Black Sox Faction

Early Look '07Early Look '07
So, of all the people on the staff, it's Javier Vasquez that gets the extended contract. There has been a tonne of talk, especially from me, that the Sox's offseason moves smacked of another "White Flags" disaster. To get other opinions on this matter, I convened The Black Sox Convention. This is a group of Sox fans that can make the connexions between Bart Johnson to Lamar Johnson to Lance Johnson to............um.............uh, John Garland? They remember Sox announcer Harry Carey shouting "SOX WIN SOX WIN SOX WIN...HOLY COW!!!"@ Old Comisky(Deep shame that Harry never lived long enough to see the 2005 team), worshipped the '77,'83,'90, and 2000 Sox teams, and let out that large exhale in October 2005. They know and care what they're talking about.

First subject: Kenny Williams. It may seem strange to many outside Soxdom, but Kenny Williams is generally well liked and trusted by sox fans. Donny Idol said he "...earned a lot of rope with the 2005 Championship squad, and I have full confidence he can pull it off again." Ditto Adam Killforme, who has "...learned to trust Kenny Williams and I believe even if some of these moves backfire, i.e. Garcia wins 20 for someone else, he is always moving and shaking which is the rule of baseball business in the off-seasons these days." Moho said he "...won’t diss Williams unless another GM wins us a WS." Bad trades in the past? Idol said "...his aggressiveness has been wonderful compared with his way-too-conservative predecessor. With the luxury of hindsight, some of his worst deals weren't really that bad when filtering in the players were gave up- I just don't see Hall of Fame plaques bearing the names Kip Wells, Josh Fogg or Mike Sirotka." We will now have to wait to see if Brando McCarthy, another young pitcher, can be added to the list. My opinion? He's great. With the well known financial restrictions of the Sox management, he maybe the best GM in baseball.

Most of Williams off season moves dealt with pitching. To most, it seemed the team totally denuded the starting staff to bolster the pitching in 2009. However, most felt that the team will still be strong this year. Idol said that the starting pitching "...is not without its questions, but I think it will be decent. I don't look at any of the top four starters as a solid #1, but as a unit I think they provide pretty good depth through those spots in the rotation." I tend to agree, maily. True, they lost workhorse Garcia, which to me is the major loss. Mcarthy may be a loss, but we'd have to see him over a full year to fully judge that. Garland is baseballs winningest pitcher over the last two years and Jose Contrearas has shown that he can be one of the dominatant pitchers for a half year. Mark Buerle to me is a special case. To me, he's one of the faces of the team and one of my favourite players. However, he's up and down every other year. Since this is his 'good year' and its also a contract year, I'm betting that Buerle will really try to impress St. Louis into a huge contract. It'll be sad to see him go, but maybe we can do without his projected 14-16 record for 2008. That's four starters: Idol adds ...i'm just hoping the youth experiment with that fifth slot doesn't degenerate into another Danny Wright situation." The Sox have about 7-8 names for the fifth spot, but there seems a good bit of confidence in the choices. We'll have to see on that.

The bullpen seems in strong hands as well. Moho was concerned about middle relief, but Idol liked the bullpen and felt that the "...back end already was strong with Jenks, Thornton and MacDougal. Seems like we have a lot of options to fill those middle relief innings, and a lot of those options seem to be able to hit mid-90s and above on the radar gun. Hopefully at least a couple of them know how to pitch, too.

Catching seems one of the unquestioned strenghts of this years Sox. A.J., an All Star last year, has turned out to be one of Williams greatest catches. He has hit well, caught well, and not turned into a distraction that many feared. Idol said "I'm a big fan of shit-disturbers...", and A.J. has taunted other teams players into getting thrown out of games and suspended and won World Series games by keeping his head in the game. And he bats lefty.

The infield has some questions. Well, ok, maybe just one question: Juan Uribe. He turned in a terrible year last year and followed it up by..........what the fuck happened in the Carribbean? Killforme said that "...compared to the rest of the AL shortstops, his '06 performance was near the bottom. Short leash for Juan this season." Idol added that Uribe "...is the key. As long as he has his head out of his ass and hungers for another title rather than some comida criolla, he'll be alright." Moho had confidence that he will rebound. The rest of the infield looks excellent. Ozzies '05 Sox MVP, Tadahito Iguchi, is one of the best things about the Sox. His Fieldwork is outstanding, and whether he bats 1st, 2d, 6th, or 7th, he will produce for the whole team. Every team would be lucky to have a player of his caliber on it. Joe Crede is also a solid bet @ 3d. 30HR, 94RBI,and a .283 avg.) and Gold Glove type fielding makes Ozzie and Sox fans happy. The only concern is his back, which held him up a bit last year. Killforme thinks that "...Crede has his self therapy down and knows how to manage his back condition--I have same problem--you can stay ahead of it with proper care. I look for him to repeat '06 greatness." And if not, the Sox can try to start the "Replace the Loved Longterm Third Baseman of the Sox" experiment early with Josh Fields. Pencil in- no, make that ink- another key year for Paul Konerko (35,113,.313). The infield is deep as well. Alex Cintron, Pablo Ozuna, and Fields provide a lot of confidence if any injuries happen.

The Sox have a tonne of strenght in the D.H. position as well. Jim Thome's exploits are well known (42,109,.288,.416 OBA,.598 slugging). However, a recurring back injury limited him @ the end of the year. The loss of reliable 1b/of "awesome" backup Ross Gload via trade means that if Konerko or Thome go down, the Sox will have to scramble for a backup.

Outfield is another matter. First the good news: Jermaine Dye!! He is another of those incredible pickups Williams is famous for. Going into the last year of his contract, Dye has only hit 75HR and driven in 206 runs as well as being the 2005 World Series MVP. Depend on him. However, The Black Sox Convention has rather differing thoughts on Dyes mates in the outfield (Idol said "...the other spots are a mess"). Scott Podsednik gets the most stick. Killforme called him a "...sissy who hurt our team all season. He never dove to catch a flyball, hit below average, and got caught stealing regularly. Cut him." Moho echoed those thoughts: "Pods is done and I would cut him in a second." Idol doesn't want him cut : "Podsednik is a huge key to the season- he needs to get healthy and keep his mental game in line so he can put up that .350+ OBP number, as he did in 2005." I agree. When he's healthy, he can really be a force (remember those 17 RBI in the 2005 regular season? O.K., that's not his game, I know.). Hopefully the hernia will heal nicely. Pods running amuck can really take an opposing picthers attention away from the sluggers after him. Opinions differ on Brian Anderson as well. Ozzie wanted him to play solid defense last year and ease into the team. However, his offensive stats (8, 33, .225) were so bad to make him a target of fans all year. Moho simply said "e gone". Killforme had a different and suprising take : "I believe this is year for Brian Anderson to turn into Andy Van Slyke-remember him? Great hitter-great fielder." We had to wait a long time for AAron rowand, Crede, and garland to turn into excellent players. I'm willing to give him another extended look this year. Idol's take? "Only God knows who will end up with the center field job- just as long as it's not Mackowiak (defensively, nice memories of the Jose Valentin experiment in center)." A wild card is Darin Erstad. He's had a wicked injury run the last few years, but Idol "...likes Erstad's rep (he fits the "grinder" mentality of 2005) but not the injury history." So, and All Star in right, and All Questions in the other two positions. Left and right are the main areas of concern for the Sox this year.

Another thing to look closely for this year is three key players (Dye, Iguchi, and Buerhle) in their contract years. I prompted the Convention with the question "If you could keep only one of these three next year, who would it be?" Moho said spend the money on Buehrle. Killfor me wasn't so sure, saying "If we see '05 Buerhle not '06 Buerhle in '07 we should keep him at all costs. If not, I believe Dye has several more productive years ahead. If Iguchi wants a lot of yen, he's gone." Idol agreed with me in several regards: "...gotta like it that three key guys are playing for a contract. See 'Adrian Beltre 2004' or 'Alfonso Soriano 2006.' Only one? Idol picks Iguchi: "I think our depth is better suited to make up for the losses of the other two than it is for the secondbaseman". Me? Wildly tough call. My thoughts on all three Sox players are above. Buerhle, Dye, or Iguchi? Dye indicated that he will give the Sox a hometown break on his contract. Beurhle, although somewhat inconsistent, has been a fixture on the team since the playoff team of 2000.However, it would have to be Iguchi. I've been deeply impressed with his play for the Sox, and agree with Ozzie that he is a team MVP type. Great fielder, and bats wherever Ozzie wants. Hopefully, the contract year of these excellent Sox players will provide fire for the team, and not a distraction.

But THIS YEAR : 2007. How will this team do in a division where 90 wins puts you in third place? Moho has it this way:Sox, Indians, Tigers, and Twins. He points out that the team needs "...Needs speed and small ball to compensate slugger slump. If we won 6 more games with speed and sacrifices, he would have won the division in 2006." So, what type of team will Ozzie try to create? Killforme has the Sox possibly going south: "Sox have talent and experience to get back to top--can Ozzie get the attitude back in the clubhouse and keep it there all year? That's the question. I say no--starters won't be stellar and couple of key injuries doom Sox to 85-77 year-just missing wildcard. Hope I'm wrong. Idol split the difference: "I think the AL Central will again be the toughest division in baseball. The Tigers are built around pitching, most of which is young and should only improve. The Indians should be greatly improved with a revamped bullpen (despite the retirement of Keith Foulke) and the return of their potent offense. I'm looking for a 4th place finish out of the Twins- their starting rotation is decimated, and I just don't see 3rd baseman Nick Punto hitting .290 with a .352 OBP again. Early Prediction: Sox finish 2nd behind Detroit. The wildcard is ours for the taking. I'm somewhat scattered all over the board. I can see the starters gelling into the best staff in baseball again. Garland, Buerhle, Contrareas with 18w, Vasquez with 15. Pods and Thome healthy and hitting. Crede, Iguchi, Konerko, Dye and A.J. all having their regular years. With the team and coaching staff that they have, I can see them very easily finishing first and winning another ring. However, @ the same time, "with the team and coaching staff that they have" I can also see this team disintigrating like the Imperial Guard @ Waterloo. Five weeks to opening day @ Comisky. Lets get some runs!!!