In mid-May this would have sounded unthinkable. It would have been one of those things that would be met with harsh criticism and likely have me branded a fool. Even as I write this I wish that I didn’t have to. However, based on recent events I have no choice but to advocate that the White Sox shuffle the lineup, starting with moving Paul Konerko out of the cleanup spot.
I love Paulie just as much as anyone, he has been my favorite Sox player for years, but you can’t tell me that he hasn’t been struggling mightily and maybe a change will help him break out of his slump.
Paulie peaked when his average reached .399. Photo courtesy FOX Sports
Since June 1st, which was the final win of the White Sox 9 game winning streak, Konerko is hitting .253. His average has dropped 53 points in the span of 39 games. His OBP over that time is .331 and has dropped his overall OBP by 57 points to .399. The most disturbing number however is the drop in Slugging Percentage. During that stretch Konerko is slugging .336, roughly half of what he was doing up to that point. His overall slugging percentage has dropped 130 points. Of his 37 hits in those 39 games just 6 have gone for extra bases: 3 doubles and 3 home runs. He has driven in only 11 runs over that time frame. That is not the kind of production a team can afford to get from their cleanup hitter if they want to win a division title.
Konerko has been through extended slumps in the past. Heck, in 2008 he went down to Charlotte for 4 games to try and get himself out of a season-long slump. He ended up finishing that season very strong hitting .294 with 13 HRs in August and September and helped get the White Sox into a one game playoff with Minnesota and ultimately a Central Division title. Now I am not advocating that he go down to Charlotte this year, but I think that a move out of the cleanup spot would be the best thing for the team and for Konerko right now.
The addition of Youkilis gives the White Sox the ability to move guys around and try and put the offense in the best spot to score runs. A possible move of Youk to the #3 spot, Dunn to cleanup and Konerko to the 5th spot is one option. The other option is just straight swapping Konerko and Rios in the lineup. Rios over that same 39-game stretch is hitting .347 with 10 HRs, 13 doubles and 2 triples. He has driven in 30 runs and is slugging .624. Moving Rios to cleanup would also break apart the White Sox collection of big slow players currently hitting 2 through 4 and a little speed in between those guys couldn’t hurt.
Obviously Konerko’s health plays into a part of his struggles. He hasn’t been the same since he had the minor hand surgery earlier in the year and it has been reported that he also has some back and leg issues. This is probably the reason for the fall off in production and while I commend Paulie for playing through the pain, the White Sox can’t win the Central with an opposite field singles hitter in the cleanup spot.
My hope is that by moving him down it will take some of the pressure off of him and he can get his swing back and hopefully start driving the ball again and move back into the cleanup spot down the stretch. I think we can all agree that a productive Konerko in the #4 hole gives the Sox the best chance to win.
Unfortunately, something may need to temporarily change for the Sox to have that.
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Posted by GSB! Contributor, Matt Hoepnner. Go Sox!