Rongey: Sale has lots of competition in Cy Young race
Q. How do you see the AL Cy Young Award race shaking out, particularly with Chris Sale?
A. This has already been one of the better Cy Young races we’ve had in a while with five legitimate candidates for the award this time around. David Price, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver and Sale have all had terrific years.
The difference this year is that there isn’t one dominant hurler in the bunch. They’re all quite good.
Barring some sort of unworldly final month by one of these guys, the edge will go to the pitchers on playoff teams.
Is Sale worthy of it? He’s definitely in the conversation. That’s probably the best I can give you as this will be an important month for all of them. September will be the time for one to try to distance himself from the rest.
But for now, the decision isn’t clear.
Q. Are you disappointed in the White Sox’ attendance of late?
A. Well, yeah. I think this is an incredibly entertaining team to watch, and the year has exceeded almost everyone’s expectations.
We’ve all heard the myriad reasons the White Sox have been unable to draw as well as they should be.
Much of what’s happened here has plenty to do with the preconception that this wouldn’t be a very good season. When that’s the case, you can guarantee there won’t be a rush to the box office once tickets go on sale in the winter.
However, we’ve seen this team play for five months. We know what they are. We know they’re good. We know they’re exciting. We know they’re almost never out of a ballgame.
There’s every reason to go to the ballpark and watch them play.
The White Sox may only be averaging just under 25,000 or so per game this season, but the 25,000 that are going are having a wonderful time.
I would hope more people want to join in on the fun.
Q. Do you think the Sox are too home run happy? Is the offense capable of manufacturing runs?
A. To the first question, absolutely not. I want the home runs. The White Sox need the home runs. Homers win ballgames.
Now, that’s not to say there aren’t other ways to win games, because obviously they are. But, the Sox will have a considerably easier time winning games if they display power.
Here’s the thing: with the types of hitters the Sox have, homers will come with the correct plate approach. This isn’t really an offense where six of the guys in the lineup are standing by waiting for the other three to drive in all the runs with homers.
After all, four Sox hitters — Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski — each has 20 home runs, and another (Dayan Viciedo) is 1 shy of that milestone. The power is pretty evenly distributed.
When these hitters are going right, the home runs will come naturally. As long as each individual isn’t using every at-bat to actively try to park one out on the Dan Ryan Expressway instead of concentrating on having a good plate appearance, the Sox will score enough to win.
Ÿ Chris Rongey is the host of the White Sox pregame and postgame shows on WSCR 670-AM The Score. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRongey and at chrisrongey.com. Subscriber Total Access members can email him questions each week via our online link.