Pale Hose Posse

Dave Paisley

While Y2K may be a nightmare for the Houston Astros, it has been just the opposite for the AL Central's Chicago White Sox. A perennial contender until the strike of '94, the Sox appeared as dismal losers for the latter half of the 1990's.

That losers tag is perhaps harsh given the historical reality: they have been a .500 ball club that has finished second to the Cleveland Indians almost every year since the inception of the three-division format. Technically, they were third in 1995, 32 games behind the Indians and 2 behind the Royals. But when you need a telescope to see the division leader, that's a virtual tie for second. That was also Terry Bevington's first year as manager, so I'd even award them bonus points just for surviving.

Some people are saying that the Sox' success this year stems from the infamous Reinsdorf "surrender" trade with the Giants in 1997, but I have to say that if it takes waiting through three years of futility, it ain't worth it. Besides, other teams have gone from also-rans to contenders and back to also-rans in the time it's taken for the Sox to get their act together. So while some of the key players in this year's performance were acquired in the '96 trade, it hardly explains their rampant success.

Many commentators (some of the same ones noted above) are attributing the Sox' success to the starting pitching, which has suddenly learned how to win games. I've got news for those guys, too. You win games by outscoring the opposition, so you need pitching and a viable offense. Their contrast in offense from recent years is quite marked, so in my side-by-side comparison of White Sox Y2K with White Sox '99, let's start with their daily offense:

1999 Season Pos BATTERS OPS R HR RBI BB SO DH Thomas .885 74 15 77 87 66 C Fordyce .802 36 9 49 21 48 1B Konerko .863 71 24 81 45 68 2B Durham .808 109 13 60 73 105 3B Norton .782 62 16 50 69 93 SS Caruso .577 60 2 35 20 36 LF Lee .775 66 16 84 13 72 CF Singleton .818 72 17 72 22 45 RF Ordonez .859 100 30 117 47 64 Average .797

2000 Season Pos BATTERS OPS R HR RBI BB SO DH Thomas 1.086 66 26 75 64 56 C Johnson .645 16 3 18 17 28 1B Konerko .863 46 12 55 26 41 2B Durham .831 69 13 48 34 64 3B Perry .848 33 6 23 14 34 SS Valentin .808 58 13 46 28 64 LF Lee .884 58 17 62 19 49 CF Singleton .698 52 6 36 21 54 RF Ordonez 1.028 60 21 74 46 36 Average .872

It's obvious that the offense today is greatly improved from 1999. Just about every position improved, either by having the incumbent rebound to form (Thomas), mature a bit and step up his game (Ordonez, Lee) or be replaced by a better offensive player (Valentin for Caruso). Overall, what's not to like about this kind of punishing offense?

Even the bench has been better this year, with an OPS of .726, compared with last year's .638 mark. Not a big difference, but certainly not a detriment. Having Herbert Perry step up at third helps the bench by having either he or Greg Norton available for pinch-hitting duty.

The other major component of the improvement comes from the starting pitching, as evidenced by the following tables.

1999 Season Pos PITCHERS ERA W L ER BB SO SP Sirotka 4.00 11 13 93 57 125 SP Baldwin 5.10 12 13 113 81 123 SP Parque 5.13 9 15 99 79 111 SP Navarro 6.09 8 13 108 71 74 SP Snyder 6.68 9 12 96 49 67 Average 5.27

2000 Season Pos PITCHERS ERA W L ER BB SO SP Sirotka 3.73 8 6 43 32 66 SP Baldwin 4.28 11 4 53 36 72 SP Parque 3.81 8 2 43 34 63 SP Eldred 4.76 10 2 55 55 89 SP Wells 6.03 4 7 50 46 60 Average 4.45

Not only have Sirotka, Baldwin and Parque improved, but dumping Jaime Navarro is addition by subtraction. I don't think anyone figured Cal Eldred had much left, but apparently he does, and with decent run support, he's been a pleasant surprise.

Wunderkind Kip Wells hasn't panned out as expected yet, but that's about the only thing that hasn't gone according to plan for the Southsiders. With almost a run improvement in starters' ERA allied to the newfound offense, it's no wonder the White Sox are kicking a little ass and taking names.

The bullpen is the final component, and one that I believe has helped them to win those close games and make the most of their run generation. With Howry losing his job to Foulke early in the season, but then returning to form, the Sox have some pretty good arms in the pen. Overall, though, it's not a lot different than last year, performance wise.

1999 Season Pos PITCHERS ERA W L ER BB SO RP Foulke 2.22 3 3 26 21 123 RP Lowe 3.67 4 1 39 46 62 RP Castillo 5.71 2 2 26 14 23 RP Ward 7.55 0 1 33 11 35 RP Eyre 7.56 1 1 21 15 17 CL Howry 3.59 5 3 27 38 80 Average 4.03

2000 Season Pos PITCHERS ERA W L ER BB SO RP Wunsch 2.48 3 2 10 13 32 RP Howry 3.20 1 1 14 17 38 RP Simas 3.45 1 2 17 15 31 RP Lowe 5.80 3 1 23 23 33 RP Eyre 6.63 1 1 14 12 16 CL Foulke 3.21 1 0 19 14 54 Average 4.03

The big question now is, "Could the Sox do anything in the playoffs?" Like the Mariners, this team is well-built for the long haul of the season, but lacks the dominating pitching generally required to do well in the postseason -- especially the all-important first round. And before we crown them Central division champions, if their lead over the Indians begins to shrink, will they fold? Could they pull a '95 Angels collapse? I think it's possible, if not probable.

And that, my friends, is why they play the games.

about the author

Dave Paisley has laid plans for his Java/Active Server Page "mega-table," an interactive collection of sortable, configurable stats that can be combined in any manner. Unfortunately, it breaks every browser known to man. Help sign his petition to Microsoft for a "special" version of IE at drdjp@strikethree.com.