White Sox Season Preview Take 2

I did a season preview way earlier in the year when the pitchers and catchers reported. There was a lot that I didn't know back then about this team. Spring Training doesn't mean much, but it can tell you a lot about how some of the younger players are going to play.

I got a good vibe from spring training this year. The wins and losses don't matter and that's not what I'm talking about. I liked what I saw with Milledge, Morel, and Beckham. With those young guys in our lineup playing at their best we are a good team. Konerko will be solid as always, and the rest of our offense seems like it will be ready to play. Our pitching was great, I'm extremely excited about Johnny Danks and Gavin Floyd. Both pitchers came to our team without experience. Buehrle groomed them and now every year they get better. The pitcher I am most excited about is Chris Sale. When he first started playing last year I knew he was a gamer. I was asking for him to be out there as much as possible, he seemed like one of the few guys who could actually win a game for us. This year he will be better and I look forward to him most likely being a starter next year.

The bad things that I noticed were very few. I remembered a few things. I remembered that Adam Dunn strikes out a lot, and that is an understatement. I also remembered how terrible Teahen is at defense and that is why he didn't get the third base job. Other than those two I can't think of anything that was a bad sign. Buehrle didn't pitch well at the beginning of spring training, but he will be fine in the regular season.

The worst thing this off-season and spring training was the Peavy situation. The worst part was that I thought he would be out for a good chunk of the season, then he made a really rapid recovery and I loved what I saw. Right as he was about to finish his miraculous recovery he started to have tendinitis in his elbow and we are back to square one. Peavy will probably be back around the same time he was expected to with the first injury. White Sox fans shouldn't be worried. He will come back when he is ready and he will be fine.

Okay, now onto the future, where I think the White Sox are going to go this year.
They have gotten some love from some ESPN guys to be a dark horse in the league, and that's the position the White Sox like to be in. They have great pitching, and it will be even better when Peavy comes back. You could argue that this pitching staff is only second to Philly. The White Sox also have added a lot of good things to their offense this year. Our outfielders are going to be better than they were last year, and if one slacks off Ozzie won't hesitate to put Milledge in. Our infield is very young excluding Konerko. Morel, Beckham, and Ramirez are going to need to grow up and play well. Beckham needs to have a bounce-back season, which I think is very possible. I'm not too worried about the offense of the other two. This team is built to win a World Series. I'm not going to drink the kool-aid and say they will win, I'm saying that they are built to win it. If we do everything right and don't have very many injuries the World Series is possible. The twins and Tigers are tough, though and we are going to need to play well in every division game. If they play well against their division, and win the division they have a good chance at going all the way. The way the team is set up with great pitching and a good offensive core, they are built for the playoffs. Stay tuned to this blog for a AL Central preview soon, and for more up to date info follow me (@the_chicago_fan) and my blogs (@tcf_blogs)




I had to post this, since I love all team commercials, like the one goal series and I hope the All in series is just as good.

White Sox Season Preview Take 1

If your first expression of this post title is that you are wondering why I said take 1 I will explain. I plan on making a season preview before opening day. This is the spring training one, so it may prove to be super wrong or be super right.
Tomorrow the White Sox play their first spring training game. They are playing against the Dodgers. This should be a good game. I think both teams have good chances, although I think the White Sox have a better chance. I can't wait for baseball season and that's why I have been blogging like crazy about them and tweeting about them a lot. I really hope they have a good season, because only the Bulls are really doing well and making me completely happy this season.
This year is bound to be good. We signed a pure DH in Adam Dunn. I think last year we got way to caught up in trying to have a speedy team that we forgot that power is okay also. We didn't have an official or pure DH last year and I think this year we do. That will be a huge difference in our offense. The White Sox biggest problems in the past few years have been that they have not been able to get runners home when they are in scoring position. This stresses me out almost every game. I hope this year they have solved that huge problem with their offense.
The pitching last year was pretty good. The starters were all good pitchers and they will again this year. Peavy will be back early in the season, which was not expected, and that will help our starters have a better year as a total. Buehrle will again be the opening day starter. He is a great pitcher and I love him as our ace. Our other pitchers are great also and they end up performing well. You can read more about all of the pitchers in my blog post about when the pitchers and catchers reported. I went into much more depth in that post.
Overall I think the White Sox are going to have a great season. They made a lot of great additions this offseason and kept a lot of important players. I think resigning Paulie and A.J was huge. Keeping them will help our offense and keeping A.J will help keep our pitchers steady with him. He is a great defensive catcher and keeps the game running quickly. This offseason the White Sox improved both their offense and their pitching staff. Improving both of those parts of the team will make this team much better and will give them the edge to win this division.

White Sox Offseason Pickups

The White Sox have made a few really good offseason additions and keeping of people. The first thing is that they kept A.J Pierzynski (no idea how to spell that). He has been a leader of this team for years. He is one reason why our pitching moves so fast. He knows how to call a game well. Sometimes we get mad at him and those are the times where we put in Ramon Castro. But, when we need him he will be there and he will play well.
The next is that we signed Adam Dunn. During the end of last years trade deadline we were looking at him seriously, but we never ended up getting him. The fans were upset because we needed a full time DH. Now we have one because we decided to just sign him this offseason. So I guess it is true that if Kenny really wants someone he will get him. I think he will be a great addition to the team. We need that power in our lineup. Our try to become like all speed last year was a fail and we will have to face the fact that we are a power team. Adam Dunn will help us get that power along with the next guy I am going to talk about.
Paul Konerko resigned with the White Sox this offseason. This is the thing that made me the happiest. He is my favorite player and he is a major leader on this team. If he left, our team would probably fall apart for at least one year. Without him we are lost. We have no leader. Paulie was not only a leader on the field but also in the clubhouse. He is a much needed player. With him still there I think we can still call it the White Sox. Without him they are just not the same team. He is their identity. Their Derek Jeter if you will. We need him and without him you lose fans and you end up losing some games.
The final thing is something that just came up. Jesse Crain one the of the top relievers in the Twins bullpen is reportedly going to sign with the WhiteSox having just lost Bobby Jenks and having a week bullpen last year, this will be a good addition. The best part is that it is us adding a good reliever and the Twins losing one. Hopefully him and Sale (if sale is still in the bullpen) will make this a really good bullpen.
So, overall the White Sox are major winners in this offseason. I'm glad that Kenny realized we needed to make a lot of changes so that this team is a winner next year and we make it back to the playoffs. The people in Chicago really need one good team for once. Just kidding because the Hawks, Bulls, and Bears are good. I meant to say that people in Chicago really need one good baseball team for once. I know the White Sox have done their part by winning the world series, but the other team isn't doing their part so we have to take theirs also. (sorry but I just had to do it cubs)

All-Star Game (cont.)

This is a longer version of the blog before about the All-Star game. (I may repeat some things but its been like 3 days. so i think you'll get over it)
10 thoughts and/or problems with the all-star game.

1. The way that they incorporate fans in the vote makes it so that tons of Yankees and Red Sox players are in and some deserving players are not. Players on teams like the White Sox, Royals, Mariners, Orioles. Just because their team may not be the most popular or the best team, doesn't mean that they are bad players. So many people are fans of the Yankees or the Red Sox that all the players from those teams always get voted in. If we have the fans vote, which I like because I can vote then the all-star game shouldn't have such big implications as home field advantage in the World Series. They should do the World Series like all other sports and have the best team getting the home field advantage. The all-star game will still be important and publicized, but the fans won't be voting blindly to have home field advantage.

2. I love the idea of the final vote. Sometimes there is a player that maybe was voted for a lot that deserved to get in, but they didn't. So, you give the fans another chance to get them in. Now in the American League there is always a yankee and a Red Sox player, but the other players have just as much of a chance. I think that even if you do take the fan vote away that they should keep the final vote in for fans. That way they don't feel completely left out in the all-star game.

3. Joe Girardi is kind of getting some crap from people for picking A-rod as his one pick over Kevin Youkalis. But, what do you think would have happened to Girardi if he had picked a Red Sox player over A-rod? Plus, A-rod had a good second half, and other than winning a championship there wasn't much reward to that. This is his reward for having a great post-season for the first time in his career. I think that Joe Girardi understood that and that is why he picked him. He probably also picked him because he didn't want to be mobbed by fans in New York.

4. Stephen Strasburg does NOT belong in this years all star game. I think that maybe next year if he plays well enough to get in he will deserve to get in. This year he just doesn't deserve to be in after only pitching six games. If he had started at the beginning of the year and kept the same pace, I think he would have been in the game, but he is new. He has only pitched SIX TIMES. Ubaldo Jimenez has more than twice as many wins as Strasburg has just starts. The point that some people try to make is that people will watch if Strasburg plays. People are going to watch anyway! They want to see the best players in the league whether or not Strasburg is there makes no difference. Yes, he is an amazing pitcher and probably exciting to watch. But, so is Jimenez. Just because Strasburg had tons of hype around him just suddenly makes him more exciting and a better pitcher. I admit that he has lived up to the hype, but that doesn't mean that he is better than Jimenez. So final answer he does not belong in the all-star game. this year. Next year is a different story.

5. Joey Votto. Yes, he is good. Yes, he got snubbed. That doesn't mean that everybody should freak out. At least he is on the final vote ballet. There is a guy that I can name that didn't make it to the all-star game and he isn't even on the final vote ballet. That is Alex Rios (more about him later). So everyone that freaked out when he didn't make it, just relax. He got so many final votes that he made it anyway. I personally did not vote for him. Not because I don't think that he is a great player. I didn't vote for him, because I picked someone who I thought deserved it.

6. This may not have that much to do with the all-star game, but the guy I'm talking about is in it. Miguel Cabrera. Yes, he is leading the AL in all three triple crown categories, but there is a reason that nobody has won the triple crown since 1967. (Jake Peavy won the pitching triple crown in 2007). Right now he is one of the best hitters, but it is hard to keep up that pace the whole year. If Albert Pujols one of the greatest hitters in this era couldn't do it, then I don't think that Miguel Cabrera will do it. He will probably get some kind of award, but I don't think that the triple crown is going to happen. If it does well then I'm an idiot, but we already knew that anyway.

7. Pauliewood. By now you cannot vote the final vote anymore, but I want to thank anyway that read my previous blog or saw my tweets and voted for Konerko. It means a lot to me. He is my favorite player and I really wanted him to get in. He deserved to get in. He carries the team and led them through a time when they were 10 games back to now they are only half a game back. Paulie is my favorite player of all-time maybe. I have a signed helmet, a bobble head, signed picture, a picture of his grand slam in the 2005 world series and a Jersey of his. Him getting into this all-star game would be just amazing to see that the white sox fans can really push their guy in if they have to. go paulie! and go white sox!!

8. The National League seems to have less controversy than the American League. They don't really have that many teams that are the "popular teams" that get all the votes and then people who's guys don't get the vote are upset. This year, though the whole Votto situation seems to be a little troubling for a usually calm National League all-star team.

9. Alex Rios snubbed! This was the biggest snub I have seen with the all-star game. Not only was he not on the original team, even though he deserved it, he also was not put on the final vote ballet. Instead, Matt Thornton, and Paul Konerko both either are on the team or have their chance. Alex Rios has been the best hitter on our team almost the whole year. He is probably going to win the comeback player of the year award. Yet, he didn't get a chance to play in the all-star game like he should have a chance. It makes me even more mad because he is on the White Sox. That would be like if I were a reds fan and Joey Votto didn't even get on the final vote ballet. It seems just ridiculous.

10. I don't really know what to say. I didn't really plan out each point. I just kind of aimed for 10 and made it, so ya. But I guess all that needs to be said now is that I'm going to watch the game, even though Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching. Number 10 is full of nothing. Yet, couldn't end on 9 because that is such a weird number with no significance. Ten is always a normal benchmark number. So, now I'm rambling just to make number 10 look like I'm talking about something important. By now you are probably bored because this is long. So you don't care anyway. So WATCH THE GAME!!

All Star Game

I have a few things to say about the selections in this year's all star game. First, lots of Yankees and Red Sox in the lineup like usual. Second, people are making a big deal that Stephen Strasburg should be in the All Star game. That idea is stupid, he has only pitched 6 games. There are guys out there who have won more than double that amount of games. I also think there were a few snubs in the AL, but I don't have time to write about that now so I will just say in the final vote, please vote for Paul Konerko he is deserving. One of his teammates not in the all star game is also deserving but won't get in. Do something good and VOTE FOR KONERKO!!