Tag / Angels

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#253 – Scott Schoeneweis

Gn7OSHL5Name: Scott Schoeneweis

Rank: 253

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2003-2004

With the White Sox in contention for a division crown at the trade deadline in 2003, they swung a deal with the Angels to bolster their bullpen, getting Scott Schoeneweis, along with Doug Nickle, in exchange for Tim Bittner, Scott Dunn, and Gary Glover.  Schoeneweis appeared in 20 games for the White Sox down the stretch, putting up a 4.50 ERA as the team faltered.

In 2004, he moved into the starting rotation, but success was hard to find.  In 20 appearances, 19 of them starts, his ERA jumped to 5.59.  After the season, he was allowed to leave as a free agent.

In 2007, Schoeneweis found himself in the Mitchell Report, with claims that he received six shipments of steroids at US Cellular Field while a member of the White Sox.  He denied the allegations and the commissioner’s office decided not to suspend him.

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

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#257 – Charlie O’Brien

my428JQlgGFFAylwxZFqdxAName: Charlie O’Brien

Rank: 257

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1998

Charlie O’Brien and his prodigous mullet joined the White Sox as a free agent on December 10, 1997.  He and Chad Kreuter were brought in to the be the top 2 catchers for the White Sox and, ironically enough, both ended the season with the Angels.

O’Brien played 57 games for the White Sox before being traded to the Angels at the trade deadline for 2 prospects who never panned out.

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

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by jim

Remaking The White Sox

addisonmattLess than a week after acquiring center fielder Adam Eaton from the Diamondbacks in a three team trade that sent Hector Santiago to the Angels, White Sox GM Rick Hahn struck again, this time getting third baseman Matt Davidson from the Diamondbacks in exchange for closer Addison Reed.  Add in Avisail Garcia, acquired in the Jake Peavy trade in July, and the signing of Cuban refugee Jose Abreu and the White Sox have added 4 players under the age of 27 who should form the foundation of the team going forward.

Davidson is ranked 64th on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospect list and was the Diamondback’s 2nd best prospect.  He hit .280 with 32 doubles, 17 home runs, 74 RBIs, 55 runs scored, a .350 on-base percentage and a .481 slugging percentage in 115 games at Triple-A in 2013.  He also took home MVP honors at the Futures Game during All Star weekend at Citi Field.

The closer role will likely fall to Nate Jones, barring any new acquisitions between now and opening day.  An opening day that could have the White Soc fielding 4 different starters from a year ago, hopefully leading them to future glory.

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#267 – Pat Borders

Pat BordersName: Pat Borders

Rank: 267

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1996

Longtime Blue Jay catcher Pat Borders joined the White Sox in a trade with the Angels for pitcher Robert Ellis on July 27, 1996.  The White Sox were in the market for a backup catcher after Chad Kreuter suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a home plate collision earlier that month.

Borders appeared in 31 games for the White Sox, hitting .277 in 94 at bats.  Following the season, Borders was allowed to leave as a free agent.

Borders’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#269 – Matt Ginter

1628-156FrName: Matt Ginter

Rank: 269

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2000-2003

Matt Ginter was selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 1999 draft and made his major league debut the following September, throwing a scoreless inning and picking up the victory in the White Sox 9-8 win against the Angels.  The rest of his September call-up did not go as well, as he finished with a 13.50 ERA in 7 games.

Ginter split the next 3 seasons between Triple A Charlotte and Chicago, always performing much better in the minor leagues than in the majors.  In 2003, he put up a “nice” bookend to his White Sox career, matching the 13.50 ERA he put up in his rookie season of 2000.

As spring training of 2004 was winding down, Ginter was shipped to the Mets in exchange for Timo Perez.

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

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Ballpark Tour: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field

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Stadium Name: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field

Location: Chicago

Home Team: White Sox, Marlins

Years in Service: 1991 – Present

Visits: 361

On the evening of June 30, 1988, with time literally stopped, the Illinois legislature passed a bill that provided the financing for a new stadium for the White Sox, stopping them from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida.  2 and a half years later, on April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park II opened, the first new major facility built in Chicago since the erection of the Chicago Stadium in 1929.  Sadly, the White Sox were destroyed by the Tigers 16-0 in the opening of their new park.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, the new Comiskey Park was also the last stadium to be built prior to the wave of retro ballparks that started with the opening of Camden Yards the following year.  Because of this, there have been numerous renovations to the park, starting in 2001 with the addition of nearly 2000 seats and the relocation of the bullpens.  More extensive renovations began in 2003 in preparation for that season’s All Star Game and using the money generated from selling the naming rights to US Cellular, and conrinued through 2007, when the replacement of the blue seats with green seats was completed.

In 2004, the reigning World Series champion Florida Marlins called the stadium home for a series against the Montreal Expos thanks to Hurricane Ivan, the first time the defending World Series champions had played a home game in Chicago since 1918.  One year later, the stadium hosted its first World Series game, the first to be played in Chicago since 1959, as the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros and win their first World Series since 1918.

I attended my first game at the new Comiskey Park on April 20, 1991, the second game in the stadium’s history.  Since then, I’ve been to 360 other games at the stadium, the majority coming from 2005 on, when I became a season ticket holder.  I went to both games of the 2000 ALDS, which the White Sox lost to the Mariners, both games of the 2005 ALDS, which the White Sox won against the Red Sox, both games of the 2005 ALCS, which the White Sox split against the Angels, and game 2 of the 2005 World Series.  I attended game 163 of the 2008 season to break the tie between the White Sox and the Twins. and then the two ALDS games against the Rays, the first time I saw the White Sox actually end a post-season series, either in victory or defeat.

Notable regular season games I’ve seen at US Cellular Field include the September 13, 2004 game between the Marlins and the Expos, the April 16, 2005 game where Mark Buehrle defeated the Mariners in 1 hour and 39 minutes, the April 2, 2006 season opener against the Indians when the World Series championship banner was raised, the April 4, 2006 game where the players received their World Series rings, and the September 16, 2007 game where Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run against the Angels.

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 none 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: Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Chris Davis

Mike Trout was my pre-season selection to win this award, but I also picked the Angels to win the American League.  They dropped out of contention early, and I think the same can be said for Trout’s candidacy.  My guess is Miguel Cabrera, who was having an even better year than his triple crown winning season a year ago before nagging injuries dragged him down towards the end of the year, takes home his second straight MVP.

Cy Young Award: Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Max Scherzer

My initial guess of David Price obviously did not make the cut.  While books have been written about how wins are not a reliable way to track pitching effectiveness, my guess is that if you add in a 20 win season with a trip to the post-season, Max Scherzer will take home the prize.

Manager of the Year: John Farrell, Terry Francona, Bob Melvin

I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  I imagine that Terry Francona, beloved former manager of the Red Sox, will take home the award for turning around a putrid Indians team and keeping them in contention for the majority of the year.

Rookie of the Year: Chris Archer, Jose Iglesias, Wil Myers

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  It is somewhat ironic, given the current value placed on young talent, that all 3 finalists for the award were traded to their current teams, one during this past season.  My guess is that Wil Myers will win the award.

National League

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#273 – Jon Adkins

jon_adkins_autograph

Name: Jon Adkins

Rank: 273

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2003-2005

Jon Adkins was acquired by the White Sox on July 25, 2002 from the A’s in exchange for Ray Durham.  He made his major league debut on August 14, 2003 against the Angels, facing 3 hitters without getting an out in the White Sox 5-1 loss.  He made only 4 appearances that year for the big league club, but surprised everyone, including himself, when he made the 2004 squad out of spring training.  He spent the entire season n the big leagues, appearing in 50 games and putting up a 4.65 ERA.

Things did not go his way in 2005, when newcomers Dustin Hermanson and Luis Vizcaino took his place in the bullpen.  He did spend enough time in the major leagues to make 5 appearances, but his ERA skyrocketed to 8.64.  Unsurprisingly, he did not make the post-season roster, and, that December, he was granted free agency.

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

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#274 – Gary Glover

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Name: Gary Glover

Rank: 274

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2001-2003

Gary Glover joined the White Sox on November 7, 2000 after being acquired from the Blue Jays in exchange for Scott Eyre.  Glover split the year between Chicago and Charlotte, and between the bullpen and the rotation.  He finished the year with a 5–5 record and a 4.93 ERA in 46 appearances, including 11 starts.

Glover spent the entire 2002 season with the White Sox, but again split his time between the rotation, where he was not very successful, and the bullpen, where he was.  In mid-September, manager Jerry Manuel announced that Glover would stay in the bullpen for the rest of 2002 and in 2003.

In 2003, Glover became the forgotten man in the White Sox bullpen.  Going as many as 19 days between appearances, Glover made his way in to only 24 games by the end of July, when he was moved along with two minor leaguers to the Angels for for veteran pitcher Scott Schoeneweis.

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

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#277 – Carl Willis

carl_willis_autograph

Name: Carl Willis

Rank: 277

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1988

Carl Willis was acquired by the White Sox from the Reds for minor leaguer Darrell Pruitt on January 19, 1988.  Willis spent the majority of the 1988 season at Triple A Vancouver.  He did make 6 appearances for the White Sox, but his 8.26 ERA was not very impressive.  Unless you were the California Angels, who selected him in the minor league draft on December 6, ending Willis’ association with the White Sox.

Willis’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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