On any given day, the White Sox will use a left fielder in center, a shortstop at third base, a DH in left and a setup man as starter.
Fitting square pegs into round holes wasn’t listed in the job description when Jerry Manuel signed on as Sox manager four years ago. But due to circumstances, some of which were out of his control, Manuel has been forced to use players in roles he normally wouldn’t consider.
Not everyone can be the DH, and someone has to start.
Next year figures to be no easier for Manuel, especially if both Jose Valentin and Royce Clayton return, as expected. Right now, the only names Manuel can assuredly pencil in for Opening Day 2002 are right fielder Magglio Ordonez and starter Mark Buehrle.
“Everybody right now is in our plans,” Manuel said on Sunday, before pausing. “We don’t know what our plans are.”
Don’t expect any major off-season shakeup. But with so many Sox players coming back from injuries, so many having subpar seasons, and so many defensively challenged, practically nothing is set in stone.
With 41 days remaining in the 2001 season, the guessing game for 2002 begins. Here’s the outlook at each position:
Designated hitter
Candidates: Frank Thomas, Jeff Liefer, Jose Canseco, Harold Baines.Outlook: Thomas has the job, naturally, though he may not return before May, giving him a full year to recover from his triceps surgery. Who will fill in if the Big Hurt misses May? Canseco has become a South Side favorite, but sharing the DH role with Thomas is out of the question. Manuel said Canseco would have to play a position to return, and there’s no corner outfield spot available. Liefer is the only pure left-handed power hitter on the roster, but strikes out too often. Because of his age, Baines’ dream of returning for one last hurrah is destined to go unrealized.
First base
Candidates: Paul Konerko, Thomas, Liefer, Carlos Lee. Outlook: Konerko is having a productive season and would be the easiest player to move because of his relatively low salary and the fact that he’s signed through 2002. If Konerko were traded, Thomas would have to accept playing first at least four or five times a week, and DHing the rest of the time. Liefer would then be the backup. Lee played five games at first in ’99. Manuel apparently had seen enough.
Second base
Candidates: Ray Durham, Valentin, Tim Hummel.Outlook: Durham will enter the final year of a four-year deal, and if the Sox don’t believe they can re-sign him, he’ll probably be dealt before the end of spring training. Durham is experiencing his first real unproductive year, giving the Sox leverage in negotiations. If Durham is traded, the Sox can move Valentin to second or bring up minor-leaguer Hummel, the second-round draft pick in 2000. Hummel is hitting .292 at Double-A Birmingham and is third in the Southern League in hits. Hummel probably isn’t ready yet, as his 24 errors suggest.
Shortstop
Candidates: Royce Clayton, Valentin.Outlook: Clayton can demand a trade after the season because he was traded in the middle of a multiyear deal signed with Texas. Unless the Sox guarantee he’ll be the everyday shortstop, Clayton is gone. Finding a suitor is another story if he doesn’t hit over .230. Despite his solid glove, the Sox are probably better off without Clayton in the clubhouse. The Sox love Valentin’s bat and leadership, but they do not like the idea of Valentin as an everyday shortstop.
Third base
Candidates: Valentin, Joe Crede, Liefer, Herbert Perry.Outlook: Crede has been labeled the third baseman of the future forever, but now the Sox want him to shorten his swing, suggesting he’s still not ready. Whether Crede gets a chance may depend on whether Clayton stays. Valentin won’t be a bench-sitter with a $5 million salary, so if both Clayton and Durham stay, Valentin inherits third. Liefer doesn’t have the range or the glove to be a regular. Perry has played so little of late it’s obvious he’s the odd man out.
Left field
Candidates: Lee, Aaron Rowand, Liefer.Outlook: The Sox believe Lee can become a consistent .300 hitter if he just shows a little more patience. Cubs hitting coach Jeff Pentland used tough-love methods to force Sammy Sosa to change his ways with the Cubs. Best of luck, Gary Ward. Lee may never be a solid left fielder, but he should make routine plays. If Rowand would stop bouncing off walls, he could stay healthy enough to make Lee expendable in a trade, where he could bring a quality starting pitcher in exchange.
Center field
Candidates: Rowand, Joe Borchard, Chris Singleton.Comment: Rowand is no center fielder but has shown he can hit major-league pitching, so the Sox want to find a spot for him. Singleton’s refusal to take walks or learn to bunt consistently has worn thin on the Sox’s staff. Borchard, the No. 1 pick in 2000, is still learning to play center in Birmingham. But he has enough sheer power to inspire a gamble if Lee is traded and Rowand moves to left.
Right field
Candidate: Magglio OrdonezComment: No reason to mess with Maggs.
Catcher
Candidates: Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark Johnson, Josh Paul. Comment: Alomar is signed through next year, so the job is his if he’s healthy. Johnson and Paul will have to fight again for a backup spot, with Johnson’s arm and left-handed bat giving him the slight edge. Neither Johnson nor Paul has shown much offensive consistency. Unless one of them proves himself by 2002, the Sox may have to trade for a starter for 2003.
Starting pitchers
Candidates: Mark Buehrle, Dan Wright, Jon Garland, Gary Glover, Sean Lowe, Kip Wells, Rocky Biddle, Jim Parque, Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier.Comment: Buehrle is the ace. No more questions. Wright has shown he has the stuff to become a dominant starter but has a tendency to get in trouble in the first inning. Garland figures to be the No. 3 starter if he develops an effective curve this off-season. That’s a big “if.” Glover can return if he continues to improve, though Lowe is considered a plug-in as a starter. The Sox would like to upgrade his slot and send him back to the bullpen, where he’s badly missed. Lowe would rather start and will likely ask for a trade if he can’t here.
Wells is still an enigma, and a slow-motion enigma at that. Biddle is rapidly falling off the map with his porous relief outings. Parque won 13 games as a starter in 2000 and was the Game 1 starter in the playoffs, but Manuel has already indicated Parque is bound for the bullpen. Rauch, the power pitcher who was Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2000, also sustained a torn labrum in April and is a long shot before midseason. Guerrier, a 23-year-old right-hander and 10th-round draft pick in ’99, was fifth in the Southern League with a 3.10 earned-run average before being promoted to Charlotte, where he’s 5-1 with a 3.79 ERA.
Relievers
Candidates: Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Wells, Biddle, Parque, Antonio Osuna, Matt Ginter, Alan Embree, Lorenzo Barcelo, Kelly Wunsch, Bill Simas.Comment: Unless negotiations on a two-year extension get nasty, Foulke is back for certain and will go to arbitration again. Howry recently signed a two-year extension, though the Sox will seek a No. 1 setup man if he doesn’t show more consistency locating his fastball. Osuna signed an extension through 2003 shortly before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery and will return. The Sox believe Wells’ future is as a starter, but he just can’t get over the hump. Parque should inherit the left-handed setup role from Embree, who has been a bust since being acquired from San Francisco. Embree and the Sox have a mutual option for 2002. Ginter has been a disappointment in relief, while Barcelo and Wunsch may not be ready to return from surgery until June or later.
The Sox never were able to replace Simas or his leadership, and the bullpen has crumbled. After missing 2001 due to elbow surgery and entering free agency, Simas has apparently been deemed expendable by management.
