The Chicago White Sox

The White Sox finished 2011 with a 79-83 record. It was disappointing to see The White Sox do poorly, but that's the unpredictable aspect of baseball we all love so much.

The lineup for The White Sox was hurt by the poor performance of Adam Dunn. He actually had a negative WAR. WAR stands for wins above replacement. His WAR was -2.7 meaning without Adam Dunn the White Sox would have won 2.7 more games. You cannot fault the White Sox for signing him. He had a 138 OPS+ in 2010, but the transition between leagues and to DH must have been incredibly difficult for him. If The White Sox want to do well in 2012 they need to get Adam Dunn back to him old self.

A positive look at the White Sox's lineup is the consistency and excellent performance of Paul Konerko. Konerko has an  average OPS+ of 140 over his last three seasons, which is great. He has also driven in 304 RBI's over that span. The White Sox need to keep one consistent hitter for the entire year and Konerko is definitely that guy.

The rotation looks a little different without Mark Buehrle, because he signed with The Miami Marlins. If Jake Peavy can stay healthy and get back to the Peavy from 2008, The White Sox will have an ace. Peavy hasn't pitched 20 games since 2008 because of injuries. The pitcher to watch is John Danks. He is going to be 27 and hasn't had a big season yet. If 2012 can be his break out season The White Sox may still be alive in the American League Central. The final pitcher worth discussing is Philip Humber. He pitched 163 innings in 2011 with a 3.75 ERA. He 29 and has good stuff. Being in the prime of his career he may be an advantage to The White Sox.

Although they traded away Sergio Santos and Carlos Quentin The White Sox have a chance to improve on their record from 2011, but not by much. They lost big parts of their team in Mark Buehrle, Carlos Quentin and Sergio Santos. I guess The White Sox have decided to start rebuilding. Combined with The Twins, The White Sox can be a thorn in the side of The Tigers.

The San Diego Padres

In 2011 the Padres took a significant decline from 2010. they lost 19 more games and finished with only 71 wins. They started the 2011 season off without their biggest slugger, Adrian Gonzalez, because of a trade with The Red Sox.  As the 2011 season went on, they traded their strong set up man Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers. When the off season struck The Padres made some trades and lost their fantastic closer. 

The Padres traded their young and under rated starting pitcher Matt Latos to the Cincinnati Reds for Edison Volquez in a five player deal. Matt Latos is only 24 and has already proven what he can do at a big league level. In 2010 he posted a 2.92 ERA over 182 innings and in 2011 he posted a 3.47 ERA over 194 innings. They weren't getting much in return. Edison Volquez is 28 years old and over his 7 seasons in the big leagues he posted an ERA under 4.00 once, in 2008. Volquez has never pitched 200 innings and has repeatedly suffered injuries. Besides the other players The Padres got in this deal, they received the short end of the stick. 

During the off season the Padres also traded for the right fielder Carlos Quentin. Quentin has been playing about 130 games a year and if he were to play 162 games he would hit about 32 home runs. Remember these numbers are for 81 games in US Cellular Field. If Quentin has to play 81 games in Petco Park, his home run total might as well be cut in half. We saw this with Adrian Gonzalez's transition form Petco Park to Fenway Park. I think the Padres traded for a slow, poor defensive, doubles hitter. 

The bad off season for The Padres did not end there. They also lost their all star closer, Heath Bell. Bell signed a contract with the Miami Marlins. Over his career Heath Bell has a 127 ERA plus, which is rather good. He played five years with The Padres and now he's gone. With the loss of Mike Adams and Heath Bell, the back end of the bullpen is looking lonely for The Padres. The only knowledgeable names for The Padres that are still on the team are Luke Gregerson and maybe Orlando Hudson. 

2012 is not looking good for The Padres.