Slumping like Beckham

(Picture Courtesy of suntimes.com)

If I would have told you during the off season that last years Rookie of the Year, Gordon Beckham, would be sitting in favor of Omar Vizquel's corpse (a corpse with a .143 batting average in 35 at bats), you would have laughed at me. If I would have told you that Beckham would have a .188 batting average for the season, and a .106 batting average in May, I think you would have been stunned. If I would have told you that the 23 year old would only have one home run, six RBI's, and a team high 30-strike outs in 128-at bats, I don't think you would have taken the ROY trophy and beat me over the head with it.

But these facts are a reality for Chicago White Sox fans right now.

The young, high spirited, country boy is now getting his second and third day off of the season to "clear his head" against the Detroit Tigers. You know, games that are extremely important in the White Sox hopes to get to the post season.

Beckham has handled his career like a professional from the moment he stepped foot into the clubhouse, but maybe it is about time for Beck to figure out his swing down at Triple-A. He is facing a sophomore slump as many players do in their careers, and part of me wants him to figure it out with the big guns, but I just think he needs to regroup, gather himself, and get his opposite field swing back in gear.

Don't get me wrong, Beckham has played exceptionally since his entrance into the show, but if you watch his swing and compare it to last year, anyone can tell that something is not right. He's trying to do to much to rescue this team (which is understandable, the Sox are playing like the Bad News Bears before they picked up Kelly Leak).

I don't know if it's the average Chicago White Sox fans fault for the high expectations we have put on his shoulders or if it is the front offices fault for throwing him into the fire rather quickly last season. But the Sox go when Beckham goes, and right now nothing is going.

Sure Alex Rios has played like an All-Star up to this point, and Paulie has played like the vibrant young man he used to be, but G-Beck is the key to Ozzie's offense. An offense that is stagnant. An offense with a .230 batting average. An offense that has a .313 on base percentage. An offense that has a 190 to 134 strike out to walk ratio. An offense that is down right awful.

The Sox are 8.5 games behind the Twins, so why not let Beckham go down to the minors for a week or two and let the veteran Omar Vizquel figure himself out with a plethora of starts? To me it makes sense. Regroup the rest of May and come back strong in June and July, get rolling, then go on a tear after the All-Star break.