A.L. Central

Sporting News, The, August 23, 1999

Closing the gap

For the fifth straight season, the Indians will win the A.L. Central, but the rest of the teams in the division, except for the Twins, have reasons to think they will close the gap on Cleveland in 2000.

Although poor starting pitching is the main reason the Tigers haven't been contenders in recent years, many players on the team think a quality offensive threat in the middle of the lineup is the biggest need. G.M. Randy Smith has inquired about players such as Alex Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez this season, but it's doubtful either would ever sign a long-term deal to play in Detroit.

Smith figures a marquee offensive player would help score a lot of runs and make a suspect rotation better because the pitchers would have more room to make mistakes. The theory has worked in Cleveland.

The White Sox and Royals aren't as far away from pushing Cleveland as one might think.

Chicago has three hitters who are having success in their first full seasons in the big leagues--center fielder Chris Singleton, first baseman Paul Konerko and left fielder Carlos Lee. Add holdovers Frank Thomas and Ray Durham and potential superstar Magglio Ordonez, and the White Sox suddenly have a formidable lineup.

The same is true for the Royals, who have gotten strong offense from Jermaine Dye, Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran and Joe Randa.

With the Twins' payroll restrictions, it doesn't look promising for them. They either need to get a new ballpark and an infusion of capital or move to a place where ownership can spend some money. --Reid Creager

Chicago

54-61: 2nd

Hitch in stance leads to problems for Thomas

When he was winning back-to-back MVP trophies in 1993 and '94, Frank Thomas was one of the most feared hitters in the game. This season, his mechanics have been completely different, and that's the main reason why Thomas is struggling so much. When he was putting up Hall of Fame numbers, Thomas would spread his feet out in the batter's box and get down in a crouch. When the pitch was delivered, Thomas would load up his hands and usually hit the ball with authority. Instead of spreading out and hitting with a solid base, Thomas' feet have been close together, and he's standing almost upright When the pitch is delivered, he falls backward and his knees collapse. That's why he has been unable to load up his hands, and that's also why he has hit the ball with so little power. Thomas has been informed about the drastic difference in his stance, but he has yet to correct the problem.

YOUNG GUN: RHP Kip Wells, 22, is the most talented pitcher in the organization. He throws one of the nastier curveballs in the league and features a fastball consistently docked at 93 mph. Now, he's learning how to throw a changeup.... James Baldwin has an arm good enough to win 20 games a season, but a lack of concentration, especially early, continues to plague the starter.... SS Mike Caruso has tailed off at the plate as pitchers have taken advantage of his tendency to swing at pitches out of the strike zone. Caruso's inability to lay off bad pitches is the main reason his batting average has slipped to .260.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: 2B Ray Durham continues to evolve into a high-quality leadoff hitter. He's batting .298 and has 26 steals. Durham, though, is still trying to cut down on his high strikeout count After going down on strikes 105 times last season, he's on pace to surpass that total. Durham is still susceptible to the high fastball, and pitchers take advantage of that. When he starts laying off the high heat, he will become a consistent All-Star. --Scot Gregor

GRADING OUT

OFFENSE C

Thomas is struggling, and he might not reach his ninth straight 100-RBI season.

PITCHING C

Bobby Howry and Keith Foulke have struggled, but reliever Jesus Pena is stepping up.

DEFENSE D

IFs Greg Norton, Caruso and Durham have 57 errors combined.

WHITE SOX

                   AVG     G    AB    R     H    HR   RBI

Thomas            .320   114   422   64   135    15    73
(*)Singleton( )   .315    95   352   46   111    11    62
Ordonez           .308   113   464   73   143    26    91
Fordyce           .301    76   246   25    74     5    31
Konerko           .299    95   338   42   101    16    49
Durham(#)         .298   114   470   90   140    13    52
(*)Lee            .297    82   316   43    94     7    50
(*)Wilson         .268    60   149   22    40     3    14
Jackson           .267    55   101   15    27     2    10
Caruso( )         .260   101   389   44   101     1    27
(*)Simmons(#)     .244    21    45    6    11     1     3
Norton(#)         .232    98   323   51    75    13    36
(*)Johnson( )     .200    51   145   16    29     4    13

                   OBP    SLG   SB    K   BB     E

Thomas            .414   .502    3   54   65     4
(*)Singleton( )   .338   .514   12   28   13     3
Ordonez           .349   .543    9   46   30     3
Fordyce           .356   .435    1   42   19     7
Konerko           .352   .512    0   45   27     3
Durham(#)         .368   .464   26   83   51    17
(*)Lee            .317   .427    2   45    8     3
(*)Wilson         .327   .349    1   11   13     5
Jackson           .282   .396    4   15    2     2
Caruso( )         .286   .311    9   20   12    20
(*)Simmons(#)     .277   .444    2    9    2     2
Norton(#)         .346   .406    4   72   55    20
(*)Johnson( )     .316   .324    2   46   24     2

GRAND SLAMS: Ordonez (2), Konerko, Lee (1)

                   ERA    W-L     G      IP     H     R     ER

(*)Pena( )        0.00    0-0     5     3.0     2     0      0
Foulke            2.84    1-3    48    76.0    59    26     24
(*)Lowe           2.97    3-1    45    72.2    60    24     24
Howry             3.67    3-3    50    49.0    44    23     20
Sirotka( )        3.82   7-10    23   148.1   171    77     63
Parque( )         4.33    9-8    23   129.0   146    71     62
Simas             4.39    4-2    50    53.1    53    31     26
Castillo          4.76    1-1     6    17.0    18     9      9
Snyder            5.77    9-7    19   101.1   121    70     65
Navarro           6.02   7-10    23   127.0   157   103     85
Baldwin           6.04   6-11    25   137.0   159    95     92
Eyre( )           9.72    1-1    15    16.2    25    19     18

                  HR     K   BB   SV   Avg.

(*)Pena( )         0     3    3    0   .182
Foulke            11    84   15    5   .208
(*)Lowe            6    44   34    0   .237
Howry              6    59   25   19   .238
Sirotka( )        17    91   41    0   .286
Parque( )         14    77   57    0   .286
Simas              5    30   25    2   .257
Castillo           3     7    6    0   .269
Snyder            16    53   29    0   .294
Navarro           23    62   56    0   .301
Baldwin           27    74   62    0   .289
Eyre( )            6    12   12    0   .329