After going 3-4 on their last trip–a critical one in the eyes of manager Ozzie Guillen–it is time for the White Sox to start thinking about next season.
“We have a chance to see a different team next year,” Guillen said of the 2005 edition. “Our defense has to improve or be more consistent and our baseball basics have to get better. We’ve been playing with the same people for six years and have the same results. I wouldn’t be surprised if we tried to change the scenario here.”
Guillen and general manager Ken Williams will have many positions in which to consider possible changes for next season.
Catcher
Ben Davis has been better than expected and Williams said he envisions Davis being able to catch 140 games a season. Jamie Burke has been good when called upon and Sandy Alomar Jr. played more than anticipated early in the season but is nearing the end of the line.
Third base
Joe Crede is likely to be here next April, but his hitting has been subpar except for the second half of last season. Guillen has said often that he likes Crede’s potential and Crede’s fielding hasn’t suffered with his struggles at the plate. But will Guillen be patient with another slow start next season?
Second base
Guillen has been more critical of Willie Harris than anyone else on the team. Whether that means he thinks the Sox need a change is unknown. The Sox have most of the leverage on Harris this off-season and may bring him back as a utility player or see what’s on the market.
Shortstop
Juan Uribe was brought in as insurance for next season if the Sox don’t bring back Jose Valentin. With Uribe’s play this season, he could be the starter next year. Guillen said Uribe could play every day and that shortstop would be the position for him. Another possibility is minor-league prospect Wilson Valdez making a splash in the last month this year and going into spring training as the starter with Uribe moving over to second.
Right field
How much Magglio Ordonez’s knee injury will cost him on the free agent market is still to be seen. The Sox will offer him arbitration and it’s possible he could accept and take a one-year deal in the hope he can put up big numbers for next winter. Or it’s possible a team like the Yankees will overlook the injury based on Ordonez’s track record and still give him a $14 million multi-year deal.
Carl Everett also has a player option for next season. If he exercises that, the Sox may have to find a spot to play him in the outfield with Frank Thomas coming back as the designated hitter.
Both Guillen and Williams think the one area in which they won’t have to do much is the starting pitching, with Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland set in the rotation. That means, of course, the Sox still have to find one more starter to fill out the rotation. Williams said there will be pitchers available in the winter and it’s possible the rotation won’t have a true No. 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, but perhaps two No. 2-type starters and three No. 3s.
“I don’t know if it’s a different type of team or different type people,” Guillen said of next year’s squad. “Our pitching staff will be real solid. The four starters we have, we should have a pretty good pitching staff.”
Officially, 32 games remain. But the plans for next March already are being formulated.
