Chicago White Sox Spring Training Wrap 2009

With less than a week remaining in Spring Training, players and managers across the Major Leagues are no doubt ready for the exhibition games to end so the real games can begin.  This certainly seems to be the case for the White Sox, who have lost their last three games by a combined score of 23-5 and have lost six out of their last eight.  Continue Reading

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Manager Ozzie Guillen, never one to shy away from telling anyone exactly what he thinks, believes that his team needs to pick it up and finish strong over the final few games of the Spring Training schedule:

"I think when we look around, everyone looks the same way because of how long spring training was, but in the meanwhile, you can't just flip the switch,'' Guillen said. "Maybe in the next couple of days we can pick it up.
"I think over all, we need to play better defense. We look real shaky in the field, and we have to be better than that."

Overall, the White Sox sit at 14-19 in the Cactus League standings.  Now, I've never been one to put much stock into Spring Training records, or to spend too much time analyzing Spring Training box scores or stats.  Too often we have seen teams and players have great springs, only to stink it up in the regular season; and vice versa.

However, I decided to take a look at the Spring Training stats for the White Sox through 33 games to see which numbers may be worth at least a second glance.  With each one of these, there is obviously a huge caveat: it's only spring.  I know it's a small sample size and that there are tons of variables that can shape the numbers.  All I'm saying is these are a few numbers that are at least interesting and potentially suggestive.

Carlos Quentin - .419 SLG and 2 HR

Last season, Carlos Quentin hit 36 home runs and had a .571 SLG in 130 games before breaking his wrist.  One of the whispers in the offseason was that Quentin could struggle to regain his power as he returns from the wrist injury.  While I am not worried long-term about Quentin, other than legitimate concerns about his overall ability to stay healthy, I do think he could struggle early on this season.  Quentin has had the most spring ABs of any White Sox player, but clearly is not showing the same pop yet that he had last year.  I think he'll get it back, but the question for the White Sox and Quentin fantasy owners is: how long will it take?

Paul Konerko - .361 BA, .597 SLG, 4 HR, 12 RBI

How great is this to see?
With Quentin struggling, Konerko has stepped up and provided a power bat this spring.  If he can come close to approaching these numbers over a full season, it will be a tremendous boon for the White Sox offense.

Josh Fields - .721 SLG, 3 HR, 8 2B

It's a good thing Josh Fields is stepping up with the hit bat, because numerous reports have discussed Fields' struggles at the hot corner defensively.  While no one expected Fields to approach the consistent fielding prowess of Joe Crede, he should have a better probability of making it through a full season healthy, and he very well could be an upgrade at the plate.  The nice thing about Fields' hot spring is that he has already proven himself at the Major League level with his 23 homers in 2007; thus, the numbers are easier to buy into. The White Sox are, without question, making the right move in giving Fields the 3B job over someone like Dayan Viciedo.  I think Fields' numbers at the plate this spring foretell a giant step forward by him this season into the proven young nucleus of this team's future with Quentin, Alexei, Danks, and Floyd.

Chris Getz - .394 OBP, 4 SB, 6 BB, 7 K

Dewayne Wise - .317 OBP, 3 SB, 0 BB, 11K

I have no problem with Dewayne Wise winning the center field spot.  In fact, I'm excited to see what he can do as a starter.  However, I cannot imagine it will take long for Ozzie to movie Chris Getz to the top of the order.  Getz has had a great spring and I am happy to see the White Sox not get impatient and let Gordon Beckham get more seasoning in the minors.  Wise too has had a solid spring, slugging .574, but do we really want a leadoff man that has gone the entire spring without taking a walk?  Please tell me if I am missing something here, but the spring stats pretty clearly suggest to me that Chris Getz is a better leadoff option than Dewayne Wise, whose power and OBP struggles would seem to project him lower in the order.

Clayton Richard - 27.2 IP, 7.16 ERA, 8 BB, 11 K, 38 H

Ugh.  I was hoping for more out of Clayton and still think he has potential, but this was not a good spring showing for the guy we may be counting on to pick up slack at the end of the rotation.

John Danks and Gavin Floyd - 43.2 IP, 3.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 42 K

Put a big star next to this one.  Of all of the spring stats that are encouraging, nothing tops what these two young guys have done.  Floyd just signed a new 4-year deal with the White Sox and Danks is pitching to gain leverage for a new deal this year.  I think both are in line to maintain or improve upon their success from last year and they obviously were focused and ready to go during the spring.

Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon - 23.0 IP, 8.61 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 17 K

And to contrast Danks and Floyd, we have Contreras and Colon, two veterans coming off injuries who are still trying to work their way back.  I am not overly concerned about their spring performance, as both have proven themselves and we know what they are at the Major League level.  However, I think all White Sox fans would have liked to see them look a little sharper with Opening Day just around the corner.  If these two continue to struggle, guys like Richard, Jeff Marquez, Jack Egbert, and Aaron Poreda will no doubt be considered to take their place.

So, based on what I've seen this spring, am I more optimistic or pessimistic heading into the regular season?
 
Optimistic, but I'll be that way as long as Ozzie Guillen is the manager.

If we have learned anything about the White Sox, it is that spring records and stats usually do not mean a hill of beans in terms of predicting regular season performance.  We also know that preseason predictions by the "experts" and magazines very rarely come close to being accurate with respect to the White Sox.  So, PECOTA and their 5th place prediction for the White Sox may cause me pause momentarily, but does not overly concern me.

Here is what the Spring has taught me:

1. We have a lot of young guys with potential in the organization, so we won't fall off the face of the earth as the grizzled vets starts to retire or go elsewhere.
2. We still have a lot of holes at the Major League level being filled by somewhat unproven players.  How well Wise, Getz, Fields, and whoever is manning the #4 and #5 slots in the rotation perform will go a long way towards determining how good we are.  And there is just no way to predict that based on the spring.
3. I'm ready for the regular season.

Hopefully the Sox players heed the aforementioned advice of Ozzie Guillen and use the next few days to get themselves ready too.  The AL Central is going to be a beast this year, and the White Sox need to hit the ground running next week.

Jerod Morris is the creator of Midwest Sports Fans and a lifelong White Sox fan now living in Dallas.  He enjoys old videos of the slim and sensational Frank Thomas from the mid-90s, trying to apply Hawk Harrelson catch phrases to everyday life, and thinks that Ozzie Guillen walks on water.  He can be contacted at jerod@midwestsportsfans.com.