Category: White Sox

WHITE SOX INK VanBenschoten

It was announced the Chicago White Sox have signed righthander John VanBenschoten, and invited him to spring training. I know alot of you are like, John VanWHO? But I have to admit I’ve been following this guy ever since the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him out of Kent State with the 8th pick in the 2001 amateur entry draft. See he was born April 14th, my birthday, although many years after me. I’ve always been interested in following guys born on my birthday, Pete Rose, Greg Maddux, David Justice, Steve Avery, Kyle Farnsworth, Gregg Zaun, Jesse Levis, and many others, only guy born on my exact birth date was lefthander Bobby Sprowl.

Well now the White Sox have VanBenschoten, now what? John was a very successful two way star for Kent State, it was highly debatable as to whether he was a pitcher or a hitter, after all he batted .440 with 31 long balls, leading all Division I, as a junior. But his electric mound stuff won out, and the Buccos made him a fulltime pitcher. On the hill, he struckout 63 batters in 48 innings, posting a 2.81 ERA. Although back then he worked almost as much out of the bullpen as he did as a starter.

His best success as a pro occurred in 2002 at Hickory in the SAL, Class A ball. John started 27 games, pitching 148 innings, striking out 145, amassing an 11-4 record, with a nifty 2.80 ERA. More success was in the cards as he was moved up to high Class A ball, where he started off 6-0 with a 2,22 ERA, before moving up to Class AA ball midseason. In Altoona he was only 7-6 with an earned run average of 3.69.

Van Benschoten has had reconstructive surgeries on both his shoulders, costing him nearly two full seasons of action before his return in 2007. He, started the 2007 season at Indianapolis (10-7, 2.56 ERA), would go back to Indianapolis, and would be recalled later during the season only to finish the season with no wins and seven losses for Pittsburgh. Again he would start the 2008 season with the Indianapolis Indians and remain on the inactive roster for the Pirates. After posting a 4-0 record and a 1.88 ERA with the Indians, he was called up by the Pirates on April 27 to be on the active roster. He currently holds the all-time major league record for highest career ERA with at least 75 innings pitched.

Van Benschoten, a 28-year-old starter, went a combined 2-13 with a 9.20 ERA in 26 appearances, including 19 starts, with the Pirates in 2004, ’07 and ’08. Call me a dreamer, but I still believe in this kid. I just called the Chicago White Sox congratulating them on signing him and suggesting they either make him a hitter or use him out of the bullpen. I believe shoulder injuries have taken their tole on this talented, oft-injured pitcher.

FLOWERS FOR VAZQUEZ

The White Sox packaged the extremely talented righthander Javier Vazquez and bullpen lefty Boone “They’re not saying Boone” Logan to the Braves for C-1B Tyler Flowers, SS Brent Lillibridge, 3B Jon Gilmore, and southpaw reliever Santos Rodriguez. Vazquez has a dynamite fastball, an explosive curveball, and very good control, yet he is two games below .500 in his career, despite the fact he has over 2,000 strikeouts. Down the stretch, when the White Sox needed him most, Ozzie Guillen & Vazquez, himself, lost confidence. This game is hard enough, but there is no way to succeed when you don’t believe in your stuff. That, in a nutshell, seems to Javier’s problem, not believing in his ability. It seemed, from my vantage point 34 rows behind home plate, Vazquez would be getting batters out, overpowering them, when all of a sudden he’d start trying to fool hitters, rather than just get them out. He’d get ahead 0-2, then nibble, rather than take advantage & put the hitter away. Still in this pitching starved era, this 32 year old will give you 33 starts & 200 innings, not bad, but he’ll drive you crazy, good luck Atlanta! Then there’s the case of Boone Logan, a herky jerky motion, from the leftside, couldn’t get my grandmother out in the second half of the season. In fact 97 year old granny was two for three, with a homer against Logan.

Now here’s what we got back, it was better than a half eaten bag of potato chips, so I’m happy. Tyler Flowers is a 6’4″ 245 pound righthanded hitting catcher/firstbaseman out of Georgia. Flowers played in High Class A ball for the Braves in 2008, where he hit 17 homers & 32 doubles, while hitting .288, with 98 bases on balls. But where Tyler really shined was the Arizona Fall League, where he was the home run leader with 12 home runs in only 20 games, with a batting average of .387. Atlanta drafted him in the 33rd round of the 2005 draft out of a junior college, then he was suspended fifty games for testing positive to taking performance enhancing drugs. A knee injury may limit him to a career at firstbase.

Brent Lillibridge was the Bucs shortstop of the future when he was drafted out of the University of Washington in the 4th round of the 2005 draft. In 2003 at the age of 19 Brent batted .388 with some pop at Washington. Even though he batted .220 with 90 strikeouts in 2008 with Richmond, it’s hard to think he’s washed up at the age of 24, in fact the Braves brought him to the majors for a cup of coffee, where he batted .200 in 80 at bats with the big league club. The book on Brent is that he’s a good fielder, with speed, who needs to re-find his stick.

Jon Gilmore is an interesting prospect, drafted by the Braves with the 33rd pick in the 2007 draft out of high school. This, 6’3″ 195 pound, 20 year old, thirdbaseman was born in Florida, but played his high school ball in Iowa City. 2008 was a split decision for Gilmore, as Jon batted .337 with 23 doubles in only 258 at bats in rookie ball, but then really struggled at Class A, hitting only .186.

Then there’s 20 year old lefty reliever Santos Rodriguez. It’s hard to get a read on Santos, as he’s only pitched two years of rookie ball. But in 2008 Rodriguez struckout 45 batters in 29 innings, with a nifty 2.79 ERA.

All in all, I like the deal. Sure we gave up a solid member of our rotation, but we got back value, and Vazquez had pitched on the Southside long enough, let the Braves enjoy him. Kenny Williams has been a genius and I’m not going to second guess him at this point.

HOF ’09: Harold Baines

“(Baines) was on his way to the Hall of Fame. He just stopped by Comiskey Park for 20 years or so.”

GM Paul Richards on the White Sox pick of Harold Baines in the first round of the 1977 draft.

First up in our lineup of HOF09 is Harold Baines.  Now, as a Cub fan, I normally have no use for White Sox players but I have to admit a fondness for Baines.  So, apparently do the Sox who took on Harold for three separate stints.  

Baines Facts
  • Drafted First round in 1977 by the Chicago White Sox
  • Played for ChW, Tex, Oak, Bal, and Cle (1980-2001)
  • Six time All-Star
  • Led AL in Slugging in 1984(.541)
  • 19th all-time in intentional walks (187)

 

Let’s get this out of the way.  Baines won’t be known for his glove.  Though he was a solid outfielder during his first part of his career, an injury and subsequent knee surgery in 1986 pretty much made him useless in the field and relegated him to DH duties thereafter.  So much so, that the This Week in Baseball’s skit where those in on the joke were “trying to find Baines’ glove” is still remembered. 

Yet, some talk about how pure Baines’ swing was.  From the start, he showed he was for real, hitting double figures in homers at the age of 21.  Two years later, he broke out for the Sox with 25 home runs and 105 rbis.  Baines continued his consistent style of hitting always putting up 20+ homers and 90+ rbis. 

10083hb After his 1986 knee surgery and resulting move to the DH role, his hitting numbers didn’t suffer… until 1988 when he banged out only 13 with a subpar .277 average.  The next year came the famous trade to Texas which brought young Sammy Sosa to Chicago. 

The 90s didn’t have the luster that the 80s did but Baines always found a way to find playing time as a DH.  I remember being amazed that year in and year out Baines would be in the lineup, busted knees and all.  He traveled from Texas to Oakland to Baltimore (his homestate).  Finally, after a half season stint with Cleveland, he came back to Chicago again where he finished the last two years of his career. 

Pros:  There’s probably no one with better character.  Clutch hitter, his career numbers look decent (1299 runs, 1628 rbis, more rbis than Mantle, (that comment should p–s somebody off).

Cons:  Not a dominating hitter not even in his era (only three 100-rbi seasons, no MVPs, not even close in voting), defense, we’ve already talked about that.

 

As much as I like Baines personally, I don’t see him making the Hall.  If the White Sox have their own Hall, he should be the first one inducted.  He’s Mr White Sox in my book.  But for Cooperstown, there are those with better credentials.  He makes the Hall of Very Good.

 

  Hall of Fame
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Hall of Very Good
  Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.

Guillen happy to be Swisher-less?

Apparently, Ozzie Guillen didn’t see eye-to-eye with Nick Swisher during the Swish’s stay in Chicago.  According the Chicago Tribune, they didn’t gel.

 

Was Swisher a bad influence in the clubhouse late in the year?

You’ve got to ask the players about that. To be honest with you, I was not happy with the way he was reacting at the end of the season. He wasn’t helping me either.

 

Guillen just got the Chicago Easter Seals Award for his work in helping autism research so I’m going to refrain from saying anything snarky about him (at least in this post).  The White Sox donated $1 million to the cause.  Good on them.

NICK SWISHER TRADE: A WHITE SOX FAN PERSPECTIVE

The big acquisition before the 2008 season for the White Sox was Nick Swisher, now one year later Swisher was dealt to the Yankees. As a White Sox fan, how do I feel about all this?

I was excited when the Sox landed Buckeye Nick. He seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, a switch-hitter, with a good eye, good power, and a batting average that would go up coming to hitter friendly US Cellular Field. The plan was for Swisher to play LF with speedy Jerry Owens patrolling centerfield. An injury to Owens changed those plans, moving Nick to CF, opening a LF opportunity for Carlos Quentin. Quentin tore it up! Ozzie Guillen tried high onbase Swisher as the club’s leadoff batter. So he was trying two things he’d never done before, a leadoff hitting centerfielder. Things didn’t workout too well on either front. Pitchers threw strikes to Swisher, putting him in a hole, and while he did an adequate in the field, alot of balls fell in.

After Swisher was moved out of the leadoff spot in favor of Orlando Cabrera, he seemed to find his bat. But then late in the year Nick succumbed once again to his early season bat woes, often times taking pitches right down the pipe, while swinging at pitches in the dirt, arguing with umpires about called strikes. Late in the year he was benched in favor of Dewayne Wise & Brian Anderson, so I guess the writing was on the wall.

It’s kind of weird Swisher & Cabrera were brought in last year to wipe out the losing of 2007. Things worked out well with the team winning the AL Central Division, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Rays of Tampa. Now both are gone.

So how does it all shake out? Last year we dealt corner outfielder Ryan Sweeney (batted .286 in 115 games for Oakland), lefthanded starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (1-4, 7.68 ERA, in 34 innings for the A’s), and Fautino De Los Santos (2-2, 5.87 ERA, 23 IP, for Stockton high A). The numbers don’t tell the whole story as Gonzalez was the key to the deal and should be a successful starting pitcher for years to come.

Now let’s look at this year’s trade sending Swisher out of town. Relief pitcher Kanekoa Texeira (0.93 ERA, 38″ IP, high A & 2.01 ERA, 22′ IP, AA) was also traded to New York. The White Sox received switch hitting infielder Wilson Betemit (.260 lifetime average, 42 homers in 1098 at bats), starting pitcher Jeff Marquez (43-40, 3.60 ERA, 560″ IP, minor league totals), & recently converted reliever Jhonny Nunez (1.50 ERA, 27′ IP, AA).

The Swisher trades comes down to this, Sweeney, Gonzalez, De Los Santos, & Texeira for Betemit, Marquez & Nunez. Wilson Betemit should see some action for the White Sox at thirdbase for the White Sox in 2009, with possibly Dayan Viciedo waiting in the wings, then Betemit would become a quality bat off the bench and utility infielder.

There’s a little bit more to Nick Swisher in Chicago. I manage the Chicago Champions of the Illowa APBA League a diceball APBA League, where I traded outfielder Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Rising Bammbeanos for Swisher, after Nick was traded to the Southside. Bammbeanos skipper John Brandeberry has been a Dodgers fan since the Brooklyn days of yesteryear (more on this trade from an APBA standpoint can be found on APBABLOG.COM). Also if anybody’s interested in a pre-worn Nick Swisher White Sox teeshirt, lemme know.

GORDON BECKHAM REDHOT IN THE DESERT

I’m back in Chicago, but Joe (who went with me to the all the games in Arizona) was in the Phoenix house last night. Joe had gotten a free ticket to see the Saguaros battle the Desert Dogs in Phoenix. He gave me a report on the game, including a couple of members of the White Sox. One up, Gordon Beckham, who seems to be finding a home at secondbase, while batting .396. He was three for four last night, including his 5th double of the Fall. Beckham could be the starting secondbaseman for the White Sox in 2009, with Alexei Ramirez moving to SS, and fellow countryman Dayan Viciedo over at 3B. One down, Aaron Poreda, of the University of San Francisco, didn’t make out too well, three earned runs, walking three & surrendering a solo bomb off the bat of Mike McKenry (his 9th) in 2/3 innings of work. The 6’6″ lefthander now has a 7.71 ERA.

Joe picked up a free ticket for Saturday, look forward to his next report.

Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago

Last night while watching the Blackhawks win big over Calgary, I was flipping the channel to my TV, and what should I see, but baseball! Needless to say, I stopped flipping, and my eyes became transfixed on the images on the screen. Channel 20 in Chicago was airing the premiere of Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago, an encore showing will air November 13th at 7:30 PM, again on channel 20.

The late, great, Buck O’Neil talked about his days in the Negro Leagues and becoming the first African American baseball coach in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs. O’Neil said, he never really resented not being allowed to play in the big leagues, because the best ballplayers of the day were in the Negro Leagues. Bob Kendrick, the Director of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, stated how upset he was when Buck didn’t make it into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown before his death. Seventeen former Negro Leaguers were inducted in the last induction before O’Neil’s death. Buck didn’t feel sorry for himself at not getting in, but rather was thrilled 17 others had made it, according to Kendrick.

The documentary brings the past to life. It talked about the Double Duty Classic, which features the best young high school African American ballplayers competing in this East/West Classic, named after Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe. It also shows the statue of Buck O’Neil that resides in the HOF, and there’s a lifetime achievement award named after O’Neil. Buck was the first winner of this award. Back in the day, the East/West Classic was the Negro Leagues All Star Game, was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago, would draw 50,000 fans, and featured the best African American ballplayers playing all out.

The show talks about how O’Neil managed Ernie Banks for the Kansas City Monarchs and then coached Banks with the Cubs. Buck also talked Billy Williams out of quitting after experiencing racism in Texas before coming up to the Cubs. Jermaine Dye, of the Chicago White Sox, came up with the Kansas City Royals, commented how fortunate he was to have met Buck O’Neil, while coming up to the big leagues.

There is also mention of the Chicago Baseball Museum, a work in progress, that can be checked out at www.chicagobaseballmuseum.org Also, if you can, checkout Buck O’Neil & Black Baseball in Chicago when its encore performance airs on Thursday the 13th on channel 20.

Sox invite Obama to the Cell for ’09

Sox GM Kenny Williams seemed quite moved by the election of Barack Obama.  And guess what?  He talked to the press about it. 

“It was a surreal moment,” said Williams, one of baseball’s two African-American general managers and a friend of Obama’s. “It was overwhelming and just a tremendous feeling of pride.

“The fact that Barack is biracial can bring us together in a much greater way than we can imagine.”

Williams’ Obama-fever moved him to extended an invite to Obama, who is a Sox fan, to throw out the first pitch in the opening game of the 2009 season. 

It won’t be the first time.  The president-elect was handed the ball for Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels. 

“They were 0-1 at the time, but they won eight straight,” Obama told the Chicago Tribune in 2005. “I’m not saying there is a correlation, but I e-mailed [White Sox chairman Jerry] Reinsdorf and said if they start getting in a jam, my arm was rested. I was ready to go.”

Don’t expect to see any Barack action in Wrigley, though.  He’s made it clear he’s no Cub fan. 

The White Sox have left the CELL-ding

The White Sox were forced into a do or die situation by losing the first two games in Tampa versus the Rays in Florida. They came back home Monday behind John Danks to win, putting the series at a 2-1 deficit. But on Tuesday the baseball in Chicago came to an end, the White Sox were eliminated.

Like I’ve stated before I enjoy going to the last game of the season, this one was different, everybody was there, it still mattered, till it was over, then it was over. There would be no game tomorrow, wait’ll next year.

The response from the crowd was much different on the southside of Chicago than it was on the northside of the city when the Cubbies were eliminated. The expectations were different. The Cubs were expected to win, they had won their division last year, this was the year to win it all, ending a century of frustration. While the White Sox gave up last year, traded away one of their pitchers from their rotation, didn’t get Torii Hunter, and looked to be going nowhere. As fate would have it both teams won their respective Central Division crowns.

“It’s Gonna Happen” was the rallying cry for the Cubbies. Kosuke Fukudome was brought on to play rightfield, one of the Cardinal devils Jim Edmonds was brought on to play center, Geovany Soto was ready to take over behind the plate, and Rich Harden was brought in down the stretch to anchor the rotation. While the White Sox brought on Alexei Ramirez for only $1,000,000 per year for four years because nobody thought the Cuban star could play, missed out on getting Hunter (as I mentioned before) & Miguel Cabrera, instead adding Orlando Cabrera, nobody knew whether Joe Crede could rebound from his bad back, Carlos Quentin was a talent who always got hurt, and adding Ken Griffey, Jr. down the stretch at the expense of trading a relief pitcher, this team’s chances were suspect at best.

I rode to, what would be, the last game of the year with Rob & CLuke’s daughter Kate. Inside the ballpark, next to Nancy, were the usual subjects, Tade, Steve, Dick & Bea, Caramel Corn Mike & his brothers, George & Debbie & Debbie’s son, Terry, & Phil. But Al & his son Anthony were nowhere in sight, so I called Anthony’s Cell in the 3rd inning, they were in the upperdeck, security wouldn’t let them downstairs, even though they were season ticket holders, seems upperdeck season ticket holders only had first level access during the regular season. After Al almost got arrested for debating this position with an off duty police officer, Tade went upstairs, bringing down Al & Anthony, now we were all where we belonged.

Gavin Floyd was a little off, B.J. Upton was a little on, and soon the baseball season in Chicago was over. We all said our goodbyes, promising to stay in touch in the offseason, we’re going to get together to watch a Bulls, Hawks, or Bears game from a Wings. Nancy said she’d come and she even gave me a kiss goodbye, till next year.

Two other notes…

Minnie Minoso was watching the ballgame from the concourse behind homeplate, so I approached him. I’d ordered three teeshirts from www.minoso.com about one month ago, but never got them, the check never cleared either. Minnie told me, he’d look into it, and give me a call.

The next baseball I’ll see in person will be in about one month in Arizona at the Arizona Fall League. I love prospects and really enjoy seeing youngsters before they become stars. One youngster I saw last year was a middle infielder for the Boston Red Sox with some pop in his bat, he ripped a game winning homer in an AFL game, so it was kind of a full circle moment when Jed Lowrie ripped a game winning single to advance the BoSox past the Halos in last night’s ballgame.