Coming off a World Series title in 2005, the Chicago White Sox had high hopes for a repeat in 2006. Those expectations came up short as Chicago failed to even make the playoffs. Missing the playoffs was not because of poor overall record in the regular season.
In 2005 the White Sox finished the year with 99 wins and 63 loses. During 2006 their record was 90 and 72, only a 9 game difference. 90 wins should have been good enough for a division title or at least the wild card. However, two other teams in their division out played the Chicago White Sox, so they finished third in the American League Central.
Offensively, Chicago was an explosive team that put up a lot of runs. Jim Thome was brought over to take the DH position. Coming off an injury plagued year in 2005 for Philadelphia, Thome showed that he was health and still had a lot left. Thome batted .288 with 42 home runs and 109 runs batted in. Paul Konerko put up another consistent season, .313 batting average, 35 home runs, 113 runs batted in. Third baseman Joe Crede put up his best numbers in 2006. Crede hit .283, 30 home runs, and 94 runs batted in. Tadahito Iguchi, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, and Scott Podsednik all continued to be consistent hitters and put up good numbers.
The pitching staff did pitch pretty well. However, some key members from the 2005 staff had poor years in 2006. Cliff Politte dominated in 2005 with an era of 2.01. In 2006 his era ballooned to 8.70 in 30 games. Neal Cotts, another dominate pitcher in 2005, saw his era go from 1.94 to 5.17. Even closer Bobby Jenks era went up, although it was not as big of a jump as Cotts and Politte. Jenks did record 41 saves in 2006. A bright spot in the pen was Matt Thornton. Thornton came over from Seattle and got his control issues straightened out. He walked just 21 batters in 54 innings. His walk total in 2005, with Seattle, was 42 in 57 innings. Seattle gave up on him and traded him to Chicago.
In 2005 the White Sox finished the year with 99 wins and 63 loses. During 2006 their record was 90 and 72, only a 9 game difference. 90 wins should have been good enough for a division title or at least the wild card. However, two other teams in their division out played the Chicago White Sox, so they finished third in the American League Central.
Offensively, Chicago was an explosive team that put up a lot of runs. Jim Thome was brought over to take the DH position. Coming off an injury plagued year in 2005 for Philadelphia, Thome showed that he was health and still had a lot left. Thome batted .288 with 42 home runs and 109 runs batted in. Paul Konerko put up another consistent season, .313 batting average, 35 home runs, 113 runs batted in. Third baseman Joe Crede put up his best numbers in 2006. Crede hit .283, 30 home runs, and 94 runs batted in. Tadahito Iguchi, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, and Scott Podsednik all continued to be consistent hitters and put up good numbers.
The pitching staff did pitch pretty well. However, some key members from the 2005 staff had poor years in 2006. Cliff Politte dominated in 2005 with an era of 2.01. In 2006 his era ballooned to 8.70 in 30 games. Neal Cotts, another dominate pitcher in 2005, saw his era go from 1.94 to 5.17. Even closer Bobby Jenks era went up, although it was not as big of a jump as Cotts and Politte. Jenks did record 41 saves in 2006. A bright spot in the pen was Matt Thornton. Thornton came over from Seattle and got his control issues straightened out. He walked just 21 batters in 54 innings. His walk total in 2005, with Seattle, was 42 in 57 innings. Seattle gave up on him and traded him to Chicago.
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