Black Sox Blog

Man, the Rockies took it to us.  Buerhle gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in two innings while Jon Garland took it on the chin to the tune of seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in two innings of work.  To make matters worse, Bobby Jenks was taken out of the game because of a sore shoulder.  Not a good start and it was only game number one.

Joe Crede did have two hits and a run while Juan Uribe, who looks like he’s free and clear of his legal difficulties, went two for two with a run and an RBI.  The White Sox will have a chance to turn it around against the Diamondbacks tomorrow.

Scott Podsednik admits that he rushed back too soon to play on opening day and by not being fully ready, he may have caused more problems.  This year he’s coming off of another injury (hernia surgery) and he’s now said he’s not going to rush back just to play on opening day.  For the time being Darin Erstad will fill in for Podsednik and when Scott is able to return, Ozzie Guillen will have to shuffle things up.

When does an .804 OPS rank amongst the league leaders?  When you’re playing in the dead ball era.  On the face of things, Joe Jackson had an off year in 1917.  He only hit .301 but he was the best hitter on the best offense in baseball in 1917.  The White Sox led the American League in runs (656) and OBP (.323) and they were second in slugging (.326).  So it’s hard to argue Jackson had an off year when he was the best hitter on the best offensive team in the league.

Jackson finished in the top five in several offensive categories.  His .804 OPS was fifth in the league and he was fourth in runs with 91.  His 75 RBIs were good for fifth in the American League and his five homeruns was seventh in the league.  He also finished behind only Ty Cobb with 17 triples.  As far as on the team, he was first in OPS, slugging, runs, doubles and triples and he was second in RBIs and homeruns. 

Jackson also had a solid postseason.  He didn’t light it up, but he had a solid .304 batting average with four runs scored and two RBIs.  He also didn’t strikeout at all.

Here are Jackson’s numbers in 1917:

Games 146
AB 538
Runs 91
Hits 162
Doubles 20
Triples 17
Homeruns 5
RBIs 75
Walks 57
Strikeouts 25
Stolen Bases 13
Caught Stealing 0
BA .301
OBA .375
SLG% .429
OPS .804
RC 93
RCAA 35
RCAP 23
RC/G 6.12
ISO .128

White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe said he’ll be there on Tuesday when the White Sox kick off spring training in Arizona.  His legal troubles are coming to a head and there’s a hearing over his shooting case next week as well so he might have to hop back on a plane.  Regardless, he’s now required to report in to the Dominican Republic court on the 15th and 20th of every month so if things aren’t resolved next week, he’ll have to go back at the end of the month.

The White Sox don’t have a lot of holes but one is particularly glaring.  Brian Anderson had a rough rookie year out in center and he’ll have to prove his stuff this spring because while the centerfield spot is probably his a lose, it is there to lose.  As this column discusses, waiting in the wings is Ryan Sweeney and then you also have Darin Erstad.

Another intrigiuging choice would be Josh Fields.  If they found a spot for Fields in the outfield, then maybe they’d make more of a commitment to Joe Crede at third base.

The White Sox had the best pitching staff in the American League in 1917, and the staff’s ace was Eddie Cicotte.  His 1917 numbers were pretty much off the chart.  He led the American League in wins (28), ERA (1.53), WHIP (0.912), innings (346 2/3) and only Walter Johnson had more strikeouts then Cicotte’s 150.  They didn’t give the award away back then, but Ed Cicotte was given the ex post facto Cy Young award in the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. 

There’s no doubt Cicotte was a workhorse in 1917.  His previous high in innings pitched was only 269 1/3 and never before had he won 20 games.  His 150 strikeouts was also a career high and he finished 29 of his 35 starts.  No other White Sox threw more then 250 innings and no other won more then 17 games.

Here’s a look at Cicotte’s numbers in 1917: 

Wins 28
Losses 12
Games 49
Games Started 35
Complete Games 29
Innings Pitched 346
Hits 246
Runs 76
Earned Runs 59
Walks 70
Strikeouts 150
ERA 1.53
Runs Saved Above Average 38
Shutouts 7
H/9 6.40
BR/9 8.30
SO/9 3.90
BB/9 1.82
SO/BB 2.14
Neutral Wins 29
Neutral Losses 11

It looks like these legal problems of Juan Uribe are going to cause the shortstop problems after all.  Uribe has a court date of February 21st, which is the day his team reports to spring training.  I’ve touched on this before, but Uribe is being accused of provoking a shooting where two people were ultimately injured in Uribe’s home country, the Dominican Republic.

For now, Uribe can leave the country but he’ll be forced to travel back to the Dominican Republic twice a month.  Whether this extends into the regular season will determine whether Uribe’s season is really affected.  In the meantime, Uribe maintains his innocence.