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I've decided to move this blog to wordpress so you can find the same type of coverage at southsidepinstripes.wordpress.com

Everything will be the same and might even be better over there. If you really like this site, just head over there and see what I do.

What Youkilis Does for the White Sox

Kevin Youkilis was traded to the White Sox along with cash considerations (5.6 million) for Zack Stewart and Brent Lillibridge. While it is sad to see a player that fans endeared and a player that worked so hard to leave, Lillibridge will likely have a better career in Boston. White Sox fans have to realize that Youkilis is a great addition to the team and the White Sox didn't have to give up a whole lot in order to get him. Whether or not you like or liked Kevin Youkilis before this trade, you have to realize that he is an upgrade from the current third basemen on the White Sox. Let's take a look at what the current third basemen have done and what even a terrible Youkilis will do for the White Sox.

Let's start with the weakest stat, batting average. Kevin Youkilis is batting a mere .225 this season which doesn't sound impressive especially compared to his career average of .286, but none of the three current players that could play third base for the White Sox even have a batting average over .200. Orlando Hudson at .167, Brent Morel at .195, and Eduardo Escobar at .190.

Onto the stat that Kevin Youkilis is best known for, on base percentage. Youkilis only at .311 which also seems low compared to a .388 career OBP. Once again, Youkilis is much better than all three White Sox third basemen. Hudson with .247, Morel at .225, and Escobar at .299. Youkilis will get on base more often and is probably the perfect fit for the 2 hole problem the White Sox have.

Finally, perhaps the biggest problem for White Sox current third basemen, OPS. The White Sox third basemen went into the game today with an OPS of .466, the worst in Major League Baseball. That OPS is worse than Youkilis' OPS of .670 this season by far.

So if you are thinking that the White Sox got the bad end of the deal because Youkilis hasn't been good this season, he is still an upgrade and it didn't cost the White Sox very much. It's a good gamble for Kenny Williams to make and if it pays off, he will be praised.

John Danks Injury and What It Means for Sox

It was recently announced that what was believed to be just soreness in the shoulder was more than that. First it was declared as a grade 1 tear that would not require surgery. But most recently they are saying that it is not a tear, but only a strain. Danks will undergo rehab for the injury and will not be back very soon for the White Sox. So what does that mean for the White Sox and their pitching staff?

The White Sox already recently called up Dylan Axelrod and will probably send Zack Stewart down after a terrible start against the Cubs. Axelrod will be mainly the long reliever, but don't rule him out to get a start at some point. I personally think that Axelrod is much better than Zack Stewart, but my grandma is probably better than Stewart.

So that problem is solved, but no Danks leaves the rotation a little bare. Peavy and Sale have both been pitching great and will hopefully continue to do that. Quintana has been pitching well, but nobody knows how long that's going to last because he hasn't exactly been perfect. He's just been good enough. Floyd and Humber have both been struggling and neither will get taken out of the rotation like some have speculated about because Danks will be gone for so long. The White Sox rotation isn't going to be good is what I'm saying.

Without Danks, I think the White Sox will struggle. Being in first place probably won't last long unless the offense starts to play really well and it doesn't look like that will happen. Winning the division isn't out of the question, but a winning streak like earlier in the season won't happen again. They will have to fight to win every game and will have to play well against division opponents if they want a shot. If they can't do that, they are toast.

White Sox Draft Hawkins, Barnum

The White Sox went into the 2012 draft hoping that it would change the organization and be a big step in the right direction for the White Sox farm system. After day one, most fans didn't get what they expected but they shouldn't be too angry. The White Sox were expected to pick a pitcher. That pitcher would probably be a college arm that would be ready to be in the bullpen soon and would eventually be a starter. Names that come to mind include Marcus Stroman, Chris Stratton, and Michael Wacha. When the White Sox, with the 13th pick overall, named who they picked, it wasn't even close to what was expected. Maybe a few experts thought that there might be a chance that the Sox would take Hawkins, but it really wasn't what the Sox needed and certainly wasn't close to what most mock drafts expected the White Sox to take. Fans shouldn't think that it's a bad thing that the White Sox didn't draft a pitcher. Yes, it's what the White Sox really needed, but the Sox also need some athletic position players in their farm system. Both Hawkins, the first round pick, and Keon Barnum, the compensation round pick, are good athletes and both are players that have good power. Hawkins is a good outfielder that has been playing center field, but will probably be a corner outfielder in the big leagues. He has power and speed and has all the tools to be a really good player. His size is a little deceiving because you don't expect a big guy like that to be as fast or athletic as he is, but hey, the guy can do a backflip.

One of the advantages of the Hawkins being one of the five players that was drafted to actually be at the draft is that we get a first look at how he'll look in the White Sox uniform. I have to say that he looks good. His size reminds me a little of Dayan Viciedo and maybe he can live up to that expectation. The other player that the White Sox drafted today isn't a terrible player either. He plays first base in high school and is also known for his power. There's talk that he could move to being a corner outfielder, but he will probably stay a pitcher for his future with the White Sox. Maybe he'll be the guy that takes over for Paul Konerko when he eventually retires. I really like what I've seen from him.

So just because the White Sox didn't pick up a pitcher and maybe took a chance on some young and talented high school players doesn't mean that the first day of the draft wasn't successful. There's still a lot more picks to be taken and the Sox have a good chance to improve their farm system despite the thin draft this year. I think this year is the start of something good for the White Sox. They really need to focus on making their farm system better and I think Kenny Williams really considered that and believed that hitting was one of the things that the White Sox farm system really needed. There's still a lot of good pitchers left for the Sox, and I think they can make this draft a really good one despite the low amount of very good talent.

So I'll leave you guys with the short video that MLB put together on Courtney Hawkins. It doesn't say much, but I hope it gives you a good idea of what he can do. I also hope it makes you feel a little better about the White Sox not taking a big name pitcher.

Weekly Links

Weekly links continues, but it is a little early this week because I figured that I would include some articles on the draft which starts on Monday. And in other news, Gordon Beckham is hotter than ever so I think he has a permanent home as the Weekly Links picture. 

• Another week, another recap of the AL Central. Except this one is only covering half the week. That's beside the point though. It's a great recap from Aerys Sports. 
• One of the bigger storylines this week is whether Morel will get his job when he comes back. I read two good articles about it. Here and here.
• Another week of Chris Sale being awesome, another great article about why he's been such a good starting pitcher.
• A great article was written about Ventura and why he should get some respect for what he's done with the Sox so far this season. 
• Last but not least, the draft. The White Sox website put out an article about the draft and why the Sox are hopeful for what they might get with the 13th pick.

Series Preview. White Sox vs. Mariners

The White Sox are riding an 8 game winning streak into their next series against the Mariners. The Mariners are coming off scoring 21 runs in Texas. It's easy to see that both of these teams are playing great baseball right now. The White Sox are obviously the hotter team because they are 9-1 in the last ten and the Mariners are only 4-6 in their last ten, but that doesn't tell the whole story and won't dictate who will win this series. The White Sox did sweep the Mariners the only other time that these two teams have faced off so far this year. That does not mean it will happen again, but there is a good chance. The Sox are sending out some of their best pitchers against the Mariners who until lately have not been a great offensive team. The toughest game will probably be when the Sox have to go against Felix Hernandez in the first game of the series. The best thing about baseball is that you never know who is going to win any game on any night.

Game 1
Jake Peavy (6-1 3.07 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (4-4 3.17 ERA)
Both of these pitchers are great pitchers and their sort of high ERAs don't really show how good they can be. Peavy's ERA was excellent until he had a bad game against the Indians. He still got the win as he got great run support. Hernandez is storied for not having run support, but with the Mariners scoring 21 runs maybe that offense is ready to do some good things.

This is going to be the game that the White Sox are the closest to losing. The White Sox can still win this one if they get the offense going again and Peavy throws another gem like has been doing this entire year. The Mariners aren't going to be easy for the Sox and the White Sox will have to work hard and do a better job with runners in scoring position. If the offense can click again, the Sox can win.

Game 2
Gavin Floyd (4-5 5.02 ERA) vs. Hector Noesi (2-6 5.01 ERA)
You look at these two guys' ERA and you expect this game to be a high scoring game. That might be true, but both of these pitchers are capable of having really good games. We all know as Sox fans that Gavin Floyd is probably the most inconsistent pitcher in all of Major League Baseball. If Floyd has a good game, he gives the Sox a great chance to win the game. If he has one of his bad games, the White Sox will have to work hard to get the win.

I think the Sox have a great shot to win this game as long as Floyd doesn't put them in a really bad position. One again, the White Sox have to be better than they were in the last game of the Rays series with runners in scoring position. They can't leave runners on and then lose by a few runs. One of these games, leaving the bases loaded with no outs is going to bite them in the butt. They have to stop failing in those situations and need to score a ton of runs off of those situations. Continuation hitting is one of the reasons that the Sox beat the Rays in the second game and they need to play like that to beat the Mariners and other teams.

Game 3
Chris Sale (6-2 2.34 ERA) vs. Kevin Millwood (3-4 3.56 ERA)
Chris Sale has been one of the best White Sox pitchers this year. In his last game, he threw 15 strikeouts and completely dominated a good Rays lineup. If he can do something like that again for the Sox, he gives them a really good chance to win. Millwood isn't a great pitcher, but his ERA isn't terrible and it's not going to be easy for the White Sox.

For a final time I'm going to say it, the White Sox have to succeed when they have runners in scoring position especially when there is less than two outs. Right now AJ is the best player on the team with runners in scoring position and he will probably be playing tomorrow, but who knows how many of these three games he will play because he hasn't had rest in awhile due to how well he's been playing.

White Hot Sox

Check out my epic photoshopping, am I right?

Another sweep for the White Sox and they've won 8 in a row! There's no doubt that the White Sox are playing great baseball right now and they're finding ways to win games no matter what obstacle they're facing. The Sox have swept in 3 of their last 4 series; they are 9-1 in the last ten, and they don't seem to be stopping any time soon. The starters have pitched well, the bullpen has been solid, and the White Sox are playing great on offense right now. Not much is going wrong for them other than umpires throwing people out without a warning, but that's not a big deal. Right now the Sox are winning games and that's all that matters.

One of the biggest differences between this year and last year is that the White Sox no longer rely on Konerko to lead the team by having a big game every game or else the Sox lose. Konerko went 2-13 this series and the Sox still swept and scored 13 runs. That would have never happened last year. Now that the offense doesn't depend on Konerko for everything, the pressure is off of Konerko and he can just focus on playing his game. I think that is one of the reasons that this year has been different from every other year that he has played so far. If the White Sox offense keeps it up, Paulie will keep it up as well.

Another big difference in this series is that the White Sox did not depend on the long ball. Obviously it is how they won in Game 1, but that was a different game than the other two. The White Sox only had one home run in the last two games of the series and they still scored 11 runs. The White Sox offense has something that it hasn't had in awhile. That is the ability to hit in succession and score runs without necessarily hitting the ball out of the park. This is a big difference because when you depend on the home run ball, you're going to lose a lot of games when the ball just isn't going out. Now the Sox can win both with the home run and in other ways like they did on Tuesday.

Up next the Sox will play Seattle and will have to face King Felix in the first game of the series to try to improve their win streak to nine games. The series will be tough as the Mariners just put up 21 against the Rangers today, but the Sox can win this series and keep it rolling while staying in first place.

Weekly Links

As the blog is getting more and more active throughout the season, I decided to start a once a week link post. Basically giving you links to some of the things that I've read this week and some links on the White Sox action over the past week. 

• Konerko mania is going full blast right now especially after he hit his 400th homer in a White Sox uniform. Not only that, but he is floating around the .400 batting average mark which has gotten him a lot of press recently too. 
• Head over to Southside Showdown (a White Sox blog) to get a week in review of the entire AL Central. 
• Baseball Prospectus had a great article about the Indians and the difference between this year's hot start and last year's hot start. 
• Danks got sent to the DL this week, but should be back soon. For info on his trip, go here.
• South Side Sox, one of my favorite White Sox blogs, recently put out a great piece on Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko and how they compare to other 3-4 combinations in the league. 
• Everything you need to know about sabermetrics was put into a nice article by the ladies over at Aerys Sports. Check it out. 
• Last but not least, Snoop Dogg threw out the first pitch at the White Sox game on Thursday night. 

White Sox Pitching

Heading into this season, nobody thought that the White Sox pitching staff would be doing anything remarkable. Now that we are 45 games into the season, I think we can say that the White Sox rotation has gone above and beyond the expectations set before them at the beginning of the year. They may not be the most conventional group, but they each know how to get things done. As a team, the White Sox have a 3.88 ERA which is 18th in Major League Baseball. They aren't the best, but they are a unit that can get things done. At some times they can be inconsistent, but there are games when each and every one of these pitchers can shut a team down.

John Danks got a big extension this offseason and went into the season expected to be the ace of the staff. So far this season, he has not delivered in that role, but the recent announcement that he is headed to the DL for shoulder soreness could be the reason that he has been struggling. Looking at the past few seasons, fans can see that John Danks has the stuff and ability to get batters out and win games. He hasn't done that stuff yet this year, but he has the potential and if he is healthy then he can be the ace that everyone expected him to be at the beginning of the season. 3-4 with a 5.70 ERA is not what the Sox expected from their ace at the beginning of the year, but in the past two seasons he has ended with 8-12 4.33 ERA and 15-11 3.72 ERA. 2010 was his best year that he has ever had. Since then he has degressed, but his struggle the last two seasons has been understandable. If the conditions are right and he is healthy, Danks can be a successful ace for the White Sox.

Jake Peavy has been a great story this year. Ever since being traded to the White Sox, he hasn't had the same stuff as he did when he played for the Padres. This year is the one year where he has been pitching like he's back in San Diego. So far this season he is 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA. To prove my point that he hasn't pitched this way since he was playing in San Diego, go look at the stats. The last time that his ERA was close to what it is right now is his last season with the Padres. Peavy's comeback year is perfect timing for the White Sox because of the fact that Danks hasn't been the ace that the Sox needed him to be and because Floyd has been one of the most inconsistent pitchers I've ever seen. The Sox needed Peavy to step it up this season and he did just that in a very big way.

Gavin Floyd has been the biggest pitching disappointment for the White Sox this year. Every year, he has those starts when fans say "Hey, maybe this is the year that he'll figure everything out and finally be that guy." and then the next time he pitches, fans are swinging baseball bats at anything in swinging distance. Floyd can be the pitcher that the White Sox want, but he has to go out to every game he starts knowing that he can be that pitcher and he needs to execute every single time. The one thing that has been consistent is his bad ERA. Floyd hasn't had an ERA below 4.00 since 2008. He's going to need to be consistent and get better if he wants to stay in Chicago and stay as the 3rd starter in the rotation.

This is Chris Sale's first year as a starting pitcher and he has been the second best pitcher in the rotation this year. He has great stuff and many of the batters he faces haven't faced him yet, so he has that advantage over them. He was drafted to be in the Sox rotation and he has already accomplished that. His last start was a great showing of what he can do. He pitched well and got himself the win. I'm looking forward to the many years of Chris Sale as a White Sox starting pitcher to come.

Phil Humber is an odd case. He has games when he completely dominates the other team (perfect game) and he has games when he is just another pitcher in the rotation. I love him as the fifth pitcher of the rotation because he pitches well enough to be that guy and sometimes he pitches better than that guy has to which is a nice surprise when it happens. If the Sox can get a number one and number three guy, this rotation can be one of the best in the league. I like what Humber has done so far this season and it has been a reassurance that his breakout year last year was not a fluke and that Humber will be good for the Sox for years to come.

The White Sox rotation is not the best in the league, but it gets the job done. With a little maintenance, this rotation can be one of the best because they have some of the best pieces of a rotation. Each guy can give a quality start and with the help of the offense can win games. 

Series Preview. White Sox vs. Indians

The White Sox start a three game series against their division rival Indians today. This is a very important series because the Indians are leading the central right now and the White Sox are not that far behind them in the race. The Indians are a hot team coming off a sweep of the Tigers and they are 8-2 in their last 10 games. The White Sox are also hot as they are 7-3 in their last ten and just won a series against the Twins. This will be a tough series and will be a test for both teams in all three parts of the game. Whichever team wins the series will have a great advantage in the division heading forward.

Game 1
Jose Quintana (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Jeanmar Gomez (3-2 3.19 ERA)

Jose Quintana will get his first major league start because John Danks was recently put on the DL for having shoulder soreness. In AA, he pitched 35.1 innings and had a 3.06 ERA, 26 Ks, and 11 BBs. He made his big league debut in the bullpen for the White Sox and will now have a chance for his first start. Nobody knows whether or not he will have a good start, but the White Sox can hope that he comes out confident and by having stuff that none of the players have seen, he can fool some of their batters.

Gomez has been pretty good recently. In his last three starts he is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA. He had a pretty strong start against the Marlins on Saturday and hasn't allowed a run in his last 16 innings. The last time that he pitched against the Sox, he gave up 6 runs in one inning. His pitching could go either way against the Sox and if players like Konerko, De Aza, and Rios keep up their hot streaks the White Sox can easily win this game.

The key to this game will be whether or not Quintana has the stuff to beat a major league team. The White Sox offense will have to back him up by scoring quite a few runs, but I think the Sox have a great shot to win this game.

Game 2
Jake Peavy (5-1 2.39 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (6-2 2.15 ERA)
Jake Peavy has probably been the best pitching story of the year. He had a terrible year last year and came back this year and is dominating teams. He isn't up to the level he was when he won the Cy Young, but he is doing a great job being the second pitcher in this rotation. In his last three starts, he is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 16 strikeouts. If he continues to pitch like he has previously, he gives the Sox a great chance to win this game.

Derek Lowe has pitched well this season and recently. He's had two quality starts in a row, one in which he pitched a complete game shutout. In his last three, he is 2-1 with a 2.71 ERA and 5 Ks. He'll be a tough test for the White Sox offense, but since they are so hot recently that challenge might not be a challenge at all. In 64.2 innings pitched against the White Sox he has a losing record at 1-2 and has 3.34 ERA and 43 strikeouts. The White Sox haven't really struggled against him and if they can score 3-5 runs, they can win the game easily.

Game 3
Gavin Floyd (3-5 4.66 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (5-3 5.02 ERA)
Floyd has been Mr. Inconsistent this year having a good start and then the next time he goes out, he is horrendous. If Floyd has one of his good starts, the White Sox have a good chance. If Floyd has a bad start it kills the entire team's momentum and they will probably lose.

Jimenez is having an alright year. He has a winning record, but his ERA isn't something to get worked up about. The same story goes for his last three starts (he is 2-1 with a 7.16 ERA). The White Sox will be able to score runs against him, but the key to winning will be stopping the Indians offense from backing him up like they have done so far this year.

Story of the Week
Paul Konerko is the story of the week for the White Sox. He has been extremely hot and is on a 10 game hitting streak. He leads the team in almost every hitting statistic and might even have a shot at MVP if he keeps hitting like he is. Right now he is .384/.462/.649 with 10 HR which is quite impressive and is obviously leading the team. In the last week he is batting .615 with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs which is the reason he is the story of the week.

Series Recap. White Sox win 2/3 against Twins

The White Sox had a tough series, but ended up winning 2 out of the 3 games. The first game was the worst of the entire series, but the only game that was even close to easy was the second game. The pitching by the White Sox was not stellar in the series, but Chris Sale did have a great start in the second game.

The power from the White Sox was the biggest story of the entire series. The players that hit home runs this series are Beckham, Rios (2), Konerko (2), Pierzynski, De Aza, and Viciedo. The power was especially helpful to the White Sox in their win in the third game of the series as they came back in the 6th after their terrible 5th inning.

The Indians swept the Tigers, so the White Sox did not gain any ground in the central division race. The Sox will have a great chance to do that though as they are going to play a three game series against the Indians starting tomorrow.

Game Preview. White Sox vs. Twins Game 1

The White Sox will play the first game of a series against the Twins today at 7:10. The Twins will pitch P.J Walters and the White Sox will send Gavin Floyd out to the mound. Neither pitcher has great statistics this year, but both have proved themselves in previous years. Whichever offense can be more productive and take more advantage of every situation to score runs will win the game.

Paul Konerko is back for the first game since getting hit in the head by Jeff Samardzija during the first game of the series against the Cubs. He is the biggest producer on the team offensively and will likely make a difference for the better of the White Sox offense today.

Other notable players in the lineup is the fact that Escobar will be playing third again as Hudson is not quite ready to start a game because he was officially signed today by the White Sox. Beckham has been on a small hot streak since the series against the Angels and will hope to continue that in this series against the Twins and maybe finally have the breakout season that has been expected of him since his rookie year with the Sox. Rios and Dunn have been much better this season than last year and both of them will look to continue their hot streaks.

One of the most surprising stories of the year is that Alejandro De Aza is one of the top offensive producers on the team. He is second to only Konerko in WARP, which is essentially the way to measure a player's worth to his team. He has a good average and has been adequate in the lead-off role.

The White Sox offense is not very good, but there are some bright spots. If the little offensive pieces can all come together to form a pretty puzzle the White Sox can be a successful team and win this game and series. The key to beating the Twins and having the possibility to win the division is offense. The White Sox can have that offense if each player produces the best that they can. The true test will be to see if the White Sox offense can actually do that.

Series Preview. White Sox vs. Twins

The White Sox and the Twins are the two hottest teams in the AL Central right now. Both teams are 6-4 in their last ten. The White Sox are coming off a big sweep of the Cubs and the Twins just took 2 out of 3 from the Brewers. Interleague is over and both teams are ready to face division opponents to try to gain some ground in the Central. Paul Konerko is hoping to be back for the first and all three of the games against the Twins. He missed the final two games of the series against the Cubs after being hit in the head during the first game. If he is back, that will be a huge difference-maker for the White Sox. Konerko leads the team in almost every offensive statistic. The Twins have a very productive offense and will be a tough test for the White Sox pitching staff.

Game 1
Gavin Floyd (3-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. P.J Walters (1-1, 3.65 ERA)

This should be an interesting matchup. Floyd has been better this year than he was last year, but still has the potential to be better. If he has a good start, the Sox have a good shot at winning, but if his start is lousy, the Sox will probably lose. Walters hasn't been too impressive this year and if Konerko is back, the White Sox offense could get sparked and score some runs to help the Sox get a win.

I think the winner of this game will probably end of winning the series because of the momentum that this game will give. Neither team has a huge advantage in this game and neither pitcher is a dominate pitcher that you can count on to win games. Whichever offense shows up and scores runs in the first game will get momentum and keep playing well during the rest of the series.

Game 2
Chris Sale (4-2, 2.91 ERA) vs. Scott Diamond (3-0, 1.40 ERA)

Both Chris Sale and Scott Diamond have had good seasons so far on the mound. Diamond has not recorded a loss yet and Sale has been dominant in many of his starts. This game will likely be low scoring and will go to the team that plays the smartest game and takes advantage of every chance to score runs.

The White Sox are not very good at taking advantage of chances to score runs, so the the Twins will probably win this game. If the Sox can somehow get at Diamond early in the game, they could win by giving Sale a lead and confidence and having the confidence at the plate that hitting this guy won't be very hard. This will be an interesting game to watch.

Game 3
Philip Humber (1-2, 5.31 ERA) vs. Carl Pavano (2-3, 4.91 ERA)

Both Humber and Pavano have good reputations as pitchers, but neither pitcher has impressive stats so far this year. This game could either be an offensive battle or a pitchers duel depending on how each pitcher performs.

If this game comes down to being an offensive battle, I think the White Sox will probably lose. The Twins have a better offense than the White Sox have and are better at taking advantage of every opportunity to score runs as I mentioned previously. If the White Sox can get better at being smart offensive players and hitting when it's most needed, they will win more games like this and more games in general.

White Sox Sweep Cubs, Clinch Crosstown Cup

The White Sox clinched the BP Crosstown Cup with a game 3 win over the Cubs to complete the sweep. The White Sox won the first game 3-2. The highlight of that game was centered around Paul Konerko. One highlight was him hitting a two run shot that gave the White Sox their first lead. The second highlight isn't so high for the White Sox. Konerko was hit by a pitch to the face and sat out both of the final two games of the series.

The White Sox won the second game of the series 7-4. They lead the entire game and at one point led 7-0 until they have up 4 runs from two different 2 run shots in the bottom of the ninth. Viciedo, Pierzynski, and Dunn all recorder home runs in this game. Danks improved his record to 3-4 on the season after getting the win during this game.

The final game of the series is when the White Sox finally achieved the shutout. They beat the Cubs 6-0. Beckham and Dunn both got their second home runs of the series. Jake Peavy got an RBI in this game on a fielders choice that scored Flowers who led off the inning with a double. Other players who got an RBI are Flowers and Rios. Both Beckham and Flowers had a great game. Peavy was brilliant and helped the White Sox complete the sweep in Wrigley Field for the first time since 1999.

The craziest thing about this series is that fans care about the Crosstown Cup. Maybe I'm wrong and nobody cares, but I'm sure there's a Sox fan out there that's jeering a Cubs fan for losing the Crosstown Cup. The trophy is the most pointless trophy in all of sports. It's a way for advertisement to be taken into the game of baseball. Some fans look forward to when the Sox and Cubs face off, but it's probably my least favorite time of the year. I never did and never will understand why Cubs and Sox fans don't like each other. I have no problem with Cubs fans because I understand what it's like to be a kid in Chicago. You hit that age that you have to decide whether you're a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan. Once you make that decision, it's who you are forever. That's the thing about Chicagoans, they're loyal. Once the decision is made between Cubs and White Sox, the person sticks with it through thick and thin for the rest of their life. So why can't the fans get along and share in each others misery and rejoice when fans stay true to their team?

The Crosstown Cup is a nice idea, but it makes this series into an advertisement. Both the White Sox and the Cubs are not the greatest teams. The White Sox are lucky to be in 2nd place like they are, and the Cubs are already pretty far behind in last place of the central division. Who wins or loses this series doesn't make a big difference towards either team's season, so why argue over something that's so dumb? Chicago fans should know better.

Congratulations to the White Sox for winning the cup, but they should know that winning that doesn't mean anything for their season. It was a great series and a good three wins for the White Sox, but they need to be ready to move on and get ready for the next two series which will be very important as they are facing two division rivals at home.

Game Preview. White Sox vs. Indians

The White Sox go from Texas to Cleveland without a day of rest as they play the Indians today. This might be a small problem because of the little rest, but I'm sure manager Robin Ventura has them ready to play today. Playing the Indians shouldn't be as much of a struggle as playing the Rangers was, but who knows because the White Sox weren't exactly stellar against division opponents last year.

Chris Sale is on the mound for the White Sox making his first Major League start. If he can control his pitches and not leave that slider hanging, he'll have a good game. During spring training, he looked like one of the best pitchers on the staff and he'll hopefully keep that going into the regular season today against the Indians.

The White Sox offense will need to back Sale up with a few runs. They had big troubles with runners in scoring position against Texas and need to do a better job of bringing those guys home in this series and game. Brent Morel, who is still without a hit, will probably start today and will hopefully get on track against the Indians. Rios and Dunn have been pretty good so far and they'll look to continue that. Konerko is solid as he always is. De Aza and Beckham haven't really gotten it going yet this season, so I'll look to them to have big games. Neither Pierzynski nor Flowers have been great at the plate so far, but whoever is playing today will hopefully get a base hit or two and get on track for the season.

The White Sox can win this game if Sale pitches well. The offense will have to score some runs because I don't think Sale will shut them out. The short rest could hurt the White Sox, but this game is still winnable for the Sox.

Series Prevew. White Sox vs. Indians

The White Sox will get almost no rest after their loss to the Rangers before they have to play the Indians in Cleveland. The White Sox didn't play very well against the Rangers, but Cleveland is not as good as the Rangers and I think the Sox have a good shot at winning this series. Right now, the Indians have the same record as the Sox, but the White Sox are going into Cleveland looking to change that.

The bottom half of the rotation will pitch for the Sox, but I expect them to do well. The Indians don't have a high powered offense nor do they have a dominant pitching staff. The White Sox can get their offense going against Cleveland and use that momentum in the series after this one against Detriot.

Game 1
Chris Sale vs. Josh Tomlin
I'm expecting Chris Sale to have a good start. He was good all through spring training and I think he'll carry that over into the regular season. He's ready to be a starting pitcher and he'll prove that today. The Indians won't be too tough of a test, but Sale will still have to work hard to get the W.

The White Sox offense should be able to take advantage of Tomlin. He isn't a well-known pitcher and I think the White Sox offense is capable of scoring enough runs to win this game.

This game will be tough because the Sox don't have much rest coming off the loss to Texas yesterday. They can still win this game if Sale pitches well and they score a couple runs, but I think this might be the one game of the series that they lose.

Game 2
Philip Humber vs. Justin Masterson 
Humber was excellent last year, especially in the first half of the season. If he can start the season off the right way in his first start, I think he gives the Sox a good chance to win. If he has 7 solid innings of good pitching, the Sox will win because I'm very confident in the bottom half of the bullpen.

Masterson is a good pitcher, but the White Sox can beat him. This will be a tougher test than Tomlin, but the Sox offense can take momentum from that game into this game.

I think the Sox will score just enough runs to back Humber up and help him get his first win of the season from his first start of the season.

Game 3
John Danks vs. Jeanmar Gomez
I'm expecting Danks to have another good start like he did in Texas on opening day. He wasn't fortunate enough to get the win from that game because he was not backed up by his offense. The story of Danks not getting a win early in the season can't happen again this year. The offense will have to back him up.

Gomez won't be too tough a challenge for the White Sox offense. If they can get some runs early in the game and just keep building, they can win this game. Offense is very important in this game because the offense never backs up Danks and will need to in this game.

I see Danks having a quality start, and I think the White Sox offense will step up and back Danks up. Danks will get his first win of the season as the White Sox win the series.


I think the Sox can actually sweep the Indians in this series. If they do so, that would be a big improvement and the Sox would have a 4-2 start. If the Sox don't sweep, I think they'll win 2 out of the 3. I don't see the Sox only one of these games.

Series Recap. Sox take 1/3 from Rangers

The first series of this season did not go the way the White Sox would have wanted, but I think they played well against one of the better teams in the American League. The Rangers came ready and they were good. The White Sox had to struggle and play a really good game just to beat them once. It was a good series and other than a few mistakes in the last game, the Sox were pretty close with the Rangers.

Opening Day didn't go the White Sox' way for the first five innings, but managed to score a run thanks to Dunn and his home run. (Wow, there was a lot of rhyming in that sentence). They scored another run that inning driven in by Alexei. For a first game it wasn't bad, but Danks could have used a little bit more run support. It's not fun losing when the other team only scores three runs.

The second game was by the far the White Sox best game. Peavy pitched well and only gave up 3 runs on 8 hits. Not bad for a guy that was a big question mark coming into the season. The offense played well, mostly led by Paul Konerko who drove in 3 of the 4 runs that the Sox scored. Only four players actually recorded a hit, but the offense seemed to be doing fine. The Sox did just enough to win the game thanks to the home run hit by Rios in the ninth inning.

The third game was not good at all for the White Sox. They didn't play good offense and Floyd didn't pitch a very good game. The Rangers came ready to hit Floyd's fastball and they sure did hit it. The Rangers had three home runs and scored 5 runs off Floyd. The bullpen did pitch well and fans got a nice taste of what Nate Jones can do. There were positives in this game, but the most important thing it did was point out the weaknesses in the team.

The story of this series was the White Sox continued struggles with runners in scoring position. In the second game, it wasn't as much of a problem as the Sox were 2-4 in that game with RISP. In the other two games they were 0-7 and 0-8, respectively. They aren't going to win games if they keep leaving runners on second and third with one or less outs. They have to get better at getting clutch base hits and bringing runners home. That's the key to this offense.

Game Recap. White Sox lose 5-0 to Rangers

The White Sox did not play a very good game today. They didn't score a single run and gave up 5, including three homers. The Sox end up losing the series 1-2.

The first few innings of the game were great pitching. The problem is that Floyd made three mistakes and all three of them were driven out of the park. The Rangers only scored one run that didn't come from a home run. After Floyd got out of the game, the bullpen was good. Nate Jones got to play in his first ever MLB game. His first two batters were a little shaky and he walked both, but then he got a double play and struck out Josh Hamilton. The thing that worries me most about this game is that Floyd didn't pitch well. If the White Sox want to be successful, Floyd has to pitch well.

The offense was a big problem in this game. Not a single player on the team had more than one hit. Everyone was equally bad. Konerko had two bad at bats today. Dunn didn't get a single hit and neither did Rios. Pierzynski really struggled today because for the entire game he had to face a left handed pitcher. I'm not sure why Ventura played him instead of Flowers against the lefty.

Right now everyone is to blame for this game. Neither pitching or offense was good and when neither is good,  it's hard to win games. The Sox should be able to get back on track against a team that's not as good in the upcoming series. They'll play the Indians in Cleveland next.

Game Preview. White Sox vs. Rangers Game 3

The White Sox aim to win the series today against the Rangers after tying the series last night thanks to the Alex Rios solo shot in the the ninth.

Eduardo Escobar will start in place of Brent Morel today. I like this change because Morel hasn't been good and because Ventura is being smart. He has said that he wants to get everyone in during one of the two first series.

This is what separates Ventura and Ozzie. Ventura knows that guys can't sit on the bench forever. He'll need more than one guy at certain positions and you can't expect a guy that has been sitting on the bench for six or seven days to just play a good game.

The White Sox can win this game as long as Floyd pitches well and the Sox get some runs early. Beckham hitting in the 2 hole could change things a little. He could either not play well or he could flourish in that spot. I like Ventura testing him there because if he does hit well there, he's a great 2 spot hitter.

Game Recap. White Sox win 4-3

Alex Rios was the hero in last night's game against the Rangers. Yes, Alex Rios. This game was very promising because both Adam Dunn and Rios had good games. They are both much improved compared to last year already. Rios looks a lot more comfortable playing in right field and won't make as many errors this year.

The first few innings of the game were kind of rough. The Sox started off well by scoring in the first. The Rangers scored to tie it in the 2nd and then in the third they both scored 3 runs to keep it tied until Rios' ninth inning heroics.

Paul Konerko had a great game getting 3 RBIs. Adam Dunn was good again and scored a run. Morel still hasn't gotten a hit this season. For that reason, he won't be playing today.

Game Recap. White Sox lose 3-2 to Rangers

The White Sox did not start their season is a good way as they lost to the Rangers on Opening Day. There was both good and bad in this game, but the bad overshadows the good because the Sox lost. If the Sox had won, like they should've, I think fans would be excited for the rest of the season.

Let's take a look at the good. Adam Dunn absolutely crushed the ball in the 6th inning. He now holds the record for most opening day homeruns. He did have an opening day homer last year, so let's not get too excited about that at the moment. Later in the sixth, Rios got hit by a pitch and then Alexei Ramirez hit a double. This allowed Rios to score from first with some nifty baserunning. It was the best inning the Sox have had all year (hardy-har-har) and it showed that Alex Rios and Adam Dunn might just turn it around this year. John Danks was good in the innings he pitched, but it's the same story for him. No run support, so he gets the loss.

The bad things in this game are numerous. The first thing is that the White Sox offense was invisible until the 6th inning and invisible after. Konerko was the best batter of the day going 2 for 4 (big surprise). Two White Sox batters did not record a single hit (Morel and Rios). Lillibridge also did not record a hit, but didn't have a single at-bat. Dunn was 1 for 3 while the rest of the team was 1 for 4. If the White Sox want to win, they have to score runs. Right now they're not doing that. Opening Day last year was more promising than this year (the Sox scored 15 runs).

The biggest problem today was the strikeouts. Morel and Beckham combined for a total of seven strikeouts. Morel also had an error in the field. This troubles me because getting a new hitting coach was supposed to help fix the problems in the offense especially in the young guys like Morel and Beckham. If they aren't going to hit this year, the White Sox have a problem. When only half of the infield is hitting, the team isn't going to do well. I'm anxious to see how long it takes Ventura to put Escobar in for one of those two players. Right now, that's the only solution, and I think it might work.

There was good and bad in today's game. The White Sox could have won, but they didn't. They have to move on and get ready to play the Rangers again tomorrow. They have a lot to improve, but I still think they can have a good season.

Game Preview. White Sox vs. Rangers (Opening Day!)

The White Sox open against the Rangers today. It should be a good game and a good test of how well Danks will pitch in his first year as the ace for the White Sox. Lewis is a very good pitcher too. This should be a good pitchers duel.

The White Sox offense will have its first tough test of the year in their first game. If Rios, Dunn, and Beckham can all have a good game and good seasons, I think the Sox are a team to be afraid of.

The Rangers offense is pretty scary. They have Hamilton and others that are good hitters and will be a tough matchup for Danks in his first start of the season.

If the White Sox can score some runs to back up Danks, I think he can get the win. The bullpen will need to hold the lead after Danks leaves, which might be trouble. It will be interesting to see who Ventura has decided is the closer for the Sox this year.

Series Preview. White Sox vs. Rangers

The White Sox start their season with a three game series against the Texas Rangers. The Rangers went to the World Series last year, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. They were one of the best teams in the AL last year and will probably be a challenge to beat this year.

The White Sox have basically the same look that they had last year. The big changes are the losses of Mark Buehrle, Carlos Quentin, and closer Sergio Santos.

The Rangers also have basically the same team as they did last year. They'll be looking to continue their dominance in the western division.

Game 1
John Danks vs. Colby Lewis


This will be an interesting matchup. This is Danks' first opening day start and first start as the ace of the Chicago White Sox. Hopefully nerves don't get the best of him and he can perform well. He'll need the offense to back him up, though.

Colby Lewis is one of the best pitchers in the league. The Sox will have to score a few runs off of him to insure that Danks can get the win.

I think the biggest factor in this game will be whether the White Sox bullpen shows up or not. If the bullpen is bad, they could lose this game for the Sox.

Game 2
Jake Peavy vs. Derek Holland


This should be an interesting game. It'll be interesting to see if Peavy can be the kind of pitcher that the Sox really need in the second spot of the order this year. He's been successful before and the Sox are hoping that he can be successful this year.

Holland is a good pitcher, but the White Sox offense can take advantage of him.

I think this game will be high-scoring and once again, the White Sox bullpen will be tested.

Game 3
Gavin Floyd vs. Matt Harrison 


I'm really looking forward to seeing Floyd pitch this year. He struggled last year, but has been pretty good in the past. I think he'll have a good season this year. He has a lot to play for and I hope he pitches up to his potential.

Matt Harrison won't be a tough challenge for the Sox, but they'll have to score quite a few runs to back up Floyd.

The big key in this game will be who's offense is better and scores more runs.

2012 Chicago White Sox Preview

The Chicago White Sox start their season today against the Texas Rangers. By just looking at the White Sox roster, I’d say that most people expect them to be 3^rd or 4^th in the division. I’m here to say that I disagree. I don’t disagree because I’m a White Sox fan with false hope that thinks that every year is going to be “the year”.

I think this season could be one of the better seasons in White Sox history, or it could be just another season near the bottom of the division. If you remember back to 2005, the White Sox weren’t expected to win the division and have the great season they had. They were a bunch of misfits with a lot of question marks that somehow came together and won a ton of games and the World Series. Take a look at the Cardinals last year. Did anyone except for maybe a few stupid Cardinals fans expect them to win the World Series? I don’t think so. You see, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies aren’t going to win just because they’re the favorites and because ESPN buffs them up to look big. The team that you don’t expect to win actually wins sometimes.

I’m not saying that I think the White Sox are going to win the World Series this year, but I think they can be a lot better than people expect. They’re picked by most “insiders and analysts” to be 4^th or 5^th in the division. Too bad this division is like no other division in baseball. Every single year all five of the teams have a shot at it because there isn’t a dominant team. This year the Tigers are picked to win it, which means that it’s almost certain they won’t win it. They have big Prince Fielder. I seem to recall another team in the AL Central that signed a big hitter from the national league and planned to have him save their team’s offense. I don’t think that signing worked out too well. The Tigers have no pitching other than Verlander. The Twins have injury problems and don’t have great pitching. The Indians have Ubaldo Jimenez who will hit anyone that he doesn’t like, so the White Sox should probably watch out for him. The Royals have a ton of good prospects that are growing up. I think the team to be most afraid of in this division is the Royals or the White Sox.

Before fans start throwing in the towel for this year’s season, watch a couple games and see how it goes. The White Sox aren’t going to be as bad as they seem. If things go their way, they can be one of the best teams in the AL Central and maybe get a chance in the playoffs. 

Opening Day Roster Revealed

The White Sox made all their cuts and finalized the roster for opening day a day earlier than most other teams. It was quite the treat seeing the roster for this year, and now I'll break it down.

Catchers
AJ Pierzynski- AJ has been a solid catcher year after year for the Sox, and I expect nothing less than normal this year. With Flowers playing catcher as well, he should get more rest and be more of a presence at the plate. I think he'll have the best batting average on the team at the end of the year. He's always healthy and is a great catcher. He's one of the best at making the pitchers he works with better. I'm looking forward to another successful season from him.

Tyler Flowers- Before last season, he was called up occasionally, but I was never impressed with how he played. He was a streaky hitter and wasn't that great of a catcher. When he was called up last year after Castro left the team, he played great. He was a good hitter and defensive catcher. I'm hoping he can continue playing that way this season.

Infielders
Paul Konerko- Konerko is always the one solid player on the team. Doubts were in my mind about how long he could keep up the pace, but from what I've seen this spring, he's ready to have another great season. Even if he doesn't have his best season, he will help lead the team and others will step up to take some of the load off his shoulders.

Gordon Beckham- He hasn't had that breakout season that everyone is expecting from him yet. There's always that hope that this year will be that year. I don't think it will be that year, but I think that his hitting will improve. He's a great defensive second basemen, but really needs to improve his hitting. I think the new hitting coach will help him improve a little, and I think he'll have an okay year.

Alexei Ramirez- He's had streaky hitting years in the past, but even if he is just average this year that would help the team. If he improves a tiny bit, that would make a huge difference. He's become better and better each year with playing defense. If he can shy away from too many errors, the White Sox infield will be defensively sound.

Brent Morel- Morel is one of the players that I think the new hitting coach will have the greatest effect on. He didn't hit well last year, but he's fixable. He'll bounce back this year by striking out less and popping out less. His defense is pretty good and as long as he doesn't make careless errors, he'll help add to the great defensive infield.

Eduardo Escobar- He's a rookie and he's looked pretty dang good this spring. That's basically all I can say about him, because that's all I know. I hope he can add something to the team and step into places in the infield when certain players aren't hitting or playing well.

Adam Dunn- This season is huge for Dunn. If he bounces back and hits 25 home runs, the White Sox are in great shape. His swing is already looking better and he is striking out much less than he was last year. By looking at last year's numbers, he can only go up.

Outfielders
Alex Rios- The new hitting coach is going to have a giant effect on Rios this season. Last year, Rios was lost at the plate. The hitting coach didn't help at all, and Rios just had a bad season. With the new hitting coach and maybe a new attitude, Rios can get back into the same form as the Rios from 4 years ago. I believe he can be that hitter again and I believe playing right field instead of center will benefit him defensively.

Alejandro De Aza- Last season was just a sneak peak into how good De Aza is. He's both good at the plate and out in the field. I trust him in center much more than I trust Rios. I'm excited to have him on the team full-time this year. I think he'll have a good hitting season and will help the offense improve.

Dayan Viciedo- He is a tank. I don't think anything else needs to be said.

Kosuke Fukudome- It's exciting to have him on board this year. It's also nice knowing that if Rios starts to struggle, there is someone who can adequately fill in for him. He had a pretty good spring and I'm happy to have him as a fourth outfielder.

Brent Lillibridge- He's been the streakiest player ever in the past couple years, but it's nice when he's hot. I think Venturra will be happy to ride him until he cools down if he does happen to get hot. Looking forward to him having a small, but important roll in this year's team.

Starting Pitchers
John Danks- This is his first year as the ace of the squad and I think he can handle it. Since he first started with the Sox, Buehrle was his mentor and now Danks has Buehrle's place on the team. He's up for the challenge and he's going to do a great job.

Jake Peavy- I'm not expecting Peavy to have a Cy Young year or be close to what he was before he came to the Sox, but I am expecting him to have a good season. He's a good number two pitcher as long as he has confidence and gets along with Cooper.

Gavin Floyd- He's been shaky the past couple seasons, but hopefully he has a good season this year. He's probably the pitcher that I'm most worried about this season just because I can't trust him to be good. He'll have good games, but he'll also have really bad games.

Chris Sale- He's had a great spring and I expect him to have a great season. He could falter toward the end of the season just because he isn't used to the amount of work that is put into an entire season as a starter. Otherwise, I think he's completely ready for this role.

Philip Humber- I'm not expecting him to pitch like he did last year, but for being the 5th pitcher in the rotation he's going to be very good.

Relievers
I'm going to address the relievers as a whole just because I don't know a lot about pitchers like Nate Jones and others.
My opinion on the bullpen is that it will be better than it was last year and has been in the past, but there still isn't a sure closer. I'd like to see Reed in the role and keep Thornton as the setup man because that's what he's good at. Jones has been good in spring training and I'm ready to see what he can do.