Chicago White Sox: 5 Aspects That Need Fixing in Order for the Team to Succeed
The White Sox have been playing good baseball as of late, but in order to start playing great, there are some aspects of the game that they still have to improve upon as a team.
Whether it's Alexei Ramirez grounding into too many double plays, Adam Dunn having a hard time hitting against left-handed pitchers or Matt Thornton struggling out of the bullpen, the White Sox do have a lot of room for improvement.
Without further ado, here are five flaws the White Sox have to fix as a team in order to transform from a good team into a great team.
Enjoy!
Base Stealing
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The White Sox have stolen 27 bases, which is only good for 25th in the league. This stat would lead a fan to believe that the White Sox do not attempt to steal too many bases.
That fan would be completely fooled!
The White Sox have been caught stealing 28 times, which is five more times than the second-worst team in the league in this category. That means that the White Sox have only successfully stolen 49 percent of the bases they have attempted to swipe. Only the Braves have been less successful in this category than the White Sox.
What's even more pathetic is the fact that the White Sox have allowed 51 stolen bases while only catching 12 runners. Again, that is bad enough to put them in last place in this category in the league.
Juan Pierre has been the biggest contributor to the White Sox's struggles in terms of stolen bases. Although he has swiped 10 bases, he has also been caught nine times.
Whether it's their timing or the jumps they get, the White Sox have to find a way to fix this problem. A stolen base could put a man into scoring position and begin a rally for a team struggling to find runs.
On the opposing end, when a team constantly allows its opponents to steal bases, it is allowing them to put men in scoring position and giving them opportunities to score runs with more ease than is necessary.
Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position, Less Than Two Outs
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The White Sox have lost 33 games this season, but at least five of those losses could have been victories if the White Sox were able to capitalize on bringing runners in from second and third base with less than two outs.
The White Sox rank dead last in driving runs home in this category, and that has got to change, or the White Sox will continue to lose more than they win.
Strikeouts from powerful hitters like Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are unacceptable in these situations, as all the White Sox need from them to hit the ball into the field and hope it travels far enough to bring a runner home.
Putting the ball into play is the most important thing to do in these situations, and unfortunately the White Sox are unable to do that a lot, striking out a plethora of times rather than putting it into play.
Hitting Against Lefties
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Simply put, the White Sox have got to hit better against lefties than they have been. Their batting average against lefties this season is .241, only good for 23rd in the league.
Adam Dunn has had the most struggles against lefties, putting together just one hit in 42 at-bats against lefties. However, Gordon Beckham, Brent Morel and Alexei Ramirez have also had their struggles against left-handed pitchers.
A team that is unable to hit against lefties makes it easy for a manger to replace a struggling right-handed pitcher who is in a jam. A manager would have to be crazy not to put in a left-handed pitcher when the White Sox have runners in scoring position during a close game in the late innings.
The White Sox have faced this situation before and have sadly been unable to do too much, especially when the man batting is Adam Dunn, and have struggled partially due to this reason. This needs to change or the White Sox will continue to be just a mediocre team.
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Relief Pitching
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The White Sox bullpen has not been successful at all this year. Its combined ERA is a below-average 4.18.
With the exception of Sergio Santos and possibly Jesse Crain, the bullpen has struggled miserably to keep the White Sox alive in close games, although in their defense, they have been improving recently.
To put what they have been doing in perspective, Matt Thornton, Chris Sale, Will Ohman and Tony Pena have all made at least 17 appearances out of the bullpen and have all pitched at least 16 innings, yet the highest ERA for any of these pitchers is 4.44.
Brian Bruney has also had a bad outing in only three appearances, so his ERA sits at 6.00.
Simply put, if these men cannot find a way to turn their struggles around, they will keep blowing games for the White Sox and will push the White Sox further back in the divisional race. Bullpen pitching is a key aspect in the success of a baseball team, especially during the late innings.
Grounding into Fewer Double Plays
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The White Sox have grounded into 51 double plays, which is eighth-worst in the league. Double plays are rally killers for a team struggling to find runs. It eliminates the threat of having a runner on base (unless there were two men on base) and adds an extra out to the inning.
If the White Sox continue to hit into too many double plays (mainly Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez, who both have grounded into 10 double plays), they will continue to find it hard to score runs, as they will continue to kill potential rallies.
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