White Sox Take Another Step in Turnaround

[DBAHO]

From Sean Deveney, who's moved from looking after the NBA to MLB now. I didn't see this posted elsewhere, so here it is;

 

CHICAGO—Three rather nifty things happened to the White Sox in their home opener here at U.S. Cellular Field. One is fairly obvious: They beat Minnesota 7-4, and with Kansas City idle on Monday, the White Sox can stand up and proclaim, for the first time since last April, that they are the first-place team in the American League Central.

 

It’s a small victory and, seven games into the season, it does not yet mean much. But after finishing 70-92 the previous year, they’ll take positives where they can get them, no matter how small. “We’ve got 155 games to go,” says pitcher Javier Vazquez. “But I’d rather be in first than not.”

 

The question remains whether they can stay competitive in the division—you know, after Week 2 or Week 4 or Week 13. And that’s where the two other good things that happened Monday come into play.

 

Start with Vazquez. Sure, Mark Buehrle was the Sox’s opening Day starter, but for this team to be in it for the long haul, Vazquez needs to be the ace. That’s not just because Buehrle is sitting on an 8.31 ERA after two starts. It’s because, when he pounds the strike zone, Vazquez is the team’s best starter.

 

He didn’t look like it in his first start of the season last week, when he walked four en route to allowing four runs in five innings. He didn’t even look like it for the first three innings Monday, when he was, as he says, “doing too much nibbling and not being aggressive.” Beginning in the fourth inning, however, Vazquez began feeding Twins hitters first-pitch strikes, and got easy fly-ball outs as a result. He retired nine straight—all on pop flies or strikeouts—in the fifth, sixth and seventh, and threw first-pitch strikes to each batter. “For me, it is tough when I am 1-0, or 2-1,” Vazquez says. “If I am getting ahead, it’s always the same thing, I pitch much better.”

 

That was fairly obvious last year, when opponents batted .190 against Vazquez after he threw a first-pitch strike and .290 after a first-pitch ball. He was one of the few bright spots last season, going 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA. The White Sox organization is not particularly long on pitching depth and Vazquez has not been big on consistency. For the second half of Monday’s start, Vazquez looked like the ace the Sox need him to be.

 

Monday’s other significant development: Third baseman Joe Crede, coming off a miserable spring and long the subject of trade rumors, won the game with a seventh-inning grand slam. The hit raised his average to .393 through the first seven games, with two home runs and 10 RBIs (that puts him on pace for, let’s see, 231 RBIs, which would probably lead the league). Before the game, general manager Ken Williams noted that sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don’t make. After the game, Crede gushed his appreciation for the fact that he was still in Chicago. “Hopefully, I am still here for years to come,” he added.

 

Despite the overflowing of good will, that’s unlikely. The White Sox still have Josh Fields at Class AAA. Crede still can become a free agent at the end of this season. His agent still is Scott Boras, and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is not likely to change his well-known no-Boras stance. All the factors that led Crede to be on the trading block are still very much in play. A trade looks inevitable.

 

But the hot start has bolstered Crede’s value, as he tries to prove that concerns about his poor spring and his recovery from last year’s back surgery are unfounded. He’ll need to keep it up, of course, but so far, so good. “The biggest thing for me this season is health, staying healthy,” Crede says. “My stats in spring training, those were not something I was worried about. I know if I stay healthy, the stats will be there.”

 

The stats will be there, but Crede probably will not be here. Which is OK, as long as the White Sox can find a way to convert Crede into someone who provides depth in the rotation. After a day like Monday, Crede has helped the White Sox considerably in their quest to make such a deal.

 

Already the White Sox appear to be a different team than the one that slogged its way through 2007. They are patient at the plate, they are drawing walks, they are solid in the bullpen. They’re in first. If Vazquez can continue to be aggressive, and if they can find a way to move Crede, there’s a chance they could still be there in September.

 

 

[hi8is]

poor piece... "this team could be in first come september if they move crede." give me a break.

[iamshack]

poor piece... "this team could be in first come september if they move crede." give me a break.

 

Well, I don't necessarily agree either, but it's nice to at least have someone giving us a little credit.

 

The fact that the national media, as well as most fans, are judging us as a 72-win team is really foolish.

 

 

 

[joeynach]

Well, I don't necessarily agree either, but it's nice to at least have someone giving us a little credit.

 

The fact that the national media, as well as most fans, are judging us as a 72-win team is really foolish.

 

Southsidesox.com has a piece on Crede. He seems healthy which is great, especially for his defense, but his batting is inflated. I think it said he has something like 8 infield pop outs in 7 games, and something like 4 or 5 of his hits were either infield singles (very rare for crede) or duck snorts, and his line drive rate is way down. If that continues there is no way he keep up this pace, regression will take place.

[witesoxfan]

And now you know why you don't use ERA after 2 games. Sure, Buehrle has a 8.31 ERA, but he also had an ERA of like 37 after the first game, and he allowed 1 run in 7 innings last year. Hell, his ERA dropped 29 runs...anyone else in the MLB able to say they did that in one performance this year? I sincerely doubt it.

 

Deveney needs to familiarize himself with baseball and stop using averages 7 games into the season.

[Dick Allen]

Southsidesox.com has a piece on Crede. He seems healthy which is great, especially for his defense, but his batting is inflated. I think it said he has something like 8 infield pop outs in 7 games, and something like 4 or 5 of his hits were either infield singles (very rare for crede) or duck snorts, and his line drive rate is way down. If that continues there is no way he keep up this pace, regression will take place.

He also has 2 game winning homers in the team's first 5 wins. A hit is a hit. Frank Thomas used to occassionally hit little bloops down the RF line for doubles on his way to Cooperstown. Crede's OPS currently is about 1.100. Obviously he won't keep it up, but who is to say he can't do what he did the first 5 months of 2006 when he hit over .300 with 28 homers before his back got so bad he couldn't pick up his little girls? That's really not too shabby. Aaron Rowand was talking about Crede last month and said Crede has been playing with back pain for several years, but now its gone. At one time, Joe was one of the hottest prospects in baseball. Its not out of the realm of possibility he can break about half of Soxtalk's members' hearts and still be a very productive player.

Edited April 9, 2008 by Dick Allen

[witesoxfan]

He also has 2 game winning homers in the team's first 5 wins. A hit is a hit. Frank Thomas used to occassionally hit little bloops down the RF line for doubles on his way to Cooperstown. Crede's OPS currently is about 1.100. Obviously he won't keep it up, but who is to say he can't do what he did the first 5 months of 2006 when he hit over .300 with 28 homers before his back got so bad he couldn't pick up his little girls? That's really not too shabby. Aaron Rowand was talking about Crede last month and said Crede has been playing with back pain for several years, but now its gone. At one time, Joe was one of the hottest prospects in baseball. Its not out of the realm of possibility he can break about half of Soxtalk's members' hearts and still be a very productive player.

 

#36 prospect in all of baseball in 2001...the Sox actually had 5 in the top 100 that year. Jon Rauch was the highest at 4, followed by Borchard at 23, Crede at 36, Matt Ginter at 44, and Dan Wright at 61.

 

And, FWIW, Crede was also #46 in 1999. And #92 in 2002. And #96 in 2000. That is 4 straight years he was on the top 100 list. He's turned into a good player, but it would be nice if he walked a bit more. Not going to complain if he plays well, just that it would be nice.

[G&T]

The point the article is making is that if Crede is moved for rotation depth, the Sox will be in first place in September.

[Pants Rowland]

Personally, if Crede keeps this up, I would sooner move Konerko for rotation help and bring Josh up to play 1B. Assuming they do not resign Joe in the offseason, have Fields play winter ball at 3B and move Dye to 1B with Quentin in RF, Swisher in CF or LF and X filling in the other outfield slot. I do not know who X will be, but it could be anyone from Anderson, Owens, Ramirez, or a free agent. It will all take time to play out, but I think Joe's defense at 3B will be important for a playoff run, no matter who is on the mound. If Joe continues to help the Sox at the plate and in the field, someone is going to need to pony up big time to get Kenny to disrupt the success of this season.

 

 

[the People's Champ]

The only reason the Sox should move Crede is if they feel there is absolutely NO WAY that they can get a deal done with him and Boras, which will probably be the case.

 

But saying that it HAS to happen for them to have any chance to compete, doesn't shock me in the least. The Sox will never get credit for being a good team, even if they keep this lead. Just like in '05 they were written off for not making a deal at the deadline. And we all remember how that season ended.