At the quarter pole

[southsider2k5]

We are slightly over 1/4 of the way through the season, so now it is time to look back on the action thus far and see how people feel about the preformance of the players so far this season. Here is my version to start with...

 

The A's

 

Gavin Floyd- What needs to be said?

 

Carlos Quentin -See Floyd

 

John Danks- See Quentin

 

Jose Contreras- Huge bounceback season thus far. ERA is about two runs lower than most people expect, and about a run better than most hoped for.

 

Scott Linebrink- Done everything asked of him, getting the ball to Jenks.

 

AJ Pierzynski- In the top 10 in the AL in batting average, one of 3 catchers to do so. Has been clutch all year.

 

The B's

 

Nick Massett- almost got an A, probably should have based on expectations. Has done what has been asked of him, dispite sporatic usage.

 

Joe Crede- rebounded nicely after back surgery, about in line with where he should be.

 

Javy Vazquez- Pitched solid, but not quite at where he was last year.

 

Jermaine Dye- Off to solid start

 

Brian Anderson- Been playing himself into more PT with solid play in sporatic chances.

 

The C's

 

Bobby Jenks- a few blowns saves early, done the job for the most part.

 

Toby Hall- Done was has needed to be done as a back up catcher... nothing more, nothing else.

 

Matt Thornton- Done OK job, nothing special

 

Boone Logan- See Thornton

 

The D's

 

Pablo Ozuna- Speed hasn't returned since broken leg

 

Orlando Cabrera- bat seems to be coming around, but average is 75 points under where it needs to be.

 

Nick Swisher- started out as leadoff guy, couldn't hit, and has been very quiet in the bottom of the order as well. Played a good CF for the most part.

 

Octavio Dotel- Really good or really bad. Hasn't been very reliable so far.

 

The F's

 

Mark Buehrle- Has just had some god-awful starts.

 

Paul Konerko- part of me wanted to say incomplete because of the hand injury, but he has been 2003-esque so far.

 

Jim Thome- Big disappointment so far. nothing has really gone right for him.

 

Juan Uribe- Hitting right about .200, playing good defense, but it isn't enough, and seems to be losing his job.

 

Incomplete

 

Ehren Wasserman- Has been pounded so far this year, but hasn't had many innings after being called up.

 

Alexei Ramirez- Seems to be getting hot, and maybe winning 2nd base job, but has sat on the bench for long periods of time, and really hasn't played at all since the first week of the season.

 

Mike MacDougal- Thankfully sent to Charlotte

 

Overall- team grade-B+ Out preformed most expectations to this point, but offense has been a huge drag on a very good start.

[chitownsportsfan]

I would change Dotel to an C. He's provided some big strikeouts in high leverage situations. Yesterday I can excuse as he looked tired and the defense wasn't helping him out.

 

Looks about right other than that. There are two ways to grade of course: straight up and compared to expectations. Straight up Swisher has probably been a "C", but according to expectations (a 900 OPS corner guy) he's been bad.

 

MB deserves a D IMO. He relies on defense and the defense has been horrible behind him.

[YASNY]

I would change Dotel to an C. He's provided some big strikeouts in high leverage situations. Yesterday I can excuse as he looked tired and the defense wasn't helping him out.

 

Looks about right other than that. There are two ways to grade of course: straight up and compared to expectations. Straight up Swisher has probably been a "C", but according to expectations (a 900 OPS corner guy) he's been bad.

 

MB deserves a D IMO. He relies on defense and the defense has been horrible behind him.

 

He faced 3 batters and walked 3 batters. Not much the defense can do to help him out in those circumstances.

[Controlled Chaos]

He faced 3 batters and walked 3 batters. Not much the defense can do to help him out in those circumstances.

haha was thinking the same thing...

 

[letsgoarow]

I would also move dotel to a C and Bobby to an A or B.

Also would move toby to a B. He has played way better than expected.

[Steve9347]

A

John Danks: ERA under 3. Thank you.

 

Gavin Floyd: ERA under 3, two flirtations with no hitters. Thank you, too.

 

Carlos Quentin = GOD.

 

AJ Pierzynski: Our best hitter also calling great games behind the plate.

 

Scott Linebrink: He's been our best reliever and has stepped up and earned that contract.

 

 

B

Javier Vazquez: 3.53 ERA and k/ip is fine by me.

 

Jose Contreras: Is he back? His forkball is at least

 

Joe Crede: Coming off an injury from last year, he's been one of our best hitters.

 

Bobby Jenks: 1.96 era is nice, but he has gotten himself in a few jams that elite closers shouldn't.

 

Boone Logan: Has become a legit left handed option.

 

Nick Masset: Has gotten us out of a few jams already. Nearly didn't make the roster, but has saved us a few times.

 

Brian Anderson: Flawless defense and productive when he plays (.260 with 8 RBI). Dude deserves more at bats, because the team is better defensively when he plays and probably just as good offensively.

 

C

Nick Swisher: yeah the bat hasn't been swinging, but his OBP was a huge reason for the White Sox' early season success.

 

Octavio Dotel: Dominant at times, horrendous at times... C stands for average and that's what he's been.

 

Toby Hall: Can't throw out any runners, but at least he's getting some hits.

 

Jermaine Dye: I love the .293 average, I even like the 6 homers, but come on, only 16 RBI as the primary #5 hitter? Unacceptable.

 

Alexei Ramirez: It's not his fault he's been rushed to the majors and asked to field 3 different positions in his rookie year. He has 5 RBI and has been a decent defender. I can't give him worse than this.

 

D

Mark Buerhle: I just love him too much to give him an F

 

Matt Thornton: Sorry, I'm still never comfortable when he's on the mound.

 

Orlando Cabrera: Huge disappointment thus far.

 

Pablo Ozuna: Just hasn't come through yet.

 

F

Paul Konerko: team "leader" has been digs***

 

Jim Thome: takes the hitter out of DH

 

Ehren Wasserman: 2007 was nice, 2008 = near 30 era

 

Juan Uribe: He's STILL hitting under .200

[elrockinMT]

haha was thinking the same thing...

 

 

Me too especially when Masset comes in and gets three ground balls. If Massett is truly the groundball type picther that Danks said he was he (Massett) can really be an asset in perilous times. Dootell simply couldn't find the strike zone when needed. Seeing Ocatvio be successful for a number of games just shows you how quickly fortunes can change in this game.

[lostfan]

I agree with most of the grades, I think Dotel has been a C- because he pitches like Rex Grossman plays quarterback. Really hot and really cold. It just so happens he had one of the worst outings of any of our relievers last night. I think Buehrle should be a D, the team hasn't been helping him too much. Floyd A-, his K:BB ratio is still pretty bad and that's a cause for concern.

 

And the whole team grade I'd bump down to a C, because Konerko and Thome have really been that bad. Being the guys in this lineup that are supposed to produce runs, we probably look like a completely different team if they don't make their best Juan Uribe impressions.

[lostfan]

Jermaine Dye: I love the .293 average, I even like the 6 homers, but come on, only 16 RBI as the primary #5 hitter? Unacceptable.

How's JD's lack of RBI his fault? Look who hits in front of him... 2 guys you gave an F, one you gave a D. They've all sucked. When people aren't on base you can't get RBI. Even if you have a .293 average.

[whitesoxfan101]

Joe Crede is on pace to make 36 errors, so to give him ANYTHING higher than a C right now is laughable (although his solid offense does earn him that C). I also think Dotel deserves a C, he's had too many dominant/game changing for the better outings to get a D, even with his blowups, and Wasserman has allowed 15 men to reach base safely while getting 10 outs, so he's an F too. I'll just give generic grades though for the teams main components:

 

Rotation: B+ (It'd be an A+ if not for Buehrle)

Defense: C (The corner infielders have looked washed up, and the OC has no range anymore)

Offense: D+ (We're 4th in the AL in runs and started ok which is the only reason it's this high, but even that is a bit deceptive)

Bullpen: B (It's been better than expected and solid overall)

Edited May 19, 2008 by whitesoxfan101

[DBAHO]

Crede's been more like Fields than Crede at this point.

 

I agree with most of the grades being thrown out. Quentin deserves an A+, because although I knew he had this kind of potential / production in him, I don't think anyone expected to see it so soon.

 

Obviously the key before this season was the back end of the rotation, and those 3 guys have argubly been our best pitchers so far this season, hence why we're on top of the division.

 

Konerko and Thome are causes for concern. My guess is they'll heat up when the weather heats up, but still those 2 need to start producing, and raising that average. If this continues, it's one area we may need to look at for changes in the upcoming off-season.

 

Swisher is also another, but at least he still gets on base at a decent rate even when he's not really producing.

[RME JICO]

A - Floyd, Quentin, Danks, Contreras, Linebrink, Pierzynski, Massett

B - Vazquez, Dye, Jenks, Anderson, Hall, Ramirez

C - Crede, Thornton, Dotel, Logan

D - Ozuna, Cabrera, Swisher, Buehrle, MacDougal

F - Konerko, Thome, Uribe, Wasserman

 

 

How about taking a look at the recent trades now as well thru 1/4 of the season:

 

Quentin - (A++++) Has probably exceeded everyones expectations, but his own.

 

Cabrera - (D+) Garland is not pitching that good and would've blocked either Floyd or Danks. So that part of the trade was good. OCab has shown flashes, but he really needs to pick it up for this trade to be at least a wash. Hopefully we still get 2 picks.

 

Swisher - (D-) Sweeney almost has comparable numbers and would not have cost the Sox DLS and Gio. Hopefully Swish comes around and makes this trade a success. At least the clubhouse is loose with him around. That was definitely missing in 2007.

 

Richar - (Incomplete)

Edited May 19, 2008 by RME JICO

[heirdog]

How's JD's lack of RBI his fault? Look who hits in front of him... 2 guys you gave an F, one you gave a D. They've all sucked. When people aren't on base you can't get RBI. Even if you have a .293 average.

 

And the 2 guys he gave Fs to have 23 RBIs a piece so maybe they shouldn't be Fs after all...by his reasoning. Dye is a B/B- in my opinion because his offense has been fine and his defense is getting better, not enough to instill full confidence but he seems to be getting a glove on the ball now and still has a great arm. Now, if he can just catch the ball consistently and flash a little more speed in his routes to the ball, then he would be an A.

Edited May 19, 2008 by heirdog

[heirdog]

How about taking a look at the recent trades now as well thru 1/4 of the season:

 

Quentin - (A++++) Has probably exceeded everyones expectations, but his own.

 

Cabrera - (D+) Garland is not pitching that good and would've blocked either Floyd or Danks. So that part of the trade was good. OCab has shown flashes, but he really needs to pick it up for this trade to be at least a wash. Hopefully we still get 2 picks.

 

Swisher - (D-) Sweeney almost has comparable numbers and would not have costed the Sox DLS and Gio. Hopefully Swish comes around and makes this trade a success. At least the clubhouse is loose with him around. That was definitely missing in 2007.

 

Richar - (Incomplete)

 

 

I think Swisher and OCab will come around and the trades were more than appropriate at the time. OCab seems to be getting it going now and a 1 yr SS that could play every day and bat 2nd/lead off was much more useful to us than a #3 SP (especially considering the seasons Contreras, Danks and Floyd are having with Broadway potentially waiting in the wings if there is an injury). Swisher brings an intangible and has shown he can hit in the past and he's locked up for 5 more years at a reasonable deal. Give these two guys at least 1/2 a season to adjust (I know OCab may only be around for a year) and they will pay dividends during a playoff run and the playoffs, moreso in my opinion than Garland and Sweeney et al.

[Balta1701]

I agree with most of the grades, I think Dotel has been a C- because he pitches like Rex Grossman plays quarterback. Really hot and really cold. It just so happens he had one of the worst outings of any of our relievers last night. I think Buehrle should be a D, the team hasn't been helping him too much. Floyd A-, his K:BB ratio is still pretty bad and that's a cause for concern.

Don't want to harp on Dotel in 1 thread, but I'd like to note that his outing last night shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise, because he's probably been used more in the last 2 weeks than he should have been, considering his health issues in recent years. I don't like the idea of him pitching back to back games at all, especially not doing so repeatedly. Out of our last 4 series, he pitched in back to back games against the Twins, pitched in 1 game against Seattle, pitched in 3/4 against Anaheim, and pitched 2/3 after Friday off against the Giants. 5 appearances in 7 days is just too much for him to be making even if he winds up being effective.

[joeynach]

This team does some things well and others not. They have more talent than last years team, but on May 20th 2007, 1/4 through the season, they were 21-19. So lets not get too excited because we all know what can happen.

[JorgeFabregas]

This team does some things well and others not. They have more talent than last years team, but on May 20th 2007, 1/4 through the season, they were 21-19. So lets not get too excited because we all know what can happen.

Here's one reason for optimism: on May 19th 2007 they had scored 150 runs and had given up 171. Meaning: they were darn lucky to be over .500, as their expected W/L was much worse. As the season wore on, their W/L record predictably reflected their bad runs scored/runs against ratio. Indeed, if you took their ratio and projected it out over the whole season, you would predict 71 wins.

 

May 19th, 2008, they scored 200 runs and given up 170--meaning that they've actually been slightly unlucky this year (well, you kinda of make your own luck in baseball, but you catch my drift). As the season goes on, if it follows the trend, their record should improve a little. Of course, there's no guarantee that they won't go in the tank. If they keep a similar ratio all season, they should win around 94 games.

Edited May 19, 2008 by JorgeFabregas

[whitesoxfan101]

Here's one reason for optimism: on May 19th 2007 they had scored 150 runs and had given up 171. Meaning: they were darn lucky to be over .500, as their expected W/L was much worse. As the season wore on, their W/L record predictably reflected their bad runs scored/runs against ratio.

 

May 19th, 2008, they scored 200 runs and given up 170--meaning that they've actually been slightly unlucky this year (well, you kinda of make your own luck in baseball, but you catch my drift). As the season goes on, if it follows the trend, their record should improve a little. Of course, there's no guarantee that they won't go in the tank. If they keep a similar ratio all season, they should win around 94 games.

 

Good point. Obviously there are exceptions to this statement like the 2007 Diamondbacks, but usually the pythagorean doesn't lie.

[max power]

This team does some things well and others not. They have more talent than last years team, but on May 20th 2007, 1/4 through the season, they were 21-19. So lets not get too excited because we all know what can happen.

Your sig simply sucks.

[RME JICO]

Your sig simply sucks.

Yeah, no mention of acquiring Floyd (Dec 8th, 2006), Danks (Dec 24th, 2006), Quentin (Dec 3rd, 2007), or Ramirez (Dec 22nd, 2007) who seem to be cogs in the future of this franchise, and no mention of Vazquez either? Time for a sig update.

[jasonxctf]

not sure if a guy who has 5 quality starts out of 9 deserves a D.

 

take away that opening day start and Mark has a 4.24 ERA in the other 8 starts.

[sircaffey]

not sure if a guy who has 5 quality starts out of 9 deserves a D.

 

take away that opening day start and Mark has a 4.24 ERA in the other 8 starts.

 

He's been blown apart in 3 of his 9 starts. Another 5 ER in 7 IP. Making 4 of his 9 starts virtual automatic losses. He's not been very good at all.

[greg775]

I agree with Steve's assessment pretty much, but I'd give Swisher a C minus and Dotel C minus.

On base percentage is great but he's got to hit better than his current average.

Swisher might deserve the same D as Cabrera.

Paulie and Thome have to step it up. I might give Thome a D minus and leave Konerko at F.

[chitownsportsfan]

I would change Dotel to an C. He's provided some big strikeouts in high leverage situations. Yesterday I can excuse as he looked tired and the defense wasn't helping him out.

 

Looks about right other than that. There are two ways to grade of course: straight up and compared to expectations. Straight up Swisher has probably been a "C", but according to expectations (a 900 OPS corner guy) he's been bad.

 

MB deserves a D IMO. He relies on defense and the defense has been horrible behind him.

 

Touche.

 

[joejoesox]

this years Sox team beats themselves way too much for me to get overly excited about the rest of the season, but if they can shore up their D and a few of the veteran guys can start hitting at least .260 i'll be more optimistic