Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

Midseason Review: Tadahito Iguchi

AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	SB	CS
303	57	87	13	0	10	40	.287	.346	.429	5	3

Something nice:  For the most part, Tadahito Iguchi has picked up where he left off last year, showing decent power, speed and on-base skills for a second baseman.  After posting a .780 OPS last year, he's at .775 this year at the break.  The difference is in slugging percentage, mostly due to a complete absence of triples.  Otherwise, he's on pace to hit more home runs than he did last year, and his doubles are right on track as well.  His range has improved, and he's still solid at throwing to the base ahead, though he missed a couple of double play turns earlier this season.

Must improve:  Bat control.  Ozzie Guillen said Iguchi was his team MVP last year for his ability to advance runners by hitting to the right side and laying down sacrifice bunts.  This year, his bunting has been absolutely abysmal, and he's striking out slightly more, even though he's getting the green light more often than he did last season. 

Three best games

April 15
Iguchi made one of the plays of the year with his spinning throw-out of Bengie Molina in the late innings of this game against Toronto.  He also had a hit and scored a run.

May 20
Everybody will remember this game for the brawl, but Iguchi made sure that nobody on the Cubs side felt good about this one.  He had three hits, including his first grand slam two batters after Michael Barrett punched A.J. Pierzynski, and a two-run homer later on.  He drove in six of the seven runs.

June 25
If there were an award for "Best Effort in a Loss," Iguchi would win it.  He turned a discouraging blowout into a near-victory when he hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Russ Springer, and a game-tying grand slam off the much-victimized Brad Lidge to make up a 9-2 deficit all by himself.
 
Three worst games

May 3
In a tight game, Iguchi makes an ill-advised double-play turn, airmailing the throw to give Seattle a one-run lead.  He needed a two-out, ninth-inning home run by Pablo Ozuna to bail him out.

May 7
Iguchi pops up a bunt on a suicide squeeze, giving the Royals an easy inning-ending double play after the Sox had Royals pitching on the ropes.

May 30
Iguchi is partly to blame for this loss, popping up a sacrifice bunt attempt and spoiling the Sox's chances for an extra run.  The Sox ended up needing it, losing to the Indians 4-3.  Popping up bunts has been a recurring theme. 

Grades

Bat: B
The only thing Iguchi needs to improve is his bunting -- not that I want to see him employ it all that often, because twice this year he's blown bunt attempts only to get a hit on the next pitch.  But in situations where a bunt is necessary, he needs to do better than his awkward jabs at the ball.  The last game of the first half illustrated that.

Running:  B-
Tadahito ran into some outs early in the year on some ill-advised stolen base attempts, but has been smarter about it in the last month or two.  Of course, having Jim Thome hitting behind him ensures that he's not going to do anything too reckless.

Fielding:  B
Botched double plays notwithstanding, Iguchi has been solid once again, and is on pace to cut down significantly on his error total from last year.  He's even displayed some dynamite range at times, bailing out Mark Buehrle twice during the Pittsburgh series.

Awards

Player of the Week, May 28-June 3
Player of the Weak, May 7-13