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Flashback to the 2010 Chicago White Sox

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Flashback to the 2010 Chicago White Sox

Posted 01-18-2011 at 05:52 PM by LucianoJJ

Granted, it is the middle of January. Chicago is glazed over by snow and ice. Some of us can't help but look forward to the start of Spring Training. No offense, the conference championships of the NFL, the mid-season NBA and NHL, and NCAA hoops are no real substitute for baseball in my world.

My true allegiance lies with the Cincinnati Reds. But at this time I look back at another club, a local ball club. The South Siders. The Pale Hose. The 2010 Chicago White Sox. The season on the South Side can be split into thirds. The disappointing stumble of the first period. The amazing success of the mid-season. The head scratching heartbreak of the tail end of the 2010 season. True, Ozzie has issues. His attempt to play small ball to compete with the Piranhas of Minnesota was difficult to pull off. The DH-by-committee failed, but in my opinion, it was more because of poor player choices than a flawed plan. Take a career glove man in OF-1B Mark Kotsay and expect him to be a regular DH in the twilight of his career? Why not use Kotsay as a regular 4th outfielder/frequent backup 1B, and rotate Quentin, Konerko, Pierre, Rios, and Andruw Jones as a daily DH rotation? Why bother moving Beckham to 2B? On paper Mark Teahen seemed like a good candidate to be a super-sub at the corner infield and corner outfield spots. Expecting him to be a regular 3B rather than a utilityman seemed as screwy as Kotsay as a regular DH. Is it any coincidence the Sox surged while Teahen was out? Teahen eventually became a whipping boy.

There was drama in the bullpen. There was tension involving the 6 starting pitchers. Relying on "Sweaty" Freddy Garcia seemed risky. Edwin Jackson was lights out, but too little too late. Thornton and Putz were excellent set-up men, Santos was a surprise in middle relief, and Pena was a workhorse with a bloated ERA. Speaking of bloated...Bobby Jenks finally collapsed as the closer. Does Chris Sale belong in the rotation? Could he close? Can he continue to perform at such a high level? He made quite a jump, from college baseball to a pennant race, in his brief debut.

It is not likely 2011 will be as dramatic, as up-and-down as 2010 was at US Cellular Field. For all the disappointment coming from Wrigley, the Chicago White Sox seemed to provide more entertainment. There was bitterness on both sides of town by October 2010.

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