Today marks what should be the one month anniversary of the start of the 2009 White Sox season. Mother Nature ended up delaying it by a day, but I post every Wednesday not every Thursday, so deal with it. Here are ten notable Sox stats through the first month of the season.
We were shocked when MacDougal made the Sox' opening day roster, but at least the damage was limited to only five games. Small sample size, sure, but a major league pitcher almost has to try to allow to allow more than three walks plus hits per inning.
MacDougal has to be much more comfortable now that he's in Washington, where he should fit right in with a whole slew of terrible relievers.
Most expected Getz to be able to hit major league pitching eventually, but it's a bit of a surprise that he figured it out so quickly. Getz had just seven career major league at-bats heading into this season, but has already proven himself to be a capable hitter atop the order.
To all those already clamoring for Becks in Chicago, please stop. The kid is going to be a great pro, but the Sox don't want to risk it by rushing him. You'll find Beckham in AAA midway through this season, and in the majors by 2010.
As for Ozzie Guillen's recent declaration that Beckham is shortstop, well, we urge him to look at another stat: errors. Beckham has seven of them in just 24 games. Sure, errors isn't the best way to measure a defender since it doesn't account for range, but few thought Beckham would be able to stick at short even when the Sox drafted him. I wonder if he could play center field.
Oh yeah: Tyler Flowers (.314/.444/.571) and Brandon Allen (.284/.343/.474) are holding their own in Birmingham, too.
Control has been the biggest reason why Floyd's ERA is 6.2 right now. He's had two straight up terrible outings: a seven walk performance against the Tigers and a five walk performance against the Blue Jays. His WHIP, while not MacDougal like, still isn't pretty at 1.75.
It's no secret that AJP struggles behind the plate. When the Sox signed him, a friend of mine wondered if the Sox thought people were only trying to steal the pitcher's mound. But even by his standards, Pierzynski has been awful this year at throwing out runners.
So far, he's 2-for-19 on the year.
If not for Danks' last two starts, this stat would have been his immaculate ERA or WHIP. But, alas, Danks was pumbled his last two outings. It's important to remember that the Sox' best pitcher is only 24, though. We'll give him a pass for what happened in Texas (aka Coors of the AL), but he gets no excuses against the lifeless Mariners.
So much for last season's wrist injury draining Q!'s power. While it'd be nice if he could raise that batting average 20 or so points (don't put it past him), the Sox have to be pleased with what Quentin has given them the first month.
We knew Alexei's OBP would always be batting average dependant, so maybe his BA - .211 - should be the stat here. But .255 is too ugly a number to pass up. It's, dare I say, Uribe-like.
I'm really not all that concerned, though: as the weather starts to get warmer, so should Che's bat.
Dewayne Wise is simply not an everyday major league center fielder (let alone a leadoff hitter). Brent Lillibridge is a bench player at best, and is better suited in the infield than in center anyway. The middle number there belongs to Brian Anderson - and hey! - it's actually not so bad. But for now, BA is on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique.
Call me crazy, but I'm still pretty optimistic about these Sox. Alexei won't be this bad forever, and neither will Floyd. No one on the offense is really outperforming expectations, either. This is still a team with productive, championship ring wearing players throughout the roster. And though they've now lost four in a row, 3.5 games is a hardly a division death sentence in the first week of May.
*
Brett Favre to the Vikings!? At TUP.
10. 3.23
Mike MacDougal's WHIP
Mike MacDougal's WHIP
We were shocked when MacDougal made the Sox' opening day roster, but at least the damage was limited to only five games. Small sample size, sure, but a major league pitcher almost has to try to allow to allow more than three walks plus hits per inning.
MacDougal has to be much more comfortable now that he's in Washington, where he should fit right in with a whole slew of terrible relievers.
9. .288/.342/.379
Chris Getz's triple slash hitting stats
Two questions dogged the Sox in Spring Training: a) who's going to play center field (more on that in a sec...), and b) who's going to hit leadoff? While the Sox are a world away from solving the first problem, it didn't take long to figure out the second.Chris Getz's triple slash hitting stats
Most expected Getz to be able to hit major league pitching eventually, but it's a bit of a surprise that he figured it out so quickly. Getz had just seven career major league at-bats heading into this season, but has already proven himself to be a capable hitter atop the order.
8. .293/.381/.500 (in AA)
Gordon Beckham's triple slash hitting stats
Gordon Beckham's triple slash hitting stats
To all those already clamoring for Becks in Chicago, please stop. The kid is going to be a great pro, but the Sox don't want to risk it by rushing him. You'll find Beckham in AAA midway through this season, and in the majors by 2010.
As for Ozzie Guillen's recent declaration that Beckham is shortstop, well, we urge him to look at another stat: errors. Beckham has seven of them in just 24 games. Sure, errors isn't the best way to measure a defender since it doesn't account for range, but few thought Beckham would be able to stick at short even when the Sox drafted him. I wonder if he could play center field.
Oh yeah: Tyler Flowers (.314/.444/.571) and Brandon Allen (.284/.343/.474) are holding their own in Birmingham, too.
7. 18
Gavin Floyd's walks (in 34.1 innings)
Gavin Floyd's walks (in 34.1 innings)
Control has been the biggest reason why Floyd's ERA is 6.2 right now. He's had two straight up terrible outings: a seven walk performance against the Tigers and a five walk performance against the Blue Jays. His WHIP, while not MacDougal like, still isn't pretty at 1.75.
6. .105
AJ's runners thrown out percentage
AJ's runners thrown out percentage
It's no secret that AJP struggles behind the plate. When the Sox signed him, a friend of mine wondered if the Sox thought people were only trying to steal the pitcher's mound. But even by his standards, Pierzynski has been awful this year at throwing out runners.
So far, he's 2-for-19 on the year.
5. 24
John Danks' age
John Danks' age
If not for Danks' last two starts, this stat would have been his immaculate ERA or WHIP. But, alas, Danks was pumbled his last two outings. It's important to remember that the Sox' best pitcher is only 24, though. We'll give him a pass for what happened in Texas (aka Coors of the AL), but he gets no excuses against the lifeless Mariners.
4. 8 homers, .516 slugging
Carlos Quentin's power numbers
Carlos Quentin's power numbers
So much for last season's wrist injury draining Q!'s power. While it'd be nice if he could raise that batting average 20 or so points (don't put it past him), the Sox have to be pleased with what Quentin has given them the first month.
3. .255
Alexei Ramirez's on-base percentage
Alexei Ramirez's on-base percentage
We knew Alexei's OBP would always be batting average dependant, so maybe his BA - .211 - should be the stat here. But .255 is too ugly a number to pass up. It's, dare I say, Uribe-like.
I'm really not all that concerned, though: as the weather starts to get warmer, so should Che's bat.
2. .238/.288/.167
The batting averages of the three center fielders (Wise, Anderson, Lillibridge)
The batting averages of the three center fielders (Wise, Anderson, Lillibridge)
Dewayne Wise is simply not an everyday major league center fielder (let alone a leadoff hitter). Brent Lillibridge is a bench player at best, and is better suited in the infield than in center anyway. The middle number there belongs to Brian Anderson - and hey! - it's actually not so bad. But for now, BA is on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique.
1. 3.5
Games back of the division leading Royals
Games back of the division leading Royals
Call me crazy, but I'm still pretty optimistic about these Sox. Alexei won't be this bad forever, and neither will Floyd. No one on the offense is really outperforming expectations, either. This is still a team with productive, championship ring wearing players throughout the roster. And though they've now lost four in a row, 3.5 games is a hardly a division death sentence in the first week of May.
*
Brett Favre to the Vikings!? At TUP.
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