I have a couple of stickings points with
the latest Phil Rogers column -- and its not where I'd expect. Rogers
was all over Kenny Williams earlier in the offseason for the Freddy Garcia and Brandon McCarthy trades, going so far as to call him "arrogant", but there's no mention of that here, surprisingly. Rogers is actually optimistic about what the power arms Williams acquired can do for this year's squad.
Here's one point that's somewhat funny...
X-factor: Keep an eye on rookie Oneli Perez. He was dominant in
the low minors last season and then pitched extremely well in the
Dominican Republic this winter. He could be a pleasant surprise.
...considering Perez didn't even merit a mention in
Rogers' list of top 10 Sox prospects he compiled for Baseball America. Somebody's hopping on the Oneli bandwagon.
The other one is downright frustrating:
Last year: White Sox pinch-hitters batted .224. Alex Cintron
had his moments, but the addition of Rob Mackowiak did not pay major
dividends. [...] [Mackowiak's] effectiveness dropped in 2006, perhaps because his at-bats also
dropped, and it is hard to forecast more than another 255 at-bats for
him this season unless he somehow winds up getting extended playing
time in left field or at second base.
By most accounts, Mackowiak
actually had a more effective season than any of his other campaigns. Consider:
- He set a career-high in batting average (.290).
- He set a career-high in OBP (.365).
- He set a career-high in OPS. (.788)
- He batted .300+ in three consecutive months (a first for him).
- He batted .350/.458/.500 as a pinch hitter
The only thing slightly underwhelming about his performance offensively was his slugging percentage -- at .404, it was the second-lowest of his career. But if the OBP/SLG tradeoff is necessary, I'd take that .365 OBP every time.
Of course, his center field defense offset those contributions some, but I'm pretty sure Rogers is only talking about his bat.
The pinch-hitting situation does warrant monitoring, because while the Sox don't have Chris Widger or Sandy Alomar Jr. (1-for-12 combined), they lose
Ross Gload's awesome bench bat (7-for-20). Cintron also needs to improve on his 1-for-14 performance last season.