At 88-74 the Chicago White Sox finished second in the American League Central. In all they spent 27 days in first place, and even built up a 3.5 game lead. They got off to a slow start, played very well over the summer months and they trailed off again down the stretch. Their big problem was they could not beat up on their division rivals. They only had a winning record against the Royals as they went 10-8. Among the rest of the AL Central teams they were just 22-32 including a disastrous 5-13 record versus the division winning Twins.
On offense they were able to score 752 runs for seventh best among the AL clubs. Their offense was led by 1B Paul Konerko who batted .312, with 39 home runs and 111 RBI. As a team they collected 1,467 hits, with 561 of those being for extra bases. They struck out 922 times, and drew 467 walks. This seems to indicate that they need some power in their lineup.
Their pitching staff gave up 704 runs, and the staff ERA was 4.09 8th best amongst AL staffs. They did have four starters earn double digit wins, but three of them also had double digit losses. John Danks was probably their best starter he went 15-11 with a 3.72 ERA. In all they struck out 1,149 batters and issued 490 walks. Their closer, Bobby Jenks, converted 27 saves and had a 4.44 ERA.
It seems that they White Sox are in the same situation as the Detroit Tigers. Both are clearly behind the Minnesota Twins, and clearly ahead of the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. On top of that it looks like they need the same kind of pieces for 2011. That could make things very interesting this off season.
Related Links:
- Chicago White Sox news and notes
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com
