White Sox Observer Recent Posts https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/rss/ An in-depth examination of the White Sox using stats, snark, and some genuine baseball know-how Wed, 24 Oct 2012 05:45:45 -0500 en-us Inevitably I'll realize I forgot something, and will have to come back https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/inevitably-ill-realize-i-forgot-something-and-will-have-to-come-back/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/inevitably-ill-realize-i-forgot-something-and-will-have-to-come-back/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 05:45:45 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4193 Southside Showdown to be co-editors of what I am sure will now be one of the strongest Sox blogs around. But it will only be one of them. Another will be Future Sox, and yet another will be Art of the Pale Hose. ChicagoNow's White Sox coverage remains in good hands. To be honest, you should probably just read all three of these sites.  It's the only prudent response. This has been a rather rambling and indirect goodbye, but that's because it's not a goodbye, just a change--an exciting one at that, and I hope you'll follow me through it.]]> Southside Showdown to be co-editors of what I am sure will now be one of the strongest Sox blogs around. But it will only be one of them. Another will be Future Sox, and yet another will be Art of the Pale Hose. ChicagoNow's White Sox coverage remains in good hands. To be honest, you should probably just read all three of these sites.  It's the only prudent response. This has been a rather rambling and indirect goodbye, but that's because it's not a goodbye, just a change--an exciting one at that, and I hope you'll follow me through it.]]> Saturday morning cart--er, White Sox notes https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/saturday-morning-cart-er-white-sox-notes/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/saturday-morning-cart-er-white-sox-notes/#comments Sat, 20 Oct 2012 05:45:17 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4188 failed to win the AL Comeback Player of the Year award.  Between this and the 2011 post-All-Star break pact he made with Alex Rios to save the season, it might be time to start taking Dunn's solemn, steely-eyed vows with a grain of salt. Of course, the reason Dunn was supposed to fail was that his buddy Rios went and became an even better hitter than him, with the help of Jeff Manto's tutelage and Ozzie Guillen's absence.  But Tampa Bay Rays closer Fernando Rodney earned the honors instead, which seems like...probably a bad call. Not to minimize Rodney's season, which was absolutely tremendous (0.60 ERA), but a live-armed reliever with strikeout stuff fixing his control problems--especially with the help of a pitching coach as excellent as Jim Hickey--isn't exactly unheard of (Matt Thornton, Bobby Jenks, etc.)  Rodney breaking Dennis Eckersley's ERA mark is probably to thank for the attention he received. I would have opted for Jake Peavy.  This season certainly offered a reminder for how difficult it is to compose a 200-inning season, and for Peavy to flirt with the 220 mark after three years in the woods, and a surgery to re-attach his latissimus dorsi muscle certainly offer the novelty Rodney lacks.  Then again, maybe it's good for Peavy.  The award is sponsored by Viagra, and maybe it would be awkward to hear the phrase "Everyone at Viagra congratulates you on not only returning to, but exceeding your previous levels of performance." Speaking of Durability... Jeff Zimmerman of FanGraphs published his disabled list summary on Thursday, and the historically injury-avoiding White Sox finished...2nd, with just under 500 days lost in 2012. Herm Schneider has been employed with the Sox for a very, very long time, and healthy years have become the norm. Even still, between John Danks going down for the year, Brent Morel and Alejandro De Aza's glitchy backs, Jesse Crain's dueling obliques, Gavin Floyd's elbow, and even Brian Bruney's hip, it seemed like a bit of a rough year. Even if managing the old aches and pains of Kevin Youkilis, Paul Konerko, and Adam Dunn, or the fatigue of Jose Quintana and Chris Sale, never required long absences. Thus, the only explanation for this seeming like a bad year for health is that Schneider has spoiled everyone rotten, as the White Sox preposterous lead over the last three years reveals. For a reminder of Herm's greatness, Zimmerman includes a link at the end to the incredible story of Schneider treating Greg Walker when he suffered a seizure during pre-game warm-ups in 1988. A-Rod?  Really, we're talking about A-Rod? The Yankees bailing on a (until further notice) healthy Alex Rodriguez at the tail end of their playoff run has stirred speculation that his departure from New York could be imminent. Since the White Sox have a solar system-devouring black hole at 3rd base if they don't re-sign Kevin Youkilis, there's a natural curiosity on his availability. Rodriguez remains an above-average player, albeit one with health problems. The only caveat to pursuing him in a trade is the contract, which with five years and $114 million remaining, is one of the most onerous in sports. It's certainly onerous to any kind of negotiations.  The Yankees have gone and alienated Rodriguez in favor of inferior options during the playoffs, but they still need enough mutual discontent to power them through deciding to trade him, eating gargantuan piles of money, and accepting a pittance in return.  All of which would be necessary for acquiring Rodriguez as a solution at 3rd to be a feasible option.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> failed to win the AL Comeback Player of the Year award.  Between this and the 2011 post-All-Star break pact he made with Alex Rios to save the season, it might be time to start taking Dunn's solemn, steely-eyed vows with a grain of salt. Of course, the reason Dunn was supposed to fail was that his buddy Rios went and became an even better hitter than him, with the help of Jeff Manto's tutelage and Ozzie Guillen's absence.  But Tampa Bay Rays closer Fernando Rodney earned the honors instead, which seems like...probably a bad call. Not to minimize Rodney's season, which was absolutely tremendous (0.60 ERA), but a live-armed reliever with strikeout stuff fixing his control problems--especially with the help of a pitching coach as excellent as Jim Hickey--isn't exactly unheard of (Matt Thornton, Bobby Jenks, etc.)  Rodney breaking Dennis Eckersley's ERA mark is probably to thank for the attention he received. I would have opted for Jake Peavy.  This season certainly offered a reminder for how difficult it is to compose a 200-inning season, and for Peavy to flirt with the 220 mark after three years in the woods, and a surgery to re-attach his latissimus dorsi muscle certainly offer the novelty Rodney lacks.  Then again, maybe it's good for Peavy.  The award is sponsored by Viagra, and maybe it would be awkward to hear the phrase "Everyone at Viagra congratulates you on not only returning to, but exceeding your previous levels of performance." Speaking of Durability... Jeff Zimmerman of FanGraphs published his disabled list summary on Thursday, and the historically injury-avoiding White Sox finished...2nd, with just under 500 days lost in 2012. Herm Schneider has been employed with the Sox for a very, very long time, and healthy years have become the norm. Even still, between John Danks going down for the year, Brent Morel and Alejandro De Aza's glitchy backs, Jesse Crain's dueling obliques, Gavin Floyd's elbow, and even Brian Bruney's hip, it seemed like a bit of a rough year. Even if managing the old aches and pains of Kevin Youkilis, Paul Konerko, and Adam Dunn, or the fatigue of Jose Quintana and Chris Sale, never required long absences. Thus, the only explanation for this seeming like a bad year for health is that Schneider has spoiled everyone rotten, as the White Sox preposterous lead over the last three years reveals. For a reminder of Herm's greatness, Zimmerman includes a link at the end to the incredible story of Schneider treating Greg Walker when he suffered a seizure during pre-game warm-ups in 1988. A-Rod?  Really, we're talking about A-Rod? The Yankees bailing on a (until further notice) healthy Alex Rodriguez at the tail end of their playoff run has stirred speculation that his departure from New York could be imminent. Since the White Sox have a solar system-devouring black hole at 3rd base if they don't re-sign Kevin Youkilis, there's a natural curiosity on his availability. Rodriguez remains an above-average player, albeit one with health problems. The only caveat to pursuing him in a trade is the contract, which with five years and $114 million remaining, is one of the most onerous in sports. It's certainly onerous to any kind of negotiations.  The Yankees have gone and alienated Rodriguez in favor of inferior options during the playoffs, but they still need enough mutual discontent to power them through deciding to trade him, eating gargantuan piles of money, and accepting a pittance in return.  All of which would be necessary for acquiring Rodriguez as a solution at 3rd to be a feasible option.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> White Sox slash ticket prices with great purpose https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-slash-ticket-prices-with-great-purpose/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-slash-ticket-prices-with-great-purpose/#comments Fri, 19 Oct 2012 05:45:52 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4183 capital--on fan enthusiasm by raising ticket prices. Another fun ritual is for baseball teams deep in the clutches of a multi-year attendance slide (such as, a run of six years of diminishing returns like the White Sox are in) to start exhausting every possible means of meeting their increasingly disinterested fans halfway. On Thursday, the White Sox emphatically opted for the latter, unveiling a bevy of planned cuts to the price of attending games at U.S. Cellular Field in 2013.
  • Corner outfield seats are available for $20 all-year-round save for Opening Day and the Cubs series, while corner upper deck seats will be $7.  That sets more reasonable bare minimums to enter the 100-level concourse (since the ban on upper level ticket buyers entering the low concourse appears to be staying), and the ballpark itself.
  • Parking has been reduced to $20 per game from a previous mark of $25, and will go down to $10 on Sundays.
  • 27-game season plans will cost more than 25% less "on average".
  • $810 now represents the cheapest full-season ticket available.
  • The cost of premium upper box and upper reserved seats are being reduced by 17%, regular upper box seats are having their prices slashed by 28%.
It's a big glut of price-cutting information, but here are some notes. The changes are being introduced as a response to a study conducted by independent consultant Rich Luker, an author and columnist for the Sports Business Journal.  It of course sounds goofy for the White Sox to implicate that they needed an expert to tell them that their first big step in reversing a six-year slide in attendance is to stop banging on the door of the top five most expensive fan experiences in the sport.   But Luker probably helped calibrate the extent of the cuts. The cuts should have a significant effect on Half-Price Mondays, if for no reason besides that $7 seems like as low as the team would go for park admission.  That's one of many details--along with whether a raise can be expected for premium sections (and how much of one), or the details and requirements of smaller partial season plans--that won't be fleshed out until more is finalized. Next season brings construction and disruption to the CTA Red Line, which has been seen as a possible hindrance to attendance.  It's unlikely that the White Sox would be hedging against a collapse in traffic when they could simply aggressively push the Green Line as a public transportation alternative, but the parking reductions will offer temptation for those hesitant to adapt. Finally, the White Sox for years have put their price out ahead of their performance, in anticipation of the day where the team would catch up and drive in a torrent of revenue.  For years, they brushed off suggestions even just to slash the prices of the very cheapest of the upper deck seats for the sake of filling them.  While dynamic pricing actually saw the prices of some games drop in response to demand in 2012, we're still less than two years removed from Chairman Reinsdorf requesting with full seriousness for fans to invest with vigor in early-season tickets in response to theoretical off-season improvements. In that light, this a sudden and significant change in tune.  Even if a trip into the morass of a newspaper comment section finds fans railing that this proposal only goes half as far as it needs to, it's a trip to see the Sox walking in this direction at all. As far as breaking points go, six consecutively worse years at the office and finishing under two million total fans is a legitimate one.  But a cynical man--perhaps a man embittered by watching the Tigers celebrate being able to string seven wins together after a disappointing regular season, perhaps a man who hasn't seen a home playoff game since his college years, perhaps just a burnt-out blogger at the end of a long week--might point out that a concession in prices is an awfully good way to prime a fanbase for a more challenging period of baseball lying ahead.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> capital--on fan enthusiasm by raising ticket prices. Another fun ritual is for baseball teams deep in the clutches of a multi-year attendance slide (such as, a run of six years of diminishing returns like the White Sox are in) to start exhausting every possible means of meeting their increasingly disinterested fans halfway. On Thursday, the White Sox emphatically opted for the latter, unveiling a bevy of planned cuts to the price of attending games at U.S. Cellular Field in 2013.
  • Corner outfield seats are available for $20 all-year-round save for Opening Day and the Cubs series, while corner upper deck seats will be $7.  That sets more reasonable bare minimums to enter the 100-level concourse (since the ban on upper level ticket buyers entering the low concourse appears to be staying), and the ballpark itself.
  • Parking has been reduced to $20 per game from a previous mark of $25, and will go down to $10 on Sundays.
  • 27-game season plans will cost more than 25% less "on average".
  • $810 now represents the cheapest full-season ticket available.
  • The cost of premium upper box and upper reserved seats are being reduced by 17%, regular upper box seats are having their prices slashed by 28%.
It's a big glut of price-cutting information, but here are some notes. The changes are being introduced as a response to a study conducted by independent consultant Rich Luker, an author and columnist for the Sports Business Journal.  It of course sounds goofy for the White Sox to implicate that they needed an expert to tell them that their first big step in reversing a six-year slide in attendance is to stop banging on the door of the top five most expensive fan experiences in the sport.   But Luker probably helped calibrate the extent of the cuts. The cuts should have a significant effect on Half-Price Mondays, if for no reason besides that $7 seems like as low as the team would go for park admission.  That's one of many details--along with whether a raise can be expected for premium sections (and how much of one), or the details and requirements of smaller partial season plans--that won't be fleshed out until more is finalized. Next season brings construction and disruption to the CTA Red Line, which has been seen as a possible hindrance to attendance.  It's unlikely that the White Sox would be hedging against a collapse in traffic when they could simply aggressively push the Green Line as a public transportation alternative, but the parking reductions will offer temptation for those hesitant to adapt. Finally, the White Sox for years have put their price out ahead of their performance, in anticipation of the day where the team would catch up and drive in a torrent of revenue.  For years, they brushed off suggestions even just to slash the prices of the very cheapest of the upper deck seats for the sake of filling them.  While dynamic pricing actually saw the prices of some games drop in response to demand in 2012, we're still less than two years removed from Chairman Reinsdorf requesting with full seriousness for fans to invest with vigor in early-season tickets in response to theoretical off-season improvements. In that light, this a sudden and significant change in tune.  Even if a trip into the morass of a newspaper comment section finds fans railing that this proposal only goes half as far as it needs to, it's a trip to see the Sox walking in this direction at all. As far as breaking points go, six consecutively worse years at the office and finishing under two million total fans is a legitimate one.  But a cynical man--perhaps a man embittered by watching the Tigers celebrate being able to string seven wins together after a disappointing regular season, perhaps a man who hasn't seen a home playoff game since his college years, perhaps just a burnt-out blogger at the end of a long week--might point out that a concession in prices is an awfully good way to prime a fanbase for a more challenging period of baseball lying ahead.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Blow it all up!: and other ideas for the White Sox off-season https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/blow-it-all-up-and-other-ideas-for-the-white-sox-off-season/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/blow-it-all-up-and-other-ideas-for-the-white-sox-off-season/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:45:17 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4176 Jake Peavy's Impending Free Agency Unless there's a gas leak at 35th & Shields, there will be no change to the decision to decline Peavy's $22 million option.  Peavy could have won the Cy Young and singlehandedly won six playoff games, and they'd still probably have bought him out and renegotiated. But the starting rotation is arguably one place where the Sox have already begun to turn things over.  Just with what they already have on hand, the Sox could offer up a starting core of Chris Sale, John Danks, Jose Quintana, Hector Santiago, and Gavin Floyd, and fill-in the spot starts with qualified candidates from the Charlie Leesman/Simon Castro crowd. Of course, Danks needs to prove he'll throw again in life, and Quintana and Santiago might not be any good, but at least there'd be a reasonable hope of success, and free agent compensation to be had from Peavy. That would be the cagey rebuilding move, whereas a more competitive-minded team would see who of the Peavy/James Shields/Brandon McCarthy crowd is the least unreasonably-priced, and fill up one of those question marks with something more reliable. Kevin Youkilis and the 3rd base vacuum Another player the White Sox have pre-committed to declining the option of. There's nothing to like about the direction Kevin Youkilis' career is going.  Two years ago he was an All-Star caliber 1st basemen--someone legitimately more deserving of the honor than Paul Konerko.  Since then, it's been more strikeouts, less power, and less health, and at a pretty steep rate, even if you write off his last months in Boston as poisoned. Yet the standard for White Sox 3rd basemen has not changed since he was brought on in June.  It's still "be better than the worst player in baseball".  Any team trotting out Brent Morel after a lost season filled with troubling back problems and terrible performance in the minors, is rebuilding with a bullet, or planning to spend $300 million lining the rest of the diamond with superstars. That leaves the Sox between a rock and a hard place.  Or more specifically, between a bad contract and a suck vortex.  Even in rebuilding years, teams like to play major leaguers, and unless the Mets botch the hell out of re-signing David Wright while simultaneously declining his option, there are no outside solutions. They could do almost anything here--even load up Morel with 550 plate appearances--and I would do my best to understand.  Unless it's rush Carlos Sanchez up and push him to 3rd base.  That movie was bad enough the first time. A.J. Pierzynski & Tyler Flowers A move to sign a 36 year-old catcher coming off of an out-of-nowhere career year would be ridiculed for its logic free of context. But like all things with the White Sox & A.J. Pierzynski, special consideration is given.  Another all-in White Sox team would probably take Pierzynski up on his desire to return. But any team built with an eye toward the future at all should try conserve resources by giving Tyler Flowers a chance to be an affordable starter for a few years.  He's responded well to what few stretches of concentrated playing time he's gotten, and will at least be a capable receiver with plenty of power to enthusiastically punish mistakes. Brett Myers? $10 million seems like a curious price to pay for someone of Myers' ability (and declining strikeout rate) unless he's going to start, and he isn't necessarily an attractive candidate to eat innings unless Gavin Floyd is used as a trade chip.  Speaking of which... Gavin Floyd's $9.5 million option Pick it up.  Assets are not to be shirked. Trades Assuming the rest of the league is smart... The idea that Alex Rios is "only good in even-numbered years" is at best one step above astrology, but there should be a healthy amount of skepticism about his ability to perform consistently.  He has at least proven that comfort is important for his performance.  However, it'll be hard for Rios to ever have more trade value (big year, still only 31, two years of control left, healthy) than he has now.  He's also the most reliable White Sox hitter going forward, which gives a lot of value to his presence here, and it might make sense to wait till a Trayce Thompson replacement is actually ready. If it required a saber-friendly team to appreciate how Adam Dunn was valuable in his prime, than surely no one is going to be distracted enough by his gaudy home run totals to ignore that his total batting line .204/.333/.468 was pretty uninspiring for a bat-only player with two years left on his deal. Would Rick Hahn trade Paul Konerko for a prospect or two, and make way for Dan Johnson to fill space?  It probably isn't much use to ponder if someone's completely merciless without having seen them kill first. Alexei Ramirez is coming off of his worst season as a hitter.  Besides the simple matter of reliable shortstops being impossible to find, the Sox would be smart to let him build back some of his value. Admittedly, I recently bemoaned the state of the White Sox relief corps.  But by rule, any reliever save for perhaps Reed that someone wants to give away something of significance for should be dealt.   This has already been enough of an enormous information/opinion dump without a wordy conclusion.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Jake Peavy's Impending Free Agency Unless there's a gas leak at 35th & Shields, there will be no change to the decision to decline Peavy's $22 million option.  Peavy could have won the Cy Young and singlehandedly won six playoff games, and they'd still probably have bought him out and renegotiated. But the starting rotation is arguably one place where the Sox have already begun to turn things over.  Just with what they already have on hand, the Sox could offer up a starting core of Chris Sale, John Danks, Jose Quintana, Hector Santiago, and Gavin Floyd, and fill-in the spot starts with qualified candidates from the Charlie Leesman/Simon Castro crowd. Of course, Danks needs to prove he'll throw again in life, and Quintana and Santiago might not be any good, but at least there'd be a reasonable hope of success, and free agent compensation to be had from Peavy. That would be the cagey rebuilding move, whereas a more competitive-minded team would see who of the Peavy/James Shields/Brandon McCarthy crowd is the least unreasonably-priced, and fill up one of those question marks with something more reliable. Kevin Youkilis and the 3rd base vacuum Another player the White Sox have pre-committed to declining the option of. There's nothing to like about the direction Kevin Youkilis' career is going.  Two years ago he was an All-Star caliber 1st basemen--someone legitimately more deserving of the honor than Paul Konerko.  Since then, it's been more strikeouts, less power, and less health, and at a pretty steep rate, even if you write off his last months in Boston as poisoned. Yet the standard for White Sox 3rd basemen has not changed since he was brought on in June.  It's still "be better than the worst player in baseball".  Any team trotting out Brent Morel after a lost season filled with troubling back problems and terrible performance in the minors, is rebuilding with a bullet, or planning to spend $300 million lining the rest of the diamond with superstars. That leaves the Sox between a rock and a hard place.  Or more specifically, between a bad contract and a suck vortex.  Even in rebuilding years, teams like to play major leaguers, and unless the Mets botch the hell out of re-signing David Wright while simultaneously declining his option, there are no outside solutions. They could do almost anything here--even load up Morel with 550 plate appearances--and I would do my best to understand.  Unless it's rush Carlos Sanchez up and push him to 3rd base.  That movie was bad enough the first time. A.J. Pierzynski & Tyler Flowers A move to sign a 36 year-old catcher coming off of an out-of-nowhere career year would be ridiculed for its logic free of context. But like all things with the White Sox & A.J. Pierzynski, special consideration is given.  Another all-in White Sox team would probably take Pierzynski up on his desire to return. But any team built with an eye toward the future at all should try conserve resources by giving Tyler Flowers a chance to be an affordable starter for a few years.  He's responded well to what few stretches of concentrated playing time he's gotten, and will at least be a capable receiver with plenty of power to enthusiastically punish mistakes. Brett Myers? $10 million seems like a curious price to pay for someone of Myers' ability (and declining strikeout rate) unless he's going to start, and he isn't necessarily an attractive candidate to eat innings unless Gavin Floyd is used as a trade chip.  Speaking of which... Gavin Floyd's $9.5 million option Pick it up.  Assets are not to be shirked. Trades Assuming the rest of the league is smart... The idea that Alex Rios is "only good in even-numbered years" is at best one step above astrology, but there should be a healthy amount of skepticism about his ability to perform consistently.  He has at least proven that comfort is important for his performance.  However, it'll be hard for Rios to ever have more trade value (big year, still only 31, two years of control left, healthy) than he has now.  He's also the most reliable White Sox hitter going forward, which gives a lot of value to his presence here, and it might make sense to wait till a Trayce Thompson replacement is actually ready. If it required a saber-friendly team to appreciate how Adam Dunn was valuable in his prime, than surely no one is going to be distracted enough by his gaudy home run totals to ignore that his total batting line .204/.333/.468 was pretty uninspiring for a bat-only player with two years left on his deal. Would Rick Hahn trade Paul Konerko for a prospect or two, and make way for Dan Johnson to fill space?  It probably isn't much use to ponder if someone's completely merciless without having seen them kill first. Alexei Ramirez is coming off of his worst season as a hitter.  Besides the simple matter of reliable shortstops being impossible to find, the Sox would be smart to let him build back some of his value. Admittedly, I recently bemoaned the state of the White Sox relief corps.  But by rule, any reliever save for perhaps Reed that someone wants to give away something of significance for should be dealt.   This has already been enough of an enormous information/opinion dump without a wordy conclusion.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Great improvements and disappointments of the 2012 White Sox https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/great-improvements-and-disappointments-of-the-2012-white-sox/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/great-improvements-and-disappointments-of-the-2012-white-sox/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2012 05:45:22 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4171 Mark Gonzales of the Tribune highlighted a fun little tidbit of info--Alex Rios' 77 point jump in batting average from 2011 was the largest gain of any player who qualified for the batting title in each year.  That's highly significant for Rios, a guy who has always needed to hit his way on base, and was functionally useless (and actually worse than Adam Dunn) when he hit .227 in 2011. However, while there was great talk of Jeff Manto's work on Rios' approach (and woe to the person who cast stones at the work he's done), the actual adjustment made served to make Rios more assertive and aggressive at the plate.  At 31 years of age, Rios posted the lowest walk rate of his career (4.1%), resulting in an on-base percentage (.334) that's a little mundane both in terms of the league at large, and Rios' own personal prime. Rios had the biggest improvement of pretty much any hitter in baseball, but of course, titling an article about batting average jumps "Sox's Rios makes biggest improvement in majors" de-emphasizes the more nuanced sea changes from other White Sox hitters. Adam Dunn made little alteration to his approach until his September oblique injury, but was simply healthy and on balance enough to drive mistakes with power like old.  His contact rate continues to be in worrisome decline. A.J. Pierzynski most interestingly did the opposite of Rios in tweaking his approach.  Traditionally an all-fields singles hitter, A.J. became choosier about trying to pull pitchers for power to right field, and saw his batting average drop nine points, while simultaneously compiling the best offensive season of his career. *** Meanwhile, Zach Gropper of Grab Some Bench compiled his list of the five most disappointing players on the 2012 White Sox.  I have some bones to pick with it, but have to acknowledge that the degree to which the post prodded me to fashion my own list, is a strength in and of itself. Primarily, I disagree with the inclusion of Paul Konerko, Gordon Beckham, and Philip Humber, and I believe that reflects a difference of approach to constructing such a list at the end of the season. Konerko and Humber probably endured the biggest stockfall over the course of the season, relative to their highpoint, and how useful they were by the end of the year.  Beckham, is the constant walking heartbreak of the franchise. However, if told at the beginning of the season that...
  • Gordon Beckham would show no meaningful offensive improvement
  • Paul Konerko would deal with health problems, and finish with a year that is a step down from 2010-11, but still fits nicely next to his career batting line
  • Philip Humber, after coming off the scrap heap to pitch together a year as a decent mid-rotation starter, would slip back into being as ineffective as he had been for his entire career prior
...I would be able to listen calmly while sipping my coffee, with nary a drop spit out on my laptop.Mapping out who on this team fell short of any reasonable pre-season expectations is difficult, since it was anyone's guess who was deadweight in so many instances. That said, I'd just have to start my list with Alexei Ramirez.  He shed his "forced-patience" approach of the past few years, grew shamelessly hacktastic, and didn't even get more power production to show for it, nor did he improve his awful work against fastballs.  The year went so poorly Alexei was pledging to work harder in the off-season while the Sox were still alive for the AL Central. Next would be Addison Reed, who simply lost his slider early in the season, and never regained it as an effective offering he could have confidence in.  After blowing through the minors with the pitch and posting insane strikeout levels in five levels in 2011, Reed spent the year tooling around with his approach as a fastball-change righty during the highest-leverage situations. It's tempting to put Dayan Viciedo in this group too, who was far more frustrating than fun to watch, displayed massive platoon splits, and struggled too much with average for someone of his bat speed.  And yet, a late flurry put his final line right around the league-average territory he was pitted for. Most of all, I'd take Gropper's #2 listing and center my lament of the season around it. In a year where the starting rotation was based around them, while the Sox hoped for the best from Jake Peavy and Chris Sale, lynchpins John Danks and Gavin Floyd couldn't stay healthy.  Both failed to reach 30 starts, both posted the lowest innings totals of their White Sox careers, and both struggled with inconsistency when they were able to take the mound in between their respective ailments. Instead of All-Star caliber years from Peavy and Sale launching the Sox into the playoffs, it was all that was left to keep a patchwork group together.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Mark Gonzales of the Tribune highlighted a fun little tidbit of info--Alex Rios' 77 point jump in batting average from 2011 was the largest gain of any player who qualified for the batting title in each year.  That's highly significant for Rios, a guy who has always needed to hit his way on base, and was functionally useless (and actually worse than Adam Dunn) when he hit .227 in 2011. However, while there was great talk of Jeff Manto's work on Rios' approach (and woe to the person who cast stones at the work he's done), the actual adjustment made served to make Rios more assertive and aggressive at the plate.  At 31 years of age, Rios posted the lowest walk rate of his career (4.1%), resulting in an on-base percentage (.334) that's a little mundane both in terms of the league at large, and Rios' own personal prime. Rios had the biggest improvement of pretty much any hitter in baseball, but of course, titling an article about batting average jumps "Sox's Rios makes biggest improvement in majors" de-emphasizes the more nuanced sea changes from other White Sox hitters. Adam Dunn made little alteration to his approach until his September oblique injury, but was simply healthy and on balance enough to drive mistakes with power like old.  His contact rate continues to be in worrisome decline. A.J. Pierzynski most interestingly did the opposite of Rios in tweaking his approach.  Traditionally an all-fields singles hitter, A.J. became choosier about trying to pull pitchers for power to right field, and saw his batting average drop nine points, while simultaneously compiling the best offensive season of his career. *** Meanwhile, Zach Gropper of Grab Some Bench compiled his list of the five most disappointing players on the 2012 White Sox.  I have some bones to pick with it, but have to acknowledge that the degree to which the post prodded me to fashion my own list, is a strength in and of itself. Primarily, I disagree with the inclusion of Paul Konerko, Gordon Beckham, and Philip Humber, and I believe that reflects a difference of approach to constructing such a list at the end of the season. Konerko and Humber probably endured the biggest stockfall over the course of the season, relative to their highpoint, and how useful they were by the end of the year.  Beckham, is the constant walking heartbreak of the franchise. However, if told at the beginning of the season that...
  • Gordon Beckham would show no meaningful offensive improvement
  • Paul Konerko would deal with health problems, and finish with a year that is a step down from 2010-11, but still fits nicely next to his career batting line
  • Philip Humber, after coming off the scrap heap to pitch together a year as a decent mid-rotation starter, would slip back into being as ineffective as he had been for his entire career prior
...I would be able to listen calmly while sipping my coffee, with nary a drop spit out on my laptop.Mapping out who on this team fell short of any reasonable pre-season expectations is difficult, since it was anyone's guess who was deadweight in so many instances. That said, I'd just have to start my list with Alexei Ramirez.  He shed his "forced-patience" approach of the past few years, grew shamelessly hacktastic, and didn't even get more power production to show for it, nor did he improve his awful work against fastballs.  The year went so poorly Alexei was pledging to work harder in the off-season while the Sox were still alive for the AL Central. Next would be Addison Reed, who simply lost his slider early in the season, and never regained it as an effective offering he could have confidence in.  After blowing through the minors with the pitch and posting insane strikeout levels in five levels in 2011, Reed spent the year tooling around with his approach as a fastball-change righty during the highest-leverage situations. It's tempting to put Dayan Viciedo in this group too, who was far more frustrating than fun to watch, displayed massive platoon splits, and struggled too much with average for someone of his bat speed.  And yet, a late flurry put his final line right around the league-average territory he was pitted for. Most of all, I'd take Gropper's #2 listing and center my lament of the season around it. In a year where the starting rotation was based around them, while the Sox hoped for the best from Jake Peavy and Chris Sale, lynchpins John Danks and Gavin Floyd couldn't stay healthy.  Both failed to reach 30 starts, both posted the lowest innings totals of their White Sox careers, and both struggled with inconsistency when they were able to take the mound in between their respective ailments. Instead of All-Star caliber years from Peavy and Sale launching the Sox into the playoffs, it was all that was left to keep a patchwork group together.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> White Sox, not White Socks, or whatever https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-not-white-socks-or-whatever/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-not-white-socks-or-whatever/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:45:37 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4160 Co-writer Chris Lamberti and I are friends on the internet, so we had an internet conversation during after Game 1 of the NLCS.  At the time, Pierzynski was messing with my goal for the playoffs--for them to slip by without the White Sox suffering any further nationally televised embarrassment.  He had brought up Lance Lynn's 12-strikeout performance against the Sox in mid-June, right before Lynn proceeded to get knocked out of the game in the 4th inning.
Getting less thrilled about AJ Pierzynski bringing up that time Lance Lynn struck out a billion White Sox hitters during the pre-game — James Fegan (@JRFegan) October 15, 2012  
  @jrfegan Worse, he called them White Sock hitters. — Christopher Lamberti (@CMLamberti) October 15, 2012
 
@cmlamberti I've heard enough! He's gotta go — James Fegan (@JRFegan) October 15, 2012
Over-dramatic, perhaps. But I have always embraced the "Sox" in "White Sox" as being closer its own separate word, rather than merely a curiously-spelled pluralization of "sock".  I try to phrase around the awkward-sounding instances that arise from this, but if pressed, I would write in a sentence: "A.J. Pierzynski has been a good White Sox," and submit for publishing like it wasn't an affront to grammar. However, actually thinking about this reveals I might not have any solid reasoning for this at all. Growing up, my approval and embracing of the concept of "Sox" was simple--it sounded badass, in the same way that it seems completely cool to write "streetz" instead of "streets", up until the age where it doesn't at all.  But that's a rather ignoble birth for a franchise nickname.  Socks are a mundane personal item, but misspelling them in the same manner that people* turn "sucks" into "suxx" for added punch just makes it worse. *bad people. Because of that, I've always chosen to think of  "White Sox" as some abstract concept, or class of baseball player.  Something beyond the idea of socks, since they don't wear white ones anyway.  It's a safe, comfortable notion...and it's shaken every time I see this. Which would suggest that, yes, this team's nicknames is just about the things you wear on your feet.  Of course, we could always just look this up. The White Sox originated as the Chicago White Stockings in 1901, during an era of bland, functional identifiers.  Chicago Tribune headliners are credited for driving the change to the shorter "White Sox" primarily out of a desire to cut their spending on ink.  Charles Comiskey recognized a pursuit close to his own heart and made the change official in swift order. There are two important details to that. First, as Slate's Daniel Engber pointed out in 2005, changing "stockings", or "socks" into "sox, is not a touch of style unique to baseball but a relic of a fad at the beginning of the 20th century to shorten and simplify the English language.  The Tribune's Joseph Medill was a huge advocate of it, and this was one of its successful iterations. It's a neat historical tidbit, and it's nice to have reiterated that the White Sox name predates that Boston team, but the abbreviation-link to "socks" has been eroded by the progression of the English language, and we're left with a piece of gibberish that only exists as a proper noun. Second, "White Stockings" was originally the nickname of the Chicago Cubs, and picked up by Comiskey when they discarded it.  This seems like reason enough to disavow the historical intentions of the nickname, and that's not just because it's the Cubs either.  Adopting the discarded ideas of another franchise is disgraceful on principle. Or it's another classic lesson from Comiskey about the lack of sanctity in brand names.  A common rationalization of the U.S. Cellular Field name switchover was that it was a deal Comiskey himself would have made himself in a heartbeat. Sure enough, the naming process for the team itself started with a placeholder masthead that was picked on the chance it might already have a local foothold, and swiftly changed for the purpose of easier media promotion.  There was no great concept behind its creation, not even something as firm as having the team play in a uniform that matched its title. Professional team names all strive to be vague enough for us to conceive our own reasons for affiliation; whether it's the continuation of family ritual, appreciation of specific players, intense regionalism, or just a unique personal connection.  At the very least, I can be glad that cheering "Go White Sox" has been intrinsically vacant enough to never force me to cringe like my alma mater standing behind a moniker like "Fighting Irish" occasionally has. To add a fun element to my personal ritual of being a White Sox fan, I will continue to treat "White Sox" as a specific term--that acts as both the singular and plural form--for the occupation of "baseball player that I have a temporary allegiance to."  It can only add to my enjoyment.          ]]> Co-writer Chris Lamberti and I are friends on the internet, so we had an internet conversation during after Game 1 of the NLCS.  At the time, Pierzynski was messing with my goal for the playoffs--for them to slip by without the White Sox suffering any further nationally televised embarrassment.  He had brought up Lance Lynn's 12-strikeout performance against the Sox in mid-June, right before Lynn proceeded to get knocked out of the game in the 4th inning.
Getting less thrilled about AJ Pierzynski bringing up that time Lance Lynn struck out a billion White Sox hitters during the pre-game — James Fegan (@JRFegan) October 15, 2012  
  @jrfegan Worse, he called them White Sock hitters. — Christopher Lamberti (@CMLamberti) October 15, 2012
 
@cmlamberti I've heard enough! He's gotta go — James Fegan (@JRFegan) October 15, 2012
Over-dramatic, perhaps. But I have always embraced the "Sox" in "White Sox" as being closer its own separate word, rather than merely a curiously-spelled pluralization of "sock".  I try to phrase around the awkward-sounding instances that arise from this, but if pressed, I would write in a sentence: "A.J. Pierzynski has been a good White Sox," and submit for publishing like it wasn't an affront to grammar. However, actually thinking about this reveals I might not have any solid reasoning for this at all. Growing up, my approval and embracing of the concept of "Sox" was simple--it sounded badass, in the same way that it seems completely cool to write "streetz" instead of "streets", up until the age where it doesn't at all.  But that's a rather ignoble birth for a franchise nickname.  Socks are a mundane personal item, but misspelling them in the same manner that people* turn "sucks" into "suxx" for added punch just makes it worse. *bad people. Because of that, I've always chosen to think of  "White Sox" as some abstract concept, or class of baseball player.  Something beyond the idea of socks, since they don't wear white ones anyway.  It's a safe, comfortable notion...and it's shaken every time I see this. Which would suggest that, yes, this team's nicknames is just about the things you wear on your feet.  Of course, we could always just look this up. The White Sox originated as the Chicago White Stockings in 1901, during an era of bland, functional identifiers.  Chicago Tribune headliners are credited for driving the change to the shorter "White Sox" primarily out of a desire to cut their spending on ink.  Charles Comiskey recognized a pursuit close to his own heart and made the change official in swift order. There are two important details to that. First, as Slate's Daniel Engber pointed out in 2005, changing "stockings", or "socks" into "sox, is not a touch of style unique to baseball but a relic of a fad at the beginning of the 20th century to shorten and simplify the English language.  The Tribune's Joseph Medill was a huge advocate of it, and this was one of its successful iterations. It's a neat historical tidbit, and it's nice to have reiterated that the White Sox name predates that Boston team, but the abbreviation-link to "socks" has been eroded by the progression of the English language, and we're left with a piece of gibberish that only exists as a proper noun. Second, "White Stockings" was originally the nickname of the Chicago Cubs, and picked up by Comiskey when they discarded it.  This seems like reason enough to disavow the historical intentions of the nickname, and that's not just because it's the Cubs either.  Adopting the discarded ideas of another franchise is disgraceful on principle. Or it's another classic lesson from Comiskey about the lack of sanctity in brand names.  A common rationalization of the U.S. Cellular Field name switchover was that it was a deal Comiskey himself would have made himself in a heartbeat. Sure enough, the naming process for the team itself started with a placeholder masthead that was picked on the chance it might already have a local foothold, and swiftly changed for the purpose of easier media promotion.  There was no great concept behind its creation, not even something as firm as having the team play in a uniform that matched its title. Professional team names all strive to be vague enough for us to conceive our own reasons for affiliation; whether it's the continuation of family ritual, appreciation of specific players, intense regionalism, or just a unique personal connection.  At the very least, I can be glad that cheering "Go White Sox" has been intrinsically vacant enough to never force me to cringe like my alma mater standing behind a moniker like "Fighting Irish" occasionally has. To add a fun element to my personal ritual of being a White Sox fan, I will continue to treat "White Sox" as a specific term--that acts as both the singular and plural form--for the occupation of "baseball player that I have a temporary allegiance to."  It can only add to my enjoyment.          ]]> White Sox relievers are fungible to a fault https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-relievers-are-fungible-to-a-fault/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/white-sox-relievers-are-fungible-to-a-fault/#comments Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:45:08 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4153 ""We've got a bunch of guys who are really bad at starting," -Will Ohman, Feb. 26, 2011 Leave it to Will Ohman to make the self-deprecating statement that would later be used in his own post-mortem.  The 2012 season would see the White Sox take a step away from investing in "failed starters", and their excising of old Will would be a part of that. They didn't cut funds--Tony Pena is the only member of the 2011 bullpen who made over the league minimum who departed--but they made a point of standing pat, and going with league minimum guys, even as 134.1 innings of Chris Sale and Sergio Santos left the pen.  Of course, when Will Ohman's strikeout rate fell through the floor, Kenny & Co. were satisfied to see how competent a cycle of live left arms from Charlotte could do in his place (they were better, but it wasn't hard). The $1 million and prospects the Sox ponied up to make flash-converted starter Brett Myers part of the setup man cycle was the only splurge on lesser arms Kenny Williams allowed himself in his last year in the GM chair.  The rest of the season, he relied upon his much-maligned farm system, and fueled a half-dozen defensive Hawk rants in the process. The results: First of all, it's important to remember that the White Sox play in an extremely hitter-friendly stadium, so it's no fair to analyze the work of their pitching staff simply on the basis of total runs allowed, or raw ERA. ERA- is a stat that's adjusted for park, where 100 is the league average, and the lower score is better.  In terms of earned runs allowed, the White Sox bullpen appeared to get better from 2011, but the bullpen work of the entire league improved too, and their ranking among the AL declined. According to FIP (which attempts to remove defense out of the equation by focusing on strikeouts, walks, and home runs), the quality of their bullpen work declined noticeably.  This may have bore itself out with more inherited runners scoring off of Sox relievers, but the outfield defense was so vastly improved that it throws off all conclusions based on actual scored runs.  FIP says that the bullpen got significantly worse, and that should be trusted. Especially since it's all that makes sense.  Ohman, Thornton, Sale, Santos, and Crain threw 71% of the Sox bullpen innings in 2011.  Thornton and Crain stayed the same performance-wise, but Crain was less healthy.  Ohman collapsed, and the best two of the litter were replaced by a farm system devoid of prospects and talent. Addison Reed (4.75 ERA, 3.64 FIP) was a disappointment, but was also the only contributor to the pen who could be found on any pre-2012 prospect list from the worst farm system in baseball.  Giving everyone in the system a chance produced Nate Jones (team-leading 71.2 IP, 2.39 ERA, 3.39 FIP), but also produced Hector Santiago's ill-advised turn as a closer, Leyson Septimo's flameout, and Zach Stewart's earnest attempt to end his own career. Jones looks to be a major leaguer--even if every ERA predictor and his delirious luck with stranding runners indicates he should have been at least a run worse than his 2012 results--and Donnie Veal seems to be a legit lefty specialist.  But the pen represents another area where the White Sox need to decide what they want to be in 2013.  If they're looking to be competitive in 2013, an investment to stabilize the relief corps will make work easier for Robin Ventura than cycling through arms and seeing what sticks. Addison Reed should take a step forward, inevitably someone will emerge from the cadre of rushed but live arms, but leaning on Charlie Leesman, Nestor Molina, and Simon Castro to scratch out something above-average is the type of plan mid-season trades for Brett Myers are made of. Unless of course, it's a season where Ventura is trying to find solutions at every position.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> ""We've got a bunch of guys who are really bad at starting," -Will Ohman, Feb. 26, 2011 Leave it to Will Ohman to make the self-deprecating statement that would later be used in his own post-mortem.  The 2012 season would see the White Sox take a step away from investing in "failed starters", and their excising of old Will would be a part of that. They didn't cut funds--Tony Pena is the only member of the 2011 bullpen who made over the league minimum who departed--but they made a point of standing pat, and going with league minimum guys, even as 134.1 innings of Chris Sale and Sergio Santos left the pen.  Of course, when Will Ohman's strikeout rate fell through the floor, Kenny & Co. were satisfied to see how competent a cycle of live left arms from Charlotte could do in his place (they were better, but it wasn't hard). The $1 million and prospects the Sox ponied up to make flash-converted starter Brett Myers part of the setup man cycle was the only splurge on lesser arms Kenny Williams allowed himself in his last year in the GM chair.  The rest of the season, he relied upon his much-maligned farm system, and fueled a half-dozen defensive Hawk rants in the process. The results: First of all, it's important to remember that the White Sox play in an extremely hitter-friendly stadium, so it's no fair to analyze the work of their pitching staff simply on the basis of total runs allowed, or raw ERA. ERA- is a stat that's adjusted for park, where 100 is the league average, and the lower score is better.  In terms of earned runs allowed, the White Sox bullpen appeared to get better from 2011, but the bullpen work of the entire league improved too, and their ranking among the AL declined. According to FIP (which attempts to remove defense out of the equation by focusing on strikeouts, walks, and home runs), the quality of their bullpen work declined noticeably.  This may have bore itself out with more inherited runners scoring off of Sox relievers, but the outfield defense was so vastly improved that it throws off all conclusions based on actual scored runs.  FIP says that the bullpen got significantly worse, and that should be trusted. Especially since it's all that makes sense.  Ohman, Thornton, Sale, Santos, and Crain threw 71% of the Sox bullpen innings in 2011.  Thornton and Crain stayed the same performance-wise, but Crain was less healthy.  Ohman collapsed, and the best two of the litter were replaced by a farm system devoid of prospects and talent. Addison Reed (4.75 ERA, 3.64 FIP) was a disappointment, but was also the only contributor to the pen who could be found on any pre-2012 prospect list from the worst farm system in baseball.  Giving everyone in the system a chance produced Nate Jones (team-leading 71.2 IP, 2.39 ERA, 3.39 FIP), but also produced Hector Santiago's ill-advised turn as a closer, Leyson Septimo's flameout, and Zach Stewart's earnest attempt to end his own career. Jones looks to be a major leaguer--even if every ERA predictor and his delirious luck with stranding runners indicates he should have been at least a run worse than his 2012 results--and Donnie Veal seems to be a legit lefty specialist.  But the pen represents another area where the White Sox need to decide what they want to be in 2013.  If they're looking to be competitive in 2013, an investment to stabilize the relief corps will make work easier for Robin Ventura than cycling through arms and seeing what sticks. Addison Reed should take a step forward, inevitably someone will emerge from the cadre of rushed but live arms, but leaning on Charlie Leesman, Nestor Molina, and Simon Castro to scratch out something above-average is the type of plan mid-season trades for Brett Myers are made of. Unless of course, it's a season where Ventura is trying to find solutions at every position.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Your White Sox playoff rooting interests https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/your-white-sox-playoff-rooting-interests/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/your-white-sox-playoff-rooting-interests/#comments Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:17:26 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4146 Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees The personal villain of the regular season vs. Everyone's constant villain.  I could make an impassioned, desperate plea for all of you to realize that the Yankees must be rooted against at all times, that a Tigers victory only offers further legitimacy for the AL Central and all the teams in it, that you should naturally hope that the team that defeats yours goes all the way in order to justify lazy "We're #2!" arguments.* *The Sox are #2, baby! Woooo! But I cannot.  For some of you, a lot of you, perhaps even most of you, it is too difficult to spend a whole season building up animosity against a rival, then turn on a dime and become their fans.  Not without getting creative, at least. In terms of the age-old former White Sox factor, the Tigers have Octavio Dotel and Gene Lamont.  Dotel, a reliever for just two years with the team, but also a member of the last Sox squad to make the playoffs, was essentially Adam Dunn as a pitcher (11.6 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9).  However, it's hard to feel much attachment to a pitcher who has called 12 other major league teams home.  Lamont was the White Sox skipper for the glory years of the early 90's, is now egg-shaped, and would provide much comic relief if he were to fumble his way around, beer-soaked, trying to hug Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in a celebrative Detroit locker room. Of course, the Yankees have the Tigers easily beaten in terms of sheer number of ex-White Sox.  But it'd be hard to find anyone with fond memories of Boone Logan, non-murderous feelings toward Nick Swisher (even if his trouble getting along with the managing styles of one Osvaldo Guillen belongs in a different context these days), or who even remembers Chris Stewart at all. But then there's Jayson Nix--The Shetland Pony.  The miniature utility infielder who once dueled Chris Getz and Brent Lillibridge for the 2009 Opening Day 2nd base slot and hit that one grand slam that one time, has stuck on as the Yankees utility infielder since the start of May.  This comes in spite of his short stature, his relatively forgettable fielding skills, and his prominent role in accidentally blowing out Mariano Rivera's ACL.  The quaintness of his presence--which could be prominent if Derek Jeter's injury woes continue--the ALCS is the closest thing either team has to a sympathetic quality. So root for the Yankees, if for no other reason than their fans still won't be satisfied by making it to the World Series anyway. St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants When's the last time the White Sox interacted with the San Francisco Giants? They are no former Sox players on the Giants roster, and they last time they played was in 2008.  That series went smoothly and without incident, as the White Sox swept the Giants on the road, and Alexei Ramirez hit the first home run of his career.  Ah, much better times. Since then, there's been the generalized fatigue of the the Giants being in the playoffs all the time, the excellent work of Grant Brisbee humorizing the events of the team at McCovey Chronicles, and inane statements from Tim Lincecum.  Other than that, there's a lot of numbness here.  Just some baseball team thousands of miles away.  Numbness is a lot better than what most of these teams inspire. The Cardinals have been all over the television even more than the Giants have over the past decade, were helmed by former White Sox skipper and micromanaging connoisseur Tony La Russa until this year, and involved in that 2006 kerfuffle where Sidney Ponson and David Riske exchanged plunkings. St. Louis too, lacks a single former White Sox on their roster or staff, which is only appropriate, because their main interaction is with Chicago is with the Cubs.  The Cardinals are the hulking, looming arch- rival of the Cubs.  They are like their Twins, if we all felt a lot more intensely about the Twins.  If you're the sort of White Sox fan--and I have it on good authority that these people exist--that despises the Cubs, then a St. Louis triumph s clearly the most torturous thing you could hope for. Malice is plenty to go on if you have it.  When @ChardSwissnym was lamenting the possibility of these four teams reaching the league championship series, I offered "we get to see three of them lose" as consolation. For me, I choose the nothingness of the San Francisco Giants, the empty cream spaces of their uniform, the lack of prominent facial features on Buster Posey--they don't even delude themselves about their PED users anymore.  The absence of any strong emotions allows me to slip into uninvolved and detached appreciation of quality baseball that I look to the playoffs for.  But I understand if you opt for another path.  This is a brutal, dull, and nihilistic final four.  It's only natural that we all wander the wasteland alone, looking for some scrap of sustenance. Good luck!   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees The personal villain of the regular season vs. Everyone's constant villain.  I could make an impassioned, desperate plea for all of you to realize that the Yankees must be rooted against at all times, that a Tigers victory only offers further legitimacy for the AL Central and all the teams in it, that you should naturally hope that the team that defeats yours goes all the way in order to justify lazy "We're #2!" arguments.* *The Sox are #2, baby! Woooo! But I cannot.  For some of you, a lot of you, perhaps even most of you, it is too difficult to spend a whole season building up animosity against a rival, then turn on a dime and become their fans.  Not without getting creative, at least. In terms of the age-old former White Sox factor, the Tigers have Octavio Dotel and Gene Lamont.  Dotel, a reliever for just two years with the team, but also a member of the last Sox squad to make the playoffs, was essentially Adam Dunn as a pitcher (11.6 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9).  However, it's hard to feel much attachment to a pitcher who has called 12 other major league teams home.  Lamont was the White Sox skipper for the glory years of the early 90's, is now egg-shaped, and would provide much comic relief if he were to fumble his way around, beer-soaked, trying to hug Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in a celebrative Detroit locker room. Of course, the Yankees have the Tigers easily beaten in terms of sheer number of ex-White Sox.  But it'd be hard to find anyone with fond memories of Boone Logan, non-murderous feelings toward Nick Swisher (even if his trouble getting along with the managing styles of one Osvaldo Guillen belongs in a different context these days), or who even remembers Chris Stewart at all. But then there's Jayson Nix--The Shetland Pony.  The miniature utility infielder who once dueled Chris Getz and Brent Lillibridge for the 2009 Opening Day 2nd base slot and hit that one grand slam that one time, has stuck on as the Yankees utility infielder since the start of May.  This comes in spite of his short stature, his relatively forgettable fielding skills, and his prominent role in accidentally blowing out Mariano Rivera's ACL.  The quaintness of his presence--which could be prominent if Derek Jeter's injury woes continue--the ALCS is the closest thing either team has to a sympathetic quality. So root for the Yankees, if for no other reason than their fans still won't be satisfied by making it to the World Series anyway. St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants When's the last time the White Sox interacted with the San Francisco Giants? They are no former Sox players on the Giants roster, and they last time they played was in 2008.  That series went smoothly and without incident, as the White Sox swept the Giants on the road, and Alexei Ramirez hit the first home run of his career.  Ah, much better times. Since then, there's been the generalized fatigue of the the Giants being in the playoffs all the time, the excellent work of Grant Brisbee humorizing the events of the team at McCovey Chronicles, and inane statements from Tim Lincecum.  Other than that, there's a lot of numbness here.  Just some baseball team thousands of miles away.  Numbness is a lot better than what most of these teams inspire. The Cardinals have been all over the television even more than the Giants have over the past decade, were helmed by former White Sox skipper and micromanaging connoisseur Tony La Russa until this year, and involved in that 2006 kerfuffle where Sidney Ponson and David Riske exchanged plunkings. St. Louis too, lacks a single former White Sox on their roster or staff, which is only appropriate, because their main interaction is with Chicago is with the Cubs.  The Cardinals are the hulking, looming arch- rival of the Cubs.  They are like their Twins, if we all felt a lot more intensely about the Twins.  If you're the sort of White Sox fan--and I have it on good authority that these people exist--that despises the Cubs, then a St. Louis triumph s clearly the most torturous thing you could hope for. Malice is plenty to go on if you have it.  When @ChardSwissnym was lamenting the possibility of these four teams reaching the league championship series, I offered "we get to see three of them lose" as consolation. For me, I choose the nothingness of the San Francisco Giants, the empty cream spaces of their uniform, the lack of prominent facial features on Buster Posey--they don't even delude themselves about their PED users anymore.  The absence of any strong emotions allows me to slip into uninvolved and detached appreciation of quality baseball that I look to the playoffs for.  But I understand if you opt for another path.  This is a brutal, dull, and nihilistic final four.  It's only natural that we all wander the wasteland alone, looking for some scrap of sustenance. Good luck!   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Another troubling update from old friend John Danks https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/another-troubling-update-from-old-friend-john-danks/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/another-troubling-update-from-old-friend-john-danks/#comments Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:45:17 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4136 the big trade deadline addition to the starting rotation.  It wasn't the jazziest sales line of all time, but since the alternative was Francisco Liriano, a Danks 2012 return can reside in the realm of tortured White Sox fantasies. But now the off-season brings part two of this tale, where John Danks is the big off-season addition to the starting rotation.  At the very least, he is the enigma that needs to be solved before the White Sox move forward this off-season. On that end, there's some insight offered from Scott Merkin's most recent look-in on the wounded left-hander.
"All the limitations have been taken off of the southpaw during his rehab work, and a target date of Nov. 1 to start throwing leaves him optimistic to be ready at the start of Spring Training."
Which means that the White Sox will start getting their first serious feedback on Danks' recovery right in time for a hypothetical Game 7 of the World Series.  That timing could pretty hairy, but the rest of the article produced more cringing. Danks described the way his arm felt after his May 19th start in Wrigley Field in very severe terms.
"I felt well enough to pitch that Saturday [May 19], and Sunday I couldn't move my arm," Danks said in a recent interview with MLB.com. "Literally, I tried to go out and play catch at 20 feet and couldn't do it. "I'd say that was the point. That was my, 'Oh [no]' moment or whatever you want to write."
Which is, only naturally, drastically different than how he described it at the time when he was trying to keep himself in the rotation.
""It was feeling different than I normally would. I'm no doctor, but I told them I was prepared to pitch tomorrow. I still feel like I probably could. Talking to (general manager) Kenny (Williams), Robin and (head athletic trainer) Herm (Schneider), it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll try to get everything completely right and get back up."
Not to impugn Danks specifically, but let this be a reminder for how to weigh future self-assessments from injured players.  It's a rare, rare case when these guys aren't willing to do unwise things to be out there. With that in mind, Danks was steadfast back in May that the injury had nothing to do with his early-season struggles.  "It isn't the reason I've stunk to this point," is how he put it. He's sticking to that story in spirit, but at the same time "explained the injury didn't come about on one pitch in particular against the Cubs," suggesting progressive deterioration--a theory that Don Cooper readily parrots.
"He gets a pass on [his struggles], as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if he was healthy, and my guess is he probably wasn't."
He was missing two miles on his fastball and throwing flat cutters for two months, so an injury is plausible, but Danks getting the ball for nine starts while his shoulder wore out and line drives flew around the park isn't a warming thought either. If that sounds reckless, the White Sox seem prepared to compensate for it upon Danks return by being "constantly aware of Danks' workload."  After all, someone needs to take Chris Sale's place as the focus for all starter health anxiety. Cooper compares the Danks situation to the recovery of Jake Peavy and Johan Santana which is a) terrifying and b) useful for putting Danks' recovery in the right perspective.  At this point in the rehab process, getting him back at all is the goal.  He has to prove he can be an effective pitcher again before any of those naive, starry-eyed discussions of ace workload can return.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> the big trade deadline addition to the starting rotation.  It wasn't the jazziest sales line of all time, but since the alternative was Francisco Liriano, a Danks 2012 return can reside in the realm of tortured White Sox fantasies. But now the off-season brings part two of this tale, where John Danks is the big off-season addition to the starting rotation.  At the very least, he is the enigma that needs to be solved before the White Sox move forward this off-season. On that end, there's some insight offered from Scott Merkin's most recent look-in on the wounded left-hander.
"All the limitations have been taken off of the southpaw during his rehab work, and a target date of Nov. 1 to start throwing leaves him optimistic to be ready at the start of Spring Training."
Which means that the White Sox will start getting their first serious feedback on Danks' recovery right in time for a hypothetical Game 7 of the World Series.  That timing could pretty hairy, but the rest of the article produced more cringing. Danks described the way his arm felt after his May 19th start in Wrigley Field in very severe terms.
"I felt well enough to pitch that Saturday [May 19], and Sunday I couldn't move my arm," Danks said in a recent interview with MLB.com. "Literally, I tried to go out and play catch at 20 feet and couldn't do it. "I'd say that was the point. That was my, 'Oh [no]' moment or whatever you want to write."
Which is, only naturally, drastically different than how he described it at the time when he was trying to keep himself in the rotation.
""It was feeling different than I normally would. I'm no doctor, but I told them I was prepared to pitch tomorrow. I still feel like I probably could. Talking to (general manager) Kenny (Williams), Robin and (head athletic trainer) Herm (Schneider), it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll try to get everything completely right and get back up."
Not to impugn Danks specifically, but let this be a reminder for how to weigh future self-assessments from injured players.  It's a rare, rare case when these guys aren't willing to do unwise things to be out there. With that in mind, Danks was steadfast back in May that the injury had nothing to do with his early-season struggles.  "It isn't the reason I've stunk to this point," is how he put it. He's sticking to that story in spirit, but at the same time "explained the injury didn't come about on one pitch in particular against the Cubs," suggesting progressive deterioration--a theory that Don Cooper readily parrots.
"He gets a pass on [his struggles], as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if he was healthy, and my guess is he probably wasn't."
He was missing two miles on his fastball and throwing flat cutters for two months, so an injury is plausible, but Danks getting the ball for nine starts while his shoulder wore out and line drives flew around the park isn't a warming thought either. If that sounds reckless, the White Sox seem prepared to compensate for it upon Danks return by being "constantly aware of Danks' workload."  After all, someone needs to take Chris Sale's place as the focus for all starter health anxiety. Cooper compares the Danks situation to the recovery of Jake Peavy and Johan Santana which is a) terrifying and b) useful for putting Danks' recovery in the right perspective.  At this point in the rehab process, getting him back at all is the goal.  He has to prove he can be an effective pitcher again before any of those naive, starry-eyed discussions of ace workload can return.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> Reviewing the White Sox mid-season trades--What was accomplished here? https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/reviewing-the-white-sox-mid-season-trades-what-was-accomplished-here/ https://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/2012/10/reviewing-the-white-sox-mid-season-trades-what-was-accomplished-here/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:45:13 -0500 James Fegan http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observer/?p=4119 that's some leverage. Let's go through the three major deals and do some cost/benefit analysis. June 24th - Traded RHP Zach Stewart & UTIL Brent Lillibridge to Boston for 3B Kevin Youkilis What they gave up: Prior to getting dealt, Stewart had just bombed his audition to be a starter by giving up four home runs to the Cubs, after spending most of the year killing hopes that he could be made into a serviceable reliever (.529 opposing slugging percentage out of the pen), and having the radar gun say mean things about his fastball.  Since going to Boston, he's made two starts that were somehow worse.  Everyone wants Zach Stewart gone, and Kenny Williams was the only one who made it happen this year. Brent Lillibridge saw his power completely disappear, collected one extra-base hit over 70 plate appearances, and was no longer on a roster where being athletic and fast were premium qualities.  Boston put up with 10 games of him before the novelty wore off. The Sox didn't just give up nothing, they purged problems. What they got: Kevin Youkilis hit .236/.346/.425 over 344 plate appearances, and played some passable, if below average defense.  That's a quality starter, but it gets better when doused with a bucket of context.
  • Youkilis was stepping into a 3rd base position that had the worst offensive production in all of baseball.
  • His second week on the team produced no less than five game-winning hits, or plate appearances while the Sox made their breakaway.
  • He was a perfect fit for a barren #2 spot in the batting order, and joined Adam Dunn to be one of two players on the team who actually had long at-bats.
Long-lasting impact: Neither Lillibridge nor Stewart had much business on the 2013 White Sox anyway, so there's no harm, no foul even if the likely departure of Youkilis takes place.  At the very least, Youkilis experience with the White Sox is positive, meaning they'll have a fair shot at signing him if they're interested. Free agent compensation is probably a stretch. July 10th - Traded IF Osvaldo Martinez to Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations What they gave up: Not much What they got: Presumably some amount of money Long-lasting impact: $$$$$$$$ July 21st - Traded LHP Blair Walters, RHP Matthew Heidenreich, RHP Chris Devenski for RHP Brett Myers What they gave up: A whole barrel full of fringe arms.  Each one with a smattering of encouraging results in the lower levels, middling pedigree, and "maybe he's someone to watch" prospect status. There's not much chance that the Sox will rue July 21st, 2012, but they yielded some depth here. What they got: Brett Myers had a 3.12 ERA in 34.2 innings that might have otherwise found Brian Omogrosso, or someone else like Jhan Marinez or Deunte Heath.  That seems useful enough. Why Myers was successful out of the pen with a Buehrle-like strikeout rate is hard to figure, but I was especially worried about all that contact allowing inherited runners to score.  Turns out, Myers only allowed two of 18 inherited runners to score (11%), which is fantastic. Brett Myers was good, not great, and he clumped his bad moments into the collapse, but he was good.  Chances are this will be forgotten, and he'll need show a nametag at any future SoxFests. Long-lasting impact: In all likelihood, the Sox yielded something between a future reliever and back-end starter, in exchange for some emergency relief help.  That's about the going rate, but with some options left. They could pick up Myers option and have a good, but non-elite reliever for $10 million--unwise. They could pick up Myers option, and have a back-end innings eating starter for $10 million--possibly worth it, but not enticing if it's a cost-cutting season, and less enticing than just keeping Gavin Floyd. July 29th - Traded LHP Pedro Hernandez & IF Eduardo Escobar to Minnesota for LHP Francisco Liriano What they gave up: Joe Sheehan referred to the Twins' return in the trade as "air", which may be hyperbole, but there's probably not a major league starter stuffed in here. Eduardo Escobar is a no-hit, all field utility infielder, who went to Minnesota and hit even worse there.  Chances are the Twins give his bat a legitimate chance to develop and reach his #9 hitter ceiling, but there was no foundational piece swapped here. Pedro Hernandez isn't projected to become much more than middle relief, and sure didn't look like more while getting obliterated by the Red Sox. What they got: The Full Francisco Liriano Experience.  Liriano had some dominant outings, a no-hit bid, and swing-and-miss stuff even on his worst days. But he was pretty much a disaster.  Only four of his 11 starts were quality, he barely averaged over five innings a start, and barely averaged over five walks per nine innings.  Attempts by Don Cooper to reform him and emphasize control failed, and were heartily and rightly mocked by Twins fans. The Sox needed an arm down the stretch, so turning to Liriano might have been more appealing than other options, but this certainly wasn't a home run.  Kenny Williams didn't have the proper buy-in for the Zack Greinke table, and got stuck taking a flier on this mercurial monster. Long-lasting impact: It's pretty doubtful that anyone in the White Sox organization wants anything to do with Liriano after nothing clicked with Don Cooper, and his performance stagnated. As such, the Liriano trade feels as empty as the division chase itself.  Nothing major was spent, but now those brief feelings of August and September vitality were the only returns of the trade. But hey, that was the risk with all of these.  Without them, the illusion of AL Central supremacy would have evaporated a lot sooner, and an enjoyable summer didn't cost a single impact player.  A decent closing act of Kenny doing what he does best.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]> that's some leverage. Let's go through the three major deals and do some cost/benefit analysis. June 24th - Traded RHP Zach Stewart & UTIL Brent Lillibridge to Boston for 3B Kevin Youkilis What they gave up: Prior to getting dealt, Stewart had just bombed his audition to be a starter by giving up four home runs to the Cubs, after spending most of the year killing hopes that he could be made into a serviceable reliever (.529 opposing slugging percentage out of the pen), and having the radar gun say mean things about his fastball.  Since going to Boston, he's made two starts that were somehow worse.  Everyone wants Zach Stewart gone, and Kenny Williams was the only one who made it happen this year. Brent Lillibridge saw his power completely disappear, collected one extra-base hit over 70 plate appearances, and was no longer on a roster where being athletic and fast were premium qualities.  Boston put up with 10 games of him before the novelty wore off. The Sox didn't just give up nothing, they purged problems. What they got: Kevin Youkilis hit .236/.346/.425 over 344 plate appearances, and played some passable, if below average defense.  That's a quality starter, but it gets better when doused with a bucket of context.
  • Youkilis was stepping into a 3rd base position that had the worst offensive production in all of baseball.
  • His second week on the team produced no less than five game-winning hits, or plate appearances while the Sox made their breakaway.
  • He was a perfect fit for a barren #2 spot in the batting order, and joined Adam Dunn to be one of two players on the team who actually had long at-bats.
Long-lasting impact: Neither Lillibridge nor Stewart had much business on the 2013 White Sox anyway, so there's no harm, no foul even if the likely departure of Youkilis takes place.  At the very least, Youkilis experience with the White Sox is positive, meaning they'll have a fair shot at signing him if they're interested. Free agent compensation is probably a stretch. July 10th - Traded IF Osvaldo Martinez to Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations What they gave up: Not much What they got: Presumably some amount of money Long-lasting impact: $$$$$$$$ July 21st - Traded LHP Blair Walters, RHP Matthew Heidenreich, RHP Chris Devenski for RHP Brett Myers What they gave up: A whole barrel full of fringe arms.  Each one with a smattering of encouraging results in the lower levels, middling pedigree, and "maybe he's someone to watch" prospect status. There's not much chance that the Sox will rue July 21st, 2012, but they yielded some depth here. What they got: Brett Myers had a 3.12 ERA in 34.2 innings that might have otherwise found Brian Omogrosso, or someone else like Jhan Marinez or Deunte Heath.  That seems useful enough. Why Myers was successful out of the pen with a Buehrle-like strikeout rate is hard to figure, but I was especially worried about all that contact allowing inherited runners to score.  Turns out, Myers only allowed two of 18 inherited runners to score (11%), which is fantastic. Brett Myers was good, not great, and he clumped his bad moments into the collapse, but he was good.  Chances are this will be forgotten, and he'll need show a nametag at any future SoxFests. Long-lasting impact: In all likelihood, the Sox yielded something between a future reliever and back-end starter, in exchange for some emergency relief help.  That's about the going rate, but with some options left. They could pick up Myers option and have a good, but non-elite reliever for $10 million--unwise. They could pick up Myers option, and have a back-end innings eating starter for $10 million--possibly worth it, but not enticing if it's a cost-cutting season, and less enticing than just keeping Gavin Floyd. July 29th - Traded LHP Pedro Hernandez & IF Eduardo Escobar to Minnesota for LHP Francisco Liriano What they gave up: Joe Sheehan referred to the Twins' return in the trade as "air", which may be hyperbole, but there's probably not a major league starter stuffed in here. Eduardo Escobar is a no-hit, all field utility infielder, who went to Minnesota and hit even worse there.  Chances are the Twins give his bat a legitimate chance to develop and reach his #9 hitter ceiling, but there was no foundational piece swapped here. Pedro Hernandez isn't projected to become much more than middle relief, and sure didn't look like more while getting obliterated by the Red Sox. What they got: The Full Francisco Liriano Experience.  Liriano had some dominant outings, a no-hit bid, and swing-and-miss stuff even on his worst days. But he was pretty much a disaster.  Only four of his 11 starts were quality, he barely averaged over five innings a start, and barely averaged over five walks per nine innings.  Attempts by Don Cooper to reform him and emphasize control failed, and were heartily and rightly mocked by Twins fans. The Sox needed an arm down the stretch, so turning to Liriano might have been more appealing than other options, but this certainly wasn't a home run.  Kenny Williams didn't have the proper buy-in for the Zack Greinke table, and got stuck taking a flier on this mercurial monster. Long-lasting impact: It's pretty doubtful that anyone in the White Sox organization wants anything to do with Liriano after nothing clicked with Don Cooper, and his performance stagnated. As such, the Liriano trade feels as empty as the division chase itself.  Nothing major was spent, but now those brief feelings of August and September vitality were the only returns of the trade. But hey, that was the risk with all of these.  Without them, the illusion of AL Central supremacy would have evaporated a lot sooner, and an enjoyable summer didn't cost a single impact player.  A decent closing act of Kenny doing what he does best.   Follow White Sox Observer on Twitter @ JRFegan and on Facebook]]>