The White Sox brought the show to Broadway and it occurred to me before, during and after Monday’s 7-2 victory over the high-stepping Yankees that the Sox have the best team in the major leagues. Now that the Bulls have abdicated, Jerry Reinsdorf, the Chicago sports king, soon will be back on the throne.
It’s early, only one-fourth of the long season gone, but I can’t help myself. There are still a few teams I haven’t charted, but I have seen enough and am willing to leap on the so-called limb and predict the White Sox will win it all.
This is heady stuff. The Sox haven’t won a pennant since 1959-some 35 years ago. Their last World Series victory is virtually hearsay and can be remembered only by the most ancient of the old-timers, 77 years ago in 1917, two summers before the Black Sox scandal.
I made a brief clubhouse tour before Monday’s game to determine if any of the Sox players agreed with my appraisal.
Ron Karkovice:
“I think so, too. We know this is a very good team. We have the best offense and the best pitching since I’ve been here (1986). We can play good defense and we have a good bench. We can give guys a day off.”
Tim Raines:
“I believe we’re the best team and have a good chance to win it all. We’re a better club than last year. The experience last year (when the Sox lost to Toronto in the playoffs) will help us. There was a lot of nervousness. We’ll be tougher this time.”
Robin Ventura:
“We have more versatility than last year. The bench is stronger. Joe Hall can play all the outfield positions, third base and second base. He can catch, too. Julio Franco and Darrin Jackson have been terrific, a very big plus. Our defense will get better. Why? Because I’ve seen everyone play before.”
Frank Thomas:
“We can play. But it is too early to say we’ll win it all. We haven’t shown the hunger to sweep everybody. We should have won that game Sunday (the loss prevented a sweep over Baltimore Orioles).
Mike LaValliere:
“Time will be the judge, but if we continue to play the way we have in the last few weeks, we’ll have the best record.”
Manager Gene Lamont:
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“There are a lot of good teams, but I’m sure happy with mine.”
And from a member of the opposition, Don Mattingly, veteran Yankees first baseman:
“They have all the necessary ingredients, and that’s all you need.”
My sentiments exactly. The Sox have shown the best offense and lead both leagues in runs with 307, with a 6.5-per-game average, and in team batting, with a .293 average. Their pitching staff also leads the American League with a 3.73 earned-run average.
Position-by-position, they are stronger than the 1959 pennant-winning club:
Frank Thomas has an enormous edge over Ted Kluszewski and Earl Torgeson at first base and Ventura is a much stronger hitter and better defensively than either Billy Goodman or Bubba Phillips at third. Ozzie Guillen, heroic shortstop that he is, rates on the shelf just below Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.
Nellie Fox gets the nod over Joey Cora at second base. Fox had a much better bat, but Cora has a greater range in the field and is capable of one or two sensational plays each week. Fox got everything within reach but was not distinguished for his defense. The catchers, Sherman Lollar and Karkovice, are a wash.
Only Jim Landis of the ’59 club gets the nod in the outfield. Landis was among baseball’s greatest center-fielders. Lance Johnson is also outstanding with the glove, but not Landis’ equal. Tim Raines over Al Smith in left and Darrin Jackson over Jim Rivera and Jim McAnany in right. There was no DH in ’59, but, more than likely, Julio Franco, second in the league in runs batted in, would win by a large margin.
The ’59 Sox won because of their superior pitching, defense and speed, all of which, in essence, are part of the same package. They had a pitch-and-putt attack, playing 50 one-run games-in which they went 35-15-and were last in the league in home runs with 97.
The current club can’t match their forebears in speed or defense, but the starting pitching is as good, perhaps slightly better.
Look at it this way: the Nos. 3-4-5 starters-Wilson Alvarez, Jason Bere and Scott Sanderson-are a combined 18-1. Jack McDowell and Alex Fernandez are 7-13. McDowell (2-7) was bombed early but has pitched well in his last four starts. Unlike last year, he has not had many runs scored in his behalf.
The ’59 bullpen of Gerry Staley and Turk Lown was quite effective. But in those days, there wasn’t as much reliance on relief pitchers. The current bullpen of Roberto Hernandez, Kirk McCaskill and newcomer Dennis Cook is above average and has the potential for improvement as the season progresses.