If you live on the South Side of Chicago you are probably one of those crazy White Sox fans who have been around this game for years and if you’re not well that's your loss. The last World Series title the White Sox won was back in 2005 where they swept the Huston Astors in four games and since then they haven't won anything else. Their last postseason run was back in 2008 and after that they haven't been seen in the postseason. In 2011 they will try to take back what was once their American League Central Division, but it's not going to be easy. This is another division that might come down to the wire at the end of this season.
The White Sox pitching staff is filled with ups and downs in this rotation and they really don't have that "Ace" on this pitching staff to run this rotation and you need an ace on your team. My best bet if they were to pick an ace it would be Mark Buehrle. Buehrle who threw a perfect game in 2009 had an alright year in 2010. He did win a Gold Glove award for the American League pitchers but the thing that really stands out about Buehrle is that he's not a power pitcher like Halladay, Lincecum, Price, and so on and he still threw a perfect game.
Buehrle is more of a ground ball pitcher and lets the fielders field the ball the win balls game. Also he has been part of this White Sox team in his whole career since 2000 and is the leader of this ball club. In 2010 Buehrle had an ERA of 4.28, 13 wins, 13 losses, and 99 strikeouts. The Sox number two starting pitcher who is another guy who has been part of this team for a long time in right hander Gavin Floyd, now Floyd I think could be a lot better pitcher if he learned how to control his stuff and his best year was back in 2008 where he won 17 games and after that he never lived up to the hype that people talked about. Floyd is still pretty young at 28 years old but sooner or later he's going to reach back for a little something more. The best about this kid is he is an inning eater and always gives his team a chance to win. Floyd in 2010 posted a 4.08 ERA, 10 wins, 13 losses, and 151 strikeouts. The Sox number three starter is a young power pitcher in John Danks who could someday find himself the ace of this team at the age of 25 years old. Danks this a good fastball thrower and can really shut down hitters with his off speed breaking pitches, for a kid at the age of 25 he really knows how to pitch well. In 2010 he had a pretty year with a 3.72 ERA, 15 wins, 11 losses, and 162 strikeouts. Their number four start is the guy who they got during the trade deadline last year in Edwin Jackson.
Jackson who came over from the D-Backs last summer was one of five pitchers to throw a no-hitter last year and the thing about his no-hitter was he had 6 walks and 149 pitches thrown, at one point during that game he had the bases loaded with no outs and got out of that inning. A game that looked like it could have ended early, ended beautifully. Jackson when he came over to the White Sox won 4 games, loss 2 games and had an ERA of 3.24; altogether he had 10 wins, 12 losses, 181 strikeouts, and an ERA of 4.47 in 2010. Last pitcher in this rotation is Jack Peavy who in 2011 might have to fight for his spot. In one point of his career he wasn't that bad of a pitcher to have on your team; in 2007 he won the NL CY Young award with the San Diego Padres winning 19 games. But over the past few years Peavy has been battling shoulders issues and have really never came back the same pitcher he once was. When Peavy pitched in 2010 he had an ERA of 4.63, 7 wins, 6 losses, and 93 strikeouts.
The White Sox bullpen is a big time mess after losing closer Bobby Jenks the Sox have no idea who their new closer will be. During the offseason they did pick up hard ball thrower Jesse Crain from the Minnesota Twins. Crain still doesn't know what his role will be in the pen, closer or set-up man. Crain I think was a good pick up for the Sox because he knows this division really well playing with rival division team the Twins.
He will stay in the division and I think if he is used as a closer he will do a really good job. As a set-up man for the Twins his number looked like this - ERA 3.04, 21 HLD, and 62 strikeouts. Next is rookie star pitcher Chris Sale who is only 21 years and could be the closer for the White Sox, but I think they really want to see how well this kid does during spring training. It's never easy being a closer for a team at the age of 21. Last year Sale only saved 4 games, with 32 strikeouts, and an ERA 1.93. Next is set-up man Sergio Santos who is a big time inning eater and can really come in and get the job done. He throws a good fastball around 93 MPH and will be a key player this season. Last year Santos posted a 2.96 ERA, 14 HLD, 56 strikeouts. Last guy in the pen is set-up man Matt Thornton who might be their new closer in 2011 but again the Sox still have no idea who will take over this job. Thornton is a fastball thrower and can reach 96 MPH at times and last year he had an ERA 2.67, 21 HLD, and 81 strikeouts. Look out for him to have a pretty good year.
The White Sox line-up for the past few years has been one of the best in the AL and this year they will have a even better line-up. During the offseason one of big pieces they landed was first baseman Adam Dunn from the Washington Nationals and with Dunn in a power hitter’s field he could easily hit 50 or more home runs this season. The White Sox reported that Dunn with bat third in the line-up as their DH and he will play first base from time to time. The only thing that comes with a power hitter like Dunn is he does strikeouts a lot and I think if he can work on that he will have a shot at batting closer to .300 maybe around .280 or .285. I also think with having Dunn in this line-up it will help other players in front of him and behind him saying
"hey we got the big guy coming up next who can go yard" that's what Dunn brings to the table and I think the South Side of Chicago will be a great fit for him. Dunn in 2010 with the Nats hit .260, hit 38 home runs, and drove in 103 RBI's. Over to the catchers’ spot where they have one of the best in A.J. Pierzynski who has been in this league since 1998 and this will be his 7th year with the White Sox. A.J. is a great hitter who always hits for average every year and is a good catcher behind the plate. Last season he hit .270, hit 9 home runs, and drove in 56 RBI's. Over at shortstop they have who I think is one the best shortstops in the league in Alexei Ramirez. Here is a guy who I think a lot of people overlook him because he's not a big name shortstop but he has a great arm and last year he really showed that he is one of the premier shortstops in the game and last year he really showed off his power and speed. Last year he hit .282, hit 18 home runs, and drove in 70 RBI's. Next is long time veteran at first baseman who people love on the South Side of Chicago in Paul Konerko.
Now that Dunn is in this line-up it will help him out a lot more in batting in the fourth hole. Now he can be a little more relax knowing that not everything is put on him and knows that someone else in this line-up can get the job done. Konerko is one of the other leaders in this ball club and in 2010 he showed that once again batting .312, hit 39 home runs, and drove in 111 RBI's. Next is center fielder Alex Riso who is another big power hitter in this line-up and had a really good bounce year. Another thing about him is he also strikeouts out a lot but when he doesn't he can hit a ball a long way. In 2010 he had a better year than he did in 2009 batting .284, hit 21 home runs, and drove in 88 RBI's. Last guy in this line-up who they really need to have a better year from is right fielder Carlos Quentin. Now when this guy is on he is on but in the past 2 seasons he has had an off years. We all know Quentin has the power skills and doesn't strikeout a lot but for some reason he can't hit for average and if he did he would be one of the better hitters in the game. Last year Quentin hit .243, hit 26 home runs, and drove in 87 RBI's.
So in 2011 look for the White Sox to come on strong but also remember that they do have a weak pitching staff and if they can get through the whole season with that rotation and win a division title then more power to this team. But all and all I think when the 2011 trade deadline comes around they might have to make a move for a better pitcher on the market.
No comments:
Post a Comment