General manager Ken Williams kept repeating the word “balance” when asked how his 2008 White Sox had improved in the off-season.
On the surface, it’s easy to recognize that Orlando Cabrera is an upgrade at shortstop over Juan Uribe, and Nick Swisher is a considerable improvement over the players the Sox had in center and left fields the last two seasons.
But those two acquisitions reflect more on what the Sox had to do to become an American League Central contender.
Fortifying the lineup gives the offense a better chance to compete against left-handed starters, who have given the Sox fits the last two years.
The Sox have looked every bit as feeble as might be indicated by their 47-62 record in games against left-handed starters over the last two seasons. They went 16-28 and batted .242 against lefties in 2007.
“Our offense will be better across the board,” Williams said.
It also will be helped because Minnesota traded longtime nemesis Johan Santana to the New York Mets. The Sox won’t oppose Santana, who holds a 10-2 record and 2.09 ERA against them, unless the teams meet in the World Series.
But several formidable left-handers remain. The Sox will likely face Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia in the season opener March 31. Sabathia is 14-3 lifetime against the Sox, including a 6-0 record and 2.35 ERA over the last two seasons.
And the Sox could oppose left-handers Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis and Kenny Rogers in their second series at Comerica Park. Williams loves to point out that the Sox have fared well against Detroit, going 37-19 in the last three years. But 2006 and ’07 proved it takes more than dominating a division rival to make the playoffs.
The additions of Swisher, Cabrera, Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez give manager Ozzie Guillen more options, including sitting designated hitter Jim Thome against tough left-handers.
Thome was the Sox’s most productive hitter but batted only .196 with six home runs in 143 at-bats against lefties.
At SoxFest last month, a fan asked Guillen why he doesn’t call for Thome to bunt, especially to combat radical shifts.
“Because I want to keep my job,” Guillen responded quickly.
Guillen is signed through 2012, and he at least will get a chance to use improved depth to help the Sox compete against lefties.
“There has been a lot of talk and about everyone has had their two cents, but I know we made some good baseball moves,” slugger Paul Konerko said. “Maybe not the glamorous ones people were looking for, but if you look at what went wrong last year and what we needed, we got those things.
“That doesn’t mean things can’t go wrong this year, but we succeeded in our objectives for the off-season.”
The Sox also are banking on full seasons from backup catcher Toby Hall and infielder Pablo Ozuna. Hall missed the first six weeks because of a shoulder injury, so A.J. Pierzynski had to play more against left-handers than projected.
Ozuna was the Sox’s leadoff hitter against tough lefties and was a lifetime .295 hitter against them until breaking his right leg and missing the final four months.
That left the Sox with unattractive options, such as the since-departed Darin Erstad (.158 average against left-handers) and Andy Gonzalez (.185).
If Ozuna starts at second base, his average would indicate an improvement over Tadahito Iguchi (.202) and second-year man Danny Richar (.205).
The increased options already have Guillen thinking about how he will combat Sabathia on Opening Day, with either Ozuna or Quentin in the lineup.
Another consideration at the leadoff spot is Cabrera, a natural No. 2 hitter who has a lifetime .281 batting average against left-handers and possesses a knack for working deep into counts.
The combination of Cabrera and Swisher at the top of the batting order will give the Sox at least a more competitive chance against lefties. The switch-hitting Swisher, who could bat as high as second or as low as sixth in the order, had a .458 on-base percentage against left-handers last season and a .291 average against lefties.
He ranked sixth with 100 walks and was seventh in pitches seen per plate appearance at 4.25.
“We have the flexibility to move people around, the kind of club that I want that day,” Guillen said.
Depending on the matchups, Guillen could get plenty of time to tinker with his options in spring training. They could see Erik Bedard, who has joined a deep Seattle rotation that includes fellow left-handers Jarrod Washburn and Horacio Ramirez; Jeff Francis and Franklin Morales of Colorado; Randy Johnson and Doug Davis of Arizona, and San Francisco’s Barry Zito and Noah Lowry.
With two spring games against the Cubs, there’s a reasonable chance the Sox could face one of three lefties: Ted Lilly, Rich Hill or Sean Marshall. They combined to limit the Sox to four runs in 19 innings in three Cubs victories last season.
Guillen said he would give left-handed hitter Jerry Owens a chance to win the leadoff job after a strong finish in 2007.
But Owens stole only one of his 32 bases with a left-hander on the mound.
“Ozzie probably doesn’t have the answers — yet,” Williams said.
Guillen has 6 1/2 weeks to find them, with a better selection than last spring.
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mgonzales@tribune.com
