2005 Chicago White Sox: Smart Ball Southsiders

2005 Chicago White Sox: Smart Ball Southsiders

[paypal_donation_button]“2005 Chicago White Sox: Smart Ball Southsiders”

Ozzie Guillen’s first season managing a Major League team was in 2004 with the Chicago White Sox, who would go only 83-79 that year, finishing as one of the average teams in baseball. Seeing only minimal success since their last World Series appearance in 1959, the White Sox front office effectively made moves to better their team. In the 2004-2005 offseason, the White Sox started off by signing free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye and free agent relief pitcher Dustin Hermanson on December 9, 2004. 4 days later on December 13, the White Sox traded slugging outfielder Carlos Lee to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik and relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino.

The White Sox then claimed relief pitcher Bobby Jenks off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, signed starting pitcher Orlando Hernandez on January 3, 2005 and catcher A.J. Pierzynski on January 6. They would also sign Japanese second baseman Tadahito Iguchi on January 27. All of these additions would play significant parts in turning the White Sox around.

In the 2005 MLB season the White Sox went 99-63, finishing 6 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians to win the American League Central division. The only notable teams the White Sox struggled against were the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going 3-4 and 4-6 against them respectively.

The White Sox only executed one trade on the trade deadline on July 31 as they sent left-handed minor league pitcher Ryan Meaux to the San Deigo Padres in exchange for utility infielder Geoff Blum.

Playing left field, Scott Podsednik batted .290 and had 147 hits and 28 doubles and led the team with a whopping 59 stolen bases. First baseman Paul Konerko batted .283 and slammed 40 home runs, recording 100 RBI’s off 163 hits and 24 doubles. Tadahito Iguchi batted .278, hitting 15 home runs and recording 71 RBI’s off 142 hits, 25 doubles and 6 triples. Iguchi also had 15 stolen bases. Playing right field, Jermaine Dye batted .274, crushing 31 home runs and recording 86 RBI’s off 145 hits and 29 doubles. Dye also had 11 stolen bases. Center fielder Aaron Rowand batted .270 and hit 13 home runs, recording 69 RBI’s off 156 hits, 30 doubles and 5 triples. Rowand also had 16 stolen bases.

Designated hitter Carl Everett belted 23 home runs and recorded 87 RBI’s off 123 hits and 17 doubles. Third baseman Joe Crede belted 22 home runs and had 156 hits and 21 doubles. Shortstop Juan Uribe hit 16 home runs and recorded 71 RBI’s off 121 hits, 23 doubles and 3 triples. A.J. Pierzynski slammed 18 home runs and had 118 hits and 21 doubles. Coming off the bench, third baseman Pablo Ozuna had 14 stolen bases and second baseman Willie Harris had 10 stolen bases.

Otherwise simply known as “Small Ball”, the term “Smart Ball” was used throughout 2005 to describe Ozzie Gullen’s managing style and the White Sox style of play. Stealing bases in the most ideal baserunning situations was the norm for Chicago.

The White Sox also had a reliable pitching staff that was built on momentum and wasting little time in between pitches. Starting pitcher Mark Buehrle went 16-8 with 149 strikeouts and recorded a 3.12 ERA, 3 complete games and 1 shutout. Freddy Garcia went 14-8 with 146 strikeouts, recording a 3.87 ERA and 2 complete games. Jon Garland went 18-10 with 115 strikeouts, recording a 3.50 ERA, 3 complete games and 3 shutouts. Forkball specialist Joe Contreras went 15-7 with 154 strikeouts, recording a 3.61 ERA and 1 complete game.

Dustin Hermanson would be the main closer for the White Sox as he recorded 34 saves along with a 2.04 ERA. To start the season in 31 games, Shingo Takatsu recorded 8 saves while Bobby Jenks came on late in the season to record 6 saves. Damaso Marte would also record 4 saves. Cliff Politte recorded a 2.00 ERA and Neal Cotts recorded a 1.94 ERA as they were normally setup men.

The White Sox would get their crack against the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series, and Chicago would end up sweeping Boston 3 games to none. In Game 1 on October 4 at U.S. Cellular Field the White Sox pounded the Red Sox 14-2 and the main catalyst for the start of Chicago’s offensive surge was the bottom of the 1st inning when Paul Konerko grounded into a forceout at second base to score Scott Podsednik. Aaron Roward would have an RBI single and then A.J. Pierzynski crushed a 3-run home run. Jose Contreras went 7.2 innings deep, giving up 8 hits and 2 runs but recording 6 strikeouts.

In Game 2 on October 5 the White Sox narrowly beat the Red Sox 5-4 as Boston struck early on. Left fielder Manny Ramirez had a 2-run single in the top of the 1st inning, catcher Jason Varitek had an RBI single and outfielder Trot Nixon had an RBI groundout in the top of the 3rd inning. However, Chicago emphatically struck back in the bottom of the 5th inning as Aaron Rowand had an RBI double, Joe Crede had an RBI single, and Tadahito Iguchi crushed a 3-run home run.

In Game 3 on October 7 at Fenway Park, the White Sox narrowly won again 5-3, but in a more wild fashion. Podsednik had an RBI double in the top of the 3rd inning and Iguchi followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 4th inning designated hitter David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez had back-to-back solo home runs. Paul Konerko gave Chicago back the lead with a 2-run home run in the top of the 6th inning, and then Ramirez gave Boston some hope with another solo home run in the bottom of the 6th inning.

Relieving Freddy Garcia, Damaso Marte would give up a single to Trot Nixon and walks to both third baseman Bill Mueller and first baseman John Olerud. Ozzie Guillen would then pull Marte in favor of Orlando Hernandez, and with the bases loaded and no outs, “El Duque” proceeded to get catcher Jason Varitek to hit a foul popfly, second baseman Tony Graffanino a popfly, and strike out center fielder Johnny Damon.

The White Sox moved on to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Championship Series, and they would eliminate the Angels 4 games to 1. Losing Game 1 at home 3-2 on October 11, the White Sox would go on a tear, starting with a 2-1 Game 2 win on October 12. The series shifted to Angels Stadium of Anaheim for Game 3 on October 14, and the White Sox would win 5-2. Chicago then continued to roll with an 8-2 Game 4 win on October 15, and then capped things off in Game 5 on October 16 with a 6-3 win.

The Chicago White Sox would meet the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, and beginning at U.S. Cellular Field in Game 1 on October 22, the White Sox would win 5-3. Jermaine Dye got things started in the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo home run, and then Astros first baseman Mike Lamb responded with his own solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning. In the bottom of the 2nd, A.J. Pierzynski grounded out to the shortstop to score Carl Everett, and then Juan Uribe had an RBI double. Astros left fielder Lance Berkman had a 2-run double in the top of the 3rd inning, but the White Sox responded with a Joe Crede solo home run in the bottom of the 4th inning and a Scott Podsednik RBI triple in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The White Sox would win Game 2 on October 23 by the score of 7-6. Joe Crede had an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and then Juan Uribe followed with a flyball RBI single. Lance Berkman would strike often for the Astros as he had a sacrifice fly in the top of the 3rd inning and a 2-run double in the top of the 5th inning. Paul Konerko then sent White Sox fans into a roar of cheers as he hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. After Jose Vizcaino had a pinch hit 2-run single in the top of the 9th, Scott Podsednik, who hit no home runs in the regular season, hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it for his team.

Houston’s Minute Maid Park would host the next 2 games, and the White Sox would win Game 3 on October 25 by the score of 7-5. Berkman struck again for Houston with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st inning while second baseman Craig Biggio had an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd, and third baseman Morgan Ensberg followed with his own RBI single. Left fielder Jason Lane then hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th to give Houston an early 4-0 lead. However, Chicago came back with a solo home run by Joe Crede in the top of the 5th, followed by RBI singles by Tadahito Iguchi and Jermaine Dye, and a 2-run double by A.J. Pierzynski. Jason Lane’s infield RBI single to the shortstop in the bottom of the 8th kept the game going until the bottom of the 14th inning when Geoff Blum hit a solo home run, and then catcher Chris Widger’s bases loaded walk added another run.

In Game 4 on October 26, Freddy Garcia pitched 7 innings and gave up only 4 hits and 3 walks while recording 7 strikeouts. Jermaine Dye drove in the only run of this game as his RBI single in the top of the 8th inning proved to be all that the White Sox needed. Bobby Jenks came in to record his 4th save of the postseason and the Chicago White Sox would win their first World Series championship since 1917. Jermaine Dye would win the World Series Most Valuable Player award. The 11-1 postseason record the White Sox posted is tied with the New York Yankees for the best postseason record in baseball history.