Highest hitting WAR to End a Career

B-R blog:

Here is a look at the players with the best final seasons since 1901.

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Shoeless Joe Jackson	7.4	1920	30	CHW	AL	146	649	570	105	218	42	20	12	121	56	0	14	7	16	0	0	9	12	.382	.444	.589	1.033	*7
2	Happy Felsch	4.9	1920	28	CHW	AL	142	613	556	88	188	40	15	14	115	37	0	25	4	16	0	0	8	13	.338	.384	.540	.923	*8
3	Jackie Robinson	4.6	1956	37	BRO	NL	117	431	357	61	98	15	2	10	43	60	2	32	3	9	2	9	12	5	.275	.382	.412	.793	*54/37

…

Sox lose 7-3. Pitch F/X, videos, and boxscore.

Kotsay had two 2B and a 1B. Alexei had two 2B. Andruw had a 2B. Quentin had a 2B.

Video highlights

Boxscore:

Chi White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Peavy(L, 3-4)	6.0	8	6	6	1	5	2	6.05
Linebrink	2.0	2	1	1	0	2	0	3.63
Totals	8.0	10	7	7	1	7	2	4.53

Pitch F/X:

BTB’s All-Star Game picks

Price:

I’ve talked about Rios a lot lately, probably because he’s been one of the few truly pleasant surprises in a rough start to the White Sox’s season. But seriously, ZiPS projects him to finish with 24 homers, 40 doubles, 34 steals and a .371 wOBA, all coming from an above average defender in center field. A lot of people bashed Kenny Williams for claiming Rios from Toronto, but right now that move is one of the few keeping Chicago afloat.

Kevin Goldstein on Brandon Short

Goldstein:

Brandon Short, OF, White Sox (High-A Winston Salem)

An all but unknown 28^th-round pick out of a Florida junior college in 2008, Short’s solid-but-unspectacular showing leading up to this season wasn’t enough to get him on anybody’s radar, but scouts are getting forced to take notice now. The 21-year-old skinny outfielder has above-average speed and little else in the way of tools, but with two hits in all three weekend games, his batting line is up to .372/.396/.531 for the Warthogs. As you can tell by the line, he doesn’t walk much and he’s not a big power guy. He is also not good enough defensively to stay in center field long-term. For now he’s just an interesting hitter, but anything out of the 28^th round is an impressive find.

Will the White Sox get an FM outlet for the next season?

Lazare:

Negotiations are under way to determine which Chicago radio station will air Chicago White Sox games — probably for at least the next five years. The incumbent station, sports-talk WSCR-AM (670) has had the White Sox for the past five years and is interested in keeping them when the current radio broadcast contract expires at the end of 2010 baseball season.

But it looks as if the White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf might want something more than just another five years with an AM radio outlet. “The incumbent certainly has the ability to keep the business, but I don’t know if that will be the case,” said Brooks Boyer, the White Sox marketing honcho who is heading up negotiations. “We are looking at all of our options, and this is far from a handshake deal,” added Boyer. …

Charlie Shirek increases his velocity, working on a cutter

White:

This year, Shirek said, his fastball velocity has picked up just a bit — from 91 mph to 92 or 93. And he said he went to work on a cutter during spring training that has complemented his other pitches.

“Our pitching coach (J.R. Perdew) said I should work on it,” Shirek said. “I’d never thrown one before, but it’s become a good pitch in games where my fastball isn’t doing what I want and I need another pitch to get out of a jam.”

Sergio Santos wants to hit 100 mph

Two articles on Sergio Santos:

Jeff Passan:

Whether Santos’ arm always was that gifted or, as Montero would attest, an ugly duckling that blossomed, it is a sight to behold. At 240 pounds today, he generates tremendous velocity. Last season, he said, “my only goal last year was to hit 100 mph.” He did it in the final inning of his final game.

He wants to do it again this year, only in a big league park. Hitters already have enough trouble with Santos’ stuff. He has 21 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings and has limited hitters to a .161 batting average. In a bullpen full of power arms – Matt Thornton(notes), Bobby Jenks(notes), Scott Linebrink(notes) and J.J. Putz(notes) – Santos’ might be the most powerful.

And J.J. Stankevitz:

If Santos continues to emerge as a reliever, inserting him into the closer role could save the Sox upward of $8-$9 million in 2011. Although, even if Santos doesn’t continue his growth, the Sox still shouldn’t allocate that much money to a closer, especially one who’s begun to regress in the past few years.

While it’s only May of 2010, the closer role for 2011 is Santos’ to lose.

Multiple teams interested in Sox relievers

Cowley:

The list is up to six … and counting.

Bobby Jenks, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Buehrle, Andruw Jones – and now J.J. Putz. He’s the latest White Sox player to see his name pop up on the rumor mill.

… One National League scout said Monday that there were more teams than just the Philadelphia Phillies interested in Sox relievers, as bullpen problems seem to be springing up all over baseball.