andruw jones

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Andruw flails into oblivion, again

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Because Carlos Quentin has taken over the role of “Mr. Glass” from Chris Getz, Andruw Jones has received three straight starts against right-handed pitching.

In the process, I’ve developed a morbid curiosity while watching him that evokes an emotion halfway between “infuriated” and “amused.”  “Infused” is already a word, so maybe I’ll just say it makes me “Druwsy.”  With either no desire or ability to make adjustments. Jones astounds with his predictability.

Over those three games against righty starters  — two of them pitch-to-contact types, the other Felix Hernandez — Jones went 1-for-12 with six strikeouts.  The one hit was a homer, but it was on a hanging slider by Jamey Wright, who was deemed unfit for Cleveland’s bullpen this season. And even he had Andruw down 0-2.

Swinging himself into the ground every chance he gets, Jones has  developed three true outcomes of his own: strikeout, groundout to left and flyout to left.  Check out his spray chart from month to month:

Andruw Jones decomposes before our very eyes.

According to FanGraphs, Jones has the lowest line-drive percentage of any major-league hitter with at least 200 plate appearances.  Better yet, if you look at his batted-ball percentages on the season, you’ll see that it’s dropping still.

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Let’s grant Andruw independence

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

A handful of thoughts and a bucketful of dreams over the past couple of days while I enjoy a brief vacation:

Can we pull the plug on Andruw Jones? Not only was his 0-for-4 on Saturday night particularly ugly (two strikeouts and a first pitch double-play in what turned out to be a three-pitch inning), but now he’s in a 3-for-44 slump.

Or, if you want to go back further, he’s 18-for-117 since April 27.

At this point, I think any at-bats that could potentially end up in his hands should go to Dayan Viciedo, who hasn’t looked overmatched yet, and it would be nice to know if he will be.  Any outfield starts that could go to him should to go Mark Kotsay, who at least has a pulse.  And maybe…

Brent Lillibridge should get some more action. After his big ninth-inning double that went to waste on Saturday, Lillibridge is 4-for-4 as a pinch hitter.  Moreover, all four hits have gone for extra bases, including a huge bases-clearing triple the time before.

There is a risk of overexposing whatever adjustments he has made, but I think an all-fields approach should be rewarded instead of watching Jones spin himself into the ground with two strikes and make no-look catches when he hasn’t backed up the act in years.

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Sox have small window to right past wrongs

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Watching Scott Podsednik and Juan Pierre contribute RBI singles in the White Sox’s 4-3 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday reminded me that it had been a while since I compared them.

Just like last year, they’re proving to be pretty similar players:

PA 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K BA OBP SLG
Podsednik 330 5 4 3 22 9 23 47 .290 .335 .365
Pierre 336 7 1 0 29 8 20 23 .249 .318 .279

Here, it looks like Podsednik is a better player across the board.  However, there are a few key differences.

No. 1: April makes the difference. Here’s how Podsednik and Pierre compare from May 1 on:

  • Podsednik: .269/.305/.365, 14/22 SB
  • Pierre: .268/.336/.312, 20/24 SB

Considering OBP is far more important since they both play the leadoff position, there’s really no contest here.

No. 2: Defense. According to UZR, Podsednik is right around average (1.1 UZR/150), which is what he did for the Sox last year.  He makes it ugly and he freaks out when his spikes hit dirt, but his speed makes up for a lot.

Pierre, meanwhile, is playing left field better than anybody not named “Carl Crawford,” second with a UZR/150 of 23.0.

Right now, WAR barely favors Podsednik (0.5 to 0.4), but considering the respective directions of their numbers, it looks like Kenny Williams made the right decision.  Unless you like John Ely, are Phil Rogers, or both, that is.

Especially when you consider the following…

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Suddenly, White Sox are sweeping giants

Friday, June 25th, 2010

When the Sox rattled off six straight wins against the dregs of the National League, it was prudent to approach it with cautious enthusiasm. They didn’t blow any of those teams out of the water.  They did outplay them, but one could make the case — especially with regards to the Pirates — that the Sox just let the opponent underplay them.

Caution is a little harder to come by now.

The Sox used the same gameplan against a superior opponent, and the results were the same: three games, three excellent starts, three wins.  It’s hard to not get excited when Pale Hose pitching faced lineups like these…

Now this is a lineup.

…and allowed five runs over three games*.  With a DH. In warm weather. At U.S. Cellular Field.

(*No, Linebrink doesn’t count.)

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Mr. Jones and mean

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Remember when we were discussing whether 2010 Andruw Jones was any different than his 2009 self?

Right now, the answer has to be “no.”  In fact, they’d be hard-pressed to be more alike.  Here’s what Jones has done in his first 145 plate appearances in each of the last two seasons:

  • 2009: .246/.356/.519, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 21 BB, 30 K.
  • 2010: .236/.345/.520, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 20 BB, 32 K.

Jones numbers have taken a swan-dive in May, and his individual patterns aren’t the only trend continuing well into this month.  Just like in April, the Sox are saddled with siphons.

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Jones, Konerko wait themselves out

Friday, May 21st, 2010

When my dad and I commiserate about the White Sox, one subject that often comes up is the so-called catbird seat.

In an attempt to round down numerous conversations into one sentence, Dad generally feels that the White Sox think they’re taking advantage of the catbird seat by not having to swing for one or two pitches.

The numbers show that the Sox are around average when they get ahead 2-0 or 3-0, but nights like Thursday make it feel like they’re more than ready to hand the advantage right back to the pitcher.

I’m looking at you, Andruw Jones and Paul Konerko.  I’m not sure whose plate approach hurt more.

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The kids can’t play … or think

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

There’s a saying — and Ozzie Guillen just said it again — that good teams win games, and bad teams have meetings.

Guess which thing the White Sox accomplished on Wednesday?

Yes, Kenny Williams gave the Sox a vote of confidence, and the Sox did everything to undermine it, wasting another beautiful John Danks start with piss-poor execution both offensively and defensively.

I liked this Danks quote, a defense of his teammates tinged with a hint of resignation:

“We go into every game trying to throw shutouts anyway,” Danks said. “This season was supposed to be pitching and defense. So, this is the way it worked out. We just haven’t been pitching well enough and scoring enough runs. It’s a team thing.”

Maybe I’m reading too far into it, but that struck me as “I guess I’m going to have to be better than very good.”  Hey, I wouldn’t blame him if he were about to throw up his hands, among other things.

Jayson Nix, who made one play Mark Teahen wouldn’t have made with a handsome backhand pick and throw along the third-base line, made a play Teahen would have in the eighth, committing a double-error that allowed the decisive run to score.

Andruw Jones’ 2010 is looking more like his 2009 with every passing day and every weak, unproductive out with runners in scoring position, and incumbent super-slumpers Gordon Beckham, Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez still can’t find traction to make up for Jones’ expected regression.

New faces are finding new ways to kill any hope of momentum, and one wonders how longer Sox executives and coaches can continue to insist they have the talent.

Let me throw two quotes at you that I feel are pretty damning.  First, Greg Walker:

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FAQ: Will Carlos ever hit again?

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

After an awful start both at the plate and in the field, Juan Pierre has finally found a groove in both facets.  He’s hitting .362/.400/.382 in May, he’s been successful on eight of his last nine stolen-base attempts, and he’s tracking flies without hesitation in left.  He rockets between barely tolerable and fun to watch.  It’s not the easiest way for a ballplayer to make a living, but that’s what he does.

Likewise, Alex Rios shrugged off the bad luck and is the White Sox’s most valuable player right now.  His 12-game hitting streak was snapped on Wednesday, but he drew a walk, stole a base and scored a run on offense, and saved two runs with the best White Sox catch of the year by taking back Michael Cuddyer’s homer.

Even Andruw Jones, at least before he caught Paul Konerko’s sore neck (don’t want to know how), has been hanging tough.  He’s shown some signs of falling back to Earth — his plate discipline has started to wobble, namely — but he’s still been good for a .262/.311/.575 line this month.

This is all to say that Carlos Quentin has no clothes.

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It’s either going to get better, or worse

Monday, May 10th, 2010

After the fan-murderingist game of the year (to date), the Sox are truly at a fork in the road.  The choices:

Path A: They can climb their way back toward respectability and watchable baseball, if not contention, to where people are saying, “Imagine if they didn’t blow the first six weeks of the season.”

Path B: They can end up making desperate decisions — either a fire sale or a too-risky acquisition — fighting amongst themselves and obliterating every last casual fan.

I don’t believe there’s a middle ground.  I don’t think this team can lose gracefully or rebuild quietly.  Even if they had the ability, there are TV cameras on them, which is an exciting, new and potentially volatile element.

The first season-altering decision is removing Bobby Jenks from the closer role, which Ozzie Guillen suggested he’d do:

“Maybe the next couple of days we use somebody different,” Guillen said. “That way we can see if Bobby can get regrouped and come back to his form. Obviously, he is not throwing the ball well. The good thing is we have options, and we will see what happens the next few days.”

Jenks said of a change, “That doesn’t make sense.”  Reminiscent of Scott Linebrink saying, “Get me back on track how?” last season. But pitchers always seem to be the last to know.

The consensus single replacement is Matt Thornton, which doesn’t seem likely, if only because Guillen has lost all faith in Randy Williams (and justifably so).  Saving Thornton for the ninth means using Williams against the Justin Morneaus of the world with the bases loaded in the seventh.  It doesn’t add up.

But I’d love to see a closer by committee happen. There’s no reason to not use Thornton for multiple lefties in the ninth if a prior situation doesn’t demand his presence.  Sergio Santos has the stuff now, J.J. Putz might have it later if he shapes up.

At this point, it’s largely irrelevant who closes, as long as it’s somebody besides Jenks.  Nobody can feel comfortable on a team eight games out of first in mid-May — especially when the first-place team is coming to town.

A couple other changes I’d suggest:

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Garcia, Jones a good use of $1.5 million

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

If you didn’t buy White Sox Outsider 2010 (and why didn’t you? Did I do something wrong?), here’s an excerpt from Freddy Garcia’s season outlook:

Let’s look at it this way — Garcia’s main goal will be to give Guillen and Kenny Williams the option of doing whatever they want with Daniel Hudson.  If Garcia can get through the cold bats of April and early May, Hudson can either add polish to his slider at Charlotte, or gain experience against major-league hitters in medium-leverage situations out of the bullpen.

The Sox shouldn’t plan around Garcia beyond the first five or six weeks of the season. That’s not saying he can’t survive when summer rolls around, but he has no history of doing so over the past three seasons. Banking on that is one of the many, many things that got the Mets in trouble last year.

Five weeks into the season, Sweaty Freddy has given the Sox exactly what they needed — three quality starts in five outings, and a fourth that was good enough. It was nice to see him rewarded for his efforts with his first victory on Wednesday, and Ozzie Guillen recognized this as well.  He let Garcia warm up before the seventh inning, and then took him out — to a warm ovation from the fans, with a wad of Guillen’s gum on the front of his home black jersey.

But slowly, discreetly, we should turn our attention to Daniel Hudson, because the cracks in the levee are beginning to show.

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