Can the Small Ball Chicago White Sox Repeat as Champs?

Last year the Chicago Whitesox won their first world series title in more than 50 years. No one had expected them to win the title, let alone thier division. Everyone just expected the Minesota Twins to win the division or the Indians who had some young talent. The White Sox came out of nowhere to win the championship. I break down the team roster and organization and look at their chances of winning the World Series.

The manager of the team is Ozzie Guillen who has quickly become one of the best managers in the game. Last year was his first season as manager and he did hte best anyone could have asked in winning a championship. Guillen has a great personality and is never afraid to say what is on his mind. He gets right to the point and is not afraid to tell the truth. His style of baseball, small ball and manufacturing runs was a great strategy to use in the palyoffs where scoring runs does nto come easily. He encourages his runner to steal bases and make plays. He emphasizes defense and baseball fundamentals. He is a great manager and it is because of him his team won the title.

The General Manager of the Team is Kenny Williams. Williams has done a great job of assembling this team. He has put together veteran stars with young rookies and has done a great job.

At catcher is A.J. Pierzinski. He is slightly above average among catchers but he plays excellent defense and has a good realtionship with the pitchers. He had a good average alst year but had few homers and RBIs posting olny 50 RBIs. Still he batted in the 5th or 6th spot in the lineup and was productive

At first is All Star first baseman Paul Konerko. Konerko had a monster season last year and at itmes he single handedly carried his team. He posted 40 Homers and 100 + RBIs. His average was .280 but he hit well in the clutch and can field well. He is by fair their best hitter and he signed an extension with the team in the offseason. Entering his prime, I think he will have an even better season than last year.

At second is Japanese player Iguchi. Iguchi was a solid infielder last year as he first his manager’s philosophy perfectly. He plays gold glove defense, can steal a few bases, can hit for average and can bunt and move a runner over. He is perfect for small ball and bat towards te top of the lineup.

At Short Stop is Juan Uribe. He too is a very similar player to Iguchi. Uribe plays excellent gold glove defense, can steal bases, and bunt for a hit. He has had at times problems with his hitting as his average with around .260

At 3rd base is another player most people don’t know of Joe Crede. Crede does have trouble hitting and getting on base but he can bunt and hit with some power- he had 22 homers last year. his average though was only .252.
The outfield is led by Scott Posedik, a speedster. He has stolen 50 bases each of the past couple of years and can play good defense in the field, utilizing his blazing fast speed to track down fly balls. It is not unheard of to see Posednik steal 2nd and third base at the same time, druing one batters at bat. He creates havoc on the basepaths and has the green light to steal on every pitch. He is also very good with bunting for base hits.

Next comes Jermain Dye who hits for power and had 30+ homers last year with more than 80 RBIs. His hitting has improved on the White Sox every year when he has been healthy. But that is really the only concern: he must stay healthy on the team.

Finally, the other outfield spot is occupied by rookie Brian Anderson. The Sox traded center fiedler Antwan Roland last year and the Sox are gambling that Anderson can replace Roland’s mediocre numbers.

Finally, the big question mark is Jim Thome who came via a trade from the Phillies. Thome has been bothered by a back injury that kept him out almost all of last year. However when he is healthy he is one of the most feared sluggers in the game. He has consistently hit for 40+ homers and gets on base by drawing walks. However he also strikesout equally as much as he walks. Still, the addition of Thome if he can stay healthy is a much needed boost to this offense in desperate need of a slugger.

I think that Manager Guillen’s small ball style of play is perfect for htis lineup. At the top of the lineup he has a blend of speed and in the middle power. He like to advacne the runners and score runs by manufacturing them instead of hitting homers. The addition of Thome is great and adds much needed pop. I think they will definitely win their division and be a threat to be reckoned with in the playoffs.