Chicago White Sox: Scream Therapy in the Wake of Adam Dunn's Horrific 2011

For the Chicago White Sox, the offseason has begun in earnest. Before moving on to the optimism that comes from a new manager in Robin Ventura and a winter of hopeful moves, some demons need to be exorcised.

I feel the need to rid myself of some bile left over from the 2011 campaign. Feel free to join me. We'll all feel a little better.

Of all the underwhelming performances White Sox fans were subjected to over the last six months of the baseball season, the total collapse of Adam Dunn as a productive baseball player was by far the most shocking. It wasn't the only such atrocity we were subjected to this season, but it was certainly a shot to the solar plexus unlike any other South Side disappointment.

Dunn was a sure thing. 

That's what even the most skeptical of observers concluded. Whatever you thought of his defense, advancing age, or huge strikeout totals, the two magic benchmarks hovered over the contract in a neon glow: 40 homers, 100 RBI.

No matter what, the four-year, $56 million contract seemed to promise, the guy is going to put up those two numbers in the launching pad that is U.S. Cellular Field. We even convinced ourselves that he could handle first base every day until Chicago re-signed Paul Konerko five days later.

Konerko and Dunn each made $12 million in 2011. The difference in the return on those investments is striking.

Konerko put together a season that was reminiscent of his incredible 2010 performance, despite being severely limited the last two months after being struck in the leg by a pitch. He hit 31 home runs, drove in 105 runs, and finished the season at or above .300 for the fourth time in his career.

Oh, by the way, he also made his fifth All-Star team and was only the White Sox MVP.

Dunn? Well, he did hit .286 with a homer and five RBI's in the first four games. From there, his season veered off a bit from Konerko's.

After missing a week following an appendectomy, Dunn returned and began missing the ball with disturbing regularity. He was awful in April. He was awful in May. He was...I'll pause for a second if you want to run outside and scream. Go ahead. Just know that the story just gets worse.

Dunn's best month of the season? A May that saw him hit .204 with three homers and 13 RBI. Project those numbers over a full season and you'd get 18 home runs, 78 RBI and a reason to howl "bust" to the top of the hills.

Turns out that would have been a healthy step up from the gruesome final result.

I'll wait if you want to run outside again.

Eleven homers, 42 RBI, a .159 average, and an anemic .277 slugging percentage in 415 at bats.

Cliff Lee of the Phillies batted 75 times this season, hitting .202 with a pair of homers and seven RBI. Daniel Hudson hit .277 for the Diamondbacks and knocked in 14 runs in 65 at bats. The White Sox could have signed a PITCHER FROM THE NATIONAL LEAGUE to DH and gotten equal or better production than they received from Dunn.

Feel free to get up and go outside, but before you do, let me point out that because Dunn is set to make $14 million in 2012, he is going to be in the lineup again next season.

OK, now you can go.

Dunn will never fully get the stench of his pathetic 2011 out of the noses of White Sox fans no matter how he rebounds from the wreckage. It's safe to say he was encouraged to put in a little offseason work to try and get things turned around.

The best we can do as fans is to fully vent and start looking ahead. It may just take several trips outside and a lot of screaming to do it.