A 36-year-old first baseman fans didn’t want back, a designated hitter coming off the worst batting season in history and a manager with no previous managerial experience? Sounds like the ingredients to baseballs hottest team to me.
Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Chicago White Sox have won 12 of their last 13 ball games. Over that stretch, Robin Ventura’s team has beaten the teams they should beat (5-1 against the Cubs and Twins), a team they have to beat (3-0 against the Cleveland Racists) and the teams they would like to beat (3-0 against the Rays).
In doing so, the South Siders have claimed the AL Central lead by 1.5 games. And now, 51 games into the season, the question becomes: are the Sox for real?
In determining this it is best to look at the three keys to winning baseball, scoring pretty well, fielding really well and pitching very well.
The Bats
The Sox boast the 7th highest run total in baseball. Here’s a look at their key hitters:
Paul Konerko, 1B
He should not be doing this. Konerko is hitting 97 points above his career batting average and 139 points above his career slugging percentage. His on-base percentage is 95 points over his career average. The 14-year South Sider hit .300 with +30 bombs each of the last two seasons but has never hit higher than .313. Konerko’s bat is finding the gaps right now, but baseball being the even scorer that it is, the ball will start finding gloves. Konerko may well finish with career numbers, but they will be much closer to the lines he put up the last two years than astronomical stats he is currently putting up.
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Pierzynski is also slugging 87 points above his career average. At 35, his .512 SLG% is 48 points higher than his career-high .464% he posted at age 25. As with most catchers, expect A.J.’s batting numbers to wear down through the season as his knees do.
Adam Dunn, DH
After hitting .159 and compiling 177 Ks in 122 games, Adam Dunn is backing to doing Donkey stuff. His OBP is back to .378 and his 16 HR and 37 RBI lead the team. The 6’6″, 285 lbs. Dunn may be easy to criticize but he remains one of the scariest players to face in baseball. Last season was a woeful aberration. Dunn is back to stay.
Alex Rios, RF
Like Dunn, Rios posted a year to forget in 2011. Also like Dunn, Rios has bounced back to his normal self in 2012. His .283 BA and 4 HR may not raise any eyebrows but a solid #6 hitter can make a huge impact. Rios has hit .226 with the bases empty this season; .341 with runners on. Clutch can take you places.
Dayan Viciedo, LF
As Cubs announcer Bob Brenley says of Dominican born Starlin Castro, you do not walk your way off the island. The free swinging Cuban has 4 BB in 170 PA. He also has 11 HR. At 5’11”, 240 lbs., Viciedo’s at-bats call to mind Juan Uribe hacks of yore. Viciedo is another bat the Sox can expect to maintain his current level of production throughout the year.
Alejandro De Aza, CF
Consistency remains the story. Through 197 ABs this season, De Aza’s numbers line up nearly exactly to his career averages. With 11 SBs, De Aza could steal 30 bases this year. Combine that with a solid glove in center and a .363 OBP and the White Sox boast a high level leadoff hitter.
Alexi Ramirez, SS
So if most of the gang are meeting expectations and Pierzynski and Konerko are due to cool off who will pick up the slack? Look up the middle. All those balls finding gaps off Konerko’s bat must have come from Ramirez’s. The lifetime .275 hitter is batting .228 this season. His career-low 15 HRs also indicate that his lone home run will soon have plenty of company on the stat sheet.
The Gloves
When the Sox won it all in 2005, they did so by mastering small ball. This year’s team may not be quite as good defensively as that team, but they do hold the 4th highest fielding percentage in baseball. When the bats or the arms temporarily falter later this year, the Sox defense will prevent them from enduring extended losing streaks.
The Arms
When the weather turns cold, baseball is won on the mound. Power arms push teams deep in the playoffs and the Sox have a lot of those. Check ’em out:
Nathan Jones, RP
The 26-year-old with a mid-90s fastball averages a strikeout per inning and holds a 1.73 ERA in his first season in the bigs.
Chris Sale, SP
Already in his third season, the 23-year-old has a 6-2 record in his first year as a starter. A 1.01 WHIP and 2.34 ERA prove that the Sox made the right move taking the kid out of the ‘pen.
Matt Thornton, RP
This 6’6″, 240 lbs. horse has 482 career IP and 516 career Ks. At 35-years-old he may not be young but he sure as hell can throw it by ya.
Addison Reed, CP
The 23-year-old closer tops out in the upper 90s. Despite his 4.41 ERA, the young man is 6 for 6 in save opportunities.
Hector Santiago, RP
Mid-90s from the left side does not come along too often. The 24-year-old Newark, NJ native has 22ks in 19 IP this season.
Jesse Crain, RP
In 8 seasons with the Twins, Crain never averaged more than 9 K/9. In 2011, his debut year with the Sox, he did. This year he leads the team with 10.67 K/9.
Jake Peavy, SP
The 2007 Cy Young award winner stands at 6-1 on the year with a 3.07 ERA and has completed +5 innings in every start. For a team full of hard-throwing young bullpen arms, a workhorse like Peavy provides the balance that can keep a team healthy and energized.
The Sox feature solid hitters throughout their lineup, gloves that catch the ball at the highest level and a plethora of flamethrowers. A team like that should not be 13-17 as they were on May 7. Yes, the Sox are the hottest team in ball and are bound to cool off, but expect the South Siders to remain near the top of the standings for the rest of the season and upset the favored Detroit Tigers to claim the AL Central crown.
The Big Guy
The Sports Guys 