As Sox fans we are constantly defending our religion, White Soxism, to attacking cubs fans. 2005 gave us a few years of defense to our attackers. But five years later, the defense is up.
Last year we all know Jermaine Dye struggled and Bobby Jenks blew numerous saves and Paul Konerko is STILL on the team. Why are we so connected to these players like a newborn to their mother? Because of their success in 2005 and bringing us to the first White Sox World Series Championship of our generation.
Let's take a look at our studs then and now.
In 2005 Dye hit .274 with a slugging percentage of .512. He also had 145 hits and 31 Homers. Last season he hit .250 and slugged .453 with 126 hits and 27 homers. We know Dye can hit for power since his homer run number is the only stat that didn't decrease by 20, but one thing is for sure; the man can not run anymore. In 2005 he had 11 stolen bases; last year he had zero. So why keep a man who's been on a decrease since '05 (minus his great 2006 season)? We can as fans feel guilty turning our back on the man who helped get us that World Series Championship and who was the MVP of it.
Bobby Jenks gave us a ride for our money in '05, starting his rookie season off hot. Let's see what happens, when a fastball pitcher doesn't take care of himself. While his wins increased and his strike outs remained the same (about 50), it is only because his innings pitched has increased. In fact the only stats that have increased are the ones that should be decreasing. In 2005 his ERA was 2.75, in 2009, 3.71. In 2005 he only had 2 blown saves and in 2009 he had six. While these starts are not a huge difference, they are quickly changing. Jenks has a beer drinking, chin sweater wearing reputation and if he doesn't start taking care of himself soon, his ERA and blown saves will sky rocket.
Paul Konerko's stats are decreasing, as anyone's would after ten seasons with the same team. Paulie hit .283 in 05 and .277 in 09. He had 163 hits in 05 and 151 in 09. His RBIs also decreased from 100 to 88 and homers 40 to 28. The only thing that did increase from 05 to 09 were his doubles. Could it possibly be because he's loosing his power? What is Paulie without his power? We all know he can't steal bases. Could this be why we traded for both Kotsay and Viscal?
Buerhle has been the only one to give us some excitement since 2005. But we do know he's far from our Mr. Perfect. He's either turning our stomach when he's lost his control or covering every newspaper in town with a no hitter or perfect game.
Lots has changed since our 2005 season and I didn't even get to Pierzynski, Garcia, Contreres, and Scotty Pods. One thing that's for sure, the Sox have some house cleaning to do.
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