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.

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