BridgeportHeather Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 After a couple days of good, deep thought about the future of the White Sox, I see no reason for nothing but good coming out of this season. I look at our lineup in this way: Starting Rotation Colon should win us 20-23 games Buehrle should win us 20 games Garland should win us 15-17 games Wright should win us 12 games Rauch should win us 8-10 games If we sum this up, and all of this panns out, this leaves us with 75-82 victories just from our starting rotation. Ok, you might think I'm drinking kool aid here, but those numbers are not too much to ask from those pitchers--they have what it takes to meet them. Now, we must consider that the bullpen will get their fair share of victories. Let's say they get another 20 victories to their credit. That leaves this team with 95-102 victories, equalling or bettering their record from 2000, and most likely guaranteeing them of making the playoffs, let alone greatly impact their good chance of winning the Central. Of course, one thing that helps our pitchers meet such expectations is their lineup. Here's how I see it panning out: 2B Jiminez SS Valentin DH Thomas RF Ordonez 1B Konerko LF Lee 3B Crede CF Rowand C Alomar This lineup goes where Thomas takes them. They can produce all right if he does not return to his mid-90s form; however, his play has a lot of implications on how well they will perform as a whole. I'm thinking he goes back to his all-star calibur numbers and shuts up the media. Lee will be improved, as he has been doing every year of his career. Rowand will be battling with Harris for that CF spot, but I think he'll eke it out. Ordonez and Konerko both will be in the all star game this year. I think we are going to see offensive firepower here this year! Their defense is suspect and will make their fair share of errors; but, as they displayed in 2000, a formidable pitching unit, coupled with a great batting lineup, can hide the impurities of the defense. To sum it up: I think that getting Colon is going to be huge for us this year, and this could truly be our year. Hosting the All Star Game, as well as having a successful season, may put this as one of the best seasons a team has had in MLB history. I think it's not out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 I will tend to agree with you. I feel good about this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 Heather, some may call you overlyoptimistic...I am one who does not. That is exactly how I feel this season can pan out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 The key to our pitching staff is now Bartolo Colon. The key to our offense is Frank Thomas. Colon is in the last year of his contract and Frank has the option to become a free agent after this season. Barring injury, I think both of these guys are going to have an awesome season. They certainly are not lacking for incentive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggio202 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 danny wright won 14 games last year and he gets projected to win 12 this year...garland wins 12 last year and is suppose to win 17 this year??? between the two pitchers danny wright has the higher ceiling imo...he has a better fastabll and i believe he has size and strength to be a guy that can work 230 innings or so a season w/o any problem..i also think he will benefit tremendously from bartolo colon because danny (though no where near as heavy) is the closest pitcher we have to colon in terms of stuff and body type....he could learn alot from bartolo if the two mesh well......i think danny wright will move past garland this year and establish himself as our number 3 guy...jmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesox247 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 No way man, Garland is way better. I'm expecting about 16 wins out of him this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Fainter Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 More importantly, just the absence of KW's boy, Ritchie, puts us into the cat bird's seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxplosion Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 may put this as one of the best seasons a team has had in MLB history OK, heather, I thought you were being pretty realistic until you posted that. I think the rotation can win the amount you said and we will win 95 plus games and go deep into the playoffs but I dont think this team will equal the 1927 Yankees or anything. Did you mean to say on of the best seasons THIS team has had in history? Now to me, THAT would make more sense. Hopefully they will do as you say and amend the playoff failures of the Sox teams of the last 43 years and bring some glory to the Southside... As for Garland vs Wright, Id side with Garland. Wright may have better stuff but Garland has more of Buehrle in him. They have that ability to pitch without their stuff which Wright does not. With just his stuff Buehrle is no better than, say, Omar Daal. With his stuff and intelligence, he is one of the best starting pitchers in the American League. Garland could be like that someday. If Wright loses his stuff he has nothing. I believe they will both be good but Garland will just be better due to that uncanny ability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 danny wright won 14 games last year and he gets projected to win 12 this year...garland wins 12 last year and is suppose to win 17 this year??? between the two pitchers danny wright has the higher ceiling imo...he has a better fastabll and i believe he has size and strength to be a guy that can work 230 innings or so a season w/o any problem..i also think he will benefit tremendously from bartolo colon because danny (though no where near as heavy) is the closest pitcher we have to colon in terms of stuff and body type....he could learn alot from bartolo if the two mesh well......i think danny wright will move past garland this year and establish himself as our number 3 guy...jmo Baggs....I agree...partly. Garland, as of right now, is the better pitcher...he is maturing a lot faster and will probably win more games. I can see Dan being the better pitcher in a year or so though. When he has his stuff and pitches smart, he is a very good pitcher. He is, at times, practically unhittable. But when he leaves pitches up, he gets beat. That was a major reason he gave up over 30 homers or what not. But if anyone can teach Wright a thing or two, it's Colon. They'll probably become best friends and eat at the same places....damn....that was a shot at Colon's weight.... Speaking of which, check out what baseballreference.com has Bartolo weighed at.....ROTFLMFAO! Bartolo Colon's weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kempers Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Lee's average has declined ever since his first full season in the league, along with his RBIs. Yeah, big improvement there! And one of the best teams ever? Get real... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 I agree with you Heather on Frank Thomas. He needs to have a monster year to shut up all the critics (especially Jay Mariotti of the Sun Times, I hate that f***ing jerk). I read that he's working with Walt Hriniak again, & remember the last time he did that was the 2000 campaign where he should've won his 3rd MVP award (but also understand why they gave it to Giambi). Truth be told, last year his #'s weren't bad, except for one glaring stat: he had more K's than BB's. He has to get back to 110-130 BB per year, & cut those K's down to 75 or less. I think if he does that, the BA will be back around .325/.350, the runs will increase, & I'm definitely not worried about his power numbers. They'll definitely come around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesox247 Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/colonba01.shtml Bartolo Colon: Bats Right, Throws Right Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb. Debut April 4, 1997 Born May 24, 1973 in Altamira, D.R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggio202 Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 danny wright won 14 games last year and he gets projected to win 12 this year...garland wins 12 last year and is suppose to win 17 this year??? between the two pitchers danny wright has the higher ceiling imo...he has a better fastabll and i believe he has size and strength to be a guy that can work 230 innings or so a season w/o any problem..i also think he will benefit tremendously from bartolo colon because danny (though no where near as heavy) is the closest pitcher we have to colon in terms of stuff and body type....he could learn alot from bartolo if the two mesh well......i think danny wright will move past garland this year and establish himself as our number 3 guy...jmo Baggs....I agree...partly. Garland, as of right now, is the better pitcher...he is maturing a lot faster and will probably win more games. I can see Dan being the better pitcher in a year or so though. When he has his stuff and pitches smart, he is a very good pitcher. He is, at times, practically unhittable. But when he leaves pitches up, he gets beat. That was a major reason he gave up over 30 homers or what not. But if anyone can teach Wright a thing or two, it's Colon. They'll probably become best friends and eat at the same places....damn....that was a shot at Colon's weight.... Speaking of which, check out what baseballreference.com has Bartolo weighed at.....ROTFLMFAO! Bartolo Colon's weight garland just scares me for some reason...sometimes he looks likes in his mind he is back in cali surfing away with cade mcclown or something...i guess cade ruined cali athletes for me...im praying to god the bears draft leftwich and not palmer..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hotsoxchick1 Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 After a couple days of good, deep thought about the future of the White Sox, I see no reason for nothing but good coming out of this season. I look at our lineup in this way: Starting Rotation Colon should win us 20-23 games Buehrle should win us 20 games Garland should win us 15-17 games Wright should win us 12 games Rauch should win us 8-10 games If we sum this up, and all of this panns out, this leaves us with 75-82 victories just from our starting rotation. Ok, you might think I'm drinking kool aid here, but those numbers are not too much to ask from those pitchers--they have what it takes to meet them. Now, we must consider that the bullpen will get their fair share of victories. Let's say they get another 20 victories to their credit. That leaves this team with 95-102 victories, equalling or bettering their record from 2000, and most likely guaranteeing them of making the playoffs, let alone greatly impact their good chance of winning the Central. Of course, one thing that helps our pitchers meet such expectations is their lineup. Here's how I see it panning out: 2B Jiminez SS Valentin DH Thomas RF Ordonez 1B Konerko LF Lee 3B Crede CF Rowand C Alomar This lineup goes where Thomas takes them. They can produce all right if he does not return to his mid-90s form; however, his play has a lot of implications on how well they will perform as a whole. I'm thinking he goes back to his all-star calibur numbers and shuts up the media. Lee will be improved, as he has been doing every year of his career. Rowand will be battling with Harris for that CF spot, but I think he'll eke it out. Ordonez and Konerko both will be in the all star game this year. I think we are going to see offensive firepower here this year! Their defense is suspect and will make their fair share of errors; but, as they displayed in 2000, a formidable pitching unit, coupled with a great batting lineup, can hide the impurities of the defense. To sum it up: I think that getting Colon is going to be huge for us this year, and this could truly be our year. Hosting the All Star Game, as well as having a successful season, may put this as one of the best seasons a team has had in MLB history. I think it's not out of the question. a couple of days of deep thought and how many beers????? im glad you are optimistic about the season but lets be serious here for a minute......our divisioin is the weakest in the league... if we cant beat our own division how are we supposed to go out there and kick the s*** out of the oaklands,seattles, new yorks, bostons ect.. of the rest of the league.. not to mention the few interleague games we have this year, its not just b**** slapping around the flubbies anymore.. its onto other teams now...... id be happy if garland and wright and rauch would figure how to land more control over their pitching... period....75-82 from the pitching alone... hell thats not enough to even come in third in our division.... jiminez needs to leave his ray durham imitation at home this year....playing when he feels like it isnt going to cut it.... lord knows i love jose to death but his error rate needs to drastically drop before we can count on him fully defensively......as for thomas he had better have a monster season...and if he is granted more play time at 1st this year then watch for him to take more days off due to him being tired from playing all the time......as long as maggs stays healthy this year.. ( no back and wrist problems) then he should do ok....have no problems with paulie other than he needs to take track in the off season so he can pick up a bit of speed........lee???? oh f***... another year of fumble fingers in lf.... that cant be good for our defensive numbers......crede id say will do ok but,hes still young though...rowand if he can stay healthy may or may not pan out.... he plays with alot of heart but he makes many stupid moves like smashing into walls unecessarly......and alomar wont be starting anything... you need to be realistic now and have olivo down there since hes going to be the one.......our defense is mediocre as it stands now.... and our offense is by far good enough to belt out alot of runs... but depends on how everyone reacts and settles into their new slots.... will maggs be 4? will frank demand 3 whos going to lead off?? jiminez??? can he do it?? will crede hit like he did last season... jose has always been an iffy hitter.....spuratic.....so realistically i dont see anything outstanding here.......its trying to improve on what we had last season.....btw how much pitching will wunch see now? and with biddle gone can we really count on glover coming from the pen to help out for a few innnings.....and what if koch turns out to be a bust.. were f***ed for a closer.......too many holes left unfilled once again and too many maybes or what if's ... or should be able to dos ..... im not very optimistic on this season so i head into it with no expetations......not untill i see something solid enough that will show me theres hope..............winter numbers and spring training dont count.............lol..... 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