Rozner: As Eaton goes, so go the White Sox

If you only looked at the numbers, Adam Eaton had a solid 2015 season.

His 3.9 WAR was good for sixth among American League center fielders, while his .361 on-base was second, 98 runs were third, runs created third, runs created per 27 outs fourth, 14 homers fifth and 56 RBI fifth.

On the other hand, his defensive WAR was a negative 1.1 and dead last among qualified A.L. center fielders.

Still, judging by the metrics, Eaton had a good year for the White Sox.

But if you actually watched the games - and that was no easy task - you know Eaton was awful the first three months, and at times throughout the year he looked lost at the plate, on the bases and in the field.

He finished up the 2015 season strong, but before the all-star break Eaton hit .245 with a .309 on-base, 6 homers, 18 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 8 attempts. It was pretty much a disaster and the team went down the tubes with him.

It's unfair, of course, to put it all on Eaton, but the flip side is that when Eaton has it going in all phases of his game, he can carry the team with him.

That's why GM Rick Hahn signed him to a five-year extension a year ago with two team options through 2021.

"I think rather than relax with a contract in his pocket, he put way too much pressure on himself to start last season," Hahn said Friday before the start of SoxFest at the downtown Hilton. "And given the slow start last year it's difficult for people to appreciate that he had a really good year.

"When you look up you realize he got on base for us and hit for more power than we anticipated.

"Now, in order for him to take the next step, it's just a matter of consistency from the start of the season. Each of the last two years, from the midpoint on he was one of the best hitters in baseball.

"If he can do that from the start of the season, he moves to that next level of elite center fielder."

Eaton is some frenetic combination of Muggsy Bogues, Raffi Torres and Tasmanian Devil, unable to sit still, focus on any one thing and willing to run through tall buildings in a single bound.

When he is good, he is an opposition nightmare, effective and irritating, making it all work for the Sox in the field, on the bases and at the plate. When he is bad, nothing seems to go right for the Sox.

"I go out trying to play great every day, but I can't control the performance," Eaton said. "When I start slow, I'm not trying to do that. When I get hot, it just happens.

"Believe me, I sit home and study it and critique it. I don't have one answer. Baseball is so weird. All of a sudden, why does this guy not do well in the playoffs or why does this guy suddenly not get anyone out in the playoffs?

"I think we all know I'm too hard on myself. But that makes me what I am. I have short-man syndrome. I work too hard at times.

"If I wasn't tough on myself, I wouldn't be here. I played Division III. I didn't make all-state. I was drafted 571st. I'm here because I've been hard on myself.

"I'm 5-8, 180 pounds soaking wet. I'm supposed to be somewhere sitting behind a desk."

So if you tell Eaton he needs to be better in 2016, it's not something he doesn't already know.

"Defense, offense, baserunning. Realistically, everything needs to be sharpened," Eaton said. "It's not just one thing I need to focus on."

And no, he has no intention of slowing down or allowing a moment to relax and take a deep breath.

"I've put too much pressure on myself since I was 8 years old. I put too much pressure on myself brushing my teeth in the morning," Eaton said. "I'm on borrowed time. I wasn't supposed to be here. That's how I got here and I got a five-year deal and I'm standing here in front of you.

"I should probably just stick with it."

So Eaton has no intention of changing a thing, but what also hasn't changed is his influence on the Sox' chances of competing in 2016.

He needs to be good in all phases of the game. He's the guy who makes it all work, and when he's good the Sox are good.

If he's not, it's just hard to see a path to the postseason.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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