Friday, June 28, 2013

White Sox are 'Open for Business'

Alright, I finally have some free time on my hands. Currently working six days a week and being in the process of moving has brought my blogging to a screeching halt over the last 7-10 days. Having said that, I have decided to take a different approach for the foreseeable future. Since the White Sox are continuing to show little signs of life (32-43, 9 games out of first place), it is time to turn my attention to what is likely to happen in the next month. Instead of spending my time providing game/series recaps, I will spend the majority of my time focusing on potential trade chips, prospects, and the future of the White Sox organization.

Yesterday, CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman reported that the White Sox are officially open for business. Based on how the Sox have played, this should come as no surprise. For most of my life, the White Sox have been “buyers” at the MLB trading deadline, thus sacrificing prospects year-after-year only to fall short of the playoffs (excluding 2000, 2005, and 2008). If the White Sox are indeed “sellers”, as they should be, it will be interesting to see what type of prospects the Sox can add to their underwhelming farm system.

The White Sox have plenty of trade chips, and according to Heyman’s report, the White Sox are willing to discuss trading everyone on their roster except Chris Sale and Paul Konerko. Holding onto Sale is a no-brainer. Given his talent and team-friendly contract, the White Sox are hoping Sale will anchor their starting rotation for years to come. On the other hand, holding onto Konerko might be a bit of a head-scratcher. In March, I wrote that Konerko should retire as a Sox, but that was also under the assumption that the Sox would be contending for a playoff spot. Now that it is almost certain that the Sox will be “rebuilding” it wouldn’t make sense to hold onto Konerko, or would
it?

As a fan, I have mixed emotions about potentially trading Paul Konerko. On one hand, he has been such an integral part of the White Sox organization for more than a decade. As the last standing member of the 2005 World Series Championship team, Konerko has become the face of the franchise and a fan favorite. On the other hand, baseball is a business and the Sox need to do what is best for the future of the organization. Despite Konerko having a “down” year, one would think that there would be a few teams interested in acquiring a veteran first baseman or designated hitter for the final months of the season. If the White Sox could get a solid prospect or two for Konerko, then they have to “pull the trigger”, but I’m not so sure that will even happen.

Konerko is set to become a free-agent at the end of the season and at age 37; rumors about his potential retirement have been circulating for quite some time. Given that, I just don’t see many teams willing to part with a top prospect for 2-3 months of an aging-player. Even if the Sox were to find a potential suitor, Konerko would have to waive his full no-trade clause because he has 10-5 rights (10 years in the majors, and five with his current team). Since Konerko has spent the last 15 season as a member of the White Sox and has a World Series ring, he may decide that he would like to finish out his career in Chicago. Given that general manager Rick Hahn isn’t making Konerko available, it appears that Konerko has already been approached and has declined to waive his no-trade clause. If that is the case, I respect Konerko’s decision. He’s earned it.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Follow me on Twitter @etichel07

Monday, June 3, 2013

Not Much to Like with the 2013 White Sox

The Chicago White Sox were swept away by the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, pushing their losing streak to six games. To illustrate how poorly the White Sox have played over this stretch, they have scored a total of nine runs over the last six games. If you watched the series, or looked at the box scores, you already know what happened. The White Sox got solid starting pitching and the offense was anemic. In other words, this series was the first two months of the season in a nutshell.

After two months of the season, the White Sox sit at 24-30, 5.5 games back of the division leading Detroit Tigers. For as bad as the Sox have played, it is remarkable to think that they are just 5.5 games out of first when they should probably be about 10 games back. However, that doesn’t mean that you should get your hopes up too high. Before the season, I had the White Sox finishing with an 87-75 record, good for 2nd place in the division and just outside the playoff picture. In order for the White Sox to finish with 87 wins, they will have to go 63-45 over the final 108 games of the season. Is that possible? Yes. Is that likely? No.

I wish I was more optimistic about the final four months of the season, but this White Sox team provides little reason for hope. I’m not sure if it is because the Sox are on a six-game losing streak or not, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply do not like this team. Let me rephrase that. Outside of the starting pitching, the back-end of the bullpen, and a couple position players, I do not like this team. At all.

Before we get to the bad parts of this team, it is important to point out the strong points. The starting rotation has been outstanding. Coming into today, the White Sox starting staff owns a 3.61 ERA, good for 2nd best in the American League. Their combined WHIP of 1.16 is the best in the American League. Despite those lofty numbers, the White Sox starters have a combined record of 18-19 in 54 starts. The sub-.500 record is due entirely to a horrid offensive attack. In addition to the stellar rotation, the back-end of the bullpen has been terrific. Set-up man Jesse Crain and Closer Addison Reed might be the best late-inning duo in all of baseball. They have combined to pitch 49 innings on the year, giving up just 8 runs on 35 hits, 16 walks, while racking up 59 strikeouts. That was the good.

Now here is the bad. The White Sox offense is one of the worst the franchise has had in my lifetime. The White Sox are dead last in the American League in runs scored, hits, triples, RBI, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). They ranked second to last in doubles and slugging percentage. They ranked third to last in home runs. In all, the White Sox are at or near the bottom of the American League in virtually every offensive statistic. In addition to the normal stats, the Sox are second to last in batting average with runners in scoring position at .226. Wait, there’s more. When a runner is on third and there are less than two outs, the Sox are dead last in batting average (.235) and runs scored (44). Saturday’s game was a prime example of the White Sox’ offensive woes. In the first inning, the Sox had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. What happened next? Adam Dunn struck out swinging. Two outs. Paul Konerko struck out swinging. Three outs. This team simply can’t get a hit when they need one. They don’t make contact. They don’t move runners over. They don’t run the bases well. They don’t score many runs.

So, the White Sox can pitch pretty well and can’t hit a lick, but what about the defense? It too is awful. The Sox boast the worst fielding percentage in the American League at .981, while committing the second most errors at 37.

When you add all the parts of the 2013 White Sox team, there is no wonder why their record stands at 24-30. The good news is that things should get better because they can’t get any worse. Or, at least I hope…

-Eric Tichelbaut

Follow me on Twitter @etichel07