OzzieBall

One of the hottest trade chips at this years winter meetings is Oakland A’s pitcher Gio González. A guy that somehow has a 31-21 record over the last two seasons with the lowly Oakland A’s. Add in a low 3′s ERA and an average of 184 strikeouts over each of the last two seasons and you have to ask just what did Kenny Williams and the White Sox get for this kind of talent…

The answer should make you sad, if you’re a Sox fan. They got one year out of Nick Swisher and then traded him away for Wilson Betemit, who got 45 at-bats and a .200 batting average with the White Sox before becoming a free agent, Jeff Marquez, a guy that got 1 inning pitched in with an 18.00 ERA before being claimed off waivers and Jhonny Nunez, who pitched 5.2 innings with a 9.53 ERA with the Sox before being granted free agency.

So the bottom line is the pieces that remain in the White Sox system from the Gio González trade are non-existent. The White Sox traded a stud pitcher in González for Nick Swisher, then gave up on Swisher after one bad season and got zero in return. If you’re paying attention you’ll know that Swisher has bounced back nicely with the New York Yankees.

Kenny Williams seems to love to give up talent and get nothing in return. You can see the results in the fact that the White Sox minor league systems is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the game. I just don’t see the upside of trading your closer, who was under club control for the next SIX seasons at a reasonable rate for a Double-A prospect. It just doesn’t make sense. If they guy doesn’t turn out to be a Cy Young winner, Kenny got fleeced. With him making deals like he did with Gio González and Nick Swisher, and now with Sergio Santos, it’s going to be a LONG time before the White Sox will contend again.

And yes, I know, the blog needs a new name now that Ozzie is gone…

This blog has been quiet for way too long. The main reason is I never wanted to be the fan bitching and pointing fingers when things were going bad, and this year, well it’s been one long year of BAD. As a lifelong Sox fan, it was hard to watch. As a guy that was a big Adam Dunn fan since he came up with the Reds, this was an even harder year to watch. As all White Sox fans know, this team stunk on ice. There was never a time throughout the year that we got to see much of a glimpse of the team that Kenny Williams built to be “All In.”

The rumors about Ozzie and the Florida Marlins managerial job have been floating around for a long time now, but I never thought that Ozzie Guillen would take that job unless he was flat out fired by the White Sox. Ozzie Guillen, the guy that talked about loyalty and owing Jerry Reinsdorf so much. Ozzie Guillen, the guy that said he’d always be honest with the media and the fans. Ozzie Guillen, the guy that said he hoped to only have to manage one team – the Chicago White Sox. But here we are, when that same Ozzie Guillen walked into Jerry Reinsdorf’s office and said he didn’t want to return for the last year of his contract if he couldn’t get more years and more money. Really Ozzie? More years and more money?

I’m sorry Ozzie, but it’s not the time to go to your boss and ask for more money and more years when you’re coming off what has to be the most disappointing season the team has had in decades. It’s an insult to the fans that came out to the park each and every day to watch this team. The White Sox are a family, more than most teams in baseball, and I don’t believe for a minute that Jerry wasn’t going to bring Ozzie back in 2013 and beyond. What Jerry wanted, I assume, was Ozzie to show up for work in 2012 and help right the ship, instead Ozzie, to me, chose the easy way out and walked away from a challenge.

From a business standpoint, I can understand what Ozzie did. Obviously, there’s a big fat multi-year contact on the table from the Marlins and he wanted to take it. I wonder what Ozzie would do if he had a player on one of his teams that wasn’t getting paid what he though he was worth and wasn’t getting an extension of his contract so he decided to cry about it and say he didn’t want to come back and play for the team even though he was under contract? There’s supposed to be no crying in baseball, right?

And Ozzie, Mr. Honesty, according to his blog post that came up during the 9th inning of last nights game said that he was, in fact going to the Marlins. He denied having that knowledge in the post-game press conference, what’s that all about?

There is certainly enough blame to go around for this 2011 season. I, personally, think more of that blame should have rested on the shoulders of Kenny Williams. He is the guy that put this team together, and he has to be the first one held accountable. He’s the guy that was overseeing our minor league system when it crumbled into shambles and he’s the guy that made some trades that had Sox fans wondering just what in the world was going on. The fact that he remains standing is further proof that Jerry Reinsdorf will avoid firing guys at all costs.

So it comes down to this, things were going bad on the south side of Chicago and Ozzie decided it was time for him to exit, to walk away with a year left on his contract. I would have had more respect for him if he would have shown up to complete the contract that he had on the table, as it sets a dangerous president when a manager, or a player, treats a remaining year on their contract like it is without meaning.

Ozzie’s 2012 contract with the White Sox would have paid him two million dollars, which for a guy who managed a team with 78 wins seems more than fair. The Marlins, however, offered Ozzie a four year deal with sixteen million dollars, and make no mistake, for Ozzie it’s all about the money. I guess the reason he left the White Sox is that he wanted to buy a boat. No, really.

“You know what I saw a couple days ago?” Guillen told reporters. “I saw a 62-foot boat. That’s what I want, and that’s what I’m going to get. People have to pay me for that. White Sox? I don’t know. Marlins? I don’t know. But somebody will pay. I want to buy my [bleeping] boat. That’s my inspiration. My inspiration is money. That’s everybody’s inspiration.”

Really? That’s EVERYBODY’S inspiration? I’m guessing the major league is filled with more than a few guys that would beg to differ. Don’t get me wrong, the money is a great perk of the job, but I don’t think guys like Paul Konerko, Omar Visquel or Jim Thome just show up each and every year to get a paycheck. To say that being blessed with the opportunity to get to spend your life playing and managing baseball is nothing more than a money grab is complete and utter bullshit. Obviously, maybe that IS Ozzie’s only inspiration, and that might explain the absolutely dismal seasons the Sox have had over the last couple of years.

What’s confusing is that the blog post that was pulled off of Ozzie’s site said that it was all about winning to him. Well, which is is Ozzie? Is it about winning or is it about the money? Oh wait, you’re taking over a Florida team that finished in last place and will certainly not be in contention for a few years without a major infusion of money. So, I’m going with it’s all about the money for Ozzie. He’ll get his four million bucks, buy his boat and do a lot of fishing while his near team flounders around in last place. I hope the Marlins know what they signed up for, if they’re looking for a guy that can inspire and lead their team to a World Series they might want to look at another recent quote from Ozzie:

“I work in this job for money. I don’t work for nothing. Money. That’s it. The ring? [Bleep] the ring. I don’t even wear my [bleeping] rings. I don’t.”

As a fan that’s supported Ozzie for the last 8 years, I can say I was a little bummed last night when I found out that he was leaving. After reading the coverage today, I’m a little less bummed. I want a manager that cares about winning more than he cares about money. Maybe nobody ever told Ozzie that winning = more money. He’ll learn it soon enough when his ship sinks in Florida.

A month ago there is no way in the world I would have believed anyone if they said that we’d be the worst team in baseball as we start the 2nd month of the baseball season. This White Sox team is built in such a way that the concept seems like a near impossibility. The team is stacked with talented hitting and pitching and simply should not be in the position that they are today.

So, we come to the age old baseball question and that is “who is to blame?” In a way there’s an easy answer to that, but it doesn’t carry a simple solution. Everyone is to blame. I think we start with the players and move up to the on-field management and then on up to the general manager’s office. A majority of the weight, no matter what most fans think, falls on the players themselves. They simply aren’t producing.

It seems when the starting pitching is great, the hitting doesn’t show up or the bullpen blows the save. When the pitching is great, the hitting seems to take the night off. The balls just aren’t bouncing the White Sox way, which will happen during a season, but this extended period does show some cause for worry.

The beautiful thing about baseball is that every day the slate should start clean, but that rarely happens in baseball or any other sport. The management and the players react to how they’ve been playing recently. When on a hot streak, it seems like a team can’t be beat and during a downturn like this you get just the opposite. As Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson likes to say whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right either way.

As someone who has always enjoyed the stats side of baseball, I can tell you this IS a good team. It’s a VERY good team actually. Something needs to happen to reset these guys back to day one and make them forget about the poor start to the season. I don’t know if Mark Buehrle needs to take a baseball bat to a dugout heater or if Ozzie needs to let these guys know in the clubhouse that they’re better than they’ve been playing and that they need to just loosen up. And yes, I do realize that’s not as easy to accomplish as it sounds.

I get the feeling that if the ice can be broken and this team can get back in the right mindset that we’ll be seeing a team that can climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves pretty quickly. This west coast trip will tell us a lot, if the White Sox struggle throughout the next 9 or 10 games, then all bets are off and anything can happen from the manager getting fired to the team being traded off and the Sox entering a rebuilding phase. The concept of “All In” really can’t work if the team doesn’t get turned around fairly quickly. It will be a shame if they can’t get it on track as this looked like a team that should be kicking ass and taking names.

Look, up in the sky.. it’s a bird.. it’s a plane.. no, it’s Brent Lillibridge playing the part of Superman as the White Sox take two in a row from the New York Yankees. Sure, we have to give Gavin Floyd his due for pitching an absolute gem of a ballgame and Paul Konerko a nod for getting the big home run when we really needed it, but the spectacular defensive play of Brent Lillibridge in the 9th inning sealed the deal.

Lillibridge, in the game because he pinch-ran for Carlos Quentin after Quentin was hit by a pitch late in the game, put on a display that will have both White Sox and Yankee fans remembering last night in the Bronx for a while. The first catch was great, off the bat of Cano Lillibridge covered massive ground before catching the ball as he hit the right field wall taking away extra bases. The second catch, off of the bat of A-Rod, was spectacular as Lillibridge ran hard toward the line and made a leaping, fully extended catch to rob A-Rod of extra bases and the Yankees of the game.

These are the kinds of games we expect out of the 2011 White Sox. The talent level is there to keep them in games against the hardest of opponents no matter who is slumping at the time. The Sox put themselves in a corner with their poor play on this road trip, but it seems like a trip to the Bronx might be just what they need to turn it around.

Speaking of the trip to the Bronx, it appears we have found a closer in Sergio Santos. He’s saved both games so far against the Yankees, picking up his first two saves of the year. Ozzie Guillen made the bad move of putting Matt Thornton in again in the 9th inning last night, only to see him have zero control and unable to hit the strike zone yet again. The quick hook though got Santos in to do the job, and with a lot of help from Lillibridge he did.

At this point, I think you have to figure that Santos is the closer until he shows he can’t handle it. There’s no doubt that Thornton is an All-Star caliber setup man, but he’s been unable to do the job in the 9th inning for whatever reason. I don’t know if it’s physical or if it’s confidence but I think it’s time to slip him back into the setup role and see if he turns it around. If Santos keeps it up, the Sox will have the great bullpen we envisioned before the season, just in a slightly different order.

Last night, when Lillibridge made the catch for the final out, the Hawk pulled out his new catchphrase “you’ve gotta be bleepin’ me!” The camera cut to Derek Jeter who looked dazed muttering the word “wow” to an umpire. That about sums it up.

I know, catchy headline to pour a little salt on the wound that we don’t have a real closer at the moment. Bobby Jenks, by the way, is pitching some very good baseball for the Red Sox and as of the last time I checked he hadn’t given up a run, or even a hit, over 5 innings of work. Of course, he’s working the 7th inning where the pressure is off a little bit and the Red Sox have only won 3 games so far.

Anyway, what I was pretty impressed by is the fact that last night marked the first game of the season where the White Sox didn’t hold the lead at any time. That’s a pretty impressive run from a team that is build like an offensive powerhouse. Sure, it hurts to get the 4 blown saves so early, but if we can get the bullpen situation settled down this team should still finish well atop the AL Central come September.

My choice for closer, if we can’t make a decent move for someone like Heath Bell, would be to try Sergio Santos in the roll. The old excuses just don’t seem to matter anymore, the fact that he’s only been a pitcher for a couple of years doesn’t seem to be stopping Santos from putting up the best numbers of anyone in the ‘pen right now. He also doesn’t seem to be a guy phased by pressure at all. If you can throw someone like Chris Sale in there in the 9th, there’s no reason you can’t throw Santos. Speaking of Bobby Jenks, he was a rookie when he made magic with the 2005 White Sox so in a way Santos has a lot more under his belt already.

So what, he’s only been pitching, on any level, for two seasons. He seems to be able to get the ball and throw it. Do the White Sox think that for some reason putting him in there in the 9th inning will make him forget what he’s been doing pitching scoreless baseball all season AND all through spring training? Matt Thornton opened the door for someone else to step up, and right now I can’t see a better in-house choice than Santos. What do you think?

You can go back through the logs of this site and see that I almost never second guess a move that Ozzie Guillen has made. Mainly because there are usually valid arguments to be made for his moves, and even if I don’t like them I understand that the calls are his to make and most of the time they play out as the right calls. Last night, when I saw Matt Thornton warming up in the bullpen in the bottom of the 8th inning my heart sank. Not because I don’t believe Thornton is a quality pitcher, but because Mark Buehrle had the A’s right where he wanted them all night long, allowing only two hits and never allowing a runner past first base. His pitch count was sub-100 and everything appeared to be set for a nice, easy and fast Buehrle complete game.

Instead, Ozzie brings in Thornton and before he can record an out the A’s had a runner at second base and the next thing you know that run is scoring on a Juan Pierre fly ball. I understand Thornton needs to be back on the mound in a save situation to gain confidence, but this wasn’t the right time. Buehrle said after the game that they never asked him about going out to pitch the 9th, and if they would have he’d have told them he was ready to go get the last three outs.

I think we have a totally different ballgame if Buehrle pitches the 9th. I think we walk out of a cold night at the Cell with a win and not a loss. Let’s forget that Buehrle is my favorite guy to see on the bump and the fact that Thornton had already blown his first two save opportunities of the season. What kind of manager doesn’t send out a starter with under 100 pitches who has dominated a team all night long? Especially when it’s a guy like Buehrle who throws hundreds of innings every year and is as durable as they come?

Ozzie has the reputation for showing his pitchers that he has confidence in them, and that’s a great thing. On this cold Monday night though, the pitcher he should have been showing confidence in was Mark Buehlre and not Matt Thornton. What do you think?

It was a cold day in Chicago, with the scoreboard thermometer hovering right around 40 throughout the afternoon. There was a thick layer of cloud cover and fog rolled in and out all day long. Overall, a beautiful day for baseball! I was a little bummed we wouldn’t be seeing Mark “Opening Day” Buehrle on the mound for this year’s opener, but Edwin Jackson filled in quite well.

First thing’s first. Hey Sox fans, booing Will Ohman during Opening Day introductions is a Bush League move that I’d expect out of Cubs fans. Sure, the guy hasn’t been perfect this season, but he hasn’t even played a week of regular season games for the Sox yet. Not really the way to welcome a guy to his new home field.

It was AWESOME to see Minnie Minoso throw out the opening pitch to Ozzie Guillen. He bounced it in, but still has a pretty good arm for a guy who first played for the White Sox 60 years ago!

The game itself, what can be said? Edwin Jackson going 8 innings, giving up one fun and striking out thirteen has to be the main storyline. When this kid is on, and able to control his location, he’s as dangerous as anyone on the field. I think the Sox got a steal on him when they acquired him.

Alex Rios’ bat is starting to come alive as the 2011 White Sox offense is looking like it just may live up to what we thought it could be before the season started. Brent Lillibridge was in the lineup for Adam Dunn and had a great day. Dunn and Lilli are certainly two completely different players but both are offensive forces in their own right.

It’s nice to have the home opener in the books, the 2011 White Sox are on a mission!

There are a lot of stories going on with the 2011 White Sox, but the one I have to admit I am the most interested in is the story of Carlos Quentin. For me the question is what we can really expect from CQ. As White Sox fans we all witnessed the MVP like season in 2008 where Quentin hit 36 home runs, drove in 100 runs and had an amazing .288 batting average. If it weren’t for the fact that he hurt himself hitting his bat, it’s very possible he walks away with the MVP crown, but being limited to 130 games because of the injury took him out of the running.

The fact that 2008 was Quentin’s first season with the White Sox has colored a lot of the fans’ perception on him I think. There are a lot of fans who think it is just a no-brainer that Quentin IS that guy from 2008. I’m not so sure. He was injury plagued through his two seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, playing in just 57 games in 2006 and 81 games in 2007. He didn’t put up massive power numbers or average numbers for either of those two seasons. He comes here and has that great 2008 season but then falls off the mark in 2009 where he played in 99 games, hit 21 home runs, had 56 RBIs and a disappointing .236 batting average. 2010 got Quentin in a more respectable 131 games, the highest amount of major league games he has ever played in his career, where he hit 26 home runs, 87 RBIs and had a batting average of .243.

So, even the biggest Carlos Quentin supporter has to be able to understand why I’m asking the question “Which is the REAL Carlos Quentin?” Is it the guy that crushed it in 2008 or is he just the average power bat that we’ve seen in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010?

It has only been two games here in 2011, but the results so far have been very promising that Quentin might be that guy from 2008. He is 28 years old, and if you follow baseball you know there are a lot of guys that come into their own between the ages of 27 and 28. Quentin’s problems have seemingly been more mental than physical, so there’s hope that he’s getting over the hump and will perform up to his abilities. The 2011 season will most likely set the tone for the rest of Quentin’s career. If he doesn’t perform well, he’ll probably become just a good player that was injury prone and people will say he never lived up to his potential.

One thing is for sure, I am rooting for Quentin to get it back on the track he was on in 2008. Anywhere close to that kind of production this year, in a lineup that features the beast Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Alex Rios should give the White Sox an offense that just can’t be beat. You take a healthy and producing Quentin out of that lineup and you still have a pretty good team, but if “The Carlos Quentin” shows up this year I almost feel sorry for all the pitchers that will have to try and go through that lineup each and every night because when Quentin is on he’s as good as anyone in the league.

It didn’t take long to figure out that the White Sox bats had heard the bell ring to start the 2011 season. They had 14 unanswered runs up on the board in what seemed like a blink of an eye. Adam Dunn made Sox faithful wait until his second at-bat to loft a high towering two-run home run into the right field seats and “The Carlos Quentin” seems to be back in the fold with a day that ended with Q having 5 RBIs and only a triple shy of the cycle.

I’ve said all along, if Quentin can have even a decent year, the White Sox are going to be a monster to contend with. From 2-9 we have guys that can hit the ball out of the yard, and the other spot is filled with the speedy Juan Pierre, a guy that should contend for the stolen base crown. There is no doubt that offensively, the White Sox are on track.

Mark Buehrle was, well, Mark Buehrle. He pitched six strong innings and gave up four runs. That number is a bit misleading, as when the bench players came in at the six inning mark there were some plays that just weren’t made behind Buehrle. The bullpen was a bit shaky, but I guess I’ll give them a pass as it was opening day and they were spotted to a 14 run lead. There’s just something in the mentality when a club gets a big lead that almost always results in the other team putting runs on the board, in this case the Indians came back from the 14-0 mark to finish the game with a respectable score of 15-10.

Let’s hope the bats continue like this all year long and the bullpen will be able to set everything on cruise control. I know it’s early, and too early to call anything, but there’s one thing for sure and that is the 2011 White Sox are built to win. It’s going to be a fun year!

In his last year of his contract, Mark Buehrle will once again lead the White Sox into the 2011 season. Ozzie Guillen announced the plans for Buehrle to be the opening day starter, an announcement that surprised no one. Buehrle is the heart and soul of the team, and while he may not be the ace in every category, he is as solid as they come and deserving of the Opening Day nod.

With Buehrle saying that he will probably pitch after this season, I guess we’re going to start talking about where he will pitch and if the White Sox can afford his salary. I hope the White Sox will do whatever they can to keep Buehrle on the South Side for years to come. He is a consistent innings eater and as solid as they come.