SB Nation User Blog: KenWo4LiFe

Bring him back!

KenWo4LiFe — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:41:10 -0000

Bring him back!

Uribe plans to test the market. I think he should be brought back to man second base. Getzix isn't cutting it.

Turning in the Grades

KenWo4LiFe — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:59:40 -0000

With the 2009 season officially coming to a close, it is time for the annual report cards. Since I am the teacher, I will be the first to turn in my grades on the 2009 White Sox.

via www.midwestsportsfans.com

AJ Pierzynski: The backstop had an above average season. He is the first catcher to finish with a .300 average in Sox history. AJ only managed to crank 13 homers and drove in 49 runs. I would have liked to see more run production out of him, but he was one of the very few consistent hitters in the Sox lineup. Overall, he called good games, blocked bad pitches and struggled throwing runners out. Final Grade- B.

Paul Konerko: The captain had a much better season in 2009 than he did in 2008. He led the club with 28 homers, was surprisingly consistent for most of the year and finished with a .277/.353/.489. He played extremely good defense and totaled 59 extra base hits and threw in a rare stolen base for good measure. I don't think you could have expected him to do much more than he did under the best circumstances this season. Final Grade- B+

Gordon Beckham: The Savior came to us in June and after a rough start to his career ended up with a .270/.347/.460 line. 28 doubles, 14 homers and 63 RBI's later and He looks like a future star for many years to come. Throw in the fact that he learned 3rd base on the fly and improved by leaps and bounds, and the sky is the limit. The average dipped in the final month a bit, but you couldn't have expected much more from Beckham. Final Grade- A-

Alexei Ramirez- The Cuban Missile really struggled the first month and a half of the season, even being benched at one point for 3 games. He rallied late to end up at .277/.333/.389. His power numbers dipped a bit as he only managed 30 extra base hits and 68 RBI's. He threw in 14 SB's. In the field, Ramirez made some incredible plays and botched some very easy ones. He did come a long way from his terrible April/May so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Final Grade: C+

Jermaine Dye- JD started out like a beast, sticking over .300 with 20 homers at the all star break. From then on, however, it was all down hill for the former World Series MVP. Dye finished the season on a terribly bad note and wound up sticking .250/.340/.453. He did total 27 homers and 81 RBI, each good for 2nd on the team. He made some good plays in the outfield when he could get to the ball, however, he can't get to too many anymore. I'd like to grade him higher, however I can't look past his horrendous finish. Final Grade: C-

Scott Podsednik- Scotty Pods was brought in on a minor league deal, and arrived in the bigs May 1st. He went on to lead the team with 163 hits, a .304 BA, 6 triples and 30 stolen bases. His base running was sometimes maddening, as was his outfield play, but if anyone would have told you in Spring Training that Scott Podsednik would lead the Sox in most offensive categories you would have shat yourself. For that, only one grade is possible. Final Grade: A

Carlos Quentin- Quentin was coming off of a self inflicted injury to his wrist, but did show power early in the season. Then his foot problems put him on the DL for quite awhile. Quentin managed to come back and play in 99 games this season. His average was in the .230's for most of the season, but he enjoyed a late surge the last week of 2009 to put his power numbers at 21 homers and 56 RBI's. His left field play was suspect at best and awful at worst. Final Grade- D+

Chris Getz- Getz had a decent rookie season in the big leagues, hitting .261 with 25 stolen bases. Numerous injuries,however, only put him on the field for 107 games. He played solid defense at Second Base, and at times looked very solid with the stick. As with Quentin, however, if you want good grades from KenWo, you better show up to class. Final Grade- C-

Alex Rios- Rios was acquired from the Blue Jays for nothing but 60 million dollars and played like he was worth .60 cents in his time with the Sox, hitting .197 with 3 homers in his 150 plate appearances. It was comforting to have an outfielder who could close the gap well, but coming to a club in contention and proceeding to take a dump will not earn you a passing grade. Final Grade- F

Jim Thome- Thome did what Thome does. Low average, good power, high on base percentage. He did what was expected of him and probably would have led the club in HR's and RBI had he stayed aboard. 2009 was nothing special for Mr. Incredible by any means, but he met expectations. Final Grade- B

Jayson Nix- The primary utility man for the Sox showed some signs of pop, hitting 12 homers in 255 AB's. He did strike out a whole bunch and wasn't as solid in the field as we all would have hoped. Final Grade- C

Ramon Castro- Caught Jose Contreras for a string of good starts and caught Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game. Other than that, he didn't bring much to the table. Final Grade- F

Mark Kotsay- After he was brought over for Brian Anderson, Kotsay batted .303 for the Sox, with 3 homers and 18 RBI in only 109 ABs. He played well at first base and in right field and contributed more to Chicago in 2 months than Anderson did in 4 seasons. He also has a hot wife. Final Grade- A

Dewayne Wise- Started the season as the starting CF, didn't last long, made historic catch and threw a bunch of runners out in limited time. Final Grade- D

Brent Lillibridge- Hit .158 with a late surge to get to 3 RBI's. Had cool theme music, but it isn't enough to pass him. Final Grade- F

Wilson Betemit- Played 3rd base like a bad little leaguer. Final Grade- F

Josh Fields- Was given the starting 3rd base job, and had it taken away by a guy who played another position and was less than a year into his professional career. Horrible defense, can't hit a fastball. Final Grade- F

Pitchers

Mark Buehrle- Mark had a great first half and threw one of the most memorable games in White Sox history. Struggled down the stretch when he was needed most, but still posted 13 W's, 3.84 ERA and 213 IP. Also smacked a homer. Final Grade- B

John Danks- Danks finished the season 13-11 and led the starters with a 3.77 ERA. He wasn't as consistent as he was in 2008, but did indeed put up another solid MLB season. He totaled 200.1 innings and 149 strikeouts. Final Grade- B

Gavin Floyd- Gavin wasn't as spectacular as he was in 2008. He struggled early on, then was dominant and then developed a hip issue which hindered his last handful of starts. Only walked 59 guys while striking out 163 in 193 innings while finishing 11-11. Final Grade- B

Freddy Garcia- Garcia started 9 games for the Sox after struggling with injuries the past few years. He came up and posted a 3-4 record with a 4.34 ERA, and really did pitch better than those numbers. While his velocity is still down, he found a way to get guys out. Final Grade- B+

Jake Peavy- Peavy was immaculate in his 3 starts, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA. He struck out 18 in 20 innings and gave the Sox faithful reason to be joyous for 2010. However, he blocked an earlier trade which would have sent him to the Sox and then got injured. By the time the Sox did acquire him, he needed a lot of rehab time (even more so after taking a liner off the arm). One can only wonder how this season would have turned out if he accepted the trade in May. However, I can only grade him on the time he spent here. Final Grade- A

Jose Contreras- Contreras came back from a major injury to secure a spot in the rotation. He went on to prove he wasn't quite ready as he couldn't control his splitter. He came back from the minors and had a nice run, before a series of self-induced collapses led him to be dealt to the Rockies. Finished 5-13 with a 5.42 ERA. Final Grade- D-

Bartolo Colon- Colon was 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA, but injuries and a lack of commitment to the organization lead to his demise. Final Grade- F

DJ Carrasco- This guy saved the pitching staff numerous times this season. Finished 5-1 with a 3.76 ERA and kept the Sox in many games they would have otherwise been blown out in. Pitched 93 innings out of the bullpen and was there any time he was needed. DJ did a remarkable job in 2009. Final Grade- A

Matt Thornton- Thornton has become the premier left handed set up man in all of baseball. He finished 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA and 87 K's in 72.1 innings. Showed late in the season he may be ready to close in 2010. Final Grade- A

Bobby Jenks- Jenks finished 3-4 with a 3.71 ERA while Saving 29 games at an 82.8 percent clip. His strike out to walk ratio was good at 16:49 in 53.1 innings, yet he had a tough time staying healthy. Jenks was passable when available, but wasn't very reliable in 2009. Final Grade- B-

Scott Linebrink- Linebrink was pretty terrible in 2009. He posted a 3-7 record with a 4.66 ERA (I can't believe it was that low). It seemed like he only could throw his fastball for strikes. Hopefully he finds it next year because with his contract, he will be back despite the Final Grade- F

Octavio Dotel- Octavio would sometimes blow up, but for the most part posted a good season in 2009. He finished 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA and struck out 75 over 62.1 innings. I'm not so sure why the Sox are throwing him out the door. He wasn't spectacular but wasn't bad either. Final Grade- C+

Tony Pena- Pena came aboard midseason and went on to appear in 35 games for the Sox. He had some good moments, but most will remember him for giving up a few walk off hits. He finished 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA while wearing silver and black. Final Grade- C

Randy Williams- Williams pitched in 25 games for the Sox and did a credible job when he was put in his situation of getting out lefties. Troube came about when he was asked to do more than that leading to an 0-1 record with a 4.58 ERA. Struck out 22 over 17.2 innings and looks like a decent LOOGY option. Final Grade- C

Clayton Richard- Richard was a roller coaster. Sometimes he looked unbelievable and others he looked awful. He wasn't very good coming out of the bullpen early on and can't throw to first on a grounder, but he did net us Peavy with some solid performances midseason. Final Grade- C

Dan Hudson- Hudson pitched 18.2 late season innings capping off his rise from the A level. He looked like a very viable option for the near future. Very limited sample size, but Final Grade- A.

Management

Ozzie Guillen (and staff)- Ozzie had what I believe to be his best season as manager in 2008. In 2009, it was the exact opposite. He was late on making changes to the lineup, very bad on utilizing his bullpen and ranted way too often for anyone other than Bobby Knights liking. He mishandled the Rios acquisition and for the most part was a move behind all season long. Final Grade- D

Kenny Williams- We came into the season with no legit CF, 2 injury prone starting pitchers and a failure waiting to happen at 3rd base. He provided no replacements for Nick Swisher (FNS) and Javier Vazquez. He did pick up Podsednik, who turned out to be gold, and did bring in Peavy and Rios for not only 2009 but many years to come. His move of Brandon Allen for Tony Pena will be questioned like it was Gio Gonzalez. He did acquire a nice bench player in Mark Kotsay for Brian Anderson. Final Grade- C-.... with a chance to improve with solid years to come from Rios/Peavy.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX- FINAL GRADE- C This team was almost the definition of average. They finished 79-83, didn't go on too many long losing streaks or winning streaks, just kind of pissed the season away.

Do we need to see the youngsters vs. Cleveland?

KenWo4LiFe — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:22:33 -0000

With the White Sox eliminated from playoff contention, Ozzie Guillen has promised to play some of the "young players" vs. the Tribe this week. Is this really necessary?

I for one don't think this is such a novel idea. Yes, I am excited to see Tyler Flowers get a few starts vs. the Indians. However, as i perused the article I ran across this quote:

"I would assume now that we're out officially, there's going to be more just trying to see what the young guys are going to be able to do for next year," Lillibridge said. "I've been working out every day, ready to have a chance to play, and playing a couple games in a row would be awesome. But there's not a lot of stuff I can do to prepare myself anymore than what I did in the offseason and Triple-A and a little bit of time here. But I'm looking forward to any chance I get to play."

That is all well and good Mr. Lillibridge, but other than Flowers, why in the world would we need to see these guys play? Are we really going to have to sit through a game where our "youngsters" are in the lineup? Haven't we seen more than enough of Brent Lillibridge and Josh Fields? Is Dewayne Wise considered a youngster? Other than Tyler Flowers, none of the other guys deserve to get the call these next 3 games. When the calender flipped to September, maybe the Sox should have made better use of their call ups, because the guys that we called up other than Flowers and Daniel Hudson don't need to be seen this year, next year or ever again.

Got this in a Email

KenWo4LiFe — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:23:40 -0000

Got this in a Email

"Ode to the 2009 White Sox" 'Twas the night before playoffs, and all through the Cell, not a creature was stirring after a season from hell. No championship banner would be hung from the poles, though hope for next season was to reach higher goals. Kenny and Ozzie were all snug in their beds, having dashed World Series hopes from all the fans' heads. With Mama in her Sox jersey and I in my Sox cap, we settled our brains for another off-season nap. When out in the yard there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I ran like a flash, tore open the shutter and threw up the sash. I saw Kenny Williams with Ozzie there, too, Buried deep in hefty contracts, wondering just what to do. We'll keep Gordon and 'Lexi and surely Chris G. but have to think about our hot-and-cold captain, the beloved Paulie. We also keep A.J. and Carlos and Mark, but with already shopped J.D. we may have to part. D. Wise and Scotty Pods we should make a place for, while booting some pitchers right out the back door. Now dash away, dash away to Glendale Ranch all, so we can test who returns with our final spring call. So then came the season with a cold Opening Day, and finally our chance to see the 2010 Sox play. It was small ball and homers jumping out of the park, and when the fireworks went off, I awoke with a start. So please, Mr. Kenny, and Jerry, you, too, Mold us a winner, as we know you can do. Steve E.

Interesting to note the author wants both Pods and Weezie back

The Boston Massacre

KenWo4LiFe — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:30:41 -0000

My brother and I decided to take our annual Sox road trip 8/24 and 8/25 in Boston. The results were not pretty as the Sox won both games. Unfortunately for yours truly, it was the Sox of the Red variety.

The trip started out great. No issues on the plane, got into Boston at about 9 AM and proceeded to check in and actually have the room ready by 10. We took the bags up and decided to go site seeing. We walked out of the Westin Copley Place and to my surprise, there was the Podsednik cruiser outside of the hotel!!!!

via image32.webshots.com

After a day of walking the Freedom Trail, visiting Paul Revere's home, the Old North Church and Old Ironsides, we walked to Fenway. What a mistake. After Gordon Beckham put one over the monster, the Right Sox had a 4-1 lead. Of course, this is a perfect time to start yelling "Rookie of the Year" and "Lets Go White Sox". Unfortunately, our excitement didn't last that much longer as Contreras booted an easy grounder, walked a guy with the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch and gave up a 3 run shot. My brother, who was wearing a Contreras jersey, caught some heat from the home crowd. Konerko got us back into the game with a 3 run bomb, but Octavio Dotel ended all of our hopes with a terrible outing out of the pen. It was a long walk back down Boylston Street as every Red Sox fan took turns giving us static.

We didn't have a good feeling about Tuesday's affair, which featured Freddy Garcia vs. Jon Lester. We got to the park very early to watch batting practice. The only guy who looked like he was working on anything was Beckham, who was taking pitches the other way, and only aired it out the last couple rounds. Ramon Castro was the All Star of batting practice as he was absolutely abusing the Green Monster. He really put on a power show. What disturbed me was the lack of fielding practice going on. Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko were putting in some work, but that was about it. Scott Podsednik was the biggest abuser of this. He stood just outside of the shortstop position, not even making an attempt to catch balls that were in arms reach of him. I yelled "Hey Scotty how 'bout taking some fielding practice.... you need it!". He acknowledged what I said by peering at me and nodding his head. Ozzie was nowhere to be found on the field. Monday they had Kevin Hickey (a lefty) throwing BP, when we were facing Clay Buchholz (a righty). Tuesday Don Cooper (and someone else, not sure who) threw BP. They were both righties and they were facing a lefty (Lester). I suppose Bobby Thigpen will be throwing 100 MPH BP today since we are facing Tim Wakefield. Harold Baines and Joey Cora stood with fungo bats in hand not doing anything. It really was a sad sight to see a team that is playing under their expectations do absolutely nothing but stand around and talk for an hour.

Freddy pitched surprisingly well. Our seats were straight away center field (which are pretty good seats). You could see his curve breaking well and late. Jayson Nix hit a shot that hasn't landed yet into deep left center field. I personally felt that Alex Rios could have had the double that ended up tying the game. I don't think he went at it 100 percent, which isn't the first time I have thought this since we have acquired him. After Linebrink got Youkilis, I almost fainted. However, when we couldn't score the next inning and Linebrink was sent back out with a tie game, you knew it wouldn't last long. My brother asked "who do you think will hit the homer"?.... I guessed Ortiz and he guessed Lowell, but it was Jason Bay who did the honors. The Red Sox tried so hard to give us the game and we still couldn't win it. Jermaine Dye, Gordon Beckham, AJ Pierzynski, Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez all had chances to give us a nice lead, yet nobody could get the hit. Needless to say, we took a cab ride back to the Hotel after game 2 to avoid more scrutiny on the streets of Beantown.

Boston is a great, clean city. I suggest that each of you get there if you haven't yet. Go see a game at Fenway. Don't make the same mistake I did though. Go watch them play the Angels or something. You will feel a lot better about your trip.

2009 Schedule

KenWo4LiFe — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:52:51 -0000

After 106 games the White Sox are 54-52. However, they have taken an interesting path getting there. Much is being made of the White Sox tough 15 game stretch from August 24- September 7. While it is a very rugged road during that time (8 games with Boston, 3 with the Yankees, 3 with the Twins and 1 with the Cubs), judging by the Sox performance this year the more important 15 game stretch starts September 18th vs. the Royals.

You see, much is being made about the White Sox tough opponents in August. However, when you take a closer look at their records vs. .500 or better teams, they are 27-20. They seem to play good ball against the better clubs in baseball. 3-1 vs. New York, 6-2 vs. Tampa Bay, 4-2 vs. all of Los Angeles, 3-2 vs. Cubs, 2-1 vs. Seattle. They are 2-4 vs. Texas, but the Rangers aren't coming up on the schedule again in 2009. The one thing that disturbs me is the 5-7 record against Detroit. In the past, we always have dominated the Tigers. They were a "go to" team, meaning if we needed a win, we could go to Detroit and snag one. That has not been the case this season. Also, the Sox have posted a 6-6 record vs. Kansas City and 5-7 vs. Minnesota (who is currently under .500). They are 7-5 vs. Cleveland, but given the Indians struggles that should be a better number. Usually, it has been the Sox cleaning up in their own division that has helped them be successful. This year, they post a 23-25 record vs. the Central. That is not a recipe for success.

Going into my research of the schedule, I was pretty optimistic about the season, figuring if we keep our head above water by Labor Day we can win the division. Now, it looks like we may have to use the stretch of August 24- Labor Day to build a nice lead going into the end of the season.

KenWo's 2009 MLB Predictions-Midseason Review

KenWo4LiFe — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:07:18 -0000

On April 4th, I posted my predictions for the 2009 season. Now that the All Star break is here, I will take a look back at these predictions and see how much Kool Aid I was drinking (or crack I was smoking) when I decided to prognosticate the 2009 season.

KenWo's Pick: AL East

Boston Red Sox 101-61
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 96-66
New York Yankees 89-73
Baltimore Orioles 76-86
Toronto Blue Jays 73-89

Actual Standings: AL East

Boston Red Sox 54-34
New York Yankees 51-37
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 48-41
Toronto Blue Jays 44-46
Baltimore Orioles 40-48

AL East review: Not too much crack smoking here. I think my predictions still have a chance to be correct. I still don't trust AJ Burnett or the Yankee bullpen in the long run. The Blue Jays have played better than I would have imagined, but now are looking like sellers. With the Orioles young guys playing well there is no reason to think that they won't eventually overtake the Blue Jays for 4th.

KenWo's Pick: AL Central

Actual Standings: AL Central

Detroit Tigers 48-39
Chicago White Sox 45-43
Minnesota Twins 45-44
Kansas City Royals 37-51
Cleveland Indians 35-54

AL Central review: I still think my prediction of the White Sox winning the Central will indeed happen. However, I clearly missed the boat on the Tigers. I was not counting on them playing as well as they have, especially with Ordonez playing as poorly as he did in the first half. Injuries have hurt the Royals early season success. Joe Mauer's injury wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I smoked a lot of crack giving the Indians 80 wins to begin with. They are a bad team.

KenWo's Pick: AL West

California Angels 93-69
Oakland A's 88-74
Texas Rangers 84-78
Seattle Mariners 65-97

Actual Standings: AL West

California Angels 49-37
Texas Rangers 48-39
Seattle Mariners 46-42
Oakland A's 37-49

AL West Review: The Angels are in the lead at the break and I still believe they will win this division with a bit of room to spare. I clearly was drinking the Billy Beane secret love juice as I had the A's finishing with 88 wins. They currently sit at 37. Ouch! I predicted Seattle to be the worst team in the AL and that is wrong (at least for now). Jarrod Washburn and David Aardsma have done well, but I don't see that lasting long. I had the Rangers over .500, but maybe underestimated them a little bit.

KenWo's Pick: NL East

Actual Standings: NL East

Philadelphia Phillies 48-38
Florida Marlins 46-44
Atlanta Braves 43-45
New York Mets 42-45
Washington Nationals 26-61

NL East review: I still have a chance to sweep this division. However, I think the Marlins will remain in 2nd place. The Mets suffered through a ton of injuries in the first half, yet they are still only 6.5 out. Could they make a push? I don't think so, but it isn't out of the question. I don't think the Braves will come close to the 89 games I gave them, but they still may finish in second as Tommy Hanson looks like the real deal. I can't believe I gave the Nationals 66 wins. That was way too many.

KenWo's Pick: NL Central

Chicago Cubs 96-66
Houston Astros 83-79
St. Louis Cardinals 81-81
Milwaukee Brewers 81-81
Cincinatti Reds 77-85
Pittsburgh Pirates 67-95

Actual Standings: NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals 49-42
Milwaukee Brewers 45-43
Houston Astros 44-44
Chicago Cubs 43-43
Cincinatti Reds 42-45
Pittsburgh Pirates 38-50

NL Central Review: If there is one team I am glad I missed big time on, it is the Cubs. I thought for sure they would win this division going away, and that doesn't look like it is in the Cards (pun intended). This division is still way up for grabs, and don't be surprised if my 2nd place team, the Astros, make a run for it. They are always better in the 2nd half than the 1st. If Pujols continues his pace, the Cardinals look like the team to beat.

KenWo's Pick: NL West

L.A. Dodgers 98-64
San Fransisco Giants 93-69
Arizona Diamondbacks 86-76
Colorado Rockies 79-83
San Diego Padres 70-92

Actual Standings: NL West

L.A. Dodgers 56-32
San Fransisco Giants 49-39
Colorado Rockies 47-41
Arizona Diamondbacks 38-51
San Diego Padres 36-52

NL West report: The Dodgers, Giants and Padres are all where I thought they would be at the start of the season. I am proud of my Giants pick, as I took a lot of heat for that one. Hopefully it continues. I picked the Diamondbacks to be the surprisingly over .500 team in this division, and as of now it is the Rockies instead. Dodgers are 7 games up, and my 98 wins is within range. TDogg may have to eat his shoe.

My playoff teams of the Red Sox, White Sox, Angels and Rays in the AL are all still in the running. As are the Dodgers, Giants, Phillies and Cubs in the NL. I don't think the Cubs will make it, but the other 3 are good bets.
Manny Ramirez will not win the NL MVP, though he may have if he didn't pee dirty. My rookies of the year (Cameron Maybin and Chris Getz) aren't looking to good. Lincecum has a good shot at the Cy, Sabathia would need a second half like last year. Longoria has cooled lately but a big second half could still bring him the AL MVP.

Still a lot of time left. Enjoy the 2nd half!

The Savior For Roy Halladay?

KenWo4LiFe — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:21:26 -0000

The Savior For Roy Halladay?

Ken Rosenthal suggests that the White Sox could land Halladay if they were willing to deal The Messiah himself, Gordon Beckham. Personally, I think Rosenthal is an assclown. No way would I make this deal.

Potential target to buy for 2008 and beyond???

KenWo4LiFe — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:46:46 -0000

Potential target to buy for 2008 and beyond???

If Alex Rios really is available for a bag of balls, would you consider going after him? He is signed through 2014 on a 64 million dollar contract that he signed in 2008. He is hitting .263 with 9 homers, 37 RBI, 13 SBs, OPS .744. I think this is a guy KW must consider.

Frank to work games for CSN during Sox vs. Cubs series

KenWo4LiFe — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:38:22 -0000

Frank to work games for CSN during Sox vs. Cubs series

End of the line for Melton? Personally i would rather have Frank pinch hitting.