The waiting game continues for the White Sox, who appeared on the verge of making their move before going belly-up in Busch Stadium over the weekend.
With trade rumors hanging over some players’ heads, and after repeated threats by management that the organization will do what it has to do if fans don’t show up at Comiskey Park, everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Here’s a brief checklist of things the Sox are waiting for:
1. Snap time for Boomer
David Wells threatened to snap after Sunday’s loss to St. Louis, asking management to let him know if he is still on the trading block, or else he was going to go off like a time bomb.
Since Wells first was put on the block during the Sox’s eight-game losing streak in late May, he has been besieged by questions about the possibility of a trade. Wells’ stock reply is that he wants to stay in Chicago, where he and his family feel comfortable. General manager Ken Williams said when the rumors began that he would keep Wells informed of trade talks.
“He has earned that right and he has earned that respect from me as a former teammate and now, as a general manager,” Williams said.
But Williams has not been around the Sox much recently, skipping brief trips to Kansas City and St. Louis and distancing himself from the team for reasons only he knows. With Williams gone, the speculation has increased that he’s working on a Wells deal, even though he reportedly has told baseball people that he’s more inclined to keep him for now.
Wells understands the way the game is played and perhaps said it best last month when he first addressed the rumors.
“We’re just a piece of meat, man, thrown out on the grill,” he said. “But I’m not well done.”
If “Boomer” snaps, the reverberations will be felt all over the South Side. It’s up to Williams to see that Wells stays “snap-free.”
2. Valentin’s day
The Sox found a way to win without Frank Thomas in the lineup. They found a way to win without Jim Parque and Cal Eldred in the rotation. But apparently the one indispensable player on the roster is Jose Valentin, the undisputed heartbeat of the club.
When Valentin was moved to the leadoff spot on May 20, the Sox offense began to click with some consistency for the first time and the team suddenly began its ascent from 15 games below .500. Though Valentin had been playing hurt for a while, he finally was placed on the disabled list June 9 after aggravating his sore right hamstring.
Valentin’s injury forced Manuel to move Ray Durham back to the leadoff spot after Durham had thrived in the No. 3 hole while batting in front of red-hot Magglio Ordonez. Durham is 4-for-21 (.190) since moving back to the top of the lineup, where he doesn’t get to see as many fastballs.
Royce Clayton was on the bench after batting only .104 in May, but Valentin’s injury forced him back into the everyday lineup. Though Clayton is hitting the ball with a little more authority, he was only 1-for-11 in the sweep by the Cardinals and is hitting .143 (4-for-28) since Valentin was placed on the DL.
The Sox simply don’t have enough hitting to cover Clayton’s offensive deficiencies, something that was glaringly apparent in a National League ballpark where the Sox didn’t have a DH. Clayton barely has gotten the ball out of the infield since Valentin’s injury, either grounding out or lining out in 17 of those at-bats, and reaching on an infield hit in one at-bat.
It’s hard to believe, but Clayton had 14 home runs in each of the last two seasons at Texas. This year he has no homers and only four extra-base hits. Valentin already is taking batting practice and should be ready to return for a key series at Minnesota beginning June 26.
3. Wunsch watch
In April, Jerry Manuel pulled the plug on Sean Lowe when he had a particularly bad outing, leading to Lowe’s brief demotion to Triple-A Charlotte. But the Sox manager had stuck with left-handed reliever Kelly Wunsch throughout his season-long slump before Wunsch was placed on the disabled list after Monday night’s game.
Wunsch led the league in appearances last year with 83, after posting a career-high 38 appearances while pitching in the Milwaukee minor league system in 2000. He was one of the reasons why the Sox were able to win the Central Division last year, but his heavy workload appears to have taken a toll. Wunsch has a 7.66 ERA and Manuel said Sunday that Wunsch’s velocity has dropped precipitously from last year.
Yet Manuel had continued to call on Wunsch in important situations, only to watch the decision blow up in his face. The Sox don’t have any experienced left-handed relievers at Charlotte, meaning rookie Ken Vining is the only viable alternative to Wunsch. Moving Mark Buehrle into the rotation may have been the best move Manuel has made, but it also left a void in middle relief the Sox have been unable to fill.
When the Sox acquired right-handed reliever Antonio Osuna near the end of spring training, Williams said Manuel would be able to use him against left-handed hitters because of his screwball. But Osuna was injured in late April and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on May 8. Since then, opposing hitters ate Wunsch for lunch.
4. Summer sell-off
The Sox had a major attitude adjustment after their eight-game losing streak to start a 12-game trip in late May. After trailing by 15 1/2 games, they have sliced the deficit to 10 games, which put them on the edge of contention. But they know a summer sell-off is in the picture if they don’t creep up on the Indians and Twins over the next few weeks.
“On that trip, it was like in the first inning, `Here we go again. We’re going to lose again,'” Paul Konerko said. “There’s definitely a better attitude now. I’m not saying we’re going to make up those 10 games in a matter of two weeks, but if this team stays together, I think we can definitely make a run at the division and definitely at the wild card if it comes to that.
“But I wouldn’t put us in just the wild-card picture yet. There are too many head-to-head games left [with Minnesota and Cleveland]. And I’m not saying that if we trade [David] Wells we’re out of it. It seems like all the young pitchers are dealing. I don’t think we’d cave in if [Wells is traded], but I think everyone here would like to see him stay.”
The young guns in the rotation– Buehrle, Kip Wells and Rocky Biddle–all have proved they can be consistently effective, though Buehrle appears head and shoulders above the others.
“Before, we were not pitching that well–giving up a lot of home runs, missing locations,” catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “Now the young guys know they’re going to be in there every fifth day, and they’re not going to go get someone to replace them. It makes them more relaxed. It makes a big difference knowing they’re going to leave them out there.
“These guys are really executing, throwing strikes and pitching inside well. They’re doing the job I had expected after I heard about Kip Wells, Jon Garland, and especially Buehrle. He has been unbelievable.”
Sox: Inside the numbers
Through Sunday
HITTING
MAGGLIO ORDONEZ’S home runs 17
Ordonez has hit five home runs in his last six games, and is on pace to hit 42 home runs this season. Ordonez’s .371 on-base percentage also leads the Sox.
RAY DURHAM’s average .263
One of the streakiest hitters on the team, Durham has hit .189 over his last 10 games. He hit .404 the final week of May and was named AL Player of the Week, but his average has dropped from .285 on May 30th to .263 before Monday’s game.
PITCHING
SEAN LOWE’s earned-run average 2.35
Lowe has allowed only one run in his last 11 innings in June, a sparkling 0.91 earned-run average. But Lowe also allowed two of his three inherited runners to score in his last two outings in St. Louis, with both runs charged to other pitchers.
JAMES BALDWIN’S walks and strikeouts BB 19, SO 16
Baldwin has issued 19 walks while striking out only 16 in 63 innings. Last year Baldwin had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 2 to 1, fanning 116 while walking only 59.
