The Zimmermann Note

Typically on a late summer early fall Saturday afternoon, the only shirts you see more of in my neighborhood than the Chicago Chubbies are Michigan T-Shirts, and the reason for this is that College Football season has started. One of the Local Bar’s Duffy’s is pro Michigan and this would be just one of the reasons for the population of Michiholics. So as I walked around and saw all the sad Michigan fans today a tear of happiness came to my face.

As an aside, since DePaul doesn’t have a football team and it looks ever more like they lack a basketball team as well, I typically root for Northwestern which of course over their storied history have ended up in the cellar of the league more times than not.

So cheers to Appalachian State (I didn’t even know it was a state until today) on their fine win today.

This is the second year in a row that I have attended Elvis Night. I have gone to far fewer games than I planned this year and I have to say that based on my own personal life plus the fact the team is doing so poorly has attributed greatly to this issue.

Elvis Night is always fun and even better when the team wins. In this case, however, my brother who is looking more like a character from the movie Dazed and Confused and I were finding the fact that the fans were doing the Wave as a typical no-no in the Cell. Why or when did this hoky tradition start, I am not sure. I could see going to Wrigley and trying to start the wave just because it is Wrigley, I am thinking that some women while attempting it might bump their heads.

At any rate, Elvis night also didn’t feature any ‘Suspicious Minds’ which almost caused a protest from my brother. I did have my iPod and was able to feature that for him at the bar we went to after the game. It is funny btw, talking to people about Tumens aka, the Alcohol Abuse Center. I guess the place is refurnished and I have not been there in years but I still remember going with Drew, Andrew quite a few times and always found that between the Jukebox, the atmosphere as well as the flooded bathrooms always a plus in my book. It was never a problem sitting on an old keg either. It looked like they gathered their furniture by going around Bridgeport on a Sunday morning in the winter when all the residents would stick their old chairs out in the street to save their parking spots, and they would just pilfer them. You could not beat the prices either where nice quality beer could be bought at dirt cheap prices.

After watching Tom Glavine get his 300th victory, I thought to myself what would it take for Mark Buerhle to do it.

So far in his full 6 seasons that he has played in the MLB, he has averaged 15.5 wins a year and currently he is only 28 years. Mark Buerhle is a finesse pitcher that does not put a lot of pressure on his arm which means if all holds up he should only get better with age. Based on his statistics this season, it seems as if his second half blunders last year were a far cry from his career stats.

If Buerhle continues on his current pace of 15.5 wins a year for the next 14 years including this season and lasts as long as Tom Glavine has lasted (age 41), Buerhle would win 217 games and if you add that total with the 97 wins at the beginning of the season he would total 314 wins. In fact, Buerhle will only have to average 14.5 wins for the next 14 years to get to the magic 300 number.

Tom Glavine, in the 19 full seasons that he has pitched in the majors, not counting this year averaged 15.15 wins a season. The benefits that Glavine had to his credit was that he was on a great Braves team for all those years and that will be a big factor in Buerhle winning 300.

Buerhle has had a couple tough losses this year on a substandard White Sox team. What Buerhle does have going for him is that he tends to work deep into games which typically aids pitchers in getting decisions.

It will help matters of course if Buerhle can have a couple huge seasons the next couple seasons. While it is doubtful that he can get 20 wins this year, he still is on pace to win about 15-16 games.

Sox Grade For Trades :C

Rob Mackowiak is a great utilityman for a great team but only a fair starter. He is not the future of any position and while the Sox are in a hunt to search out for talented players, I think that Mackowiak was a piece that was probably worth more to another team than the Sox. As with the deal for Iguchi, the Sox pretty much got some young arm we might see in a couple years.

I think that if things go the way as scheduled we will see a completely different lineup on Opening Day 2008. I can see Uribe being shopped as well as Crede as it looks like Josh Fields is a keeper at 3B.

Jerry Owens seems logical to open the season in center but I still have some doubts as a leadoff hitter. There has to be some question as well about whether they will bring Dye and Pods back.

Richar will get his opportunity to prove himself this season and if he doesn’t expect to maybe see Iguchi back with the team.

They signed Buerhle which was the cornerstone of the team and they still need to revamp their bullpen. That has to be their biggest issue this offseason.

Michael Vick is an Idiot

After finding out the charges against Michael Vick, the first thought that came to mind was that if he was a player on the Chicago Bears, I do not think that I could be a fan of the Chicago Bears if he suited up with the team. I thought to myself how could I root for someone to win who I would so viciously abhor? The scenario came up last season when the Chicago Bears defensive tackle, Tank Johnson violated his probation. I had a difficult time as well rooting for the team, however, his actions were a lot less serious than Vick’s are.

And while I have listened to the critics that feel that Vick is not getting his day in court, from what I have heard from the charges, there was no doubt dogfighting going on in a house that he owned, and not just a small amount of it. We know this pretty much for sure.

The question of course is how much or if any did Michael Vick participate in it. My conclusion would be that if Michael Vick did not participate in any of it and had no idea what was going on in this house, then he is at least an idiot, and no less than that.

If you are a sports star and you are not watching over your properties, money, etc. then you should because this is a great example of a scenario whereby even if Michael Vick had nothing to do with the events at his house, his life is pretty much ruined.

How can you live your life and not have an idea of what is going on in a property that you own – and if you have friends or associates there, that they are not looking out for your best interests?

So either, as some of you out there say, he is innocent like the scenario above or he is did have knowledge of it which would make him of course . . . an idiot.

I dare you to see some of gruesome photos of dogfighting, that these animals are not trained to be companions of humans but that they are trained to kill.

Ok well they surely do not blow but as a dedicated fan for the past 30+ years I have come to the conclusion that the team has some issues to look into if they plan on competing in the Central Division this year. My 1/3 of the season grades

Offense: D

The team has looked sluggish and slow. Their offense is the worst in the AL, however, they have been finding ways to win and slowly but surely are doing some things right. The insertion of Jerry Owens into the leadoff spot looks promising.

The only good thing to say is that out of their troubles, the offense has the most upside. You know they have the ability to put up some great numbers, it’s only a matter of them actually doing this.

Defense: B

The defense has actually been pretty solid so far this season. I could make a few exceptions here and there, especially the game with Toby Hall against the Cubs and I have never been much of a Pablo Ozuna defender but otherwise its been solid. A.J. has been solid behind the plate and they have been solid up the middle with Uribe, Iguchi and Erstad. I think Owens will work out in Center and could only imagine that this team would have been so much better with Owens in center last season. Its not the arm that would have killed him but the fact that even if Owens batted at the Mendoza line like Anderson did, he would have made the team faster.

Starting Pitching: B

I have liked what I have seen so far. Everyone has been on their game for the most part. Last season it seemed that there were a couple starters that took awhile to get acclimated to the season, however, it has just been bad luck. John Danks has been a pleasant surprise. I still think that the Sox put too much trust into Vazquez but I guess it could be worse.

Bobby Jenks: A-

Bobby Jenks does not deserve to be lumped in with the other relievers so I am going to mention him here. I have always been a big fan of Jenks who has gotten better year in and out. Arguably, it took him a little longer to get his arm up to speed but even with a less than outstanding fastball early in the year he was able to convert save opportunities and at the end of the day that is the only thing that you can look to him for. Without Jenks, I could only figure this team has five or six less wins then they do and his numbers would only be better if he had more support in the seventh and eigth innings.

Relief Pitching: F

Fact of the matter is that we are watching a free fall of ultimate proportions. The White Sox currently have no confidence in the late innings. Going into the season the management felt that they had improved their bullpen but what I saw from their moves was to acquire fireballers who had lost confidence and try to improve them. They got too confident with Sisco in thinking they can turn his troubles around like they did with Thornton and Jenks. I am not sure what to think of MacDougal who for the first time in his career cannot find the strike zone. Aardsma looked simply brilliant when the temperature was hovering around 40-45 degrees outside and since then the hitters have caught up with him. Too much has been asked out of Massett to make an accurate judgment and I do not think that going in he was in a pivotable role. The fact was that the setup men on this team (Thornton, MacDougal, Aardsma, Sisco) have not done their jobs.

Bench: B –

The bench has been there when needed. Makowiec has played big in a couple games as has Cintron. With the amount of injuries that this team has amassed so far this season I think that they are being asked to do too much. Where the issues with the bench play out are more in the field rather than at the plate. The Sox lack many players on their bench that offer a better defensive opportunity.

Coaching: B

I am not sure what to say. I am surprised with the lack of offense and bullpen that we are still hovering around .500 and they have to be given that level of success. The coaches cannot be blamed when pitchers do not throw strikes. I have been disappointed in their lack of running game and how we can have less stolen bases than the Oakland A’s. For a team that is struggling to score, we should be running at every opportunity.

Management: C

I think that the biggest issue in the offseason for the Sox was their bullpen and their changes reflect a mentality that is looking for powerpitchers rather than pitchers that get outs. Secondly, the reliance on Scott Podsednick was probably the wrong decision. As much as I love Pods, he is injured way too much and previous seasons show that when Pods is out of the lineup, the Sox struggle. I think that the Sox should have used Pods in the offseason as trade bait for some good relievers and in the process turn over the opening left fielder job to someone like a Jerry Owens who could have been groomed for the leadoff position.

I think that successful baseball teams need a good balance of both power and speed because as you play the season you realize that there are going to be those close 2-1 games when a bunt single, stolen base and single can win you a game rather than relying on the three run homer. The Sox had this formula in place during the 2005 season but got away from it last season focusing their attention more on the home run ball.

Conclusion: Unless the bullpen improves, I just cannot see this team getting too far. I do expect the offense to improve. Hot summer nights on the South Side should start becoming more advantageous to the offense. However, will the team make any moves in the bullpen? There does not seem to be a lot of talent in the minor leagues affiliates right now. Their recent recalling of Dewon Day is not the answer as he only has average stuff. I see a dismantling of the team in the offseason with the chances of Uribe, Crede, Iguchi, Dye and Buehrle all wearing different uniforms next season.