The Chicago White Sox dropped the opening game of a
three-game series with the Kansas City Royals by a score of 7-5, falling to 2-2
on the young season. Although it has only been four games, the White Sox have
been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride to start the season.
Given that, there is plenty to talk about as the first week
of action comes to a close.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Jose Abreu will
be worth every penny of his 6-year $68 million contract. All of the reports
from spring training indicated that the free agent first baseman had tremendous
work ethic and displayed professionalism with his approach to the game. Not
only that, but the guy can flat out hit! Abreu went 0-for-4 this afternoon, but
he did pick up his 6th RBI of the season and is still hitting .313
with two doubles and a triple. Probably the most impressive aspect of Abreu’s hot
start has been the power that he has shown to both right and center field. The
ball seems to jump off Abreu’s bat, so if he continues to drive the ball to all
fields, he will put up some serious numbers when the weather warms up.
Alejandro De Aza is doing everything he can to prove that he
deserves everyday at-bats in left field by hitting three home runs versus the
Minnesota Twins. I have been pretty adamant about my preference of Dayan
Viciedo for the long-term, but I have to give credit when it is due. Despite
the hot start, De Aza will have to prove that he can play better defensively
and improve on his base running skills before I start to campaign for him. Last
season, I saw way too many instances where either he wasn’t paying attention or
lacked the fundamentals necessary to be an everyday player. Regardless of what
happens, De Aza will find his way into the lineup or another team’s lineup via
trade if he continues to hit.
Don’t look now, but Tyler Flowers has seven hits in his last
eight at-bats to give him a .571 average. Obviously, this won’t last, but it is
nice to see some production offensively from the catching position. I doubt
that Flowers has “figured it out” and will be a .280 hitter, but the lineup
will be a lot stronger if he can hit just .230-.240 with 15-plus home runs. We’ll
see what happens as the season progress, but for now just enjoy it.
Chris Sale’s Opening Day victory was one of the best
performances I have ever seen from him. The final line may not look as
glamorous as his other stellar outings (7.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), but the
way he pitched impressed me the most. Early on in the game, it was apparent
that Sale did not have his best stuff (particularly his devastating slider),
but he battled through it. After giving up two runs on two hits and a walk in
the third inning, Sale settled down and relied primarily on his fastball and
changeup to get through the Twins’ lineup. Sale retired 11 of the last 12
batters he faced, fanning four of the last five before departing with one out
in the eighth inning.
Newly acquired Adam Eaton is also off to a fast start in a White
Sox uniform. The leadoff man has done a great job getting on-base (.421 OBP)
with five hits, two walks, and an HBP during his first 19 plate appearances.
Eaton has definitely been the sparkplug that he was labeled as, and it is
refreshing to see after watching an offense that looked dead for the better
part of 2013. Not only has he done well at the plate, Eaton also made a fine
running catch before slamming into the wall to rob Oswaldo Arcia of a game
tying extra-base hit during yesterday’s contest.
While there have been plenty of bright spots, there have
been some troubling issues as well.
Most notably, the bullpen has been brutal to start the
season. Before the opener on Monday, manager Robin Ventura named Matt Lindstrom
as the team’s closer going forward. I was really surprise by the move at the
time, but it sort of makes sense now. Nate Jones was the favorite to land the
closing gig in spring training, but he missed some time due to a strained glute.
It appears that the injury is still an issue as Jones was placed on the 15-day
disabled list this morning. It is possible that Ventura was still worried about
Jones’ health heading into the season, and thus went with Lindstrom instead.
Lindstrom figures to serve as team’s closer for now, but I have almost no confidence
in his ability to hold the job for the entire season. While Lindstrom is a
quality reliever, he doesn’t possess the career strikeout rate (7.2 K/9), walk
rate (3.3 BB/9), or WHIP (1.42) that would project long-term sustainability in
the role. It will be interesting to see who emerges from the pack, but I’m
starting to like my Daniel Webb dark-horse call a little bit more each day.
Other than the on-field play, there are two things that
Robin Ventura has done that I have to question.
First, I am not a fan of Conor Gillaspie hitting third.
Nothing against Conor, but he is not a three-hole hitter. I understand that he
had a great spring and Ventura might be playing the hot hand, but I hope this
doesn’t continue. I am a big believer in having your best hitter hit third, and
the best hitter on this team is Jose Abreu.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this but, why did Ventura
have Paul Konerko hit for Tyler Flowers with the game on the line on Thursday?
Yes, Konerko is the better hitter, but Flowers was for 4-for-4 and Konerko had
been sitting on the bench for three hours. Thankfully it doesn’t seem as though
that move fazed Flowers since he had a three-hit game today, but I wouldn’t be
too happy about being pulled after getting four hits in a game. Having said
that, it is important to point out that Ventura pushed all the right buttons
during Wednesday’s comeback win by having Paul Konerko pinch-hit for Alejandro
De Aza and then Dayan Viciedo for Tyler Flowers. Both of those moves were
instrumental to the outcome of the game.
After four games I feel pretty much the same as I did before
the season started. This White Sox team will be vastly improved over last year’s
team. With a little luck, this team should be right around .500 at the end of
the year.
-Eric Tichelbaut
Twitter: @etichel07
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