For White Sox Division—Title and Offseason Full of Potential

The miracle that was the 2008 Chicago White Sox came to an end at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday night before a heart-broken home crowd.

Stifled by the Rays' pitching, the Pale Hosers could only muster two runs, courtesy of solo home runs by captain Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye. The season ended on a bad note, but that doesn't mean that fans should be disappointed. Sure, there won't be a World Series in Chicago, for either of the Cubs or the White Sox, but there was hope for a team that finished well below .500 in 2007. I can see a bright future for the Sox.

The acquisition of Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin were two of the more important, if slightly less publicized moves of the offseason. Along with the majority of fans, I was asking who these two players were. Wow! I was in for a shock along with the rest of the baseball world.

Quentin was among the leaders for the MVP of the American League before he busted his wrist and was done for the season. It's amazing to think that this guy was sitting in the minors for Arizona for the past two years, especially with the lack of run support the Diamondbacks had this year.

The less publicized acquisition of Ramirez was just as important for the ChiSox. This Cuban defector, who couldn't weigh 190 pounds soaking wet, came from out of nowhere to be a front runner for the Rookie of the Year title. He hit an outstanding .290 with 21 deposits to souvenir city. He filled the hole left at second base when it seemed that no one in the organization was quite ready. Alexei stepped up and allowed the Sox to jettison Danny Richar to the Reds in a package for Ken Griffey, Jr.

The young pitching began to come around this year. John Danks and Gavin Floyd were the more obvious selections because they were the No. 4 and 5 starters, respectfully. Also, take into account the performance of young pitchers Clayton Richard, Lance Broadway, and D.J. Carrasco. These youngsters filled in for the injured Jose Contreras and did an admirable job.

The Sox have always had a plethora of pitching; the list above didn't include Aaron Poreda, who is lighting up the minors. The Sox have a bright future in their young pitching. It is a strength of the minors and it is what wins championships.

There are a lot of reasons for optimism, but there are a few glaring holes to decide upon. The status of Joe Crede and Josh Fields must be addressed. Crede went down with a back injury, again, and Fields didn't get the call to play third. Isn't this what the organization has been grooming him for? Instead, the Sox go with Juan Uribe, who was almost waived after the 2007 season and batted just .247 with 64 strikeouts this year. 

Why not give Fields a look? This is the present—now, the problem is the future. Who starts the hot corner for the Sox this up-coming season? Joe Crede, who has a laundry list of health issues and stints on the DL, Josh Fields, who was had only one season in the majors, or bring back Juan Uribe, who can be called "free-swinging" either as a compliment or not.

The wealth of good, young pitchers in the minors makes one wonder how a team that won the American League Central could have an "ace" pitcher like Javier Vazquez who has gone just 38-36 with the team in the past three seasons. I like him, he throws hard and gets a lot of K's, but the ERA is up almost a full point from last year, his best season with the Sox. His performance in the post-season this year was disappointing at 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA.

This leads to the other problem with the rotation, Jose Contreras. Contreras was great during the World Series run in 2005, but those days are gone. He is not the pitcher he used to be and I don't want to see a potential front-end pitcher being stored in the minors simply to give a job to that huge chunk of the budget. I could be mistaken, and I like Contreras for what he has done in the past, but it's about time for the Sox to move on.

One last cheer for a great 2008 season as division champs! Not that it's over, I have hope that Kenny Williams and our boys can put together another season full of excitement and October baseball in 2009.