Danks couldn't lose 19 games ... could he?

So I'm watching John Danks pitch for the White Sox in Tuesday night's late game against the Angels at Anaheim, Calif., and I'm thinking about Jose DeLeon.

Remember him?

He was a pretty good right-handed starting pitcher who had two tours with the White Sox, the first from 1986-87 and the second from 1993-95.

I personally remember DeLeon being featured on TV stations around the world in '94 because he was the first pitcher to throw live batting practice to Michael Jordan.

That “breaking news” event came early in spring training back in ‘94, when the Sox were based in Sarasota, Fla.

But it was DeLeon's first stint with the White Sox that drew my mind to Danks.

He was traded from the Pirates to the Sox in 1986 for a very good player, Bobby Bonilla.

But the year before, DeLeon was 2-19 for Pittsburgh.

Believe it or not, current broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson was the White Sox' general manager at the time, and he obviously was duped in the deal.

But if memory serves, here is what the Hawk had to say when asked why he traded for a pitcher with DeLeon's horrible record just one season earlier.

“You have to be pretty dad-gum good to lose 19 games in the major leagues,” Harrelson said.

Dragging this story into the present, is White Sox starter John Danks in danger of becoming the modern-day Jose DeLeon?

Well, he is certainly fitting the profile during the first two months of the season.

The Sox' left-hander took the mound against Los Angeles Tuesday night with an awful 0-5 record but solid 3.83 ERA.

In 1985, DeLeon had a 4.70 ERA to go with the 19 losses, which is right about where Danks sits (4.50) after he was knocked around by the Angels on Tuesday.

The Sox fell to the Angels 6-2 on Tuesday night.

Despite dropping to 0-6, the worst start by a White Sox pitcher since Neil Allen opened the 1987 season with the same record, Danks deserves better.

He came into the game getting an average of 3.26 runs per game, and the Sox' offense scored 2 runs or less in 4 of Danks' 7 starts before Tuesday.

The Sox' rotation had been outstanding before Danks was roughed up for 6 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings.

Danks has shown some mental cracks during the rough start to 2011. They figure to get even bigger before he finally gets into the win column.

sgregor@dailyherald.com