Anything Is Possible: Chicagoist's 2013 White Sox Preview

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Mar 29, 2013 5:00PM

Photo by Benjy Lipsman

The White Sox surprised most in 2012, when they were in contention for the AL Central until the final week of the season. Robin Ventura proved to be a worthy successor to Ozzie Guillen in the dugout. A number of veterans who'd suffered through awful 2011 campaigns bounced back and helped the Sox compile an 85-77 record, finishing 3 games back of the Detroit Tigers. Adam Dunn made the biggest rebound, slugging 41 homers and driving in 96 in 2012, after hitting just 11 and driving in 42 while batting an anemic .159 in 2011. Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski each had career years. And Paul Konerko put up another solid campaign with 26 home runs, 78 RBIs and a .298 batting average. While opening day starter John Danks missed most of the year with an arm injury, Chris Sale established himself as a legitimate ace by going 17-8, Jose Quintana exceeded expectations, Jake Peavy remained healthy enough to pitch 200 innings for the first time since 2007 and Gavin Floyd reached double digits in wins. Addison Reed became the team's closer, leading the team with 30 saves, while a young bullpen pitched well in general. GM Rick Hahn and Executive VP Kenny Williams made moves during the season to fill the team's most glaring holes, trading for third baseman Kevin Youkilis, reliever Brett Myers, starting pitcher Francisco Liriano and signing outfielder Dewayne Wise.

During the off-season, the White Sox were pretty quiet. Youk, who was popular with the fans and fired up the team on the field, signed with the Yankees. His replacement at the hot corner was the Sox's largest pick-up over the winter — Jeff Keppinger, who hit .325 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI for Tampa Bay. The White Sox also lost catcher Pierzynski, who signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers after eight years in Chicago. Tyler Flowers now gets the chance to prove he can be an every day catcher. As is typically the case, there were minor tweaks to the bullpen, as well.

Projected Line-Up:
Alejandro de Aza - CF
Jeff Keppinger - 3B
Alex Rios - RF
Paul Konerko- 1B
Adam Dunn- DH
Dayan Viciedo - RF
Alexei Ramirez - SS
Tyler Flowers - C
Gordon Beckham - 2B

Projected Starting Rotation:
Chris Sale
Jake Peavy
Gavin Floyd
Jose Quintana
Dylan Axelrod (John Danks)

The rotation also looks much like it did for much of 2011. John Danks begins the season where he ended the last one — on the DL. Danks went down with a shoulder injury in late May, and after weeks of hoping to recover sans surgery went under the knife in August. His ineffectiveness during spring training (16.38 ERA over 10.2 innings) suggested he needs a bit more time to fully recover, so Dylan Axelrod will take his spot in the rotation until then. Chris Sale has established himself as the ace, but the hope is he can avoid the proverbial wall he hit late last year. With a 10-2 record and a 2.39 ERA at the All-Star Break, Sale was just 7-6 with an ERA over 4 after. Peavy and Floyd remain solid starters who can eat up innings if they stay healthy. Quintana, like Sale, was un-hittable early on before returning to earth. Once Danks returns, the team will have some options at the back end of the rotation. The bullpen remains a mix of youngsters, who surprised many last year, and a couple vets like Matt Thornton. Addison Reed seems to have solidified his standing as the team's closer, though if he struggles we might see Nate Jones in that role.

The batting line-up should be similar to last season, with a solid but aging middle of the line-up in Dunn, Konerko and Rios. Viciedo is the one slugger still on the rise, having hit 25 homers and driven in 78 at age 23. Can his production increase to match any decline by the others? Our biggest concern with the line-up is the replacement of Youkilis and Pierzynski with Keppinger and catcher Tyler Flowers.

Few expect the White Sox to win the AL Central in 2013. Everybody's pretty much conceded that to the Detroit Tigers already, who made it to the World Series after winning the Central in '12. Most expect the Sox and upstart Royals to duke it out for second place. But we fear that the loss of team chemistry that Youk and Pierzynski brought will be felt even more than the lack of their bats. Provided that their starting pitchers can remain healthy and Danks can return to the rotation, the Sox can be quite successful by riding their arms. But the Sox need to figure out a way to beat the Royals to remain ahead of KC in the standings. The White Sox are just 23-31 against KC over the past three seasons, even as the Royals have averaged just 70 wins a year. We expect the White Sox to fall back a bit from last year's over-achieving 85 win. Right around .500 is where we expect to find the South Siders when the season ends.