By Ricky O’Donnell
This portion of the festivities was dangerously close to being dedicated to the maturation and subsequent greatness of the young John Danks. But if there’s one thing Chicago baseball fans should know, it’s never go too crazy drawing conclusions from small sample sizes early in the season. Call it the Tuffy Rhodes rule.
Still, Danks has been lights-out so far, picking up two wins this week and pitching more like Mark Buehrle than Mark Buehrle has thus far in 2008. Success in baseball, however, often comes as easily as it goes, especially for 23-year old pitchers. To be a sure thing, it takes consistency. As of now, it’s too early to say Danks has found it.
The White Sox hitters, on the other hand, seem to be here to stay. This year’s version of the new South Side Hitmen should remind some of the 2006 crew that tore apart American League pitching all season and won 90 games. But it’s the changes that were made in the lineup this offseason that have helped the offense rebound from a horrid 2007.
Just ask Buehrle, who credits the newfound firepower to additions of Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, and Carlos Quentin. Combine the new faces with comeback years from Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, and Jermaine Dye, and the best offense in the American League may belong to the White Sox.
The Sox lead the American League in home runs (24), and rank fourth in runs scored (92). What’s perplexing is that they are dead last in the majors in hits, with only 135. By comparison, the league-leading Angels already have 194. That simply means the Sox are scoring more efficiently: taking walks and getting extra base hits. Playing for the three-run homer has never looked so good.
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Week in Review: The Sox finished the week 4-3 after splitting a pair a two-game sets against the A’s and Orioles, and taking two of three against the Rays.
Week in Preview: Playing the Rays and A’s sure was fun while it lasted. Tuesday sees the mighty Yankees come to town, who may not be so mighty if Alex Rodriguez can’t go because of a quad injury. Three home games follow against Baltimore.
It’s Joe, Not Jonas: Hey Joe Maddon, Rivers Cuomo called, he wants his glasses back.
Only Frank: Frank Thomas is The Sox Report’s favorite Good Guy of all-time, but man, is he a clown or what. Only the Big Hurt would be prissy enough to parlay a one-game benching into being released, as Thomas did on Sunday when the Blue Jays let him go. Frank could have owned Chicago if he didn’t always act like such a little girl all the time before he left after 2005. People forget how awesome he was. And to think, Toronto cut him so . . . Matt Stairs can get more playing time. Not good.
How’s the Weather Down There: If the White Sox end up, you know, actually doing something this year, one of the season’s key moments could be when Jerry Owens went down in spring training. Manager Ozzie Guillen seemed enamored with the speedy, light-hitting center fielder, but when Owens tore his right adductor, it opened up a spot in the outfield for Quentin. Meanwhile, Swisher has proved to a great leadoff man, and an above average defender in center. Hope you like traveling on buses in Charlotte, Jerry. The seats on the plane are all filled up.
That’s Ozzie: “When [Danks] was behind in the count, he was throwing breaking balls for strikes,” Guillen said. “That’s confidence. When you’re a rookie and you struggle like he did, you grow up real quick in this game. Hopefully he continues to do it. We count on him. Everyone we put out there is expected to throw good games.”
Beachwood Sabermetrics: A complex algorithm performed by the White Sox Report staff using all historical data made available by Major League Baseball has determined that Marty Brennaman is cooler than you are.
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Ricky O’Donnell is the proprietor of Tremendous Upside Potential.
Posted on April 21, 2008