Chicago White Sox: Don’t Stop Believing

by Jerod Morris

Since July 1st, the Chicago White Sox are basically a .500 team. Look at the numbers. After tonight’s loss to the Red Sox (which dropped us to a half game behind the Twins) we are now 17-16 since the beginning of July. This is not good. And remember earlier in the season when Ozzie Guillen was ripping the offense in the press and our pitching staff was carrying us to respectability? My, my…how the tables have turned.

I remember watching an ESPN game that I am pretty sure was against the Cubs and hearing the oracle of baseball wisdom Joe Morgan (please note the heavy sarcasm) say that our bullpen was one of the best he’d ever seen. Granted, our bullpen was dominating at the time…but the best he’d ever seen? Really Joe? Well, pretty much since that point our pitching staff’s performance, especially the bullpen, has taken a nosedive.

Consider the following statistics, from the last 30 days:

RP Matt Thornton – 5.23 ERA (but 10K/3BB)
RP Octavio Dotel – 5.19 ERA (12K/4BB)
RP Andrew Russell – 7.88 ERA
RP Nick Masset – 12.00 ERA (traded since…replaced by a guy named Ehren Wasserman who has been barely serviceable. Ehren? Even my name looks like it’s spelled normally compared to his!)

And drumroll please…

RP Boone Logan (left) – 18.78 ERA (9K/6B), 23 hits in 7.2 innings

Bobby Jenks, of course, has an ERA of 2.00 in the last month is 5-5 in save opportunities. The problem is that he only has 5 save chances in the whole month! (Yes…I realize he was hurt for part of the time, but still.)

These are not the stats of the “greatest bullpen ever” or even a playoff bullpen. We have to get this figured out. Boone Logan simply cannot be trusted right now. Thornton and Dotel actually have decent numbers other than their ERA, so I don’t feel so badly about those guys. We’ve just given up too many hits, pitched poorly with men on base, and given up a few too many homers. Once we get Linebrink back, I feel good about Thornton-Dotel-Linebrink-Jenks. But we need one or two other guys to step up.

The same is true with the starting pitching staff. Look at these hideous numbers:
Javier Vazquez – 5.33 ERA (24K/10B/28H)
Gavin Floyd – 5.47 ERA (20K/16B/31H)
John Danks – 5.65 ERA (26K/5B/36H)
Mark Beuhrle – 4.99 ERA (17K/5BB/36H)
And Clayton Richard has just been awful in place of Jose Contreras, who was awful before he got hurt.

Beuhrle hasn’t actually been that bad, he just had one awful outing, but has otherwise been lights out since a horrible start to the season. And Danks is simply giving up too many hits, but his K/BB is a positive sign moving forward.

If we are going to win the Central, however…and we are…Javier Vazquez and Gavin Floyd simply have to pitch better. I hate to say it, but I do not have faith in either guy to pitch well in a big spot right now. KVB and I discussed this way back in May when Gavin Floyd took a no hitter deep into the game against Detroit (the first time). His facial expressions and body language just do not inspire confidence in me. He always looks like he’s either scared to death or constipated, neither of which is conducive to success against major league hitting.

I will now completely and knowingly contradict myself by saying I have faith in them to pick it up and pitch well down the stretch…but I’d really like to see them start to prove me right. We don’t have much more time to wait for them to get it going.

Now contrast our awful pitching recently with our hitting, which has been outstanding:

AL MVP Carlos Quentin – .340, 10 HR, 23 RBI, batting 1.000 in the clutch
Jermaine Dye – .301, 6 HR, 17 RBI
Alexei Ramirez – .323, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 4 SB
Orlando Cabrera – .289, .351 OBP, 4 SB
Even Jim Thome – .313, 7 HR, 21 RBI

And guys like Dirty 30, Paulie, A.J., and Juan Uribe have all delivered in clutch situations. We’re hitting fine. And I have a feeling that Paulie is about to get hot, which will only help things. Griffey? Who knows. I think his mere presence means more than anything, and having a lefthanded power bat gives Ozzie some flexibility with the lineup.

The whole point of this post is that while the Sox are ½ game out in the Central, and one back in the loss column for the Wild Card, we have not played like a playoff team recently. But there is another World Champion inside this clubhouse. We’ve proven that we can pitch well. And we’ve proven that we can hit. We just need to put it together. I have a tremendous amount of faith in Ozzie to push the right buttons down the stretch and not only get us into the playoffs, but to have us ready to do something once we get there.

AL MVP Carlos Quentin, Mark Buerhle, and Bobby Jenks will lead this team. J.D., John Danks, and the other veterans on offense will provide consistent support. The keys down the stretch are going to be Javier Vazquez, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, and Octavio Dotel. If those four pitch at or near their capabilities, we will simply outlast the Twins and have a great shot to go deep into October. If those guys continue to pitch at the subpar level they have been at this month, we’re going to be in trouble.

My picks to click for the rest of the season? Javier Vazquez, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, and Octavio Dotel. The good guys are going deep into October this season, and this little cold spell hasn’t shaken my faith.

Don’t stop believing…

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Photo Credits:

Gavin Floyd picture courtesy of The Bleacher Report.

Joe Morgan picture courtesy of this site.

Boone Logan picture courtesy of Foul Balls.

Carlos Quentin picture courtesy of FoxSports.

Tags: bobby jenks, carlos quentin, Chicago White Sox, mark beuhrle, MLB, ozzie guillen, world series

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