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.
February 17th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I wouldn’t be so sure about placing Joe Crede as a White Sox asset. Kenny is probably right now trying to do everything he can to make him an ex-Sox. Whether you like it or not, the Josh Fields era is upon us.