2008 State of the Sox

Week in a Box: June 9-15

Player of the Week:  Orlando Cabrera.  He had a four-hit game against the Twins, a solo homer against the Rockies, and with hits in six of the seven games, was the only consistent source of offense the Sox had.

Player of the Weak:  Carlos Quentin.  He went 3-for-22, including 1-for-8 with runners on base, and poor decision-making led to two errors against the Twins.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  Matched Kenny Rogers with eight innings of one-run ball, his second consecutive outing of that length and success.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  Followed up his worst outing of the year with a better one against the Rockies, but that 1-2 fastball he threw to Brad Hawpe was a backbreaker.

Fireman:  Scott Linebrink.  He faced six batters, retired all of them, and struck out four of them.

Gas Can:  Octavio Dotel.  Allowed the walk-off homer to Miguel Cabrera.

Super Sub:  Juan Uribe.  In his first start of the month, he delivered the game-tying single, then scored the game-winning run with alert baserunning.

Super Scrub:  Nobody.  Toby Hall went 0-for-4 but threw out Carlos Gomez, Brian Anderson hit .250 with a homer, and Pablo Ozuna didn't start.

Gold Glove:  Orlando Cabrera. He did fail to catch Alexei Ramirez's throw at second, but made a highlight play in a loss to the Tigers and generally played solid defense.

Hands of Stone:  A.J. Pierzynski.  Four of the five bases Willy Taveras stole on the pitchers, but the double-clutch on the pitchout and bad pitch blocking made John Danks work even harder.

Week in a Box: June 2-8

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  Since he won Major League Baseball's Player of the Week, it's only fair to do the same here.  He hit a Greg Nortonesque five homers over three games, with back-to-back two-homer games in the first two of the series against the Twins.

Player of the Weak:  Jim Thome.  Went 4-for-22 with nine strikeouts to only two walks while everybody else was hitting.  He did rack up a pair of homers against the Royals -- including one that cleared everything but the fan deck in center -- but was pretty much nonexistant otherwise.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  Pitched eight drama-free innings against the Twins, allowing only a solo homer.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  Couldn't make it out of the sixth against the Twins, who dinged him up for nine hits, including two homers.

Firemen:  Boone Logan and Octavio Dotel.  They get a tandem award for going above and beyond the call of duty by holding the Royals scoreless for the last five innings of a 15-inning victory.

Gas Can:  Bobby Jenks.  For blowing a two-run lead in that aforementioned 15-inning victory.  At least he pitched a 1-2-3 10th.

Super Sub:  Pablo Ozuna.  He went 3-for-4 in his only start, and reached on an error on a quality bunt in the other at-bat that game.

Super Scrub:  Nobody.

Gold Glove: Alexei Ramirez.  He made four barehanded plays in the 15-inning victory against the Royals.  Honorable mention to Orlando Cabrera.

Hands of Stone:  Joe Crede.  He made more errors than anybody during a solid defensive week for just about everybody.

Week in a Box: May 26 - June 1

Player of the Week:  Alexei Ramirez.  Yup, somebody took the title away from Carlos Quentin, as Ramirez hit safely in six of seven games.  He started the week by failing on a hit-and-run, then making up for it with a fake bunt single.  He also prevented a shutout by homering off James Shields, and actually came up with a hit with runners in scoring position in the finale.

Player of the Weak:  Paul Konerko and Nick Swisher.  Konerko went 5-for-29 and Swisher went 4-for-23.  Konerko gets bonus points for being the third Sox hitter to pop out with a runner on third, but Swisher has an edge by striking out looking to end a game.

Pitcher of the Week:  John Danks.  Danks' best performance of the season (6 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K)  was the only win the Sox would get in Tampa Bay.  Jose Contreras (7 IP, 1 ER) and Javier Vazquez (10 K in 7 IP) were hard-luck losers.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  Got off on the wrong foot by giving up a first-inning slam in a loss to the Indians, then followed up by squandering a small lead against the Rays.

Fireman:  Octavio Dotel.  Four outings, five innings, zero runs.  Tip of the cap to Ehren Wassermann, who worked a career-long 3 1/3 innings, allowing no earned runs.  It was an outing he desperately needed.

Gas Can:  Scott Linebrink and Matt Thornton.  Both allowed walk-off homers against the Rays, the only damage done off the bullpen this week.

Super Sub:  Toby Hall.  Ramirez no longer counts, so we'll give it to the guy who keeps hitting and isn't afraid to use the opposite field.  He went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and RBI against the Indians, and had one of four hits off Scott Kazmir.

Super Scrub:  Dewayne Wise.  0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his only start.  And thus endeth his White Sox career.

Gold Glove:  Alexei Ramirez.  Made four sterling plays at second base over the course of the week, as well as a couple key double plays.

Hands of Stone: Paul Konerko.  Screwed Ehren Wassermann twice in consecutive plays by failing to record the third out.  He dropped a routine Alexei Ramirez throw, and then bounced a throw home on what became the first "triple steal" since 1987, on what should've been a pickoff.

Week in a Box: May 19 - 25

Player of the Week:  Carlos Quentin.  As CQ goes, so go the White Sox.  He had consecutive 0-fers, and the Sox scored one run.  On the other hand, he provided all the offense in a win over the Angels and drove in the go-ahead run to finish the sweep of the Indians.  He also ran the bases extremely well.  (If you've lost count, he's been Player of the Week for five consecutive weeks).

Player of the Weak:  Nick Swisher.  He went 2-for-16 with no runs scored and one RBI, which should have been a double play if the Indians didn't have the infield in.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  He beat C.C. Sabathia in U.S. Cellular Field for the first time in Captain Cheeseburger's career, and then struck out 10 Angels over eight innings.

Pitcher of the Weak:  John Danks.  He didn't pitch badly, but ineffiency limited him to only five innings and he ended up throwing the only non-quality start all week.

Fireman of the Week:  Scott Linebrink.  Picked up two wins with 1-2-3 innings, and struck out four over 2 2/3 perfect innings this week.

Gas Can of the Week:  Nobody.  The bullpen didn't allow one earned run all week.  Octavio Dotel did allow an inherited runner to score, but he also struck out the side in the same inning, so hey.

Super Sub of the Week:  Toby Hall.  They don't call him Three-Hit Toby for nothing, folks.  His third single against the Indians would come around to score, though pinch-running Brian Anderson would do the honors.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  Brian Anderson is probably the closest, but along with scoring the go-ahead run, he hit the only extra-base knock off Jered Weaver.  Even Pablo Ozuna had two hits after Joe Crede was ejected.  The bench, weak as it may be, isn't the problem.

Gold Glove of the Week:  Alexei Ramirez.  He has looked like a natural at second, bailing out Joe Crede on bad throws and turning double plays with his strong arm.

Hands of Stone:  Carlos Quentin.  The cutoff man was Q-perman's Kryptonite.  He had two throws sail on him against the Angels for his third and fourth errors of the year.

Week in a Box: May 12-18

Player of the Week: Carlos Quentin.  This is the fourth consecutive week he's taken this award, and once again, it's well deserved for the game-breaking grand slam against the Angels and a big two-run shot against the Giants.  He's the only consistent threat in the lineup.

Player of the Weak:  Nobody.  If you want to give it to Jim Thome, go ahead.  But it's hard to justify it when he not only drove in a game-winning run, but picked up a teammate in the process.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  Dazzled the Angels with his forkball for seven innings in a heated pitchers' duel.

Pitcher of the Weak: Mark Buehrle.  The defense betrayed him during his start against the Angels, though he rebounded to defeat Barry Zito in a must-win start.

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  Four outings, four innings, no runs, no threats.  He hasn't walked a batter in eight appearances.

Gas Can of the Week:  Ehren Wassermann.  Two of his three outings were failures, and he retired a single batter in the successful one.

Super Sub of the Week: Alexei Ramirez.  He drove in the only two runs against the Giants with his first career home run, and filled in well in place of a hurting Juan Uribe.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Brian Anderson.  Everybody on the bench contributed, but Anderson frustrated me with his bases-loaded strikeout after he was ahead in the count 2-0.

Gold Glove: Gavin Floyd.  Hey, if he doesn't glove that smashed comebacker to start the 1-4-3 double play, his start could've gone in a whole different direction with the crap he was throwing.

Hands of Stone: Joe Crede.  Botched a chopper that allowed the Angels to score the tying run, then threw wide to Ramirez at second in a bases-loaded situation.  While Ramirez did get back to the bag and the ump blew the call, Crede could've made a much better throw.  He was also part of the dismal group effort behind Buehrle.

Week in a Box: May 5 - May 11

Player of the Week: Carlos Quentin.  I should want to send him a fan letter for a week in which he hit .400 and drove in seven, including a three-RBI game against the Mariners, but I shouldn't want to type the letter on a death certificate.  Honorable mention to Juan Uribe.

Player of the Weak:  Nick Swisher.  Not a Swishalicious week by any means -- four 0-fers in six games including three strikeouts against the Twins and five stranded against the Mariners.  He also committed his third error the year on a bobble in right, and missed a slightly difficult catch down the right-field line later in the game that would've made up for it.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  He benefits from only pitching once, though he gave the Sox seven strong innings against the Mariners.  This was Gavin Floyd's award to lose after a near no-hitter against Minnesota, and that he did with a lousy start against Seattle.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  He took out his frustrations on a portable heater after getting knocked out by the Twins in the sixth down 7-0.

Fireman of the Week:  Octavio Dotel.  Dotel struck out five over two innings in key middle-relief work against the Twins, and then worked an inning-plus of scoreless ball against Seattle, although he was bailed out by Uribe and Toby Hall.

Gas Can of the Week:  Ehren Wassermann.  Mike MacDougal could pop out of his chest cavity in any appearance now, and nobody would be surprised.  He was roughed up by the Twins for five runs over two-thirds of an inning, and was knocked around by Seattle as well.  His ERA?  23.62.

Super Sub of the Week:  Brian Anderson.  Hit a three-run homer against Seattle and showed superior range in center.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Pablo Ozuna.  He came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in a one-run game against Toronto and promptly grounded into a 1-2-3 double play.

Gold Glove:  Brian Anderson.  He made the catch of the year in center and nearly pulled off a better one the following night.

Hands of Stone:  Nick Swisher.  I would've given this one to Quentin for dropping a flyball that blew a potential shutout for Floyd, but if he doesn't make the error, maybe Floyd loses the no-no bid the following inning.  So Swisher gets this for some awkward play in right.

Week in a Box: April 28 - May 4

Player of the Week: Carlos Quentin.  He's the only guy hitting right now.  He hit a couple solo homers, was hit by a pitch, and should've scored the winning run in the suspended game.

Player of the Weak: Jermaine Dye.  He did hit the solo homer against Toronto, but since he returned, he hasn't been able to differentiate the low-and-away slider in the dirt from other pitches.

Pitcher of the Week: Javier Vazquez.  He pitched too well against the Orioles to get nothing to show for it.  Then again, the team got nothing to show for it either.  Literally.

Pitcher of the Weak: John Danks.  Only lasted 4 2/3 innings against Toronto.  He didn't pitch that poorly, but everybody else threw well this week, including complete-game losses by Jose Contreras and Mark Buehrle.

Fireman of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  It's been a light week for the bullpen, and Thornton had the best outing of anybody, striking out four in two innings of work.

Gas Can of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  The blown save against the Orioles was costly.

Super Sub:  Brian Anderson.  He pounded out three hits against the Twins to raise his average to .300.

Super Scrub: Pablo Ozuna.  After he squared around to bunt for the third time in two games against the Blue Jays, Toronto announcers wondered if something was wrong with his hands or wrists.  Aside from being weak, nope.

Gold Glove: Orlando Cabrera.  Made several excellent plays on the turf in Toronto.  He started a 6-4-3 double play with a shovel from his glove, made a barehanded pick off the turf, and should've turned a 6-3 double play that Dale Scott missed.

Hands of Stone: Joe Crede.  Two errors against Toronto led to five unearned runs.

Week in a box: April 21-27

Player of the Week: Carlos Quentin.  He's got a six-game hitting streak and a three-game HBP streak.  He drove in two runs alone with bases-loaded HBPs. He started the winning rally off Joba Chamberlain with a double, stole his first base and stole a run with some heads-up baserunning.

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  He started the week 2-for-3, and finished it 0-for-9.  He's just giving away at-bats, although if Paul Konerko hadn't hit two homers Sunday, this would likely be his award to take home.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  He should have had two quality starts, but Ozzie Guillen left him in one batter too long against the Yankees and the bullpen blew it.  He bounced back nicely against the Orioles.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  He shied away from the strike zone in the second inning against the Yankees, and they made him pay.

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  He pitched in three non-save situations this week, and did exactly what Ozzie Guillen asked of him.  He picked up two wins, even though he didn't look pretty throwing a scoreless inning against the Orioles.

Gas Can of the Week:  Octavio Dotel.  Not a week he'll want to remember -- he gave up a grand slam to Bobby Abreu, and then let a game get out of hand against Baltimore, even though Konerko can receive a fair share of the blame for that one.

Super Sub:  Brian Anderson.  He drove in the game-winning run with a single -- better yet, he did so while starting the at-bat 0-2.  That's a good week's work.

Super Scrub:  Alexei Ramirez.  Right now, the only reason to call him the Cuban Missile is because his bats explode with the best of them.

Gold Glove:  Bobby Jenks.  He made a helluva nice stab on Melvin Mora's comebacker to keep the game tied Saturday.  Nobody else stands out.

Hands of Stone:  Paul Konerko.  He committed three errors in the Baltimore doubleheader, although only two of them counted.  The other was charged to Dotel, who had the nerve to hit Konerko's wrist with a pickoff throw.

Week in a Box: April 14 - 20

This week's "Week in a Box" brought to you by 11-7.  11-7: Good for first place in the AL Central three weeks into the season since 2007.

Player of the Week:  Jim Thome.  His week began with an ejection, but The Gentleman Masher quelled doubters with three homers and 10 RBI -- including a titantic blast off the catwalk in the Tropicana Dome -- giving Sox pitchers an early lead to work with each time.

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  Even by his standards, ¡Profundo! is struggling.  He had a two-hit game, but he also went 0-for-19 in the at-bats surrounding those hits.

Pitchers of the Week:  John Danks and Jose Contreras.  Danks had two great starts as opposed to Contreras' one, but a rare vintage performance by The Count is too good to ignore.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  He lost both starts, although he pitched well enough to win against Oakland.  On the other hand, his loss to the Rays featured a vintage Buehrle meltdown.  At least he went seven innings both times.

Fire Man of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  Thornton struck out three over two innings of work this week, and has looked virtually unhittable since getting touched up for a run Opening Day.

Gas Can of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  His struggles against Baltimore continued with his first blown save of the year.

Super Sub of the Week:  Alexei Ramirez.  He hasn't done much at the plate yet, but his throw that nailed Emil Brown at second Tuesday set the tone for terrific defensive work all game long.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Brian Anderson.  He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the Rays, looking like the same Anderson everybody knows.

Gold Glove:  Carlos Quentin.  He made two catches while crashing into the wall, and unlike some of his teammates who also made outstanding defensive plays, he didn't have any headscratchers, either.

Hands of Stone:  A.J. Pierzynski, Pablo Ozuna, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Uribe, Paul Konerko.  By my count, this is a list of everybody involved in the two blown rundowns in the final two games of the series against the Rays.

Week in a Box: April 7-13

And now a look back at the week that was.  As always, if your opinion differs, state your case.

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  Two grand slams -- including one to break open the home opener -- will do that

Player of the Weak:  Jim Thome.  Went 2-for-14 with no extra-base hits this week, and he's missing pitches he ordinarily hammers.

Pitcher of the Week:  Gavin Floyd.  He took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Tigers, improving to 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA on the season and stopping a two-game losing streak.  Now, if he can manage it against a team besides Detroit.  Honorable mention to Javier Vazquez.

Pitcher of the Weak:  John Danks.  The Minnesota Twins deployed their Death By Singles attacked, and Danks succumbed, lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Twins.

Fireman of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  He didn't work anything resembling high-leverage innings, but he threw three scoreless innings, striking out four Twins over a two-inning stint, and retiring three Tigers on six pitches, all of them strikes.

Gas Can of the Week:  Nick Masset.  Nick Magic played a big part in two five-run innings in that 12-5 loss to the Twins, allowing all three of Danks' inherited runners to score on top of his five earned runs.  He helped turn a 7-3 game into a 12-3 game.

Super Sub of the Week:  Brian Anderson and Toby Hall.  Both did what they were supposed to do in their spot starts.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  With two off days, Ozzie Guillen hasn't had to use his bench much.

Gold Glove of the Week:  Juan Uribe.  Continues to be a double play-turning machine.

Hands of Stone:  A.J. Pierzynski.  It's mostly the pitchers' fault, but teams are running wild on him right now.

Week in a Box: March 31 - April 6

After nearly a year off, this feature returns.  Hopefully you'll add your own highs and lows, and feel free to disagree with my selections, because I can be persuaded.

Player of the Week:  A.J. Pierzynski.  You know things are going well for A.J. when he's intentionally walked twice in the same game, and once with a seven-run lead and two outs.  He also provided the winning runs in the opener against Detroit with a three-run homer, and was one of the few to show up against Fausto Carmona.

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  He struck out in his first three at-bats of the year and went 1-for-7 with runners on this week, although he hit a big solo shot against the Indians.  If he's having the worst week at the plate of all the regulars (4-for-20), the lineup isn't in bad shape.

Pitcher of the Week:  John Danks.  Danks held the Indians to two hits -- one of which should have been caught by Jermaine Dye -- over 6 2/3 stellar innings to lead the Sox to their first win of the year, sparing a bullpen that was worked hard over the first two games.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  This had Mark Buehrle's name all over it until he rebounded with seven strong against Detroit Sunday night.  Now it goes to The Count, and his dropping down 89.3 percent of the time.

Fireman of the Week:  Scott Linebrink.  Others can make a good case for this one, like Bobby Jenks (three saves) and Boone Logan (excellent situational relief work), but Linebrink handled the eighth inning with ease not once, not twice, but thrice.  Three innings, one hit, no walks, three strikeouts -- just like Kenny Williams drew it up.

Gas Can of the Week:  Octavio Dotel.  Dotel spoiled a comeback effort from the Sox offense by giving up a three-run double to Casey Blake in the opener.  He did gain his revenge, at least.

Super Sub of the Week:  Carlos Quentin.  After Alexei Ramirez's early struggles, Ozzie gave Quentin a shot, and Quentin has given the Sox a shot in the arm with seven RBI in four games, plus a couple homers he missed by a matter of feet.  He delivered twice with the bases loaded against Detroit Sunday, and then there was his throw.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Toby Hall.  He looked overmatched at the plate in his one appearance, and scouts say he's the easiest catcher to run on.

Gold Glove:  Nick Swisher.  This had Carlos Quentin's name all over it until he dropped an easy fly ball against Detroit Sunday, which is something that can't be done when Mike MacDougal's on the mound. He made a couple nice catches against Detroit and one against Cleveland, and his steady play in center might keep Jerry Owens out of the starting lineup.  He was charged with an error, but he didn't deserve it.  Who did?

Hands of Stone: Jermaine Dye.  Dye missed a couple catches a better right fielder likely would have made, and had the penchant for running into his center fielder; the second incident resulted in an error charged to Swisher.  He did make a nice sliding grab to close out the opener against Detroit, and started an excellent relay to nail Ramon Santiago at third to keep an inning from getting out of hand.