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!

I'll keep this one short and sweet

Tonight, the Sox enter their biggest series of the season, but I suppose you didn't need me to tell you that. With the Sox sitting at 79-64 and six games behind the Twins entering tonight, they will need to sweep the series to even have a remote chance of making a comeback. Even then, trailing by three games with 16 left to play is still a tall mountain to climb, but I'm sure the Sox would rather take their chances with that. Here's how the pitching matchups look for this series:

Tonight: John Danks (13-10, 3.54) vs. Francisco Liriano (13-7, 3.24)
Wednesday: Gavin Floyd (10-12, 3.91) vs. Brian Duensing (8-2, 2.02)
Thursday: Mark Buehrle (12-10, 3.99) vs. Carl Pavano (16-11, 3.47)

Needless to say, I'm pretty confident about the chances of the Sox pulling off a sweep. I know it's a tall order, and it might even be a fantasy, but crazier things have happened. I'm not giving up hope just yet. Let's go Sox!

Rundown of the White Sox's Offseason

Hello again, everybody! It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to really talk about the Sox in-depth on here, so let's get down to business and make up for lost time, huh? I have missed quite a bit of their transactions this winter since the Vizquel signing back in November, so let's recap the Sox's offseason so far, starting with their most recent moves.

Arbitration Sensations

Just yesterday, it was announced that left-handed starter John Danks avoided arbitration, signing a one-year contract worth $3.45 million. Danks was the final player in what ended up being a metaphorical game-winning grand-slam for the Sox in the game of arbitration, as they locked up all four of their arbitration-eligible players (Danks, reliever Tony Pena, Carlos Quentin and Bobby Jenks). While Danks and Quentin were virtual no-brainers for the Sox to lock up (Quentin signed a one-year, $3.2 million deal himself), Jenks was possibly the most surprising signing of them all.

When the Sox signed reliever J.J. Putz to a one-year deal worth three million dollars back in December, it seemed as if Jenks' days on the South Side were numbered. After all, Jenks appeared to be heading into arbitration at full-steam, which prompted rumors that the Sox might have looked into trading him during some point this offseason. However, the Sox have not gone to arbitration with a player since Keith Foulke in 2001, and in recent years, owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been willing to spend a considerable amount of money on players he feels are worth it. This time would be no different, as the Sox inked Jenks to a one-year, $7.5 million deal for the 2010 season. Now that the cloud of uncertainty around Jenks has cleared, the Sox can look forward to the prospect of another solid bullpen for 2010, as Jenks, Putz and Thornton will hopefully prove to be an effective trio. Their presence during the last three innings of a game will effectively shorten it, and when you combine them with a starting rotation that will feature Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, their pitching staff will as formidable as ever this year.

Outfield Additions

In the field, the Sox would acquire two new outfielders this offseason, one via trade and the other through free agency. Andruw Jones- who was once the star center fielder for the Atlanta Braves- signed a one year minor-league deal worth $500,000 on November 25, with the potential to earn $1 million if he performs well enough. A couple of weeks later on December 15, the Sox would acquire center fielder Juan Pierre in a trade with the Dodgers, sending two players to be named later to Los Angeles in exchange for him. The Sox have also agreed to pay part of his contract as well, as Pierre will receive $3 million from the Sox in 2010 and $5 million in 2011. While I believe that both of these deals were pretty good for the Sox, I especially liked the Jones acquisition in particular, because it came at a dirt-cheap cost, and it gives the Sox some flexibility in the outfield, and the DH hole, provided that he becomes remotely decent at the plate this year. While he is certainly not my number one option as a DH/outfielder, he is a good insurance policy for them if they cannot land a DH in free agency, or if someone in the outfield gets hurt this season.

As for the Pierre acquisition, I am all for it; however, getting him still raised some questions for me, though. Scott Podsednik, in his return to Chicago last year, put together a fine season in the lead-off spot, as he hit a team-best .304, with a modest .353 OBP and 30 steals in 132 games with the club. These numbers are pretty solid for your lead-off hitter. Well, when the Sox let "Pods" walk after the season and acquired Pierre to take his place, I told myself: "They're getting the same player!" How so? Well, for starters, Pierre will usually hit for around the same average as Podsednik will, as evidenced in the four point difference in their averages last year (Pierre- .308, Podsednik- .304). Also, they will steal roughly the same amount of bases (they both had 30 steals), score just as many runs (Pierre- 57, Podsednik- 75; Pods was the beneficiary of a slightly better offense), and feature the same kind of fielding in the outfield (below-average glove, weak arm). Comparatively speaking, the Royals would end up signing Pods to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, which the Sox could have easily given him, considering that they're paying Pierre $3 million this year to do the same thing!

I would understand the Sox's motives behind this if Pierre was much younger than Podsednik. But he's not! Podsednik will be 34 in March, while Pierre will be 33 in August. Oh well, perhaps I am just being too sentimental with Pods, seeing that he was one of the key members of the 2005 championship team. My hope is that Pierre will provide the same kind of spark and excitement from the lead-off spot, and that he will be just as productive as Pods was in '05, if not, better.

A Growing Concern

In spite of all of these transactions, the Sox are still in need of a legitimate DH as Spring Training draws closer. Their preference for a DH who can play the field has been a puzzling one, at least for me. General Manager Kenny Williams had to know what he had in mind for this offseason as the 2009 season was coming to a close, and he had to have at least an idea of who would likely be available in the free agent market. If it was in his shopping list to have a DH who could also play the field, then why on earth did he not at least try to bring back Jermaine Dye? While I know that Dye had a sub-par second-half last year, he still finished with some solid numbers, hitting 27 home runs while driving in 81. Since it was pretty much a given that the Sox were not going to go after Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, that relegated them to the second-tier of available DHs in free agency. They were really pursuing Hideki Matsui aggressively at one point, before ultimately losing out to the Angels in that chase.

Why on earth would you rather have Matsui instead of Dye? "J.D." will hit for roughly the same average, will drive in more runs and hit more homers than Matsui. Also, Dye is more more capable of playing an adequate right field whenever necessary, and he would not be the defensive liability that Matsui would be. So why would the Sox let Dye go, when he still has probably two more good seasons in him as a DH/outfielder?

Now that Matsui is off of the market, and Dye won't be eligible to re-join the Sox until May 1 (since they failed to re-sign him during the allotted negotiating period immediately after the season), the Sox are now stuck with two options: they can either take a gamble with what they already have heading into Spring Training, or they can possibly entertain the idea of bringing back Jim Thome to fill the DH void. It is not out of the realm of possibility that they could do this; Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Heyman hinted at this possibility just the other day on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" program, and, in my opinion, bringing the big man back is not such a bad idea (considering the situation they are in at this point). Trading him to the Dodgers back in August gives the Sox a loophole they never would have had if he would have finished the season in Chicago; they no longer have to wait until May 1 to sign him, and they can also bring him back at less than half of the cost of his previous contract (basically meaning that they can get him at a discount).

Plus, we all know that Thome can still mash, and that is all the Sox need for him to do for at least one more year. What is even better is the fact that if Jones ends up panning out, the Sox could potentially platoon Jones and Thome at DH, having Thome hit against righties and Jones against lefties. I know that this idea sounds goofy, but if they do sign Thome and if Jones becomes a major-league player again, it is what they will likely have to do.



Well, to sum things up, it was just another "wheeling-and-dealing" kind of offseason for Kenny Williams and the White Sox, one that is likely not over yet if they decide to go after a DH. Even though I do not exactly agree with every move Williams makes, I do appreciate the fact that he is an aggressive GM that will do all he can to try to assemble and maintain a championship-caliber team. It is also nice to have an owner who is more than willing to spend the bucks to make Williams' vision become a reality as well. When you have a pair like those two, whose primary goal is to win another championship, the offseason will always be an interesting one for Sox fans.