Who's ready for some baseball? As teams pack up and leave spring training ready for the season, fans across the country are full of excitement, anticipation, and optimism as each team gears up for the first of it's 162 games. Unlike the rest of the contributors on GTW, however, I have allegiances to the SouthSiders and hope to provide a little bit of occasional AL/SouthSide related insight.
As the only White Sox fan growing up in Naperville (ok, there may have been 10 of us), and now a Sox fan living in Lakeview, I've been fighting the good fight and cheering on the Sox my whole life, including the good times ('05) and the oh-so-very-bad times (All-In?). And, while there are some things to be (kind of) optimistic about this year, it very well could end up being a long summer at the Cell. At least Sports Illustrated thinks the WhiteSox have a shot to be good this year though. Oh... wait.
As everyone now knows, Ozzie left for the Miami Rainbow Fish in the fall and was replaced by a guy who is beloved in Chicago but has no coaching experience at all in Robin Ventura. Mark Buerhle followed Ozzie to South Beach, and honestly looks just terrible in that Marlins uniform. But then again, who could look good in it?
But that was just the beginning. The Sox shipped off Sergio Santos and Jason Fraser to the Blue Jays in return for prospects, most notably Nestor Molina who looks to start the season in AA ball. Then, the Sox sent the second best hairdo on the squad behind Gordon Beckham to San Diego in the form of uber-talented and always injured RF Carlos Quentin. I'll miss Q, everything from that hair to his angry batflips, to his mostly horrendous outfield play. Then, just as the dreaded "R" word, rebuilding, started being thrown around, Kenny Williams put an end to that notion and inked John Danks to a 5 year deal. Other than that, the Sox will return most of the same team that so famously flopped in 2011. On to the bullets:
- The key to the Sox's success will lean on the three guys who have vastly under performed compared to their contracts in Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Jake Peavy. Dunn was historically bad last year, but has had a solid spring, with 5 HRs and an OPS of .984. Look for a turnaround from what was, before last year, one of the most consistent players in the league.
- The Sox also have two newcomers in the starting outfield: Alejandroooooooo De Aza in Center and "Jackin" Dayan Vicideo in Left. De Aza played great for the Sox in limited time in 2011, and the Sox are hoping that Viciedo will fufill his great potential in his first chance at a starting gig with the Sox.
- The biggest addition to the rotation comes from the bullpen in the form of 23 yr old lefty Chris Sale. Sale was downright filthy out of the pen last year with a 2.79 ERA, 79 K's in 71 innings, and 8 saves. However, he was a starter in college and features a plus fastball, slider, and changeup. If Sale can perform at a high level as a starter, the Sox's chances at making a wild-card run will increase greatly.
Player to Watch: Addison Reed- RP- I admit, part of the reason I put this guy in here is because he responded to me on twitter once, but Reed tore up the minors last year and has the potential to move into the closer's role before the season's end. The guy who is best known for being Stephen Strasburg's closer in college is the only prospect in the Sox system consistently projected to make an impact in 2011.
Prediction: With the Detroit Tigers looking as tough as ever with Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and that Verlander guy, the White Sox don't seem to have great odds of winning the AL Central. If things go well, Dunn will have a comeback year, Konerko will continue to defy father time, Gordon Beckham will channel the power of his hair and hit again, and the Sox can make a run at the wild card. If things don't go so well and Dunn, Rios, Beckham, and Peavy continue to struggle, it could be a long summer on the South Side. But it's ok. If things get rough, we can always reach for a Big Hurt Beer.
Their bullpen is a joke and they can't compete with los tigres led by Miguel "boozehound" cabrera. My only sox based prediction: Adam Dunn for comeback player of the year. (He really only has to hit like .220 with 21 and 62 and hes got it
ReplyDeleteProbably the second most interesting (and certainly the most overlooked) development in Chicago baseball this past offseason (trailing only the national story of the Theo debacle) was the mention of Kenny Williams considering Paul Konerko as the first big league player-manager since Pete Rose. Now Robin Ventura isn't much older and has exactly the same amount of managerial experience as Konerko, so I'm not saying that won't be a car crash. That Konerko experiment would have been a hilarious look into deranged Kenny's mind though. All I can think of as far as Robin's mind are those dumb "appreciate the game" ads running now that are more reminiscent of Jack Handey than Sparky Anderson.
ReplyDeletewant guess dunn's ba/obp/slg?
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