Playing Pepper 2009: Chicago White Sox

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same.  I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posted them five questions.  This is the result.  You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

We escape the American League East and move on to the Central.  Our first stop is the South Side of Chicago, the baddest part of town (so I've heard).  The White Sox own the only title of the past 10 years for the city (and, of course, the only two baseball ones for the past 100 years).

Whether it's Ozzie Guillen spouting off for the paper or Kenny Williams wheeling and dealing, the White Sox are usually newsworthy and lately have been a pretty good team on the field as well.

Ricky from fellow Blogs By Fans site Tremendous Upside Potential was kind enough to share his thoughts on the First Fan and what the outlook is for 2009.

C70: So are the White Sox really going to push the Obama connection in 2009?

TUP: Unlike the squares up North, the Sox have always needed to rely on colorful ad campaigns and other gimmicks to get people to the ball park. "Good Guys Wear Black" and "The Kids Can Play" are nothing compared to what they can do now that the most famous person in the the world is an unabashed Sox fan, though. Are they going to really push the connection? I don't know, but it seems like something that could easily become overplayed. Probably 40 percent of the fan base didn't vote for him anyways, so I don't think the Sox would really alienate people like that. The Sox have already invited Obama to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day, however, and if he accepts, I'd imagine that'd be the hottest ticket in town.

C70: What was the general fan consensus over the Javier Vazquez trade?TUP: The Vazquez trade was made for three reasons: 1. The Sox got hit pretty hard by the economy and needed to trim payroll, 2. They have nothing in the minors behind catcher AJ Pierzynski, and adding a prospect like Tyler Flowers was too tempting to pass up, and most importantly, 3. Javy routinely choked in big games, which put him in Ozzie and Kenny's doghouse. It's a tough blow on any rotation to lose a pitcher who you could count on for 200 innings and 200 strikeouts, but Vazquez has been more maddening than anything during his entire career, particuarly the White Sox portion. I think the fans are cool with his departure (and some are really pumped about Flowers), but the fourth and fifth starters spots still remain a worry.

C70: Can Carlos Quentin approach his 2008 numbers?

TUP: To me, Quentin is like a poor man's Albert Pujols. I really would be shocked if he OPS'd anything less than .900. I have no doubt that last year was not a fluke. I'd expect him to be roughly as awesome as he was in 2008 for the foreseeable future. What people don't realize is that Quentin was always this great in the minors. He seemed to be unanimously regarded as one of the baseball's top 25 prospects at one point before injuries and circumstance just killed his career in Arizona.

C70: How are Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf viewed among White Sox fans?TUP: Kenny Williams is beloved, and I think JR is thought fairly highly of. Reinsdorf used to say that he would trade six Bulls championships for one Sox title, and when Paul Konerko handed him the ball from the final out of the 2005 World Series, you could tell he wasn't joking. For that alone, you've got to respect the guy. It's not like the Sox are payroll lightweights either. And Kenny...he's just the man. I like to think of him as the anti-John Paxson (the Bulls' GM famous for stockpiling assets and never doing anything with them). He's made some mistakes — both Swisher trades were certainly questionable and let's not even get started on Boomer Wells or Todd Ritchie — but overall I think he's got the fans' full support. 

C70: Will Alexi Ramirez improve upon last year or was that a bit of a fluke?

TUP: I don't know how much he'll improve offensively, because I doubt Alexei will ever develop the kind of discipline that would turn him into a top of the order hitter. I'm more concerned about his defense. I thought he was solid at second base last season, but most individual defensive metrics said he was sub-par. Now he'll be the Opening Day shortstop, which could be cause for concern. So improvement will hopefully come on the defensive end, if anything. 

Thanks to Ricky for those answers.  The White Sox look to be serious contenders again this year in a competitive division.  I think most Cardinal fans will agree that, as long as they are the best team in that town, things are OK.