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.

Carlos Quentin Traded for Prospects

Earlier today, Carlos Quentin was traded to the San Diego Padres for two pitching prospects. This move is both good and bad for a few reasons.

This is a good move because Carlos Quentin or some other outfielder needed to go. Quentin was probably the only option because nobody in Major League Baseball wants Alex Rios and his contract on their team. This was really the only option and room needed to be made for Viciedo and De Aza to show what they have. There were too many outfielders with Quentin being there and Kenny thought that he could get what he wanted for Quentin.

This is a bad move because the two prospects aren't exactly top prospects. Neither has impressive stats that jump out. Scouts might say something else that stats don't, but by looking at stats they aren't impressive. Neither one has impressive ERA or WHIP stats. Maybe Kenny trusts the minor league pitching coaches to help these guys along, but right now they aren't impressive. This could be a bad move because the return for Quentin wasn't good enough.

In the end, this had to be done whether or not fans like it. There were too many outfielders and the Sox believe that Dayan Viciedo is the real deal. They are probably right about that. In order to see that, Quentin had to go.

Blind Optimism

Right now, every White Sox fan is probably going crazy. Buehrle is gone, Kenny hasn't made any big moves, and there are probably more players on their way out the door. There's not a lot of positives going through the fanbase right now, but why not? I think there are some things to be positive about.

The first is that despite losing Buehrle, the Sox still have a rotation that can do some damage. With the new manager and basically all-new coaching staff, things are going to be turned around. If Beckham, Rios, and Dunn can all have average years, the White Sox offense will be dangerous. If rookie outfielders Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza can preform, the offense will be even better.

Yes, these are all hypothetical, but lets look at the last time the White Sox won the world series. 2005. The first thought is probably that that team was perfect in chemistry on and off the field and this team has nothing to do with that one, but you're wrong. Before the start of the 2005 season the White Sox were picked to finish fourth in the division and had a lot of ifs on their team. Their entire pitching staff was a giant if and nobody knew if the offense would be as good as it was. The 2005 season also started with a brand new manager. You see, the similarities are endless.

Let us also look at last year's World Series Champion, the St. Louis Cardinals. Did anyone honestly pick them to win the World Series other than some meatball Cardinals fan? No. They fought hard and won series after series. They weren't a stacked team with a rotation like Philadelphia, they were just an average team that knew how to win games. So who says that the White Sox can't win the World Series this year?

Viciedo Called Up

The move that White Sox fans have been calling for almost all year has finally happened. Most fans think it's too late and I'm one of them. The White Sox have little to no chance to win the division and now they decide to call up a guy who could be a good offensive weapon for the Sox. It doesn't make sense. 

Viciedo was on fire before the all-star break while playing for AAA Charlotte. After the all-star break, he wasn't as good and his numbers have dropped. In my mind, he still deserved the call-up, but it was a little late. 

Another reason I don't want Viciedo up right now is because it is pointless. He isn't going to win the division for the Sox and now he has to be poisoned by Greg Walker. Brent Morel and Gordon Beckham have already suffered the effects of Walker's coaching and I hoped that Viciedo wouldn't be ruined by him. Now that Viciedo is up, the ruining of his skill could be entirely possible. 

In my mind, this call-up is pointless and could backfire in the end because of Greg Walker. I like Viciedo and I think he has a lot of talent, but I'm not one of the fans that thinks he is going to save the White Sox from all their problems and be better than Frank Thomas. I think he will be a good player in a couple years and is basically the future of the Sox.