Sox Notes - 4/26

I haven't gotten around to updating this blog since early spring training. So much baseball has been played since then that I can't help but log on and rant for a little bit.


First, let me say that I am very impressed with the pitching of Gavin Floyd so far. He's 2-0 with a couple of no decisions through 4 starts this season. Thats already one more win than he had all last year! Hopefully he'll be able to keep this up all throughout the campaign. I have him winning at least twelve games if his momentum continues.

Joe Crede has shown people that there is nothing wrong with his back. He's made a handful of amazing plays at third in only our first month worth of games. The only problems I've noticed is his occasionally wild throws to first base; other than that I've seen a lot of good things defensively. Crede's offensive game is also in full speed. He's hit 6 home runs out of 22 hits and driven in 21 runs. He's helped this offense a lot.

At this point in the season I can comfortably say that Carlos Quentin was a steal for what we gave up. 5 homers and 17 RBI through 19 games? Those are well-known power hitter stats! Quentin and Thome lead our team in home runs right now (Thome has 6), which needs to continue through the rest of the year to keep this offense going strong.

That wraps up this "edition" of Sox notes.

Spring is Here

The White Sox's spring has begun and we're actually looking lot better than I thought we would. Sure, we're only three games in and these games don't really count for anything, but I like how the team is preforming alltogether!

Nick Swisher is playing great ball. He's hitting well from both sides of the plate and he's contributing by driving in runs when we need them driven in. He's sporting Magg's old #30, which is good to see back is use, but isn't playing his right field.

The guy who is surprising me so far early on in the pre-season is Brain Anderson! He's actually playing very well right now. Batting .333 is a good sign, and he has 9 hits over the course of the last three games. He could very well play center field for us this coming season and I would have no problem with it whatsoever. He has three strike outs thus far, so that could be his only weakness going into the year.

Alexei Ramirez is also playing very well. He went 4-5 in his debut this spring and was thrown out on a steal attempt.

Yes, these are sorry notes to see but I do have some interesting facts!

• Jim Thome has a stolen base.
• Joe Crede is the only guy to hit a home run.

I'll write a little bit more this spring, then really get into the swing of things as soon as the season kicks off on March 31st.

Cover Your Ears

According to mlb.com, which I always place 100 % trust in, the Angels are pursuing one Mr. Paul Konerko.

This could be a blockbuster trade for us if it goes through. Blockbuster, I say, because it could possibly be our worst since the Rowand deal.

The Angels are considering sending starting pitcher Ervin Santana and second baseman Howie Kendrick here for Paulie. If this deal goes through then Swishy could possibly be our starting first baseman (with Quentin playing left and Alexei Ramirez or Jerry Owens in center).

The Sox are in dire need of a starting pitcher for the #5 slot with three pitchers battling for the job in spring training. Ervin Santana is young still, but his 2007 season left a bitter taste in the mouths of Angels fans. He went 7-14 with an ERA of 5.76. He started 28 games, pitched 150 innings and struck out 126.

This would also leave a bit to be desired with White Sox fans.

Howie Kendrick, however, contributed to the Angels' success going into the 2007 playoffs. I know you could get stats anywhere else on the net, but I'll give 'em anyway. In 88 games (338 AB's) he hit .322, drove in 38 runs and hit 5 homers. He doesn't have Jose Reyes like speed (only 5 stolen bases) but he can swipe some bags when needed.

I see this trade as one sided in the Angels' favor. They would be getting a sure power hitter for their lineup and we would be getting two sub-par farm hands, fine Kendrick isn't a farmhand, in return.

This would also take a HUGE bat out of our lineup that we could possibly need to make a run for the playoffs this year. We would be replacing it with an equally big bat in the form of Nick Swisher, but I still would like to see him in left field.

Hopefully we will stop dumping off all of our good players to the Angels. We're starting to look a little red around the infield and I'm seeing a good bit of black in theirs...

A Swishy Situation

Our left field problems are cleared thanks to a deal that brought switch-hitting Nick Swisher to the South Side.

The 27 year-old outfielder/infielder slammed 22 home runs this past season for Oakland and drove in 78 runs. Theres a little niche on his stat sheet that bothers me and thats the 131 strike outs. Hopefully (hitting coach) Greg Walker can help him stay away from those pitches.

Swisher has played a little first base as well as in the outfield, so that ca provide Konerko with a little rest when needed.

The lineup now is getting a little... awkward, for lack of a better word. We got Quentin who will most likely platoon with Owens in center and also play a little left field. Now that we got Swisher, he may become our everyday left fielder.

How is our batting order going to stack up?

1. Owens/Quentin - CF
   
2. Cabrera or Swisher - SS or LF
   
3. Thome - DH
   
4. Konerko - 1B
   
5. Dye - RF
   
6. Pierzynski/Hall - CF
   
7. Swisher or Cabrera - LF or SS
8. Fields - 3B
9. Richar - 2B

Now, an angle I didn't take into consideration was that Swisher could possibly DH at some point whenever Thome needs to sit. So that could become a possibility.

The talent we gave up to acquire Swishy, however, did not please me. We sent over Ryan Sweeney, Gio Gonzalez and Fautino De Los Santos. Gonzalez and De Los Santos are both pitchers while Sweeney is an outfielder.

I have mentioned before that I'd love to see Gonzalez somehow make it into the starting rotation but obviously that can't happen now.

I had never heard of De Los Santos before, which makes me a bad organizational scout, so I'll give him his dues when I write about the trade on my minor league blog.

Sweeney was supposed to play all three of the outfield positions this year, which I would've loved to have seen, but now is loving the opportunity for more playing time over in California.

Will Swisher possibly wear Rowand's lucky #33?

We'll have to see when he gets introduced at some point (Cabrera still hasn't been).