SEPTEMBER SWOON RUINS SEASON
POOR FINISH KEEPS SOX OUT OF PLAYOFFS
BY PAT DORWIN
SPORTSWRITER
WHITE SOX BASEBALL WEEKLY
CHICAGO - THE REFLECTIONS ON THE 2011 SEASON DON'T GET ANY BETTER A FEW DAYS AFTER IT ENDED BITTERLY.
THE SOX BUMBLED TO A 4-13 FINISH - PART OF A 10-16 SEPTEMBER, WHICH ON THE HEELS OF A .500 AUGUST - LEFT THEM ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PLAYOFFS LOOKING IN.
AN 82-80 RECORD LEFT THEM TWO GAMES OUT OF TAKING A WILD CARD SPOT AHEAD OF BALTIMORE.
"IT WAS SHAMEFUL, REALLY," SOX MANAGER OZZIE GUILLEN SAYS, "NOBODY'S TO BLAME BUT MYSELF."
THAT'S GUILLEN JUST PLAYING THE EXPECTED ROLE OF A MARTYR OF, HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO ONE SCOUT.
"OZZIE COULDN'T PITCH FOR THEM, HE COULDN'T FIELD FOR THEM," SAID THE AL SCOUT. "HE DUG THEM OUT OF SN EARLY-SEASON HOLE TO BEGIN WITH."
AFTER ALL, THE SOX LED THE MAJORS WITH A .290 BATTING AVERAGE, 844 RUNS, 1711 HITS, A WHOPPING 324 HOME RUNS, 833 RBIs, SLUGGING PERCENTAGE AND TOTAL BASES, 3071.
"THIS IS A TEAM THAT RIPPED 11 DOUBLES IN A GAME AND SMASHED A RECORD DOZEN HOMERS IN A SINGLE GAME," THE SCOUT SAYS. "OZZIE AND (HITTING COACH HAROLD) BAINES HAD A WORLD-CLASS OFFENSE."
BUT CHICAGO RANKED 27TH IN ERRORS AND FIELDING PERCENTAGE. PITCHING-WISE, A 4.79 ERA WAS THE MAJORS' SECOND-WORST.
"OUR PITCHERS HAD THE MOST WALKS IN THE MAJORS, AS WELL," SAYS GM LARRY FEENEY.
AARON CONNER, 18, WAS NAMED NL ROY, POSTING .326, 37, 79 NUMBERS.
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