Recap: The White Sox, following winning the pennant the first 2 seasons coming out of the war, had won just one pennant since in 1954 and their last run, 3 out of 4 years of 90+ wins from 1966-69, was definitely over by 1973. They were 70-84 in 1972 and it looked like it was going to be another growing year for the South Siders. So... instead, following an 8-9 start they pretty well blew the doors off the West: 18-9 in May, 19-10 in June. The second half, fine, they slumped a bit but they still matched the 2nd most wins they've ever had (in 1947 they went 97-57).
The bigger question for them has to be, how good would they have been / are they going forward with a healthy Alice Cooper? Like a lot of good teams, they rallied around him when his season ended with a sprained thumb on September 14, finishing 10-6 the rest of the way (10-9 if you count the ALCS but that seems unfair). Even with Cooper, though, the offense was decidedly average and they won games because of a good rotation and a great bullpen that was led by the historically great season of Malcolm Post, who set a new MLB record with 35 saves.
1974 Outlook: THe Sox ought to at least contend for the lead. They've got some big holes on the offense and I am pretty lukewarm to the idea that they'll actually be able to patch those holes given the penny-pinching management (you guys are based out of Chicago, come on now). On the other hand, the starting pitching is still young and Malcolm Post is still Malcolm Post. And, of course, the AL West is not exactly filled with up-and-coming 100 win teams.
Mohamed Abdelaziz
CF No. 24
LL, 6'1" 204 lbs.
Born 1947-08-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TUC AAA | .311 | 17 | 61 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | .240 | 93 | 333 | 35 | 80 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 33 | 43 | 23 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .249 | 62 | 241 | 22 | 60 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 21 | 39 | 9 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .220 | 72 | 223 | 25 | 49 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 28 | 14 | 37 | 13 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
For a contending team, man did the White Sox have some big holes at some positions. Center went essentially the entire year unsolved. Abdelazis, a 26 year old freedom fighter out of Morocco, started the year out as the team's starter but didn't last, was sent down in July, and did not re-appear for this team again (although he did get a late-September call-up and even got into a game in the ALCS). He did flash some decent power, although it's mostly shown itself as gap power in the major leagues so far, but he also perhaps thinks a bit too much of himself as a power hitter and tries to sock the high fastball like an Alice Cooper. So far for him, those have ended in loud fly outs. He's got a lot of speed but doesn't get on base enough to utilize it well.
All that would be fine if Abdelaziz was a Gold Glove quality center fielder, but that's just plain not who he is. While he may not be quite as terrible as the scouts suggest, he doesn't use his natural speed terribly well in the field because he doesn't get a good jump on the ball, and his popgun arm is best suited for left field. Even in center it got tested a fair amount and Abdelaziz was only able to throw 2 runners out in spite of a lot of people going at him.
Of course, in order to play in left in the major leagues you have to hit a decent amount and at 26 years of age now it's very iffy that Abdelaziz will manage to do that. It's not impossible that the 464 at-bats he's gotten the last 2 years represent the majority of his career.
Sergio Alvarado
LHP No. 33
LL, 6'6" 199 lbs.
Born 1950-09-23
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 COR MLB | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.01 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 49.1 | 56 | 26 | 22 | 37 | 32 |
| 1971 APP A | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.85 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 34.2 | 25 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 29 |
| 1971 ASH AA | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3.69 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 63.1 | 69 | 28 | 26 | 15 | 44 |
| 1972 KNO AA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.68 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16.0 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.75 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 98.0 | 78 | 31 | 30 | 38 | 50 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.49 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 25 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10.12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3.08 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 61.1 | 48 | 22 | 21 | 26 | 51 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
It's a bit unfair to call Alvarado a left-handed one-out guy or even a one-inning guy. As a reliever, the 23 year old averaged more than an IP per game and then he also started 4 games in the 2nd half of the season (5 if you count the 1-game stint in Iowa in August). Like a lot of lefties, Alvarado doesn't throw particularly hard but like a lot of lefties all the pitches he does throw, including a curve and a change in addition to your garden variety 4 seamer, move pretty well. He's also got an absolutely deadly pickoff move: in 97.1 career innings pitched, Alvarado has had exactly none runners try to steal on him but 3 pickoffs (well, I only know caught stealings but this is a good thing to assume).
Although he was used as something of a swing man last year, Alvarado's a guy who works best when you put him in one role and leave him there. So what will that role be in 1974? He could easily be the setup man for Malcolm Post; he could just as easily fill a spot in the back of this White Sox rotation.
Rene Arnoux
C No. 19
RR, 5'10" 200 lbs.
Born 1948-07-03
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ASH AA | .299 | 62 | 211 | 22 | 63 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 16 | 31 | 0 |
| 1971 TUC AAA | .273 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 KNO AA | .286 | 27 | 91 | 12 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 0 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | .192 | 58 | 193 | 11 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 29 | 0 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .224 | 28 | 85 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 0 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | .227 | 52 | 172 | 7 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 31 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .149 | 63 | 134 | 14 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The general trend of Formula One racers turned baseball players has been pretty positive, I think. Off-hand I guess only Niki Lauda has really made a name for himself but it's a good name he's made. Arnoux on the other hand was rushed pretty badly after being drafted in the 5th round in just 1971 and, well... let's just say that 1973 is the kind of season that happens when you rush a guy who was a little iffy as a prospect in the first place. Arnoux was handed the starting job out of spring training and just didn't ever get started: he went 4-36 with 13 Ks in April and 8-48 in June before the Sox finally decided to put Chris Flores into the starting role and, eventually, send him down to Iowa in July. He still looked overmatched in AAA but a .294 September (5-17 so let's not go crazy) gave fans a glimmer of hope for the future.
Arnoux does have a gun for an arm: he threw out 42.9% of would-be base stealers last year and backed that up with a 44% rate in the minor leagues. If he could hit at all, he'd be a good asset as a catcher. That's a big, big if.
Valeriy Borzov
RHP No. 36
RR, 5'11" 167 lbs.
Born 1949-10-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 AMA AA | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2.45 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 29 |
| 1971 PHO AAA | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2.95 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 48.2 | 39 | 16 | 16 | 26 | 31 |
| 1971 SF MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1972 PHO AAA | 4 | 3 | 8 | 2.83 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 47.2 | 38 | 16 | 15 | 23 | 24 |
| 1972 SF MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.06 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | 8 | 7 | 0 | 2.33 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 142.1 | 97 | 44 | 37 | 44 | 112 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3.46 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 65.0 | 60 | 26 | 25 | 29 | 40 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
When you're contending for a division title, sometimes you can't afford to try guys out in the major leagues. That's unfortunately how Valeriy Borzov, a double gold medal winner at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, managed to drop in for 6 starts in April and early May, get sent back down, come *back* up in June for 4 more games, and then finish the entire second half in the minor leagues. When he did play, particularly in June (1-0, 1.54, 18 K in 23.1 IP), Borzov sure looked ready to go. Borzov has got a wicked heater that hits the low to mid 90s and moves all over the place plus a knee-buckling curve ball. The biggest thing he lacked when he was out there last year was stamina, averaging exactly 7 IP per start and finishing two of them. Even that might have been a function of the Sox not trusting the youngster, especially given that he was used almost exclusively in relief prior to this season.
Borzoy, who won't turn 24 until later this month, is a guy who really should be on this Opening Day roster in April, whether that's as a starting pitcher or a middle to late reliever.
Peabo Bryson
LF No. 2
LL, 5'11" 171 lbs.
Born 1951-04-06
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 POR S A | .270 | 65 | 233 | 40 | 63 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 50 | 67 | 0 |
| 1971 BUR A | .176 | 36 | 125 | 15 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 0 |
| 1972 AGU DL | .383 | 36 | 120 | 33 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 44 | 37 | 30 | 1 |
| 1972 BUR A | .334 | 95 | 335 | 59 | 112 | 15 | 6 | 16 | 54 | 55 | 74 | 1 |
| 1972 BIR AA | .183 | 23 | 82 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 1 |
| 1973 KNO AA | .298 | 27 | 84 | 13 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 24 | 10 | 0 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | .260 | 32 | 104 | 9 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 27 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .236 | 76 | 242 | 32 | 57 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 49 | 70 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +'
Bryson is still very young so you can to some degree take his struggles at the major league level with a grain of salt. Still, they were struggles: at this point in time he has problems making contact and that cuts into a lot of what in the major league levels was gap power (but in the minors in some stops - Burlington last year - it looked like just plain power). He's not going to win awards with his speed and while he looked above average in left that's probably as good as it gets, so the White Sox need Bryson to come through on that hitting potential.
Last year Chicago utilized Bryson almost purely as a platoon guy - just 18 at-bats all year long vs LHP (2-18 with 7 Ks - yikes!). Expect to see more of the same in 1974 unless he balls out. The White Sox really aren't in a place to just give a guy like this (#12 prospect going into last season!) a full-time job just yet.
Pedro Castrejon
LF No. 34
LL, 6'2" 212 lbs.
Born 1938-05-11
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 REX MX | .307 | 94 | 352 | 67 | 108 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 69 | 60 | 72 | 0 |
| 1972 COR MX | .324 | 133 | 444 | 90 | 144 | 15 | 1 | 33 | 78 | 98 | 107 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .295 | 49 | 166 | 32 | 49 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 29 | 42 | 49 | 3 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Castrejon parleyed an MVP season in the Mexican League and for the first half of the season he looked like he was going to be that exact same guy in America. Then he tore a tendon in his elbow in early July and missed the rest of the season. At 35 years of age, his career is already in doubt. If he's able to come back to what he was, he's a patient hitter who will foul off lots of pitches until he sees a mistake and pounce on it. His fielding was average last year and that's one area where the Sox have to consider that his future position, should it continue to exist with this team, is "DH". Castrejon does not have great speed and if anything tried to steal more often with Chicago than he ever did in Mexico.
Going forward, there's a lot of young talent on this team. Castrejon though should be back by spring training and I know for one am hopeful he's back and ready to go.
Steven Chu
RHP No. 18
RR, 6'0" 186 lbs.
Born 1948-02-25
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 TUC AAA | 13 | 10 | 0 | 2.70 | 30 | 30 | 10 | 229.2 | 201 | 101 | 69 | 110 | 97 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0.92 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 88.0 | 56 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 42 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 9 | 11 | 0 | 3.49 | 24 | 24 | 6 | 167.1 | 147 | 67 | 65 | 62 | 78 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 17 | 12 | 0 | 3.61 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 251.1 | 221 | 109 | 101 | 66 | 122 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
The youthful Chinese-American scientist put together a nice first full year in Chicago. I don't want to say "the sky is the limit" with this guy, as he was never a super-duper high prospect, maxing out at #95 overall at the beginning of the 1972 season, but he most certainly has made the most with what he has, which includes 4 good-but-not-great pitches. Chu had some relative issues with the longball - 21 HRs in 251 IP isn't terrible but it's not great for Comiskey either. That might be an issue for him, as his lack of a really great out pitch is going to require him to nibble at the plate a lot. To his credit he doesn't miss off the plate very often at all.
Chu is a pretty political guy in the clubhouse for both good and bad. He gets along with most everyone but he's also the first guy to point out when he did something well - leave that for the coaches, man! - and one imagines that if this was a less successful team he might be one of those guys to throw his teammates under the bus. His path to #1 starter level involves him doing the extra work to develop an out pitch and Chu just seems more focused on receiving his doctorate from UC Berkeley than baseball matters. When he's on the field, he's a pretty smart guy though, as one can imagine. All of this is to say... yeah, he's a mid-rotation guy. At 25, this is likely who Chu is.
Dave Concepcion
CF/RF No. 11
RR, 6'0" 197 lbs.
Born 1948-06-09
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 APP A | .600 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 1971 ASH AA | .257 | 68 | 265 | 32 | 68 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 25 | 47 | 18 |
| 1971 TUC AAA | .100 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | .236 | 33 | 123 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 8 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .200 | 56 | 155 | 19 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 31 | 8 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | .230 | 39 | 139 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 9 | 40 | 11 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .223 | 75 | 206 | 28 | 46 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 42 | 16 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
When I name - "name!" THESE ARE REAL FICTIONAL PLAYERS OKAY - a guy who actually played real-life baseball I do try to make them different from their real-life version. In this case, Concepcion, a classic great-glove, no-bat shortstop is... a great-glove, no-bat center fielder. Welp. Concepcion started the year as Mohammed Abdelaziz's caddy and then slipped into the starting role in July once it became clear that Abdelaziz had no business in the mmajor leagues. Unfortunately for him, his own time as a starter wasn't super long, as he quickly dropped into a platoon with Alan Parsons and by the playoffs he didn't even appear.
Concepcion could one day hit for contact if he could cut down on the strikeouts, although the man's 25 so that's probably not happening. Otherwise he has no power and doesn't walk. He does have blazing speed, speed that is translated into the field for once, but he could be the fastest man in the league and still end up with not many steals given how little he gets on base. He can do the "little things" with the best of them, so long as the "little things" don't include making contact with the ball on a hit and run. For a guy who has "hustle ratings" like these, Concepcion is occasionally prone to lapses in the field and at the plate.
Dave Concepcion is possibly an even worse hitter than his real life counterpart and he'll really need to upgrade that part of his game if he wants to become a major league regular.
Alice Cooper
1B No. 38
LL, 6'2" 194 lbs.
Born 1948-05-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TUC AAA | .293 | 81 | 270 | 59 | 79 | 16 | 5 | 14 | 58 | 65 | 55 | 7 |
| 1971 CHW MLB | .275 | 64 | 211 | 42 | 58 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 47 | 41 | 52 | 1 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .261 | 140 | 495 | 84 | 129 | 14 | 2 | 44 | 96 | 92 | 115 | 6 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .289 | 139 | 501 | 96 | 145 | 18 | 2 | 40 | 95 | 92 | 113 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Cooper's been in the league for 2 1/2 years now and has established himself as the best overall hitter in the league. You can argue that maybe New York's Ernesto Garcia has more power but Cooper is better at the other things. When he sprained his thumb on September 14, that effectively ended the White Sox' World Series chances. Don't get me wrong, they rallied well without him! But the writing was completely on the wall for the league championship series.
Cooper enjoys balls that get hit up in the zone. Okay, who doesn't? He's among the best in the game at turning around on a high fastball. Last year pitchers got increasingly afraid of pitching to him: his 17 intentional walks led the league and in spite of that and all the pitching-around he still managed to lead in slugging as well (.573). Thanks to all the strikeouts - 3rd in the AL last year, he led the league in '72 - and the flyballs he only grounded into 8 double plays in 1973. He even started hitting bad balls better last season: his .289 average was the best of his young career.
Cooper is a good defensive first baseman and has been used in left field in the past with some success. Still only 25, Cooper's star might not have risen as far as it will rise just yet. That's a scary thought.
Mick Fleetwood
RHP No. 23
RR, 6'5" 203 lbs.
Born 1947-11-13
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 TUC AAA | 11 | 12 | 0 | 3.17 | 32 | 32 | 8 | 246.2 | 188 | 93 | 87 | 142 | 166 |
| 1971 CHW MLB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.99 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.0 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 7 | 16 | 0 | 4.02 | 28 | 26 | 4 | 181.0 | 165 | 88 | 81 | 82 | 110 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.54 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 12 | 12 | 0 | 3.64 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 202.2 | 198 | 98 | 82 | 81 | 122 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Fleetwood is 25 years old, is in an up-and-coming band named after him (Fleetwood Mac), and owns a nice looking curveball. Oh, to have any one of those things! Although he missed the final week and a half of the season as well as the ALCS, Fleetwood still managed to improve greatly on his 1972 season, doubling his complete games and setting new personal highs in innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins. Last year the biggest deal for Fleetwood is that he improved his control a tick while also bucking the league-wide trend in Ks by striking out almost the same number of guys per 9IP as the year before (5.4 vs 5.5).
Fleetwood clearly thinks of himself as a rock star and it's hard to really blame him for that (although one wonders if his bandmates might eventually become more well known? Nah, like I said, the band is named after him!). Scouts insist he's got a couple miles left to earn on a fastball that always hits the low 90s when everything is working right. If he gets that tick forward, boom, here's your new ace, Chicago fans.
Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo
IF No. 7
RR, 5'12" 185 lbs.
Born 1948-02-03
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ASH AA | .282 | 31 | 110 | 10 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 0 |
| 1971 TUC AAA | .255 | 110 | 353 | 38 | 90 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 30 | 27 | 1 |
| 1972 TUC AAA | .223 | 88 | 296 | 25 | 66 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 18 | 24 | 0 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .170 | 21 | 47 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | .258 | 20 | 66 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .248 | 38 | 113 | 11 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Carlos raised his average 78 points compared to the year before, which launched him squarely into adequacy. He's a good-to-great defensive player so that might be good enough. On the White Sox it probably relegates him to backup infielder duties. Even though Belo makes contact with virtually everything, he's got no power, isn't particularly fast on the basepaths, and while he's a great bunter - he laid down 7 sacrifices last season for Chicago - you probably need a guy who can do more than hit ground balls to shortstop. I don't want to say he should try striking out more, but...
I don't think the 25 year old religious leader out of Timor has a whole lot of teams knocking on the door for him but if you've got an otherwise stacked lineup and you want to drop in a potential Gold Glove infielder to shore up your defense, maybe Belo is your man.
Chris Flores
C No. 20
RR, 5'10" 201 lbs.
Born 1940-03-30
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CHR AAA | .242 | 72 | 236 | 21 | 57 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 36 | 19 | 0 |
| 1971 PIT MLB | .185 | 27 | 81 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 0 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .233 | 42 | 133 | 9 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| 1972 MIL MLB | .202 | 45 | 94 | 7 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .211 | 108 | 284 | 21 | 60 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 22 | 40 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Flores is a career backup catcher who's played for 5 different teams in his 7 year career. He's a catcher you kind of have to describe as "good field, no hit" but fact is, he's not a super great defensive backstop either. His best skill is probably in blocking the plate; otherwise his arm is average and he's neither particularly good nor bad at pitch-framing. At the plate he's singularly awful, sporting an OPS that just barely crested 500 last year (502).
Flores also doesn't cut a fine figure as a leader. The problem is, as bad as Flores is and as ill-suited as he is for starting, he's also the best the White Sox have got. If this is a serious team, they will find a better answer for 1974.
Yukio Hatoyama
2B No. 8
LR, 6'3" 193 lbs.
Born 1948-02-04
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BIR AA | .263 | 42 | 156 | 17 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .347 | 44 | 170 | 31 | 59 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 17 | 24 | 7 |
| 1972 SD MLB | .200 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .272 | 60 | 191 | 16 | 52 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 4 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .275 | 102 | 335 | 39 | 92 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 38 | 20 | 34 | 9 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Hatoyama came over from the Padres in 1972 in exchange for minor league pitcher Ruben Estrada and ever since then he's basically been the left-handed half of a platoon at second base. If you ask me, it's time to lock him into a starting job. Hatoyama has good speed and power to the gaps if not over the fence. In exactly 162 career games with Chicago he's triple-slashed 275/329/382, nothing necessarily world-beating but those are good, solid middle infielder numbers. Defensively he can be a little slow on the pivot although double play partner John Johnson still did an awfully good job at turning them anyway. He also played a little bit of 3rd and short last year. Like any good second baseman, Hatoyama is good at the "little things", laying down a good bunt for a sacrifice or a base hit and making contact with the ball on the hit and run.
Hatoyama finished the year as the team's #2 hitter vs righties. Look, March Syd Thrift: this is October Syd Thrift telling you that you need to give this guy the full-time job.
Chance Hopka
2B No. 21
RR, 6'2" 201 lbs.
Born 1942-10-29
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CAL MLB | .232 | 35 | 99 | 5 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 1 |
| 1971 CHW MLB | .253 | 25 | 91 | 7 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 3 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .217 | 114 | 383 | 42 | 83 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 28 | 75 | 3 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .267 | 111 | 311 | 34 | 83 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 24 | 48 | 10 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
You'd think from looking at the numbers here and for Hatoyama above that Hopka got most of his starts at the beginning of the year... but nope! The 30 year old middle infielder had just 17 starts through the end of June and then was essentially a full-time starter in August and September. He also started all 3 games of the postseason. Hopka did hit .287 in September but the thing with Hopka is that the average is pretty much all you get: he also had just 3 extra-base hits out of 25 hits total that month (all doubles) and drew just 5 walks. He's an excellent defensive second baseman, maybe the best guy on the pivot in all of baseball, and that's a huge difference compared to Hatoyama. At the tail end of the year they basically stopped having to choose between the bat of Hatoyama and Hopka's glove; putting both players in the lineup every day probably isn't the best idea but it worked for Chicago for a month.
Going forward, I think Hopka, a career .240 hitter, will turn into a utility infielder for this team. I guess he could start elsewhere but it's kind of hard to see someone else giving up value to take on a soon-to-be 31 year old non-hitter.
John Johnson
SS No. 27
RR, 6'3" 202 lbs.
Born 1944-10-08
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CLE MLB | .233 | 96 | 382 | 43 | 89 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 19 | 35 | 6 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .219 | 105 | 302 | 23 | 66 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 14 | 27 | 6 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .315 | 149 | 629 | 89 | 198 | 38 | 9 | 5 | 61 | 25 | 47 | 16 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Freed from Cleveland, John Johnson returned to his old form as a hitter (he hit .350 and .340 in 69 and 70) and re-established himself as the best hitting shortstop in the American League. He moved up from hitting 2nd to leadoff once it became apparent that he was a .300 hitter again and... yeah, just did those things that John Johnson did before the losing of the 71-72 Indians got to him. He'll make contact with basically any pitch, although he does have a tendency to try to pull everything sometimes, maybe not the best attribute for a natural slap hitter like he is. Defensively, only a natural lack of range keeps him from being at the Oniji Handa level of shortstop and even then last year he set major league records for putouts and total chances and the 120 double plays he turned was 5 off the record held by John Blevins in 1970. He's got decent speed and in spite of the fact that he puts the ball in play as much as anybody in the game he only had 12 GIDPs all year long.
Johnson easily made his 2nd All-Star Game last year. At 29 years of age, he's still very much in the prime of his career.
Robert Keith
C No. 29
RR, 6'2" 207 lbs.
Born 1938-10-04
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BAL MLB | .241 | 48 | 133 | 10 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 26 | 0 |
| 1972 ROC AAA | .238 | 48 | 147 | 17 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 48 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .180 | 36 | 61 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 13 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The White Sox signed Keith in June to take over for Rene Arnoux as the backup catcher. Keith went from hanging out with his kids to playing for a division winner and pennant contender. So... was he actually the best catcher on the roster? Defensively he's a former Gold Glover who still has enough of it even at the ripe old age of 35. Offensively, he has one tool - drawing walks - but that's about a tool and a half more than the other two guys who played the spot.
That said, the question of "who was better" is a different one than "who will play next year". It's cool that the Sox got so much production from Keith in 82 plate apperances. If Rene Arnoux develops, he's probably still off the roster in 1974.
Brian Maccioli
3B No. 49
RR, 6'0" 200 lbs.
Born 1945-08-23
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 LAD MLB | .283 | 151 | 584 | 68 | 165 | 30 | 1 | 16 | 61 | 47 | 74 | 0 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .252 | 139 | 512 | 57 | 129 | 21 | 3 | 15 | 63 | 57 | 84 | 0 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .231 | 136 | 502 | 47 | 116 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 42 | 42 | 74 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
While it was tempting to call that post-Alice Cooper lineup "Maccioli and cheese", the fact is that Maccioli was kind of part of the cheese last year. Maccioli's average fell for the 2nd straight year and even that lackluster .231 was propped up by a .204 July and .148 August. As of September 3, he was slashing just 222/277/313. Even September was mostly just a lot of singles and for the season Maccioli just barely cleared a 600 OPS.
Maccioli's a really good fielder at third, so good with range in fact that with some seasoning he could probably be a decent shortstop. He lacks that top-line arm a Gold Glove award winner usually has at third (althogh more importantly, if he keeps hitting like this he won't play enough to win a GG). He's slow as molasses and although he's adequate with a bunt the White Sox did not ask him to do that last year. They did ask him to hit 5th for most of the saeson and while even the 1972 version would have been OK in that role, 1973 Maccioli was just not that guy.
The White Sox don't really have a lot of great options at third if Maccioli can't find the stick in spring training. Carlos Filipe Ximines Belo is definitely an adequate fielder but he's possibly an even worse hitter than Maccioli. Their lone top-200 infield prospect, SS Floyd Bannister, was in rookie ball last year and isn't projected to hit the big leagues until 1977. Maccioli needs to turn it around pronto or the White Sox need to figure out how to get a bat in the lineup at that position.
Chris Messina
RHP No. 13
RR, 5'11" 193 lbs.
Born 1941-03-28
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CHW MLB | 11 | 15 | 0 | 3.74 | 31 | 30 | 5 | 216.0 | 210 | 105 | 90 | 64 | 92 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 10 | 15 | 0 | 3.41 | 30 | 30 | 4 | 213.2 | 184 | 92 | 81 | 85 | 94 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 13 | 19 | 0 | 3.40 | 36 | 36 | 7 | 256.1 | 256 | 109 | 97 | 87 | 134 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Messina, who led the Sox in innings pitched and the American League in losses last year, wasn't exactly the team's ace but he was its workhorse. He consistently gave the Sox 7 innings every 5th day and there's a ton of value in that. In fact, if anything the biggest thing "wrong" with him was a lack of support: you throw 25 quality starts, you should probably win more than 13 times. In the month of August, Messina had an ERA of 1.54 with 3 complete games in 6 starts... and a 1-5 record. Yeah, I think that pretty well sums up his year.
Messina now has a career record of 73-109 and has never had a winning record in his major league life. The closest he's gotten was his last season in Boston when he posted an 8-9 mark. At some point you wonder if this is a personal problem... that said, really the worst you can say about him is that he's a mid-rotation starter, nothing more, nothing less. He mixes two "fast"balls that can climb to 90 in the absolute best of circumstances with a forkball and primarily survives on keeping the ball down and avoiding walks. Hitters grounded into 27 double plays last year behind him and after a year where his G/F ratio was actually underwater, Messina had a 51% mark last year.
He's popular in the clubhouse and doesn't let all the losses get him down. It's always hard to predict how long a guy at this level can keep it up but I don't see any reason why Messina can't have another 1974 like the last couple. This time, it'd be cool if he won more games than he lost.
Jeff Nation
DH/1B No. 5
RR, 6'3" 202 lbs.
Born 1945-08-15
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CHW MLB | .241 | 139 | 518 | 55 | 125 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 48 | 33 | 84 | 4 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .264 | 113 | 326 | 42 | 86 | 12 | 3 | 17 | 52 | 22 | 49 | 1 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .274 | 156 | 610 | 84 | 167 | 29 | 4 | 27 | 109 | 30 | 84 | 7 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The DH really revitalized Jeff Nation's career. As of 1972, Nation was a failed third base prospect who was looking relegated to a part-time role in the bigs. Enter the designated hitter and Nation, the 1970 Rookie of the Year, finished 2nd in the league in RBIs with 109, 3rd in HRs with 27, and was the guy to drive in teammate Alice Cooper when chips were down. He even wrapped up the year by hitting .302/7/26 in September with Cooper out for most of the month and the Rangers breathing down his neck. He even hit .286 in the NLCS series loss to the Tigers.
Nation is a classic RBI man. He'll take advantage of a mistake and in 1973 did a much better job of getting a hold of non-mistakes; his .274 average was the highest it's been since his rookie year with KC. He still has a bit of an issue with the strikeout and while some will dislike his lack of pitch selection, others like the fact that with runners on base he will always try to put the ball in play. When you can clear 25 HRs it's hard to complain with the results. He played a chunk of first base at the end of the season and should be able to continue there if the Sox decide they want to use him there. Third base at this point is right out. He's got some speed on the basepaths but isn't a very good base-stealer, only 7/14 last season on steals.
Jeff Nation is a hard worker, at least as a hitter, who just doesn't have the kind of range it takes to play on the right side of the infield. He's only 28 and really too young to be a full-time DH, except that that's exactly where the White Sox need him.
Alan Parsons
OF No. 14
LL, 6'2" 200 lbs.
Born 1948-12-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BUR A | .236 | 41 | 165 | 23 | 39 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 25 | 7 |
| 1971 BIR AA | .207 | 40 | 169 | 11 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 35 | 0 |
| 1972 BIR AA | .281 | 23 | 89 | 6 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .256 | 110 | 375 | 60 | 96 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 40 | 31 | 72 | 13 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | .238 | 90 | 323 | 36 | 77 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 19 | 59 | 25 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .267 | 53 | 146 | 11 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 23 | 6 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
A less than highly rated prospect, Parsons has nevertheless shot through the minor leagues since being drafted in the 10th round in 1971. This past year he was basically what you get when you are desperate for a centerfielder and will use just about anybody at the position. He did a solid job in the field: although he doesn't have the best first step he can make up for it with good speed and has soft hands (last year he didn't commit a single error in 976 innings of work in CF between the minors and majors). He doesn't really have the arm to play in right so as he matures left field will probably need to be his chosen position. That said, Parsons has very little power, which would make that move seem problematic.
Parsons finished the year as the Chisox CF and will likely go into 1974 as the front-runner for that job. He's nothing like a long-term solution at this position though, and even his hold on next year's job is contingent on Chicago's penny-pinching ways - it would be very easy, you'd think, to find a better replacement if they ever decided to spend some money on the problem.
Malcolm Post
RHP No. 1
RR, 6'1" 182 lbs.
Born 1946-03-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CHW MLB | 7 | 4 | 24 | 2.22 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 97.0 | 82 | 24 | 24 | 38 | 73 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 10 | 5 | 18 | 2.13 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 92.2 | 81 | 26 | 22 | 28 | 72 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 8 | 2 | 35 | 2.30 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 93.2 | 76 | 24 | 24 | 35 | 51 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the 27 year old Post is how long the rest of the league took to recognize his greatness. His All-Star appearance (he threw a scoreless inning because of course he did) was his 2nd of his career, his first coming in 1972. Is it the anti-Dutch sentiment? Post, who was born and raised in Veenendaal in the Netherlands, throws a 2-seam fastball that is faster than most guys' 4-seamers, a nasty slider, and a change that he pops in every now and then for strikes. That, plus the Sox using him heavily - Post led the AL in games pitched and finished for the first time in his career - plus all the winning meant that when he came into the 8th against the A's and threw 2 scoreless innings en route to a 7-4 victory, that save edged out Geoff Saus's 1971 (11-12, 2.91, 34 Sv) and Montay Luiso's 1964 (11-4, 1.14, 34 Sv) as the greatest single-season relief performance ever.
With Luiso aging and Geoff Saus coming off of, frankly, a very bad season, the 27 year old Post along with Pittsburgh's Paz Lemus are the two relief aces in the major leagues now.
Rich Reese
RHP No. 9
RR, 6'5" 187 lbs.
Born 1944-08-17
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 TUC AAA | 12 | 6 | 0 | 2.61 | 24 | 24 | 5 | 175.1 | 126 | 62 | 51 | 91 | 122 |
| 1971 CHW MLB | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3.53 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 71.1 | 59 | 28 | 28 | 37 | 53 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1.98 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 54.1 | 33 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 40 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 18 | 7 | 0 | 2.67 | 34 | 34 | 7 | 238.2 | 170 | 82 | 71 | 135 | 152 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
The jewel in the White Sox' rotational crown, Reese took a pretty rocky road towards staff ace-ness. Reese came up with the Twins but following a couple of, frankly, pretty awful years in 68 and 69 (2-2, 5.59 in '68, 7-5. 4.84 the next year) the Twinkies traded him for a song: SS Jun Ho-Baek, who is currently technically on the Cardinals' roster, at least at the time of this writing (he hit a paltry .102 for them in 17 starts and I'd be surprised if he even gets a camp invite). After mostly doing minor league duty in 70 and 71, the Sox decided to convert him into a reliever in 72 and he was suddenly kind of lights out. That made them say "hmm, let's try him as a starter again", which is very often a move that will not pay off but somehow it did.
For a guy with a sub-3 ERA, Reese is kind of up and down and definitely benefits from having Malcolm Post behind him to pitch the 8th and 9th innings when needed. When he's on he can generate good outs with a 12-to-6 curveball and a nice changeup and slider. There's no coincidence he led the league in fewest hits per 9 IP, although the strikeouts don't necessarily show that. When he's not... he also led the AL in walks this year with a pretty high 5.1/9IP walk rate. Speaking of rates, he's also severely limited HRs with a grand total of 19 allowed over 374.2 career innings with Chicago. The curve, not to mention a forkball that Reese likes to put out there as a show-me pitch, also induces a lot of ground-outs and 31 GIDPs last season.
Was Reese just fantastically lucky last year? You may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like. Mick Fleetwood might oust him as the team's #1 starter last year but that's only because of the ascending star of that young player.
Daniel Roche
RHP No. 12
RR, 5'11" 183 lbs.
Born 1938-05-01
[code]
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CHW MLB | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4.21 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 36.1 | 38 | 22 | 17 | 19 | 18 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 1972 MON MLB | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4.06 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 82.0 | 64 | 37 | 37 | 34 | 42 |
| 1973 MON MLB | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.20 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 39.1 | 39 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.49 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 21.2 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
[code]
Roche was the first of two vets the White Sox acquired from their former teams off the waiver wire (Rich Whetzel being the other). Roche, now 35 years old and the grand old man of the White Sox staff, was originally poached by Montreal when the White Sox tried to slip him through waivers in June of 1972 so in a way it's only fitting that this was how he rejoined. The Dan Roche of old was a 3-time All-Star who did a good job filling a mid-rotation role for a White Sox team that had a fair bit of success in the 60s. This version of Roche probably isn't a guy you want to start or maybe even protect a tight lead anymore but between Montreal and Chicago he did show that he's still got at least some ability to prevent runs.
Will Roche be on this roster in 1974? I don't want to say yes but I think he'll be *somewhere*.
Damian Seja
RHP No. 37
RR, 6'2" 203 lbs.
Born 1943-05-30
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1972 RIC AAA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 44.0 | 54 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 16 |
| 1972 ATL MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.52 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 23.0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| 1973 IOW AAA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.30 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 43.0 | 36 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 22 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.03 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 44.1 | 43 | 13 | 10 | 17 | 15 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Once a top-ten prospect with the Braves organization, Atlanta finally decided they were done with the fireballing right-hander and all of his injuries, releasing him outright in November. The White Sox signed him up to a minors-majors option deal in March and Seja, frankly, continued to do what he'd been doing for the Braves for years: get hurt a lot but show a lot of promise when he's not hurt. Seja throws a fastball with a good deal of hop but gets his outs with a 12-to-6 curve and a forkball, both of which also produce a good amount of ground balls. He's a guy who's content with getting hitters to ground out to shortstop instead of getting strikeouts although last year his rate fell from "this is a choice" to "we should be worried".
Seja isn't the best guy to have in a locker room but you'd think that being on the edge of the bullpen also means people won't bother talking to him much. As hard as he throws, it's hard to see the kinds of results that made him the #8 prospect in baseball so many years ago. Now 30, he doesn't even have 30 major league decisions: 13 wins, 8 losses in spite of 33 career starts and even more appearances in relief. This is a crossroads season.
Josh Wade
RF No. 76
RR, 5'11" 205 lbs.
Born 1943-11-08
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CHW MLB | .279 | 115 | 427 | 44 | 119 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 10 | 66 | 5 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | .276 | 99 | 344 | 41 | 95 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 40 | 17 | 48 | 4 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | .291 | 148 | 645 | 65 | 188 | 30 | 8 | 7 | 66 | 18 | 78 | 10 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
There's nothing... wrong with Josh Wade per se. He's a perfectly functional outfielder who hits for good contact. In fact his .291 average was his highest since his first season in Chicago in 1970 when he hit .296. Wade hit leadoff or 2nd in the order all season, finishing the year 1st in the AL in at-bats, and that's just plain too large of a role for the guy, as the paltry 65 runs would suggest. Wade doesn't walk, doesn't really have the kind of bat control you'd want from a 2-hole hitter - he gets his singles by spraying balls throughout the park - and never walks. Defensively he's best described as adequate, with a good arm papering over a lack of range in right field. Wade's got average speed at best, although it must be said that he did steal 10 bases last year, a career high, and only grounded into 9 double plays. He'll lay down a bunt, as he was asked to do 9 times last year (10th in the AL).
In 1973 the White Sox had too many other issues in the outfield to mess with Wade, who they trotted out and used every day. Wade hit .323 in 1969 and it seems like the Sox have been expecting that level of production out of him ever since. That's just not who he is at this point in his career.
Rich Whetzel
RHP No. 42
RR, 6'2" 200 lbs.
Born 1945-01-31
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 MIN MLB | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3.39 | 22 | 22 | 1 | 135.0 | 126 | 56 | 51 | 62 | 57 |
| 1972 TAC AAA | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.87 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 62.2 | 49 | 20 | 20 | 29 | 30 |
| 1972 MIN MLB | 7 | 12 | 0 | 3.99 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 142.0 | 132 | 74 | 63 | 63 | 76 |
| 1973 MIN MLB | 3 | 14 | 0 | 4.03 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 133.2 | 143 | 83 | 60 | 56 | 70 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5.03 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 39.1 | 40 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 11 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Whetzel, a longtime Twins organizational soldier, was the victim of a numbers game in August when he was waived and then picked up by Chicago off the waiver wire. The Sox really needed that extra arm in the rotation but Whetzel, already 3-14 at the time of the acquisition, only managed to not lead the league in losses because of the hard luck of his new teammate. Whetzel is still only 27 and throws as hard as ever but once he got to Chi-town he seemed unable to get batters out by himself and that led to a lot of nibbling and all the issues that come with nibblers.
Whetzel was once a top-50 prospect and still has a bit of that luster about him, although 2 straight losing seasons have taken quite a bit of that luster off. First things first, though, he needs to figure out how to get that heat past hitters every once in a while. This is a man who can reportedly get into the mid-90s when conditions are right: how do hitters get around on those pitches so much?
Gavin Yates
RHP No. 26
RR, 6'1" 198 lbs.
Born 1939-10-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CAL MLB | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4.63 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 44.2 | 41 | 25 | 23 | 10 | 29 |
| 1972 CAL MLB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.94 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 39.2 | 42 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 27 |
| 1972 CHW MLB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.81 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1973 CHW MLB | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 60.2 | 59 | 29 | 27 | 18 | 35 |
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Yates had a very up and down 1973. When he was up, as he was in the month of July (2-1, 2.55 in 12 G and 17.2 IP) he looked like he could hold court with any middle reliever in the game. When he was off, for instance in September (0-2, 5.79, 8 BB, 7 K in 11 IP) he was really bad. For the most part Yates has decent control although when he can't hit his slider for strikes he starts to miss the edges of the plate and misses over it as often as away from it. The White Sox threw him in mainly lower leverage situations, saving the really important times for Malcolm Post of course, but even guys like Sergio Alvarado got more use late and close than the 33 year old.
Yates has fairly cemented this role as a middle-of-the-pack riser-slider guy. Last year the overall results were kind of meh, which isn't the best trajectory for a guy entering his mid 30s.