Tag / Ozzie Guillen

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#106 – Octavio Dotel

odotel

Name: Octavio Dotel

Rank: 106

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Octavio Dotel joined the White Sox as a free agent on January 21, 2008, signing a two-year deal.  He became a work horse out of the bullpen for Ozzie Guillen during the 2008 season, going 4-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 72 games as the White Sox took home the Central Division title.  Dotel then appeared in all 4 games of the ALDS against the Rays, giving up 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched.

2009 was more of the same for Dotel.  In 10 fewer appearances, he went 3-3, lowering his ERA to 3.32.  Following the season, Dotel became a free agent, ending his White Sox career.

Dotel’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Book 1 (of 52) – Pudge: The Biography Of Carlton Fisk

Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk - Doug Wilson

Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk – Doug Wilson

Doug Wilson traces the life of Carlton Fisk, from his upbringing in New Hampshire, to his time in Boston as a leader for the Red Sox, and, finally, to his tenure as the under-appreciated All Star on the south side of Chicago.  Along the way, Fisk overcame injuries and slights, both perceived and real, to become one of the greatest catchers ever to take the field.

Wilson manages to get great insight into Fisk, even if he didn’t get much input from Fisk himself, thanks to those around him.  For the most part, his time in Boston was mostly a mystery to me, besides his home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.  I was mostly looking forward to reading about his time in Chicago, where he signed as a free agent in 1981 after the Red Sox were late in offering him a contact.

New White Sox ownership was looking to make a splash, and the signing of Fisk certainly gave them what they were looking for.  Despite putting up good numbers, Fisk’s advancing age seemed to always put him at odds with White Sox leadership, who either tried to replace him with unready rookies like Joel Skinner and Ron Karkovice, or move him to a new position, such as the ill-fated attempt to play left field during the 1986 season.  Finally, six days after breaking Bob Boone’s record for games caught, he was released by the White Sox in 1993, leading to years of resentment that continued into the 21st century.

I enjoyed the look back at Fisk’s time with the White Sox, despite dreading the later years when the team was not particularly good.  Reading about the seasons I had lived through as a child, I was able to gain greater insight in to why his career ended the way it did and the rift that existed between him and the White Sox, seemingly until former teammate Ozzie Guillen became manager in 2004.

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#121 – Chris Getz

getz

Name: Chris Getz

Rank: 121

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Chris Getz was selected by the White Sox in the 6th round of the 2002 draft, but instead elected to attend Wake Forest.  3 years later, following a transfer to Michigan, Getz was again drafted by the White Sox, this time in the 4th round.  By 2008, Getz appeared in the Futures Game before making his major league debut on August 12 against the Royals.  He appeared in 10 games, but managed only 7 at bats for the year as the White Sox won the AL Central.

With Alexei Ramirez moving to shortstop in 2009, second base was left open for Getz and manager Ozzie Guillen awarded him the every day job coming out of spring training.  Getz led the league with a 92.6 stolen base percentage and tied for first among AL rookies with 28 multi-hit games.

Following the season, Getz, along with Josh Fields, was traded to the Royals for Mark Teahen.

Getz’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#169 – Mike Caruso

mcarusoName: Mike Caruso

Rank: 169

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 1998-1999

Mike Caruso was the centerpiece coming back to the White Sox, along with Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Lorenzo Barcelo, Brian Manning, and Ken Vining, in the so-called White Flag trade on July 31, 1997 that sent Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez to the Giants.  Caruso was a 20 year old in Class A who was expected to be the heir apparent to Ozzie Guillen on the left side of the White Sox infield.  He fought his way on to the opening day roster in 1998, beating out Benji Gil, and became an instant success story.

He made his major league debut on Opening Day 1998, going 1 for 5 in a White Sox victory against the Rangers.  By the time the year was over, he had compiled a .306 average, the highest rookie total by a Sox player since Minnie Minoso in 1951 and the best for a shortstop since Luis Aparicio in 1970.  He finished 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner Ben Grieve and two spots ahead of teammate Magglio Ordonez.

Things started to go south in 1999.  Without veteran third baseman Robin Ventura to cover him, Caruso’s defense, already thought to be suspect, was exposed thanks to a strong arm and shrinking range.  Offensively, his average dropped to .250 and he managed only 17 extra base hits in 529 at bats, for a slugging percentage below .300.  Manager Jerry Manuel called out his young shortstop, for his poor production, lack of preparation, and a general lack of baseball smarts.

The 2000 season saw Caruso back in the minor leagues, thanks to the arrival of Jose Valentin.  While his former teammates went on to win the AL Central, Caruso struggled against minor league pitching before an injury ended his season prematurely.  Following the season, he was designated for assignment and was selected off of waivers by the Mariners.

Caruso’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#174 – Orlando Cabrera

072008-Cabrera-03Name: Orlando Cabrera

Rank: 174

Position: SS

Year With White Sox: 2008

On November 19, 2007, Orlando Cabrera was traded to the White Sox from the Angels in exchange for Jon Garland.  The thinking was that Cabrera, fresh off a Gold Glove season, would help to stabilize the left side of the infield.  Unfortunately, stabilize is not quite what he did.

In May, Cabrera made waves by calling the press box to complain about two errors that were charged against him.  When questioned about the calls, Cabrera claimed that he had no choice as manager Ozzie Guillen was not supporting him.

In July, he got in to a dugout confrontation with Jermaine Dye over stealing third base while Dye was at bat.  Cabrera had to be restrained by Jose Contreras before the argument spilled in to the clubhouse.

As September was coming to an end, and the White Sox were the Twins for the AL Central title, Cabrera again became a distraction, this time calling out his teammates for not having the right attitude going in to games.  A little more than a week later, Cabrera tried to start something with Ray’s pitcher Grant Balfour in the 7th inning of game 1 of the ALDS.  Down 6-3 with the bases loaded and 2 out, Cabrera, for reasons that I’m sure made sense to him, took exception to an outside pitch, causing a bit of a brouhaha.  Once tempers calmed, Balfour struck out Cabrera and the Rays went on to win the game, and, eventually, the series, ending Cabrera’s tenure with the White Sox.  He left as a free agent after the season.

Cabrera’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by jim

Transaction Tree

WhiteSox-rosterA few weeks back, when Corey Kluber won the Cy Young award, a New York time reporter tweeted how the Indians had, through multiple trades, turned Eddie Taubensee’s 1991 roster spot in to Kluber.  The fine folks at Grantland took it a step farther, and looked at the longest such chain for all 30 teams.

The White Sox fall smack dab in the middle of the league, having the 15th longest chain, dating back to the February 8, 1994 signing of amateur free agent Carlos Lee.  Lee made his major league debut on May 7, 1999, and quickly became a mainstay of the White Sox lineup, holding down left field through the 2004 season.  New manager Ozzie Guillen had tired of the station to station team he inherited, and was looking to implement some small ball, so Lee was shipped to the Brewers for a package that included Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino.

Vizcaino spent just the one season with the White Sox, earning a World Series championship ring for his troubles.  With general manager Kenny Williams looking to repeat, he packaged Vizcaino with Orlando Hernandez and outfielder Chris Young in a trade to the Diamondbacks for starting pitcher Javier Vazquez.

Vazquez lasted 3 seasons with the White Sox, up to and including their 2008 AL Central title-winning year.  As the White Sox battled the Twins for the title, Vazquez turned out to be the one weak link in the rotation.  With the season stretching to a 163rd game, Guillen was forced to turn to Vazquez to start the first game of the division series against the Rays.  Vazquez responded to the challenge by giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings, putting his team in an early hole in the best of 5 series.

Feeling that he couldn’t open the 2009 season with Vazquez still on the roster, Kenny Williams moved him, along with Boone Logan, to the Braves for, among others, Brent Lillibridge and Tyler Flowers.  Flowers made his debut in 2009 and became the full time starting catcher in 2013.  His production has been lacking over the course of his major league career, and, should an opportunity to upgrade arise, this chain may come to an end.

by jim

BBWAA Award Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Michael Brantley, Mike Trout, Victor Martinez

Mike Trout was my pre-season selection to win this award, and I think, for once, I might have gotten one right.  With Miguel Cabrera out of the picture, thanks to an injury-plagued campaign, Trout should bring home the award that many thought he deserved the past 2 seasons.

Cy Young Award: Chris Sale, Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber

My initial guess of David Price obviously did not make the cut.  While Chris Sale is the sentimental choice around these parts, smart money says that Felix Hernandez will take home the prize.

Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, Mike Scioscia, Ned Yost

Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  Normally, I would go with Ned Yost, who led the Royals to the post-season for the first time since 1985, but if there is one thing the national media agrees on, it is how bad Ned Yost is as a manager.  My guess is that the award will go to Buck Showalter, who lead the Orioles to their first division title since 1997.

abreuRookie of the Year: Jose Abreu, Dellin Betances, Matt Shoemaker

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  This one should be a no-brainer.  I would expect Jose Abreu to bring the award back to the south side for the first time since Ozzie Guillen in 1985.

National League

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#199 – Manny Ramirez

manram

Name: Manny Ramirez

Rank: 199

Position: DH

Year With White Sox: 2010

With the White Sox 4 games behind the division leading Twins and looking for an offensive boost, they put in a waiver claim for Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers let him and the remaining $3.85 million on his contract go.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, Ramirez was not much help.  Over the final month of the season, in which the White Sox dropped another 2 games in the standings, Ramirez managed 1 home run and a whopping 2 RBI.  All told, the move didn’t quite work out the way GM Kenny Williams or manager Ozzie Guillen intended.  Following the season, Ramirez left the White Sox as a free agent.

Ramirez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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#200 – Corky Miller

corkymillerName: Corky Miller

Rank: 200

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 2009

Journeyman catcher Corky Miller signed a minor league deal with the White Sox following the 2008 season, with an invite to spring training.  Miller impressed during the spring and earned a job with the big league club as backup to starter A.J. Pierzynski.

Miller went 2-4 with 2 RBI in his first game of the season, but struggled offensively after that.  In 14 games, he hit just .205 with 5 RBI and had thrown out just 1 of the 9 runners attempting to steal against him.

On May 31, Miller was designated for assignment after the White Sox acquired catcher Ramon Castro in a trade with the Mets.  “Corky Miller was outstanding from the first day of Spring Training to today,” manager Ozzie Guillen said at the time.  “Corky did a tremendous job for us and I was very happy with him, but we made a decision that we had to get better there.”  Miller was assigned to Triple A, where he appeared in 4 games before the June 26 trade that sent him back to the Reds in exchange for Norris Hopper.

Miller’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by jim

Our Long Nightmare Is Finally Over

dunnx-wide-communityWhat started with such promise back on December 2, 2010 finally came to an end today as Adam Dunn’s White Sox career came to an end when he was traded to the A’s.  Dunn was supposed to add some left handed power to a White Sox team that was predominately right handed, but wound up disappointing every one associated with the franchise for the last four years.

The White Sox first showed interest in Adam Dunn during the 2009 season, while he was playing for the Washington Nationals.  The speculation of a deal increased when Kenny Williams pulled the trigger on a deal that sent young pitcher Daniel Hudson to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Edwin Jackson, whom the Nationals were reportedly interested in as part of a package for Dunn.  However, Dunn balked at having to play designated hitter and, as the trade deadline passed, no deal was made.

Following the season, Dunn apparently came to terms with playing designated hitter, signing a four year deal worth $56 million with the White Sox.  As the 2011 season got under way, things looked to be off to a great start.  Dunn was hitting .286 with 1 home run, an opening day blast against the Indians, and 5 RBIs when he came down with appendicitis on April 6, a mere four games in to the season.  When he returned, things completely fell apart.

dunn095As the 2011 season went on, things started crumbling for the White Sox.  The relationship between Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen had worsened to the point of no return, and Dunn, their big free agent signing, had completely gone off the rails.  Despite missing time due to his appendicitis, Dunn managed to rack up 100 strikeouts before the end of June.  Continue reading →