White Sox At the Midway Point
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jul 15, 2010 2:40PM
The White Sox ended the first half of the season as the hottest team in baseball - winners of an incredible 25 of their last 30 games. They’ll enter the second half trying to extend an eight game streak when they face the Minnesota Twins tonight to open a ten game road trip. After falling 9 1/2 game back in the AL Central by mid-June, the Sox stormed back and passed the Twins and Tigers to grab first place at the Break. Oh, and they won the inaugural (and unfortunately named) BP Crosstown Cup by winning four of six against the Cubs. Paul Konerko and Alex Rios have been steady performers all season, but only recently has Carlos Quentin displayed the bat that made him an MVP candidate in 2008. Similarly, the pitching staff took a while to get going, they've been a key component to the team's resurgence.
Here's a look at what we've thought of the Sox thus far in 2010.
Biggest Surprise: Alex Rios, who was claimed off waivers by Kenny Williams late last season. He couldn't even crack the Mendoza Line during his time with the Sox last year but 2010 has been another story for the Sox new center fielder. He's batting .305 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs and 23 stolen bases at the break and has been a solid presence in the lineup all year.
Biggest Disappointment: Jake Peavy, the 2007 Cy Young winner, was Kenny Williams' other big midseason acquisition in 2009. Injured for much of the '09 camaign, Sox fans couldn't wait to get Peavy into the regular rotation. But he got off to a cold start, sporting a 6.23 ERA at the end of May. Since then, Peavy showed the stuff that made him an ace, but a torn latissimus dorsi ended his season last week.
Biggest Questions for Second Half: The starting rotation. Many considered the White Sox's rotation to be the best on paper before the season began. But they didn't pitch that way for the first two months. The team's reemergence coincided with the staff's turnaround. But losing Peavy is a big blow. Can Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia keep up their recent pace? And who will fill the void left by Peavy's injury? Rookie
Dan Hudson gets the first shot to earn the spot. Third base is also a question. Mark Teahen was underwhelming before getting injured while Omar Vizquel and rookie Dayan Viciedo have been filling in during his absence. Who will see the most playing time at third once Teahan is healthy again? We'd like to see the youngster stay in the lineup.
A month ago, GM Kenny Williams looked like he'd be a seller as the trading deadline approached. Now, with his team in first place he'll be a buyer once more. Can Williams make the shrewd moves to help his team make it to the post-season? With 27 games remaining against the Tigers and Twins, the division is still wide open. Said a National League scout of the Sox GM, "Ken Williams is cold-blooded. If this was a biggest balls contest, he's the winner.'' So we wouldn't be surprised if he pulls off another big deal and we see the Sox playing in October. But while winning the division would be nice, can he tweak the team enough to contend for the World Series? We're not that optimistic with this team.
Check back tomorrow when Marcus takes a look at the Cubs.