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PK: "Sox can shock division"


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http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/03/27/kon...k-the-division/

 

Paul Konerko (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Elsa)

 

(WSCR) The 2012 White Sox may want to do some research on White Sox history.

 

In 2000, the American League Central seemed destined to go to the Indians. It was almost a foregone conclusion. The White Sox weren’t expected to compete that season, and their marketing slogan was “Hey, let the kids play!”referring to the team’s young, inexperienced culture.

 

That’s when the White Sox shocked the league and won the division. Paul Konerko remembers that 2000 season and believes the team can repeat in 2012.

 

“I played on the 2000 team here. … That team came and took over and won the division that year against a Cleveland team that nobody thought was beatable for a lot of reasons,” Konerko told The Score’s Chris Rongey. “(The Indians) were the most dominant team, by far, in probably any division. With respect to the Tigers, the division goes through those guys. They’ve earned that. But that gap we felt in 2000 between us and Cleveland is not nearly the gap we feel with Detroit and us right now.”

 

So what do the White Sox need to do to capture the division this season?

 

“Just having the approach we have right now and doing that for the next six months and not letting anything else alter the way we go about it as a team, putting out heads down and playing the game as hard as we can and competing the right way,” Konerko said. “If we do that, I think we’ll be a tough team to play against and we’ll do a lot better than a lot of people think. I think if that’s just a small goal we have that could take us somewhere instead of looking at the big, huge picture that, ‘Hey, we gotta win 90 games.’ I think sometimes when you look at the end result like that, you forget how to get there.”

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I think people are being overly pessimistic on this team. I don't expect them to win just 70 games. I also don't expect 95 wins. This team could win anywhere from 85-88 games and will probably fall somewhere closer to that 78-82 win range. Just my humble opinion.

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I'm not sure that I want to hear any talk from players about how we've got everybody just where we want 'em after a season where they finished 16 games out of first place with essentially the same team minus Buehrle and Santos.

 

I think a good rule of thumb for the next two months is just play.

 

Sox attendance has steadily gone down year after year since 2006 (which granted got a bump from the 05 World Series win) and is down 20% from '08 which was the last time we won the division. Enough talk. Just play.

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QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 01:20 PM)
I think people are being overly pessimistic on this team. I don't expect them to win just 70 games. I also don't expect 95 wins. This team could win anywhere from 85-88 games and will probably fall somewhere closer to that 78-82 win range. Just my humble opinion.

 

So you're saying that they can max out at 88 wins? I don't think that qualifies as "shocking the division" at all.

 

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 01:35 PM)
I'm not sure that I want to hear any talk from players about how we've got everybody just where we want 'em after a season where they finished 16 games out of first place with essentially the same team minus Buehrle and Santos.

 

I think a good rule of thumb for the next two months is just play.

 

Sox attendance has steadily gone down year after year since 2006 (which granted got a bump from the 05 World Series win) and is down 20% from '08 which was the last time we won the division. Enough talk. Just play.

 

Agreed.

Edited by Milkman delivers
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QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 02:42 PM)
So you're saying that they can max out at 88 wins? I don't think that qualifies as "shocking the division" at all.

 

 

 

Agreed.

When almost every expert is picking them dead last and 70 or less wins, I'd consider an 88 win season in which you potentially win the division to be a pretty big "shock".

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QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 12:35 PM)
I'm not sure that I want to hear any talk from players about how we've got everybody just where we want 'em after a season where they finished 16 games out of first place with essentially the same team minus Buehrle and Santos.

 

I think a good rule of thumb for the next two months is just play.

 

Sox attendance has steadily gone down year after year since 2006 (which granted got a bump from the 05 World Series win) and is down 20% from '08 which was the last time we won the division. Enough talk. Just play.

 

Not to mention Quentin, although I guess he would be injured for us too, theoretically.

 

Dunn, Beckham and Rios have all hit slightly better (especially Dunn) than they did in 2011, but we'll find out soon enough. Same with Dayan Viciedo.

 

And DeAza and Konerko, can they keep it up? So many question marks, like which Jake Peavy is going to show up, or Sale, or Humber.

 

And the bullpen by committee can easily enough blow up in April/May.

 

 

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QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 04:42 PM)
So you're saying that they can max out at 88 wins? I don't think that qualifies as "shocking the division" at all.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

 

It will shock Sox fans

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QUOTE (sunofgold @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 03:24 PM)
There are plenty reasons to be hopeful. First, we are still undefeated in the 2012 regular season.

 

 

So are the Mariners, and they have a horrendous line-up outside of Ichiro, Smoak and Montero.

 

I take that back, they're head and shoulders better than the A's, with CoCo Crisp batting 3rd. Yikes. That's a 90-100 loss team there.

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QUOTE (sunofgold @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 03:24 PM)
There are plenty reasons to be hopeful. First, we are still undefeated in the 2012 regular season.

 

 

So are the Mariners, and they have a horrendous line-up outside of Ichiro, Smoak and Montero.

 

I take that back, they're head and shoulders better than the A's, with CoCo Crisp batting 3rd. Yikes. That's a 90-100 loss team there.

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QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 08:38 PM)
My one thought after posting that is "Damnit. Pedro Cerrano could speak better English than Ozzie."

 

 

But Ozzie's still better than Alexei Ramirez.

 

Maybe I would be more impressed if Cerrano was not Dennis Haysbert but an actual Latin American (Dominican/Puerto Rican) ballplayer.

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