Sports World Roundup: The Amazing White Sox Bullpen and the Last Word on Handshakegate

Don’t look now, but the hottest team in baseball is none other than (cue: Gene Honda voice) your…Chicago WHITE SOX.

That’s right folks, since falling to 4th place in the AL Central and being closer to the last place Indians than the first place the Tigers, the White Sox have turned their season around and now sit at 25-25, a mere 3.5 games out of first place. They have the best record in baseball over their last ten games (8-2) and just kicked off a 12-game homestand last night with a 6-2 victory over the Oakland A’s.

Maybe it’s about time we all started to realize that the White Sox as currently constructed just take about a month a half to get their bats going. Luckily, Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen seem to understand this, and while both will never stop tinkering and trying to make the club better, they certainly do not overreact. And the White Sox are better for it.

So what has keyed the White Sox turnaround? Well, certainly the hot bats of Scotty Pods and Alexei at the top of the order have helped, and Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko are producing behind them. The starting pitching is improving too. Mark Buehrle has been his usual ace-like self, Gavin Floyd is finally showing signs of life, and Clayton Richard has been a revelation since being inserted into the starting rotation. And don’t forget about Bartolo Colon. The guy is not spectacular, but a 3.80 ERA? Hell, I’ll take that from our 5th starter.

But the true key to the White Sox success has been the bullpen.

I remember last year before the White Sox played their first game of the season against the Cubs, Joe Morgan said, and I quote, “This is the best bullpen I have ever seen.”

Now, even I realized that was ridiculous when Morgan said it; and sure enough, the White Sox bullpen struggled more in the latter part of the season than it had early on. But I do not think it is ridiculous by any means to say that the White Sox have the best bullpen in baseball. They certainly have the most underrated one.

Take a look at these numbers:

• Bobby Jenks: 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 15K, 5BB, 12 Saves
• Scott Linebrink: 1.93 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 19K, 5BB, 1 Save, 3 Holds
• Octavio Dotel: 1.04 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .167 BAA, 20K, 12BB, 8 Holds
• Matt Thornton: 1.71 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .208 BAA, 30K, 9BB, 9 Holds
• D.J. Carrasco: 2.56 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 19K, 8BB

That is damn solid production. And with White Sox starters averaging around 6 innings per game, those five are pretty close to all the White Sox have needed. (Which is good, because Jimmy Gobble, Mike MacDougal, and Jack Egbert have all sucked when given opportunities to pitch.)

So while it’s easy to look at the White Sox and see their shortcomings: inconsistency in center field, lack of production at the top of the order, aging heart of the lineup, the struggles of Danks and Floyd, Carlos Quentin’s body made out of porcelain, etc., etc., don’t forget about this team’s greatest strength: it’s shutdown bullpen.

The White Sox remain very capable of defending their AL Central crown, and the bullpen is the primary reason why.

In other news…

Jim Thome continues to garner favor with me and move himself further and further from the Indians association that clouded by view of him for his first two and a half years on the South Side. Last night, Thome hit career HR #550 and it proved to be the difference maker.

Here’s some more love for the White Sox bullpen and derogatory comments about the Cubs’ offense. Gotta love it.

Joba Chamberlain made a pretty sweet catch against the Indians yesterday.

Cuzzy is the man when it comes to Photoshop. Here are 10 movie posters for the NBA Finals.

Anytime a Florida Gators’ football player has to be tased by police…well it’s just a very heartwarming story for a frustrated and jealous Vols fan like myself.

Moving back to the NBA for second, a great post hit my inbox a few minutes ago from Cleveland Frowns regarding LeBron James and the “Handshakegate” story that has been all the rage over the last 48 hours. I hesitate somewhat to link to it…but only because Jay Mariotti is mentioned without the word “douche” somewhere in the same sentence. Other than that though, the post provides some nice perspective on a story that’s been blown way out of proportion. I just hope the perspective turns out to be wrong, because I don’t want to see LeBron leave Cleveland.

I realize the Cubs are actually a 1/2 game better than the White Sox in terms of record right, but it’s still fun to revel in their misery. And seriously, what team do you feel better about moving forward? You can’t say the Cubs. Seriously? Fine…just wait until Interleague.

Here is an interesting comparison between Leighton Meester and Adrian Gonzalez. I am intrigued by this because a) she is pretty damn hot; and b) Adrian Gonzalez is absolutely carrying my fantasy team into first place. He has been ridiculous.

An interesting take on the Cavs’ failure, wondering if Mike Brown should be liable to LeBron James for negligence. In a word: yes.

And in case you haven’t heard, Joe Buck has a new TV show starting soon. I’ve always been pretty hard on Joe Buck because something about him annoys the hell out of me when I’m watching sports – especially baseball – but I have to admit that the promo for his new show is pretty funny and there is some potential there.

That’s about it from here. Be back later. Have a great morning.

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