CSF Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 AL Central Preview: Chicago White Sox Season Preview Scott Miller's Take With Ozzie Guillen and bench coach Harold Baines in charge, how can they go wrong? At the very least, some of the weird clubhouse karma should disappear this summer, and that in turn might put more bounce in the Sox's step. Strengths They don't have much overpowering. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez is one of the league's most feared hitters. Lefty Mark Buehrle finally U-turned his 2003 season after getting off to a miserable start, losing nine consecutive decisions early. Frank Thomas had a nice bounce-back season, clobbering 42 homers. Weaknesses There is not much depth in the rotation, with Scott Schoeneweis and Dan Wright filling the final two spots. Those two and Jon Garland remain underachievers. The jury also remains out on closer Billy Koch, who had a disappointing season last summer. Difference Maker Esteban Loaiza. GM Kenny Williams picked him up off of the scrap heap a year ago, and he won 21 games. In the season after Bartolo Colon left, Loaiza must do it again, or it could be a very long season. Money Ball Overpaid: Jose Valentin Valentin ($5M) had his best offensive year right before signing his current deal. He has hit .258, .249 and .237 since. Underpaid: Damaso Marte A valuable bullpen member, Marte (minimum) could become the closer if Koch struggles. Give us your thoughts! Three Questions Q: Will Esteban Loaiza duplicate his 2003 success? A: Another 21-9 record might be a bit much to ask, but Loaiza's cut fastball should be good for 15-18 wins. Q: Which young starter will be under the microscope most? A: Lead-off man Harris will feel the most pressure, but the others (Crede, Rowand and Olivo) will asked to contribute in a big way, too. Q: Will clubhouse atmosphere again be an issue? A: It shouldn't. New manager Ozzie Guillen will set a good tone. Then again, with Frank Thomas present, controversy never is too far away. Give us your thoughts! He also listed the Sox top 5 prospects as: 1. Reed 2. Honel 3. Cotts 4. Wing 5. Anderson With all due respect to Wing and Anderson (who I hope have much success on the Southside in the years to come), Sweeney outperformed both of them in camp this year. It's not a slap at them, though. I'm not sure how much of the Sox these guys are really watching, if they're watching at all. BTW, Miller predicted a 3rd place finish for the Sox, with the Twins winning the division. Much props to McCarthy & Mack for picking the Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan4life_2007 Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Nice article. I agree with most of it. I have no problem with anybody who doesn't pick us to win the division. Hell, if I wasn't a sox fan I wouldn't predict us to win it either. I'm just gonna be optimistic and hope we can get some breaks here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UofIChiSox Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Just a little annoyance to me is the continued speculation that Hurt and Oz won't get along. They seem to have a non-sexual mancrush on each other, why don't these people realize it?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Great Article. Just didn't like the 3rd place prediction but everything else was right on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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