Who would have thunk?

(Picture courtesty of http://www.wikimedia.com/)

On a night where the Blackhawks took a 2-1 series lead over the Vancouver Canucks, the White Sox fill my mind (plus I’ll continue to let the Hawk talk be held by Paulie C, what a great job so far).


On a night with NBA playoff basketball and an amazing Phoenix Suns victory over the San Antonio AARP members, I have Ozzie Guillen’s voice circling around my brain like the lyrics to Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA.

I am simply in awe of a few players on the White Sox and what they have brought to the table so far in this early season.

In particular, I want to focus on Andruw Jones and Paul Konerko. In Wednesday nights 9-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, Jones went yard for the ninth time this season, which is good enough for second on the homerun leader board behind none other than the captain, Paul Konerko.

So far Jones has made Kenny Williams look like a psychic more than a GM. It was Williams that gave Jones a chance when most teams laughed when they heard he wanted to come back. It was Ozzie that said if he performed, he will find a spot for him. It was Jones who has taken this to heart and seems to have returned to his 2001-2007 form. You know the stretch of time where Jones was a four time All-Star, a seven time Gold Glove winner, and in the top twenty for MVP voting four times. A stretch of time where he hit 251 of his 396 home runs. A stretch of time where he was healthy, strong, and one of the best players in baseball. A stretch of time where he scored 666 runs, on 1,048 hits, while tallying up 756 RBI.

So I got to thinking, am I only setting myself up for disappointment with wanting to welcome him back from the dead? Am I only setting myself up for heartbreak knowing that any day now Jones could dive for ball and ruptures his knee cap? Am I putting a curse on Jones that is going to doom not only his season but the White Sox season as well?

Yeah, probably. But I can’t help it, he has started off so well.

In his amazing 15 seasons as a big leaguer, Andruw Jones has hit nine homeruns by May 5th only two other times. One of those seasons was 2002. A season with 659 plate appearances, 91 runs, 148 hits, and 35 homeruns when it was all said and done (not to mention he was 16th in MVP voting, an All-Star, and a Gold Glove winner).

The other was in 2006. A season with 669 plate appearances, 107 runs scored, 148 hits, and 41 homeruns (the second most in a season for his career). Oh and I should mention he was 11th in MVP voting, an All-Star, and a Gold Glove winner.

See what I’m getting at? I don’t care if I’m setting myself up for heartbreak, for gods sakes I’m a Chicago fan, I was born into heartbreak. But how can I not get excited for what Andruw Jones is doing in a lineup that is mediocre at best.

Though the White Sox are playing “Ozzie Ball” (you know the style of play where players utilize their speed, complete a lot of hit and runs, and run the bases flawlessly) it has yet to work. Everyone in the White Sox club house, besides Ozzie, knows what “Ozzie Ball” really is; it’s the sheer dependence on the long ball. It’s been that way ever sense I can remember. Take a look back to the 2005 Playoffs. If it wasn’t for the long ball, the Sox might not have gone as far as they did.

Since 2004, when Ozzie Guillen took over as skipper of the White Sox, they club has hit under 200 homeruns only twice. The first was in the awful 2007 season and they barely missed the 200 mark hitting 190 total. The other was in 2009 with the team hitting 184 bombs out of the park. Since Ozzie has been the coach the White Sox, his teams have ranked first (2006 with 236 HR), second (2007 with 190 HR), third (2004 with 242 HR), fourth (2005 with 200 HR), fifth (2008 with 235 HR), and sixth (2009 with 184 HR) in homeruns.

So even though Ozzie claims that the team is not going to be depending on the homerun ball all season long, I know better than that. I just hope Paul Konerko (who I will touch on later, I’m just to high on my Andruw Jones love fest to talk about Paulie right now) and Jones and keep up this amazing pace of play.

Paulie as of May 5th, is projected to hit 69 homeruns by the seasons end. He is currently hitting a homerun every 7.67 at bats. That’s good for about four a week. Jones is project to hit 52 homeruns (which would beat his season high). Jones is hitting a bomb every 8.22 at bats. Which is good for two homeruns a week.

This great of a start for these two guys was unfathomable. Nobody in their right mind thought the two oldest guys in that club house would be swinging the bat like the young guys are supposed to be.

Let’s just hope that the White Sox are not sacrificing “After All-Star Break Pauile” and are not putting to much pressure on the fragile and brittle body of Andruw Jones, because we are going to have to depend on them after the break.

But who needs to be a “Debbie Downer”, so instead I’m going to paint myself a fool and convince myself these two are here to stay. I’m convincing myself slowly that even if this season self destructs in front of my face, at least I’ll get to see Paul Konerko and Andruw Jones make a run at the homerun record and MVP seasons.

-Jerry Scherwin Jr