Now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets talk 2012 White Sox baseball. Everyone seems to be down on this team because we didn't make any huge offseason moves..... but I got news for each and every one of you: we didn't really need to make any huge moves. The team that we have coming back has the potential to be a winning team. Before you go out and give Detroit the division, lets break things down and look at the numbers and the potential associated with this years team.
First things first.... I want to compare this years team with last years White Sox. Lets start in the outfield, seeing as how thats where most of our changes took place this off-season. Carlos Quentin is gone, not a big deal in my opinion, he was a very streaky hitter and an average outfielder. Sure he had the ability to get hot and carry a team for a week or 2, but he was usually more cold than hot. Not to mention his lack of intelligence in the batters box. Carlos will be replaced by Dayan Viciedo (who I am particularly excited about). Heres a kid who has put up monster numbers in the minor leagues the last two years and has posted a .282 batting average in 206 at bats at the major league level. He has something to prove and he knows it, this is one hungry kid who wants to show the south side of Chicago that he belongs in the show. Alex Rios is the only outfielder from the 2011 season who will be starting in the same place come April. All I can say about him is hopefully he starts showing a little pride in his play. He has great potential to be an integral part of this team, historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend continues. We did not offer Juan Pierre his arbitration and he recently signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, so he's gone. Pierre had an interesting year last year, struggling early to get on, play left field and steal bases. He came on a little bit late in the season, posted some respectable numbers. Juan Pierre is in no way irreplaceable, Alejandro De Aza is someone who I am excited to watch this season and who will be replacing pierre in left and at the top of the lineup. De Aza is another young guy looking to prove himself, he came up last year and showed that he wants to play, he was a spark plug at the top of the lineup who played his rear end off every day he touched the field. To sum it up, the outfield is loaded with talent and potential, its all going to come down to which Alex Rios shows up and how the two young guys adjust to playing everyday at the major league level.
The infield is the exact same as last season. Starting at the hot corner with Brent Morel. His glove has always been there, his offensive production has pretty much always struggled. Hopefully his bat will be able to contribute more consistently now that he has another year under his belt. Over to Ramirez at short stop. A solid fielder, needs to work on his positioning before the pitch (based on the situation/location of the pitch). If he can learn how to put himself in a better position before the play begins to develop he could become one of the best fielding short stops in the game. As frustrating as it is to watch his plate approach, he still produces at a consistent level with the bat. Beckham at second had the highest fielding percentage in the game last year at second base. His bat will come around this season, he has been working hard this offseason and has gotten back to his basics. Hes been talking about how last season he got away from his fundamentals and the things that made him successful. He will be ready this season. Konerko at first, need I say more? The man is a force, great first basemen, one of the best pure fastball hitters in baseball, with the ability to adjust to any off speed pitch and dump it into right. Hes a leader in the club house and has a very high baseball IQ.As far as the DH role. Look for Adam Dunn to have a normal season this year. Hes been working out this off season, hitting, and mentally preparing himself. He was kind of screwed from the get go last year and I'm expecting a huge year out of him. Hes going to prove a lot of people wrong and a lot of you are going to owe him an apology come september.
The pitching staff will play a vital role in our success this season. We lost Buehrle this offseason, which opened up a spot in the rotation for a young Chris Sale, who's stuff is absolutely filthy. Peavy is healthy for now and at soxfest this weekend Kenny Williams said he expects 200+ innings out of Jake this year (we'll see how that plays out). Danks is still with us despite the rumors this season claiming that Kenny was looking to dish him. Look for Danks to lead the team in wins, he is easily our best pitcher. Gavin Floyd has not gone anywhere and will stay in a White Sox uniform this year, he has great potential, hopefully he's worked on spotting his breaking ball more consistently, giving him more flexibility in setting up his other pitches. And finally Phillip Humber anchors the rotation this year, he proved himself last year, coming out of nowhere to arguably be our best pitcher. Hopefully he can follow up that performance this year. The bullpen lost Santos (not a big deal in my opinion, the guy had good stuff, wasn't exactly a lights out closer, not the smartest pitcher, control issues). Addison Reed was a nice pickup and is a name that comes up when talking about a potential closer. From what I gathered at Soxfest and through certain articles I've been reading, The closer role is going to be between Thornton and Reed. We'll see how that plays out, Williams needs to pickup at least one more guy to solidify our bullpen. But in terms of our pitching staff overall, its strong, the potential is through the roof.
We have AJ and Flowers available to handle the pitching staff again this year, look for them to split time, possibly as much as 60/40 with AJ being the 60 (obviously). Flowers certainly made a splash last season, taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. AJ will be AJ, leading in the clubhouse and hopefully putting up similar offensive numbers this season.Don't worry about the fact that Detroit picked up Fielder this offseason, they've had injury problems these past few years and are already having injury issues this year. Just because they look like theyre the best on paper, doesn't mean they still don't have to show up and play all 162 games.
What I've been telling everyone this off season is this: The 2011 White Sox did not play anywhere near their potential and they still contended for 85% of the season. If Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, and Alex Rios come to the plate with a pulse this season, this team could easily contend for and win the AL Central. Not to mention that more and more guys are coming out and saying that they really didn't like playing under Ozzie last season. We have new blood in the clubhouse and young, eager guys on the field. The potential of this club is unreal. Lets also remember that most people have written this team off already, the last time we had expectations this low, we won the world series. Maybe flying under the radar this year is exactly what we need. Keep your minds open to the possibility of success. Don't write this team off just yet. Lets see what these kids can do along side our veterans. We're in a weak division with a talented team, anything can happen.
Look for my 2012 Soxfest recap coming in a few days. As always, feel free to comment, vote in my poll, email me questions or comments. Please feel free to help pass the word along and share this blog on facebook, twitter, ect. Thanks and go Sox.
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