The "All In" Season Official Begins

Today, February 17th, 2011, could go down in White Sox lore.  If the White Sox have the kind of season many people believe they can have, today will be the start of the magic.  The "All In" season has officially begun, with pitchers and catchers reporting.  Before I start, I will note that I will not be making any standings and playoff predictions until much later on.

Moving on, today was not the first day that Sox players began preparing for next season.  Joey Cora held his annual training time in January that has become known as Camp Cora.  In attendance this year were Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham, Dayan Viciedo and Brent Morel.  Some of the players including Beckham and Pierzynski showed up before the official reporting date to the Spring Training site this week.  This team is definitely primed and ready to go right out of the gate.

Gordon Beckham is one of the players who realizes last year was a failure when it should have been a success.  He has stated that he wants to focus everything in his life on baseball this season.  You probably won't be seeing Beckham on any more commercials this year like the one below.  I hope everyone goes into the year with this kind of focus.

Beckham couldn't have been too happy with his sophomore slump, a line of .252/9/49 with a low .695 OPS.  His numbers were down from 2009 levels across the board.  He knows he can do better and he has been working hard most of the off season to get back to where he knows he can be.  This guy was a 28 home run hitter in college and I at least expected 20-25 home runs out of him at the Major League level.  A line for him that is realistic and solid would be .285/22/75 with a .875 OPS.  I would welcome that and consider it enough production to lead to wins.

A big question for this season will be when, and how will Jake Peavy pitch after recovering from surgery?  I think he will come back sooner than later, to my dismay.  I would be ok if he didn't come back until June if it meant he would come back 100%.  However, his competitive nature seems to be getting the best of him.  In a recent article, Jake said he hopes to come back soon, and that he was feeling 70%.  The Sox should be able to manage two months without him.  I want him to come back strong so that he doesn't further injure himself and possibly jeopardize his whole career.  If Peavy comes back and just goes 12-6 with an ERA around 3.20-3.50 i'll be happy.

The addition of Adam Dunn has everyone in Chicago buzzing.  He's a solid hitter, who despite striking out a lot, has always had a high On Base Percentage as well as racking up home runs and RBIs.  You take the good with the bad from him, and there is more good than bad.  If he hits .260+ you consider that a win.  At US Cellular Field, one would imagine he could go .265/42/115 with a .977 OPS.  One small issue with Dunn is that he is absolutely atrocious in the field.  He will most likely be fielding mostly from first base if he is not DHing, and his career UZR at 1B is -30!  He has also stated he would play outfield if asked, where his career UZR is a staggering -90!  No matter where he plays, he will be a defensive liability.  I am hoping he plays a lot at the DH spot.

The Sox also brought back Konerko which makes every Sox fan feel special in their secret places.  Konerko will probably not have as good a year as last year, but coupled with Dunn in the middle, he should be more than productive.  If Konerko bats .280+/25+/85+ with a .900+ OPS, that will be a win for sure.  Konerko's fielding is a lot better than Dunn's, at -16, but he makes a lot more plays than Dunn could.  I would argue with anyone that out of all the first basemen in the league, Konerko can start the first to second back to first double play as well as anyone.

The White Sox also brought back AJ Pierzynski, who had a pretty good comeback last year as far as where he was and where he ended up.  He ended up batting .270.  AJ's most important contribution, though, has always been behind the plate, not next to it.  He gives us just enough offense to survive, while calling a great game most nights and playing solid defense.  Sure, he doesn't throw a lot of guys out, but he also doesn't make errors and pitchers rave about him calling a game.  The best thing is, we don't have to go with a rookie, and will have veteran leadership at the position.

A major concern going into the offseason was to address the bullpen.  The Sox needed a few more arms in the pen, and it looks like they did alright.  They added Crain and Ohman, and this should help out a lot.  The Sox also managed to shed Scott Linebrink, arguably the most frustrating bullpen guy since Billy Koch.  After getting rid of Randy Williams, the Sox bullpen will be markedly better this season.  It can't be worse.

Bobby Jenks is gone as closer and I was one of his biggest fans.  He had few left, I still believed in him from time to time.  With his departure, the Sox will need to find a closer, but there are candidates who can get it done.  Matt Thornton is the guy many people believe will eventually take over.  Some are arguing for Chris Sale but that's only if he isn't in the rotation.  Still others have said the Sox will go with a rotating closer position.  We'll have to see what they do.

If Matt Thornton does take over as the regular closer, he clearly has the stuff to put people away.  The last three seasons his ERA has been below 2.75 and his K total has averaged 81.  His WHIP over the last three seasons is 1.025.  He is probably our best choice for closer, and I would welcome him taking the job.

Speaking of Chris Sale, he is a big question mark this year.  Everyone knows how much talent he has and what he can do on the mound, but nobody knows how he will be doing that this year.  He could be a starter and he could be a reliever.  The latest reports I have read have stated that Sale will be "groomed as a starter" this season.

I hope that is true, because he has his highest value in the rotation.  Kenny Williams said today that he will be in the bullpen, but that is really subject to change as need becomes an issue.  I think Chris Sale will find his way into the rotation this season.  He lead all of NCAA in strikeouts in 2010.  I hope he can make the seamless transition to the Major League level in his first full season with the big league club.  If he does what he is capable of, he should have minimal problems.

Two potential early season fifth starters who could make spot starts to alleviate the four man rotation would be Lucas Harrell and Philip Humber.  Harrell is a young player who has not had much time up in the big leagues, so a lot about what he could do cannot be judged.  He was 1-0 last season with a 4.88 ERA, he had some good moments and some really bad moments.

Philip Humber has only made two starts in his entire career and posted high earned run totals in his 24 other appearances.  He has failed to get players out, posting exponentially high WHIPs in his appearances.  He has not had a large body of work, and maybe Cooper can work his magic once again and turn him into a serviceable pitcher like he has with others who had a bad wrap coming in.

The rest of the rotation looks alright.  Danks will be solid again this year, putting up consistent statitics each of the last two seasons.  In the last two seasons, he has put up 15-11 and 13-11 records, 3.77 and 3.72 ERAs, 1 CG each season, 149 and 162 Ks, 1.28 and 1.21 WHIPs, and finally 200.1 and 213 IP.  He is the height of consistency, you really can do an accurate job of predicting how he will pitch.  John may finally have enough offense to back him up in his quest to put together a really great season.  It would be great if he could hit marks of 16-9, 3.50 ERA and 175 Ks.  We'll just have to see if he makes it to his full potential, and if he can finally break through and pitch an entire season strong.

Another question mark is Mark Buehrle.  That should be his new nickname: Question Mark, because you never know what he will pitch like when he goes out there.  He can be great: 8 IP 6 H 0 ER; he can also be terrible: 4.2 IP 11 H 7 ER.  Hopefully Mark Buehrle can find his old form and remember what he can bring.  He has not had a great season since 2005, and despite throwing a no hitter and perfect game in 2007 and 2009, he has not had the kind of winning or lower ERAs that have marked his great years.

Mark has played gold glove defense, essentially locking up the pitching Gold Glove award on the first day last season with one of the best plays seen in many years.  I would just like to see him with a lower than 3.75 ERA and at least a winning record, something around 15-11.  He also needs to have better second halves of the season.  The last two seasons, he started off alright and tanked in the second half.  In the first half of 2009 he was 9-3, in the second half he was 4-7.  In the first half of 2010 he was 8-7, in the second half he was 5-6 with higher statistics.  He is very consistent however in the number of innings he will give you.  He has thrown 200+ innings each of the last ten seasons, which are all of the full seasons he has had in the majors.

Gavin Floyd had a great 2008, but 2009 and 2010 have been disappointing.  He has really never reached his full potential.  Floyd could be a 15-17 game winner every season, but he cannot stay consistent.  At times he looks unhittable, and other times he can't get an out.  He does give the Sox a healthy number of innings each year, but they need to be good innings.  Like Mark Buehrle, he needs to find the magic he had and capture it and remember what kind of pitcher he can be.  He needs to get his ERA below 4.00 and he needs to put up a winning record.  Hopefully he can turn it around this year with the improved lineup backing him up.

Edwin Jackson had a good stint with the White Sox last season after being traded by Arizona for Daniel Hudson.  I did not like the trade, but it happened and I am over it now.  Jackson is coming in to his first full season with the Sox and lets hope he picks up where he left off last season.  Last year he went 4-2 in 11 starts with a 3.24 ERA and 77 Ks to just 18 BBs.  If he can be solid in the rotation, he'll give us the much needed extra arm that we not only need while Peavy is out, but will need when Peavy comes back for a stretch run to a division title.  His 4.28 K/BB and 9.2 K/9 for the Sox last year were both the best of his career.  I am not worried about Jackson this year, I think he will be just fine.

Alexei Ramirez has become one of the best fielding short stops in baseball.  Last year his +10.8 UZR last season was the best for any short stop in MLB.  He was awarded the Fielding Bible's best short stop honors.  He also was fine at the plate, hitting .282/18/70 with 83 runs scored.  Bill James has given the prediction that he will put up .280/18/78 with 80 runs scored.  If he puts up that number or something around it, he will be a great help to the cause.

Third base was all but locked up by Morel in the mind of most Sox fans during the off season; that is until Ozzie Guillen informed us that Teahen was fighting hard for the position.  Now that position is up in the air and I don't like that.  I think Teahen gives us minimal contributions while making some really bad plays in the field.  Brent Morel can hit and field.  His fielding really stands out.  He really had limited at bats last season, so we do not know how he would play in a full season.

I really don't want him to be another Brian Anderson, a hyped prospect who can field but can't hit at all.  I was all for giving the kid a chance, but I can see Ozzie wanting a team of veteran players to go forward with this season.  I just don't think Mark Teahen adds much over what Brent Morel could do out there.  Teahen's numbers last year were .258/4/25, but he was limited in action because he got injured.  I don't think his numbers would have been much better playing a full season.

I have very little faith in Teahen's ability to contribute positively to the team at this point, and that leads me in the direction that it would be ok to let a rookie take the reins at third base.  I hope Morel comes out of Spring Training as the starting third baseman, but I have a feeling Ozzie will go with the veteran unless he gets hurt or plays really terrible baseball.

The outfield looks the same as last season, with Pierre, Rios and Quentin.  Pierre was a good surprise last season, with a league leading 68 stolen bases and 21 hit by pitches.  He scored 96 runs and had 179 hits.  He only struck out two more times than he walked.  Alex Rios had a much better 2010 than 2009.  He put up a line of .284/21/88 and stole 34 bases.  He scored 89 runs.  He played solid defense.  If Rios can contribute again this year, we'll have a great year.

Carlos Quentin had a second straight disappointing season coming off a 2008 which saw him almost land a league MVP award.  He hit .243/26/87 with a .821 OPS.  His numbers were up from 2009, but were not close to getting him back into MVP form that he had in 2008.  His defense is highly suspect, so he really hurts us over in right.  I really hope Quentin has a better year, but I am not looking for it.  If he struggles, I would consider batting him low in the order, maybe seventh.

One final note is the sad departure of everyone's favorite White Sox player, Mark Kotsay.  It will be really sad to see him go and I know every Sox fan called Kenny Williams and let him know just how disappointed they are in the fact that he was not re-signed for 2011.  Ok, all jokes aside, the lineup will be improved with the subtraction of Kotsay.

Despite having his moments last year, and having that one stretch of consecutive games with a RBI, he really disappointed everyone over all.  When he came to the White Sox, I really had no expectations.  In his first year he hit .292 and I thought he'd be a good pinch hitter.  Then he got a lot more playing time last year and really put up some bad numbers overall: .239/8/31 with a .683 OPS.  I will not miss him, but I will miss getting to make all of the jokes about him.

So there is my full report on each player and position and what I think we can do this year as a team.  I hope that everyone realizes their potentials and the Sox can get it together for a complete season of winning.  If everyone comes together and we are truly all in, leaving it all out on the field, not only will a division title be possible, but a World Series can be a realistic goal.  The next milestone in the "All In" season will come on February 28th at 1:05, when the Sox are set to play their first Spring Training game vs the Los Angeles Dodgers.  All I can say is...Play Ball!