Meet the Sox

Dustin Hermanson

The White Sox have had a notorious history of airing disagreements and making what should be internal disputes very, very public.  

Somehow, they managed to do the right thing with Dustin Hermanson, even though they had more reason to take issue with Hermanson than some others that had received outward criticism.

It was clear as the 2005 season waned that something was not right with Hermanson’s back.  His velocity was down, but more importantly, his pitches lacked life.  He managed to survive thanks to his defense being in the right place at the right time, but he operated on a razor’s edge.

Bobby Jenks eventually took his place as the regular season came to a close, and in the only action he saw during the playoffs, he gave up the game-tying double to Jason Lane in Game 3.  Geoff Blum got him off the hook five innings later.

Entering the 2006 season, Hermanson insisted he was ready to go, but the results in spring training said otherwise.  The back problems returned, and it seemed like Hermanson wouldn’t pitch again.  I probably would’ve wagered against him ever appearing in a White Sox uniform, and it left the Sox scrambling for another reliever.

But he did his best to get healthy, and while he couldn’t crack 90 with his fastball when he came back in September, he still could get some hitters out.  More importantly, it allowed him to get the ovation he deserved in front of fans at U.S. Cellular Field, who recognized that without Hermanson’s superlative efforts in the first half of 2005, a world championship wouldn’t have been possible.

Hermanson came to the Sox as the least noticeable of Kenny Williams’ many moves that offseason.  With Jermaine Dye replacing Magglio Ordonez and the shocking Carlos Lee trade, Hermanson’s arrival was far more subdued.  In fact, he wasn’t even expected to be the closer with the memories of the Shingo Takatsu Sensation still strong.

It became apparent that Takatsu couldn’t recreate the magic, and it didn’t take Ozzie Guillen long to give Hermanson the ball in the ninth inning.  Little did we know it’d be the first of two smooth closer transitions.  

For the first two months of the season, we could have called Hermanson “Mr. Zero.”  He didn’t allow a single run over the first two months, and with a WHIP of under 1.00, I couldn’t recall that many jams.  He was 11 of 11 in save opportunities through May, and the Sox were 35-17 and well on the way towards a pennant.

He started getting hit harder as the weather warmed up, but thanks to the aforementioned good fortune, he still finished the season with some stellar numbers – 34 saves and a 2.04 ERA.  

Without Hermanson nailing down the ninth night after night in the early going, the Sox don’t build that huge lead, which was aided by so many one-run victories.  Ozzieball, Smartball – whatever you want to call it – received attention because of its supposed old school approach: get him on, get him over, get him in.  But that only works if the pitchers can hold that slim margin.

For more than half of a magical season, Hermanson did.  And with the arrival of Bobby Jenks, more than half was plenty good enough.