White Sox | The Baseball Zealot

White Sox Get a Leftfielder & a Leadoff Man

pierre Kenny Williams did exactly what I wanted him to do, now let’s see if it works out, because sometimes when you ask for something, it doesn’t always workout the way you thought it would. Leadoff man Juan Pierre was traded, along with cash, to the White Sox from the Dodgers for two players to be named later. Whether this deal is a good one or not depends on which two players Chicago will have to give up to LA. It’s a no brainer, looks great, a leftfielder, a leadoff man, & cash for basically nothing (nothing, that is, until the players to be named, are indeed, named). But right now, I’m very happy with my new present from Santa, hope we didn’t have to pay to much on our credit card.

Here is what the Chicago had to give up: It is reported the White Sox will part ways with reliever Jon Link, whom they acquired from the Padres in the Rob Mackowiak trade (anything you get for Mackowiak is a bonus) and Homewood Flossmore’s own John Ely. While Link has a pretty good strikeout pitch out of the pen, and might be ready for the majors, Ely is, far & away, the better prospect. The 6’1″ 23 year old was impressive at AA in 2009, 14-2, 2.87 ERA, with 125 strikeouts in 156′ innings pitched, allowing only 140 hits. The righthander had an impressive collegiate career at Miami of Ohio University before being selected by Chicago in the 3rd round of the 2007 amateur draft.

Throw Another Log on that Old Hot Stove

curtis-granderson-steals So far, the biggest trade was the three-way deal involving the Yankees, the Diamondbacks, and the Tigers. New York got All Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson, enough said, they got the best player in the deal. Arizona got starting pitchers Edwin Jackson & Ian Kennedy. While Detroit landed centerfield prospect Austin Jackson, starting pitcher Max Scherzer, and a couple of lefties for their bullpen Phil Coke & Daniel Schlereth.

The Texas Rangers traded starter Kevin Millwood to the Orioles in exchange for reliever Chris Ray and Rule V selection Ben Snyder, the move was designed to free up money so Texas could sign free agent starter Rich Harden. The Rangers had enough money left over to acquire thirdbaseman Mike Lowell for catching prospect Max Ramirez from the Red Sox. Boston is interested in signing free agent thirdbaseman Adrian Beltre.

Pirates reliever Jesse Chavez has to be wondering whether it’s safe to unpack his bags, as he’s on his third team this offseason. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, who just dealt him to the Atlanta Braves for reliever Rafael Soriano. The Braves no longer needed Soriano, since bringing in Billy Wagner & Takashi Saito.

The Chicago White Sox brought in former Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz to replace Octavio Dotel, whom they chose not to retain.

Hot Stove Starting to Heat Up

OmarVizquel The White Sox fired up the Hot Stove signing SS Omar Vizquel & Andruw Jones. Vizquel has been the best defensive shortstop of his time and will tutor Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Omar might be headed for Cooperstown when he finally hangs them up, his numbers stack up with Ozzie Smith, and nobody flashed a better glove at short. Speaking of excellent fielders, nobody did it better than Andruw Jones, but that was in his day. Andruw isn’t all that old, but he got old in a hurry, with very old knees. Jones will not embarrass himself in the outfield with the glove, although he won’t add to the team speed, but he was brought in here for his bat and to provide some outfield depth.

After a career year with the Blue Jays, Marco Scutaro cashed in with Boston, where he’ll be the Red Sox everyday shortstop. Outfielder Mike Cameron’s new home will be Fenway Park, playing leftfield for the Bosox, which would mean Jason Bay will not be retained. The Redbirds made a wise investment bringing Brad Penny on board. Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan has to be licking his chops, adding Penny to a staff that already has Adam Wainwright & Chris Carpenter. The Atlanta Braves bolstered their bullpen by adding lefty Billy Wagner and righthander Takashi Saito. By signing with the Nationals, Ivan Rodriguez will serve as a backup catcher & mentor to Jesus Flores.

I’m sure there’s alot more to come, I’m especially looking forward to the Rule V Draft, which takes place on the 10th.

Hot Prospect @ Hot Corner Heats Up in Desert

I couldn’t make it to the desert to watch any Arizona Fall League action this year, which was very disappointing. I’m a huge baseball fan, who enjoys seeing young talent more than anything, and then watching these players develop. Last Fall I enjoyed getting a chance to see The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year Gordon Beckham of the White Sox play in the AFL for the Peoria Javelinas.

Looking over this year’s stats I couldn’t help but notice Brent Morel. Brent is also a member of the White Sox organization, plays thirdbase, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo. He hit .435 in the desert to lead the AFL in batting, with two homers, two doubles, & two stolen bases, in 62 at bats.

Since being drafted by the Sox this kid has done nothing but impress. After completing his career at Cal Poly where he hit .368, 18 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, & 60 RBIs in 56 games, Morel tore up rookie ball, hitting .375 in 64 at bats there, before being promoted to A Ball Kannapolis, where again he held his own, with a .297 average & power numbers of 6, 2, 6, in 172 at bats.

In 2009 Brent spent the entire season at Class A+ Winston-Salem, where he posted numbers of .281, 33, 1, 16, & 25 steals. He has always been a California kid, born in Bakersfield, so it took some adjusting getting used to the other coast, back home it rains 5 inches in a year, while in Winston-Salem you might see that in a day. This kid isn’t just a pretty bat as he was also rock solid in the field.

Morel is an all around athlete who starred at QB for his high school football team at 6’2″ 200 pounds, he could’ve gone on to have played football if he’d chosen to do so. Since then he’s added 20 pounds of muscle and appears ready to move up the ladder. Interestingly he’s always idolized Cal Ripken, so he gobbled up #8 as soon as it became available, like gobbling up a groundball.

Brent will most likely start out 2010 in Double A, but if all goes well the 22 year old from the Golden State might see some action at Triple A before the year’s out, and I’ll be waiting at the Cell to cheer on this talented youngster when he reaches the big leagues in the not too distant future.

You can watch Brent Morel along with the rest of the Peoria Javelinas when they battle the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the AFL Championship game, which will be telecast on the MLB Network, Saturday, November 21st, at 1:00 PM CST.

2009 MLB Rookies of the Year

roy625nov162009 Back in the middle of September I was assigned the task of predicting who would win the rookie of the year awards. Now two months later the winners were announced, Oakland A’s reliever Andrew Bailey in the American League and Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan. I had predicted Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler in the NL and Rangers SS Elvis Andrus in the AL.

In 2008 the A’s converted Bailey from a starter to a reliever in AA Ball in 2008. Andrew immediately experienced success in the bullpen, carrying that success over into the 2008 Arizona Fall League, and on into the 2009 regular big league season. He finished the season with 26 of 30 saves, a 6-3 record, a 1.84 ERA, with 91 strikeouts & 49 hits allowed in 83′ innings, and was Oakland’s lone All Star representative.

Chris Coghlan also enjoyed a conversion that enabled him to star in the big leagues, the former infielder was moved to leftfield. He brought his bat out to the outfield with him, batting .321 with a .390 OBP, with 31 doubles, 6 triples, & 9 home runs, as the Marlins leadoff hitter.

Elvis Andrus, my choice for AL Rookie of the Year, the Rangers 21 year old shortstop out of Venezuela, finished 2nd in the balloting behind Bailey. Elvis batted .267, with 33 stolen bases, 72 runs scored, & 128 base hits, with a very impressive range factor in the field of 4.86. Right on the heels of Andrus was Detroit’s 20 year old righthanded starting pitcher Rick Porcello (14-9 & 3.96 ERA). The 6’9″ Tampa Bay’s righthander, Jeff Niemann (13-6 & 3.94) was next, he was 17-0 with a 1.70 ERA as a Junior in 2003 with Rice. Then came The Sporting News choice for Rookie of the Year, the White Sox very own, thirdbaseman Gordon Beckham (.270, 28 doubles, 14 homers, 63 RBIs). Rounding out this crop of AL rookies was another pitcher from Oakland, southpaw Brett Anderson (11-11, 4.06 ERA, & 150 strikeouts in 175′ IP).

Closely behind Coghlan, over in the Senior Circuit, was The Sporting News choice for NL Rookie of the Year out of the University of Northwestern in Evanston, IL, Philadelphia’s lefthander J.A. Happ (12-4 & 2.93). A distant 3rd was Atlanta’s phenom righthanded starting pitcher Tommy Hanson (11-4, 2.89, & 116 K’s in 127″ IP). The Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen wasn’t far in back of Hanson, batting .286, 26 doubles, 9 triples, 12 homers, 74 runs scored, to go along with 22 steals, while playing a very good centerfield for the Buccos. Next up the Brewers thirdbaseman Casey McGehee received some love, .301, 20 doubles, 16 homers, & 66 RBIs. Interestingly six other rookies received very little support in their quest for league’s top rookie honors. They were Randy Wells of the Cubs (12-10 & 3.05), Pittsburgh slugger Garrett Jones (21 HRs & .293), Padres SS Everth Cabrera (25 SBs & 59 runs), my choice Dexter Fowler Colorado outfielder (73 runs, 27 SBs, 29 2Bs, & 10 3Bs), Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra (.290, 21 2Bs, 8 3Bs, 60 RBIs), and last, but not least, Cardinals centerfielder Colby Rasmus (22 2Bs & 16 HRs).

Sox Getz Teahen from Royals

One day after the World Series ended Kenny Williams is at it, getting the White Sox ready for next year. Chicago traded secondbaseman Chris Getz & power hitting Josh Fields to Kansas City in exchange for Mark Teahen. I’m hoping they install Teahen at the hot corner, moving Alexei Ramirez back to secondbase, and allowing Gordon Beckham to play his natual shortstop position. There’s talk that Teahen will play rightfield, but I hope not, we need more production out of rightfield than Mark’s season average of .269 with 14 home runs. We shall see what happens.

2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox

1927 Yankees Team Photo 2 The 2005 White Sox were the Major League team since the 1927 Yankees to lead wire-to-wire, and then go on to sweep the World Series, their first World Series championship since 1917. This fact appeared on my tear-off Chicago White Sox trivia calendar.

2009 Rookies of the Year: Gordon Beckham & J.A. Happ

Dodgers Sox Spring Baseball The Sporting News has announced the winners of the 2009 Rookie of the Year Gordon Beckham of the White Sox and J.A. Happ of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Beckham was called to Chicago on June 4th, playing thirdbase everyday, he ended up batting .270 with 28 doubles, 14 home runs, and 63 RBIs, in 103 games. The most remarkable thing was that Gordon was a SS at the University of Georgia last year when he hit more homers than anyone in NCAA Division I. So he was learning a new position in the big leagues, and learn it he did, I predict several Gold Gloves in his future. Other White Sox Rookies of the Year are 1951 Minnie Minoso, 1956 Luis Aparicio, 1963 Pete Ward & Gary Peters, 1966 Tommie Agee, 1969 Carlos May, 1983 Ron Kittle, and 1985 Ozzie Guillen.

Happ was 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA for Philadelphia, appearing out of the bullpen until late May when the young lefthander moved into the rotation. I remember seeing his changeup in spring training in Clearwater, FL, and thinking how much he reminded me of Phillies ace Cole Hamels. He pitched two shutouts, while striking out 119 batters in 166 innings. Other Phillies Rookies of the Year are 1946 Del Ennis, 1948 Richie Ashburn, 1957 Jack Sanford, 1964 Dick Allen, 1980 Lonnie Smith, 1984 Juan Samuel, 1997 Scott Rolen, and 2005 Ryan Howard.

Dodgers beat the Yankees!… in attendance

2009 can be known as the year that the Dodgers toppled the Yankees… at least in attendance figures.

For the first time in six years, the Yankees didn’t lead the majors in total yearly attendance. They came in second. The top honor goes to the Los Angeles Dodgers who had 3,761,661 go through the turnstiles at Dodger Stadium.

Number 3 shouldn’t be a big surprise. Given their World Championship status and relatively large market, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed that spot.

As for Chicago teams. the Cubs ranked sixth and the White Sox came in sixteenth in 2009.

Overall, Major League Baseball had a slight downturn in attendance from 2008 (6.6% less according to MLB.com) but with an attendance of 73,418,479, MLB is spinning it that this year is the fifth most attended year all time. Yay, Baseball.

For those attendance stat geeks, The Biz of Baseball does a good job of breaking it all down for us. Their pdf looking back at this past decade of MLB attendance team-by-team is quite detailed.

Twins Complete Sweep of White Sox @ Cell

buehrle

They were the last three games I could go to at the Cell to see my White Sox play in 2009, Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday nights against the Twins. The weatherman predicted rain, so I decided not to go. On Monday the rain held off, but the Twins bats did not, the Sox lost 7-0, Rob went to a Patio Party that night, but couldn’t persuade me to join him, glad I decided to stay home, the White Sox didn’t show up to play, so why should I show up to watch? Tuesday again looked like rain, Chuck was buying tix for his family on stubhub & wanted me to join him, I politely declinced. Again we lost, but this night we hit three homers, and lost by a score of 8-6.

I was determined not to go again on Wednesday, but then it hit me. This was the last game I could go to in 2009. I have a tradition that goes back nearly 40 years to September 28, 1969 when I first attended the last game of the season. After the game somebody tossed a baseball up to my father for me. As we were leaving the ballpark, Dad asked if I’d like to go to the players parking lot to see if we could get some autographs, I’ve still got that baseball proudly on display in my room, with just about everybody’s signature from that team on it. Since then I’ve taken off school to see the White Sox play their home closer, whenever possible I was there. I was there when Bill Melton hitting leadoff in order to bat more often hit a home run (# 33) off Bill Parsons to pass Norm Cash, and become the Home Run Champion of 1971, I bought a button of Bill Melton commemorating the event, which I’ve still got. But even if I couldn’t make it to the last game, I’d still venture out to the last game I could make.

So halfway through Wednesday I decided I would be going down to the Cell to see Mark Buehrle pitch. Mark Buehrle, who has been far from perfect since pitching his perfect game, seeing his record drop from 11-3 to 12-9, and his ERA rise from 3.28 to 3.84. But still, Mark was my guy, this was my team, I was going down there on the Red Line with hope of avoiding the sweep. It was obvious from the beginning Buehrle didn’t have it, he was yanked after giving up 5 runs, and we were down five to zip. I was hanging behind homeplate with Al, Anthony, & Dan, Dick & Bea, Caramel Corn Mike, Debbie, and bought a beer from BIG Bill (we talked a little baseball), my friend Adele saw me from her seats near firstbase, and called my cell. I joined Adele and her friends Tina & Kate, while visiting with them we managed to close the gap to 5-3, but then Tina & Kate went off to get some snacks & drinks, Minnesota put the game on ice with three runs in the top of the 7th. I returned to my normal spot behind home, the Sox closed to 8-6, but couldn’t quite pull it off. We talked about what we’d do if we were in charge, then we bid each other adieu, till next year, when we’ll all be back for another season of White Sox baseball, rooting for our team.

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!