Black Sox Blog

In 2007, Jim Thome led the White Sox in batting with an average of .275.  With only two other players breaking the .260 mark, better offensive production is going to be very important for the South Side Sluggers if they want a chance in the stacked AL Central.  Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede and the rest of the crew need to play to their potential to put some pressure on opposing pitchers as well as give their pitchers some insurance runs.   While the Sox slugged more home runs than the favorite Indians and Tigers a year ago, both clubs well surpassed the Sox in RBI and especially runs scored.  Getting on base early and often will be key to helping put more runs on the board in a league that is showing capabilities of putting up high run totals day in and day out.  Ozzie Guillen is going to need to find a good combination of 1, 2, and 3 hitters that can put up high on-base percentages to give the sluggers a chance to bring them home.  Key in the newcomers to shake things up and help increase the embarrassing run totals of a year ago.  Thanks to the big time line-ups of the Tigers and Indians, as well as the solid pitching staffs of both teams, Ozzie Guillen and the Sox are going to have to be determined and play with a chip on their shoulder to put up the run totals to rival their adversaries.

With so many new faces in new places, the 2008 MLB season will be characterized by how the off season moves will impact each team.  The era of free agency has shown how it can create great parity within the league, setting up epic battles between teams in every division.  After a lackluster 2007 season, the Chicago White Sox look for their newly acquired personnel to make an immediate contribution.  Ozzie Guillen and the Sox look to new Shortstop Orlando Cabrera to thrive not only defensively, but with his quick bat and intelligence at the plate, he is a perfect fit to hit number two in the line-up or possibly even lead-off.  Cabrera’s intangibles also excite the club, his leadership will help to bring the club house closer together and make everyone around him step up their play.  With the exception of Bobby Jenks, the bullpen last year was bad, that is why the performance of relievers Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel is vital to the success of the Sox.  Linebrink’s experience and wicked sinker will help preserve leads and keep opponent run totals down in anticipation for Jenks to come out and rock the crowd.  Dotel’s addition deepens the bullpen and takes pressure off of many guys so that the whole crew can perform to their full ability when they get their chance.  Teams can never have too many relievers when going up against the big names of the AL Central such as Magglio Ordonez and Travis Hafner.  The catalyst of the newcomers this year has to be switch hitting outfielder Nick Swisher.  Swisher brings high octane and a genuine  excitement to the game.   With a chance to be a fan favorite on the south-side, look to Swisher and Guillen to gel well together and bring back that swagger to the Sox that they have been missing for the past two seasons.  With so many changes this season, don’t count out the Sox, expect the unexpected in 2008.

This is a pretty good writeup on White Sox pitching prospect Lance Broadway.  Scott Merkin discusses the White Sox top 2005 draft pick’s chances of breaking into the rotation in 2008.  It’s nice that the front office is continually able to produce quality prospects.

The story also talked about how the White Sox WERE going to pick up Mark Buehrle’s option.  I kind of thought he’d be the odd man out, but Merkin speculates that it could be any of last year’s five starters who gets dealt.

September 26, 1906 at Southside Park
White Sox 2, Americans 0  (87-55)

The White Sox extended their American League lead to two games with third straight win over the Boston Americans.  Ed Walsh pitched another shutout and he gave up only six hits in an outstanding pitching performance.

George Davis had the only extra base hit of the game.  He doubled and scored a run.  George Rohe singled twice in the win.

September 11, 1906 at South Side Park
Browns 7, White Sox 3  (76-51)

The White Sox were blown out by the St. Louis Browns for their second straight loss.  Frank Owen gave up three runs in the first inning and he was pulled after that in favor of Frank Smith. 

The White Sox scored two of their three runs in the first inning.  Ed Hahn singled twice and scored to lead the White Sox with the bats.

Sometime the goal isn’t to win, it’s to lose less.  The White Sox dropped two of three to the Twins and they’re causing us problems by staying in the mix.  The good news is, the Tigers are faltering, so at the end of the day, there could be room for both of us.  Needless to say, this is a huge series this week.

Friday’s game was kind of ugly.  The White Sox could never get on track and while they tied it at 3-3 in the sixth, the Twins didn’t let that sit for long.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 33 and he drove in two runs.  FreddY Garcia took the loss and gave up five runs on ten hits in 6 1/3 innings of work.  Final was 7-3.

On Friday, the White Sox ran into Johan Santana.  Between that a Twins four run third inning, the White Sox couldn’t muster a come back.  Javier Vazquez dropped to 11-8 and in seven mediocre innings.  Tad Iguchi had two hits and an RBI.

Saturday’s win was bigger then it might have appeared.  Had we lost that game, we would be on the outside looking at the Wild Card.  Garland gave up only one unearned run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings.  Rob Mackowiak homered while Jim Thome doubled twice and scored twice.

Yesterday, the White Sox ran into Johan Santana.  Between that a Twins four run third inning, the White Sox couldn’t muster a come back.  Javier Vazquez dropped to 11-8 and in seven mediocre innings.  Tad Iguchi had two hits and an RBI.

The Tigers still have a nice lead, so a 2-2 split won’t cut it here.  If we’re going to make some progress, we need three of four.  And hopefully while we do that, the Twins hit the skids as well and give us some breathing room.

August 1, 1906 at South Side Park
Americans 3, White Sox 1  (50-43)

The White Sox four game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Boston Americans.  Ed Walsh threw a solid game and gave up three runs on ten hits but he was given only one run to work with by the offense.

Lee Tannehill scored the only run for the White Sox.  He tripled and scored in the third inning.

July 4, 1906 at South Side Park
Browns 3, White Sox 0  (36-31)

The White Sox were shutout in the first game of their second straight doubleheader.  Browns starter Barney Pelty held the White Sox to a single hit as the White Sox were completely shut down.

Roy Patterson threw a decent game but it went to waste because of yet another pathetic performance by the White Sox hitters.  He gave up three runs on only four hits and two walks with two strikeouts in eight innings.

July 4, 1906 at South Side Park
White Sox 5, Browns 1  (37-31)

The White Sox finished up their four game series with a win over the Browns.  Nick Altrock picked up the win and he gave up a single run on eight hits.

The game was close through six innings when the White Sox opened the game up.  A three run seventh put the game away but prior to the White Sox had a 1-0 lead for most of the game.

I guess I can accept two of three.  And the Tigers took two of three against the Pirates so here it is, Sunday night, and we’re two and a half games back.  If the Yankees lose tonight (they’re just starting), we’ll have a seven game lead over them for the Wild Card.  That’s pretty substantial. 

Juan Uribe has simply been on fire and he had an outstanding series.  On Friday, he was a triple short of the cycle and he drove in five runs.  Jon Garland had a solid start and he gave up two runs on seven hits through six innings of work.  I didn’t see the game, but Paul Konerko stole his first base since 2004 and it was only one of five in his career.

Saturday, A.J. Pierzynski came up huge.  His three run homerun in the top of the ninth gave the White Sox an 8-6 lead and that ended up being the final.  Jim Thome, Joe Crede and Paul Konerko also homered in the game.  Neal Cotts picked up the win and Bobby Jenks saved his 25th game of the season.

Today’s game was rather odd with the wind blowing out.  The White Sox and Mets combined to score 26 runs and they had 34 hits in a slugfest.  Juan Uribe drove in four more runs and Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye scored twice.  Mark Buehrle gave up ten earned runs (11 total) through five innings of work. 

Next up is a four game series at home against the Orioles.  Baltimore is just ahead of the last place Devil Rays in the AL East and it’d be nice to for the White Sox to bury them and maybe head into the All Star break in first place.

The White Sox keep on winning as do the Tigers.  And the more this goes one, the more it looks like the Tigers and White Sox will be competing for who they get to play in the first round more then they’ll be playing for a playoff spot.  Regardless, the Astros came to town and the White Sox took care of business, taking two of three in their weekend series.

On Friday, a grand slam by Scott Podsednik gave the White Sox a 6-0 lead and Jose Contreras kept his winning streak alive.  Contreras is now 8-0 and he gave up four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.  The final was 7-4.  Joe Crede has two hits and three runs in the game.

Saturday was a fun game.  The White Sox were down 5-1 and they scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh on Joe Crede’s grand slam to tie the game up.  The game went into extra frames and then in the tenth, Alex Cintron singled home Rob Mackowiak to win the game.  Matt Thorton picked up the win in the 6-5 win after pitching 2 1/3 shutout innings to close out the game.

Last night’s game started out as a blow out before the White Sox stormed back.  Down 9-1, the White Sox scored one in the seventh, three in the eighth and then four in the ninth (another grand slam, this time by Tad Iguchi) to tie the game up.  This time though, the Astros came out on top and they scored a run in the thirteenth to put the game away.  Javier Vazquez was roughed up and Iguchi finished the game with two homeruns and seven RBIs (his three run shot in the eighth accounted for those three runs).

Next up is the lowly Pirates, who have dropped eleven straight games.  We’re still a game and a half back of the Tigers, who swept the Cardinals this weekend.  And not that I’m settling for it right now, but the Sox have a nice, comfy six game lead for the Wild Card so there’s always that to fall back on.

What a beatdown.  The Cardinals, despite their injuries, are the cream of the crop over in the National League.  They came to the south side and left with their tails between their legs.

On Tuesday, the White Sox scored eleven runs in the third inning and proceeded to score 20 runs on 24 hits in the entire game.  Joe Crede hit two homeruns and he was one of four different players to drive in three runs.  He also scored four times.  Every White Sox starter had at least one hit and one run and ironically the only starter who didn’t drive in a run was Jim Thome.  Javier Vazquez cruised to an easy win and he’s now 8-4.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Of course David Riske and Ozzie Guillen were kicked out of the game after Riske beaned Duncan.  This was after Sidney Ponson hit both Brian Anderson and Pablo Ozuna.

The offensive onslaught continued on Wednesday.  This time it took three different innings to get to ten runs, but by the end of three, the Sox had a 10-3 lead.  The final tally put them at thirteen runs on sixteen hits.  Joe Crede homered again while Jim Thome hit his 23rd .  Paul Konerko drove in four runs and Tad Iguchi knocked in three.  This time it was Buehrle who benefited from the run productoin.  He also improved to 8-4 and he gave up four runs on ten hits with five strikeouts in seven innings.

Yesterday was the antithesis of the previous two games.  The White Sox managed only a single hit in the entire game and fortunately it was a solo homerun by Thome.  Freddy Garcia and Bobby Jenks combined to throw a four hit shutout.

Finally we’re knocking on the Tigers door.  We’ll also miss Roger Clemens as the White Sox play a rematch in what was last year’s World Series because the Astros come to town for the weekend series. 

Anytime you head out on the road and take three of four games, it’s a solid series.  Unfortunately, the Tigers won their four game series with the Devil Rays, so we’re right back to that game and a half deficit that we had after the weekend.

On Monday, Jose Contreras won his fifteenth game in a row and improved to 7-0.  He gave up three runs but he struck out eleven.  A.J. Pierzynski hit a homerun and drove in two runs while Jim Thome scored twice.

Not to be outdone, Jon Garland picked up the hitting on Tuesday with one his best outings of the year.  The final was 5-2 and Garland improved to 5-3 on the season.  Not bad for a guy with a 6.01 ERA.  Paul Konerko did the bulk of the damage with a three run homerun and Thome scored two more times.

Wednesday was a nasty loss.  Vicente Padilla completely shutdown the White Sox, who managed only four hits the entire game.  Joe Crede had a tough game with three strikeouts.  That was only the second time all season he struck out at least twice in a game.

The Sox got back on track yesterday.  They jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four and Mark Buehrle threw eight solid innings to pick up his seventh win.  Juan Uribe and Jim Thome both homered and Pablo Ozuna had three hits and two RBIs.

The Sox head to Cincinnati for a three game series.  At this point, if we win, things will take care of itself so that’s all I ask.

June 6, 1906 at South Side Park

White Sox 4, Athletics 3  (19-21)

The White Sox won their third straight and finished a sweep over the Athletics in a tight contest.  The A’s led for most of the game, but the White Sox finally tied it up with a single run in the seventh, and then they took the lead with two runs in the eighth.

Frank Owen yielded three runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  The White Sox managed only six hits but they made their baserunners count.  The White Sox scored both of their eighth inning runs on a throwing error by Athletic’s third baseman Art Brouthers and Billy Sullivan’s single in the seventh scored Jiggs Donahue to tie the game up.

June 5, 1906 at South Side Park

White Sox 7, Athletics 1  (18-21)

The White sox turned on the offense as they blew out the A’s 7-1.  Ed Hahn had the unusual box score as he went zero for one with four walks and two runs.  He absolutely did the job of the leadoff man.

Lee Tannehill went three for four with a run and Frank Isbell had a single, a double and a run.  Doc White picked up the win and gave up only a single hit.  Bris Lord broke up his no hitter in seventh inning with a single left center.

June 4, 1906 at Southside Park

White Sox 3, Athletics 2  (17-21)

Roy Patterson outdueled Athletic’s starter Eddie Plank as the White Sox topped last year’s American League champs.  The White Sox pulled ahead with two runs in the sixth inning to put them ahead for good, 3-2.

Ed Hahn had a solid game.  He went two for three with a walk and a run.  Frank Isbell went two for four with a triple and a run and Jiggs Donahue had two hits.

Patterson gave up two runs on eight hits and no walks with six strike outs.

June 2, 1906 at Southside Park 

White Sox 6, Naps 1  (16-20)

Frank Owen gave up one run on only six hits as he pitched the White Sox to the win.  Fielder Jones and Frank Isbell both scored two runs and all ten of the White Sox hits were singles.

The win snapped a three game losing streak.  Owen struck out two and yielded only one walk.

I just got done watching the brawl and things are calming down.  What a cheap shot by Michael Barrett, although I am curious as to what A.J. might have said to Barrett.  Not sure if the slapping home plate was a big deal.  He wanted to make sure he was touching home plate.

Man am I glad that these games don’t count.  The White Sox have the day off today and they sure need it.  They lost again yesterday, this time to the Rockies and Jose Contreras was MIA because of a sore tricep.  Bobby Jenks was shelled to the tune of three runs in one inning but the rest of the usual suspsects in the pen seemed to be having a decent season.

Contreras is having a great spring and he’s one of the bright lights in a rough stretch.  He’s thrown ten innings and has a 14/0 strikeout to walk ratio.  Brandon McCarthy has had a couple of rough starts but Mark Buehrle’s had some quality starts.

Scott Podsednik and Dustin Hermanson are also on the shelf.  Podsednik has a sore right shoulder and Hermanson has a sore back.  Hermanson is scheduled to throw on the side tomorrow so hopefully we see some improvement.

This Baltimore Sun column talks about a possible trade brewing between the White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies.  According to the rumors, the Phillies would send us Bobby Abreau and Gavin Floyd and we’d send Jermaine Dye and Jose Contreras.

This trade would be huge.  Abreau is one of the most underrated great hitters in the league (he finally got some cred after winning the homerun derby at last year’s All Star Game).  And trading Contreras would open up a rotation spot for Brandon McCarthy.

Part way through last season, the White Sox signed Ozzie Guillen to a contract extension.  The White Sox were cruising to a division championship, and everything looked good for White Sox fans.  I was critical of the extension because I’ve never liked Ozzie Guillen’s managerial style and that he seemed to catch lightening in the bottle with the surprise team of 2005.  I was worried they wouldn’t get it done in the playoffs and we’d be stuck with Guillen for an extended period of time.

I was almost right, but not quite in the way I thought.  The White Sox almost blew their chance of even making the playoffs.  Although once they did, they cruised the playoffs and the near historic choke was long forgotten.

In a lot of ways, Sox fans have reason to be happy because the 2006 version of the White Sox “should” be better then last year’s.  Javier Vazquez is a step up from Orlando Hernandez and this year the Sox have two certified mashers in Jim Thome and Paul Konerko.  My worry is that Ozzie Guillen tries to coach the 2006 version of the Sox the same we he coached the 2005 Sox.    There’s no reason Scott Podsednik should be getting on base then summarily getting gunned down when he has two big bats behind him.  Hopefully we won’t see as much bunting either.  And if I hear Joe Morgan mention “Smart Ball” one more time, I’m going to vomit.

The point of this column?  I’m getting there.  White Sox MLB.com beat writer Scott Merkin wrote a column on that undefinable thing called “team chemistry” as if that was what won them their first World Series in 88 years.  While it helps that everyone gets along, it’s not the be all and end all.  Also keep in mind that most everyone on the team is happy when you’re winning.  if the Sox get off to a slow start next year, we’ll see if they’ll be able to “stick together” and get the job done.

I call 1992 the calm before the storm.  It wasthe only full season Frank Thomas had until 1998 where his OPS is less then 1.000.  In a lot of ways, he took a step back but it was still a quality season and he did show some improvement in different areas.  He did score more runs (108) and drive in more runs (115) then he did the year before, but the most marked area of improvement was in his strikeout to walk ratio.  1992 was the first season where he walked more then a 100 times, yet struck out less then a 100, a streak that would carry through to the 1998 season.  He also set what would be a career high (to date) with 46 doubles, so while he was driving the ball, it seems like they were just falling short.  He actually had five more (70) extra base hits then he did in 1991.  Definitely a precursor for things to come.

And the writers gave him some recognition despite only hitting 24 homeruns.  He finished eighth in the MVP voting. He finished third in the batting race (.323) and for the second straight season, he led the league in OBP (.439).  And despite slipping below the 1.000 OPS mark, he still led the league with a .975 OPS.  He also led the league in walks (122) and doubles (46).

In the White Sox season opener in Anaheim against the Angels, Frank Thomas got off to a great start.  He went two for three with two walks, a homerun, a double three runs and one RBI.  He followed that up with two singles and an RBI in the second game of the season, but then went into a pretty rough slump.  By April 21, he was hitting only .195 and at the end of April he was up to only .210.  Then he opened May with a nine game hitting streak and never looked back.  By late July, he was hitting over .300 for good.  He had four hits in a game twice, but never drove in more then three runs in a single game.

He absolutely mashed left handed pitching.  His final line against lefties was .357/.456/.650.  24 of his 50 hits against left handed pitching were extra base hits.  His best month of the season was August, when he went .367/.475/.602.  And he absolutely destroyed the Detroit Tigers, hitting their pitchers for a .409/.536/.750 line in 12 games.

At the time, I’m sure most people didn’t view 1992 as an off year for Frank Thomas.  He just didn’t put up the numbers that he would in 1993 and 1994 when he’d walk away with MVPs.  Let’s take a look at the numbers….

Games 160
AB 573
Runs 108
Hits  185
Doubles 46
Triples 2
Homeruns 24
Walks 122
Strikeouts 88
Stolen Bases 6
Caught Stealing 3
BA .323
OBA .439
SLG% .536
OPS .975
RC 140
RCAA 76
RCAP 68
RC/G 8.98
ISO .213