2007 Record 72 Wins
90 Losses - 4th American League Central
2007
Money ($1,14) Moneyline ~ ($153) Runline ~ 70-81 Over/Under
2007 Review
It's hard to believe the White Sox won the World Series just two years ago. After finishing with 99 wins in 2005, Chicago dipped to 90 wins the next year and missing the playoffs by five games. No one saw only 72 wins last year coming however. Everything that could have gone wrong did. Injuries piled up early, pitching was getting pounded and the hitters could not produce. Little did everyone know that the 12-5 loss suffered Opening Day would be a good summation of the entire season.
2008
Offense
The 3-4-5 hitters remain intact for the White Sox but that is about all that
remains in this lineup. Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye will once again
be the power in the middle but the White Sox are hoping for a much quicker start
from the three following a very slow start last season. The only other likely
returnee from last season is catcher A.J. Pierzynski who had his share of struggles
last season. Three players will battle out the opening at 2nd base with veteran
Juan Uribe leading the way.
The rest of the lineup looks different
but that is a good thing. Third base
is a question mark, mostly because of
the status of Joe Crede and his recovery
from season-ending back surgery. Josh
Fields has the job and if Crede does
show he is healthy, he will be traded.
Chicago grabbed Nick Swisher from Oakland
and Orlando Cabrera from the Angels,
giving it two great on base guys. 2nd
year center fielder Jerry Owens hit .340
the last month and finished the season
with a team-high 32 stolen bases and
will hit leadoff.
2008
Starting Pitching
The rotation is pretty much set barring
any injuries or any other surprises.
Gone is Jon Garland who has a disappointing
2007 after two straight seasons of 18
victories. Mark Buehrle will be the No.
1 starter again, followed by Javier Vazquez,
John Danks, Jose Contreras and Gavin
Floyd. Buehrle had a disappointing 2006,
his worst year ever actually, but posted
a 3.63 ERA and 1.26 WHIP last season,
the fifth time he has posted a sub-4.00
ERA in his seven years as a starter.
Vazquez and Contreras are both tossups. Vazquez had his best season last year
since his days in Montreal and his 1.14 WHIP and .242 BAA were both the second
lowest in his career. As far as Contreras goes, he had a miserable season, losing
17 games while posting a 5.57 ERA. His 3.72 ERA in August and September should
help ease some of the pain. Danks had a rough rookie campaign but Chicago is
hoping for better. Floyd’s ERA the last three seasons - 10.04, 7.29 and
5.27. At least it is coming down.
2008
Bullpen
Last year the bullpen was a big weakness
but this year it could be the strength.
The White Sox pen had an ERA of 5.49,
one of only four teams in all of baseball
that finished with an ERA over five.
The .281 average allowed was second worst
in baseball and Chicago knew something
needed to be done. Bobby Jenks excelled
as the closer and actually had a better
season last year than in 2006, his first
as the full time closer. He was one of
the only bright spots of the entire relief
corps.
The White Sox improved the bullpen by signing Scott Linebrink, a free agent from
Milwaukee and Octavio Dotel, a free agent from Atlanta. Linebrink was great with
the Brewers and Padres last season while having four spectacular seasons in San
Diego prior to that. Dotel has been up and down throughout his career and did
have a decent season spitting time with the Royals and Braves last year. Both
should be excellent in the setup role. Ehren Wassermann and Nick Masset will
battle for the seventh and final pen spot.
2008
Overall Outlook
The White Sox will be better this year there is no question about that. The problem is that they play in the ultra-tough American League Central. So while they may get a few more wins, that doesn't necessarily mean they will get any closer to a playoff spot. Chicago was an overvalued team last season since expectations were so high and the problem is that we might see that again this season. The value could be there when they play the Indians and Tigers, and they meet nine times in the first two weeks of the season.
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