White Sox can’t finish with a winning record

After tonight’s 11-1 rout, they’re 76-81 and have 5 more games. Even if they win all 5 remaining games (yeah right…) they will finish at 81-81. One more loss and they clinch a sub-.500 record. Probably they won’t get 80 wins. What a dismal failure…

Brent Morel does it again! (video)

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19491493&c_id=cws

Will Jerry Reinsdorf force Ozzie Guillen to stay?

Jon Heyman:

Baseball insiders suggest White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf may “dig in his heels” and force Ozzie Guillen to stay after Guillen’s continuing public blathering about how it might be best for him to be fired and other such musings. But really, it might be best for all concerned to simply trade Guillen to the Marlins, as was briefly discussed a year ago. Those talks ended when the White Sox requested Logan Morrison. But as fortune would have it, Morrison is not exactly beloved these days by the Marlins. Morrison, who was already seen by Marlins management as a bit too opinionated, now has filed a grievance against the team for demoting him at a time he says he didn’t deserve it based on his play.

Again, is this just the Sox trying to gain more leverage?

Other White Sox links:

• J.J. looks at the results of Alexei Ramirez’ more patient approach.
• James looks at the disrespect shown to Omar Vizquel and at Ozzie Guillen’s latest whining. I’m so sick and tired of Ozzie’s whining. I so wish Kenny or Jerry answer like this: ‘Ozzie’s job status? He’s under contract with the Sox for 2012.’
• Fangraphs’ Carson Cistulli is puzzled by Brent Morel’s mini-breakout and Fangraphs’ Brandon Wane says Adam Dunn is a candidate for a comeback performance next year.

The Sox’s current record gives them the #15 draft pick [UPDATE]

MLBTR:

Pick	Team	W	L	W%	GB	P/U
11	Colorado Rockies	70	82	0.461	18.0	P
12	New York Mets	73	80	0.477	20.5	P
13	Washington Nationals	72	79	0.477	20.5	P
14	Cincinnati Reds	74	79	0.484	21.5	P
15	Chicago White Sox	74	78	0.487	22.0	P
16	Los Angeles Dodgers	76	76	0.500	24.0	U
17	Cleveland Indians	75	75	0.500	24.0	U
18	Toronto Blue Jays	77	75	0.507	25.0	U
19	San Francisco Giants	83	70	0.542	30.5	U

Furthermore, the #15 pick is protected (picks 1-15 are protected). So in  the unlikely event the Sox sign a Type A free agent, they won’t lose the pick if said free agent was offered arbitration.

PS. Hey Sox, don’t get any fancy ideas like winning games or going above .500 now.

UPDATE: James has a recap of the previous week and he wonders what’s the purpose of the remaining games. Well, that’s obvious! “don’t get any fancy ideas like winning games or going above .500 now.”

September sweeps

Brett Ballantini:

September swoons have become an Ozzie trademark

…Here are the dirty details:

• 2004 – White Sox go 17-12 in September, swept by Minnesota Twins.
• 2005 – White Sox go 17-12, swept by Los Angeles Angels and see lead shrink to 1 1/2 games before running off five wins to end the season and 16 of 17 to end the season as World Series champs.
• 2006 – White Sox go 12-16, including a sweep by the Oakland A’s.
• 2007 – White Sox go 15-12 and avoid a sweep but finish at 72-90 and in fourth place.
• 2008 – White Sox go 12-15 in September in what becomes a war of attrition with the fading Twins. The White Sox won three straight games to end the season as Central champs, but lost five straight, including being swept out of first place on September 25 by the Twins to create such dire straits.
• 2009 – White Sox go 13-14 and are swept by the Twins.
• 2010 – White Sox go 14-13 and are swept by the Twins and Tigers, essentially eliminating them from the division race.
• 2011 – White Sox are 5-12 and will have to go 10-1 in the home stretch to finish better than .500 for the month. Two sweeps by Detroit nailed the coffin shut on the 2011 season.

Seems like September is sweeps month in the south side…

Other White Sox links:

• James looks at Adam Dunn’s future. Speaking of Adam Dunn, he hit his 1st eXtra Base Hit of a leftie for the 2011 season today, September 18.
• Besides the linked above report card, Brett Ballantini posted his latest Sox player value calculations. “Through 150 games, Dunn and Rios have cost the team $39.8 million” says Brett.
• Gordon Beckham on his missing offensive potential: ” I really believe that it’s in there and it’s waiting to come out.”
• Shane Lindsay has a tough off-season ahead of him. Help the guy out Jerry!

Zach Stewart threw 9 changeups tonight. And 7 of the 9 were strikes.

Not the usual 2 pitch, fastball-slider, combo. Maybe Coop is tweaking something. And it seems the slider was the one that wasn’t up to the job:

Pitch Statistics
Pitch Type	Avg Speed	Max Speed	Avg H-Break	Avg V-Break	Count	Strikes / %	Swinging Strikes / %	Linear Weights	Time to Plate
FF (FourSeam Fastball)	89.35	92.4	-5.10	9.83	53	39 / 73.58%	2 / 3.77%	1.9275	0.421
CH (Changeup)	83.10	84.3	-5.53	5.61	9	7 / 77.78%	2 / 22.22%	0.0519	0.451
SL (Slider)	80.28	86.1	4.51	0.36	31	15 / 48.39%	0 / 0.00%	1.3123	0.468
FT (TwoSeam Fastball)	89.13	90.4	-9.30	7.29	9	5 / 55.56%	1 / 11.11%	0.3477	0.423
Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

Inning-by-Inning Pitch Totals
Inning	Pitches in Inning	Strikes in Inning	Strike% in Inning	Cumulative Total Pitches	Pitch LWTS in Inning
1	19	11	57.89	19	-0.259
2	18	14	77.78	37	0.163
3	19	10	52.63	56	-0.034
4	25	16	64.00	81	1.831
5	21	15	71.43	102	1.938

Stewart:

“Warming up, I felt like I was hitting my spots,” Stewart said. “My breaking stuff was working and my changeup was good. And that was the thing, overall my fastball was OK. I threw the majority of strikes with that. Breaking ball and changeup, I couldn’t throw a strike with the curve and the changeup was erratic. ”

Curve?

Addison Reed is the relief pitcher in Baseball America’s 2011 Minor-League All-Star team

J.J. Cooper and Matt Eddy:

RP Addison Reed • White Sox, Triple-A Charlotte (International)

In a move straight out of the Dan Hudson playbook, Reed shot from the third round of the 2010 draft to Chicago in little more than a year, making ever-so-brief pit stops at all four levels of full-season ball this season. Reed’s minor league ratios may elicit a double-take—12.8 strikeouts, 1.6 walks, 4.9 hits per nine innings—but he backs them up with mid-90s heat and a power slider. The 22-year-old Reed naturally struck out eight of the first 21 big league batters to face him.

Here’s are Reed’s stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
2010	21	CHW-min	Rk	1	0	1.000	1.80	13	2	3	0	0	1	30.0	17	7	6	1	6	0	44	2	0	1	115		0.767	5.1	0.3	1.8	13.2	7.33	GRF · PION
2011	22	CHW-min	A+,AAA,AA,A	2	1	.667	1.26	43	0	15	0	0	5	78.1	43	14	11	3	14	0	111	3	0	6	293		0.728	4.9	0.3	1.6	12.8	7.93	WSM,CHR,BIR,KAN · CARL,IL,SOUL,SALL
2011	22	CHW	AL	0	0		1.93	4	0	2	0	0	0	4.2	6	1	1	0	1	0	8	0	0	0	21	236	1.500	11.6	0.0	1.9	15.4	8.00
1 Season				0	0		1.93	4	0	2	0	0	0	4.2	6	1	1	0	1	0	8	0	0	0	21	236	1.500	11.6	0.0	1.9	15.4	8.00
162 Game Avg.				0	0		1.93	68	0	34	0	0	0	80	102	17	17	0	17	0	136	0	0	0	357	236	1.500	11.6	0.0	1.9	15.4	8.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/16/2011.

And Reed’s entry in the TexasLeaguers Pitch F/X database.

Scott Snodgress made Baseball America’s 2011 Rookie-level All-Star team. Snodgress’ stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2011	21	Great Falls	PION	Rk	CHW	3	3	.500	3.34	16	12	0	0	0	0	59.1	61	32	22	5	17	0	68	1	1	7	254	1.315	9.3	0.8	2.6	10.3	4.00
1 Season						3	3	.500	3.34	16	12	0	0	0	0	59.1	61	32	22	5	17	0	68	1	1	7	254	1.315	9.3	0.8	2.6	10.3	4.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/17/2011.

Other White Sox links:

• J.J., also, takes a look at Addison Reed.
• James examines the limitations of Dylan Axelrod and Zach Stewart.
• Omar Vizquel wants to play next year.
• THT’s Brian Cartwright looks at the impact of the new NCAA bats.

John Sickels’ 2011 Draft sleeper picks

John Sickels:

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: I already mentioned catcher Kevan Smith a few days ago, so today I’ll bring up lefty Blair Walters, drafted in the 11^th round from the University of Hawaii. He went 9-0, 4.03 in the Pioneer League with a sharp 72/17 K/BB in 74 innings. He has a low-90s sinker and is tough on lefties, but was mostly a reliever in college and is still polishing his breaking ball and changeup. He could develop into a fourth starter or possibly a LOOGY.

BTW, here’s the Kevan Smith mention:

Kevan Smith, C, White Sox: Seventh round pick in 2011 from University of Pittsburgh, annihilated short-season pitching at Bristol (Appy League, .396/.482/.740) and Great Falls (Pioneer League, .318/.417/.523). Drew 28 walks against just 30 strikeouts in 203 at-bats. Power bat and physical strength are well-respected, but he needs more polish with defense, and at age 23 he needs to show this wasn’t just a fluke generated against younger competition.

Will Ozzie Guillen decide himself where he ends up?

#MLB Ozzie Guillen will be the one deciding his fate. If he wants to come back w/o extension he will be back. If not he'll be w #Marlins—
Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 16, 2011

Smells Like Mascot: Too Heavy For Superman to Lift?

Carl’s latest:

http://smellslikemascot.blogspot.com/2011/09/too-heavy-for-superman-to-lift.html

Great Falls wins Pioneer League championship!

The Voyagers abducted the Ogden Raptors behind Blair Walters’ 7 strikeouts:

Great Falls Voyagers
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Walters (W, 2-0)	6.0	4	1	1	1	7	0	0.77
Devenski	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Winiarski	2.0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0.00

Blair Walters, who turns 22 on November 8, finished the season with a 72/17 K/BB ratio in 73.2 innings:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2011	21	Great Falls	PION	Rk	CHW	9	0	1.000	4.03	14	13	1	0	0	0	73.2	72	36	33	6	17	0	72	3	0	5	306	1.208	8.8	0.7	2.1	8.8	4.24
1 Season						9	0	1.000	4.03	14	13	1	0	0	0	73.2	72	36	33	6	17	0	72	3	0	5	306	1.208	8.8	0.7	2.1	8.8	4.24

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/15/2011.

He, also, had a .327 BABIP and a 4.21 FIP.

Tie goes to Kenny [Williams]

Brett Ballantini:

… If there is a choice, Williams will be safe — every opportunity Reinsdorf has had to choose between coaches and GMs in his past (including the Bulls) indicates that the tie goes to the executive suite.

But there won’t be a choice made. Reinsdorf will deal not ultimatums but urgency — everyone, including the White Sox roster — is getting older. Win now, whatever it takes. Otherwise, the housecleaning that was warranted in 2012 will come in 2013.

Meanwhile, Logan Morrison filed a grievance against the Marlins over his demotion to the minors last month:

“I’m doing this because I’m standing up for what’s right,” Morrison told ESPN.com this week. “If I thought it was because of my performance on the field, then I wouldn’t be filing a grievance.”

So, Guillen for Morrison? NBC Hardtalk’s Matthew Poulliot says such a swap won’t happen:

The funny thing is that if the Marlins made such a trade, it’d be because of Morrison’s big mouth. And there’s maybe just one character in baseball with a bigger mouth than Morrison…

But it’s ridiculous speculation, and it’s never going to happen. Morrison is a 24-year-old with a .263/.354/.457 line and 21 homers in 665 major league at-bats. He’s five seasons away from free agency, and it’s not a stretch to suggest he could be worth $50 million in those five seasons, all while getting paid maybe 60 percent of that. He’s not getting traded for a manager. The end.

Ozzie Guillen’s chances to remain with the Sox down to 10%?

Ken Rosenthal:

How rapidly is Ozzie Guillen’s situation deteriorating with the White Sox?

Two weeks ago, a source with knowledge of Guillen’s thinking estimated that the manager was 95 percent certain to return to the White Sox next season.

Over the weekend, the source dropped the odds to 50-50. And on Thursday, he reduced them further, to 10 percent.

The White Sox have not acted on Guillen’s desire for a contract extension. Guillen, meanwhile, was sharply critical of his players after a 6-5 loss to the Tigers in 10 innings on Wednesday night, saying he hasn’t seen “fight.” …

Rosenthal thinks the ‘trade to the Marlins’ would be the obvious solution.

Quitting. Man, where do kids learn such things?

Steve Rosenbloom:

Ozzie Guillen accused White Sox players of quitting, and he meant even before Wednesday’s regularly scheduled choke against Detroit.

Quitting is a serious charge, maybe the worst thing you can say about a player, other than “He’d be a perfect Cub.’’

Quitting. Man, where do kids learn such things?

Perhaps Sox players learned it from their manager who spouted off two weeks ago that he’ll likely quit on next year’s contract unless he gets an extension.

You want players to follow their manager’s lead, but do the Sox want that type of leader — the kind who is with you win or extension? …

That was a funny read!

Other White Sox links:

• James looks at Brent Morel’s hot streak and the Sox management situation.
• Mike looks at the trading Carlos Quentin talk.
• Fangraphs’ Josh Weinstock looks at Sergio Santos’ slider while Fangraphs’ Jeff Zimmerman looks at Mark Buehrle’s durability.

Pitch F/X for Dylan Axelrod’s start

9/14:

Chi White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Axelrod	6.0	6	2	2	2	8	1	2.25

Pitch F/X:

Pitch Statistics
Pitch Type	Avg Speed	Max Speed	Avg H-Break	Avg V-Break	Count	Strikes / %	Swinging Strikes / %	Linear Weights	Time to Plate
FF (FourSeam Fastball)	90.04	91.7	-6.39	9.17	39	24 / 61.54%	0 / 0.00%	-0.1691	0.419
CH (Changeup)	82.20	83.5	-6.60	3.06	3	3 / 100.00%	1 / 33.33%	-0.3664	0.456
SL (Slider)	82.90	84.9	0.30	1.46	43	31 / 72.09%	9 / 20.93%	0.2825	0.452
FT (TwoSeam Fastball)	89.29	91.5	-9.44	8.75	8	3 / 37.50%	0 / 0.00%	0.0345	0.426
Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

Inning-by-Inning Pitch Totals
Inning	Pitches in Inning	Strikes in Inning	Strike% in Inning	Cumulative Total Pitches	Pitch LWTS in Inning
1	20	12	60.00	20	-0.048
2	17	11	64.71	37	0.596
3	10	8	80.00	47	-0.848
4	20	12	60.00	67	-0.048
5	13	8	61.54	80	-0.350
6	13	10	76.92	93	0.480

Doesn’t scream MLB starting pitcher…