2009 Chicago White Sox: Betting Odds & Sports Predictions

2009 Chicago White Sox: Betting Odds & Sports Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd
The Chicago White Sox have proven to be an interesting team in that they perform their best when the least is expected. Take last season as the most recent bit of evidence. The Sox were coming off a 72 win season in which they finished fourth in the Central and they bounced back to post 89 wins to take home the AL Central crown. Can the White Sox win another title in 2009 or will history repeat itself? Jimmy Boyd breaks down the White Sox in this MLB betting preview. The Chicago White Sox are listed at +2000 to win the 2009 World Series.
Pitching
In 2005, the White Sox had one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. This solid group rolled through the playoffs and helped the South Siders take home a World Series crown. Now, southpaw Mark Buehrle is the last man standing from that group. He was 15-12 in 2008 with a 3.79 ERA. For the White Sox to win the Central again, they will need every bit as much production from John Danks and Gavin Floyd as they got in 2008 when the two came out of nowhere to combine for 29 wins. Danks was brilliant in his 1-0 shutout over the Twins in last seasons tiebreaker game. His stuff had the look of ace material in that game but only time will tell if he gets there. The White Sox will see if Bartolo Colon has any good inning left in him and southpaw Clayton Richard will likely be the No. 5 starter. Jose Contreras is still around, but will be out until after the All-Star Break with an Achilles tendon rupture.
The White Sox shopped closer Bobby Jenks in the offseason. It’s hard to imagine how they could have floated the blow that would have been, but it tells me that the White Sox see him on the decline and wanted to see what they could get while his value is still high. Jenks had 30 saves and a 2.63 ERA last season. Setup man Scott Linebrink could be the key to the pen’s success. The White Sox cannot afford any more shoulder issues from him.
Lineup
The White Sox are a power team and it starts with left fielder Carlos Quentin who finished second in the AL in homers despite missing the last 26 games of the season. Quentin jacked 36 and drove in 100. Right fielder Jermaine Dye will hit behind him in the clean up spot. He was also mentioned in trade rumors despite consistently delivering 30 homerun/90 RBI seasons. Dye had 34 round trippers in 2008 and 96 RBIs. DH Jim Thome is one of the greatest left handed sluggers the game has ever seen. He needs just 10 jacks to enter the top 10 in the all-time homerun list. He has 34 homeruns and 90 RBIs last season. The last of the bash brothers is Paul Konerko. He hit 22 homeruns and added 62 RBIs in just 122 games. It is the job of center fielder Jerry Owens and shortstop Alexei Ramirez to get on for the meat of the order to drive them in. Third baseman Josh Fields, catcher A.J. Pierzynski, and second baseman Chris Getz finish out the order.
Prediction: Third AL Central
The AL Central could be one of the tightest races in baseball this season with the Twins, Indians, and White Sox all having teams capable of taking it home. History says this will be a down year for the Sox though, and that likely puts them in third place. The Chicago White Sox are listed at +400 to win the AL Central.

2009 Chicago White Sox: Betting Odds & Sports Predictions