The teams headed to the playoffs in Major League Baseball aren't completely finalized yet, but the one definitive fact we already know is that for the sixth-consecutive season there won't be a repeat champion. With the success of the Yankees in the late 90s, the lack of a repeat champion this decade seems somewhat surprising, but GM's should consider one reality: Baseball has evolved into a game where team chemistry and momentum overrides pure talent and power.
The Chicago White Sox came into 2006 with virtually the same team that won a championship in 2005, except they added a future Hall of Famer in Jim Thome and an ace on many teams, Javier Vazquez. Unfortunately, General Manager Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen forgot the most important key to a successful off-season following a championship: maintaining focus and team chemistry.
It is hard to blame the front offices of the last six championship teams for failing to realize this key because all six won with relatively mediocre teams built on speed and chemistry in an age where the steroid era was either reaching its peak or slowly winding down. It makes sense for these owners to add a big bat to teams that have already won without one. The problem is that one big bat can change the face of a team.
This year's White Sox are a prime example of this change. It would be a very inaccurate assumption to think that keeping Aaron Rowand and Frank Thomas would have given this team another championship ring because ultimately it was the pitching that was the demise of the '06 White Sox. The moves Williams did make, however, changed the structure of a batting order that didn't score many runs in 2005, but scored them at times that mattered.
To put things in context, the White Sox could finish this season with four guys with at least 100 RBIs and 30 home runs, two of which have hit 40 round-trippers. A more amazing stat is that the team has five regular starters with .290 average or better as of Monday.
Why is .290 a significant number? The 2005 World Series champion White Sox had only one player finish with a .290 average and that was Scott Podsednik who is hitting a dismal .260 on 2006. Prognosticators, including myself, said in April that if just Thome put up numbers he was capable of, this team had a more than legitimate shot at repeating as champs. To predict the offensive output the White Sox put up would have seemed ludicrous in spring training, and to think they aren't going to be playing in October is incredible.
Yes, incredible, but not all that surprising.
No team had a more productive three through seven lineup in baseball (yes, including the Yankees), but plenty of teams had a better all-around lineup. The '05 White Sox were driven by their lead-off hitter, Podsednik, who ironically has scored and driven in more runs this season than he did a year ago. Unfortunately, his average is 30 points lower and he has stolen 19 fewer bases. So despite scoring more, he hasn't been doing it in situations that mattered. In late innings Podsednik would fail to get on base, or when he did get on he would get thrown out stealing if he even attempted to at all.
Meanwhile, the eight and nine hitters in the order have hit .236 and .229 respectively this season, compared to .270 and .252 in '05. The overall formula resulted in more runs because of the middle of the order, but less consistency and a major reduction in the clutch hits that contributed to the White Sox championship run a year ago.
As mentioned before, the pitching was awful, but all five starters still won at least 11 games this season.
It boils down to the fact that baseball is in a day and age where great managing, great team chemistry, some hitting, and yes, great pitching wins championships.
Losing a likeable player hitting .270 like Aaron Rowand can spell doom for a team, but it is more likely the excitement of winning a championship can result in a lack of focus as clearly was the case with this year's Sox.
It might seem hard to argue that players like Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede weren't focused when they all increased their averages and RBI totals, but the reality is that all four of them came back slower on the base paths and not as sharp defensively, further showing that power doesn't win championships anymore.
Advice to whoever wins this year: cut the celebration short after the Holidays and make sure the team comes back with the same speed, defense, and pitching.
Unless the Yankees win, in which case they can mess with their team all they want.
A-A-—Adam is junior majoring in journalism and can be heard on talking sports Wednesday mornings from 10-11 a.m. and Sunday evenings from 6-7 p.m. on WSUM 91.7 FM. He can be contacted at hoge@dailycardinal.com.
