Will Chicago White Sox finally support Quintana?
The Chicago White Sox will tell you they didn't want to blow up the roster this winter and start over because they can build a winning team around star first baseman Jose Abreu and top starting pitcher Chris Sale.
The Sox will tell you they have a solid shot at making the playoffs for the first time in eight years because they've added third baseman Todd Frazier, second baseman Brett Lawrie, center fielder Austin Jackson, catchers Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and starter Mat Latos to the Abreu-Sale foundation.
And, truth be told, the White Sox are a better team now that Adam LaRoche has "stepped away" from the game.
The White Sox will also sing the praises of Jose Quintana, but as the No. 2 starter enters his fifth year in the rotation he is still widely viewed as an opening act.
"We know he's a good pitcher," manager Robin Ventura said of Quintana. "You don't question that at all. Whether he's going to get some run support, that's the other question."
If Quintana had any kind of support over the last four seasons, he'd probably have about 60 wins. Instead, the 27-year-old lefty has 33, to go with 34 losses.
Considering he has a cumulative 3.46 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 15.3 WAR, the offensive backing has obviously been scant.
How scant?
• Last season, Quintana had a 3.6 run support average per 9 innings, the second lowest total in the American League.
• In 2014, he ranked in the bottom half among AL starters with a 4.1 RSA.
• In 2013, he had the fifth lowest RSA in the league at 3.8.
• He also has 52 no-decisions since 2012, the most in baseball.
Given the lack of support, it comes as little surprise that Quintana is the only major-league pitcher since 1901 to record three straight seasons of pitching 200 or more innings with an ERA of 3.54 or lower while winning 9 games or less.
Many major-league starters in Quintana's unlucky shoes would undoubtedly show frequent frustration on the mound. They'd lash out to the media. More than a few would welcome a trade.
Not Quintana. Signed to a club-friendly contract before the 2014 season that could run through 2020 at a total cost of just $48.5 million, Quintana is quite happy pitching for the White Sox and always is confident the runs are going to come.
The low-key lefty held the high-powered Blue Jays to 2 runs on 4 hits over 8 innings at U.S. Cellular Field last July - and lost 2-1.
Afterward, Quintana had a typical response to another flustering outing.
"It was a tough game," he said. "I tried to give up not many runs. I'll try next time to not give up any runs. I'll try again to keep my games as close as I can. It's never bad luck. Sometime, that'll change."
For Quintana's sake and sanity, maybe this season is the time.
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