Kuzul

It’s well known in the baseball world that Ozzie Guillén has the biggest mouth in the majors.

Never one to shy away from publicity, Guillén recently made comments pertaining to the treatment of Latin baseball players comparing it to the treatment that Asian players receive.

His stance is that Asian players are given more privileges, and that he’s the only one in baseball that’s doing anything to educate young Hispanic players about performance enhancing drugs.

I’ve never been a fan of Guillén. Actually, I’ve never liked him much at all. He says things to satisfy either his need for attention or to ignite a meaningless firestorm in the media and the people surrounding his club.

People like me tend to write off what Guillén says because he is portrayed as a hot head that impatiently declares whatever is on his mind, no matter how inflammatory his comments may be.

I’ve come to realize, however, that organizations need people like Guillén.

Occasionally the man will say something that, despite how egregiously misguided it may seem, sheds light on an issue that deserves attention.

This is not one of those times.

I don’t know what’s Guillén’s upset about because the last time I checked, Latin players were pretty well taken care of in the majors.

Case in point: The best player in the league, Albert Pujols, is from the Dominican Republic. The best player on the best team in the American League is Alex Rodriguez, who is also from the Dominican Republic. The best player on the best team right now in the National League, is Adrian Gonzalez, who is from Mexico.

The list literally goes on and on. It makes sense considering that Latin baseball players make up nearly a third of the Major Leagues.

Guillén ‘s point is as difficult to understand, as is half of the things that he says.

As a Mexican-American, I get where Guillén is coming from. There are certain social problems and trends that probably influenced what he said, namely, the Arizona immigration situation and whatnot.

Guillén is from Venezuela and his English isn’t the best. Whatever prejudices he feels Spanish-speaking people in America have to face, he believes must be present everywhere.

And naturally, as a person of Hispanic descent, Guillén flips out when he was made aware that Asian players get to have translators because he’s projecting whatever injustices he feels in the real world, to Major League Baseball.

Guillén is completely wrong on this. I defy you to find one Major League Baseball team that doesn’t have at least one proficient English and Spanish speaker.

Asian players are significantly less prevalent in the Bigs than Latin players and Guillén knows that.

But he can’t stand to see other minorities getting benefits that Latin people don’t necessarily get. 

He has failed to overlook that the sport of baseball saves countless Latin players from poverty by paving the way for them to receive paychecks that would dwarf any CEO’s.

You would think that Guillén, the first Latin-born manager in the history of baseball to win a World Series title, would be aware of the contribution that Latin players have made to the game and just how prevalent their influence is.

I think it’s safe to say that someone in that group can serve as an able interpreter.

As far as performance enhancing drugs are concerned, you can only do so much educating before it becomes a matter of morals, or lack thereof.

Baseball is doing all they can to shut the door on the Steroid Era and I think they’ve been doing an admirable job.

If Guillén thinks he was left alone in the task to educate Latin players about performance enhancing drugs, then he made a serious error in judgment.

One of the bigger awards that Major League baseball gives out is the Roberto Clemente Award, named after one of the game’s most celebrated figures who happens to be from Puerto Rico.

Whoever wins that award must possess a combination of prowess on the diamond, altruism in the community, and qualities of refined character.

Guillén would do well to follow Clemente’s model.

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Can someone explain who the hell Ozzie Guillen is?

He’s a profligate imbecile bound to explode, simply because he has no morals or acceptable character, with an awful history ripping athletes, umpires, and management when the Chicago White Sox derail and badly stumble.

There were days, when the cantankerous manager generated postgame tirades or ill-humored tantrums during games, which reprehensibly created a ruckus inside the White Sox clubhouse and almost jeopardized his wavering job status while bearing the circumstances of laughable outbursts.

It figures that verbally lashing out obviously defines the traits of the ill-tempered skipper, with a resume of nonsense and insanity for religiously snapping and losing his mind, from the entire cartoonish disturbance floating in the organization.

If the White Sox were ever to advance further and end the dreaded ineptitude, the overly nice general manager, Ken Williams, must wave farewell to the no-good, worthless idiot, a douche bag unable to maintain self-control and an unblemished attitude.

The amount of anger issues and hot tempers, which are hilarious explosions for translating words colorfully and engaging in obscenity when surrounded by the local reporters after a discontent outing, are the equivalent of a ticking time bomb ready to explode instantly.

So he’s now baseball’s ticking time bomb and caused an extensive explosion, and as much as Guillen wants baseball lords to refer to him as an innocent man releasing madness and the truth, he’s still a disturbing diva and ill-advisedly utters inane conversations. Because of his poor imagery, he lost credibility a long time ago, having the gumption to single out players, the local media, and now the Majors.

Within moments on Sunday, he announced how he truly felt about the lacking priorities of Major League Baseball and lashed out on the difference between Latin and Asian baseball players.

It sounds like a typical tale heard constantly, an outdated discussion mentioned as often as the steroid scandals. Most of the time, however, his choice of words dents the image of a moody, up-and-down manager, blabbering at the mouth without thinking before reacting.

Even if he has mellowed and doesn’t have frequent rants or hissy fits, he’s still appearing on the front pages of tabloids and he’s seen on headlines for proffering an impromptu statement, unpleasantly speaking with a potty mouth or spiteful of someone. It doesn’t take much to enrage a livid manager in the Majors, but outlandishly it takes a minor issue prompting Guillen to behave like a clown, almost propelling the most buzzing soap opera in sports.

Just when it seemed he had matured into a likable manager, he’s verified as a villain once again and dumbly offsets the ugliest controversy and all-encompassing drama that deflates our spirit and peeves our senses. Amid the comical rift, the zealots are laughing out loud or LOL—if you believe in text messaging that continuously impairs the common understanding of literacy in America.

While we were gazing at the resurrection of baseball and witnessed what is an exciting season with all the no-hitters tossed, Guillen lambasted the Majors for diminishing his endorsement of keeping Latino players from utilizing performance-enhancing drugs. But the reality is that he essentially believes the media and Major League Baseball focus the attention on criticizing his nonsensical drivel, and instead teases Guillen when he tries to make a valid point, regarding the aspect of the perplexed game.

“I’m the only one to teach the Latinos about not to use,” he told reporters during an unforeseen rant in front of reporters Sunday. “I’m the only one and Major League Baseball doesn’t [care]. All they care about—how many times I argue with the umpires, what I say to the media. But I’m the only one in baseball to come up to the Latino kids and say not to use this and I don’t get any credit for that.”

He’s suddenly pulling a Barry Bonds. He’s playing the racial card, after all.

“They look at you and they say, ‘Good for you Ozzie,’” he said. “Ozzie said it, don’t worry about it. If somebody else said it they would be playing that [stuff] every day on the Jumbotron…I’m the only that came up with that idea. I did it for the Latino kids…I want to help those kids.”

We all know what could be valid points, but we all know that Ozzie has very little credibility and as long as he throws rants, the Majors or even the general public won’t collectively gather to listen to his advice.

No matter what he believes, sounding off vulgarly at the mouth and childishly holding grudges won’t cure the urgency of mistreated Latinos. In his tenure, Guillen has a one-sided perspective of baseball mismanaging equality and balance in the game, but knowingly, he sometimes doesn’t speak accurately or with common sense, and blabbers without thinking.

Such is this.

“Don’t take this wrong, but they take advantage of us,” he said Sunday. “We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid and say, ‘F—you, you go to the minor leagues, good luck.’ And it’s always going to be like that. It’s never going to change. But that’s the way it is.”

All of this from a paradox man who has undersized credibility for being a maniac. Now he knows how people really feel, gathering a conception, not a misconception that he’s a wacko, a portrait of Tony Montana, the senseless and evil dude in Scarface.

For instance, he has an awful background of ripping ex-players, but it’s very seldom that a manager downgrades an ex-player in a rant unless it’s Ozzie publicly attacking someone.

Each season, he becomes the subject of a repulsive matter, like badmouthing former White Sox star Magglio Ordonez in a shocking tirade. There were times, perhaps when Guillen was too outspoken, and used homosexual slurs referring to columnist Jay Mariotti.

What is it about an ill-tempered, immoral manager that always cowardly singles out someone as respectability shrinks because of his foolish, verbal attacks?  He certainly isn’t a beloved custodian, but he’s definitely a pariah in a zealous atmosphere and still remains fortunate to be employed after feuding with GM Williams.

As generous as he has been to Ozzie, he begun losing patience and became tired of his sarcasm and loathsome remarks when he called out upper management and pointed the fingers at the executives. And still, to this day, the relationship between Guillen and Williams isn’t flawless when reportedly both were involved in a heated confrontation inside the clubhouse, an incident that escalated on the team’s decision not to draft one of Guillen’s sons.            

But he’s taking another stance, with an assumption that Asians are treated fairly while the Latinos are treated unfairly. Someone can argue that he’s a hypocrite without common sense or that he’s strictly biased for believing that baseball is a prejudice sport, when in a sense, there might be some truth behind his explanations.

With all evidence that he’s bruised his reputation, all of his suggestions are dismissed and it seems like a horrifying diatribe. In many ways, he blames the umpires, too. After all, Joe West is his worst enemy, subsequently ejecting Guillen from a game for arguing a call not long ago.

If he does anticipate making the Jumbotron, he probably should state the issue nicely, not rudely or foul.

Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie, there’s no sympathy whatsoever. Well, maybe if you change your attitude.  

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Ozzie Guillen has never shown any fear about expressing his opinion, no matter how controversial.

So it should come as no surprise that Ozzie Guillen decided to give his two cents about what he believes is racism in baseball.

However, Ozzie Guillen is completely wrong in his analysis of the situation. 

Here is what Ozzie said concerning the treatment of Asian and Latino baseball players.

“Very bad. I say, why do we have Japanese interpreters and we don’t have a Spanish one. I always say that. Why do they have that privilege and we don’t? Don’t take this wrong, but they take advantage of us. We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid … go to the minor leagues, good luck. Good luck. And it’s always going to be like that. It’s never going to change. But that’s the way it is.”

Let’s take the second half of the statement first.

The reason kids from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, or other Latin American countries (except Cuba) go to the minors has to do with the age at which they are signed.

Most of these players are signed at 16,17, and 18 years old. At that age, those kids belong in the minor leagues.

That’s no insult to their abilities; it’s just how baseball works.

When these kids are signed, they are not ready for big league play.

When players like Orlando Hernandez or Jose Contreras are signed, they do not get placed in the minors because they are more developed and are deemed Major League ready.

Asian players do not come to America the same way. Asian players go through the minor leagues in Japan and then go on to play professional baseball in Asia.

When they come over to America, they are in their mid to late twenties and are established big league players.

The Nippon Baseball League and the MLB also agreed on having Major League clubs pay posting fees. Posting fees are bids made by MLB teams in order to get the chance to negotiate with a player.

This idea is very similar to transfer fees in football. That means that the players MLB teams get from Asia are the cream of the crop.

They aren’t going to waste posting fee dollars on players that are not ready to make an impact on the Major League level.

Another reason that Asian players coming over get paid is the exposure teams get to Asian markets.

When big-time stars from the Nippon League go to the United States, they do not just bring an impact on the field.

They bring in major dollars from Japan. One of the reasons for posting fees was the lowered ratings for the Nippon League and growing ratings for MLB telecasts.

Ichiro made the Seattle Mariners the most popular baseball team in Japan. In 2003, Matsui’s arrival to New York brought immense revenue from Japan.

One could see Japanese companies advertising at Yankee Stadium because they knew how popular the Yankees were in Japan.

This foreign revenue increases the value of Asian players to MLB franchises and since there is no salary cap, baseball players have the ability to be paid the amount the club believes they are worth.

Also, a Japanese player can not have this financial impact if he is in the minor leagues. 

It’s is because of their age, ability, development, and their marketability that Asian players do not start their MLB careers in the minors like Latino players, not racism.

The first half of Ozzie’s comment is misguided as well. When Latino players come through a Major League team’s development system, they are provided English speaking courses.

Before they ever step on a Major League field, they have the opportunity to learn English.

Asian players do not go through MLB developmental systems.

They are developed by Asian teams to play in Asian leagues. The Nippon League clubs are not worried about preparing their players to play in America (actually they would rather they stay in Japan).

Asian leagues are not televised in the Western Hemisphere, so there are no endorsement deals that Asian players lose because they can not speak English.

The second problem in Guillen’s opinion about interpreters is the makeup of the clubhouse.

In the MLB, almost 30 percent of the players are Latin American. Every team in the MLB has multiple Hispanic players. Not only do the Major League teams have a plethora of Hispanics, but Latinos are make up a significant portion of minor league teams as well.

So when a 17-year-old Dominican is brought stateside, he will be surrounded by other players who speak his language and understand his culture at every level from Low Single-A Ball to the MLB.

In the large majority of clubhouses, there are players who can speak English and Spanish.

They, in effect, serve as interpreters so that players and management can communicate. Major League teams even hire coaches who can speak Spanish so language because less of a barrier.

When an Asian player comes to the MLB, it is not the same.

First, there are few Asians in the MLB. When guys like Matsui, Ichiro, or Nomo are brought into the United States, there is nobody in the clubhouse can speak their language or understand the culture from which they came.

When the Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka from the Seibu Lions, they made sure they brought another Japanese player.

Remember that Hideki Okajima was not brought over to be a major part of the bullpen. Initially, he was to serve as Daisuke’s friend in a new land. 

Unlike Latin America, there is no universal language in Asia.

For example, having Hideki Matsui on the roster did not mean that the Yankees did not need an interpreter for Chien-Ming Wang.

Most Japanese players are not going to be able to have a conversation with a Taiwanese player, let alone help them communicate to other in the clubhouse.

Without these interpreters, Asian players would have no leg to stand on when it came to working and acclimating to their new environment.

Ozzie Guillen needs to realize that the MLB’s treatment of Asian and Latino players has nothing to do with race. All that Ozzie Guillen did by making this statement is to earn a sit down with Bud Selig, not expose some racist element of MLB.

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White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen may be controversial, but as usual, he is always brutally honest. And, in this case, he definitely has a point. Even if that point is somewhat incomplete.

Guillen’s assertion is that Asian players are given privileges in the United States that Latinos are not afforded. He goes on to say that there are a lot of pressures for young Latinos to take PEDs, and that he is trying to educate them against it.

Look, all that may be reasonable and if Guillen is indeed trying to educate young Latinos, good for him. But, he is not quite saying the whole truth in his rant for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.

First, more Ozzie:

“Very bad. I say, why do we have Japanese interpreters, and we don’t have a Spanish one. I always say that. Why do they have that privilege, and we don’t?” Guillen said Sunday before Chicago played the Oakland Athletics.

Point taken. Why MLB teams are willing to furnish translators for Japanese players comes down to simple economics, and the law of supply and demand.

For the few Japanese players available relative to the vast number of Latinos, teams simply have to offer more to obtain the services of those players.

Still, he is right in that it offers the Japanese player an advantage that Latino players are lacking.

But, when Guillen goes on to add the following, he leaves out one important issue, which we’ll get to next.

“We’re in the United States, we don’t have to bring any coaches that speak Spanish to help anybody. You choose to come to this country, and you better speak English.”

Now, I have absolutely no problem with his statement that you come to America, and you learn to speak English. In fact, for a Latino to say that is very admirable.

Yet, to think that this is a problem facing only Latino baseball players is where Guillen is short-sighted.

Many so-called immigrants come to this country without the benefits that are afforded the Latino ballplayers.

For example, at least they are coming to a country that panders to Spanish-speaking individuals. By that, I am referring to the fact that ATMs routinely ask if you want English or Spanish, even if you are in an area that is 99 percent white. 

Likewise, anytime you place a call and there is some kind of automated system, it usually directs you to ‘press one for English, or two for Spanish’.

Now I’m not saying that any of this is wrong.

What I’m saying is that this affords Spanish speaking immigrants an advantage over the Polish, Italian, Irish, and other immigrants that come to this country and are expected to be on their own when it comes to language.

It’s easy for Ozzie to say ‘learn the language’ when he is in a country that replaced the ‘walk/don’t walk’ signs with pictures of hands so that you don’t need to read English to understand when to cross the street.

Additionally, if his assertion that we should speak English in this country is so widely understood, then why is the Arizona immigration law being met with such fierce opposition?

They say they unfairly target Hispanics with that law. Yet, all it’s really asking is that you be a legal resident of this country.

The Mexican president says we are racist. Meanwhile, did you know what it takes to become a legal resident of Mexico? I tell you, it’s a lot more difficult than it is to become a legal citizen of this country.

But, we digress. Still, it shows that while Guillen’s rant is reasonable, it is easy to see how it only presents only one side of the story, which is why I say it is “incomplete.”

Leave it to Ozzie to say something controversial. In a society where everything seems to be politically incorrect, it is refreshing even if it does not tell the whole story.

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Let me start by saying I am not a White Sox fan. I grew up cheering for the Minnesota Twins.

As a Twins fan I remember Ozzie Guillen being a thorn in the Twins’ side as a player. Since taking over the White Sox he is now a thorn in the Twins’ side as a manager.

Yet, Guillen is one of my favorite managers in baseball. A lot of it is for the praise he has always had for the Minnesota Twins, and the mutual respect that Ron Gardenhire and he have for each other.

Guillen manages much in the same way he played—with passion, enthusiasm and a desire to win.

Guillen, who played 13 of his 16 big league seasons for Chicago, is the face of the White Sox. He’s said he loves what he is doing and wants to die doing it.

Considered a light-hitting, soft-handed shortstop, Guillen is among the White Sox leaders in games played, hits and at bats.

He may not have had the most decorated career, earning a single Gold Glove in 1990, and making only three All-Star games appearances, but you knew as a fan you were getting everything Guillen had to give. There was never any question about his desire and his effort.

Guillen was the 1985 American League Rookie of the Year. 20 years later, in 2005 he would earn the American League Manager of the Year.

In only his second season managing at the major league level, he would pilot the White Sox to their first World Series Championship in 88 years.

Since 2004 Guillen’s White Sox have been winning at a .528 pace, winning two AL Central Division titles. Among AL Central Division rivals, only the Minnesota Twins have a better winning percentage at .538. 

As a manager Guillen’s players will know where they stand, he is first to praise them, as well as the first to chew them out if he isn’t getting the effort the game deserves.

In 2006 he created a sensation in the Twin Cities when he referred to the bottom of the Twins’ lineup as “little piranhas.”

In no time there t-shirts everywhere touting the Twins’ Piranhas!

Going into the 2010 season the AL Central was considered to be a two-team race.

Everyone was talking about the Twins and Tigers battling it out. The White Sox did not get a lot of mention.

As late as June 9th this year the White Sox were 9.5 games back in third place.

Over the next month the White Sox became the hottest team in baseball, going 25-5 and leading the division by a half-game heading into the All-Star Break.

Guillen has the White Sox playing great baseball. They have picked up their defense and continue to lead the division in home runs.

This has turned into a three-team race for the AL Central Division, and if Ozzie Guillen has anything to say about it—we will all know exactly what that is!

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The Chicago White Sox All-time Starting Rotation

Imagine you are the lucky individual chosen to select the Chicago White Sox all-time starting rotation for a special fantasy league. 

Your rotation would then have to face off against every other team’s rotation to determine a champion.  Whom would you select?  Who would back up your top five starters and close out games?

The rules are simple.  You may select anyone from the entire history of the White Sox.  Starters need to have pitched 1,000 innings for your team.  Relievers chosen need to have logged 250 games for the White Sox.

The origins of the team

Chicago already had a rich baseball history before the founding of the American League White Sox.  Al Spalding and Cap Anson had acted as owner and player/manager for the history rich White Stockings of the National League. 

They had won consecutive titles back in the 1880s before Spalding had sold or traded all the star players away for going out for a “pint” after the game.

The NL Chicago team seemed to have abandoned the White Stockings name by the 1890s, going by the “Colts” and “Orphans” before landing on the “Cubs” by 1903.

The White Sox original team came from the Western League, a minor league, and more specifically a team which Charles Comiskey had bought and moved to St. Paul. 

When the NL gave the new American League permission to put a team in Chicago in 1900, Comiskey moved his St. Paul team to the near south side of the city and named them the White Stockings, taking the old name from the then-named Orphans.

The White Stockings won the Western League title in 1900, and the following year, the American League withdrew from the national charter for minor leagues and called themselves a major league, with Ban Johnson as the president, (a friend of Charles Comiskey from his days as manger of the Cincinnati Reds.)

Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey were clearly the major driving forces of the newly formed league.

Comiskey brought in some players to give the new team a successful debut.  His lead pitcher was Clark Griffith (later owner of the Washington Senators), and long time friend and premier centerfielder of the 19th century, deaf lead-off hitter, Dummy Hoy. 

Comiskey had been involved with the initial use of signs for Hoy when he played for him in St. Louis and Cincinnati, signaling balls and strikes with the right and left hands. 

I’m sure Comiskey was also involved getting signs used for Hoy when he ran the bases as well. 

Now Comiskey had convinced Hoy, at the disbanding of the Louisville team in 1899, not to go with Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach, and Rube Waddell to Pittsbugh, but to come help him inaugurate the new American League in Chicago.

Hoy led off for the new White Sox, leading the league in BB, and the team in 2B, and OPS and OPS+ with a .407 OBP. 

Griffith did his part, winning 24 games, and the White Sox were the initial champions of the American League!  Next to Hoy in RF was rookie Fielder Jones.

Over the next few years the team developed a strong defensive attitude and rallied behind the pitching of Ed Walsh, Doc White and Nick Altrock. 

By 1906, the team surprised the baseball world by winning the World Series, defeating the juggernaut Cubs from across town for the title. 

The team was known as the “No-hit Sox,” as the top batter hit .279 and they were led by Fielder Jones’ 2 HRs!

In 1910, Comiskey Park was built.  They had consulted with leading pitcher Ed Walsh in designing the stadium, and it became known as one of the great pitching havens in baseball lore. 

Walsh had pitched the peak of his career before the stadium was built.  He was a spit ball artist of the highest level. 

Batters had complained that his spitball would just disappear at the plate.  Ed Walsh was so adept at preventing runs that he established the lowest career ERA (1.82) in the history of modern baseball.

Just as Walsh’s career was winding down, the White Sox developed star players Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson, and pitching star Eddie Ciccotte.

The White Sox won the pennant and World Series in 1917 behind the pitching of Ciccotte, Red Faber, and Reb Russell.

The White Sox again won the pennant in 1919 and were favored to win the World Series against the upstart Cincinnati Reds. 

This is when “the fix’ is to have been made, throwing the series to the Reds, and forever marring the team as “the Black Sox.” 

Eight players, including stars Ciccotte and Jackson, were given lifetime bans from the game by newly appointed commissioner Landis by the end of the following season.

Landis was determined to get the game “clean.”  There was no wavering in his decisions.  This put an end to a potential HOF career by Eddie Ciccotte. 

His credentials are actually strong enough for HOF consideration, having won 209 games.  But he is ineligible because of this somewhat self-induced tragedy.

The Sox were not the same after the scandal. Whether from guilt or just a lack of the right players, they rarely produced even .500 baseball for the next two decades. 

The team had stars like Luke Appling and pitcher Ted Lyons, but not much success to go along with them.

Ted Lyons became a local hero of sorts, pitching seemingly forever…the last few seasons only on Sundays! 

He was able to stretch out his long career, garnering success as a once-a-week starting pitcher through 1942.  He ended up with 260 wins and a place at Cooperstown for his efforts.

The Early Rotation –

1 – Ed Walsh – 1904-1916 – 195W; 57 SHO; ERA+ 147 – the master of the spitball shut down opposing teams with remarkable efficiency for six incredible years.

2 – Red Faber – 1914-1933 – 254W; 29 SHO; ERA+ 119 – Faber also featured the spitball and was one of 17 pitchers “grandfathered” in to allow him to continue to throw it after the rules changed.  He remained remarkably successful throughout the 20s, pitching his entire career for the White Sox, and is in the HOF.

3 – Ted Lyons – 1923-1946 – 260W; 27 WHO; ERA+ 118 – another career White Sox pitcher, Lyons won 20 games three times.  Later in his career, manager Jimmy Dykes decided to pitch Lyons only on Sunday afternoons.  He gained the nickname “Sunday Teddy” and was very popular among the Chicago faithful.  Lyons pitched his way into the hearts of the HOF voters as well.

4 – Doc White – 1903-1913 – 159W; 42 SHO; ERA+ 114 – White was a slow ball specialist who led the league in ERA (1.56) in ’06 and wins (27) in ’07.  He held the scoreless-inning streak record until broken by Don Drysdale in 1968!  His 42 SHO are something to write home about as well.

5 – Ed Ciccotte – 1912-1920 – 156W; 28 SHO; ERA+ 133 Ciccotte was a battler on the mound.  He was widely successful until derailing in the 1919 postseason.

Spot Starters – Reb Russell, Thornton Lee (1940s – 104W)

Renewed success

When motivational manager Paul Richards took over the team in the early ’50s, things began to change.  Richards was highly into player development, especially developing young pitchers and young defensive experts.

Richards groomed young Billy Pierce, who the Tigers had cast off, and by ’53 had developed the next White Sox ace. 

The dominant team in the league, the Yankees featured a young Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and their young ace Whitey Ford.  It was the most powerful team baseball had seen since the Yankees and Tigers of the 30s.

The other leading team of the day was the Cleveland Indians with their incredible pitching staff, featuring Bob Lemon, Bob Feller, Mike Garcia, and Early Wynn.  The Indians set an American league record for wins in ’54 with 111.

But the White Sox had their own mojo.  The team and their fans seemed to have an insatiable drive to win each year.  They brought in Latin American favorites and stars Minnie Minoso and shortstop Luis Aparicio.  They teamed up with defensive whiz Nellie Fox to make a great up the middle defense for the team. 

Paul Richards and new manager Al Lopez were the architects of this pitching and defensive oriented team.  They became known as the “Go-go Sox” in the late 50s for their base stealing as well. 

From ’55-’60 the rivalry between the White Sox and the Yankees grew very intense.  Both teams would hold back their best pitcher to face the other team.

Billy Pierce became the face of White Sox for these rivalries.  He faced down the Yankees 42 times during those years and came away with a 21-21 record.

He pitched many low scoring gems, leaving without a win.  Sportswriters marveled how he could pitch on even terms against the far superior offense the Yankees possessed.

Particularly, his duels with Whitey Ford were legendary.  He came away with a 15-15 record against Ford which was finally broken by shutting out the Yankees and Ford in Game 5 of the 1962 World Series, while pitching for the Giants.

The White Sox brought in Early Wynn, who won 20 games for the ’59 season.  Things started to break the right way for the Sox that year, and they won the pennant for the first time since the 1919 scandal. 

They featured running, pitching and defense against the LA Dodgers who had surprised the NL as well that year.

The White Sox won two games in the series, but strangely, manager Al Lopez failed to start Billy Pierce even once in the series. 

This was the pitcher who had been tested in the fire of facing big game after big game, and had won the game that put the Sox in first place for good in August of that year.  But Lopez refused to start Pierce, and his teammates remained quiet.

The next several seasons witnessed some more great pitching in Comiskey Park.  The team often led the league in ERA, but just couldn’t score enough runs to top the Yankees.  In 1964, they won 98 games but fell short by one game!

New star pitchers came along, giving the fans hope of future success.  Gary Peters won two ERA crowns and a rookie of the year award in ’63.  Joe Horlen won the ERA title in ’67, and Tommy John was putting up great stats as well. 

If your team wasn’t shut down by Peters, Horlen, or John, then you had to face one of the stingiest bullpens ever assembled, with the likes of Hoyt Wilhelm, Ed McMahon, Eddie Fisher, and Bob Locker.

Wilbur Wood came along just as the rest of the team was starting to fade back to mediocrity.

Since the Sixties, the White Sox have featured pitchers like Jack McDowell (not Sam), and more recently their sometimes ace, Mark Buehrle.

The team finally won a World Series, breaking their long drought one year after the Red Sox broke their alleged curse in 2004! 

In 2005, they hired Venezuelan=born manager Ozzie Guillen.  Guillen wanted to emphasize, of all things, pitching and defense, and the ability to move the runner along the bases without the reliance on the home run.  This became known as “small ball.”

The baseball gods must have been smiling at the throwback to the “Go-go Sox” style of play and reliance now on Latin leadership for the team.

The White Sox dominated baseball as the best team for most of the year with their pitching and defense which could win 6-5 or 1-0 just as comfortably.

Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, Freddy Garcia, and Orlando Hernandez won 72 games and were supported by a deep and versatile bullpen. 

It was a gritty, diverse, and motivated team.  They were led on the field by hard-nosed catcher AJ Pierzynski, offensive sources Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, speedy Scott Podsednik, and defensive standouts Tadahito Iguchi at 2B, and Aaron Rowand in CF.

The Modern Rotation –

1 – Billy Pierce – 1949-1961 – 186W; 35 SHO; ERA+ 123 – Billy “The Kid” Pierce was slight of build, but big of heart.  He was twice pitcher of the year (’56, ’57), and started 3 All-Star games for the AL.  He was the face of the Yankees – White Sox rivalry of the 1950s, and his size bespoke of the “David vs. Goliath” mentality many White Sox fans held at the time.

2 – Wilbur Wood – 1967-1978 – 163W; 24 SHO; ERA+116 – Wood threw a knuckleball he obviously learned during his days in the Chicago bullpen from Hoyt Wilhelm. It served him well as he moved from White Sox closer to ace in the early 70s, pitching as many as 376 innings, and winning 20 games four times.

3 – Mark Buehrle – 2000-2010 – 141W; 8 SHO; ERA+ 121 – Buehrle has been an important part of the White Sox success this past decade.  He has been a constant presence for the team, and the author of two no-hitters, one a perfect game last year.

4 – Gary Peters – 1959 – 1969 – 91W; 18 SHO; ERA+ 115 – Peters was the ace of the White Sox staff of the middle ’60s.  This was one of the stingiest pitching staffs in history and he won the ERA title twice.

5 – Jack McDowell – 1987-1994 – 91W; 10 SHO; ERA+ 117 – “Black Jack” enjoyed his peak with the White Sox from 1991-’93.  He won the Cy Young award in ’93.

Spot Starters – Joe Horlen, Tommy John, Alex Fernandez

The Relievers –

The top two relievers in White Sox history are Roberto Hernandez – 345 games, 161 saves, and ERA+ 154, and Hoyt Wilhelm – 1.92 ERA, 361 games, 98 saves, and ERA+ 171. 

The White Sox have been rich in relievers throughout their modern history with closers like Bobby Thigpen, Bobby Jenks, and Keith Foulke. Setting up they have had standouts like Eddie Fisher, Bob Locker, and Damaso Marte.

The All-Time White Sox Starting Rotation and Pitching Staff –

1 – Ed Walsh – lowest career ERA in modern baseball history and 57 SHO to boot!

2 – Billy “The Kid” Pierce – 5’ 10 “ and 160 lbs. dripping wet, he was ready for any showdown against any pitcher!

3 – Red Faber – show me that spitter one more time!

4 – Ted Lyons – ages like fine wine – on Sundays only!

5 – Doc White – holder of the scoreless streak record for over 50 years.

Filling in during the week when Lyons can’t make his scheduled start – Eddie Ciccotte – just make sure it isn’t the post season, and your team isn’t favored; Wilbur Wood – just in case your opponent haven’t seen enough junk yet!!  He excelled starting and relieving.

Closers – Roberto Hernandez – led the White Sox resurgence in the early 90s along with Frank Thomas and Jack McDowell.

Hoyt Wilhelm – Hoyt was at his stingiest best while with the White Sox – virtually unhittable! From ’64-’68 his ERAs ranged from 1.31 to 1.99, and his H/9 marks ranged from 5.5-6.6 – unbelievable!  It is no wonder he is the first reliever in the HOF.

In Conclusion

Chicago pitchers must have loved to pitch for the White Sox.  Many of them stayed their whole careers if they could.  Old Comiskey Park was the home to many a pitcher’s duel, whether it was at the hands of Ed Walsh, Doc White, Red Faber, Billy Pierce, against the Yankees, or a gem from modern-day Mark Buehrle.

The White Sox have always been at their best when they emphasized their pitching, defense and “small ball.” 

Today’s deep bullpen of Jenks, Thornton, Putz, and Co. belies the great pens of ’05 and the 60s.  The White Sox certainly have storied pitching careers and exploits to mark the way for the next generation of pitching success.

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The All-Star break is suddenly approaching, which for many signifies the upcoming trade deadline on July 31.

With the recent trade of perennial Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers, many teams will open the floodgates after determining if they are going to make the push for October glory, or pack it in for 2010.

One team that will not be giving up is the Chicago White Sox, who with a resurgence that almost no one predicted over the last 40 days, have put themselves near the top of the American League Central.

The White Sox’ glaring weakness for the entirety of the season has been the lack of a left-handed power hitter.

Many suggest that with the season-ending injury to Jake Peavy that they should go after players such as Arizona’s Dan Haren or Astros’ Roy Oswalt. I think neither of the two is necessary.

Oswalt is a fine pitcher, but I think that someone will step up to be the fifth starter for the club. Pitchers like Dan Hudson or Matt Zaleski should and will be given the opportunity to step up and help the team.

Making a trade for a starter will not help in the pennant chase because both Haren and Oswalt would be transitioning from the National League, and that usually does not fare well for starting pitchers.

Need for Lance Berkman

The need for a left-handed bat is paramount in continuing the successes the Sox have had recently.

Adding a switch hitter like Lance Berkman would give protection to Paul Konerko in the lineup, which would make him even more dangerous, as well as give him rest as a DH.

It would also allow the team to not have to rely on Mark Kotsay, whose .229 batting average is not what the team needs when they get into the dog days of September.

Berkman would flourish in the launching pad of U.S. Cellular Field, much like he has in his home ballpark for the Astros with his opposite-field power.

“The Big Puma,” as he is known in Houston, would no doubt raise his .259 batting average in Chicago, as he would have something to play for in hopes of winning his first ring.

Berkman is the best option

Other players who have been mentioned to go to the White Sox include Adrian Gonzalez and Adam Dunn.

Gonzalez is a fabulous player who would be a perfect fit for the White Sox for years to come. The problem with him is that he is not going to be traded.

The Padres are a legit contender to win the NL West this season, and he is the staple to their successes thus far, besides their underrated pitching.

Adam “The Big Donkey” Dunn is hitting better at this point in time than at any previous point in his career. It will take a lot to pry him away from the Nationals, and the White Sox have very little in the form of top prospects to send to Washington.

Other players such as Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Mark Reynolds, who have been on the rumor mill, are not going to the South Side; nor should they, since they are not what Ozzie Guillen’s team needs.

Lance Berkman may not be a “spring chicken” at 34 years old, but he is a player that could give the White Sox, joined by Konerko; a solid match in “punch” with Detroit, who have Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera; and Minnesota with Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.

In questioning if Lance would leave his home state of Texas and waive his no-trade clause he stated in May, “If we’re 20-70 and they say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a trade for a bunch of hot prospects and you’re going to go compete for a world championship,’ I would definitely consider it.”

Well Lance, your team is 35-52. White Sox GM Kenny Williams should definitely put Berkman in the position to “consider it” as soon as he can.

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    Once again, the White Sox will not be sending a large delegation to the Mid-summer classic. A few were worthy, but Matt Thornton is the only South Sider headed to Anaheim for the festivities.

    Yes, Paul Konerko is up for the “Final Vote” but disregard that- the Chi Sox have gotten the shaft once again when it comes to the All-Star game.

    This year’s Sox snubs: Alex Rios and Konerko. Let’s look at just what the AL will be missing.

    We’ll start with Rios. He struggled after coming over from Toronto last season but has really found his groove on the South Side this season. He has been the total package for the Sox, posting a stat line of .303 13 HR 45 RBI’s, and 22 stolen bases. He is top three on the team in all of those categories. He has also played strong in the outfield for Ozzie. There is no excuse for him to be left off the roster, especially when you consider some of the players that got the nod over him.

    Jose Bautista may have 21 HR and 52 RBI’s, but he is hitting a measly .236. He is by no means a demon on the base-paths either, stealing only three bags so far. It should take more than hitting a few longballs to make the All-Star team.

    Vernon Wells is the second Blue Jay outfielder to make it over Rios. His totals of .274 19 HR 48 RBI’s and four steals is better than Bautista, but still is not more All-Star worthy than his ex-mate in Toronto.

    Sure every player on the roster can state their case for why they were selected, but the bottom line is simple-no way should both Bautista and Wells been selected over Rios.

    Now for Paulie, the face of the franchise and quiet leader of the clubhouse that has held this team together for years. Konerko is having a career type season in this his contract year. He is hitting .296 with 20 HR and 57 RBI’s so far this year.

    Anyone with stats like that ought to be an All-Star, especially when they’re the face of a franchise like #14 is.

    So who got in instead of the Sox leader? Someone whose star started burning out a few years ago; Red Sox DH David Ortiz. Sure “Big Papi” may be a much bigger celebrity than Konerko ever will, but he was not voted in, but rather selected by AL Manager Joe Girardi, making Paulie’s snub even more ridiculous.

    Ortiz is hitting just .259 with 17 HR and 54 RBI. Paulie’s numbers trump those in each category.    

    Paulie could very well still make it to Anaheim if he wins the “Final Vote” but it shouldn’t have come to this in the first place. Konerko and Rios both deserve to be going.

     Fix the system, Bud.

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I feel bad writing this after a win (the White Sox won today, 7-6 over the Yankees), but there is indeed no rest for the wicked, and this is a question that needs to be answered.

Let me get things started with this: I’m not an Ozzie “fan.”

I think he is one of the more overrated managers in baseball, still riding high from can’t-miss pitching and power hitting in 2005.

His blowups in the media are infamous, ranging from derogatory terms used to describe hometown sportswriters to his now-tired, “blame me, fire me,” routine.

Truth-be-told, though, I was willing to give Ozzie one more shot in 2010, I really was.

This was finally going to be his team, and we as fans were going to be able to see him actually manage a ball club, hopefully to victory.

And so, with a roster primed to twist the “Ozzieball” knob all the way to “11,” I have kicked back and watched Guillen “lead” (if you want to call it that) the White Sox to a 10-14 record through the month of April.

However, after a month of baseball, I can confidently say that this has to stop, because the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the glimmer on a World Series trophy, it’s the Cellar Express, and the White Sox have a one-way ticket.

That is, if things don’t change, and soon.

Of course, Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, and John Danks could all wake up tomorrow and decide to have a triple-threat match for the AL Cy Young. The main event could be a TLC scrum for the AL MVP, with Andruw Jones and Paul Konerko duking it out for the top prize.

However, given what we have seen thus far, the former match could be an all-out stinker and the latter may be snubbed due to an injury during last week’s house show.

But whether the pitching picks up, or whether Konerko and Jones can stay healthy and productive will be of no consequence if Guillen is still filling out the lineup card and making in-game decisions. His work thus far has been nothing short of brutal.

Let’s start with the “small ball” tactics Guillen has sworn by for this season.

The Sox stand at an unimpressive 74 percent stealing success rate, just barely above the average break-even point, garnering an extra 0.01 marginal runs for their cause.

Indeed, for all the running done so far, Ozzie has garnered just 0.01 of a run for his team by signaling for an attempted swipe of a bag or giving his players the “green light.”

What about bunting?

This team was assembled with the idea of “manufacturing” runs being a big part of the offense, of which bunting plays a large role.

According to Equivalent Ground Advancement Runs (a look at how many runs a team gained or lost advancing runners along via bunts and other situational hitting), Ozzie’s continued implementation of one-run strategies in situations not conducive to increasing the likelihood of any amount of runs scoring has cost this team 0.22 runs.

Hardly the mark of a team creating runs efficiently.

Furthermore, the team’s run scoring has oft been in spite of Ozzie’s attempts at moving runners along, with a hand-full of the team’s 30 home runs (second-best in the AL) being reduced to two-run or solo blasts thanks to erroneous strategies implemented by Guillen.

Lineup construction is another area in which Ozzie is either ignorant, stubborn, or both.

Mark Kotsay started 10 games in the month of April (not to beat a dead horse, but he’s really bad at baseball), many times while resurgent-star Andruw Jones sat on the bench. Juan Pierre has had 94 of his 100-plus plate appearances come from the top spot in the order, despite a horrendous OBP of .260 through April 30.

In fact, Juan Pierre, Alexei Ramirez, and Mark Kotsay have all received too much playing time.

VORPr is the rate-based relative of Value Over Replacement Player, telling us roughly how many runs a player is contributing per game over a replacement player (waiver wire acquisition or a lifetime AAA hitter). The three aforementioned players, according to VORPr, are costing the Sox almost one whole run per game, yet they have received roughly one-fourth of the team’s PAs.

Add in struggling catcher AJ Pierzynski (whom Ozzie insists on starting over the out-of-nowhere Donny Lucy), and the four starters are costing the team 1.42 runs per game, yet they have gotten 34 percent of team PAs.

However, perhaps it is unfair to criticize Ozzie for playing regular starters early on in the season. It is, after all, not Ozzie’s fault that he put regular starters, novelty of all novelties, in starting spots in the lineup at the beginning of the season.

Since April 21st (15 games into the season), the four players highlighted above received 101 of the team’s 328 total PAs through April 30, or roughly 31 percent of the playing time.

For a team that has dreams of October baseball, such a percentage of playing time given to such struggling or all-out bad players is unacceptable from a managerial standpoint.

It is not as though Guillen is without options, however. Backup catcher and minor-league journeyman Donny Lucy has been turning heads with a whopping .733 slugging percentage in 18 PAs.

Mark Teahen has been performing well, with an OBP of .357 so far, yet he can’t seem to buy his way into the leadoff discussion, batting higher than fifth in the lineup only once all season (he hit in the fourth spot in a pinch hitting role).

And a quick note on the pitching staff, if I may: Randy Williams (and his 2.586 WHIP) has received 15 percent of the relief work done by the bullpen thus far.

So, given all the evidence—the overused “small ball” tactics, the myriad of bad lineups and horrible playing time distribution, horrible pitchers getting too many innings—should Ozzie Guillen be fired?

It is a simple question, with a surprisingly simple answer: yes. Yes, with a pink slip containing bold-faced type the likes of which no one has ever seen, yes.

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A typical response to why someone is not a baseball fan is that the game is too slow and boring.

If they only knew that baseball loves the drama.

Right now, it could not be more of a soap opera. Teams are soaring when they should be collapsing, and vice versa.

Here is my list (in dramatic order) of the top five craziest things currently going on in MLB:

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