For all intents and purposes, the 2007 White Sox are dead. All we can do now is watch the progression of the young players, hope this team can work its way to .500 by the end of the year, and follow a certain record breaking closer. To discuss what a disaster this year has been, and how it can be fixed next year, I talked to Chip Ramsey, who runs his own blog and is a former contributer for Bug and Cranks. Along with Sox Machine, the guy has the best coverage of the White Sox on the internet. And trust me, he's a lot cooler then Scoop Jackson.
Chip, why haven't the Sox hit this year? It's a team that
won 90 games a year ago with horrible starting pitching. This year, the roto is
legit, and they don't have a hitter above .270 at the All Star break. Usually
these things straighten themselves out, but it's August now and they're still
last in the majors in team batting average, below .250. Isn't this the same
team that had four guys bash 30 or more homers last year?
1.
Hitting is contagious. When everybody's slumping,
everybody's pressing. And when everybody's pressing nobody's
hitting. This team has been on edge all year and all of them want to be
the guy that gets the hit that starts the streak that rights the ship.
But that hasn't happened yet.
2.
The Sox would have more runs if they didn't have
to go station to station. Look at the difference Pods has made since he's
been back. The need speed.
3.
I've got to think that all of the trade stuff and
contract stuff has really worn down Jermaine Dye. Not an excuse, just an
observation.
4.
For some reason (possibly the cool summer) the
winds have not been blowing favorably at US Cellular.
5.
In some cases over the course of the last six
weeks, the Sox have hit only to have the bullpen screw it up.
6.
Greg Walker is not to blame. This thing
began to roll downhill from day one and hasn't stopped yet.
So it seems we both agree that this team shouldn't be
hitting as poorly as they have been. It's one of the reasons I have defended
Kenny Williams all year, no one could have foreseen a group of hitters this established
and decorated go cold for an entire year. One area Kenny did screw up though is
the bullpen. How should the Sox go about cleaning that mess up?
It looks like
he's not going to be able to clean that up with the parts he has on hand.
Unfortunately, the free agent list looks bare when it comes to bullpen help, so
Kenny may have to be creative.
The problem is
many of these guys have pitched in roles that have not made them
successful. Boone Logan pitched in the correct role yesterday, coming in
as a long guy. Nick Masset should have been a long guy exclusively and
have not pitched as a setup guy, which he is not.. Ryan Bukvich is a sixth to
seventh inning guy.
So, if you are
Kenny, you are looking for an eighth inning guy, maybe a stronger seventh
inning guy and one more lefty set up guy. I'd say anyone not named Jenks should
probably go away, but realistically, Logan, Bukvich and Thornton will be back
while Masset may return as a spot starter or a starter in 2009. I think David
Aardsma is fixable; I think Andrew Sisco should be traded for a bag of
baseballs and/or Mike Dubie or John Link.
Right now, the
bridge to Bobby Jenks looks like the video on the I35W Bridge.
MacDougal should be good; he's really hurt the Sox this season. Do you think the organization just needs to take a different philosophy with the bullpen, and maybe pitchers in general? It seems Kenny really fell in love with the radar gun to find these new relievers last offseason. Instead of getting guys who can throw hard, maybe he can get some guys who are, I don't know, actually good. Do you think the bullpen can be fixed from inside the organization with guys like Gio, Broadway, Floyd, Haegar, and Egbert? Those are five pretty good arms, and the Sox have four starters set for next season. Maybe Gio or Haegar slides into the five hole and the rest of the young guns become relievers. Buehrle isn't going anywhere for a while, neither is Danks, and it looks like Gar Gar Binks and Javy are going to be around the next few years too. Can the Sox afford to count on their youngsters in the pen next season?
In 2005, it
wasn't the names they had out there, it was the fact that they all had career
years. I think from the sixth inning on up right now, the Sox pen is
okay. Bukvich and Wasserman seem like they can hold down the seventh
inning. If MacDougal is finally healthy, he and Thornton can handle the
eighth and of course, Jenks in the ninth.
The other thing
the Sox need is a better effort from their hitters scoring runs after the
seventh inning and not putting these guys in a situation where all the pressure
is on them. The last couple of years, the Sox would either blow leads and
then come back and win, or put up a four spot in the eighth and cement the
game. That hasn't happened this year at all.
What should happen with Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams? We have both criticized Ozzie a lot this year- he really isn't that good of a manager- but how long should his leash be. I've been adamant that he shouldn't be fired after this year, and same goes for Kenny. How much more time would you give both of them. Also, how much of the blame for this season goes on the two of them?
This is simply a
year where everything went wrong. The White Sox are designed to be the
best team Kenny can put together for the budget he is given. When you
realize that a lot of the investment has been in starters and in the core of
the team, you realize that using young guys or guys close to the MLB minimum in
the pen is the same thing as you buying store brand products to save a few
bucks.
In 2005, guys
like Cliff Polite and Neil Cotts had career years. This year, the Sox
haven't been as lucky. I think Kenny gets a mulligan for 2007.
The same thing
for Ozzie. He gets what he's given and is expected to manage it. He
still has the opportunity to have a .500 team this year, maybe even 85
wins. Ozzie has done a remarkable job of keeping these guys from giving
up and holding them accountable. That's why Brian Anderson is in
As far as the
criticism of how he handles the bullpen, for a long time this season, going to
the bullpen was like Russian roulette. It was like signaling to the
bullpen and the only guy available was either Bryan Ward or Arnie Munoz.
Again, that was more a case of what parts he had and not his strategy.
Yeah, okay,
Ozzie does a few wacky things once in awhile I don't understand, but overall,
who else would you like to see in the Sox dugout? Terry Bevington?
Jerry Manuel? And please, spare me the idea that somehow the genius is
going to leave
So, all of the
weeping and wailing over Ozzie and Kenny is ridiculous. Look at the
Astros two years removed from a title. Or the Cardinals this year. Things
could be a lot worse.
How do you feel about the young guns after seeing them get some extended time this year? I think Danks looks great; he has top of the rotation starter written all over him. Fields has come on nicely too, but he can not play third. It's not that he commits errors, but he doesn't get to half as many balls as Crede does. I've sat down the third baseline a number of times this year, and I can tell everyone from first hand experience, Josh Fields needs to be a corner outfielder. Still, his bat can be valuable. I'm not as sold on Owens as some are, and no one can make a judgment on Richar yet. Are these the guys that are going to make this team relevant again?
I think Danks,
who has held his own this year, will be a good starter. I also think Nick
Masset will be back as a starter in the future. If Pink Floyd can
continue to feed off his one good outing (last Sunday in
You assessed
Fields correctly. He goes to his right like his feet are encased in
cement. They need to really work on getting him to move. He deems
to move to his left okay, but his arm is not as good as Crede's.
I will agree
with hawk and DJ in that Crede was not do great when he first came up but
worked really hard to become a better hitter and defensive third
baseman., I think Fields can be better if he chooses to work at it.
Owens is not a
starter in my mind. He's got a weak arm and he's got .250 hitter all over
him. He's probably a nine hole hitter, not a leadoff man. I do like
his speed in the lineup though.
The
thing I like about Richar so far is that he seems to make a lot of contact,
even when he doesn't hit safely. So far, he's done okay.
I would like to
see more of Sweeney. I think the kid can play.
Yeah, I was at Danks' last start against
The answer to your question is that who you may fantasize about and who you can afford are two different things. Being a realist, I understand that the Sox organization is not going to go out and pay Cub money to a gaggle of free agents. So, in general, here's what I'd like to see:
|
See you in the Spring |
They Gone |
Welcome Aboard |
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Konerko, Richar, Fields, Erstad, Owens, Pierzynski, Hall, Gonzalez, Thome, Ozuna |
Podsednik, Dye, Cintron, Uribe, Crede |
Rowand, Sweeney |
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Buehrle, Vazquez, Danks, |
Contreras, Floyd, MacDougal, |
F. Cordero, Masset |
Here's what I would do. I keep Darrin Erstad as a backup, sort of like a Ross Gload upgrade or as my regular left fielder. Gonzalez and Ozuna are my two utility guys, with Gonzalez replacing Cintron. I don't re-sign Dye, but I sign Aaron Rowand to play right field against righties and center field against lefties. I use Contreras, Floyd and MacDougal as trade bait and do not re-sign Dye, Podsednik, Uribe or Crede. Sweeny is a backup. I'd keep Josh Fields at third rather than move him to left because I don't want to mess with his offensive production while learning a new position. I do however work hard with him in spring training to learn to move to his right.
That means the Sox need a center fielder and a shortstop. I give Owens the opportunity to earn the job in the spring and then reassess. Shortstop is something I can acquire in a trade.
I also believe that the Sox have some interest in Andruw Jones as he formerly played with Ozzie.
My fantasy is the Sox do whatever it takes to trade for Carl Crawford. Then you get a leadoff man with pop who has outfield skills.
Honestly, this team needs a tune up not an overhaul. There is no way they can possibly get off to a worse start next year than they did this year. What they need is a little more speed at the top of the lineup and consistent production from the middle of the order.
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