Anyways, let's get down to the nitty gritty...
1 UP - Bobby Jenks' Shoulder
While I have no formal evidence to back this up, I don't believe there's much of a coincidence by the fact that as soon as Bobby Jenks landed on the D.L. and the comfortable positions the rest of the bullpen had settled into became disrupted that everything fell apart. While I can't say if Boone Logan would be struggling, or Scott Linebrink would be hurting, or that Ehren Fucking Wassermann would be back up (Seriously!), but at least since his return Jenks hasn't missed a beat. While he's only pitched in 4 games since the All-Star Break, he's been lights out, allowing a single hit and single walk in those 4 innings for an Opponents' OBP of .143 and 3 saves in 3 chances. True the rest of the bullpen is in various stages of "tatters" right now, at least Jenks has firmly reestablished himself as the rock in the 9th inning that everything builds on from there.
1 DOWN - Joe Crede's Back
On a personal level and team level, Crede's recent stint on the D.L. is very disheartening. For Crede, this injury probably cost him a fortune and perhaps his time in Chicago is truly winding to an end. When he erupted for a sizzling open to the season, there were shouts for a contract extension, but now that Crede's durability questions have raised from "troublesome" to "ORANGE ALERT," the megadeal he was looking to cash in on may never come. Added that, the Sox still have Josh Fields in the background, lurking and waiting to take over at third base, no matter how little sense that seem to make. You really have to wonder if they'd consider talking to a now oft-injured Scott Boras client who still can probably sucker some team into giving him more than he's realistically worth.
However, at the team level, Crede's injury sucks ass because now Fields and his lack of defense will patrol the hot corner (or it will be Juan "No Bat" Uribe). Though Crede says it's no big thing, that's awfully hard to fully believe. We need you back, Joe.
2 UP - Carlos Quentin's Shoulder
Though Quentin has had no injury problems in Chicago, his durability was one of the reasons he was shown the door in Arizona and why he almost missed the bus ride north from Tucson (at this rate, Jerry Owens' groin should be enshrined in the White Sox Hall of Fame). Regardless, Quentin's been a beast all season long, his first full one at the Major League level and shows no sign of letting up. Even before tonight's 3/5, HR, 4 RBI performance that paced the Sox to this important victory, Quentin's been hitting .302/8/18 over his last 16 games with a .397 OPB and a .746 slugging percentage.
Quentin's durability concerns have always been in the back of my mind, especially considering he's been plunked 14 times now, tied for the most in the American League, but his steady hitting has been one of the few constants for the White Sox this season.
2 DOWN - Whatever the Hell is Wrong with Paul Konerko
It's been a rough year for Konerko. From that mysterious thumb injury that he tried to play through for way to long to whatever physical and/or mental ailment is bringing him down now, Konerko's having a season to forget on a personal level. Do you realize now that he's slugging worse than anyone who is still in the White Sox organization and has more than 20 at bats? .351, yikes. As a means of comparison, here's the production the other division leaders in baseball are getting from their first basemen:
- Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays: .236 (eww)/.340/.447
- Casey Kotchman, Los Angeles Angels*: .287/.327/.448
- Carlos Delgado, New York Mets: .263/.347/.497
- Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs: .298/.359/.495
- Connor Jackson, Arizona D'backs: .321/.404/.507
*I know Kotchman was just dealt to Atlanta, but he played 100 games for LA this year, so he still counts as "the regular."
Anyway, my point stands that the Sox are getting shortstop-quality production out of a premier power position. I don't know what Paul's problems are. Is this still all physical, or does coming up to bat and seeing that .213 season batting average on the JumboTron make you press a little harder than you should? Its seriously time to question whether or not the Sox would be better off placing Konerko on the bench for a little bit, moving Swisher to 1st (in the time he filled in for Konerko at 1st, he hit .256/.366/.474 with 4 HR and 15 RBI in 24 games) and play Anderson or Wise in CF everyday. It's really come to that; Konerko or Anderson/Wise.
What a cruel, cruel bitch this game can be.
3 UP - Jose Contreras' Elbow
No, I'm not celebrating the fact that Contreras has been on the D.L., I'm just wishing that his struggles as of late have been caused by a sore elbow he wasn't telling anyone about. We all know that when Jose is feeling good and mentally sound, he's downright dominating. His run that stretched from '05 to '06 was incredible and for a while this season, he was arguably the Sox's best pitcher, but since June 10, he's not been able to get anyone out, allowing a .366 BAA in 7 starts.
I don't know if Jose has reached the end of his line, but I can hope that there's still a few more games left in his tank.
3 DOWN - Scott Linebrink's Shoulder
Linebrink's been on the disabled list since July 23rd, but he's only pitched a handful of ineffective innings in about a month now. In the same way Jenks' abesence seemed to reek havoc on the state of comfortable predictability that pervaded the Sox's bullpen, the same can be said for the loss of Linebrink. Truthfully, the answer may be the no bullpen can truly recover from simultaneously losing their set-up man and All-Star closer, but the White Sox bullpen has been really, really bad as of late. Hopefully some extended R&R is what Linebrink needs to come back ready as ever for the final push for the pennant.
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