Can the Pale Hose Hang in ‘08?
By Gary Armida
With the Detroit Tigers stealing the offseason spotlight with their blockbuster trade that netted them Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, one team in the Central Division has made some interesting moves that could launch them into contention. The Chicago White Sox had a busy offseason, although they did not make a blockbuster trade. They did, however, lengthen their bullpen, their starting lineup, and improved their infield defense. Of course, the missing area, starting pitching, may prove to be their Achilles heel.
The 2007 Chicago White Sox finished in fourth place of the Central Division with a 72-90 record, just three games ahead of the Kansas City Royals. With a roster full of decent talent, this was a major disappointment. Injuries and poor seasons could explain the offensive woes. Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye only played in 130 and 138 games respectively. Additionally, Dye and Paul Konerko each endured terrible starts to their seasons. Joe Crede, an improving third baseman, was lost after just 47 games. The real story for the woes was the supposedly solid pitching staff. Although Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter, the staff finished with a poor 4.77 ERA, good for 12th in the American League. Javier Vasquez was the lone starter to have a productive season as he was the only starter to give up fewer hits than innings pitched (finishing with a 15-8 record in 216.2 innings). Every other starter, including Buehrle average season, gave up more hits than innings pitched. The bullpen fared no better with Bobby Jenks being the only pitcher to appear in more than 40 games and to have an ERA under 4.00.
So, the Sox entered the offseason with a need to improve their pitching and add some life to a team with talent. General 
Manager, Kenny Williams, as usual, began to make moves quickly. Williams started by resigning holdover short stop, Juan Uribe. What made this move puzzling was the fact that just a short time later, he acquired underrated shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Angels in exchange for starter Jon Garland. This deal had an immediate impact has Cabrera is a tremendous upgrade from Uribe, but it also takes 200 innings from last year’s rotation. Shortly thereafter, the Sox inked reliever, Scott Linebrink to a four year 19 million dollar deal. Although we have discussed before the perils of signing relievers to long terms contracts, Linebrink still represents an upgrade from the 2007 cast. In an effort to get younger and inject some life into the offense, Williams sent minor league first baseman Chris Carter to Arizona for outfielder Carlos Quentin. The 25 year old outfielder is coming off a lost season which ended with rotator cuff surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Quentin is a potential power hitting outfielder who still has much to prove. He is, however, taking the place of Scott Podsednik, who was injured most of the year as well.
Kenny Williams further proved that his goal is to win in 2008 by sending three minor league players to the A’s for outfielder Nick Swisher. Swisher is a talented player with tremendous on-base skills. The switch hitting projected centerfielder should see a surge in his power coming to one of baseball’s best hitting parks. If used properly in the number two slot in the order, his on base skills should impact Konerko’s and Thome’s RBI total. The seemingly final piece of the offseason is reliever Octavio Dotel, who was signed to a two year 11 million dollar contract.
The 2008 Chicago White Sox
The ‘08 Pale Hose have an incredibly deep lineup. The catcher spot should be shared by lefty A.J. Pierzynski and righty Toby Hall, who was injured and little used for most of the season. Paul Konerko will be back at first with Orlando Cabrera
at short and most likely Josh Fields at third pending a likely Joe Crede trade. Second base is a competition going into the spring with young Danny Richar, Juan Uribe (assuming he’s not traded), and Cuban Alexei Ramirez. The outfield should have Dye, Swisher, and Quentin with Jerry Owens and Pablo Ozuna as likely extra outfielders. That represents a good lineup with batters who have moderate to excellent on-base percentages. This is clearly better than 2007 with leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik and his terrible .299 OBP. Add in Jim Thome as the designated hitter and the lineup is quite dangerous and balanced. The problem with this lineup is the outfield defense. Swisher is not a true centerfielder and Dye did lose a step last season. But, with the large improvement at shortstop, the Sox should be adequate on the defensive side.
The bullpen, the huge problem from a year ago, looks much improved. Ozzie Guillen will actually have options in front of underrated closer Bobby Jenks, who turned in another solid season. Linebrink and Dotel are two pitchers who could close, 
thus reducing Jenks’ workload. Additionally, Linebrink and Dotel bring experience and previous success in the late innings, something the Sox clearly lacked a season ago. The remaining three bullpen slots are up for grabs with holdovers, Mike MacDougal and lefties Boone Logan and Matt Thornton amongst others. If Guillen manages the bullpen correctly, the Sox should see a large improvement in late game performance. Guillen must resist the temptation to bring in Linebrink and Dotel during every close contest. He especially needs to be careful with Dotel, as he is coming back from yet another injury after being limited in innings in 2007.
There are two major downfalls with the White Sox for 2008. The most important one is their lack of starting pitching depth. Only Buehrle and Vasquez seem to be decent bets for the 2008 season. Jose Contreras suddenly looked very old last season and youngsters John Danks and Gavin Floyd have a lot to prove. The key to this rotation will be the emergence of either Danks or Floyd. If Buehrle and Vasquez have representative seasons while Danks or Floyd are able to throw 200 quality innings, the White Sox will be close to the top of the division. A trade or a free agent signing could still happen to bolster this shaky staff.
This leads us to the other major downfall. By acquiring Swisher, Williams gave up three top minor league talents which really weakens the system. This will definitely impede Williams from being able to land another impact player. Thus, the White Sox will most likely be the same team upon breaking camp. The one trade option Williams does have is third baseman Joe Crede. If Crede proves healthy in spring training, he will be a relatively valuable pickup for a team in need.
Looking into the Crystal Ball
The White Sox have the potential to be the “surprise” team of 2008. Their bullpen is deep and reliable in terms of performance. Their offense should be up towards the top in offense categories like homeruns (which they were second in the league as a team last season) and see a great jump in batting average and on-base percentage. With the starting staff as currently constituted the Sox will hover around the .500 mark which would represent a nine game improvement. If Kenny Williams, a most underrated general manager, can land some more pitching help, the White Sox can challenge the Indians, Tigers, and Twins (if they have Johan).
The Chicago White Sox have been under the radar all winter. Detroit stole the headlines with their major deal, but the Sox may have made the more impactful trade. The Cleveland Indians have not done anything to improve last year’s team so perhaps the Sox closed the gap. As of this date, the prediction is the White Sox get some solid pitching, but not enough to truly compete (again, all of this changes if they land some pitching help). An 82 or 85 win season is not out of the question. The offense is just too deep not to compensate for the porous pitching. If things break perfectly for the Sox, they will win 90 games and be in contention for the wild card. Although there is more work to do, GM Ken Williams deserves much credit for rebuilding a team over the course of one offseason. If all goes well, the White Sox could be the sleeper team in 2008.
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