rests on this game, which will feature Nick Blackburn going for the Twins against John Danks for the White Sox.

The most important thing about tomorrow's game may be that it will be played at U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox are 7-2 against the Twins this year—as opposed to an embarrassing 1-8 in the Metrodome. In Blackburn's last two road starts, he allowed six runs in each of them.

Tuesday's matchup will begin at 6:30 central, and the White Sox are planning to black out U.S. Cellular Field by handing out black t-shirts at the gate. All in all, the atmosphere on the South Side should be electric as the Sox have a chance to get some revenge on their division rivals who swept them no more than a week ago in Minneapolis.

Baseball doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Every pitch, every swing, every throw in tomorrow's game will matter.

The AL Central is on the line. Can the Sox finally take advantage of an opportunity to win it?

We'll find out tomorrow.

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The Best White Sox Home Runs Of 2008

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:12:04 -0400

Before the season started, very few (if any) could have predicted the kind of season the White Sox are having. They're 2.5 games up on the Minnesota Twins, heading into the final week of the season with 86 wins.

And it's been an exciting 86 wins. There have been near no-hitters, spectacular plays (mainly by Alexei Ramirez), and, of course, a ton of home runs—223 so far, the third most in team history.

Yes, it's been a fun season of the long ball on the South Side, and there may still be some exciting moments to come in the final week of the regular season and beyond. So let's put it on the board with the best home runs of the 2008 season so far:

The Joe Crede memorial walk-off blasts

May 25—Carlos Quentin off John Lackey: White Sox 3, Angels 2

With the White Sox facing a sweep at the hands of the Angels, Carlos Quentin did what he had done so many times in the first two months of the year—put the team on his back and carry them to victory. Quentin's was responsible for all the White Sox offense in the game—including a two-run home run earlier in the game—and his dramatic walk-off blast in the ninth inning capped what was a somewhat typical early-season game for the White Sox.

June 5—Paul Konerko off Jimmy Gobble: White Sox 6, Royals 4 (15)

After coming off an embarrassing series in Tampa Bay in which the offense was nonexistent, the White Sox were at a crossroads. Ozzie Guillen was hinting that change was necessary, and the team wasn't doing anything to pull away from a division that was looking increasingly weak.

However, after losing the final game in Tampa Bay, the White Sox returned home and put on one of the greatest offensive displays in franchise history, scoring 54 runs on the six-game homestand. The Sox nearly dropped the second game to the Royals, but a slumping Konerko bailed the team out on a late, misty night in Chicago.

July 2—AJ Pierzynski off Masahide Kobayashi: White Sox 6, Indians 5 (10)

In CC Sabathia's final start with the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox and Indians were locked in a see-saw battle. Eventually, the Sox took a one-run lead on a double by Brian Anderson, and they held that 5-4 lead into the ninth inning.

However, with closer Bobby Jenks injured, Guillen had to turn to Scott Linebrink to close the game out—and he promptly gave up a game-tying solo home run to Grady Sizemore. With a torrential downpour approaching, the game went to extra innings.

After a scoreless top of the tenth, the rain began to come down harder. The game was likely no more than a couple of minutes away from being washed out, so Pierzynski's home run came at the perfect time.

August 6—Nick Swisher off Joel Zumaya: White Sox 10, Tigers 8 (14)

The Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the top of the fifth, but the White Sox—who were coming off a 14-3 drubbing at the hands of the Royals—were resilient, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game at six and send it to extra innings.

After four scoreless innings, Placido Polanco broke the stalemate with a two-run home run off Matt Thornton in the 14th. The Tigers brought in Joel Zumaya to close the game out, but the White Sox had other plans.

After an error by Edgar Renteria allowed a run to score, the White Sox had men on first and third with one out. After Jim Thome struck out, the game was put on Nick Swisher—and he delivered with a long home run to right-center field.

September 6—Jim Thome off Justin Speier, White Sox 7, Angels 6 (15)

Nearly a year to the date of Thome's 500th career home run—a walk-off shot against the Angels on Sept. 16, 2007—Thome bested the Angels again in another wild game between Chicago and Los Angeles.

After Brandon Wood hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth off Bobby Jenks, the White Sox rallied off Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez to score a run on a Dewayne Wise sacrifice fly to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

After a five-inning bullpen pitcher's duel, Thome nailed a running fastball for a mammoth walk-off home run that gave the White Sox three walk-off home runs against the Angels in their last six home games.

Grand slams, go-aheads, and comebacks

May 15—Quentin slams Angels

This game was much like the Sox/Angels game ten days later in that Carlos Quentin accounted for most of the White Sox offense. Quentin had an RBI single in the first inning, but the Angels tied the game up in the fifth inning.

Jose Contreras and John Lackey—the same pair of starters May 25—found themselves in another tight pitcher's duel, but Lackey, who was just coming off the disabled list, was pulled earlier in the game. Scot Shields was no match for Quentin, who once again, won a game for the White Sox single-handedly.

June 16—Cabrera caps six-run second inning

After a Pablo Ozuna error allowed Pittsburgh to score six runs in the top of the second inning off Gavin Floyd, the Sox looked like they were in danger of dropping a game to the lowly Pirates.

However, the Sox led a charge back in the bottom of the inning off Bucs' starter Phil Dumatrait that was capped by this three-run blast off the bat of Orlando Cabrera. The Sox eventually went on to win the game 13-8 behind a seventh-inning grand slam by Jermaine Dye, but it was Cabrera's blast that put the Sox right back in the game.

June 27—Swisher's slam breaks Crosstown matchup open

Things weren't looking so great for the White Sox heading into the second installment of the Crosstown Classic after getting swept out of Wrigely Field the prior weekend. To make matters worse, they were facing Ryan Dempster, who hadn't had a bad start all year for the Cubs.

The Sox jumped out to an early lead in front of a raucous crowd that was extended to eight when Swisher nailed this opposite-field grand slam that knocked Dempster out of the game and sent the South Side into a frenzy.

June 28—Quentin takes Marmol deep to give Sox lead

The momentum from Swisher's grand slam didn't exactly carry over to the second game of the Sox' three-game home series with the Cubs, as the North Siders jumped out to an early lead. Nevertheless the Sox would battle back to tie the game at five on an Alexei Ramirez home run.

The game appeared to be destined for a long stalemate, but all it took was a flick of the wrist by Quentin—who hadn't homered since June 18—to give the Sox the lead and set the stage for a dominant performance by the bullpen to close the game out.

July 24—Quentin takes an enemy deep

On a hot, sun-soaked summer afternoon, the White Sox and Rangers went at it in a good, old-fashioned slugfest. Texas jumped out to a 6-3 lead behind some sloppy play behind Clayton Richard, who was making his MLB debut, but the Sox continued to battle back despite falling behind 8-4 at one point.

When the deficit was cut to 8-7, Rangers' manager Ron Washington called on his closer, CJ Wilson, to try to keep the lead in Texas' hands. Knowing full well the feud between Ozzie Guillen and Wilson, Quentin stepped up and nailed the first pitch he saw for a go-ahead three-run home run that allowed the Sox to avoid getting swept.

July 25—Dye shocks Detroit

Heading into their series with the White Sox, the Tigers were playing like everybody expected them to at the start of the season. Just five games back of the division-leading White Sox, Detroit had an important opportunity to pick up some games and really get back into the division race.

It looked like they would do just that after Carlos Guillen took Nick Masset deep in the seventh to put Detroit up 5-4 right after the Sox stormed back with three runs in the top of the inning to tie the game at four.

With two outs in the ninth, it looked apparent that the Tigers would win and pull within four of the Sox, but Carlos Quentin poked a soft groundball single to right to set up maybe the most important home run of 2008.

On a 2-0 pitch from Todd Jones, Jermaine Dye hit a home run to the opposite field at Comerica Park, giving the White Sox a 6-5 lead and a huge win that likely was a major factor in Detroit fading down the stretch.

September 14—Wise one-ups Thames with go-ahead slam

After a weekend that saw around nine inches of rain in Chicago, the White Sox and Tigers finally got to play some baseball that Sunday. The Sox took the first game of the doubleheader and appeared to have the second one locked down, holding a 7-0 lead after John Danks departed in the seventh inning.

However, the bullpen fell apart, giving up seven runs—including four that tied the game on a grand slam by Marcus Thames off Octavio Dotel.

With every game being so important down the stretch, the White Sox needed a win with a tough series in New York looming. Dewayne Wise delivered, hitting a grand slam of his own off Kyle Farnsworth with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give the Sox an 11-7 lead and a huge victory.

The Jim Thome mammoth shots

April 14—Do a little turn on the catwalk

This ball was still going up when it hit the catwalk at Tropicana Field. Had the catwalk not been there and the field not been in a dome, this ball might have ended up somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

June 4—Fan [deck] appreciation night

Ever since the White Sox remodeled U.S. Cellular Field, I have never seen a ball be hit to the fan deck during a game—until that night against the Royals. For those familiar with the dimensions of U.S. Cellular Field, it's 400 feet to center, and the fan deck is elevated well above the wall and set back pretty far. Thome's home run reached the fan deck, and while it wasn't estimated at 500 feet, it well could have gone that far.

September 6—A man's way to walk off

Yes, this home run was already featured in the walk-off section, but it had to be featured again. This wasn't a cheap home run—Thome got all of this ball. Nearly hitting the concourse at U.S. Cellular Field is an accomplishment in its own right, but nearly hitting the concourse on a walk-off home run? Now that's how a full-blooded American man should do it.

The "Kansas City's pitching is awful" home run award

August 14—Sox hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs

The last time the White Sox hit four home runs in an inning, Randy Johnson was on the mound for the Yankees and Tadahito Iguchi, Aaron Rowand, Paul Konerko, and Chris Widger contributed to the long ball fiesta on August 21, 2005.However, they didn't hit them in succession like Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, and Juan Uribe did against Kansas City on the 14th.

With the score just 3-2, Thome launched a three-run blast that was followed by solo shots off the bats of Konerko and Ramirez, all coming off Royals reliever Joel Peralta. Kansas City manager Trey Hillman then went to Robinson Tejeda to try and stop the bleeding, but Uribe would have none of it.

His blast into the White Sox' bullpen made the White Sox just the sixth team in MLB history to hit four consecutive home runs in an inning.

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2.5 to Stay Alive: White Sox's Win Extends Division Lead and Magic Number

JJ Stankevitz — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:43:55 -0400

The White Sox need at least a 2.5-game lead going into their three-game set at Minnesota next week.

Why is that?

Because 2.5 is the bare minimum lead the White Sox would need to still control their own destiny in the American League Central if they are to get swept by the Twins.

Minnesota finishes their season at home against Kansas City, and recent Royals hot streak or not, the White Sox have to assume that the Twins will win all three of those games. The Sox will finish their season at home as well, with three against Cleveland and then the wild-card game against Detroit.

That's why 2.5 is the magic number for the White Sox, although having it higher would be a whole lot better. If the Sox were to get swept by Minnesota and go half a game back, they could win out and force a playoff that would take place in Chicago, where the White Sox are 7-2 against the Twins this year.

But first, the White Sox have to get past the Yankees and Royals on the road—which is no easy task. Luckily for the Sox, Gavin Floyd once again rose to the occasion Tuesday night in New York. He battled the Yankees over seven innings, allowing just two runs on nine hits, no walks, and four strikeouts.

Alexei Ramirez got the scoring started for the White Sox with a solo home run off Andy Pettitte in the third inning, but that was quickly countered by a Jason Giambi solo shot that tied the game at one.

However, the White Sox sent nine men to the plate in a three-run fifth, scoring on a Ken Griffey Jr. single, Paul Konerko double, and Juan Uribe's bases-loaded walk.

The real turning point in the game may have come in the fifth inning, when it appeared the Yankees were mounting a rally. They had scored a run in the fourth inning to make the score 4-2 and had Alex Rodriguez at the plate with men on first and second and two out.

Rodriguez hit a ground ball in the hole between short and third that looked to be destined for left field, but Orlando Cabrera left his feet and made a play on the ball, keeping it in the infield and keeping Johnny Damon from scoring.

That brought Giambi, who homered in his previous at-bat, up to the plate with a chance to do some real damage. What followed was an epic 14-pitch (six coming on a 3-2 count) at-bat that lasted over five minutes.

Floyd could not afford to make a mistake and throw a pitch out of the strike zone, as a walk meant a run for the Yankees. He kept throwing strikes, but Giambi kept fouling them off—five in a row after the count went to 3-2.

On pitch No. 14 of the sequence, Floyd threw Giambi a low slider, and Giambi finally gave in, striking out to end the crucial at-bat. After that, the White Sox added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings, coming on back-to-back, two-out doubles by Cabrera and Brian Anderson in the seventh and an RBI double by Uribe in the eighth.

Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks shut the Yankees down in an inning of work apiece, temporarily quelling some earlier fears about the bullpen.

In Cleveland, the Twins and Indians played a wild 11-inning game that ultimately ended in the Tribe's favor. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Indians jumped all over the usually-reliable Francisco Liriano, capitalizing on some rare defensive mishaps by the Twins, and tagging Liriano for four runs in the second and third innings, knocking him out with eight runs (four earned) charged to his name in just 2.2 innings of work.

The Indians should have been able to put the game on cruise control with an 8-1 lead heading into the fourth, but the relentless Twins did not go down without a fight. They tallied four runs off Indians' starter Zach Jackson in the fifth and two more in the sixth, knocking him out of the game with Cleveland clinging to a 8-7 lead.

The Indians' bullpen surrendered that lead in the eighth on a Justin Morneau double and a Delmon Young sacrifice fly to put the Twins up 9-8.

However, Grady Sizemore came to the rescue for the Indians (and White Sox) by nailing a solo home run off Eddie Guardado in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game up.

Both bullpens held their opponents' offenses scoreless in the ninth and 10th innings, but the Twins couldn't keep the Indians off the scoreboard in the 11th. Joe Nathan, who has been incredibly dominant for the Twins this year, gave up a leadoff single to Franklin Gutierrez, who was bunted to second by Ben Francisco.

Nathan then (unintentionally) walked Jhonny Peralta, setting up what the Twins hoped would be an inning-ending double play.

However, Victor Martinez had other plans, as he nailed a 1-1 fastball from Nathan over the centerfield wall for a walk-off, three-run home run to give the Indians a 12-9 victory, sending the Twins to their third consecutive defeat.

And, with that, the White Sox' lead in the division extended to 2.5 games.

Granted, division leads that small are fickle. There's still a lot of time for the Twins to make up that ground, and, of course, that crucial three-game series next week. Both the White Sox and Twins have five games until that series, with the White Sox facing the Yankees two more times at Yankee Stadium before heading to Kansas City for three with the Royals.

The Twins get one more game in Cleveland before a tough four-game series in Tampa Bay.

Like the Twins, the Rays will be fighting for their division lives, as they enter Wednesday with just a one-game lead over Boston with one final game against the Red Sox left at Tropicana Field. Minnesota would be lucky to leave St. Petersburg with a series split.

Meanwhile, the White Sox have a good chance to win a couple of games with the Yankees and Royals coming up. Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano, who are slated to start the next two games for the Yankees, have had limited time in the majors this year (and, for Pavano, the last four years) due to injuries, so the White Sox may have caught them at a good time.

After that, it's off to Kansas City, where the Royals are playing some good baseball after winning five in a row.

If the White Sox can manage three wins in the next five games, that should be enough to keep their 2.5 game lead heading into the Twins series, if not extend it.

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Will 2008 Be a Repeat of History for the Chicago White Sox?

JJ Stankevitz — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:22:34 -0400

No, not this history, but that would be nice.

Ever since Ron Gardenhire took over as manager of the Minnesota Twins in 2002, his team has won every direct head-to-head battle for the American League Central.

The Twins' gritty, fundamental, "piranha" brand of baseball has beat out the White Sox' mashing, high-powered offense brand of baseball all three times these two teams have squared off for the division—in 2003, 2004, and to a lesser extent, 2006.

They say that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. So, White Sox fans, let's take a painful look back on what transpired in those three seasons.

The day is Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2003, and the White Sox have just won two-straight games against the Twins to go up two games in the AL Central, with two games remaining in the four-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Sox have a chance to put away the Twins by taking the next two games, giving them a comfortable cushion heading into a three-game series in Minneapolis a week later.

What happens? Johan Santana and Brad Radke shut down a potent White Sox offense and the Twins win the last two games of the series. The White Sox go into the three-game series at the Metrodome a half-game back of the Twins and promptly get swept, finishing the season four games back of the Twins.

The last few weeks of 2003 were some of the most disappointing in White Sox history—they had the division in their grasp but eased off the pedal and eventually got burned by the Twins.

And it's a shame, too, because the 2003 White Sox—led by Esteban Loaiza, Bartolo Colon, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, and Frank Thomas—would have been a tough team to beat in the playoffs.

The disappointment that came in 2004 happened earlier than 2003, but it was still frustrating. On Sunday, July 25, 2004, the White Sox were just a half-game back of the Twins, heading into a crucial three-game series in Chicago. Granted, the White Sox were without Ordonez and Thomas, as both were lost to injury, but that wasn't an excuse for what happened in the series.

The Twins completely outclassed the White Sox, sweeping them in dominant fashion (see picture with article) and sending the Sox into a tailspin that they never recovered from, eventually finishing the year nine games out of first place.

Great seasons by Lee, Paul Konerko, Aaron Rowand, Mark Buehrle, and Shingo Takatsu went to waste. On the plus side, though, it made GM Kenny Williams realize that the brand of baseball the White Sox were playing wasn't getting them anywhere—so he went out and remade the team, which led to the Sox winning the 2005 World Series.

However, the White Sox got away from their 2005 pitching and defense mentality in 2006 and reverted back to their home run-oriented, less pitching style that hurt them in 2003 and 2004. Predictably, what happened? The Sox were swept at home by the Twins in late July, propelling the Twins past the White Sox for the Wild Card.

The Twins went on to unseat the Tigers atop the division, while the White Sox finished with 90 victories, but well out of the playoff hunt.

So that bring us to 2008. The White Sox have an offense that relies heavily on the home run, a somewhat suspect bullpen, and a good (but inconsistent) starting rotation. The Twins are still the Twins, playing the same brand of baseball they have been for the last six years.

History tells us that the Twins will beat out the White Sox for the division. Although the White Sox are currently a game up on Minnesota, there still is that looming three-game series at the Metrodome from Sept. 23-25.

While the Twins no longer have Santana, Radke, Torii Hunter, Shannon Stewart, Lew Ford, or any of the other Sox killers of a few years ago, they do have Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Nick Punto, Joe Nathan, Denard Span, and a slew of other current Sox killers. And, the most important thing: They still play in the Metrodome, where the White Sox are just 1-5 this year.

That's why these next 10 games against the Tigers, Yankees, and Royals are so important for the White Sox. They need to get hot in this stretch and win seven or eight games, so that, when they head into that series in Minneapolis, they can have some sort of a cushion, so if they get swept, it won't be completely catastrophic.

Essentially, that means the White Sox need a four-game lead heading into that series. After the three games with Minnesota, the Sox head home to play three against Cleveland to finish the season out, while Minnesota gets three home games against Kansas City.

There's a very good chance that the Twins sweep away the Royals in those three games, so if the White Sox leave Minneapolis down in the division to the Twins, there's very little chance they get it back.

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A Look at MLB's Upcoming Free Agent Pitchers

JJ Stankevitz — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:20:01 -0400

With just one month left in the season, most of baseball turns its attention to late-season playoff races. However, for the Seattles, the Clevelands, the Atlantas, and a slew of other teams, it’s time to start focusing on the offseason.

Pitching will be in high demand this winter, and almost every team in baseball will be in the market for a hurler. I divided this year’s free agent pitchers into three tiers, and without further ado, here’s what to expect for the coming offseason:

Top Tier

CC Sabathia—SP/LHP, Milwaukee ; Ben Sheets—SP/RHP, Milwaukee ; Ryan Dempster—SP/RHP, Chicago (NL) ; Francisco Rodriguez—CL/RHP, Los Angeles of Anaheim ; Kerry Wood—CL/RHP, Chicago (NL) ; Brian Fuentes—CL/RP/LHP, Colorado

Sabathia easily is the big (no pun intended) fish of the starting pitching class. He's just 28 years old and is clearly in the prime of his career.

Sabathia's K/BB is well above the MLB average, something that was a concern for him earlier in his career. He's going to command a lot of money and years in the free-agent market, and it's just a matter of who's willing to pony up for him.

Any of the big-market teams (Angels, Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox) likely would have the money to pay him, but there always could be a dark horse team (like the Giants in 2006 with Barry Zito) that comes out of nowhere to get the best player on the market.

Sheets and Dempster are two good consolation prizes for those who miss out on Sabathia, but they both come with risks. The concern for Sheets would be his health, and with Dempster, it is that his 2008 performance was fluke.

However, these are risks that teams in desperate need of a quick fix will be willing to take.

As for the relievers, Rodriguez is the big prize of the market—but there may be a "buyer beware" tag placed on him as well. Just by taking a quick look at some of Rodriguez's graphs, it's apparent that he's regressing towards the MLB average.

However, Rodriguez is just 26 and is on pace to break Trevor Hoffman's career saves record if he can keep pitching like he has with the Angels. He'll command a hefty contract on the market, and even if his statistics continue to dip, he'll do what he's paid to do: close games effectively.

Fuentes is a good option for a team in that he's both a good setup man and closer, and he should command a decent contract on the market—somewhere above the four-year, $19 million deal Scott Linebrink got last winter. As for Wood, he should come as a cheaper closer option than Rodriguez, but he also brings along some injury baggage.

Middle tier

AJ Burnett—SP/RHP, Toronto ; Jon Garland—SP/RHP, Los Angeles (AL) ; Braden Looper—SP/RHP, St. Louis ; Derek Lowe—SP/RHP, Los Angeles (NL) ; Pedro Martinez—SP/RHP, New York (NL) ; Jamie Moyer—SP/LHP, Philadelphia ; Mike Mussina—SP/RHP, New York (AL) ; Brad Penny—SP/RHP, Los Angeles (NL) ; Oliver Perez—SP/LHP, New York (NL) ; Kyle Farnsworth—RP/RHP, Detroit ; Eddie Guardado—RP/LHP, Minnesota ; Brandon Lyon—CL/RHP, Arizona ; Damaso Marte—RP/LHP, New York (AL) ; Saloman Torres—CL/RP/RHP, Milwaukee ; Jeremy Affeldt—RP/LHP, Cincinnati ; Joe Beimel—RP/LHP, Los Angeles (NL) ; Juan Cruz—RP/RHP, Arizona ; Jon Lieber—RP/SP/RHP, Chicago (NL) ; Will Ohman—RP/LHP, Atlanta ; Darren Oliver—RP/LHP, Los Angeles (AL) ; Dennys Reyes—RP/LHP, Minnesota

This group is full of interesting pitchers. Burnett could decide to opt out of the last two years of his contract, but considering that his stats indicate that he's a slightly above-average pitcher with lingering injury concerns, he'd be smart to stick to his current contract.

Perez is likely the best option out of this tier, but his control (his BB/9 and K/BB are both unimpressive) is an issue. If some team can find a way to reign him in and improve those numbers, he could develop into an ace. Remember, Perez is just 27.

There are a lot of pitchers on the downside of their careers who still have found a way to be effective (Lowe, Moyer, Mussina, Guardado, Lieber, Oliver) who could all provide a quick stopgap option for a team that has some pitchers in their minor league system that are still a year or two away.

Garland is an interesting pitcher in all of this, as he's going to be just 28 going into next year. However, he's only had one really good year in his career—2005 with the White Sox—but likely will look for a big contract on the market. He's very much a pitcher who pitches to contact, so teams with bandbox parks or fast infields should avoid him.

Martinez is another interesting free agent, considering that he's a sure-fire Hall of Fame pitcher who hasn't pitched well as of late. If healthy, Martinez could still be effective—but that's a big "if."

Another pitcher with health concerns is Penny, who started the 2007 All-Star Game for the National League but ran into shoulder problems this year. His value has plummeted, but he could be an intriguing low-risk, high-reward option for a team that needs to shore up the back of their rotation.

Any of the relief pitchers in this crop would slot nicely into a contender's bullpen, but none of them are pitchers who could turn around a bullpen by themselves.

Lower tier

Paul Byrd—SP/RHP, Boston ; Mark Hendrickson—SP/RP/LHP, Florida ; Livan Hernandez—SP/RHP, Colorado ; Carl Pavano—SP/RHP, New York (AL) ; Odalis Perez—SP/LHP, Washington ; Sidney Ponson—SP/RHP, New York (AL) ; Mark Prior—SP/RHP, San Diego ; Kenny Rogers—SP/LHP, Detroit ; Randy Wolf—SP/LHP, Houston ; Jason Ishringhausen—CL/RHP, St. Louis ; Luis Ayala—RP/RHP, New York (AL) Scott Eyre—RP/LHP, Philadelphia ; LaTroy Hawkins—RP/RHP, New York (AL) ; Bob Howry—RP/RHP, Chicago (NL) ; Guillermo Mota—RP/RHP, Milwaukee ; Horacio Ramirez—RP/LHP, Chicago (AL)

This tier is the proverbial scrap heap of the 2008 free agent pitching market, with a lot of aging pitchers who have lost effectiveness over the last few years. There's a chance that somebody like Howry or Ayala regains their 2007 form, but they shouldn't be counted on to play a major role in a team's bullpen.

The only other interesting option out of this group is Pavano, who hasn't thrown over 100 innings since 2004, when he went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA in a contract year. It wouldn't be a bad idea for a team that has rotational depth to take an inexpensive flier on him.

Prior's another one on this list that still has the potential to be a good pitcher, but it would surprise me if he pitches another major-league inning in his career.

The rest of the pitchers on this list will either be one-year stopgaps or won't be signed.

5 Reasons The White Sox Will Win the AL Central

JJ Stankevitz — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:22:32 -0400

As we hit the home stretch of the MLB season, there's no clear-cut favorite in the American League Central. Now, if you had told me that it would be a two-team battle before the start of the season, I (and most everybody who tried to predict the 2008 season) would have thought it'd be between the Indians and Tigers.

Well, it's between the White Sox and Twins, and that generally spells doom for the White Sox—see the 2003, 2004, and 2006 seasons for reference. My colleague Tony DeMarco just wrote up his five reasons why the Twins will take the division, and all are valid points, so I strongly encourage you to take a look at the piece.

However, there are reasons why the White Sox will emerge with the central division title in late September, so don't fret, White Sox fans.

1. The Republicans, Rays, and Indians: In a previous article, I explained how the Republican National Convention has pushed the Twins out on a tough 14-game road trip—and, so far, things have not gone well for the Twins, as they are 3-5 against the Angels, Mariners, and A's through eight games on the road.

They still have six more—three in Oakland and three in Toronto—before they can finally return home, but they only get six games in Minneapolis before they have to head back out on the road on a ten-game road trip in which they play Cleveland four times and Tampa Bay three times. Considering that Cleveland and Tampa Bay have been playing extremely well lately—especially Cleveland—it won't be an easy stretch for the Twins.

2. Have no fear, Qperman is here: Carlos Quentin has made more of an impact than anybody could have imagined before the start of the season—and, as we stand here on August 29, he's the clear frontrunner for American League MVP.

Nobody has meant more to their team than Quentin, who comes into Friday's game against Boston hitting .292 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI—has to the White Sox. Whenever the White Sox need a rally started, Quentin can be counted on. If they need a home run, Quentin is the guy to look to. And there's nobody I'd rather have up in a big-game situation than Quentin.

He's a reason to throw out the White Sox' recent history of dropping the division to the Twins, because all those teams did not have the "Q" factor.

3. The re-emergence of Javier Vazquez: For a span of two months, the only thing the White Sox could count on out of a start by Vazquez was a poor performance. It appeared that he lost his competitive fire on the mound from June through July, but all of a sudden, he regained that starting in mid-August.

Vazquez has looked very good in his last three starts against Kansas City, Oakland, and Tampa Bay—and the key has been that he isn't fooling around on 0-2 counts trying to nibble and get strikeouts. When Vazquez doesn't concentrate on solely striking out hitters, he's a far better pitcher—and, ironically, he gets more strikeouts.

He's looked like an ace in the last few weeks, and if he can keep that up, it'll be big for the White Sox down the stretch.

4. The big, tall, wide guy: I recognize that the Twins have an excellent closer in Joe Nathan, but the White Sox have pretty good one themselves in Bobby Jenks. While Jenks' strikeouts have been down this year, his performance hasn't dipped at all, as he's saved 26/29 games with a 1.68 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and .568 opponent OPS. Like Nathan, Jenks has been battle-tested in a pennant race, so the White Sox should feel comfortable with Jenks taking the mound to close a game out in the ninth inning.

5. The experience factor: I know, I know, experience usually doesn't mean anything when you're going up against the Twins. However, the White Sox have far more experience with late-season playoff races than their rivals to the north.

Orlando Cabrera, AJ Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, Octavio Dotel, Vazquez, and Jenks all have good experience with playoff races in their careers. Unless you're team is loaded with talent (like Tampa Bay or Colorado last year), teams that don't have the mettle to deal with the pressure of a playoff race are far more likely to fade down the stretch than those with it.

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White Sox-Red Sox: Chicago and Boston Face Off in Important Wild-Card Battle

JJ Stankevitz — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:24:37 -0400

All good plans have a backup plan—something to fall back on in case the master plan doesn't go right.

For the White Sox, their master plan is to beat out the Minnesota Twins and win the AL Central. However, their backup plan to get them into October is the wild card, and that's why this weekend's series in Boston against the Red Sox is so important.

Going into the series, the White Sox sit 1.5 games ahead of the Twins, who are on a 14-game road trip, thanks to the Republican National Convention, in the American League Central. However, they would be one-game back of the Red Sox for the wild card, if they would need it.

There's no telling what will happen in the last month of the season—knowing the Twins, they could go on some ridiculous run and blow past the White Sox to win the division. The White Sox still have three games left with the Twins, and they will be played in the dreaded Metrodome.

In 2003, 2004, and 2006, the White Sox and Twins went head-to-head for the division—and every year, the Twins beat out the White Sox.

I'm not saying that winning the division won't happen—I mean, the Sox are currently 1.5 games up on a scuffling Minnesota team that has lost five of their last six. However, the White Sox need a contingency plan in case Chicago gets hit by Hurricane Gardenhire.

This three-game series in Boston will go a long way towards helping the White Sox's cause for making the playoffs. Boston has been dominant at home this year, coming into their series with the White Sox with a 43-18 record at Fenway Park.

However, they aren't without their problems—namely, Josh Beckett, who was scratched from his start Friday due to a lingering "tingling" feeling in his elbow. He will see Dr. James Andrews—baseball's most famous surgeon—for an evaluation on his arm.

If the Red Sox are left without Beckett down the stretch, it will stretch a pitching staff that hasn't been as good as advertised this year.

Thanks to Beckett's arm issues, Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-2) will have his start pushed to Friday, and rookie David Pauley (0-0) will make his second start of the season on Saturday. In his first start Apr. 22, he allowed five earned runs in 4.1 innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Red Sox will close the series out with knuckleballing Tim Wakefield (8-8).

The White Sox will run Javier Vazquez (10-11), Mark Buehrle (11-10), and Gavin Floyd (14-6) out against Boston. Vazquez has looked very good in his last three starts, but Friday likely is the game where the White Sox match up the worst in the series. If they can take Saturday and Sunday's games, and the series, it will be huge for this team down the stretch.

If you need a distraction from the game Saturday, though, switch your TV over to ESPN at 7:30 PM (CDT) to watch a great college football showdown between No. 6 Missouri and No. 20 Illinois at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO.

Missouri won the game 40-34 last year, and Illinois was the first of two BCS Bowl teams that Mizzou beat in 2007 (with Kansas being the other one). However, they didn't make a BCS Bowl, even though their only two losses were to BCS teams.

But whatever, I'm not bitter—my picture on this site is of me taking a short break from watching Tony Temple run all over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl like he was...um...Darren McFadden?

Sorry, that had nothing to do with baseball, the wild card, or anything in this article. I just had to get a dig in for my school before the season started. Fight Tigers!

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