What the White Sox Should
Do
by Ross Friedman
The White Sox had a great year in
2000. I still haven't figured out how. I'm not
sure they were anything more than a decent team,
yet they managed to finish with the best record
in the American League. The White Sox could be
set up for a big fall in 2001 if they don't make
major adjustments this off-season.
However, in a weak division that
could get weaker if Manny Ramirez leaves the
Indians, the White Sox have a legitimate chance
to make an impact. There is only one way for them
to do this though: act like a big-market team. It
was a great story when the team with a tiny
payroll made the run they did, but they play in
Chicago. Cleveland had a much higher payroll and
is a much smaller market.
The White Sox main problem is
that they are second-class citizens in their own
city, to the Cubs. Remember though, neither
Chicago team has won a championship since the
White Sox did it 83 years ago in 1917. If the Sox
became a perennial winner, with a chance of
bringing a baseball championship to the city of
Chicago, they could create a fan base that would
help the White Sox continue to field a winner in
years to come.
So now the question becomes, what
do the White Sox have to do to keep the winning
going? First, do not go after Alex Rodriguez.
They could get lured by the fact that ARod would
look great in their lineup and in their infield.
However, there are locations that ARod prefers to
Chicago, and will be willing to meet Boras'
demands for him. All the White Sox would be doing
is wasting time and effort that should be spent
elsewhere.
And for the White Sox, elsewhere
is pitching.
And then more pitching.
The White Sox will not be able to
get Mike Hampton. If Hampton leaves NY he is
going to leave for a warm-weather team. That
leaves Mike Mussina in the top-tier free agent
pitchers. They should go after him hard. Make him
an attractive offer at 12:01am this Saturday.
They should find any way they can of getting
Mussina signed.
And as great as Mussina is, he's
not enough for the White Sox pitching staff. They
need more. Next they should go after Yankee
reliever Jeff Nelson. Nelson may not be easy to
lure away from NY, but at times last year he
fought with Yankee management and ownership. If
the White Sox can make him feel very wanted, they
may be able to get him. This would give the White
Sox a great bridge from starter pitcher to
closer. Nelson with Keith Foulke would make a
wonderful one-two punch, and give the White Sox a
very strong six-man bullpen.
The White Sox should then make
one more move for a pitcher. To help preserve
salary, the final move should be done by trade.
They should try to get either Francisco Cordova
from the Pirates, or Dustin Hermanson from the
Expos. There are a lot of rumors that the Expos
are shopping Hermanson and teams may not have to
give up major leaguers to get him.
Finally, the White Sox should
re-sign their own free agents Charles Johnson and
Jose Valentin. The White Sox scored the most runs
in the American League last year, so there is no
reason to make a change there.
In conclusion, the White Sox need
pitching. If they go out and spend the money to
get it, they have a good chance to take over as
the dominant team in the AL Central for the next
5+ seasons.
Plan B: If they cannot get
Mussina, go for two second-tier pitchers such as
Darren Dreifort and Denny Neagle.
2001 Suggested 25-man
Roster
Lineup:
2B-Ray Durham
SS-Jose Valentin
DH-Frank Thomas
RF-Magglio Ordonez
LF-Carlos Lee
1B-Paul Konerko
3B-Herbert Perry
CF-Chris Singleton
C- Charles Johnson
Bench:
C- Mark Johnson
C- Josh Paul
IF-Tony Graffanino
IF-Greg Norton
OF-Paul Abbott
Starters:
Mike Mussina
James Baldwin
Mike Sirotka
Dustin Hermanson
Jim Parque
Bullpen:
Keith Foulke
Jeff Nelson
Bob Howry
Bill Simas
Kelly Wunsch
Sean Lowe
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