Chisoxfn Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 This is my first article on my new blog and figured I'd post it here too. Sorry for the length...I hava a tendency to go on and on. The 2004 Chicago White Sox failed to make the playoffs, but with that being said the team did make strides in a number of areas. First off, they added a manager who intends to build an offense to help create runs and not rely on the homer. While that is a great plan, it is unclear whether it will be a sucessful plan, especially given the current pieces on the White Sox (ie...power). While the power has led to just one division title, you can't necessarily place blame on the Sox power for the fact that they haven't reached the division. This season the Sox offense ranked once again amongst the league leaders in homers (Tied for 1st with 242), and Runs (3rd with 865). However, they ranked in the middle of the pack in average (15th with a .268 BA, tied with the Northsiders) and OBP (15th with a .333). So while it seems popular to blame the Sox offense, I think that is far from the problem. If you want to blame the Sox offense, don't blame the power, ie Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee, Magglio Ordonez, Aaron Rowand, and Juan Uribe. Two power hitters, Joe Crede and Jose Valentin deserve some blame because their averages, and OBP's were absolutely horrendous but aside from that the power hitters did a good job not only hitting for power, but average. The flaws with the Sox offense weren't even the fact that they didn't execute, in fact, the only major flaws of the Sox offense stem from drastically right handed lineup and a very weak top of the order. The Sox slow offense ranked 18th in stolen bases, but obviously they had a number of guys running that shouldn't be running, based on their atrocious 60% sucess rate (28th in the majors). Heck, with a power offense the Sox ranked 18th in strikeouts, which is a huge stride considering Jose Valentin was basically strikeout or homer. The Yankees, by comparison, were 23rd in strikeouts...another tremendous feat considering their penchance for power. However, unlike the Yankees, the White Sox offense ranked low walks. And that can be expected from an offense with the amount of youngsters the Sox had. Its not an excuse though because this number should increase next year, especially with Frank Thomas back. Plus Carlos Lee and Paul Konerko have both made strides in this area, although one of those two is likely to be moved. Some of you may say, well great, now what are the White Sox supposed to do. Remember, I'm not saying this offense is perfect but wholesale changes aren't necessary. One hitter for the top of the lineup and a left handed bat to replace Magglio Ordonez are necessary. That can be done one of two ways, but the most likely option is Omar Vizquel of the Indians. Vizquel is a veteran, who fits nicely in the 2 hole, but can also work in the leadoff slot. While Omar has had some down years, this year was not one of them. Omar was healthy and still is a very good defensive shortstop (not as good as he once was, but still good) and his leadership is something un-measureable by stats. The harder thing to find is the left handed or switch hitting bat to break up the mix and replace Magglio Ordonez, who is expected to depart via free agency. The White Sox could offer him arbitration or an incentive laden contract, but his health status appears "in the air" and Ordonez' camp doesn't appear to happy with Ken Williams and the White Sox. This is based on comments made in an article in the tribune a week or so ago. What am I trying to get at here, don't get so down on the Sox offense and don't think it needs to undergo a major over-haul. Now I'm ready to hear the one counter-argument, that the Sox offense is an all or nothing offense, meaning that while they score a lot of runs they have numerous games where the offense flat fails. To check whether this is valid or not, I decided to take a look at the game logs and count how many games the Sox score 3 runs or less. 3 Runs or Less: 54 Games 1st half of the season: 27 2nd half of the season: 27 Month of July: 14 By Comparison I'm going to look at the Red Sox (I'd say they are thought to have a consistent offense - 1st in the Majors): 3 Runs or Less: 37 1st half of the season: 22 2nd half of the season: 15 Now the Yankees (2nd best offense in the majors): 3 Runs or Less: 50 1st half of the season: 27 2nd half of the season: 23 St. Louis Cardinals (Offense everyone talks about in the NL): 3 Runs or Less: 46 1st half of the season: 27 2nd half of the season: 19 In conclusion, the White Sox would be higher then the other teams, however, you can't look past the fact that they had 14 in the month of July. This was the month the Sox found out Magglio and Frank would essentially be gone for the season. Aside from that month, the Sox were on pace with the rest of the best offensive teams in the league. So my proposition of signing Omar Vizquel would gives the Sox a guy who hit .291 with a .353 OBP and 19 stolen bases (6 CS - 70% clip). He also had a .982 fielding % and a 4.31 RF (Range Factor). He would be replacing Jose Valentin's .216 AVG, .287 OBP, 8 stolen bases (6 CS - 57%). He also had a 9.65 fielding % and a 4.91 RF. This is a net increase in average (.75), OBP (.66), stolen bases (11 and 13%), fielding percentage (17). However it would be a decrease in RF by .6. Omar Vizquel is also a player that does all the little things that would bring a better improvement to the Sox ability at executing and manufacturing. How the Sox could solve adding a left handed power bat is a much different proposition. My personal dream would be Lance Berkman or Carlos Beltran, but that is insanely unlikely and I'll leave that proposition up for grabs. However, I would say the acquisition of Carlos Beltran would lead to the trade of Carlos Lee for a young 4th/5th starter who would have the ability to develop into better. So since I said the offense isn't whats wrong with the team, I'll tell you what is wrong with the team....the pitching and my next piece will go in-depth about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 (edited) Good God, do you expect us to read all that? So basically all you said in all that writing was that our offense is fine. All we need to do is replace Maggs with a LH and get Vizquel. You are something else. Edited October 11, 2004 by danman31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Nice job Jason, good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddisonStSox Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Nice read, good stuff. I'm also on the Vizquel train. Who would have thought we'd be rooting for a guy we hated in the middle 90s' (not because of his personality, but because he was so damn consistent). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 I was actaully shocked I read the whole thing. I tend to skim longer posts, get to the good stuff, but this post was very solid. Im interested to see Jas piece on the pitching. BTW, whats the link to your new Blog? http://www.soxnet.blogspot.com I figured I'd use the name SoxNet. Still got to do some customizing of the blog and get up links and all that. Thanks for the kind words everyone, hopefully the stats make sense. I used 0-3 runs because you'd like to think 4 runs or more you win the game more often or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 http://www.soxnet.blogspot.com I figured I'd use the name SoxNet. Still got to do some customizing of the blog and get up links and all that. Thanks for the kind words everyone, hopefully the stats make sense. I used 0-3 runs because you'd like to think 4 runs or more you win the game more often or not. I think 3 runs or less is right, but for a different reason, b/c it's "usually lose" -- 4 or 5 you're in "ehhh...." territory since the Sox team ERA was about 5. And I don't think it's fair to count on the same numbers from Vizquel next year, but I'm of a dying breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Master Buehrle Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I must agree that pitching is key. One more good starter and a few good relievers as well as a few minor offensive changes and we should be looking okay going into 2005. Politte needs to step it up and we need to hope that Marte reverts back to his old self. He still had a good ERA, but was very inconsistent. I would also prefer we pick up either another awesome setup guy for Shingo as closer or vice versa. We didn't have any real go to guys this year that could pitch 2 or 3 innnings and not give up a single run. One of them would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I must agree that pitching is key. One more good starter and a few good relievers as well as a few minor offensive changes and we should be looking okay going into 2005. Politte needs to step it up and we need to hope that Marte reverts back to his old self. He still had a good ERA, but was very inconsistent. I would also prefer we pick up either another awesome setup guy for Shingo as closer or vice versa. We didn't have any real go to guys this year that could pitch 2 or 3 innnings and not give up a single run. One of them would be nice. No kidding. If you thought this was long, just wait for the article on pitching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 a lot of people are on the vizquel train it seems but idonno yeah he had a nice year but how has his past 4 years looked like? He kind of reminds me of robbie alomar a little but maybe not that bad... i dont mind having him at ss but only if we get a big FA pickup to go along with him this off season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkokieSox Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 a lot of people are on the vizquel train it seems but idonno yeah he had a nice year but how has his past 4 years looked like? He kind of reminds me of robbie alomar a little but maybe not that bad... i dont mind having him at ss but only if we get a big FA pickup to go along with him this off season Agreed, and that's the idea. If nothing else, Vizquel would be a solid a defensive SS with the ability to move runners along in the two spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I would rather have Polanco, who's younger and has been very good the last 2 years against both rhp and lhp. Uribe can play ss well, there's no reason to limit the search to ss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I would rather have Polanco, who's younger and has been very good the last 2 years against both rhp and lhp. Uribe can play ss well, there's no reason to limit the search to ss. I really like polanco because like you said he hits lefties and righties equally qell for the most part. I also like the fact he rarely strike out. Only downside to him is he does not walk very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Parque Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Yes it's true, the White Sox are going to need some changes in that lineup and I expect them to take place. I don't expect, however, to get expensive, big-named players (i.e. Beltran, Pierre). The scouting team will ahve to work long and hard, and find some cheap, no named players who can get the job done. What I mean by that is playaers who can do the litte things; players who can play solid defense, guys who can hit either lefty or from both sides of the plate, players who hit with men on base, and guys who have discipline and take pitches. They need to find some guys who can contribute in different ways and provide something tot he team that we don't have. A perfect example for me, was the Twins picking up Henry Blanco. Now this guy can't hit a lick but he is an unbelievable defensive catcher. He calls great games and throws out a ton of runners trying to steal. He blocks everything in the dirt and has a very nice CERA. Blanco is a productive and valuable player to have on your team; even though he barely hits .200. I would love to have Henry Blanco next season but the Twins will most likely pick up his option for next season. Its imperative that the team find players like this, because without them, we are still a 2nd place team. The White Sox have to let Magglio ordonez, Jose Valentin, Roberto Alomar, and Sandy Alomar Jr. go. There are some players that I would love to see the White Sox go after and most of them are cheap. David Dellucci- He is aplayer who will come cheap. He hit decent last season, but he will have to break away from his swing-for-the fences mentality that he picked up in Texas. In 2003, he stole 12 bases and was not caught once. Dellucci has always been solid in the field and can make some spectacular plays. he hits from the left side, which is also good off the bench. He comes to play everyday and gives 100 %, he hustles his butt off and I think would be considered a "grinder". Craig Counsell Craig is now up their in age, but again hits lefty and playes utility. His average stooped down the last couple of years, but going to the AL should help some. Counsell ahs alays been good in the field and a presence in the clubhouse. Counsell definitely knows how to steal a base and rarely gets caught. I doubt Milwaukee would even think about picking up his option for next season and will make much less on the FA market. Eli Marrero Eli is a versatile player who can play the corners in the OF, as well as 1B. If Konerko is dealt, then Ross Gload will probably be named the starter. He would need a nice insurance policy behind him. Marrero is jut that. I would love to acquire him in a trade. he hit .320 this season off the bench and is an estavlished major leaguer. The only problem is that he makes too much money to come off the bench, especially since our starter in fronto of him would be making league minimum. Its players like this who can help this team with its depth and maybe develop into starters during the season. They are grinders who do everything Ozzie wants. it shouldn't be too hard to acquire them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelasDaddy0427 Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Honestly I don't getting everyone cumming themselves at the thought of an aging shortstop. Honestly I think he has Robbie Alomar written all of him. Could you imagine if we kind Robbie at 2B and put Vizquel at short? We would have the oldest double play combo in baseball! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted October 12, 2004 Author Share Posted October 12, 2004 Butter...I really like the idea of Delucci. He's a solid player who has never really gotten much of an opportunity and this year he really excelled. His bat would fit in very nicely in the back of the lineup. I can also remember him making some very nice defensive plays back in his days with the Dodgers. Off the top of my head he strikes out a little more then I'd like, but this is a definate potential solution to the outfield. I think if you get Delucci then you could potentially at least hold onto Konerko and Lee and let David play right field, although I'm not sure on his arm strength and what not. Of course with Everett stuck here, the odds of the Sox signing a guy like Delucci are probably less. This leads me to believe when ti comes to the outfield either Lee gets dealt and they pick up a big name bat and go with Everett/Gload in LF or they keep Lee and go with Everett/Gload in RF and chance it defensively (hoping that Escobar or Borchard can break out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I think if you get Delucci then you could potentially at least hold onto Konerko and Lee and let David play right field, although I'm not sure on his arm strength and what not. That is the reason he mostly plays in left because of his very weak arm. Every ranger game i have seen he gets run on constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Parque Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 The problem is that Everett is making too much to sit on the bench. If the White Sox were actually interested in Delucci, i think you could see Lee in ST, get some time in RF. He has been great the last two years and his arm strength has gotten much better. I don't believe that they would want Everett nor Dellucci to play fully in RF. Lee is the only other option. (Rowand can't move from CF, unless we get another one). Everett is also horrible in CF. I like Delucci and think he can be a real "grinder" adn an Ozzie favorite. I also like Counsell, he really knows how too steal a base and can hit at the top of the order. His average has been down but it might come back up in the AL. Facing guys like O.Perez and Jason Schmidt didn't exactly help his cause. In the AL Central, he would only have to face Santana. Marrero is tough to get but I think its imperative. I also like the addition of Visquel. I would put him at SS and Willie at 2B. Maybe Visquel can teach him how to steal. You never know. Then you combine a plished vet with a nice young talent who needs some direction. It could be a nice young fit. he could also help Uribe at SS, and of course can be solid in the 2 hole. I'd really like to see Konerko gone for a good young pitcher who has been in the Majors, and a Prospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 I'd really like to see Konerko gone for a good young pitcher who has been in the Majors, and a Prospect. For either konerko or lee we better get a j.d. drew type deal. If not we would be better not making it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Parque Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 J.D. Drew is a free agent, itf thats what your implying. I don't know, maybe your tlaking about the deal that sent Drew to Atlanta. Anyway, I was tlaking about someone like a Pineiro. What about a Lee, Garland, and maybe Sweeney for Carlos Zambrano and Corey Patterson, and Sergio Mitre. tell me what you think of that one. i would do it. I think B. Anderson is better then Sweeney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 J.D. Drew is a free agent, itf thats what your implying. I don't know, maybe your tlaking about the deal that sent Drew to Atlanta. Anyway, I was tlaking about someone like a Pineiro. What about a Lee, Garland, and maybe Sweeney for Carlos Zambrano and Corey Patterson, and Sergio Mitre. tell me what you think of that one. i would do it. I think B. Anderson is better then Sweeney. Yes i was talking about the deal last off-season that sent drew to atlanta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Parque Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 What do you think of the Cub deal? Creative or not practicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babybearhater Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Yes i was talking about the deal last off-season that sent drew to atlanta. I'd do LEE and Garland, but I would try and leave Sweeney out of anything. He is one of our only hopes of building the team within the organization, which alot of people on this board are very eager to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babybearhater Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 What do you think of the Cub deal? Creative or not practicle By the way, the teams featured on your sig could be the most random group of teams to cheer for of all time. Not harping on you, it just caught my attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 J.D. Drew is a free agent, itf thats what your implying. I don't know, maybe your tlaking about the deal that sent Drew to Atlanta. Anyway, I was tlaking about someone like a Pineiro. What about a Lee, Garland, and maybe Sweeney for Carlos Zambrano and Corey Patterson, and Sergio Mitre. tell me what you think of that one. i would do it. I think B. Anderson is better then Sweeney. Butter, the cubs would never do this deal, because one Zambrano is an absolute stud and two they'd have no centerfielder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 What do you think of the Cub deal? Creative or not practicle Not a fan of trading for patterson and really not a big fan of trading away sweeney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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