SB Nation - Jayson Nix

Rosterbation-Mania!

U-God — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:18:10 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Raise your hand if you want to play for the White Sox next year. Esteban, please put your hand down. Seriously though, Esteban, you aren't welcome. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Over the past couple days, and inspired by the infamous U.S.S. Mariner post and the on-going reader input over at Sox Machine, I've been putting together my off-season plan. I tried to keep it as realistic as possible (no video game trades), especially in terms of payroll. Feel encouraged to leave your own roster plans in the comments section. U-God's 2010 plan lies after the jump.

Free Agent Acquistions:

DH- Nick Johnson, 1 year/5.5 mil

I love Jim Thome and always will. He is my back-up plan. With that being said, I would be thrilled if KW went out and got Nick Johnson. The 31 year old lefty has a career .849 OPS fueled largely by his .402 career OBP. Johnson also allows us to rotate Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin in at DH as well. He does come with injury-risks, but using him mainly as a DH in combination with one of the premier medical staffs in baseball should counteract that. The injury risk combined with the down market should allow the Sox to grab him at a reasonable price for a year.

RF- Marlon Byrd, 1 year/4.5 mil

Byrd would be a very refreshing change of pace out in rightfield. He has posted an OPS above .800 each year since joining the American League and has been an above-average defender in right as well. His career high 20 homers last year will guarentee him a raise, though probably a modest one. Byrd also provides a nice stop-gap for our outfield prospects.

C- Brian Schneider, 1 year/1.5 mil

Schneider's days as a starter are over. He's a lefty-catcher who has had good success stopping opponent's run games (38 CS%). Being a backup drops his price tag and lowers his risk of getting hurt again.

1B/OF- Mark Kotsay, 1 year/1.5 mil

Bring him back. He was good after we traded for him and gives Ozzie more flexibility with his bench and lineups.

Contract Extension:

Offer John Danks the Jon Lester deal (5 years/30 mil). It's a back-loaded contract that buys out John's arbitration years and allows him to hit free agency at age 31. It may take more money to lock him up, but for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to use the Lester deal.

Batting Order:

DH- Nick Johnson, 3B- Gordon Beckham, LF- Carlos Quentin, 1B- Paul Konerko, C- A.J. Pierzynski, CF- Alex Rios, RF- Marlon Byrd, SS- Alexei Ramirez, 2B- Chris Getz.

That OBP in front of Beckham gives me dirty thoughts.

Bench:

C- Brian Schneider, 1B/OF- Mark Kotsay, UTIL- Jayson Nix, OF- Alejandro De Aza

Nix gives pop off the bench and De Aza gives Ozzie a speedy pinch-runner for late in the game.

Starting Rotation:

Jake Peavy-RHP, Mark Buehrle-LHP, Gavin Floyd-RHP, John Danks-LHP, Freddy Garcia-RHP

I like the idea of having Peavy and Garcia pitch back to back.

Bullpen:

Bobby Jenks-CL, Matt Thornton-LHP, Scott Linebrink-RHP, DJ Carrasco-RHP, Tony Peña-RHP, Jhonny Nuñez-RHP, Randy Williams-LHP

I wanted to trade Jenks, but his value is too low right now and I don't want a repeat of the Nick Swisher trade.

Other Costs:

$1 mil buy-out for Jermaine Dye

$.35 mil for Mike MacDougal, damn him

Team Payroll:

$96.65 mil, only .55 higher than last season's opening salary. All figures (except my FAs and arbitration guesstimates) taken from Cot's Baseball Contracts.

2010 Bill James Projections: White Sox Hitters

The Cheat — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:20:08 -0000

The good people at ACTA Sports provided me a sneak preview at the 2010 Bill James projections, which will be made available the public the the 2010 Bill James Handbook (available next week).

James tends to have the most optimistic projections of any of the major forecasters, specifically for young players (read: unestablished players, i.e. Flowers)

2010 Bill James' Projections

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
Gordon Beckham	155	567	93	166	44	1	21	96	59	89	10	5	.288	.360	.477
Jermaine Dye	152	571	85	149	30	1	30	92	57	123	2	1	.261	.333	.480
Tyler Flowers	67	243	40	75	17	1	12	32	32	85	2	1	.275	.353	.476
Chris Getz	99	364	49	98	16	2	4	33	36	55	20	6	.269	.340	.357
Paul Konerko	148	539	74	143	27	0	29	90	67	96	1	0	.265	.354	.477
Jayson Nix	90	247	33	60	13	0	8	27	21	49	9	3	.243	.307	.393
A.J. Pierzynski	140	527	61	149	28	1	14	62	24	64	1	1	.283	.323	.419
Scott Podsednik	110	324	45	89	17	2	3	26	29	50	17	8	.275	.340	.367
Carlos Quentin	146	542	92	147	36	2	30	97	59	77	5	2	.271	.356	.511
Alexei Ramirez	147	527	75	150	19	2	18	78	42	58	12	6	.285	.339	.431
Alex Rios	149	564	79	157	36	5	16	73	41	102	21	7	.278	.332	.445
Jim Thome	132	441	73	108	20	0	29	84	88	146	0	0	.245	.374	.488

The Sox will be in very good shape next year if they get that type of production from Quentin and Rios.

The Top 5 White Sox Games of 2009

U-God — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:49:39 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

The Savior wonders if his accomplishments will appear in the list of the season's best games. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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While the White Sox didn't make the playoffs this year (or finish above .500 for that matter), it never really felt like a chore to watch (at least to me) like 2007 did. Once the season ended (and this lull between playoff rounds began), I started thinking about what games were the best ones from this season. Some caveats: I only went with games we won. I personally don't care much for losses and didn't feel like putting any close, but last second losses in my top 5. Also, this is a pretty subjective exercise, so I don't expect everyone to agree with my choices. Feel free to post your choices in the comments. With that being said, the top 5 games from the 2009 season are after the jump.

5. May 25, @LAA SOX: 17, LAA: 3

The main reason this game makes the cut is the 17 runs were the most the Sox had scored in a game since June 20, 2006. Every starter had a hit, with the Thome, Konerko, and Dye all going yard. The team scored 14 runs through the first five innings, and were only blanked in the sixth and the eighth. The only reason it isn't ranked higher is the game was over by the second inning.

4. April 7, vs. KC SOX: 4, KC:2

Ah, Opening Day. The holiest of all national holidays. We had to wait longer than usual due to a snowout, but the payoff was well worth it. Things looked pretty grim going into the eighth inning, when the worst manager in the AL Central brought in the beloved Kyle Farnsworth. Every now and then, you feel like the baseball game is scripted. When Jim Thome stepped up with two runners on and two outs, it felt like everyone watching knew what would happen next. The season had so much promise back then.

3. April 13, @ DET SOX: 10, DET: 6

While the game itself was fairly unspectacular, the second inning alone insured that it would appear on this list. Leading off, Jermaine Dye would take Zach Miner deep to left-center at 12:23 P.M. for his 300th career homerun. Exactly three minutes later, Paul Konerko would blast one past the left field fence for his 300th as well. This marked the first time in MLB history that two teammates had hit century milestone homeruns back to back. The White Sox even had 7,000 little commemerative figures with a base made to honor the accomplishment (number 4,036 sits proudly on my desk). A normal enough game, but the history makes it pretty special in my eyes.

2. June 27, vs. CHC SOX: 8, CHC: 7

The complete opposite of a pitcher's duel, but an incredibly fun back-and-forth battle throughout gets this game the number two spot on the list. The lead changed hands four times before the Pale Hose tied it up in the eighth on an Alexei Ramirez single. I still remember sitting in left field with my current roommate Dan and wanting the game to come down to Gordon Beckham. Whatever deities may be decided to answer my prayers. With Josh Fields on second and Jayson Nix on first, Gordon Beckham stepped in with two outs. Jose Ascanio's first pitch the the rookie would be crushed into the rightfield gap for our young savior's first walk off hit in the bigs. There was something magical about hearing "Your Love" played before any other victory song.

1. July 23, vs. TB SOX: 5, TB: 0

Was there ever any doubt what game was going to get number one? There have been better articles written than I could ever hope to create. Everything from Fields' grand slam to Wise's miracle catch was fantastic. Even typing this just give me chills. So I'll stop writing about it. Pictures do more justice than I ever could.

Robbie and ribbies reconcile their differences, gets pied in 5-2 10-inning win

CrazyYankeeChick — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:50:20 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

"This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship [with RISP hits]."

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Sometimes I think the new Yankee Stadium was built in Narnia. Or through the looking glass. Maybe mystique characterized the House That Ruth Built, but the 2009 season has been trotting out one "Nope, didn't see that one coming" experience after another.

If it's not a 12K loss from AJ, or 3 straight walk-off wins in a row, or a game going scoreless for 15 innings, then it's our 2B overcoming his RBI allergy to end a rainy 10 inning night in the Bronx with a win.

When I went to pick up Chinese food in the 4th inning, I was legitimately concerned that by the time I returned from the corner, the game would be in the 8th inning. Just like the aforementioned 15 inning marathon, there was the definite kernel of expectancy that this game was flying by so fast, we'd wrap this up in no time.

CC was dealing, as CC is wont to do, eating up innings, collecting Ks like they're stamps on his Tasti-D-Lite card, shutting down Chicago, as economic with his pitch output as he is liberal with his caloric intake.

It was so seamless that I went into a food coma post Lo-Mein, only to awake to a 2-1 game in the 7th.

Serves me right. It was like the gods of baseball were punishing me for catching some Zzzz's during the game. If CC can wait til the game's over to eat, I should be able to, too. (I'm sorry, his girth will never, ever, ever cease to send me into fits. It's at an all-time high today on account of my buddy at the game alerting me that his music selection is "I love it when you call me Big Poppa." Few things have made me happier than this information.)

But despite the shallow 2-run comeback, the Yanks were able to best the White Sox, bookending the game with long-balls--a solo from #1 hitter in the captain's first at-bat of the game....and then a 3-run rocket from our #7 hitter in the 10th inning. (Check out those numbers. Interestingly enough, the historical Mega Millions numbers for tonight? 1, 17, 31, 37, with Powerball 31. What's more, the only innings either team scored were in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 10th.)

And for some more relevant information on the game:

CC deserved the win, but his ND is proof that baseball always evens itself out in the long run, as he certainly didn't deserve a W in the last Chicago series. Even though the ND broke his 6-game winning streak, his pitches are somehow improving with every game. His control is so impeccable at this point that he could probably knock a beetle off the ump's shoulder on command.

Brian Bruney got the win, and I just realized that this sloppy clown is 4-0. Eh, the race doesn't always go to the swiftest, I guess. Congrats, #38. Way to save the game.

Phil Hughes is beyond filthy. If Girardi hadn't pitched him, I think Yankee fans would have staged a coups. This Thor-like supergod of relievers threw 14 pitches, 10 for strikes, and struck out Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Jermaine Dye in his 1-2-3 inning, all of which were called out on swinging strikes. I actually got chills watching him work.

The agility and sure-handedness of our fielders can't be discounted in this win. A-Rod made 2 key run-saving plays that keep the Sox at bay, including one beautiful diving stop to keep Jayson Nix's screaming shot in the infield. He really makes it look easy sometimes.

Outfielders should be able to throw out runners at home. It's part of their job description. I don't ask my boss for a raise for coming into work on time. That said, I still gotta give credit to Swish for his throw to the plate that enabled Molina to tag out Ramon Castro. After watching the defense so determined to not give the Sox the lead in that inning, I realized just how resolute and unflinching the Yankees have become.

Melky Cabrera certainly likes him some Mark Buehrle. Our sparky outfelder's been in a bit of a slump lately, but once again came to life against Chicago's ace. Hopefully this fires him up enough to get back into the black.

Yesterday I said that if Jeter went hitless today, I was going to be delivering to his locker Minka Kelly's cheerleading vest with a fish wrapped inside. Fortunately, he saved her from this fate literally right off the bat. That's love.

The wind was a discernibly mitigating factor in tonight's game, and flyouts fooled me on more than one occasion. I can't even think about what this meant in terms of Sterling warning track antics, without my head starting to hurt.

The RISP situation: 1 for 7. Chicago was 3-8. I'll take any kind of win, and knowing how poorly the Yanks tend to work in the rain, I am thrilled about the way they played, particularly in light of the other Sox coming back to beat the Jays.

The more significant RISP situation: When Robbie hit that blast, you could see in his face the liberation he felt from the statistical stigma branding him up til that point. "You see the statistics up on the board," he said. "I want to get better." Consider yourself unshackled, kid. That shot meant more than the win. It meant the start of an RBI tear.

...Which will come in handy since tomorrow they send in Sergio Mitre to face Jose Contreras. I don't see this going as neatly as tonight, from either end.

We're mere days away from September, and the Yanks are still in first, as they've been for now 40 days and nights, and I expect Robbie and the Yankees to tear through the next month, plowing through their opponents like an army of Pac-Men who just binged on power pellets.

Let's keep it going.

-CYC

UNICORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nico — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:44:58 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Manager Bob Geren screams, "WHAT? Alcohol is illegal??? When did THIS happen???"

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Mark Ellis' walk-off HR, with 2 out in the 9th and the game tied 2-2, had no chance of being high enough to clear the LF wall. Until a flying unicorn swooped down and carried it over the wall. It's been that kind of month for Ellis, who drove in 2 of the A's 3 runs to give him 19 for the month of August.

This after the umpires, on this Turn Back The Clock Day, tried to re-enact the Black Sox scandal in the top of the 9th inning. First they allowed Jayson Nix to reach 1st on an infield hit on which he appeared to be out -- so much so that the entire A's defense took 3 steps towards the dugout before realizing the inning wasn't over. Bob Geren argued. Nix then stole second, but over slid the bag and was tagged out by Crosby. Nix was ruled safe on the premise that Crosby had moved Nix off the base with his glove. Bob Geren argued, but was throw out before he could argue for the cycle in the inning. Undaunted, Andrew Bailey struck out Scott Podsednik to end the inning and the rest was unicorn lore.

This was all made possible by a strong 6+ inning, 2 run effort by Trevor Cahill, a clutch performance by Jay Marshall to get out the two on, nobody out mess left behind by Cahill in the 7th, and a daring "hustle double" by Rajai Davis, followed by a game-tying double by Scott Hairston, in the 8th.

The atmosphere today was fantastic. The A's did the Turn Back The Clock event beautifully, from the uniforms to the black and white Diamond Vision, to the scoreboard's "PHI" for the home team's linescore, to the Depression Era music, to Dick Callahan's presence in a straw hat sitting behind an old-time mike at an outside table down by the A's dugout.

Just a great day overall capped off by Unicorn magic. Enjoy it for the next 36 hours, because Brett Tomko is starting on Monday night to try to continue the theme of great depression.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Shortstop)

Jabberwocky — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:15:57 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Troy Tulowitzki does what he wants.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with my methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm tackling perhaps the most demanding position in the field (though catchers have a good argument too), shortstop.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database for my information; here's a glossary of the terms he uses and an explanation of how WAR is calculated.

Shortstop, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a +7.5 adjustment. This is due to the fact that shortstops receive the most fielding chances, by and large, requiring excellent fielding technique, quickness, speed, and a strong, accurate arm. In other words, it is a physically demanding fielding position that his historically been manned by weak Punch and Judy hitters. Several Rockies' shortstops have fit this mold.

However, during the last twenty years bigger, stronger players like Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki have come into vogue at the shortstop position as players become more athletic. Many of the best positional prospects in the minor leagues and in Latin America began their careers at shortstop due to their superior athleticism.

On the whole, shortstop does not possess the depth of production for the Rockies that third base, it also has provided much more value to Colorado than catchers have. The list, after the jump...

Shortstops

Unlike other positional rankings, the names on this list are all familiar to most Rockies fans.

1. Troy Tulowitzki

Career WAR: 6.2 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 6.2, 2006-2008 (1st)
Top Season: 5.6, 2007 (1st)
Average Rank: 1

Tulo is clearly the best shortstop in Rockies franchise history, though it is largely on the strength of his fantastic 2007 season. The seventh pick of the 2005 draft had a Total Zone rating of 18 while providing a .291/.359/.479 (.361 wOBA) batting line with 24 HRs and 99 RBI while providing stellar leadership (as a rookie!) and helping to guide the Rockies to their first World Series.

Tulo's 2008 struggles have been well documented, though he did heat up in the second half. That's a trend that has continued in a big way in 2009 as Tulowitzki has been on fire since Hurdle was fired. In fact, Tulowitzki is well on his way to having a better hitting line this year (.378 wOBA) than he did in 2007--though his fielding numbers are less spectacular--and he currently has been the Rockies' most valuable position player (3.6 WAR so far).

Perhaps the best part of all this is that the Rockies have their shortstop under team control for the next five years if they want to, at a price that is more than reasonable ($29.25 guaranteed) given his probable production.

2a. Clint Barmes

Career WAR: 4.3 (T-2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 2.5, 2004-2006 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.3, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 2.33

The reason that Clint Barmes is listed as a shortstop and not a second baseman is the fact that he's played 281 games at SS and 177 at 2B--and that his skill set is more that of a typical shortstop than a second sacker.

Barmes gets the tie-breaker here over Walt Weiss due to the fact that he is still producing WAR for the Rockies (and is likely to do so for next year too if Jim Tracy's mancrush remains intact). Acquired in the tenth round of the 2000 draft, Clint is an enigma, really. His stellar (and surprising) 2005 rookie season (1.6 WAR) was marred by his subsequent failings in 2006 and 2007, when he was below replacement level--after which many Rockies fans figured that we had seen the last of Clint Barmes.

Then, out of nowhere Barmes was brought up to replace Jayson Nix and excelled with the bat (.290/.322/.468) and the glove (TZ of 7) in 2008. This 2.3 WAR season gave Barmes the momentum to secure a starting slot in 2009, and while his streaky hitting has been well documented, his slick fielding has been enough to render a league average performance this year--and that's a very good thing, as league-average players don't grow on trees.

2b. Walt Weiss

Career WAR: 4.3 (T-2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 5.0, 1995-1997 (1st)
Top Season: 1.8, 1995 (1st)
Average Rank: 2.33

Walt Weiss is the shortstop that the 60s forgot--a throwback shortstop that fielded the position at an average level, did the little things well, and was mediocre at best as a hitter. The Rockies' shortstop from 1994-1997 was signed as a free agent from Florida on a two year, $2.8 million deal in 1994 to fill the hole vacated by Vinny Castilla's move to 3rd base.

Weiss OPSed .639 in 1994 and produced -0.7 WAR (with a TZ of -6), but bounced back nicely with a .724 OPS and 1.8 WAR in 1995--of course the Rockies had to have the then 32 year old back, and with a nice raise (two years, $4.3 million). Weiss rewarded Colorado's questionable confidence in him with two decent years (1.5, 1.7 WAR) that were very similar to 1995 in their tenor.

The Rockies benefitted from the steadiness/veteraniness/intangibles of Weiss and got about market level production from him--a fine outcome considering his horrible first year.

4. Juan Uribe

Career WAR: 2.3 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 2.3, 2001-2003 (4th)
Top Season: 1.2, 2001 (5th)
Average Rank: 4.33

Uribe signed with the Rockies out of the Dominican Republic in 1997 as an 18 year old and was the Rockies' starting shortstop by 2001 at 22 years old after Neifi Perez was traded. He performed very well in half a season (1.2 WAR), posting a .300/.325/.524 line (.359 wOBA) in 283 PA. Unfortunately he regressed in 2002 to a replacement level player, posting a .286 OBP in 618 PA. After that, Uribe was forced into a time-share at shortstop in 2003 with journeyman Jose Hernandez (yuck), but performed well in limited duty (1.0 WAR).

Here's where Uribe's story gets interesting: the Rockies traded the 24 year-old Uribe, who in the equivalent of two full seasons had cheaply provided over 2 WAR, to the White Sox for career minor leaguer Aaron Miles. While Miles got Rookie of the Year love in 2004 (he was fourth, well behind Jason Bay) despite producing only 0.1 WAR (and 0.2 overall in his Rockies career), Uribe went bananas for the White Sox. Uribe posted a .283/.327/.506 line and a 3.7 WAR season in 2004, then he followed it up with a 2.4 WAR season in 2005. And then, just as soon as it came, Uribe's productivity vanished, as he produced 1.1 WAR in the next three seasons for Chicago. A strange case, really.

5. Neifi Perez

Career WAR: 1.1 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 2.0, 1999-2001 (5th)
Top Season: 1.5, 2000 (4th)
Average Rank: 4.67

Neifi Perez is one of the biggest scam artists in MLB history. I mean, how else can you characterize his 11 year career? He was signed out of the DR as a 19 year old and was the starter as a 24 year old. Perez played for the Rockies for parts of six seasons and posted a negative WAR figure in three of them.

Perez did win a Gold Glove in 2000 and he managed two years of decent play (1.5 and 1.3 WARs in 2000 and 2001), which tricked the Royals into trading the Rockies Jermaine Dye for him. A 27 year old, in his prime Jermaine Dye! Of course, Dan O'Dowd turned around and traded Dye to the A's that same day for Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnacion, and Jose Ortiz. What?!?!? We could have had Jermaine Dye in his prime for Neifi Perez?!? Not that I'm bitter or anything, but Dye in Coors Field would have been awesome. I'm really glad that O'Dowd has improved his trading ability as he's gotten experience.

In his 11 year career, Perez produced a total of 0.0 WAR and was paid $21 million to do it. That's one heck of an expensive replacement player.

The Rest: Freddie Benavides (0.7), Royce Clayton (0.2), Jose Hernandez (-0.3), Desi Relaford (-0.5)

Next week: Left Fielders

White Sox and Leadoff or "Why Podsednik Seems So Good"

shaftr — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:19:05 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Finding a leadoff man is difficult. It's not a position, but it is a spot in the lineup that requires a certain set of skills. The ability to get on base and run are the two most important skills of a leadoff man. The 2009 Chicago White Sox have had an interesting group of guys try their hand at lead off.

Dewayne Wise

Origins: Before he was the man behind preserving a perfect game, Wise was the Opening Day leadoff hitter for the White Sox. That experiment lasted two games. Coming in to the season Wise was a 31 year old journeyman outfielder who played pretty well late last year for the White Sox. He didn't exactly earn the lead off position, but as you will see, there weren't that many other options.

Stats: .193 BA .235 OBP .312 SLUG 40 OPS+

Currently: Defensive replacement for White Sox.

Chris Getz

Origins: Getz won the starting 2nd baseman job out of Spring Training. He profiled as a light hitting 2nd baseman with a good eye. He primarily hit lead off for Chicago during April & May, but eventually was replaced by Scott Podsednik.

Stats: .266 BA .323 OBP .369 SLUG 79 OPS+

Currently:He lost his spot on top of the lineup, but has continued starting at 2nd as a Rookie.

Brent Lillibridge

Origins: Lillibridge joined the White Sox as part of the Javier Vazquez trade to Atlanta. He is a former top prospect that hasn't panned out due to his lack of hitting ability.

Stats: .162 BA .260 OBP .191 SLUG 20 OPS+

Currently: He was just called up to Chicago after Alexei Ramirez was hurt and the Peavy trade opened up a Roster spot. I don't believe he left the airport, since he was sent right back down before appearing in a game.

Jerry Owens

Origins: Jerry Owens was a former football player who has one skill: speed. The problem is you can't steal first base and he wasn't able to find other ways to get to first. He only lead off once.

Stats: .083 BA .267 OBP .083 SLUG -3 OPS+

Currently: He was out of Options so after being sent down, he was claimed by the Mariners. He is currently stealing bases in AAA.

Brian Anderson

Origins: Anderson is a former top prospect who has never lived up to his potential. He wasn't able to win the job in Spring Training over Dewayne Wise and wasn't able to produce after Wise lost the job in the regular season. He only hit lead off once, the game after the Owens attempt.

Stats: .238 BA .322 OBP .319 SLUG 67 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Boston Red Sox Organization on their AAA affiliate. He asked to be traded after he was sent down, so the White Sox traded him for Mark Kotsay.

Jayson Nix

Origins: The White Sox signed Nix in the Offseason. He was previously a former first round draft pick for Colorado. He's only lead off 5 times, in various spot starts during the season. He was in a competition with Getz for 2nd during Spring Training, but now he is a super-sub.

Stats: .225 BA .294 OBP .442 SLUG 87 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Infield during off days for the starters and has been a nice bench player. He has brought a solid glove and some good pop to the White Sox.

Scott Podsednik

Origins: A former World Series hero for the White Sox, Podsednik wasn't with an organization when the Season started. After trying out the above, Chicago signed him and he eventually became their leadoff man.

Stats: .298 BA .354 OBP .387 SLUG 92 OPS+

Currently: He continues to be productive in the leadoff spot for Chicago. He can still get infield hits, but he is a liability in the field.

Mark Kotsay

Origins: Former solid regular for the Oakland As, Kotsay bounced around to Atlanta and Boston. He started the season as a reserve for Boston but was demoted. He was acquired by Chicago for Brian Anderson.

Stats: .221 BA .253 OBP .279 SLUG 36 OPS+

Currently: He was just acquired but has started leadoff one time already. He'll likely be a bat off the bench and even though he doesn't have a hit for the White Sox yet, he has been making good contact.

That is quite a group of players listed above. If you gave me that list before the season started, I would have assumed Chicago was at the bottom of the AL Central. Podsednik's 92 OPS+ isn't amazing, but it is a lot better than any of the above could provide. It's also surprising of all the players listed above, it was a washed out veteran off the street that would be the most productive. If Chicago makes the playoffs this year, Podsednik might be more of a hero then he was in 2005.

This is a repost from rmlumley.com. Follow shaftr on Twitter @rmlumley.

Twins Sweep White Sox, Take Over Second Place

Jesse — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:14:49 -0000

More photos » by Andy King - AP

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Twins 3, White Sox 2

When Scott Podsednik played Alexi Casilla like he had power with two out in the bottom of the sixth, it probably didn't seem much like a game-deciding decision to anybody. You could probably even justify it, saying that with Casilla's speed you didn't want anything getting over Podsednik's head. Alexi did have a big double earlier, after all. One dying quail later Joe Crede was hobbling home for a one-run lead, and that would be the ballgame.

Casilla was absolutely clutch. He picked up both of his hits in big situations where the team needed a hit, and if that double hadn't been of the ground-rule variety he could have had at least a triple instead of that two-bagger and at least one more run would have scored. With his speed and Podsednik's arm, he might have made it all the way around.

While the Twins picked up five walks on the night, a new band called Denard Span and the Bottom of the Orders provided the offense. The 7-8-9-1 hitters combined to go 5-for-12 with a double, all three runs batted in, two walks and a pair of stolen bases; the middle of the order collected one hit and a trio of walks.

The story of the night, though? Brian Duensing. He only lasted five innings, but it was enough. After being spotted a two-run lead in the second, Brian's only damage in his first major league start were the two solo home runs. Jayson Nix took a high, outside fastball and managed to pull it on a rocket into the left field seats, just over the outstretched glove of Span. Carlos Quentin and his geriatric legs carried him around the bases in the fifth when his shot to dead center field tied the game. Duesning threw just 64 pitches, 48 for strikes, mixing in everything he had. For whatever reason Chicago simply had no answer outside of those two well-connected hits, and would only manage one other hit and a harmless walk off the latest Twins rookie starter.

Jesse Crain threw a pair of scoreless innings while Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan threw one each, giving Nathan his 29th save of the year.

Just like that the Twins have rattled off four wins and a huge sweep of the Chi-Sox to vault back into second place. It marks just the second time this year they've managed to win four consecutive (first time since May 21 - May 24), tying them for the longest winning streak of the season. Thursday is an off-day, but I'm hoping this momentum carries into the weekend.

While the team is riding this crest, I can't help but think this would be the ideal time to finalize a deal or two. Keep your fingers crossed.

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Stars of the Game
#3: Brian Duensing (5 IP, 3 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 2 R, .055 WPA)
#2: Jesse Crain (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, .175 WPA)
#1: Alexi Casilla (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, SB, .304 WPA)

Paul Konerko, White Sox Let One Roll Away

The Cheat — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:34:00 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

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It was the type of thing that only seems to happen in Minnesota. In an inning that only seemed to last about 5 minutes, the White Sox had 3 errors, a passed ball and allowed one bizarre (though not dome-influenced) hit. One hard-hit ball and something like 6 outs was all the Twins needed to turn a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

Sure, the Sox retook the lead a half-inning later on a Paul Konerko homerun -- He owed us those runs -- and, sure, John Danks gave up the lead again with a 6th inning bomb to Michael Cuddyer. But the Sox inept defense in the second inning tells the story for this game.

The madness started when AJ Pierzynski seemed to take the I'll wait until it hits the backstop approach to catching by allowing a runner to advance on a passed ball. The next batter, Carlos Gomez, who the Sox can't get out, continued to use his voodoo magic, this time breaking his bat in such a way so as to distract the charging Gordon Beckham. It would have been a routine play if not for the proximity of the bat and ball at the time Beckham tried to field the ball, whiffing on both. Then the real fun started.

Konerko, who earns heaps of praise for his ability to scoop balls in the dirt, developed a (hopefully) momentary case of the yips and let two separate plays that would have ended the inning scoot away from first. The first was ruled an error on Jayson Nix, who got taken out at second base by Gomez. Konerko then appeared to have trouble with a couple of pick-off throws from Danks immediately following the go-ahead run scoring.

Just to top things off, AJ picked up the Sox third error of the inning by throwing a ball into CF on Alexi Casilla's steal of second, and then proceeded to get into a dugout spat with Alexei Ramirez, whom he thought should have kept the ball on the infield. I'm sure the spat which was captured by cameras and twittered by beat writers will get much of the coverage, but that's just the side effect of a half-inning of defense that wouldn't have been acceptable at the little league level.

Freeze Frame: Contreras Finds Forkball

The Cheat — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:46:13 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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WCIU cemented its place as the worst station granted the opportunity to broadcast White Sox games with nine innings of fragmented coverage Wednesday. I missed much of the game, as I decided against waiting through choppy signals and frames frozen for minutes at a time.

What I was able to see was Jose Contreras working through a first inning trying to find his groove. He got hit hard in the inning, but escaped without surrendering a run. But when he returned with a 1-run lead in the second inning, he had found his forkball. He struck out the side, and cruised through the next 5 innings.

He seemed to lose the feel for the forkball in the 7th, as he started to get hit around again, giving up a home run to Jhonny Peralta. Ozzie could see he was losing it, and headed to his newly fortified bullpen rather quickly, which erased the mini-jam in only two pitches.

For me, the 7th inning double play was the highlight of the game. You probably won't see it on SportsCenter -- the ease with which they turned the twin killing will make sure of that -- but it might have been one of the best defensive plays the Sox have made as a team this year. Alexei Ramirez ranged deep to his right to backhand the Jamey Carroll grounder on one knee, fired to second from that same knee, where Jayson Nix easily avoided a takeout slide and had Carroll by a step and half at first.

That explanation doesn't do the play justice. Hawk used some incredulous mutterings into a hot mike as they headed commercial break, but I wasn't able to make heads or tails of it. Let's just say he was just as impressed.

Venture into the gamethread at your own risk. It came to SouthSideSoxers' attention that Steve Stone did a spread in Playgirl (no link. you'll have to search it out yourself). Needless to say, the gamethread is trashed, hirsutely trashed.