Sox Notes

2003-06-08T02:34:00.000-05:00

Currently the White Sox are 27-34, third in the AL Central and 8.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins. Since I have been unable to post since April, there is a lot to talk about. The most obvious question is what went wrong. In this case there is an easy answer, the White Sox offense has been terrible. The White Sox have scored a dismal 3.86 runs per game, the only more inept offenses in baseball are the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

First baseman Paul Konerko and third baseman Joe Crede have been opposing pitchers' best friends. Lee Sinins created a statistic called runs created above average (RCAA) to measure how productive a player is compared to a league average player given the same number of plate appearances. According to RCAA as of June 1, Konerko and Crede are both the worst hitters in baseball at their positions. Sometime Sunday morning I will know if this remains the case. Either way the two have been terrible. They have been so bad that even ESPN has singled them out, rather than simply blaming things on Frank Thomas or Jerry Manuel. That takes work.

It only gets worse. As exceptionally bad as those two have been at the plate there is one position where the White Sox have been even worse: centerfield. White Sox centerfielders have been super-dee-duper blow your mind bad. White Sox centerfielders have a combined .250 on-base percentage and .246 slugging average.

No one player has gotten more than 30% of the playing time in centerfield due to a combination of atrocious hitting, atrocious defense and injuries. In desperation Magglio Ordonez got 14 plate appearances in center and responded with just four lousy singles. The "best" of the centerfielders has been Armando Rios who posted a .320 OBP and .354 SLG in 50 plate appearances. Rios is the example of atrocious defense. Coming into 2003 Rios had just six career games in center, all before a torn ACL last season.

How can the White Sox fix these offensive problems? Right now I would stick with Crede at third and Joe Borchard in center. They are the youngest and most talented options the Sox have at these postions. There is one third base option that has not been explored. That is Cliff Brumbaugh who has played mostly in the outfield for AAA Charlotte. He has a .387/.531 OBP/SLG and could be a helpful bat if Crede struggles through the All-star break.

Konerko I am more worried about. There are whispers that his degenerative hip condition is bothering him. That is the type of issue DL time will not fix. I am not sure what the answer is here but this is not the first time I am looking back at Konerko's contract extension and thinking it was a questionable move.

Blog News: Notice I'm updating. It's nice. I will start doing this on a regular basis next Friday when I'm done with exams and back home in Chicago. And I might be doing some other work writing on the Sox, more on that later. Wish me luck!

2003-04-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I wrote here. I promise more content! There's too much to do when you are a college student.

2003-04-06T20:59:00.000-05:00

And now the Twins and White Sox are tied for the AL Central lead at 3-3. Hmmmm... feels like I might be forgetting something but I'm not sure what.

This was an interesting weekend for White Sox baseball and at the same time a fun one to watch as the Sox swept the lowly Tigers. Also this weekend, the Minnesota Twins were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays. So all the Sox fans worried about the insurmountable 3 game lead the Twins had on the morning of April 4th can rest easy tonight.

The Sox middle infielders were dominant in the Tigers series. Jose Valentin, Tony Graffanino and D'Angelo Jimenez combined for over a third of the Sox 60 total bases. I have to wonder if Sox fans would be calling for Valentin's head because of errors if he hadn't been the Sox most productive hitter so far.

One of the things that surprises me about the White Sox is how Valentin is lauded as a team leader. He is a vocal player but one of the things he is most vocal about is his desire to not be platooned. It's unfortunate but if there is one player on the White Sox that needs to be platooned it's Valentin.

Valentin is horrendous against left handed pitching. For his career Valentin's OPS against lefties is 595 whereas against righties it is 825. In the last three seasons the same split holds true so it is not something Valentin has corrected late in his career. On the other hand Tony Graffanino has a 753 career OPS against lefties. This is a perfect platoon situation and Jerry Manuel should take advantage of it regardless of how Valentin feels. If Valentin were a true team leader he'd take one for the team here.

Sox pitching also deserves a fair amount of credit for the series sweep of Los Tigres. All three starters were impressive and each one logged a quality start. Sox starters' numbers for the series:

21 1/3 innings pitched
13 hits allowed
4 runs allowed
4 walks
9 strikeouts

The Sox pen also tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings. I am glad Josh Stewart got to face a AAA offense like the Tigers in his major league debut. Stewart did not even have to battle with one of the Tigers best hitters, Carlos Pena. This may give Stewart a bit of a confidence boost going into his next start, which will also be against Detroit. With Shane Halter (714 career OPS), Brandon Inge (545) and Craig Paquette (689) all in the same lineup the Tigers might as well be sending thier pitcher up there too.

While I don't think it's wise to stress about rough starts, one Sox player I am worried about is left fielder Carlos Lee. Lee has come out of the gate reverting to the "swing at what moves" Carlos Lee of the past rather than last year's well disciplined model. When I saw Lee on Saturday (way to go WGN national broadcasts) he swung at the first pitch in all of his plate appearances. Lee has already proven he is not nearly as effective with that mode of operation. Lee needs to find the approach that he used to torture AL pitchers in the second half of last season. I am a little less excited about Lee's 2003 season than I was a month ago.

On the other side of the coin, when I saw Frank Thomas at the plate he looked great. His home run on Saturday was very reminiscent of the mid 90's and year 2000 Big Hurt rather than Thomas' late 90's struggles. In addition, Thomas has acknowledged in public that he was less patient at the plate last year and he plans to bring the patience back this year. It is funny to talk about a guy who walked 88 times last year as needing to regain his patience but Thomas has one of the game's best batting eyes. Last year was Thomas' first full year when he failed to walk 100 times. This guy needs to talk with Carlos Lee a bit.

To close out this entry I am going to give an overview of the Sox talent at AAA Charlotte. This begins a series of four overviews covering the Sox full season minor league teams.

The Charlotte Knights look strong this year with a solid mix of prospects and minor league veterans. The Knights' best prospects are outfielder Joe Borchard, infielders Willie Harris and Tim Hummel, starting pitchers Jon Rauch and Felix Diaz and relievers Arnie Munoz and Dave Sanders. Not really a prospect anymore but also at AAA Charlotte is Matt Ginter. Most of the marquee players on the Knights roster were mentioned in my major league overview. Check the beginning of my archives.

Also in the outfield but low profile is Mario Valenzuela who returns to the field this year after spending all of last season injured. Valenzuela was a sleeper prospect going into the 2002 season due to his power (.469 career minor league SLG) but may not get on base enough to be a major league regular. As a prospect he reminds me of Olmedo Saenz who toiled unrecognized in the Sox organization before he was liberated by Oakland. Saenz posted an 800 OPS in four seasons with the A's.

The names above that did not make my organization overview are Felix Diaz and Dave Sanders. Felix Diaz pitched in AA last year and was ranked #8 on Baseball America's White Sox top 10 prospects list. Diaz was acquired from the Giants organization last year with minor leauge reliever Ryan Meaux for centerfielder Kenny Lofton. Diaz has three pitces including a fastball in the 90s and would rank higher on the Sox prospect list if he could stay healthy. He has yet to pitch a full season without breaking down. He sounds a lot like the last highly touted hard thrower the Sox acquired from the Giants, Lorenzo Barcelo.

Sanders is a left handed reliever who is known within the Sox organization for an awesome slider. He hasn't gotten much attention, not making the Baseball America top ten or John Sickels' Prospect book, but Sanders performed well in AA and the Arizona Fall League. He could have a career as a LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY).

Andrew Ritchie

2003-04-04T01:36:00.000-06:00

The White Sox finished their season opening three game set with the Royals with a 12-6 loss, leaving them 0-3. Jon Garland struggled allowing ten baserunners and five runs over four innings. This is a dissapointing start for Garland. Garland is a breakout candidate this season and it would have been nice to see him tear up a weak offense like the Royals to open the year. His next start will be Wednesday April 9 against the Indians who aren't exactly the 27' Yankees either. The one positive coming from this start is Garland threw a lot of strikes. He threw 70% of his pitches for strikes and walked just one batter.

The real killer for the White Sox was Billy Koch who is already proving he's no Keith Foulke. Koch came in with a one run lead and the bases loaded in the eighth and proceeded to get beaten like Wil Cordero's wife. Koch faced six batters and saw just as many runs cross the plate while he was on the mound. I can rationalize that Koch won't kill us like this all season but it is still maddening he is on this team instead of Keith Foulke.

Right now Manuel seems to think he can use Koch like he used Foulke when Foulke was at his best. Koch just is not that caliber pitcher. One of the keys to the season could be how quickly Manuel learns to best utilize the talent in his bullpen. The White Sox pen has the potential to be very good. Manuel needs to figure out how to use the pen as a weapon ASAP, the AL Central division race could come down to a couple games in the standings. One advantage the Twins have in returning most of their team from last year is that Ron Gardenhire should know his club well from the gate.

Miguel Olivo had a dissapointing day today, he didn't reach base in four plate appearances. Hopefully Olivo will get another shot to prove he's better than the geriatric Sandy Alomar and the useless Josh Paul in the weekend series against Detroit.

The middle of the Sox order, Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko and Carlos Lee was 6 for 39 against the Royals. That's a good first step to getting swept by any team. With all the talk about Bartolo Colon's arrival some people have forgotten the Sox offense is still their best weapon. Theoretically it shows up to play five times as often as Colon. If all four members of the offensive core are cold the Sox are going to struggle to win games. Even against terrible teams like the Royals. When Jose Valentin finally showed up with a bat (11 total bases in the third game) the team couldn't hold their lead. Tough luck and cold bats. Hopefully things should be different against Detroit this weekend.

Beginning today I'm going to summarize the day's Sox minor league action. I don't guarentee a lot of minor league coverage everyday, it depends on how much time I have. Also, starting with my next entry I will do overviews on the talent at each level of the Sox system.

AAA: Charlotte opened their season with a 7-6 win against Richmond. Jon Adkins allowed 3 baserunners in 5 1/3 shutout innings, striking out three. Matt Ginter threw in another 2 2/3 shutout innings. Arnie Munoz allowed 5 of Richmond's runs in 2/3 of an inning in his AAA debut. Munoz is one of the game's better hyped relief pitching prospects. He received a grade B- in John Sickels 2003 Baseball Prospect Book. Cliff Brumbaugh and Joe Borchard were the offensive stars for the White Sox. Each one of them collected three hits and two RBIs. Brumbaugh and first baseman Scott Morgan each clubbed their first home run of the season.

AA: The Birmingham Barons won their season opener 6-2. Corwin Malone pitched the opener and his numbers look a lot like last year when his control suffered due to an elbow injury. He allowed just 2 runs in 5 IP but also walked 4, striking out just 2. Ryan Hankins was the offensive star going 3-4 with a home run.

A+: Season begins Friday

A: Lost 4-3, no box score available just yet.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-04-03T13:19:00.000-06:00

The Sox lost their second game of the season, most importantly though we learned why the Sox have three catchers on roster. We have one to start, thats Sandy Alomar, one to pitch run, Miguel Olivo and one to play defense, Josh Paul. I never should have doubted Jerry Manuel. Today Olivo is getting his first start of the season. I'm hoping Olivo can prove he's the best catcher of the bunch and get a lot of playing time. Right now the Sox only plan on Olivo starting one two out of five games. Olivo is our best offensive catcher and might be the best defensive also, he needs to be in as much as possible.

Another thing that came to light yesterday is that the Sox plan on using Armando Rios as a second string centerfielder. This is an interesting decision, Rios only has seven career games in center coming into this season. He's also been through a torn ACL since the last time he played center. I am at least a little worried about Rios playing center. At the same time I don't think it will be long before Willie Harris replaces one of the three catchers. Maybe I'm just being optimistic. Today Rios starts in center.

Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus is reporting the Sox are a bit fed up with Dan Wright. Wright has now seen just about every arm expert in the country and they all say he's okay. Wright still says he's in pain. This situation is just getting weird. The Sox have said they expect Wright back by the end of the month. I hope everything works out because I believe in Wright and I feel like this team needs him.

Today is opening day for the minor leagues. Starting tomorrow I should have reports on the Sox minor league system. Fun stuff. I was hoping to attend both Sox baseball and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball this week but it looks like I will not be making it to Chicago so I'll have to settle for Midwest League action.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-31T22:11:00.000-06:00

It's opening day and I am just a little surprised at some of the things I see when I look at the White Sox roster. There are three catchers and a guy named stewart, what in the world is going on? I honestly don't have a clue what the Sox plan to do with three catchers. There's also no backup centerfielder, maybe they think Josh Paul picked up some new skills over the winter?

Carrying three catchers is a nothing other than tactical screw up. I also have a feeling the guy who will get the short end of the stick here is Miguel Olivo. That is terrible because he's the best player of the group and the one most in need of plate appearances to develop. If Olivo doesn't get much PT then this is worse than keeping Paul and Sandy Alomar on roster and sending Olivo to Charlotte.

And then there is Josh Stewart. Stewart is interesting in that he is a player who highlights the difference in attributes the Sox look for in right handed and left handed pitchers. The Sox have given lots of opportuinities to left handed pitchers who rely more on guile than velocity and for the most part it has paid off. Mike Sirotka, Jim Parque and Mark Buehrle are all notable examples.

Sox northpaws on the other hand tend to be hard throwing, impress the scouts types. Kip Wells and Jon Garland come to mind. Less scouttastic righties don't get much respect in the Sox organization. Josh Fogg was never taken seriously before being traded. Keith Foulke was never given an opportunity to start despite success in the minors and Ed "I'm the new Foulke" Almonte hasn't been given any opportunity to show hiw stuff in the majors.

I'm not sure if this says anything about Stewart himself. It's hard for me to see him succeeding, especially not immediately. Word is Dan Wright isn't seriously injured but will be out for a bit. I'm looking forward to Wright's return, I believe in him and I think the Sox will need him.

Now the other nasty topic of the day, the Sox season opener. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the game in Wisconsin but the box score doesn't look pretty. The Sox offense simply couldn't put runners on base, managing just five all game. Frank Thomas reached base three times all by himself which is nice to see. Also nice to see is a Joe Crede double. Jose Valentin made an error which is all the more fuel for Chicken Little Sox fans. Mark Buehrle started the season pitching like Mark Buehrle. Tom Gordon began his White Sox career by allowing a run in one inning of work. Hopefully I can listen to most of the Sox game on Wednesday before leaving for class at 2:50. I won't see my first live baseball of the year until Thursday when I check out the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers home opener. Should be exciting Midwest League action. And on Sunday I should be able to take in my first White Sox action of the season. I am definitely looking forward to that.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-31T00:27:00.000-06:00

Back home! The plan is to update tomorrow with my comments on the Sox roster and how my important questions for spring training looked.

2003-03-22T09:23:00.000-06:00

Okay so I lied. I'll make sure to update when I get back with a recap on my six pivotal spring questions for the White Sox and hopefully there will be news about the catching situation. Off to the beaches of Georgia!

2003-03-19T19:22:00.000-06:00

Sorry about a lack of updates, this is my finals week and news hasn't been quite as interesting. I'll have something significant to say before the end of the week and then I'll be on vacation until 3/30.

2003-03-17T22:19:00.000-06:00

As you sit in front of your computer reading this Jerry Manuel is determining who the Sox backup catcher will be. Sandy Alomar is officially the starter. Chalk this up as the first screw up of the season for the White Sox. Sandy Alomar just isn't a major league starter anymore. In the last two years he's hit .264/.296/.382 (AVG/OBP/SLG) when the league average has been .266/.335/.426. He doesn't even have anything left behind the plate defensely. The only thing preventing this move from being as benefitial as shooting one's self in the foot is what I said about Alomar being the starter last year: He won't be healthy for long enough for this decision to punish the Sox.

Who the other catcher on the roster is come opening day is a little more interesting than discussing Alomar's mediocrity. The two candidates are Miguel Olivo and Josh Paul. If this was all about talent Olivo would get the call without hesitation or at least he should. However there are a number of other factors. Namely Josh Paul doesn't have any options left. If he is sent down another team could claim him.

Now I wouldn't worry about another team taking Paul because he's as replaceable as they come but the Sox like him. It's hard for me to see the Sox not keeping Paul on the 25 man roster if they think they could lose him. Manuel has said that he'd consider keeping both Paul and Olivo but I don't see how that's possible. Realistically at the moment there are four guys left in camp who don't know their future. The following players have won jobs:

Sandy Alomar
Frank Thomas
Paul Konerko
D'Angelo Jimenez
Jose Valentin
Joe Crede
Carlos Lee
Aaron Rowand
Magglio Ordonez
Brian Daubach
Armando Rios
Tony Graffanino

Mark Buehrle
Bartolo Colon
Jon Garland
Dan Wright
Esteban Loaiza
Billy Koch
Damaso Marte
Gary Glover
Tom Gordon
Rick White
Kelly Wunsch

That's twenty three men. The guys left not guarenteed a job are Paul, Olivo, Willie Harris and Aaron Miles. If the Sox were to keep three catchers not only would it be pointless strategically but Harris couldn't make the team. Harris is the only player capable of backing up Rowand in center, so he should make the team. Aaron Miles has been mentioned as having a chance to make the team but he can only make the team if Harris is sent to the minors. Once again, that's not likely.

With Harris on the roster, one spot is left for another catcher. The problem here is Alomar's health. Alomar is doomed to break down and when that happens the Sox will need another catcher on the roster. I think the Sox want to keep Olivo but will only do so if they feel like they can sneak Paul through waivers. Jerry Manuel said the club is saving the decision for the 11th hour. I think Kenny Williams will spend the time between then and now examining other teams' catching situations to determine if there is interest in Paul. If the Sox determine they can likely sneak Paul through waivers they'll go ahead and send him to AAA. If there is a team out there looking for a backup catcher, Olivo is going to have a chance to check out the Charlotte night life.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-17T19:02:00.000-06:00

Hot news out of Sox camp. Examination of Dan Wright has shown he has no ligament damage. This is good and bad. Wright DOES have bone chips irritating him and says he'll be pitching in pain. I have to wonder why the Sox aren't sending Wright under the knife for a minor surgery to remove the bone chips. There is a chance that Wright will alter his mechanics because he's pitching with an injury and end up hurting something else. Not to mention the effect it could have on his performance. Most pitchers only miss 4-6 weeks after the removal of bone chips. That is about as long as I determined the Sox could reasonably afford to miss Wright. I've got an email out there asking Will Carroll what he thinks of this one.

Over the weekend Manuel also confirmed that Aaron Rowand is the Sox starting centerfielder. This is ranks up there with the sun rising this morning among predictable things.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-13T15:02:00.000-06:00

I actually didn't expect to have material to write about everyday but thats the case. It's nice to have news to write about, I just wish more of it was good.

Dan Wright will be throwing on Saturday. Unfortunately there's no new Under the Knife report @ Baseball Prospectus so I don't know what the expert on such matters has to say about this. Right now the Sox actually seem happy with their candidates for the fifth spot in a Wright-less rotation. Those would be Jon Rauch, Josh Stewart and Gil Heredia. I cringe as I read those names and I want to say "at least they aren't considering Gary Glover" but Glover is probably just as good as any of those three.

I've talked a lot about Rauch. His health is one of the critical spring training questions and unfortunately Rauch has been about as healhy as Tiny Tim. Don't take the fact that the Sox are considering him for the fifth spot as a sign he's healthy. They happily gave Rauch the fifth spot in the rotation last year when he was clearly less than 90% and hadn't pitched competitively in a good 8 months.

I still see no reason to take Josh Stewart seriously, think Mike Bertotti. Notice even Bertotti got six career starts so my over/under of three for Stewart's number of career starts was probably too conservative. Gil Heredia really shouldn't be taken seriously either. He's 37 and didn't pitch in the major leagues at all in 2002 because of arm surgery. Heredia was last seen with the A's in 2001 where he sported a 5.58 ERA in 109.2 IP. He also allowed 27 homers in that span pitching half his games at the Al Davis' Reconfigurable Hole in Oakland, which is a good pitchers park. Heredia doesn't belong in anyone's major league rotation.

The optimist in me says that with no good candidate to take Wright's spot the Sox expect him to be healthy but the Sox certainly went into last season without enough starting pitching. This year I can't even campaign for Keith Foulke to move to the starting rotation anymore. I really need to find another hopeless cause like that. Right now I'm liking the trade Paul Konerko for a lefthanded bat or maybe even another starter cause. I like it, it's a good idea and it's pretty hopeless.

Cliff Brumbaugh made his exit from big league camp in the last set of cuts, it's covered in the article I linked to above. Cliff is a guy who would could get some plate appearances if Paul Konerko is actually traded. This probably means the Sox are sufficiently impressed with Armando Rios and Brian Daubach to keep them both which is a good move. It's still unfortunate that Brumbaugh didn't get more of a shot. While he can't play middle infield he'd make a better bench player than Aaron Miles who is still in the running for a job.

The fascination in Miles has to be a product of his Southern League MVP but realistically Miles wouldn't make a good bench player. Second base is the only position he can play and he is still a defensive liability there. Miles isn't flexible and his bat isn't anything special. It will be a waste of a roster spot to bring Miles north.

To conclude today's notes, Aaron Rowand is supposed to make his first start in centerfield today. Rowand has been exclusively DHing due to a biking injury he suffered in the off season. It's good to see Rowand healthy but if he is 100% or close to it there is no chance we see Joe Borchard with the big league club. I can't imagine the Sox making it to the All-Star break without calling up Borchard so Rowand not quite being healthy enough to play center would just speed up inevitable.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-12T17:15:00.000-06:00

There's a lot to talk about today. Dan Wright still isn't feeling great but at least there is talk of him getting back on the mound. Although Will Carroll is reporting that Wright may have a major injury because Wright's elbow is still bothering him, several days after his last start. I'm sufficiently worried and Carroll doesn't yet have a specific diagnosis. When I emailed Carroll he neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of Tommy John surgery. As I pointed out yesterday, this would be a good time for the White Sox to make a move.

Making a move is exactly what the Twins did today, roping in Kenny Rogers. I now really want to know who the Twins have penciled it their rotation. If the Rogers signing pushes Johan Santana out the starting rotation I'm happy. As I talked about yesterday, Rogers is more likely to be a catastrophy than pitch like he did last year. An added bonus is that Rogers was offered arbitration by the Rangers so the Twins will lose their first round draft pick to Texas. This was pointed out to me by a friend on the White Sox Interactive message boads.

Right now it looks as if the Twins are keeping their most effective hitter and pitcher from last year out of the lineup. That's Bobby Kielty and Johan Santana. Kielty led the Twins with a 890 OPS last year, 31 points better than the next best on the team. While that was in a part time role and he isn't likely to be quite that good next year, he's been an on base machine at every level of the minors. Now Kielty has major league success to go with minor league pedigree and Ron Gardenhire still isnt' considering Kielty for a starting role.

Keeping your best hitter on the bench and your best starting pitcher in the pen is the kind of mismanagement that kept the Sox from being more competitive in the last couple years. I'm definitely talking about the nearly 900 plate appearances the Sox wasted on Royce Clayton while caging Joe Crede in AAA and forcing Jose Valentin out of position. Roster management mistakes are costly.

Finally, still on the subject of roster management. Jerry Manuel announced he plans to bring 11 relievers north with the Sox. I think this is a good call. In the past Manuel has carried 12 relievers with one guy being a young arm in the back of the pen never getting work and losing development time. Acknowledging this wasn't the right way to do things is good work and an extra bat on the bench will help with lineup flexibility.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-11T15:32:00.000-06:00

I'm becoming worried about the White Sox pitching depth, or lack there of. I've already talked about Wright's injury but reports out of Arizona on Jon Rauch aren't looking good. Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus reported Rauch has nothing this spring and his performance backs that up. It's not a smart move to pay a lot of attention to spring numbers but when people are saying you aren't healthy getting shelled on the mound isn't exactly silver lining.

I feel like I should have talked about pitching depth before. It's clearly a problem and it's something I saw a couple weeks ago but chose to be optimistic about it rather than realistic. Right now the Sox have four healthy major league starters. They could use at least one more. If the Sox are willing to spend some money the top candidates to join the team would be Kenny Rogers and Chuck Finley.

Rogers is the name most associated with the White Sox. In fact the Sox had open talks with Rogers before the start of spring training. Rogers spent last year with the Rangers and surprised a lot of people by going 13-8 with an ERA+ of 128. It was his best season since his 144 ERA+ with Oakland in 1998. Rogers will be 38 next year and most pitchers just don't have it anymore at 38. A little velocity gone, a little sharpness on the breaking ball lost, it all adds up. What Rogers has lost shows up in his strikeouts and home runs allowed.

I compared Rogers' 2000-02 seasons to his 1997-99 seasons. By comparison, in the more recent three year period his strikeout rate has dropped and his home runs allowed rate has gone up. Among pitchers qualifying for the ERA title last year, only Kirk Rueter had a lower K-rate than Rogers. In the last few years the bottom couple on that list have seen terrible follow up seasons. It was Omar Olivares and Scott Erickson in 1999, Brian Anderson and Steve Trachsel in 2000 and Jimmy Anderson and Steve Sparks in 2001. Accross the board those guys saw a drop in their IP and a rise in ERA. In other words Rogers got a lot of help from his defense and all signs point to him running out of gas faster than the neighborhood soccer mom's Landcruiser.

On the other hand I think Chuck Finley has some upside. Finley doesn't have the same red flags as Rogers. Despite pushing 40, in the last three years Chuck Finley is 15th among major league starters in K-rate between Mike Mussina and Pedro Astacio. It's been prven guys with good strikeout rates last long and are successful. By more subjective means, Finley still has good stuff. He can still hit the low 90s with his fastball and has the same nasty splitter he always had.

The one worry spot with Finley is his poor performance in 2001. For the most part it can be related to injuries. Fortunately the problem was stiffness in his neck rather than any arm issues and there was no reoccurance of the problem last year. If Finley joined the Sox rotation he'd have a good chance of out pitching Jon Garland and Dan Wright; whereas Kenny Rogers is at best an expensive #4 or #5 starter.

The other and less expensive option would be to find AAA veteran who has performed well but hasn't much gotten major league opportunity. I'd say a guy like this would perform comparable to Rogers but at the league minimum. My favorite option among that bunch is knuckle baller Jared Fernandez. He's been with the Reds organization for a while. Over the last two years he's gotten 63 big league innings with the Reds and held his own with a 4.44 ERA. Fernandez signed a minor league deal with the Astros and has an outside shot at their fifth starter job. I'm sure something could be worked out to bring him to the White Sox.

Another option is Angels pitcher Mickey Callaway. Callaway has a career AAA ERA of 3.70 and had a 4.19 ERA in six starts for the Angels last year. At best Callaway is 7th or 8th on the Angels starting pitching depth chart. For a bit more than it would take to get a guy like Fernandez or Callaway the Sox could go after Jason Johnson of the Orioles. Johnson is a usefully average major league starter who has been mentioned in trade rumors before. Any prospect the Sox could offer the Orioles would help the O's barren minor league system.

Really there are numerous options and I've only explored a handful. I'm hoping Kenny Williams pursues one of them because it looks like the White Sox might not have enough healthy starters for the season. Here's hoping whatever Kenny does, he doesn't overpay.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-10T05:07:00.000-06:00

So there is news out of White Sox camp and because this is spring, news means bad news. Dan Wright missed a start with elbow soreness. Tommy John surgery looms in most people's minds when elbow problems arise. TJ surgery typically requires about a year to return to competition but even longer before effectiveness returns. Nate Silver and Will Carroll's work, which I referenced in my March 6 entry, leads me to believe TJ surgery is unlikely.

Wright is past the age where pitchers typically require major arm surgery. Thats the good news. The bad news is if it's not a major injury it could be something that will hinder Wright even if it doesn't keep him out the lineup. My worry is the Sox may rush Wright back to the mound before he's healthy. Although Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers said in chat, Wright may start the season on the DL.

This isn't as bad as it might seem. A fifth starter will only be needed three times in the first month of the season. Let's say the White Sox lose Wright, who is expected to be the fourth starter, for the first month. It means they would open the season with a starting four of Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colon, Jon Garland and Esteban Loaiza. Unfortunately Gary Glover is the top candidate for picking up the three starts not covered by the top four. Still Gary Glover starting three games tops(?) isn't a bad sacrifice for having a healthy Dan Wright. Loaiza picks up Wright's starts and realistically Loaiza isn't any worse of a pitcher.

Losing Dan Wright short term isn't going to kill the White Sox. It's most important that whatever is going on with Wright's arm, he doesn't pitch again until he's healthy. This will prevent further damage and make the team better over the long haul.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-08T02:07:00.000-06:00

News out of Twins camp is that starter Eric Milton will miss more time than intially expected after knee surgery. While this seems like it might be a break for the White Sox (albeit an unfortunate one) it could be a curse as much as a blessing. Milton's injury opens the door for Johan Santana to start for the Twins. Santana is extremely effective on the mound. Last year the only pitcher with at least 10 starts and a higher strikeout rate than Santana was Randy Johnson. Santana sported a spectacular 2.99 ERA including going 7-4 3.13 as a starter with 89 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. Santana isn't exactly a guy you're glad to see in your division rival's rotation.

While it doesn't look like the Twins rotation is going to take a hit by losing Milton their bullpen sure will. Santana was going to be a valuable member of the Twins pen. Last season the Twins pen got the help of more than it's share of career years. Eddie Guardado's ERA was .58 runs better than his previous career best, La Troy Hawkins was 1.26 runs better and J.C. Romero's 1.89 ERA sticks out in his career line like Louis Farrakhan at a clan rally, it was a ridiculous 4.34 runs better than his past best. In addition, Tony Fiore pitched more than fifteen major league innings for the first time in his career, at age 30. Santana pitched just 13 games out of the pen last year and would have been a big help this season. Surely Santana will help the team more in the rotation but it looks like the Twins may have to address improving their bullpen at some point this season. They haven't even brought in any small name arms to assure their releif pitching will be as reliable as last season.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-06T14:28:00.000-06:00

In Joe Sheehan's Newsletter a couple times he played GM for a day for a team. Today I'm going to do that with the White Sox.

The first issue the average Sox fan will bring up is the starting rotation. Sure the Sox have Bartolo Colon now, but who is going to be the fifth starter? Call me crazy but I'm not worried about the fifth starter. Jerry Manuel and Kenny Williams seem determined to minimize the number of starts made by the fifth guy. The new plan is to skip the fifth guy to get the ball in the hands of Mark Buehrle and Colon as much as possible. Thats a good plan. Some combination of the fifth starter candidates will capably handle 25-30 starts. Plus if you make it to the playoffs you use four pitchers, maybe three.

The Sox also have the capability to score a lot of runs. The team is especially deep at the corners and the middle infield. The one problem with the lineup is the best hitters are all right handed. The Sox core of Paul Konerko, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee and Frank Thomas could produce the AL MVP but imagine when the opposition brings in a reliever like Jeff Nelson or even Chad Bradford. This lineup reminds me of the late 90's Houston Astros teams who were also heavily righthanded and scored lots of runs. Unfortunately they were obliterated in the postseason.

The White Sox need a bat who doesn't use righty as the lead hand. And it would help if the guy can play centerfield. The first players who come to mind are Brian Giles and Carlos Beltran. Giles is awesome, right now he's the second most dangerous weapon in the NL after some guy named Bonds. Giles has hit .308/.428/.601 (AVG/OBP/SLG) over the last three seasons. One issue with Giles is he isn't a real centerfielder. Putting him in center will make a defenseive hole and put him in a situation where he's more likely to be injured. The other problem is when the Sox inquired about Giles the Pirates asked for Mark Buehrle. Let's call a trade for Giles unlikely.

Going to Kansas City for Carlos Beltran seems a lot more reasonable. Beltran is a great defensive centerfielder and over the last two seasons he's hit .289/.354/.504. If thats not enough he is one of the best basestealers in the game and is 66 for 74 stealing bases over the same time span. He's also just 26. Beltran is the best young centerfielder this side of Andruw Jones.

Also KC GM Allard Baird isn't exactly the cock of the walk when it comes to making big deals. Baird has consistently found himself on the sucker end of deals. Fortunately he doesn't have much choice when it comes to dealing Beltran because Scott Boras has asked for a huge contract extension that Baird hasn't been willing to ante up.

So who do the White Sox give up for Carlos Beltran? Joe Borchard and Kris Honel. If you don't know Borchard well you should scroll down to my analysis of Sox positioned players. And Honel may be the Sox best pitching prospect. It might look a little crazy that I'm willing to give up the Sox best batting and pitching prospects but if it ever makes sense, it makes sense right now.

Borchard is definitely a great prospect that I'd love to keep but he's streched out in center field. He'll need to move to a corner at some point and right now our corners are filled. It's easier to find a good corner outfielder than a good centerfielder so when Borchard does move he'll lose some of his value. Carlos Beltran will fill the gap in center and make Borchard an extra piece.

Kris Honel is about as good a prospect you can be when you are 20 years old and not yet in AA. Nonetheless because he's 20 and not yet in AA makes him more likely to flame out than become a star despite his talent. Right now he's very likely to suffer a major arm injury in the next few years. Check out Will Carroll and Nate Silver's work on pitcher injuries. Numerous reports say Honel has lost velocity since high school. Let's just say that doesn't make him look like less of an injury risk. Even if he remains healthy he's at least two years away from the majors and that's assuming he doesn't spend a full year at each level of the minors. It'll be a while before Honel has a chance to be an impact White Sox pitcher.

I'm becoming more and more convinced this season is the White Sox best chance at winning the World Series in the next three. Colon will likely leave after this year. Frank Thomas isn't getting any younger. Carlos Lee and Paul Konerko are at the age you can expect their best seasons and Magglio Ordonez is still close to that age. In other words, the offensive core is as good as it's going to get and the rotation is likely to take a big hit after this year. Even the bullpen looks good. Now is the time to bring in someone like Beltran.

The major issue is whether the Sox can lock up Beltran long term. If they can it's a great deal. If they can't I think they should still explore an option like Carlos Lee, Honel and Corwin Malone for Beltran. Or possibly something involving Paul Konerko. The Royals do have Mike Sweeney but he can opt out of his contract after this season. There are a plethora of options. The Sox should make a serious bid to bring Carlos Beltran to Chicago.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-03-03T15:35:00.000-06:00

I was going to write about White Sox roster composition but I decided that I'd save that for later in the spring when I'll have a better idea of who is healthy and who isn't. It's hard to scratch up good topics to write about in the spring. There isn't much going on. When the games start at noon and the players have 2:00 pm tee times, things can't be taken too seriously. That's not to say spring training is useless. You can learn some things about a team, so I came up with a list of important questions for White Sox spring training:

1. Is Jon Rauch healthy?
2. Who will be the fifth starter? (really ties into #1)
3. Who will be in the bullpen?
4. When will Joe Borchard be in the majors?
5. How do Brian Daubach and/or Armando Rios fit into the mix?
6. Is Aaron Rowand healthy?

I think this is a good breakdown of what Sox fans and analysts are waiting to learn. Along the way we'll see tons of fluff pieces and clubhouse chemistry stories in the local papers. This year the Sox definitely have a lot fewer questions than last year. And that's a good thing. It's a terrible idea to come into a season thinking one month of exhibition games will affect your club significantly.

Next time I'm hoping for a little more in depth content. I may take a look at the Sox best opposition for the division crown, the Minnesota Twins.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-02-24T03:02:00.000-06:00

This look at relievers will conclude my look at the potential 2003 White Sox squad. There are a lot of arms with potential available to the Sox for the bullpen. The big questions are: Will Jerry Manuel and Kenny Williams sort out the right guys to pitch? And will Manuel put them in situations where they will be most effective? As a manager Manuel has done a pretty good job when it comes to bullpen usage. He hasn't been afraid to give opportunities to unheralded players like Kelly Wunsch or young players.

One of my most striking memories of Manuel is him calling on Chad Bradford, of little major league experience, to face Mike Cameron with runners on first and third in game one of the 2000 ALDS. Bradford was the perfect guy for the job, he is an extreme groundball pitcher and a double play would have ended the inning. Now the move didn't exactly work perfectly, Cameron got an RBI single but it barely left the infield. In other words Cameron got lucky. I think it was a good move by Manuel because it showed confidence in the strengths of his players, even an inexperienced one. If Manuel continues to show that kind of courage it will pay off for him.

The next update should be on Tuesday with a breakdown of how the roster should be configured.

Edwin Almonte RHP
Almonte is a minor league closer and they are a tricky breed. He got some press clippings for a gaudy save total in AA and some people anointed him "closer of the future". But to put this hype in perspective you should know Almonte's 36 saves in 2001 broke a Southern League record set by the illustrious Jerry Spradlin. This isn't to say Almonte hasn't been good, he has and his changeup has been compared to Keith Foulke's. Just don't get too excited, he's got a shot at being a good reliever but he won't be dominant.

Matt Ginter RHP
Ginter has handled righthanded batters well a couple years in a row but lefthanded hitters give him trouble. He gets righties out with a low 90s fastball and a great slider but doesn't have anything to handle the southpaws with. Ginter's other strength is his ability to go multiple innings as a former starting pitcher. Manuel seemed to lose confidence in Ginter after a rough August. If he learns to get lefties out he'll be a good setup man. Right now he needs to make himself better than Gary Glover if he wants a major league job.

Tom Gordon RHP
He's getting up there in years but he's still a good arm to have around. Gordon is a little better than Rick White, the other righthanded reliever the Sox picked up this season. Gordon will be a setup man for Billy Koch and has an outside chance of being really good again.

Billy Koch RHP
Every morning Koch wakes up and prays first with his body facing the inventor of the radar gun and then facing the inventor of the save. Those are the people he owes his arbitration money to because he's not as good as his paycheck would lead you to believe. If you weren't allowed to look at the save column you wouldn't know what Kenny Williams was thinking trading Keith Foulke for Koch. And is that really what it comes down to? One number means Koch is better when everything else tells you he isn't? Fortunately the Sox do have a lot of arms available to make up for the loss of Foulke who is one of baseball's best relievers.

Damaso Marte LHP
Damaso Marte was acquired last year in a deal that on the surface looked blatantly stupid. The Sox traded Matt Guerrier, a somewhat highly touted starting pitching prospect, for a mediocre looking Marte and second base prospect Edwin Yan. Guerrier didn't take a step forward but Marte was the second best pitcher in the Sox bullpen last year. At least Kenny made good after paying dollars on the nickel for Marte. Fine work by the Sox scouting staff. Marte can get righties out as well as lefties and hopefully Manuel will give him opportunity to pitch more innings this year. He'll likely be the best pitcher in the pen regardless of how many saves Koch gets.

Arnaldo Munoz LHP
When someone talks about Munoz the first thing you're likely to hear is that he has a Barry Zito curve ball and that makes me really happy. The next thing you're likely to hear is that he's the Sox closer of the future and that makes me really sad. I think anointing a closer of the future is silly. Most of the guys that take the closer role don't keep the position for an extended period of time. This is because closers are replaceable, unlike say a great hitting shortstop. Picking a closer of the future is about as useful an exercise as picking utility infielder of the future. Willie Harris anyone?

Mike Porzio LHP
It's really not very interesting talking about mediocre players and thats what Porzio is. The Sox tried him as a lefty specialist which was a lot like kicking yourself in the genitalia. Porzio didn't have a strong platoon split in the minors and shouldn't have ever been expected to be especially effective against left handed hitting. And he wasn't. Porzio had a great August where he allowed 5 hits and 16.1 IP, it was his defense backing him up. Lightning doesn't strike twice.

Rick White RHP
Rick White's numbers with the Rockies look horrid but Coors field can do that to you. Away from Coors he was good and once he joined the Cardinals he was dominant. There was some questioning among Sox fans as to whether this guy is worth having around. The answer is a big yes. He's got a low-risk contract and there is no reason to think he can't pitch at sea level.

Kelly Wunsch LHP
Can't get much closer to out of a job than this guy. He's only useful against lefties and had a pathetic 19/22 bb/k ratio last year. He's been a nice story but even if he survives and has a decent season this year he's too replaceable to be worth going to arbitration with. I wouldn't be surprised if he landed in Oakland at some point, Billy Beane seems to have a thing for guys like this. Beane did sign Mike Holtz after all.

Questions? Comments? Just want to tell me I'm a moron?

2003-02-21T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here's my look at White Sox starting pitching. There is a great top of the rotation and a lot of potential in the other three spots.

Mark Buehrle LHP
Ace. Buehrle has been the star of the staff for two years running and there's little reason to expect that his effectiveness will putter out. It's great that the Sox handle their young staff carefully but you could argue Buehrle should be handled even more carefully. His limit seems around 115 pitches which is reasonable but he's so effective he always throws a lot of pitches. There has to be some worry about pitch volume. Buehrle has tired down the stretch two years in a row. He has lost velocity late in the season, had two tough Septembers and his K-rates have been significantly lower in the second half. The Sox will surely need Buehrle at 100% in the playoffs (providing they make it that far), so it might be a good idea to be even more careful with him so that he's still throwing just as well in October as he is in May.

Bartolo Colon RHP
Ace #2. Colon gives the Sox a good shot at having two All-Star starting pitchers for the first time since 1994 when the Sox finished first in the AL Central in a strike shortened season. There's little chance Colon will repeat the 20 wins and sub-3.00 ERA he had last year but he should be a great number two starter behind Buehrle. I still can't believe they got this guy for virtually nothing.

Jon Garland RHP
Can you say breakout candidate? Not many pitchers can hold their own in a major league starting rotation for a full season at 22. So even though Garland's numbers last year don't look impressive, they are. Most highly touted guys his age are somewhere on Baseball America's top 100 prospect list. Last season Garland showed marked improvement over his 2001 season. He shined up his strikeout, walk and home runs allowed rates and completely dominated righthanded hitting. Right handed batters hit a meager .220/.295/.351 off Garland while lefties raked him to the tune of .287/.373./460. When he works out how to use his changeup and get lefties out he's going to be real good. That could be this year.

Gary Glover RHP
One of the things ex-Sox pitching coach Nardi Contreras said after he was fired was that Gary Glover was about to turn a corner. Could there be any better evidence Contreras needed to be fired than that? All the talent he's had to work with and he's talking about Gary Glover. Glover might have a future in the bullpen but he has no business starting major league games. Look for Glover to grab the low leverage long relief role in the bullpen.

Corwin Malone LHP
In 2001 Corwin Malone rocketed to the top of prospect lists seemingly out of nowhere. He was briefly considered one of the best lefthanded pitching prospects in baseball. Then Malone showed us how hype surrounding pitching prospects is fleeting by injuring his elbow and walking more batters than he struck out last year. Thankfully it was "just" elbow damage and not shoulder damage. If he gets off to a good start this year in AAA look for him to get a midseason call up and work out of the pen the way Mark Buehrle was used in 2000. He could be replacing Bartolo Colon in the starting rotation next year.

Esteban Loaiza RHP
Call me crazy but I think Loaiza will be a big help to the team. He won't be more than a fifth starter but he's much better suited to hold down the fort than Gary Glover. No one will argue that Loaiza doesn't have good stuff and he's been decent in the past. All we need is decent and if we're lucky he might have a run like he did with Toronto in 2000. Of course if we're unlucky we'll get a run like Toronto in 2002.

Jon Rauch RHP
He's a monster on the mound at 6'11" but theres a bit of a concern about him making it there in the first place. Like Malone, the question with Rauch isn't talent, it's health. He had a ridiculous minor league season in 2000 before missing almost all of 2001 with a torn labrum (technically a SLAP lesion). The treatment of labrum injuries is pretty sketchy right now with a high percentage of repeat procedures (see Anderson, Ryan) but it seems Rauch has a shot at a full recovery. He looked at or near full strength at the end of last season. I'll be convinced if he makes it through this season healthy. For now I wouldn't bet on him making more than 15 starts. But if he is healthy he'll be good.

Josh Stewart LHP
Overrated. He was Birmingham's best pitcher last year but he was in AA for the second season in a row, has mediocre stuff and doesn't really strike anyone out which isn't a good sign. He got some hype for pitching well in the AFL which is why more people know who he is than really need to. I'm placing the over-under for Stewart's career major league starts at 3.

Dan Wright RHP
Wright seemed to come around in the second half of last season. He increased his strikeout rate while lowering his walks and lowering his ERA more than a full run. I'm not surprised it took him a while to figure things out since he spent most of 2001 in AA and has no AAA experience. He's got four pitches and probably the best fastball on the Sox staff. He might be even more valuable than Garland. He doesn't have quite the same upside but his stuff makes him a candidate to take a step forward and he's past the age where pitchers randomly wreck their arms. A low starting point projection for Wright next year is 200 league average innings. He reminds me of Jason Schmidt.

Andrew Ritchie

2003-02-17T20:01:00.000-06:00

Wow this took a bit more time than I expected. Here's my overview of the White Sox positioned players, I tried to take a quick look at each player with a shot to contribute in 2003. The links for players who spend most of last year in the majors lead to Baseball-Reference and for guys who played in the minors to Baseball America.

All in all I'm very happy with the Sox positioned players. There isn't a single glaring weakness in the lineup, which is tough to pull off. If thats not enough there's also depth and manuverability. Centerfield is my area of most concern, not because there isn't someone to handle it but because I think the Sox may go with the wrong guy, Aaron Rowand. Even so I don't think it would take them too long to figure out their mistake. This team could score 900 runs.

I'll have my analysis of the pitchers up as soon as possible but this week I have a paper due on Friday and test the same day. Wish me luck. I'll likely split up the starters and relievers so I get some more content up ASAP.

Catchers

Sandy Alomar Jr. (r)
The White Sox got some surprising production (105 OPS+) out of Sandy Alomar last season. However when Alomar was dumped on the Rockies reality set in and his performance was comically bad (45 OPS+). Unfortunately Alomar's early season performance may have tricked GM Kenny Williams into thinking bringing back Alomar is a good idea. Over a full season Alomar is just going to be wasting plate appearances, even as a reserve. In the last three years his best full season OPS is 82. Alomar won't make it through the season without either retiring or being permanently placed on the DL.

Miguel Olivo (b)
Olivo is the best candidate to open the season as the Sox starting catcher. Frankly Olivo is the only option with the potential to be a decent major league starter. Last year Olivo rocked the Southern League to the tune of .306/.381/.479 in a great pitchers park. Olivo was the league's best player even though his teammate Aaron Miles, a non-prospect second baseman, walked away with the league MVP. On defense Olivo's arm has been compared to Ivan Rodriguez and his receiving skills are said to be solid. Olivo even has wheels, he stole 29 bases in 42 attempts and lead the SL in triples. With opportunity Olivo should be above average with his bat and his glove. There is star potential here.

Josh Paul (r)
I'm still not sure why this guy has gotten as many chances as he has. Paul is a weak hitter, isn't particularly good on defense and has become known for less-than-heads-up play. At his best Paul is a passable backup catcher. He can also fill in at third and in left and he has some speed for a catcher. For the 2003 season the Sox should make him the backup catcher and leave him alone. In this role he wouldn't do much damage and he is no longer taking playing time from Mark Johnson. At 28 he's older than most people think and only a year younger than Magglio Ordonez.

Infielders

Joe Crede (3b-r)
In 2002 Joe Crede was finally handed him the major league job upper management denied him for too long. Once in the the majors, he hit a respectable .285/.311./.515 in 209 plate appearances. Over a full season he'll need to be a little more patient at the plate. His minor league record says he'll make the necessary improvement. The Sox won't have to worry about third base for a while.

Brian Daubach (1b-l)
Daubach is a useful spare part at the moment. He looks like Magglio Ordonez against righthanding pitching and Rey Ordonez against southpaws. Okay, maybe more like Paul Konerko against righties. Nonetheless he will be miscast on the bench, he's still useful as the lefthanded half of a platoon. Daubach can also play leftfield. His presence could facilitate a trade of Carlos Lee or Paul Konerko.

Tony Graffanino (ut-r)
Graffanino is like that girl who you keep around as a safety blanket. You're never going to date her even though she's probably better than half the girls you do go out with. At the same time you're not going to just let her go. Graffanino isn't going to get a chance to start for the White Sox but he is one of the best reserve infielders in baseball. Jerry Manuel should be very happy to have him again this year after recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in August of last season.

Willie Harris (2b-l)
Harris came over from Baltimore for centerfielder Chris Singleton. Many people, myself included, believed it was a coup for Kenny Williams to get anything for the mediocre and arbitration eligible Singleton. Harris is an exciting player, he's fast, he stole 54 bases in one AA season, he legs out an occasional triple and he does backflips a la Ozzie Smith. Despite the excitement he hasn't learned to get on base enough to be useful. Right now he projects as a utility player. It helps that he can also play the outfield.

Tim Hummel (2b-r)
Hummel is a big guy for a middle infielder. He actually played most games at shortstop last year in AAA Charlotte but second base is his best position. He was a sleeper prospect going into the 2002 season and dissapointed many with his .260/.332/.346 showing in the Charlotte bandbox. He seemed to get things back in gear late in the year. Perhaps not coindently he was playing more second base at that point. Permanently moving to the less challenging position could help him. I still like him but he's getting old for a guy not yet seriously battling for a major league roster spot.

D'Angelo Jimenez (2b-b)
I like this guy a lot. Jimenez has got a lot going for him. He's perceived as a dissapointment but if you look at his aggregate major league performance, which is well over 800 plate appearances, he's already been a solid major league middle infielder. He's also only 25 this season. Jimenez can get on base and should play second base solidly. He's certainly athletic enough, he played shortstop in the minor leagues with the Yankees. The only skill he hasn't shown at the major league level is hitting for power and his minor league record says he can do that a little bit too. Don't be surprised if he hits .280 with 75 walks and 45 extra base hits.

Paul Konerko (1b-r)
Paul Konerko may be the most overrated White Sox player despite still being productive. Konerko had an electric first half of 2002, hitting .328/.379/.571 and finally looking like he'd fulfill the potential he had when he was minor league player of the year with the Dodgers organization. Unfortunately a mediocre second half brought Konerko's overall production back down to his established level. Now it looks as though Konerko will never take the next step and become a star.

In November Konerko capitalized on the publicity he received in-season and signed a 3 year 23 million dollar contract extenstion. For the duration of the contract he should remain a reliable yet unspectacular first baseman. There is value in the durability and year to year consistency Konerko brings to the table.

Frank Thomas (dh-r)
He's here because he has to be somewhere and the potential for him to play first base does exist. Realistically he's not going to be the guy he was in the early to mid 90's or even in 2000. He can still be a very good 1B/DH type. The most comparable player to Thomas is Jeff Bagwell and he's still good. In fact Thomas's BA/OBP/SLG numbers over the last five years look a lot like Bagwell's performance in 2002. Look for Thomas to be healthy, post an OPS around 900 and provide the lineup with some well needed plate discipline. He'll be a bargain.

Jose Valentin (ss-b)
The Sox are blockheaded for ever screwing with Valentin. He came in for the 2000 season, hit really well and played 90% of the team's games at shortstop. The team won 96 games, so what do they do? Move Valentin to third base to get Royce Clayton, an all-glove no-hit shortstop, on the field. Valentin kept hitting but his bat was wasted at third base. Two mediocre Sox seasons later Valentin will be back at shortstop where he belongs. E6 be damned. The decision to bring in Royce Clayton was one crippling decision in a series of them that kept the Sox from dominanting the AL Central over a period of several years. Right now the Twins are in a better position to do that.

Outfielders

Joe Borchard (cf-b)
Borchard is a major prospect. He's comparable to Jim Edmonds except with more power and less defensive prowess. Once he takes hold of centerfield he'll be productive for years to come. The Sox have taken their time with Borchard, similar to the way they handled Joe Crede. An offseason injury to Aaron Rowand may have opened the door for Borchard to start the season with the White Sox. He's a 30 home run threat immediately.

Cliff Brumbaugh (lf-r)
Brumbaugh is a slick minor league signing by Kenny Williams. Brumbaugh is a right handed hitting corner outfielder who could be the other half of a platoon with Brian Daubach. Brumbaugh is 28 and has just 21 major league at-bats but his career line at AAA is .295/.385/.458. He could get on base enough to be valuable.

Carlos Lee (lf-r)
Carlos Lee has confused the hell out of me. Just as I was ready to give up on him, he completely turned his game around. In the second half of last season Lee finally figured out how to take a walk and hit .283/.407/.521 in 266 plate appearances. That includes 45 walks for a guy who had walked 38 times in each of the last two full seasons. He was literally a different player. Ironically at the very same time trade rumors regarding Lee seemed to become serious. It would be a shame to trade Lee now that he seems ready to become one of the AL's better leftfielders. I did some reasearch on plate discipline leaps like Lee's and the results showed he's likely to keep his production up. Right now the Sox could use the plate discipline Lee brings to the table. Now there's something I never expected to write.

Magglio Ordonez (rf-r)
Each year with Magglio Ordonez on the White Sox has been like getting a surprise gift. The surprise is how he improves his game in each particular season. Since his 1997 International League MVP season there have been analysts to reasonably argue that we've seen the best Magglio has to offer. Ordonez has continued to prove otherwise. He's been called an MVP candidate here and there, if he takes his game up another level he really will deserve the award.

Armando Rios (rf-l)
Rios has a good career line of .276/.358/.461 and could be very useful off the bench, if healthy. It's a big risk for Rios who was plagued by a myriad of injuries below the belt last season. It's possible that the problems were caused by adjustments he made to rush back from an ACL tear. He's just as likely to be a non-factor as he is to help out.

Aaron Rowand (cf-r)
I'm not entirely sure what to make of Rowand so I'll go with what I've said all along, he's no more than a fourth outfielder. In 2002 he saved being completely passed by in the organization with a good half season at AAA and some part time work with the Sox. In 2002 Rowand hit like I expected him to right when some people convinced me to reconsider my stance on his lack of usefulness. He'll be a good defensive replacement and passable bat off the bench.

-Andrew Ritchie

2003-02-09T03:33:00.000-06:00

This is going to become a blog about the Chicago White Sox and general MLB news. I'm going to begin with an overview of the White Sox team. I'll have an outline of positioned players up by Wednesday. Once the season starts I plan to update at least three times a week. This should be interesting!