Transition year for Pierzynski, White Sox?
One by one, the boys of 2005 hit the exits.
Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede, Tadahito Iguchi, Scott Podsednik. Juan Uribe, Jose Contreras, Freddy Garcia. Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks, Mark Buehrle, Ozzie Guillen.
In six seasons after rolling to their first World Series title in 88 years, the White Sox have yet to come close to matching the feat.
And as they prepare for the upcoming season, only two players are left on the memorable 25-man roster — captain Paul Konerko and catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
“Yeah, it seems like a long time ago,” Pierzynski said at the beginning of spring training. “You don't even remember it, it seems like it was so long ago.
“You see pictures out on the wall and stuff. You have your memories, but besides Paul and I, we don't have anybody else to talk about anything with.”
Next spring Konerko might be talking to himself about that championship season.
Pierzynski is eligible for free agency at the end of the upcoming season, and he is not expected to return with the Sox.
Pierzynski was on the market after the 2010 season and was mere minutes away from signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the White Sox decided to make another run, and they signed Pierzynski to a two-year deal.
With Tyler Flowers finally starting to show signs he can be a No. 1 catcher, Pierzynski looks to be on his final leg with the Sox.
It has been an entertaining run, and let's look at how it might finish:
Playing time:
New manager Robin Ventura said Pierzynski is still the No. 1 catcher, but his days of playing five or six days a week likely are over.
He might be 35 years old, but Pierzynski said he is as ready to play as ever.
“I'll continue to go out and do what I can this year and hopefully play a lot,” Pierzynski said. “I'll play when they tell me to play. That's all I can do. If I'm doing well, I'll play. If I'm not, they'll find somebody else.”
The somebody else is Flowers, who showed very little in brief stints with the White Sox in 2009 and '10.
But when backup catcher Ramon Castro went down with a broken right hand last July, Flowers came up from Class AAA Charlotte and made the most of his third opportunity.
In his first 15 games with the White Sox last season, Flowers batted .316.
“It was great to have that stretch of playing consistency,” said the 26-year-old Flowers. “The confidence was high, but it was great to somewhat solidify yourself that you can handle the position.”
On the negative side, Flowers batted .153 in his final 25 games last season. This spring Flowers was hitting .143 with 8 strikeouts in 14 at-bats through Tuesday's Cactus League play.
Defensive doings:
Neither Pierzynski nor Flowers has the throwing arm needed to prevent opposing basestealers from running wild.
Combined with a staff-wide inability to hold runners on and improper positioning by Alexei Ramirez at second base, the White Sox have a serious defensive issue.
New bench coach Mark Parent is a former big-league catcher, and he has been working with Pierzynski and Flowers all spring on getting rid of the ball.
Last year Pierzynski threw out 14 of 108 basestealers, just a 13 percent success rate. Flowers was 6 of 25 (19 percent).
Still swinging:
Pierzynski is a defensive liability, and let's just say he has had some trouble getting along with others during his 12-year career.
But there is no denying Pierzynski's offensive skills.
The left-hander batted a solid .287 last season and struck out just once every 15.5 at-bats. No wonder Ventura views Pierzynski as the Sox' No. 2 hitter this year.
As for platooning with Flowers, both players had some odd splits last season.
Pierzynski hit .305 vs. left-handed pitchers and .283 vs. right-handers. Flowers, a right-handed hitter, hit .135 vs. leftys and .247 vs. rightys.
sgregor@dailyherald.com