As the Chicago White Sox look at their 2010 blueprint and question “what happened, fans chants of “Fire Ozzie” or “Wave the White Flag” grow another decibel as the losses pile one, but I challenge the following:
Soxman asks who is truly to blame?
The answer could be examined by looking at the following:
Scott Podsednik- LF .309, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 13 SB
Ryan Sweeney- RF .293, 1 HR, 19 RBI
Chris Young- CF, .287, 5HR, 28 RBI, 4 SB
Jim Thome- DH, .255, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Nick Swisher- 1B, .292, 7HR, 24 RBI
Juan Uribe- SS, .271, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 1 SB
Rotation?
Jon Garland, 4-2, 1.87 ERA
Clayton Richard, 2-2, 3.21 ERA
Gio Gonzales, 3-3, 4.07 ERA (37 Ks in 39 IP)
Closer? Hold your breathe and swallow easy on this one:
Jose Contreras, 2-1, 1 SV, 0.65 ERA.
These are all players that the Sox have parted ways with since 2006. Podsednik was allowed to let walk without even being considered to return. Even though he gave the White Sox a huge offensive spark in 2009. Contreras was essentially a waiver deadline salary dump at the end of the season, never considered a candidate for relief pitching. Gio Gonzales and Ryan Sweeney were unloaded for Nick Swisher, who was then unloaded for a utility player and two pitching prospects who are floundering in the minors. Gonzales appears to be on the verge of breaking through as a true power pitcher thus far this season.
Chris Young was given up for Javier Vasquez, and we all know how well that worked out in Chicago.
Despite a vocal interest, the Sox decided not to re-sign Jim Thome because they had to find at bats for Omar Vizquel and Mark Kotsay.
Uribe was not even considered for a utility job at the end of the 2008 season, despite providing solid defense at multiple infield positions, including third base for the oft-injured Joe Crede.
Now while anyone could argue that Jon Garland showed now signs of excellence, and that you would trade Clayton Richard 1000 times over for Jake Peavy, the point of this article is that it would be easy to point fingers anywhere for the Sox failures thus far this season, including on Kenny Williams and the entire White Sox scouting system.
Yes, the same system that thought Brian Anderson (who is trying to become a pitcher for Kansas City’s A-ball affiliate) was the future of the franchise; share at least some of the blame for the White Sox thus far, abysmal 2010. Sometimes sticking with what you have, evaluating the promise of using players in different ways, and minimizing risks, are the intangibles that could make the difference between winning and losing.