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.
