Home anything but sweet for White Sox this season
The White Sox opened the 2012 season at Cleveland and new relief pitcher Will Ohman made 2 appearances in the three-game series, allowing 6 runs in 2 innings.
The Sox moved on to Kansas City for two more games, and Ohman made another appearance and allowed 1 run in 1 inning.
Returning to Chicago for the April 7 home opener, Ohman heard savage boos when his name was called during the traditional team introductions.
Welcome to the South Side, Will. You're a bum.
As the season mercifully comes to a close for the White Sox, it's time to sift through the rubble and figure out what the heck happened to a team with a $128 million payroll and lofty expectations.
We know the Sox are offensively challenged, especially with runners in scoring position.
We know Adam Dunn is nearing the end of perhaps the worst individual season in major-league history.
We know Alex Rios has not played much better than Dunn.
We know the White Sox had another miserable April and were never able to recover from an 11-22 start.
Here is something we strongly suspect as the Sox enjoyed their final day off Monday before opening a four-game series at Cleveland: Too many players are not mentally equipped to play in front of a demanding fan base.
Some are.
Paul Konerko is truly the king on the South Side because he has learned to block out the frequent moans and groans coming from the stands at U.S. Cellular Field and do his job.
Mark Buehrle is another fan favorite because he's consistently able to focus on his craft and earn his paycheck.
Ditto for A.J. Pierzynski.
There is a common denominator with Konerko, Buehrle and Pierzynski — they are the last three players remaining from the Sox' 2005 World Series championship team.
The others, for the most part, have to either grow some thicker skin or be shipped out.
With six home games left, the White Sox are 33-42 at the Cell. Over the past 10 seasons, they've only had one losing record at home.
The pattern started early this year.
The Sox lost six in a row at the Cell in April, the fans started booing, and much of the roster went into the fetal position. So much for that “Chicago tough” stuff.
Over the nearly two decades I've been covering the White Sox, I can recall plenty of players who have thrived under the immense pressure from the home crowd.
Robin Ventura. Jack McDowell and Alex Fernandez. Ray Durham. Lance Johnson. Roberto Hernandez. Tony Phillips. Jose Valentin. Magglio Ordonez. Joe Crede. Aaron Rowand. Juan Uribe. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. Jose Contreras. Jermaine Dye. Bobby Jenks. Freddy Garcia.
Frank Thomas, of course. And Ozzie Guillen, definitely Ozzie Guillen.
More than anyone, Guillen understands what it takes to succeed in a White Sox uniform.
He played on the South Side for 13 seasons and is in his eighth year as manager.
Ozzie knows how tough Sox fans can be on players who don't go all out. He knows players are going to hear it when they don't play basic fundamental baseball.
Ozzie also knows the rewards that come with playing the game right and getting on the fans' good side.
The big question is, can players like Dunn, Gordon Beckham, Sergio Santos, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin, Jesse Crain, Matt Thornton, Alexei Ramirez and Brent Morel ever get comfortable enough to figure it out?
I hate to keep picking on Dunn, but he's the most obvious target.
You can talk all you want about his setup at the plate, his swing, the adjustment of changing leagues and playing a new position (designated hitter).
I think Dunn's biggest problem is playing in front of fans who hold you accountable.
Let's be honest — White Sox fans are quicker than most to pounce on struggling players. But they were as patient as possible with Dunn this year before it became painfully obvious he was not going to produce.
Sure, Dunn put up monster numbers in the past. But he also played for three teams that rarely, if ever, hear it from the home fans — Cincinnati, Arizona and Washington.
Maybe Dunn learns from this year's nightmare of a season and comes back in 2012 ready to play. Maybe he doesn't.
If Dunn and some of his struggling teammates would just look back on recent history, they'd realize it's much easier to play when White Sox fans are on your side.