It's been a steady downhill trot for the White Sox, who peaked back in 1994 by winning the ALDS during a 102-win season. Since that time, fortune has eaten away at them:
1994 103-60, ALDS winner
1995 84-78, 2nd place
1996 80-82, 3rd place
1997 78-84, 4th place
1998 81-81, 4th place
1999 67-95, 5th place
2000 63-99, 5th place
Not a lot for fans to root for nowadays as they had seen their playoff contender club melt away slowly into a perennial bottom-feeder.
Well, 2001 has changed things. New management took over, and during the offseason, flipped a ton of MLB talent - and payroll - away for prospects.
Heading out of CHW:
3B Aaron Boone
2B Ray Durham
C Mark Johnson
C Javy Lopez
Coming to CHW:
C Cody Clark (65/80)
CF Jonathan Van Every (67/83)
LF Gary Johnson (88)
C Tom Gregorio (67/81)
1B Craig Brazell (58/79)
1B Bryan LaHair (59/90
LF Carlos Quentin (61/91)
A good MLB bat in Gary Johnson, but the rest are prospects - some blue chip, others more lottery tickets and necessary depth. In dealing the four vets, Chicago cleared about $10mil of salary. The White Sox begin the season with the lowest payroll in the AL at $22.6M - only the Astros and Reds field a more frugal roster.
The White Sox ownership was also active on the free agency front, signing 8 players to full MLB deals:
SP Andy Benes
SP Glenn Dishman
SP Joe Nathan
RP Dustin Hermanson
RP Brandon Knight
RP Rob Stanifer
SS Ricky Gutierrez
SS Jose Offerman
Seeing a path to playing time was clearly a factor, as every pitcher that was extended an offer took it, and the White Sox released some of their poorer-performing veteran arms at the end of spring training:
RP Matt Dunbar
RP Dan Reichert
The squad still looked like a decently competitive team, despite trading away 4 stars - the White Sox probably weren't going to crack .500, but they were looking at 70 wins and respectability during a rebuild phase.
Well now it is May 1st, and a month of 2001 baseball is in the books. The White Sox are .500, with a 13-13 record, and possess the lowest rotation ERA in the major leagues. They have the 5th best ERA overall. They aren't being powered by their offense (4.42 runs scored/game), but somehow the pitchers are keeping them in games. What's odd is that it's the backend of the rotation - ace Al Levine has a 3.48 ERA and a 1-1 record, and #2 Andy Benes has suffered through injury with a poor 4.64 ERA and 1-1 record as well.
Behind them, a combination of free agents and old names have posted better results:
Joe Nathan - 1-1, 2.49 ERA
Mike Sirotka - 3-2, 2.25 ERA
Glenn Dishman - 3-1, 2.39 ERA
Last year these guys weren't this good - Nathan was used entirely in relief for the Reds. Sirotka spent only 6 games on the MLB squad, making 22 starts for double-A, not even triple-A. Only Glenn Dishman was a regular MLB starter, going 10-11 with a disappointing 5.33 ERA for the Padres. Dishman has the best pedigree, with 94 career wins and a No Hitter to his credit (back in 1997), but he's in the 5th starter slot.
So will this mean a middle of the road .500 finish is possible? Or simply that Chicago's arms are hitting their stride early and building up trade value? Only time will tell.
On the hitting side, there's not much to crow about, but new outfielder Gary Johnson is hitting well, with a .371 average and a .450 on-base percentage. He started the season red hot, as he's cooled off to the tune of a .275 line his last 10 games. Johnson is still making league minimum this season and might be a deadline trade target.
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