Last Night's Loss a Truly Painful One

After witnessing this team pull off their improbable World Series victory six years ago, there are not too many games (regular season or otherwise) that will have me feeling badly after defeat. However, last night's game tested my patience considerably.

There are not too many games where you will see a team comeback three times after the 8th inning to tie the game, but that's what the White Sox did last night. They trailed Washington 3-0 entering the bottom of the 9th inning, when pinch-hitter Mark Teahen hit a game-tying, three-run homer off of Drew Storen. Making things even more improbable, the homer was only his second of the season.

The euphoria that came with that homer unfortunately did not last, as Lance Nix broke the tie in the top of the 10th with a solo homer to give the Nats a 4-3 lead. Undeterred, the Sox tied the game again in the bottom half of that frame on a Todd Coffey wild pitch. One of the more aggravating parts of this game came in Brent Lillibridge's at-bat following wild pitch. Not only did Lillibridge miss the most epic hanging breaking ball of all-time during his at-bat, Coffey threw a pitch far enough inside to Lillibridge where it could have hit him and won the game. However, Lillibridge jumped out of the way of the pitch. The pitch was waist-high on the inner-half, you have to take one for the team, Brent! Nonetheless, he struck out, which effectively killed that inning's rally. Teahen would fly out to end the inning and send the game deeper into the night.

The Nats took a 5-4 lead in the 12th inning, and were one strike away from ending the game when A.J. Pierzynski tied it with a solo home run. I thought to myself afterwards: "Good fortune has to fall the Sox's way tonight, right?"

Well, no. They were one out away from getting out of a sticky situation in the top of the 14th, when Alexei Ramirez's throwing error ended up plating another go-ahead run for the Nationals. Washington would tack on three more runs after that, and would win the game 9-5 in 14 tense, agonizing innings.

The Sox currently sit at 37-40, just 4.5 games out of first. However, if you have watched the Sox all year, 4.5 games almost feels like 8.5. They can never show any signs of consistency. Everytime they have a golden opportunity to make up some ground in the division, it seems like they squander it. Last night, Detroit, Cleveland and Minnesota each lost, which would have put the Sox in a great situation to make up ground in the division, while widening the gulf between them and Minnesota. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass.

With the Sox only four games away from the mathematical half-way point in the season (81 games), you almost wonder if this is who they are, a team that will be lucky to finish with 83 wins. The way they have played up until this point of the season has not exactly filled me with dreams of seeing them play in October.

Oh well. Here's to hoping the Sox can win the next two against the Nasty Nats.

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 20- Chicago White Sox

Now I present to you perhaps the easiest report card for me to write, the one on my beloved South Siders!

Chicago White Sox

Record: 88-74 (Second place in AL Central, six games behind Minnesota)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: Paul Konerko (.312)

Home Runs: Paul Konerko (39)

RBIs: Paul Konerko (111)

On-base Percentage: Paul Konerko (.393)

Pitching Leaders

Wins: John Danks (15)

Strikeouts: John Danks (162)

Innings Pitched: John Danks (213)

ERA: John Danks (3.72). Bullpen- Matt Thornton (2.67)

WHIP: John Danks (1.22). Bullpen- Matt Thornton (1.01)

Saves: Bobby Jenks (27)

Highlight of the Year: An 11-game win streak from June 15 through June 26, which vaulted the team back into contention. The streak was the team’s longest since 1961, and by the time it was over, the Sox went from 7.5 games behind the Twins to just a game and a half. They would eventually move into first place by the All-Star break.

Lowlight of the Year: A horrific 3-10 record against the Twins after the All-Star break, which essentially decided the division.

The Lowdown:

The 2010 season was quite the rollercoaster ride for the White Sox and their fans, as it seemed that there was never a dull moment during any point of the season. The year featured plenty of fireworks, drama and surprises; between the team starting 22-28, Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams nearly coming to blows, their 11-game win streak and bringing on the controversial Manny Ramirez for the final weeks of the season, 2010 was packed full of enough drama to be a good subject of a reality show.

In fact, the Sox were a subject of a reality show, as MLB Network aired “The Club” during the course of the season that detailed the inner workings of the Sox’s front office between GM Kenny Williams, owner Jerry Reinsdorf and the ever-loquacious Ozzie Guillen. The show was not only entertaining, but also informative, as viewers were treated to how decisions are made in a MLB front office during the season.

Perhaps the decision the team suffered from the most was the one to not bring back the popular Jim Thome as DH for the season, as the Sox shuffled between three DHs throughout the year. Neither Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones or Manny Ramirez were able to pull their weight enough to efficiently support the lineup, and Thome’s resurgent 2010 campaign certainly did not make the Sox’s decision look any better. However, they did receive some outstanding performances at the plate from Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Pierre, as well as some rock-solid pitching from John Danks and the rest of the rotation. The 2010 season may have ended on a disappointing note, but with the way the team started the year, their admirable finish was something to be proud of.

Offense:

Chicago’s offense was essentially led by the aforementioned Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Pierre in 2010, as all four of them put together outstanding years at the plate. Konerko nearly made a case for winning the AL MVP, finishing second in the AL in homers (39), eighth in batting average (.312), sixth in RBIs (111) and tied for fifth in on-base percentage (.393). Konerko’s performance was perhaps the best all-around one of his career, and while Josh Hamilton was fantastic for Texas, a strong case could have been made for Konerko winning the MVP had the Sox made the playoffs.

Behind Konerko was center fielder Alex Rios, who put together a fantastic comeback season, hitting .284, with 21 home runs and 88 RBIs in 147 games. Even though Rios cooled off a bit in the second-half, he was white-hot in the first half, hitting .305 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs. Interestingly enough, he was left off of the American League All-Star team, perhaps the only real snub on either side.

Even though Juan Pierre did not make the All-Star team, he put together a season that made people remember why he’s such a dangerous lead-off hitter. While his average does not seem impressive (he hit only .275 this year), he was a force to be reckoned with once he reached base, stealing a MLB-best 68 bases.

Rounding out this quartet of hitters is Alexei Ramirez, who captured the first AL Silver Slugger award of his career at shortstop, hitting .282 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. His consistent bat at short should make him a mainstay in the Sox infield for the next few seasons. The performances of these four were good enough to mask some of the warts in this lineup, including sub-par seasons from the DHs, as well as Carlos Quentin, who hit only .243 despite his 26 home runs and 87 RBIs.

Overall, the White Sox finished 10^th in runs (752), seventh in batting average (.268), 12^th in on-base percentage (.332), eighth in slugging (.420) and seventh in home runs (177). Their lineup may have started off slowly, but once June arrived, they collectively performed up to their standard, for the most part.

Final Grade: B+

Pitching:

While Buehrle has been considered the staff ace for the better part of eight years, a strong case can be made for lefty John Danks assuming that role very soon. Danks led the team in virtually all of the major pitching categories (seen above in “Pitching Leaders”), and he has begun to display the mentality of a staff ace by going deeper into ballgames this year. Ozzie Guillen and the coaching staff have managed Danks’ innings quite efficiently throughout his brief three year career, and the time may have arrived to where they can let him loose without worry of overwork.

The rest of the staff was decent throughout the season, as many of the starters battled back from slow starts to finish with solid numbers. Gavin Floyd started the season horrifically before finding his rhythm just before the All-Star break, finishing with a 10-13 record with a 4.08 ERA. Mark Buehrle was an innings eater once again, tossing in 213 of them, but his 13-13 record with a 4.28 ERA leaves something to be desired. Freddy Garcia was up-and-down for the most part, finishing 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA, while Peavy wasn’t much better, going 7-6 with a 4.63 ERA before succumbing to a shoulder injury on July 6. The injury was unfortunate, as Peavy appeared to be bouncing back from an awful start, recording a 1.75 ERA over five starts in June.

In order to make up for Peavy’s absence, the Sox traded a promising hurler by the name of Daniel Hudson to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Even though the trade seemed puzzling at first (Jackson had a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts with Arizona), Jackson seemed to benefit from returning to the American League, recording a 3.24 ERA in 11 starts with Chicago.

While their starting pitching seemed to hold steady after recovering from a terrible start, their bullpen did not experience too many issues, finishing 10^th in MLB with a 3.73 ERA. Set-up man (and occasional closer) Matt Thornton was the best reliever in the Sox’s bullpen this year, finishing with a WHIP of 1.01 and an ERA of 2.67 in a team-high 61 appearances. Righty J.J. Putz nearly matched his numbers, recording a WHIP of 1.04 with an ERA of 2.83 in 60 appearances. Righty and converted shortstop Sergio Santos was also very effective out of the ‘pen, recording a 2.96 ERA in 56 appearances.

The most disappointing performer out of the bullpen however was Bobby Jenks. Even though he still recorded 27 saves, his ERA was an unsightly 4.44. While there were a myriad of reasons why the Sox failed to win the division, Jenks was certainly one of them, as he blew three crucial saves in the second-half, including losing a critical must-win game against the Twins on July 18. While Guillen’s decision to continue to stick with Jenks was admirable, the manager must have felt conflicted as to how to resolve the issue of the closer’s role.

Collectively the staff finished 18^th in ERA (4.09), sixth in quality starts (94), 16^th in WHIP (1.36), 22^nd in “batting average against” (.264) and 24^th in home runs allowed (136). It was a mediocre performance overall, one that could have been remedied with a better April and May.

Final Grade: C+

Wild Card: Team Speed and Omar Vizquel

The Sox finished second in the American League and in MLB in steals with 160, trailing only Tampa Bay’s 172. Four players reached double-digit figures in steals, including Juan Pierre (68), Alex Rios (34), Alexei Ramirez (13) and the 43-year-old Omar Vizquel (11).

Vizquel’s importance to this team should not go without mention, either. He filled in capably at third once Mark Teahen went down to an injury, hitting .290 against righties while playing outstanding defense, as usual. Having second baseman Gordon Beckham and shortstop Ramirez under his tutelage should bode well for their defense, as well.

Final Grade: A

Overall:

The Sox finished with an okay record, but if you were to pinpoint two reasons why they missed the playoffs, it would be their dismal start, along with a dreadful 5-13 overall record against the Twins. The Sox have the pieces in place to go to the playoffs, but they simply need to execute better and play more consistently.

Final Grade: B

Check back soon for the report card on the Boston Red Sox!