Tag Archives: Adam Dunn

Adam Dunn 2012 Comeback Player of the Year

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It looks like one good thing came out of Adam Dunn’s abysmal 2011 season, he has been deemed the 2012 Comeback Player of the Year.  It’s not a championship ring/title for the Chicago White Sox first baseman/designated hitter, but I would say it’s something to be proud of.

“I’m sure my (family) really enjoys it more than I do,” Dunn said. “I don’t really play for (awards), I play for one thing (championships) and if I don’t get it than it is all for naught. I am very appreciative of this award but I really wish I would have never won it because you have to have the bad go with the good,” he told ESPN Chicago. 

Dunn suffered an oblique strain injury at the end of the season and was not pleased with the Sox’s unsatisfying finish as well as his own inability to help the team. Not only did the Sox miss the playoffs, but they have to watch their rivaled Detroit Tigers advance all the way to the World Series (Game 1 against the San Francisco Giants starts tonight). Yuck!

His resurgence was refreshing since Dunn signed a four-year $56 million deal before the 2011 season – and then he stunk. Although he had a MUCH better year, Dunn still has some areas he’d like to improve on: driving the ball to the opposite field more frequently and cutting down his strikeouts. His 222 strikeouts in 2012 were the most in a single season in American League history.

Congratulations Dunn! Hopefully next season the White Sox can make it into the postseason for ya :-) .

White Sox and Tigers Get Ready for a Motown Showdown

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Bring out the big guns this weekend boys! After a disappointing series in Baltimore, the White Sox have headed to Motown to take on their ferocious conference rival Detroit Tigers. This series is crucial as the Tigers trail the AL-Central leading White Sox by three games and are vying for the conference crown this season.

Both the White Sox and Tigers are coming off losing series, so we’ll call it a wash. The Tigers haven’t been playing their best ball lately – they were swept in three games by the Royals, whereas the Sox came into their roadtrip after a 6-0 homestand against the Yankees (swept the Yanks for the first time in 21 years) and the Mariners. If Detroit takes advantage of their home field advantage (which they’ve done this season – Chicago is winless in four straight at Comerica Park) they could pick up some serious conference ground. In other words, the White Sox need to take this series in Detroit to prove they’re the big dogs in the ALC.

Here are the three top “musts” the Sox must do to keep those Tigers in check.

1. Pitching

Detroit has their three big mound guns going Friday through Sunday with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Chicago’s big guys need to show-up and shut-out – I’m talking to you Jake Peavy, Francisco Liriano and Chris Sale. Peavy has the honor of opening the series and starting things off right. This Tiger offense is powerful, the Sox need to maintain and tame it. Also, the bullpen needs to be one their best behavior. No hiccups allowed.  Addison Reed (who’s really performed like a vet when called upon), Nate Jones, Brett Myers, Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain all need to be ready for tight situations.

2. Heat-up the bats

Detroit has some of the heaviest hitters in the league (Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to throw out some names) and Chicago’s offense needs to heat things up a bit. After some slumping in the Orioles series, the Sox need to see a resurgence from Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. A.J. Pierzynski has been having a career year and seems to have hit his first major funk of 2012 – let’s put a kabosh on that right now. Also, they need their lead off men to get on base, we’re looking to you Dewayne Wise and Kevin Youkilis.

3. Attack with the gloves

Defense is something a professional baseball team can take for granted – especially with the Tigers. Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez have been making some incredible moves throughout the infield, don’t stop now! The Sox have to allow the Tigers 3 outs and that’s all folks. If Chicago makes defensive errors and allows Detroit freebies to get on base – they can say goodbye to the top spot in the ALC.

Give them hell White Sox! Make it a showdown in Motown to remember.

White Hot White Sox: From Worst to First

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After fifty games in this 2012 MLB season, who’s standing alone in first place of the American League Central Division? I’ll give you two hints – it’s not the fancy-pants predicted Detroit Tigers and it’s not the the Cleveland Indians. It’s our very own Southsiders. The Chicago White Sox, a team that Sports Illustrated predicted to lose 95 games this season, are proving every nasty critic wrong.

How is the team that no one believed in making moves in the tough AL central? Here’s a little breakdown for ya:

*They’ve won eight games in a row, are 12-of-13 and homered in 15 straight games (their longest streak since 2004). Last night the Sox rallied for five runs against Rays’ pitcher James Shields in the sixth and Dayan Viciedo added an eighth-inning home run to push the White Sox past Tampa Bay 7-2.

*Paul Konerko, considered an “old man” at age 36, has a batting average of .386 and having a mind-blowing start this season. As my dad would say, “he’s just seeing the ball.” It’s more like, “Paulie’s hitting like a wild beast!” Konerko’s hot hitting landed him the AL player of the week honor for the period ending May 27th.

*Chris Sale may be all arms and legs, but this young pitcher has a studly throwing arm and is an early candidates for the Cy Young Award. On Monday, Sale struck out 15 Rays players, setting his own career high and finishing one strike out away from the team’s franchise record (Jack Harshman struck out 16 against Boston on July 25, 1954). SALE’S COMIN IN HOT!

*Rookie GM Robin Ventura is giving Dayan Viciedo the chance Ozzie Guillen never did and boy is it paying off. Viciedo, my Cuban brother is nicknamed “tank” for his stocky physique, has been crushing the ball and is absolutely one of the best young hitters in the league. This guy’s proving he deserves to be in the White Sox lineup this season.

*Adam Dunn is a present force this season and is on a hot comeback trail. His slugging percentage is up from last year and he already has 16 home runs – that’s five more than last year. Basically, he’s hit as many home runs this month as he did all of last season (let’s not dwell on the past). The Sox just need him to stay on track and good things will continue to happen.
*Most skeptics figured the White Sox had either given up or lost their damn minds when they hired Robin Ventura as Ozzie Guillen’s predecessor. The guy had never managed a baseball game in his life. However, said skeptics forgot to consider his knowledge of the game, leadership abilities, communication skills and laid-back personality. These qualities are seemingly a perfect fit for this ball club and just what the doctor ordered after last season’s soap opera.
*Impeccable defense doesn’t hurt either. With the help of Chris Sale on the mound, the Sox are definitely one of the top five defensive teams in the American League. Their impressive defensive lineup and swift gloves are what have kept them rolling when their offensive bats have struggled.
For a team no one expected anything out of, I’d say this season has gotten off to a great start. I know it’s still early, but it’s not that early in the season and it’s starting to feel a lot like 2005 to me! The only problem seems to be the lack of White Sox fans in attendance at home games. So get some tickets and support your favorite guys in white and black. Sorry to brag Cubs fans, but it’s a lot more fun to root for the South Side right about now.

Chicago Baseball is Around the Corner

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Well wouldn’t ya know, baseball is back, the sport has been off for a solid 4 months. Baseball fans are probably itching for a stadium hotdog, cold beer, peanuts and to sing the lyrics of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”  Do not fret, as of Friday, the Cactus League (click for schedule) will have started it’s 2012 spring training season. Fans will be able to tune into Cubs and White Sox games on TV or take a little vacation if you can scrape up the dinero.  What a rough life professional baseball players have, in the midst of the winter when most of us are itching to escape the cold, Cubs and White Sox players get to head down to Spring Training in Arizona- real tough guys.

If you want to get away and find your Chicago White Sox, head down to Camelback Ranch in Glendale. The Sox are hoping to prepare for a solid recovery season, gain some confidence that had been long lost last season, and find a way to compete in a division that recently got even more competitive with many off season trades (example one: Prince Fielder to the Tigers). Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Gordon Beckham all under performed last season, and Sox management is hoping they get back into the groove. Jake Peavy expressed this weekend that he feels his healthiest since joining the White Sox, his shoulder is “amazing” and he is hoping to perform at an elite level again.

Focus has been placed on 22-year-old lefty Chris Sale, who is being added to the starting pitching rotation. He has come out firing, extremely impressing his teammates early on in spring training. He is hoping to pitch 200 innings as a starter this season. Known for looking much like a string-bean, Sale is looking more manly according to A.J. Pierzynski, “Chris Sale looks good, looks like he put on a pound or two.”

With ex-manager Ozzie Guillen happily in Miami and the security of a four-year, $10 million contract, any and all scrutiny of the team will be fully placed on White Sox general manager Ken Williams. Kenny will be starting his 12th season as the Sox GM, but after not advancing to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, he knows this season will directly effect his future with the Sox. He told Comcast Sportsnet, ”It’s professional sports. If you do not win, and it has been three years since we’ve gone to the playoffs, if you don’t win, changes are made. I have gone into this situation knowing that. I can accept it if ultimately that’s the call. And we can go out the next day, he can call me up and we’ll go out for a steak and a cigar. It will be all good.”

The Cubs are over in Mesa, hoping that their move of snatching Theo Epstein as President of Baseball Operations will break their World Series curse (I’m not holding my breathe just yet, I’m going to give him a few years to get things right).

First order of business was to settle the Theo Epstein compensation issue with the Red Sox, I like to think of it as a consolation prize for the Sox. The Red Sox acquired right-hander Chris Carpenter — not the Cardinals’ former Cy Young Award winner — and a player to be named in exchange for a player to be named. Seems like quite a few ?? to me.

The Cubs are currently a team without many big names, and their only well known player is Alfonso Soriano, who to most people has seemed like an overpaid, 36-year-old unreliable outfielder, with no-trade rights and $54 million guaranteed through 2014. As the veteran on the Cubs, Epstein is looking to Soriano to be a leader this season. “The past couple years we had a nice group, but some people (weren’t) giving 100 percent,” Soriano told CSN. “Now this group is kind of young. They’re hungry to play and we’re ready to compete.” As a role model for the younger players, he should begin by not dropping any fly balls in left field this season.

Both teams are going to have a challenging season, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that both the Sox and Cubs can make it to the post-season this year. It might be a long shot.