White Sox pitchers and catchers report today, with their first workout scheduled for tomorrow.
Tag / White Sox
#454 – #463 – The Unknowns Part 3
More unknown players from the Chicago White Sox past.
Name: Miguel Dilone
Rank: 463
Position: CF
Year With White Sox: 1983
Dilone spent 6 days with the White Sox in September of 1983, acquired from the Indians on September 1st and traded to the Pirates on September 6th.
Name: Lou Frazier
Rank: 462
Position: CF
Year With White Sox: 1998
Frazier wrapped up his big league career with 7 games for the ’98 White Sox.
Name: Dave Schmidt
Rank: 461
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1986
Acquired from the Rangers for Ed Correa and Scott Fletcher, Schmidt went 3-6 with a 3.31 ERA for the ’86 squad.
#464 – #473 – The Unknowns Part 2
Continuing our countdown of White Sox players I have never heard of.
Name: Brian Drahman
Rank: 473
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1991-1993
Drahman pitched in 28 games with the ’91 squad, and then had brief 5 game stints in each of the next two seasons.
Name: Randy Niemann
Rank: 472
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1984
Niemann threw 5 1/3 innings for the 1984 White Sox.
Name: Vic Darensbourg
Rank: 471
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 2004
Darensbourg was a mainstay of the Marlins bullpen from 1998-2002, before bouncing around the league for a few years. He appeared in 2 games for the ’04 Sox.
#474 – #483 – The Unknowns Part 1
Now that we’ve gotten the truly hateful players out of the way, it is time to delve into those about whom not only do I have no feeling about one way or the other, but I have no idea who they are. I may have at one point in time, but not any longer.
Name: Mike Robertson
Rank: 483
Position: 1B
Year With White Sox: 1996
Robertson appeared in 6 games for the 1996 Sox, racking up 7 AB and 1 hit.
Name: David Lundquist
Rank: 482
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1999
Lundquist managed a 8.59 ERA in 22 innings for the 1999 White Sox.
Name: Pete Filson
Rank: 481
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1986
Filson appeared in 3 games for the 1986 White Sox.
2012 Games Of Interest
Fireworks Night
4/28 vs Red Sox
5/12 vs Royals
6/23 vs Brewers
7/4 vs Rangers
8/25 vs Mariners
9/29 vs Rays
Kids Day
4/15 vs Tigers
5/27 vs Indians
6/10 vs Astros
7/8 vs Blue Jays
8/26 vs Mariners
Other Fun Stuff
4/13 vs Tigers – Opening Day
5/26 vs Indians – Robin Ventura bobblehead
6/3 vs Mariners – Southpaw’s Birthday Party and Southpaw Mini Plush Pal
6/24 vs Brewers – Kids 1972 Replica Jersey
8/3 vs Angels – Elvis Night
8/5 vs Angels – Kids Chest Protector Backpack
8/12 vs A’s – Spirit & Mascot Day
#484 – Scott Linebrink
Name: Scott Linebrink
Rank: 484
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 2008-2010
From 2003 through 2007, Scott Linebrink had become the premier set-up man in the National League, averaging 68 games per year, which prompted Kenny Williams to sign him a 4 year, 19 million dollar deal prior to the 2008 season. Little did anyone know how horrible things would go.
The 2008 season started off well, with Linebrink filling the set-up role successfully. Things started to go south when closer Bobby Jenks went down with an injury and Linebrink was asked to slide from the 8th inning to the 9th inning, where things did not go as smoothly. Unfortunately, when Jenks came back and Linebrink could be returned to his 8th inning comfort zone, the damage, whatever it was, was done. Whether it was his confidence, the switch to the AL, overuse during his past (he had over 70 appearances in each of the past 3 years), or undisclosed arm problems, he just wasn’t the same pitcher he had been.
For each of the next two seasons, there was hope that Linebrink would return to his prior form, but it just never happened. Finally, following the 2010 season, Kenny Williams defied expectations and found a taker for Linebrink, trading him to Braves while picking up the majority of his salary. For whatever reason, things just did not work out for Linebrink on the South Side.
Linebrink’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
#485 – Javier Vazquez
Name: Javier Vázquez
Rank: 485
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 2006-2008
In 2005, the White Sox defied expectations and won their first World Series championship since 1917. In an attempt to bolster the rotation for their title defense, Kenny Williams sent playoff hero Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino, and prospect Chris Young to the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez, the former Expos ace who had bounced around the previous few years. On paper, it seemed like a good move, but it failed to take into account that Javier Vazquez is at his best when he is pitching for either a National League club or a team out of contention. Neither of these fit in to the White Sox plans for the 2006 season.
Watching him pitch in 2006 was frustrating, to say the least. He had a propensity for being unhittable for 5 innings, and then completely falling apart in the sixth. He finished the year 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 33 games and, while they won 90 games, the White Sox finished in third place.
2007 was a much better year for Vazquez, going 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA. Coincidentally, the White Sox finished the year with a 72-90 record, 24 games behind the Indians. In 2008, as the team rebounded to 89-74, winning the division in a one game playoff versus the Twins. Vazquez regressed back to a 12-16 record, with a 4.67 ERA. Thanks to the push down the stretch to win the division, the Sox were forced to start Vazquez in game 1 of the ALDS, where he was battered around by the Rays, giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings. That December, his tenure on the South Side came to an end when he was moved to the Braves for a package that included Tyler Flowers and Brent Lillibridge.
Vazquez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
#486 – Jaime Navarro
Name: Jaime Navarro
Rank: 486
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1997-1999
Following the 1996 season, there were 2 big free agent pitchers available on the open market. One had decided that Chicago was the place for him. Intrigued by a lineup that included both Frank Thomas and Albert Belle, Roger Clemens had his agents reach out to Jerry Reinsdorf. GM Ron Schueler had other ideas, which included Navarro, who was coming off of a 29-18 record in 2 years with the Cubs. Clemens ultimately ended up in Toronto, where he won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1997 and 1998. Navarro went completely off the rails, going 25-43 with a 6.06 earned-run average in his three seasons with the White Sox. “For me Navarro was just a better value than Roger,” Schueler said. “There wasn’t as much risk. . . . We talked to our scouts about [Clemens]. They did not recommend him for even a three-year deal. They felt like there is a danger he’s going to have arm problems.”
At the end of the day, Navarro’s most valuable contribution to the White Sox was the trade that sent him out of town. The Brewers, for reasons that I can not comprehend, sent Cal Eldred and Jose Valentin to the Sox for Navarro in January of 2000. Of course, those two helped lead the White Sox to the AL Central title later that same year. Navarro, meanwhile, pitched in 12 more major league games before being sent to the scrap heap.
Navarro’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
#487 – Nick Swisher
Name: Nick Swisher
Rank: 487
Position: OF/1B
Year with White Sox: 2008
In January 2008, Kenny Williams pulled the trigger on a deal that would send three prospects to the Oakland A’s in exchange for Nick Swisher, a switch hitting outfielder/first baseman who could get on base and provide some pop. Swisher was also supposed to be a great clubhouse presence, someone who could keep the team loose throughout the course of the season.
With Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye entrenched at first base and right field respectively, the plan was to plug Swisher into left field. Unfortunately, another off season pickup, Carlos Quentin, managed to earn the job out of spring training, leaving Swisher to play out of position for most of the season in center field.
To say things did not go as planned would be a bit of an understatement. As the season wore on, and Swisher continued to not perform, his demeanor changed and you could say his attitude hurt the team almost as much as his .219 average. When manager Ozzie Guillen dared to sit him on the bench occasionally down the stretch while trying to win the division, Swisher showed his true colors by complaining. When he did play, he was so interested in trying to walk that the easiest way to get him out was to lay one right down the middle.
After the playoff loss to the Rays, Williams wasted no time in shipping him out to the Yankees, less than a year after he had been acquired.
Swisher’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
All Time White Sox (1983 – 2011)
By my estimation (and by “my”, I mean the good folks at Baseball-Reference), there have been 487 different men to take the field as a member of the Chicago White Sox between 1983 and 2011. My mission is to rank them, from my least favorite to favorite. There is a very good chance that I will fail in this endeavor, or that it will take years to complete, but its not like I have anything better to do. We will start tomorrow, with #487, my least favorite White Sox player of the past 28 years. Any guesses?