Archive for Tigers

Root, root, root for the White, Flag

Posted in White Sox News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2013 by OneRunGame

As I sit here to write my first post in a very long time, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there. I hope they all enjoyed a great day.

Also, Chris Sale just completed his gem of a game: a complete game, 1-hit shutout on national TV for everyone to see. Congrats, Chris. That puts me in a good mood because as a former lefty pitcher myself, I love watching Sale hurl. That being said, I am in a clear frame of mind and in a good mood right now to offer my criticisms and what I’d like to see the Sox do in the very near future. (I don’t believe in making important decisions or speaking in a bad mood.)

First off, I’ll just say the Sox need to dump everyone and anyone they can sooner than later. What sparks my desire to see this happen is partly what happened the previous two seasons with two fan-favorites – Mark Buehrle and A.J. Pierzynski walking via-free agency. In 2011 Buehrle pitched his final game in a White Sox uniform before bolting for the then-Ozzie Guillen led Marlins, signing a lucrative free agent contract. The Sox never even got around to offering or countering the Marlins’ offer to Buehrle but just saying pretty much that they can’t even match it, so good luck. They knew they couldn’t afford to re-sign him but just watched him walk-away. They neglected to entertain trading him because maybe they thought the fans would revolt. Wasn’t going to happen. They haven’t stormed the field in angst since the Disco Demolition fiasco. Image

The White Sox neglected to trade Pierzynski, who then was in the midst of a career (free agent year) season. To the Sox’ credit, they led the AL central for much of last season, well over 100 days in first place. However, it was mainly because the favorite Detroit Tigers were immensely, under-achieving all season long. The Sox faded down the stretch looking old and tired. Unbecoming of any team that believes they are true contenders.

Pierzynski was a free-agent-to-be and was the heart and soul of the Sox. Just because a team was in first place doesn’t necessarily mean they were a first place caliber team. Even when the Sox opened up a three game lead on the Tigers in mid-September in 2012, I didn’t see a Tigers team that looked worried or panicked any. The Sox relinquished their lead in the division with just seven games remaining. Ouch. Unable to fight off the Tigers, the Sox fell flat and missed the playoffs.

Adam Dunn won comeback player of the year award for 2012. The Sox had three, check that three, (Jake Peavy, Adam Dunn & Alex Rios), candidates for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. That’s great but it’s not so great. That means the previous season probably didn’t go so well. To spare Sox fans of the high-blood pressure of 2011, I will not type about that. Adam Dunn followed up a MISERABLE 2011 campaign w/ a very Dunn-like season in 2012. In 2011 Dunn only played 122 games but only hit 11 home runs while making $12 million. Wow, those were the most expensive eleven home runs in the history of baseball. ($1.09 million per long-ball. Yes, that’s what they brought him in to do was hit HRs.). He cranked out 41 HR’s in 2012 but also struck out a career high 222 times. Ouch. Again, the 41 HR’s is what they wanted. He was consistent all season with his power numbers. Again, seeing as the team was in first place for a long time in 2012, I give them the hindsight pass for not rebuilding.

Enter 2013.

On May 12th the White Sox sit in last place in the AL Central. A division they pitched to their fans was winnable. I get it, it’s early in the season. That’s what everyone loves to say. Well, when does playing consistently poor baseball and looking bad in the process along with high-expectations disregard the “it’s early” statement people love to hide behind? I say NOW! No more of this “it’s early” crap. You’re either a good team or you’re not. Here’s why I think they’re a bad team.

– Last in the AL Central (15-20, 5 GB)

– Jeff Keppinger was their big Free-Agent acquisition

– Leads league in errors (28 errors in 35 games)

– Last in batting average (.227 team avg)

– Last in total bases (420)

– Way last in RBI (110)

– 9th in HR’s (39) — for a team built around a HR hitting park

– Last in Hits (257) 101 hits behind division rival Tigers. Who makes up that gap?

– Last in On Base % (.278)

– Last in runs scored (120) in 35 games… 3.4 runs a game.

Want me to keep going? I looked but could not find the LOB (left on base) numbers. Those are probably the worst of them all. You get the drift. That’s primarily just the woeful offensive numbers. Teams just don’t turn around that type of lack of production. They are incredibly lucky they are only 5 or so games out of first. Teams like Detroit, Kansas and Cleveland did nothing but improve in the off-season. As I mentioned, Jeff Keppinger and his 3-year free agent signing was the biggest addition. The biggest news they made over the winter was letting Pierzysnki walk and sign w/ Texas. The Sox just handed over their starting catcher duties to Tyler Flowers.

In 136 career MLB games, Flowers is a career .199 hitter. Never has he hit over .300 in his professional career dating back to his 2006 debut in Rookie Ball. It’s not like Flowers was killing it in his reserve time where the Sox had a very difficult decision to make about Pierzynski. They took a biiiig risk letting A.J. walk. Granted, was A.J. going to reproduce his career season of 2012? Probably not but maybe. At least he’s proven he can do it. Flowers has NEVER proven he can hit. Sure he’s an above-average defensive catcher but the jury is still out if he can consistently handle a pitching staff. The most alarming statistic of all about Flowers, is his age. He’s 27 years old. That’s your catcher of the future? Yikes! Not old but not young either.

I do not believe I’ve seen enough in Flowers sprinkled through parts of the five seasons he’s been in a Sox uniform to believe that he is the catcher of the future. When the Sox signed Pierzynski, he was already a well-established and very un-popular guy… but who cares! He’s a winner and was always the most intelligent, most-heads up player on the field, period. You cannot replace that. You don’t let a guy like that walk. Letting Buehrle and Pierzynski walk in consecutive years without trading them for minor league players has set the team back immensely. We do not want that to happen again this year.

Sell. Sell. Sell. Image

This year the writing is on the wall. The team has been trimming payroll ever so slightly the past couple of seasons. Attendance has always been an issue. One factor is the cost of parking and their so-called “Dynamic” ticket pricing. It’s a different price every day. What is that all about? Have a look for yourself.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/ticketing/pricing.jsp?c_id=cws&layout=gameflow

Set a damn price and keep it. Parking is near the highest in the Majors as well. They’ve introduced “Family Sunday” packages where tickets start at $5 and parking is $10. That’s great but why not just keep those prices and get more people to show up.

There’s some bad news looming in the very near future too. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has plans to shut down & rebuild the CTA “Red-Line” from Chinatown to 95th street, including the stop for Sox Park / 35th Street. Hmmm, halting production to rebuild something so that it’s in good working order for years to come?? Interesting concept. Something the Sox should do. [I know, right?]. You can bring a horse to the pond but you can’t make it drink. Shutting down the CTA Red Line will eliminate the casual Sox fan in the city that liked hopping on the train to head to a game. That’s not an option come rebuild time.

This year the Sox have some good players that still hold some value in the trade market. They’re in last place and I do not believe this is where they’ll end up. They don’t play the Tigers until July 9th, just a few weeks before the trade deadline. Whoever makes the schedule needs to sit down w/ the Bob’s from “Office Space”.

Players who I feel hold trade-value and who I’d like to see Sox GM Rick Hahn (pictured above) try to move and rebuild the Kenny Williams-depleted minor league system are as follows:

Alex Rios – (free agent after 2013 season), is good player. Good defensive player, good level swinger and as close to a 5-tool player as we’re gonna get. Another free-agent to be we can’t afford to let walk.

Alexei Ramirez – great defensive short stop but we’ve seen his offensive ceiling, however brief that was. All he does is try to hit HR’s. We’ve heard some rumblings about some in the minors that can be a future SS replacement for the Sox. Let’s take a look at them this year.

Adam Dunn – sure he’s an ogre and a bum in the batters box but he still holds value to a contending team who needs power. It’s too early to tell who those teams are but some teams always need a lefty slugger come playoff-push time. In my opinion, Adam Dunn is the worst hitter in Major League History, for a guy that’s been in the league 10+ years. I would love to see the Sox make a monumental stance and cut him. That’ll never happen but what a message that would be if they just said “you’re gone”. They’d have to eat all that money and another team would of course pick him up BUT he’s killing this team. Just, bad. That happens in the NFL all the time, cutting players for lack of production. Of course in football most contracts aren’t guaranteed for the entire length like they are in baseball. Lucky Dunn.

Paul Konerko – the one Sox player I do not want them to trade because he should finish his career here. UNLESS Paulie wants to continue playing. He’s had a great career here but is slowing down right in front of our eyes. If he wants to continue playing past 2013 it won’t be with the Sox. Konerko will know as the season goes on if he’ll want to play next season. I do not believe the Sox should re-sign him after this year. He is declining and we should max his value by getting something in return for him.

Jake Peavy – His 2 year, $29 million contract he signed this year is a very Yankee / Red Sox friendly deal. Both of those big-spending teams need help but may not have the minor league pieces to swap for the Sox. Peavy’s injury history and short two year deal are perfect factors to trade him while he’s having another good season in 2013.

Matt Thornton – just trade him already. What contending team doesn’t need a power lefty set up man?

Jesse Crain – Very solid reliever with filthy stuff. I like Jesse but he has strong, late season trade value.

Gordon Beckham – Oh they won’t trade this guy! He’s a great second baseman. Maybe he should take his glove to the batters box and maybe he’ll catch a break. The guy can’t hit. In 542 MLB games, he’s a .246 hitter.

Granted, none of the players above will return you another team’s top-tier prospect in the minor leagues but you never know how desperate a team will be later in the year. They need to retool the minor leagues soon. I hate to say it but the White Sox need to rebuild from the ground up like the Cubs are doing. That is not a failure. Former GM Kenny Williams did a great job taking the Sox to new heights during his term as GM but this add this piece to that piece to those other pieces, is not working. It’s time to rebuild. What are the Sox worried about? Losing attendance? It’s already extremely low. Fans weren’t buying last year’s first-place team because Kenny used the dreadful “R” word last off-season. This year I think they mean it but are afraid to say it.

I will love Kenny forever. He always tried to win. I think Rick Hahn will do a good job in the future. He’s incredibly bright and was destined to be a GM somewhere. Resigning Peavy was smart. The one-year deal for Gavin Floyd was a bust but Floyd has been a strong, innings-eater so you can’t blame that on Hahn. I would love to see Hahn build HIS team now and not be forced to revive Kenny Williams’ team. I do believe that is coming. The Sox brought in fan favorite Robin Ventura to manage the team. I think that hire is going to be better served for Robin to manage and lead a young team into the future. I do not believe you let a guy like Pierzynski walk away if you still plan on competing. I am a logical baseball fan and I want nothing more than to see the White Sox win. Having one good season every two or three years is not my idea of a good time. Sometimes other teams are just better. I get it. There’s nothing wrong with putting your entire organization in a position to compete legitimately every year for the playoffs.

They need to build and sustain. That’s a good thing. It doesn’t have to take 3-5 years like some people are afraid of. When you take that approach it makes for a better life for everyone.

Go Sox!

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Swing & Fits

Posted in White Sox News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2010 by OneRunGame

Spring training has come and gone folks. How’s your team doing after the first ten or eleven games? Good, bad? Off to a hot, unexpected start or is your team sort of, ‘getting by’? 

Sure it’s odd seeing teams like Toronto atop the American League East in the early going. Seeing the long-running Western Division champs in the A.L., The Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim in the cellar. Is it too early to panic? Well, it depends. Allow me to repeat. “Spring training has come and gone”. The spring was supposed to be when our teams worked out their kinks, shook off their winter dust and got ready for the season. Does your team look like they’re ready for the 162 game season? 
Mathematically yes, it is too early to panic. But if you know your team like I do, you are panicking just a little. 
For the past few seasons, the White Sox have gotten off to slow starts. By slow, I mean – turtles people. Players like Alexei Ramirez from Cuba, who has never played a baseball game in cold weather in his life until he arrived in Chicago – is renowned for getting off to a slow start. Does he heat up? You bet your you-know-what he does. He can certainly carry a team when he warms up. But if the White Sox continue to creep along, as they are currently five games behind the Central leading Twins, they’ll need a crane to carry them along. 
All the talk on radio, in the papers and on the post-game analysis on TV – most, if not all of the analysts are saying something to the effect of “relax, it’s too early to panic … there are still 145 more games to go”. Well, not really. 
Realistically, there are only 30-50 games remaining this season. Give or take a series or two. If you continue to fall behind a team like the Twins, and to not take the Tigers lightly, the Twins are showing no signs of early season struggles. Blame the chilly weather all you want … the other team on the field is cold too. 
So far, the White Sox pitching staff has lived up to their expectations. A couple of bad starts by Jake Peavy, a rough start for Gavin Floyd in Cleveland, sure … that’ll happen. The bullpen has been outstanding in the early going. So that’s not the problem. Could it be the offense? YES! That’s it. 
The White Sox brought in third-baseman Mark Teahen via a trade with Kansas City to help with forming a more athletic club both defensively and offensively. Teahen was a bonafide Sox-Killer in K.C. He hits a lot of doubles, hits to all areas of the field. OK, I get it. They traded away a couple of minor-league pitchers for speedy lead-off man, Juan Pierre. Pierre had an excellent season for the Dodgers in 2009 but became expendable because of Manny Ramirez. He has also been a consistent hitter and base-stealer his entire career. OK, I get it – we have a true-blue lead-off guy who can get on base, steal bases, wreak havoc for starting pitching. BUT – he has to get on base. Something he hasn’t been doing thus far. 
Manager Ozzie Guillen has made a pledge to form a team not relying so much on the long-ball. Something the White Sox have been all about for years and years. They won the 2005 World Series with pitching, defense, timely hitting and yes, many home runs. The 2010 club lacks the likes of sluggers Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye’s steady, run-producing power. G.M. Kenny Williams has been quoted as saying he’s “uncomfortable” with Guillen’s “designated hitter-by-committee” philosophy. (Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, etc). 
With versatile players like Pierre, Beckham, Teahen and Alex Rios (acquired off waivers in 2009 from Toronto) the White Sox were supposed to manufacture runs this year with speed and “small-ball” execution. Sure they have some power still in a healthy Carlos Quentin, Paul Konerko and we’ll see how much Andruw Jones has left in the tank. But can you teach an old dog, new tricks? Does Paul Konerko – an icon on the south side of Chicago, really want to change his game in his early-to-mid 30’s and in a contract year? Does he want to buy into the “I shouldn’t be swinging for the fences” mentality? I think not. Again – contract year. Konerko is NOT a selfish player. However, he is not a dumb one either. 
Too much has been made of the “2010 Chicago White Sox” team philosophy and thus, too much pressure has been put on the players. If you tell a kid not to do something, they’re more inclined to want to try it. If they’re down 7-0 late in a game, and if I’m a player, I’m not thinking bunt & run! I’m thinking “I gotta do something here”. Enter the Home Run. 
There comes a time when you have to consider another means, but not fully abandon your philosophy. Kenny Williams let Guillen have his way this time around with personnel. I don’t expect Kenny to wait this one out too long. With the Minnesota Twins’ line-up stacked from top to bottom with talent, power and skilled veterans, it takes the pressure off their slightly above-average pitching corp. 
It’s mid-April and the White Sox are already five games behind them. Sure, there are 16 games remaining between the two, but from where I see it – the Sox had better get with the program. I’ll enjoy nothing more than seeing the Sox over-take the Twins late in the year being the underdog. 

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Strong Finish Or Too Little, Too Late?

Posted in White Sox News with tags , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2009 by OneRunGame

Spoilers. Who has time for them? Who wants to even play them? Even worse, who wants to be in the position to BE the spoiler? Every year, in every division … some team always plays the role of the spoiler.

The White Sox played the role at the end of the season. In the last week of the season the White Sox trailed the Tigers and Twins. No hope of post-season and no hope of even finishing the season at .500. The Tigers had a three game lead with ONLY four games left….that’s almost a shoe-in right there. When the White Sox came to town for the final weekend of games – the Tigers needed only to win one game to lock up the division.

Thanks to Jake Peavy, the Sox took the first game. Oh and the Twins won their game, gaining ground and making everyone in Detroit nibble away at their fingernails like the Twins were doing in the standings.

Well, the story goes on that the Sox made life in Detroit very hard for the Tigers and the Twins tied them, won the one-game playoff – winning the Central Division and advancing to the playoffs only to get knocked out by the now, American League Champion Yankees. Don’t think for a second the Tigers will forget about the havoc the White Sox created for them when the 2010 campaign starts. Revenge.

Defeating Detroit the final weekend series was just a last ditch effort for the Sox to make some sense of a dismal season where expectations were high, but not met. A season that featured probably the biggest achievement in all of sports in 2009 – Mark Buerhle’s perfect game. For the Sox to beat Detroit, which led to Minnesota winning the division, did in fact give the White Sox some purpose. After all, it was still a division game and I applaud them for going out and competing against the team they trailed for much of the season.

While the 2010 season looks promising, on paper – led by arguably the strongest rotation in the Majors – the ’09 season looms on … with the World Series match-up now set. (See World Series post on here). Look at it this way Sox fans, you still have plenty of reasons to watch the World Series, you get hear Ozzie still talk 2009 baseball, as he was hired on as a pre & post game analyst. This should be interesting.

Watching former Sox players such as Nick Swisher make it to the World Series w/ the Yankees – a trade Kenny Williams highly believed was good for the White Sox, you still hate to see it. (hence, Kyle Orton 6-0 w/ Denver, Cedric Benson torching the Bears for a career high yardage – you get the picture) See how Juan Uribe single-handedly carried the Giants in September until they fell a few games short of playoff glory.

It seems to be a Chicago trait about former players …’ Leave Chicago – Become a Stud ‘. How’s that for a Monday headline for you? That’s an argument for a later time. And how Jim Thome fell a little short in his playoff attempt at a World Series try w/ the Dodgers, although he only got a couple of at-bats.

Sure, the White Sox finished strong and played the ‘Spoiler’ but it still doesn’t hide the fact that they fell short, well .. very short of their potential and goal … defending AL Central Champs.

Let me answer my own question … it was too little, too late.

 

 

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Inching Closer … ?

Posted in Major League Baseball News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2009 by OneRunGame

Have you looked at the standings lately?

Just a week ago SOX fans were all talking BEAR football. So was I. (well, we still are). Twenty-one games remain on the ’09 slate, with the White Sox sitting six back. Hmmm. We are aware of the Sox having six left with Detroit, three here, three there to close the season. Could this be possible? How upset would you be? Sure, we’d be excited if they won their second consecutive division title … but what an emotional rollercoaster they’ve put us on all season! That horrible road trip to Boston, New York and Minnesota. (except for the last game) … Tough losses to Cleveland and Baltimore splashed in there … all the little games that slipped away in the last inning or two … and we’re STILL in it? Thank you White Sox … but don’t do this to us! 

Here you have Mark Buehrle. Throws a perfect game, thrusting us into a first place tie with the Tigers. Then we go into Detroit with all kinds of momentum, only to lose three of four. We’ve been on the outside looking in ever since. Granted, Detroit haven’t exactly ran away with the division. The mere fact that the White Sox are ONLY six games out, still in striking distance with several games to play against the division leader … doesn’t that make you a little … ticked? 
I don’t say that meaning I wish they were out of it, not at all. But the ups & downs of a season sure make me feel like I was in the dugout for each and every win and loss. I work in professional baseball as an announcer, and after a long homestand, yeah – you do feel a bit worn down. We all know the Sox have a team to win and compete right now. In my mind, they’ve lost a little muscle by trading Jim Thome to the Dodgers – but they’re still good and versatile. 
If we can get Jake Peavy healthy  and in good form and be only three or four games out by the time we go head to head with Detroit and get Alex Rios to figure out that hitting the baseball gives the Sox an advantage … folks, October baseball might be in our forecasts again. Kansas City just swept the Tigers and the White Sox are headed back to L.A. where they have played pretty well for the most part. Six games out and in third place is not where you want to be, but it could be worse. 
I’m with Kenny Williams on this one, this would be a disappointing season if we did not make and do well in the playoffs. We’ll certainly see where the next couple of weeks lead us. 

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What Do We Have Left …?

Posted in Major League Baseball News with tags , , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2009 by OneRunGame

What do YOU the fan look to get out of the final 20-some-odd games remaining this season?

Maybe you haven’t been to a game yet this year. You’ve waited all summer and now you need to get to one….? Perhaps you have a birthday coming up and you thought attending a late-September game on your hey-day would make perfect sense … because after all, the Sox were “supposed” to be in the thick of things and repeat as division champs. Why not? 

Let’s not focus on the fact that the Sox have all but eliminated themselves from the playoff hunt. (8 games out w/ 23 or 24 games remaining… you do the math. I am not happy about it either). Let’s take a look at the brighter side of things. Like the match-up on Labor Day. Hey, you still get to see two aces, Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle duke it out. It’s not like the Sox won’t play competitive baseball the final month of the season. 
You never know what form of epic-Cubs or Mets type of collapse the Tigers might encounter. Aside from many misfortunes on the field this year defensively, or on the basepaths, and whatever falters the bullpen has had … it just might not be the Sox’ year. 
They looked the best they have all season in this recent, brief four-game winning streak. We the fans should appreciate that. Great pitching, error-free defense, timely hitting – and FINALLY making Joe Nathan feel miserable . Isn’t that what we’ve been waiting for all year? The unfortunate truth, they gained absolutely no ground on the Tigers. If you win, and the guy in front of you wins … what else can you do? The Brewers in 2008 did the best thing they could do to win by bringing in C.C Sabbathia … making it to the playoffs … but being eliminated in the first round. ‘ Hey, you tried! ‘. It depends on what your level of success and failure is. Looking back, I am positive the Milwaukee fans are grateful to have made the playoffs after an un-Godly, horrifying absence. 
There are two things I remember (and fans will probably remember only two things) about the 2007 season. Know what they are? First, Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter in mid-April. I mean, that was awesome. Secondly, on Sept. 16th – Jim Thome’s 500th career HR. (I was there).I look back now and hold no grudges that they were horrible that year. I look back and enjoy … now those are key moments in White Sox history. 
Already this year, we’ve had a roster that looks like the sole of someone’s running shoe. Wilson Betemit – Triple-A’d, Brent Lillibridge – up/down, Brian Anderson – wah wah, “I’ve had every opportunity in the universe to hit the little white baseball, but I’m too cocky to try “… gone. We’ve seen some young players on this team flourish and develop, all the while, still being in contention for a division. Kenny’s plan has worked, believe it or not. Let’s not forget about the perfect game…. OK – most teams in the cellar every year (Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Washington to name a few) do not get those kind of memories to look back on. So let’s not get so worked up now that the season may be over in a playoff sense. 
Acquiring Alex Rios off waivers from Toronto, (albeit his average is awful) a good pickup for this year … a great one for 2010. Jake Peavy, a nail-biter for this year … a manicure for next year. Give the guy a winter to do nothing but rest his elbow… and the Sox have a good foundation to build on with the pieces in place. I won’t get into roster analysis on my first blog. I had every intention of making this one short. Ooops. 
What do we have left? Well, the final month will tell us. Take a look at some of your favorite Sox players now, because they may not be here next year. 
Get to the ballpark if you can and see for yourself and have fun!  
Go Sox …

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