posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 11:12 PM
by
Jim
Some spring training optimism, like it or not
With the shaky starting pitching this spring, the idea of
two of the Sox's four worst hitters batting 1-2 and absorbing the most plate appearances,
the suddenly putrid backup catcher situation and the question marks surrounding Bobby Jenks and two other bullpen spots, there are a number of substantial reasons to be pessimistic about the White Sox.
I'm going to try to counter that a bit, because it's way too early to feel this bad. It's more difficult than I thought, but here are five reasons to look forward to Opening Day:
1) Juan Uribe looks good, and he's not in jail. While Juan will never look lithe, he lost enough weight to give him that extra step back. He's made pretty much all the plays at short, and his spring numbers (.286/.340/.490) are encouraging. If he can maintain his power and range while getting his OBP back over .300, he becomes an asset once again.
Uribe's on the right track. And
he's not Ugueth Urbina.
2) Paul Konerko has been steady. Good spring numbers are somewhat easy to come by, but the .317 average and .427 OBP means he's seeing the ball well, and he
leads the team in RBI. He doesn't make the most money on the Sox, but he receives more of the White Sox's money than anybody else on the club. It's easy to take Konerko for granted, but his performance is important nonetheless.
3) Tadahito Iguchi is heating up. The Emperor always has a bad start to his spring, but Iguchi's been on a roll as of late. Half of his 14 hits this spring have been for extra bases.
4) Matt Thornton continues to rub it in. Boone Logan and his 0.00 ERA lead the Sox relievers this spring, but the disaster that was his major-league stint last year still leaves him with an enormous amount to prove. That's not the case with Thorndog, who has allowed only one earned run in nine innings, while only walking one.
5) Brian Anderson is on the roster. Yes, he's not starting, but that he made Ozzie Guillen (or maybe just Kenny Williams) keep him on the roster is a positive sign. He's looked a lot more disciplined at the plate this spring and had no problems seeing the ball in center. With a free pass in his only plate appeance today,
he's walked more than he's struck out this spring. That's a significant development.
Honorable mentions:- Joe Crede is hitting .367 and flopping around the hot corner with no problem. Jim Thome has overcome a slow start and is slugging .788. Of course, we'll have to see if they can hold up during the second half.
- Josh Fields looks like he can cut it. More seasoning in Triple-A won't hurt, but it would've been interesting to see where he would've ended up in a truly open outfield competition.