SI Scouting Report on the White Sox

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SI Scouting Report: Chicago White Sox

Two huge holes to plug: the top of the order and the top of the rotation

 

 

 

 

Overall rank: 17 | Division rank: 2 | Team Page | Schedule | Roster

 

 

 

By Daniel G. Habib

 

 

IN FACT

In 230 innings last year runners attempted only five steals against Mark Buehrle and succeeded once.

 

A manager often dreams of fielding a lineup of players in his image, but there are no Ozzie Guillen clones in Chicago. A slap hitter with no home run power who bunted, stole the occasional base and used his quickness to alchemize singles into doubles, Guillen does see flashes of himself, however, in second baseman and leadoff hitter Willie Harris, a 25-year-old with wheels but, thus far, no stick. "It is important to me to have some speed in the leadoff spot," says Guillen, 40, bubbly and gregarious during his first camp as White Sox skipper. "I'm not worried about Magglio Ordoñez or Frank Thomas or Carlos Lee. Helping Willie is my biggest goal."

 

Chicago's order is loaded with power -- its anticipated two through seven batters averaged 28 home runs, 61 extra-base hits and a .488 slugging percentage last season -- but relatively lacking in speed, which makes the development of Harris a priority. (All of last season's one-hole hitters, Roberto Alomar, D'Angelo Jimenez and Tony Graffanino, have departed.) From the start of camp, Guillen had Harris reporting for work daily at 8 a.m. on a back diamond at Tucson Electric Park, where he worked on sharpening the little-baller's tools: sacrifice bunts, bunts for base hits, and taking a lead and getting a jump on the pitcher. Though his considerable skills have not yet yielded big league production -- he batted .213 in 137 games over the last three seasons -- the 5'9" Harris finds himself in the most encouraging environment of his career. "In previous years I didn't have a chance in camp," he says. "I've learned a lot, and I feel like I belong here. Triple A has nothing for me."

 

Harris will have every opportunity to prove that he belongs -- that the 54 bags he swiped while batting .305 at Double A in '01, as well as his .380 average and nine steals in 100 Triple A at bats last season, were a sample of big things to come. "You have to get 300 at bats, consecutive at bats, before anybody can determine whether you can produce or not," says general manager Ken Williams. As Guillen's catalyst at the top of the order, Harris will get the at bats, and he'll have the green light to steal at will. "He told me to run, run, run," Harris says. "He's not going to shut me down. We're playing a small man's game."

 

In one of his few off-season moves, Williams added another middle-infield piece, obtaining Juan Uribe from the Rockies; Uribe will spell Harris at second against lefthanders and back up Jose Valentin at short, batting leadoff or second. Like Harris, Uribe, a 24-year-old Dominican, has evident talent that has failed to translate. He has power but is grossly undisciplined (a career .298 on-base percentage); he has speed but not the tactical ability to steal bases; he has dazzling defensive skills but often makes miscues on unnecessarily stylish attempts.

 

Chicago believes it can tap Uribe's potential, largely because of the Latin American support system in its clubhouse. "Uribe's ceiling is as high as any young shortstop's in the league," Williams says. "The reason we targeted him is because we thought, in this environment -- not just with Ozzie and some of the coaches being of Latin descent but with Lee, Ordoñez, Valentin, Sandy Alomar -- we have guys with a history of being able to bring out the best in a player such as this." Uribe was placed in Ordoñez's and Lee's hitting group in batting practice; when he lapsed into his bad habit of pulling pitches, they, and not the coaches, corrected him.

 

Chicago's staff took a colossal hit when free-agent, 15-game winner Bartolo Colon, who was offered a three-year, $36 million deal by the White Sox, walked to the Angels for an extra year and an extra $15 million. Colon's departure dumps 242 high-quality innings on questionable back-of-the-rotation types like Jon Garland (career 4.60 ERA), converted reliever Scott Schoeneweis (5.08) and Dan Wright (5.52).

 

Guillen sees himself as a communicator and an ally of his players; he is a full pendulum swing away from his predecessor, Jerry Manuel, who was reserved and sometimes distant. "In my first meeting I told them it was a shame Jerry got fired because they didn't play up to their talent," Guillen says. "I want them to stick together, stick up for each other, and I'll be the best friend they have."

 

Let's see how long the lovefest lasts.

 

Issue date: April 5, 2004

 

ENEMY LINES

An opposing team's scout sizes up the White Sox

"There's a positive attitude to the clubhouse, thanks to Ozzie Guillen. Even Frank Thomas is playing with a lot of energy and appears to have bought into Ozzie's ideas.... The pitching staff isn't sexy, but it's pretty good. Mark Buehrle looks strong, and Jon Garland has made great strides. The big question will be Esteban Loaiza, whose cutter is nowhere near what it was last season. That's his out pitch, and he knows it.... Keep an eye on Joe Crede. He was solid last season and looks like he could have a coming-out year like the Rangers' Hank Blalock had in 2003.... Billy Koch is never going to have the same velocity on his fastball as he did in Oakland, but he's throwing harder and has better command.... They lost some key personnel over the winter, but in this division they can contend. Thomas, Magglio Ordoñez and Paul Konerko are all swinging the bat like they have something to prove. If Guillen can pull a Tony Peña and get this team to play together like the Royals did a year ago, Chicago will be right in the thick of it come September."