Trade Deadline Necessities and update

First of all, I apologize for not posting in a very long time. I've been swamped with multiple tasks and responsibilities.

That said, I wanted to quickly post about where this team is at and what I think we need in order to win this division. I think the first half of the year, while surprising to most, was not all that surprising to me. Those of you who have read my stuff (whether on here or at southsideshowdown.com) know that I've seen this club as a contender in this division for quite some time, dating back to the winter. Guys who had career lows last year have been playing up to form (and some of them have been exceeding that) and those question marks have been answered. We've gotten some pleasant surprises in guys like Quintana and Peavy. The starting rotation has struggled with injury but has been able to weather the storm thus far.

The problem has been our bullpen. With the majority of the kids in the pen being rookies and the few veterans we've had out there this year struggling, the bullpen has posed a huge question mark as to how far this team really can go. In this day and age, the bullpen is arguably the most important part of a team’s success. We've seen the Sox give games away multiple times this year, games that we all assumed we had in the bag, if we want this division, that HAS to stop now. Matt Thornton has had a rough year, shaky at best. Guys like Nate Jones and Addison Reed have shown to possess the talent necessary to succeed at this level, but not always the consistency or mental toughness. I've also been questioning the pitch selection this season. It seems like we've given up more hits to batters who were 0-2 or 1-2 in the count than I've seen in quite some time. I know some of that rests on AJ putting down the fingers, but at the same time, most of our pitchers have given hitters way too good of pitches when we have them down in the count. Those are the things that cannot happen if you expect to keep guys off base. We've got guys like Septimo, Omogrosso, and Santiago coming out of the pen and getting hit around the yard in big situations. We need to strengthen this pen if we want to win close ball games.

Look for Kenny to either make a big move for bullpen help or for a starting pitcher (Like Greinke). Buy acquiring a big name starting pitcher, Kenny is giving Robin the option to move a starter to the pen when and if Danks gets back. If Kenny picks up relief help directly, well then he’s directly helping the bullpen.

Bottom line is, this offense is not going to be our down fall. There’s plenty of thunder in our lineup to win ball games. Overall, the starting rotation is very solid (especially when healthy), and is not going to be our downfall. But the bullpen has been anything but lights out, we cannot have shaky pitchers coming into one run situations in September and October.

In terms of this divisional race, I would keep your eyes open for Detroit to cool off. That Tigers team reminds me a lot of us last season. Winners on paper, but too many issues with execution on the field. Their pitching is weak overall and their offense seems to be inconsistent. This race is about to get very interesting as the trade deadline approaches and the Tigers have already made a big move. Let’s hope and pray our bullpen stiffens up, because if it does, there is no reason we should not be the odds-on favorite to take the central.

In terms of the components of this club, the offense has been fine, a little inconsistent, but fine. With Rios having a monster year and Dunn exploding in three offensive categories.... well four (RBIs, HRs, Walks, K's) and Konerko showing why he's the captain. With the addition of Youkilis for essentially nothing (Now I know how the Dutch settlers felt when they bought the Island of Manhattan from the Indians for 24 bucks) and the on base percentage, speed and production coming from De Aza at the top, this offense is scary good at times.

As I alluded to earlier, the starting 5 have been solid with Sale, Peavy, and Quintana becoming Chicago's own "Big 3." If the Sox can make it to the post season, mark my words we could win the pennant. Because as we all know, in the playoffs, it all comes down to the top of your pitching rotation, its hard to find a better top 3 in baseball right now.

Wrap Up: Sox need to get the job done against the Twins this series and stay on Detroit's heels. With Cy Quintana pitching tonight and the bats showing signs of life for the first time since the break, the Sox should be the favorites.

Positive Signs For 2012

Hey everyone, I apologize for not posting on here in a while. My last semester of undergrad has been getting really busy and I've also been picked up by The South Side Showdown as a staff writer. So please feel free to check my stuff out there I write totally original articles for them that you won't find on this blog (southsideshowdown.com). That being said lets get to it.

So after the first 2 series of the year the White Sox have shown some promise. Although it is extremely early there are some positives that I have taken from these first few games.

 First of all Paul Konerko is absolutely raking, going 9 for 20, driving in 5 runs. He's spraying the ball all over the field and he's racking up the hits left and right. It would appear that he's turning into an all around hitter, not just a home run hitter.

A.J Pierzynski has looked comfortable at the plate since arriving in Cleveland, knocking in 6 runs, putting the ball in play almost every at bat. While he has handled the pitching staff well over the years, his plate approach has always been hit or miss. He could be a solid guy to bat 2 for us or hit in the middle of the lineup. A good lefty contact bat can always find a place into the lineup.

The bullpen has been impressive. New young up and comers Addison Reed and Hector Santiago have the demeanor of veterans while they're on the mound. They've gone right after the hitters they've faced and really flashed their stuff. Reed featuring a powerful fastball and some impressive off-speed to back it up. While Santiago, coming out of the bullpen to shut down his 2 save opportunities, has shown his heavy fastball, sharp slider and impressive screw ball that has really had hitters off balance. Matt Thornton has been solid as usual while Will Ohman struggled today (which is going to happen). All in all the bullpen has done its job keeping the Sox in every game they've appeared in.


The starting pitching has been solid as well. I thought it was very impressive that the pitching staff held the prominent Texas Rangers offense to 5 runs or under in each game we played them. That offense is so deadly and to hold them down and be within a run of taking 2 of 3 from them was a solid way to start off the season. Chris Sale was phenomenal in his first start, locating his fastball, setting up his off-speed and keeping hitters off balance. He was the most impressive of all the starters in their debuts (although Humber has not had his debut yet).

Another big positive I've taken from these first 5 games has been Adam Dunn's plate presence. He has been seeing the ball well lately, he's walked 4 times, hit the ball hard when he's put it in play and driven in a couple runs. I think he's going to have a bounce back year, he's looked significantly better at the plate compared to last year. Not to mention his mere presence on deck has already led to some runs in the form of the hitter in front of him getting straight fastballs to hit.

I think there have been a lot of positives signs shown so far by this team. Like I said earlier it is way to early to really make anything of these signs but it is a good place to start when evaluating the team. I think this team is going to surprise a lot of people. I see a boatload of potential in this club and I think Ventura has them playing as a unit.

Follow me on twitter @RyanGanser

and at "The SouthSide Showdown" at southsideshowdown.com

Feel free to contact me with any kind of feedback, comments, or questions and Go Sox!

Fukudome, good or bad move?

My apologies for not posting in a while, with the 2nd semester starting up I've been a little busy with school. That being said, we all are aware of the fact that a little less than a week ago Kenny Williams signed ex cub Kosuke Fukudome to a contract to play on the South Side of town. I noticed a lot of mixed reactions amongst sox fans after this deal went down. My question to those who are wondering why Williams did this is, why not?

I think this was a tremendous pickup, for a few reasons. The main reason being price. We signed him to a one year, 1 million dollar contract with a 3.5 million dollar club option for 2013. Not to mention that this season he's actually only making $500,000.00 with a $500,000.00 buy out. To pay 500 K for a lefty bat (career .260 hitter) who can lead off and play an above average outfield is always going to be a plus in my book. Not to mention that he has the potential to turn it on offensively.  Another reason I like it is because as much faith as I have in De Aza to perform this season, if he doesn't pan out as an every day player, Fukudome can easily step in and fill that role at the top of the lineup.

The only thing that worries me about this pickup is what role the White Sox have in mind for Kosuke. I think he should be a 4th outfielder who sees the field when someone in front of him needs a day off, goes down, doesn't pan out. If the Sox plan to stick him in front of De Aza or Viciedo, I am gonna be pissed. I say, we give the young guys a chance to make an impact before we throw them on the back-burner for yet another season. Let them play their way out of a spot before we hand it to a 34 year old .260 hitter. I just see a lot of potential in Viciedo and De Aza and I think they're hungry to prove what they can do at the major league level.

Like I said, there is always that chance that Fukudome could come out of nowhere and really turn it on, its a long season and we'll have plenty of time to see how it pans out and how our outfielders settle into their roles. I'm really hoping Rios will play with some personal pride this year instead of just collecting a paycheck. The unfortunate thing about Rios is that no matter how awful he is, he's most likely going to see the field because of the huge amount of money that we're paying him. I'd be all for putting Kosuke in front of him.... but thats another discussion for another day.

So those of you ripping Williams for this pickup need to review the contract. Thats like buying a used 03 convertible for 200 bucks. Just thank God we didn't pay him 12 million dollars a year like the cubs did because he is no where near that kind of a pay day. But that of course is vintage Chicago cub baseball.... also another discussion for another day.

By the way, it took me a while to find a picture of Fukudome without an Indians or a Cubs jersey on, you'll never see that trash on this blog.

White Sox still hoping for Cespedes

Yoenis Cespedes has officially arrived in Miami. He's meeting with the Marlins today and has verbally expressed interest in staying right where he's at and playing for Miami. The GM of the Marlins has said that they want Cespedes but do not need him. Apparently they have been aggre

ssively pursuing the 5-tool stud for quite some time now, however after spending a lot of money this offseason, negotiations might reach levels unreachable for the Marlins.  With speculation about whether or not Miami will be able to land the 26-year-old outfielder, the White Sox (amongst other teams) are lying in the weeds, with hope that they'll get their chance to court Cespedes. 

Yoenis and his agent are hopeful that they will be able to come to some sort of an agreement with a major league team in time for Cespedes to report to spring training. Due to a delay in receiving his working visa from the Dominican Republic, negotiations have taken longer than originally anticipated. Although it would appear that the Marlins are the front-runners at this point in the process but I think the White Sox can still remain hopeful.

This White Sox have had a long history with Cuban baseball players coming to play on the South Side of Chicago. Reports have indicated that current White Sox players Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo have been attempting to reach out to Cespedes in order to recruit him for the Sox. A guy like Yoenis Cespedes would be a very nice addition to this White Sox roster. If (and this is a huge "if") Kenny Willaims could find a way to move Alex Rios, we would have a very young, very talented, very Latin outfield from left to right. I think he could add significant offensive production to a lineup with a lot of question marks and play a solid outfield. The only problem is, because of Alex Rios basically wasting space in center for us right now, the move seems a bit impractical at this juncture of the franchise. Combine that with the fact that we really don't have a ton of money to be throwing at a 26 year old Cuban defective who hasn't proved a thing in the big leagues yet, (especially when you consider the bullpen still needs some help) signing him would be a tough one to fully explain and would require a roster move to make room. Options would and could include benching someone like De Aza or Viciedo in order to get Cespedes more time or splitting time between those 3 guys (because we all know Rios is going to see the field due to his massive contract).

We're just going to have to wait and see exactly what happens and how things play out. Keep in mind, as of right now, it is a little bit of a long shot for the Sox to even land this guy, but if we do, there will be a lot to talk about.

Top 5 Keys to the 2012 Season

The White Sox have the potential to make some noise this season.  However, there are a few things that are going to need to happen in order for the Sox to make a splash in 2012. I've compiled a list of the 5 most important factors that will need to go our way this season.

5. Gordon Beckham

Gordon Beckham had a stellar year last year at 2nd base. Posting the best fielding percentage in baseball. However, his offensive performance was a liability all season, posting a .230 batting average and leaving a lot of men on base. Because of the expectations this organization has for Beckham, he is going to be plugged into the lineup everyday and expected to produce. If he fails to produce this season, not only will our run production be down as a team (as he contributes to both the runs scored and RBIS categories) but his job security on the South Side could be called into question. Now, I personally have huge expectations for Beckham and have always been a big fan of his. I think he's a very talented ball player and I know he can hit. According to some of the interviews he's given this offseason, he has really been working towards getting back to the little things that he's gotten away from that have always made successful at the plate.

4. Alex Rios

I really don't have much to say about Alex Rios.  I was extremely disappointed in the effort that Rios put forth last season. He was seen jogging after balls in center, not running ground balls and pop-ups out down the first base line. Being a middle of the lineup guy (usually hitting 5th or 6th) he comes up with the opportunity to drive guys in quite often. He needs to show a little pride in his play and put some effort into everything he does. He has the ability and opportunity to drive in a lot of runs, it just comes down to wether or not he wants to apply himself to do that. He had a horrendous year last season batting .227. The only positive I can take out of his awful year in 2011 is this: historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend will continue this season because we need him to produce if we want to win some ball games (not to mention the amount of money we're paying him, it would be nice to see him earn his paycheck).



3. The Bullpen

Lets face it, the bullpen wasn't exactly lights out last season. We're talking about 15+ games that we lost late in the game, so many leads were blown. Pitching wins championships, the bullpen will always play an important role in contributing to the win column. We lost Santos, which as I've stated in my earlier blogs, isn't as big of a deal as everyone has made it out to be. Ventura has already said that he wants to give Thornton a chance to be the closer this season, with Addison Reed lying in the weeds, waiting to see what his fate will be. I personally think we should leave Thornton where is has always been successful (an 8th inning guy, late inning setup man) and give Reed a chance early to see how he does. But thats just me. We have a similiar bullpen this season in comparison to last year. We still have Thornton, Crain, Ohman, Reed, Axelrod. It will be interesting to see if Williams will make any moves to solidify the pen.



2. The Health of the Pitching Rotation

The White Sox pitching rotation has a lot of talent, there's no doubt about that. What worries me about them is wether or not they can stay healthy.  Seeing as how we don't have a 6 man rotation this year, Jake Peavy will be called on to eat a lot of innings and hold down his spot in the rotation. Peavy, having been plagued by injuries since coming to the White Sox, posts a pretty big question mark going into 2012. At Soxfest, Kenny Williams said he expects Jake to post over 200 innings this season, pretty high expectations for a guy who hasn't been able to stay healthy since coming here. This season we're moving Sale from the bullpen to the starting rotation. I can't help but worry about Sale's arm holding up through the grind of a 162 game season, pitching every 5th day and going more than an inning or two like hes used to. Sale has filthy stuff, it will all come down to how Cooper and Ventura manage his innings and build up his stamina. If Those two guys can stay healthy and play to their potential along side Humber, Danks, and Floyd, this rotation could do some damage. And like I said earlier, pitching wins championships.

1. Adam Dunn

There's really not much to say that hasn't already been said since last season. Im assuming if you are reading this blog, you know how horrendous Adam Dunn was last season. All I'm going to say is, if this guy hits like we all know he can, he could post 50 homers in that small ballpark. It's mind-blowing to think of how many wins you could have added to the Sox record last season if Dunn was in his right mind. If he shows up this season, this team is going to win some ball games. Not to mention hitting is contagious, if Dunn starts producing, that takes pressure off of everyone else, before you know it the whole lineup is spraying the ball all over the yard. Dunn actually came out today and said he guarantees to be the comeback player of the year (not necessarily the hardest thing to do when you post a .159 batting average the year before, I mean if he came to bat with a pulse this season he could be eligible for the comeback player of the year). But I personally think he's going to put up big numbers for the rest of his time here in Chicago. I still like Dunn (as unpopular of an opinion as that may be right now, I don't care, come talk to me in August). Last thing I'm going to say about Dunn: Here's a guy sitting in the middle of the lineup and if we actually have a manager that will bat Konerko behind him so he sees some more fastballs (instead of what Ozzie was doing, the opposite, so guys would just pitch around Paulie to get to Dunn last year). The more fastballs he sees, the more dangerous he will become and the more his confidence level will increase, a confident Adam Dunn in the 4 hole is going to drive in some runs which increases our chance to win.

South Side Pride: What does it mean to you?

I actually wrote this last year, but this is an article that will never go out of style. This will always apply to my life. And I thought with a lot of people being down on this White Sox team right now and this sort of bleak out look for our 2012 season, I would post this to remind everyone what it means to me to be a South Sider. Also, please feel free to throw in a comment in the comment box underneath this post, sharing what it means to you to be a a Sox fan.


Teams like the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees and Dodgers are name brand, nationally followed teams.  There are so many Cubs or Yankees “fans” around the globe that the majority of them couldn’t tell you a thing about their “teams.” You might refer to them as “the common fan.” What makes us special, Sox fans, is that we do not consist of just common fans. Sure, there are some Sox fans who don’t exactly follow the team, just like there are some Cub or Yankee fans who DO follow their teams. But the majority of Sox fans know baseball and they know their team.

Amongst most South Side families, the Sox run deep in that family, like hair loss or brown eyes. Our families have lived and died with the Sox, from Charles Comiskey to Bill Veck, to Jerry Reinsdorf. They aren’t just a team that keeps us entertained or gives us a place to go during the summer, they’re part of our family, making nightly visits into our living rooms or places of business through our television or radio, guided there by the smooth, eccentric voice of Hawk Harrelson or the monotone of Ed Farmer.  When they lose, it seems as though, for a brief moment, we will never feel happiness again, and when they win, the sun is a little brighter and the air, a little cleaner. We could recognize one of our players by the way he stands in the field, his batting routine or the style of facial hair he sports. 

When “Don’t stop believin” comes on the radio, we don’t think back to the 80’s… our minds are “swept” away, back to 2005, the greatest year Sox fans have ever known. Instead of Steve Perry and ‘Journey’ we think Aaron Rowand, Scotty Pods, Paulie and the “journey” they took us on.  Everyone knows where they were when Uribe recorded the most important 6-3 putout in White Sox history, bringing the commissioner’s trophy back to 35^thand Shields, thus igniting the powder keg of happiness that was the South Side of Chicago.

When someone says “1959” we think Nellie Fox, Go Go White Sox, and the first Mayor Daley setting off the “air raid” sirens in Chicago in celebration of a White Sox American League pennant. Half the City thought we were being bombed while the other half was dancing in the streets.

 When the power goes out and someone yells “blackout” we think 163 in 08. Drama with the Twins, again. Jim Thome’s monster blast to the fan deck, Ken Griffey Jr.’s peg from center field and John Danks, the untouchable.

“83” isn’t just a number, its Winning Ugly, the blue and red logo, LaRussa was manager, the Sox had the rookie of the year award (Ron Kittle) and the American League Cy Young (LaMarr Hoyt). The Sox were in the playoffs for the first time since the 1959 series.

 “93” was Bo’s blast and good pitching all season, Frank Thomas going yard with his flattop hair cut and Ozzie was still playing short.

1906 was Sox over Cubs in the series, giving us the ultimate bragging rights. The first World Series in Sox history

1917 was the benchmark that took 88 years to overcome

 I don’t even like to wear dress socks because they’re “black socks…. “

Our dedication to this team is unsurpassed; the strongest feelings can be aroused by just mentioning a number or a word.  When the White Sox are successful everything associated with that success and happiness is embedded in our minds and stored there for the rest of our lives. 

((One more example (on top the ones already listed above) If I say “Jose Valentin” to most Sox fans, the first thing that comes to mind is a walk off winner in the cross town classic. A little Hispanic man with a dynamite mustache and his hands over his head in victory as he trots to first base. ))

We are working class, we have roots in the community that were there when Sears was THE department store and the stockyards were the center of industry in Chicago. We might not be able to sell every ticket to every game, but its not because we don’t love our team, its because we have jobs…...  We aren’t Sox fans because thats the “hip” thing to do, we love them because they represent us, they’re humble, scrappy, hard working, prideful, they aren’t flashy, they play with a chip on their shoulder and don’t expect anything from anyone.

When things go wrong they don’t blame anyone but themselves. Sox fans deserve the most respect from the baseball world, because we lost as long as the Red Sox and the Cubs did, but we didn’t go around, bitching at the world about it and making excuses. We kept our mouths shut and played the game.

The White Sox bring families together; they give total strangers common ground to walk on. 50 years from now you might not be able to remember exactly when your old man taught you how to mow the lawn or do your homework, but you’ll remember to the day you die when he took you to the ballpark; when you sat together down the line and the age gap between you ceased to exist, becoming two boys again, cheering on your hero’s in a stadium on 35^th street that became a palace, housing your most precious memories, connecting you to your father, grandfather, great-grandfather who all experienced the same thing decades before you. There is a history there, I take absolute pride in being where I’m from and the working class background and White Sox fandom that has paved the way for me to become who I am. I thank my Father and my uncles, who have allowed, taught, and invited me into this great tradition that exists and has existed amongst us South Siders for over 100 years.

Just remember, no matter how crappy life gets or how worn down you become, the White Sox are always there, bringing a smile and a tear to your eye as they take the field on the most beautiful patch of land these eyes have ever seen, if they miss a game, they make it up to you. They never die, they’re as constant as time itself.  

The Sox Pickup Ex Rays First Baseman

This past september Dan Johnson blasted the biggest homerun of his career down 2 strikes with 2 outs in the 9th inning to tie the Yankees, ultimately setting up a walk-off home run by Even Longoria, punching the ticket to October for the Rays. Unfortunately that was Johnson's first hit since April 27th of that season.

The Chicago White Sox just signed Dan Johnson to a minor league contract and extended an invitation to spring training to the 32 year old veteran. He's bounced around baseball since his debut in 2005 with the Oakland A's, playing on the Rays twice with a stint in Japan in between.  The question is do the White Sox really need any help at first base right now? The answer is no, not at this moment. With Paul Konerko coming off another stellar year anchoring down first and Adam Dunn available to fill in on Paulie's days off, the Sox are pretty set. Not to mention the fact that super utility man Brent Lillibridge can also hold down the fort at first if need be.

But lets think outside the box here, with potentially 3 men on the roster who can play first base on any given day, why would Williams sign a mediocre first basemen like Johnson? Well, there has been a lot of speculation about what Williams is going to do if the Pale Hose start out slow this season. Could guys like Konerko, Dunn, and/or Lillibridge be on the trading block if the Sox start out slow/ have a bad season? With the word "rebuilding" being thrown around this offseason, one can't help but wonder if Williams has that in the back of his mind as sort of an exit strategy should the 2012 campaign prove to be a disaster. At Soxfest when asked about rebuilding this offseason, Williams clarified that it was not a total rebuild, he called it a "hybrid rebuild," explaining that he wanted to keep certain guys and mix in some rebuilding type moves. But as I mentioned earlier, I can't help but wonder if the White Sox have a horrendous year (which I doubt will happen) will the phrase "hybrid rebuild" be given a violent shove into a "total rebuild."

The bottom line is Dan Johnson is a career .236 hitter with 56 home runs and 187 RBIs (since 2005). Hes been on 3 different major league teams now with a stint for the Yokohama Baystars of Japan thrown onto his resume. He's very grateful for the shot the Sox are giving him and is determined to work his way into a spot. Unfortunately for him, he's going to need to undergo some massive improvements and/or see a few injuries in front of him if he's going to get the call from the big club.

But, it is baseball and stranger things have happened, so all we can do is sit back, relax, and strap it down and let it all develop.