(Picture courtesy of midwestsportsfans.com)
As the great Matthew Berry says, "I'm in a mood".
After watching yet another White Sox implosion tonight ironically to Berry's favorite team, the Los Angeles Angels, I'm about ready to call this season dead after only 40-games.
But can anyone blame me? The Sox are 7.5 games behind the first place Twins and Tigers already, yet they are playing like they have all the time in the world to catch up. They are letting games slip away faster than the 2007 Boston Celtics. What steams me up the most is the fact that their tanks seem to be on empty with 3/4ths of the season left to play.
I'm about ready to put a fork in this "new look" White Sox team and it's going to happen faster than Hawk Harrelson can say "stretch".
I think I speak for most Sox fans when I say that something has to be done to this team. I'm not sure exactly what (it would help if the Rays would go on a 20 game losing streak, allowing Kenny to conduct some sort of sign and trade for Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford), but this team just has too many holes that are already exposed.
Especially in close games. As most White Sox fans can guess, Chicago is 1-18 in games in which they have scored three runs or fewer. Eighteen loses of the teams twenty-three have been because the Sox offense can't take the bats off their shoulders and swing them. If that stat was not heart breaking enough, the "Hitmen" have struck out a league high 199-times so far this season, and that is not including tonight's 6-5 loss against the Angels. Including tonight, the Sox have struck out 206-times, 206! Are you kidding me? Are the opposing teams throwing Bedazzler beads at 100 miles per hour? Did the team get their eye exams taken out of their one hundred benefits? Do they need to go out to Lens Crafters and get matching team glasses?
The Sox couldn't hit a 16-inch softball out of the infield at this point.
On top of that, Ozzie's club is ranked 24th in the majors in runs per game with 4.1 (just a fun little blip, the Detroit Red Wings averaged 3.58 goals per game during this years NHL regular season), 25th in the majors with a .311 on base percentage, and dead last with a team batting average of .230. I love you Greg Walker, but god damn, are you doing anything during practices? I know I shouldn't blame your coaching for everything wrong with this club, but as baseball fans know, players don't get fired, their coaches do. Just based on the stats I displayed above, the imaginary and figurative finger has to be pointed at you and the Oz man. I don't know how you conduct practice, but get some wiffle balls and some tees out there.
If that were not enough, here's another little nugget for you. The White Sox are hitting a minuscule .220 with runners in scoring position so far this season. That amazing stat is being headed by Juan Pierre with .182 RISP batting average, Mark Teahen with a .190 RISP, Gordon Beckham with a .115 RISP, and Mark Kotsay with a repulsive .067 RISP.
Not the kind of offense I was expecting coming into the year.
The worst part about the teams offensive "slump" is that it seems to have a negative effect on the pitchers. To me, it seems that the White Sox pitchers are stepping onto that mound without any confidence. Why wouldn't they? Can you imagine the amount of pressure they might be putting on themselves right now, knowing that they can only give up three to four runs in their outing? You can tell that every pitcher in that starting rotation is trying to do a little to much right now, which ends up killing them more than their teams offense.
The White Sox have the 23rd worst ERA in the bigs at 4.50, while being 24th in wins with only 16, 21st in saves with seven, 8th in losses with 23, and 17th in quality starts at 20.
With the rotation Ozzie has at his finger tips, and a lineup that should be scoring more than 4.1 runs a game, I still have some hope for the White Sox. If the bats start coming around in June, Chicago can make a run and get it close before the All-Star break, but they are surely running out of time.
Especially considering the tough schedule coming up. The Sox will be playing in a three game series against the second place Marlins, a three game series against the Indians (you know the team the Sox are 1-5 against this season), a four game series at Tampa (1-2 this season), a three game series against Texas (1-2 this season), another three game series against the Indians, a three game series against the first place Tigers, and a three game series against the Cubs.
The Tigers will be playing the likes of the Dodgers, the Mariners, the A's, Indians, Royals, White Sox, Pirates, Nationals, and Diamondbacks. Yikes.
The Twins will be facing a tougher schedule in the coming weeks. They will be taking on the Brewers, Yankees, Rangers, Mariners, A's, Royals, Braves, Rockies, and Phillies.
If the bats get hot (hopefully with the weather), the Sox can make a run at the Twins while they are playing some of the National Leagues hottest teams. I just don't know if they can catch the Tigers at this point if they keep hitting the way they are now.
At this point, slimming the seven and a half game gap seems almost insurmountable. That means the Sox we see now are more than likely going to be blown up by the trade deadline and I'm not willing to argue against that move like I normally would. I just don't feel a connection with this team. Besides Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Marky B, and John Danks, I wouldn't be heart broken if any of the rest were traded; which is the first sign of a bad season and a bad team.
4 comments:
I think you made reference to last year's Red Wings but if it makes you feel any better the Capitals averaged 3.9 goals per game this year.
Here's my thing about the Sox (please take into consideration the fact that I am drooling at the opportunity to take advantage of your 'mood'): YOU'RE THIS BAD EVERY YEAR!!!! The Sox have always had the same issues. Lots of HRs but no one hits for average, decent pitching but no consistent offense to back it up, an asshole manger who couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag, and the worst part: fans who truly believe they have a legitimate shot at winning something.
I honestly believe one of the oddest stories in the history of sports is the World Series victory by the 2005 White Sox. The stars had to be aligned in their favor. No one on that team even hit .300 (okay maybe 1 guy). Never before was timely hitting so timely as it was for the '05 Sox. I think if you wrote a computer program that could simulate the 2005 season 100 gazillion times the White Sox would win 0 times.
And please don't write me off as an ignorant Cubs fan. It would take me days to get all of my complaints with the Cubs off of my chest. Look at me as an unbiased fan of the game of baseball.
The '05 season was the worst thing that could have ever happened to the White Sox. Because of it all Sox fans think that Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen are capable of putting together championship caliber ball teams.
My advice to Sox fans is to sit at home and pray that one day the Universe will tear again; allowing some extraterrestrial force to guide the Sox to another Championship.
The first move the White Sox need to make is to get rid of their resident blowhard - Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson.
Like many of my fellow White Sox fans, we're sick to death of this self-promoting phony and his contrived folksy attitude. This guy is an orgazational poison.
Look - once again the White Sox are struggling to draw fans this year. Who is the organization's most prominent marketing face? Yessir - It's Ol' Hawk himself. He simply turns people off, and does not cultivate a fandom in this city. As long as he's in the booth, we'll always play second fiddle to The Cubs.
Lest we forget, Harrelson was a complete pain in the ass when he played with Kansas City who traded him to Washington who traded him to Boston who traded him to Cleveland. He was a Nehru Jacket wearing clubhouse lawyer, and was typically shown the door in short order by every team he played for. He actually even quit baseball in order to play pro golf. After getting his ass handed to him in golf, he crawled back into baseball and has acted like he's invented the game ever since.
He's a phony, and he needs to be the first one shipped out.
C'mon King, who doesn't love a little Hawk Harrelson. Sit down to do a crossword puzzle and put his TV broadcast on in the background. I bet you can finish the entire puzzle before you have any inkling of what's going on in the game. He's that good!!!
Paul - To be honest, I've been shutting off the volume on White Sox games for the past 25 years because of this self-promoting douche bag. My problem is that he does not appeal to anybody except the dumbest of baseball fans, and does absolutely nothing to put butts in the seats.
I could go on and on - but this guy is a big phony. Pure and simple. But don't take my word for it - go look at www.heavethehawk.com.
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