We now move on from the Queen City to the South Side of Chicago for day 13 of our report cards. The Chicago White Sox are today's featured team (I'll try to be as objective as possible with this, I promise)! Here is their record, along with their team leaders:
Chicago White Sox:
Record: 79-83 (Third place in the AL Central, 7.5 games behind Minnesota).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Scott Podsednik (.304)
Home Runs: Paul Konerko (28)
RBIs: Paul Konerko (88)
On-base Percentage: Scott Podsednik (.353)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Mark Buehrle and John Danks (13)
ERA: John Danks (3.77). Bullpen- Matt Thornton (2.74).
Strikeouts: Gavin Floyd (163)
Innings Pitched: Mark Buehrle (213.1)
WHIP: Gavin Floyd (1.23)
Saves: Bobby Jenks (29)
Highlight of the Season: Mark Buehrle's perfect game on July 23, which was only the 18th one ever thrown in MLB history. Did you really think that the highlight of the season was going to be anything else?
Lowlight of the Season: On August 31, the White Sox traded Jim Thome and Jose Contreras to the Dodgers and Rockies, respectively. The trade of these two players (especially the fan favorite Thome) basically gave a signal to the baseball world that the Sox were throwing in the towel for 2009.
The Lowdown:
The defending AL Central Champions came into 2009 with lofty expectations, but the team fell considerably short in their quest for a repeat. Their 79-83 finish was only their second losing season of the decade (joining 2007), but despite this, their season was not a total loss for their fans. They witnessed one of the biggest trades of the year when they acquired former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy from the Padres on July 31. The trade will help solidify their rotation for the next couple of seasons, as well as help them compete in a division with a lot of parity. They also claimed Alex Rios off waivers from Toronto for virtually nothing, with the only provision being that the Sox would cover the rest of his contract (another five years and $60 million). This acquisition will definitely be beneficial to the team if he can somehow return to his 2007 form.
Another thing that gave Sox fans excitement was the emergence of Gordon Beckham, as his performance was nearly good enough for him to net Rookie of the Year honors in the American League. The 2008 first round draft pick out of the University of Georgia spent little time in the minors, as he ended up playing in his first major league game on June 4. Even though he started out slow, his bat- and his defense- eventually heated up, and he gave Sox fans perhaps just a little taste of things to come for him. Topping off the excitement of 2009 was Mark Buehrle's perfect game on July 23, which gave Sox fans memories for a lifetime. What made the accomplishment even more special was the fact that he twirled it against the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, who featured a pretty potent lineup. While all of these things were occurring, the team managed to stay in contention for nearly the whole season, despite hovering around .500 the entire time.
Without further adieu, let's look at the Sox of '09, beginning with the offense.
Offense:
While Chicago's power display was still going strong in '09 (their 184 home runs were eighth in MLB), they unfortunately weren't going deep with many men on base. Their 724 runs was only 19th in MLB, and their team batting average was only .258, good for 21st in the bigs. The most telling stat of them all though, was their on-base percentage, as they finished 20th in that category. It is a simple concept: you can't score runs when you don't have men on base.
One big thing that certainly made the lineup weaker was the absence of left fielder, Carlos Quentin. He was an offensive juggernaut for the Sox in '08, as he pounded out 36 home runs and drove in 100. However, he missed most of the final month of the season (as well as the first round of the playoffs) with a broken wrist. Unfortunately, the injury bug would come back to bite Quentin again in '09, in the form of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He missed nearly two months due to this, but came back to put together a decent season, hitting 21 home runs while driving in 56.
There were a few other standouts in the Pale Hose lineup this past season, including Scott Podsednik, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye. Scotty Pods put together a fine season that reminded many fans of his '05 campaign. Pods hit .304 while stealing 30 bases on the season, and he provided the stability at the top of the lineup that the Sox sorely lacked in 2008. Paul Konerko put up another solid season himself, going deep 28 times and driving in 88, while hitting .277. His batting average is worth noting because it was his highest since 2006, when he hit .313. When Paulie is seeing the ball well, he is a powerful force in that lineup.
Jermaine Dye had another good season power-wise, as he hit 27 home runs and drove in 81. The only downside to his season was that he struggled mightily during the second half, which resulted in his batting average dropping to an uncharacteristically low .250. His slow second half likely gave the Sox more incentive to not bring him back for 2010.
Also putting up decent seasons were catcher AJ Pierzynski and infielders Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez. AJ hit .300 for the first time since 2003, which is always impressive when you take into consideration that he is a catcher. If you don't know already, catchers usually don't hit all that well. Also, Ramirez followed up his stellar rookie campaign with another solid year, hitting .277, with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs. Beckham also featured solid totals in his rookie season, hitting .270, with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs.
Altogether, this lineup was not bad, however they can certainly be a lot better. After the World Championship run of 2005, Sox fans have much higher expectations out of their team, and out of their lineup. We don't mind if you hit a bunch of home runs...just make sure you do it with men on base, though.
Final Grade: C
Pitching:
The Sox got great results from their number one through three starters this season, with the three starters being Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks. Buehrle and Danks were especially great, tying for the team lead in wins with 13, and each logging at least 200 innings. Floyd, who battled back from a slow start, finished his '09 campaign with a solid 11 wins, to go along with a 4.06 ERA, which is pretty average for an AL starting pitcher. He also just missed the 200 innings barrier, tossing 193 in the number three spot in the rotation.
After those three, the four and five spots in the rotation were a black hole, one that really crippled the team throughout the season. Bartolo Colon and Jose Contreras just could not get the job done, as they combined for an abysmal record of 8-19, to go along with a combined ERA of 4.98. Clayton Richard, who also spent some time in the bottom of the rotation before being traded to San Diego for Peavy, was not much better. In 14 starts with the Sox, he recorded a 4-3 record, with a 4.65 ERA. With the addition of Peavy, they'll have less of an issue with the four slot, as either Buehrle, Danks or Floyd will take that spot. However, they still need to make sure that they have a capable number five starter for next year, or else it will be the same song and dance all over again.
The bullpen for the Sox in '09 was fair, to say the least. The best reliever on the staff this past year was not Bobby Jenks, but Matt Thornton. The big left-hander from Three Rivers, Michigan was a stabilizing force in the 'pen for the Sox, as he served mostly as Jenks' set-up man. He recorded a team-high 24 holds, along with striking out 87 batters in just 72.1 innings. He also compiled a 2.74 ERA in that time span as well.
While Jenks put together a decent year in the closer's role, some red flags were raised at the fact that he blew six saves this year. He also recorded a 3.71 ERA, (which is uncharacteristically high for him), to go along with surrendering a career-high nine home runs. Despite this, many Sox fans (including yours truly) believe that this was just an "off" year for him, and he will bounce back next year.
Another reliever that regressed this year was Scott Linebrink. Many people questioned the large contract the Sox handed out to him in 2008 (a four-year, $19 million deal), but he had a solid season in '08, splitting set-up duties with Thornton, and helping stabilize a bullpen that featured a ghastly 5.47 ERA in 2007. However, 2009 left something to be desired for the 33-year-old righty. He slipped considerably, watching his ERA go up nearly a full run to 4.66 this season. If he continues at this rate, people will forget about his one good year in '08, choosing only to remember the hefty contract and how he did not live up to it.
Sox pitching as a whole in 2009, was pretty good. They finished seventh in MLB in team ERA at 4.14, and finished near the bottom in MLB in walks with 507 (they were 27th). The 732 runs the staff surrendered was also in the bottom-third of MLB, finishing 21st. While not quite as effective as 2008, the staff still put up a decent encore performance.
Final Grade: B
Wild Card: Team Speed
The team became much more athletic on the base paths this year, as they stole 113 bases, good for ninth in MLB. This was up from an anemic 67 in '08. When a speedier and much more athletic Tampa Bay team upstaged them in the '08 playoffs, General Manager Kenny Williams knew it was time for a change. I'd say that he did a great job in addressing that weakness this season.
Final Grade: B
Overall:
Failing to make consecutive playoff appearances is always disappointing. However, this year was clearly one of transition for the Sox, as they lost their left half of the infield (third baseman Joe Crede and shortstop Orlando Cabrera), outfielder Nick Swisher and Javier Vazquez in their rotation. With an eye clearly looking toward 2010 and beyond, Williams opted to go with youth on the left side of the infield, placing Beckham at third and moving Ramirez to short. Filling the void left by Swisher's absence, Williams acquired Alex Rios from Toronto. While Rios had a sub-par performance in the second-half, the jury is still out on him. He also eventually replaced Vazquez's spot in the rotation with an even better pitcher in Jake Peavy. Unfortunately, Peavy was not able to contribute until the end of the season due to injury. While all of these moves may not have paid immediate dividends in 2009, they certainly placed the team in a much better position to succeed in 2010.
Final Grade: C+
Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Milwaukee Brewers!
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