Missing the playoffs may turn out to be a blessing in disguise this year, because a full offseason will do some guys' bodies good. Here are a few banged-up fellas with their post-injury stat lines:
Joe Crede, since removing himself on Sept. 6 against Boston:
| AB | H | 2B | HR | RBI | K | BA | OPS | GIDP |
33
| 4
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 5
| .121
| .426 | 5
|
Crede's plate coverage had been extraordinary up until that point, but the low and away pitch is killing Crede. He can't go to right with much authority, forcing him to jerk balls into the ground. A small positive: He's drawn six walks during this stretch, so maybe he's forcing himself to be a little more selective. It's not much, but it's something. It'd be nice to get Josh Fields a start or two in the meantime.
Jim Thome, since returning to the lineup on Aug. 30 from a strained hamstring:
| AB | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | K | BA | OPS |
63
| 14
| 1 | 5
| 11 | 18
| 17
| .222 | .893
|
Thanks to the gigantic amount of walks he draws, he's able to buoy his OPS. But something seems different about Thome this month compared to others. He seems late on fastballs, if he's swinging at all. I want to box his ears every time he tosses the bat and starts jogging to first on a clear called strike three. Four of his five homers have been solo shots. One gave the Sox the lead; the rest have not been of any import.
Mike MacDougal, after his MRI on Sept. 14:Very small sample size, and MacDougal's velocity looked okay tonight. But it seems like his shoulder tightness has threw off his control a little. He's walked as many guys in his last two outings as he did in his first 20.
Mark Buehrle, after his MRI on Sept. 5:
I know, I know, you can dial this one back to the start of July. For the sake of consistency, I'm going with the dates where the White Sox officially acknowledged something might be physically wrong. We also discussed this one yesterday, so there's not much more that needs to be said.
Bobby Jenks, after his MRI on Sept. 5:Jenks looked a lot better in his last outing against Detroit, when he came in to protect a seven-run lead. He struck out the side, touched 98 with his fastball, and got a swing and miss with a curve ball. Hopefully he's back at full strength, though the Sox likely won't have to push him too hard the rest of the year.
Jose Contreras, after his return from the DL May 21:
W-L
| IP | H | ERA | BB | K
|
8-8
| 149.2
| 159 | 4.87
| 44 | 111
|
Contreras' line looked a lot worse until he tossed brilliant back-to-back starts on Sept. 6 and Sept. 11. He was one grooved fastball to Frank Thomas away from having a third straight quality start, so the chances of bouncing back are greater than Buehrle's.
There are a couple other candidates for this list, such as Jermaine Dye, who left a game with back spasms. He's having his worst month, but it's nothing like his April in 2005. Freddy Garcia would also benefit from a full offseason, although Don Cooper says he's finally 100 percent. I wouldn't be surprised if Neal Cotts found out something was wrong, like perhaps he's actually right-handed.