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Series Preview: Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox

By Brian Heise |
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And here we go again. For the fourth time this season, the Cleveland Indians are getting ready to square off against the Chicago White Sox.

It’s an important series for both teams. The White Sox (23-22) sit in second place in the AL Central, trailing the Indians by 3.5 games. The Indians, meanwhile, come into tonight’s game red hot having won 8 of their last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of the Detriot Tigers. Despite all of the attention that series got for it’s metaphorical significance, it’s this series against the current second place team in the division that could have the Indians sitting pretty come Memorial Day.

However, success won’t come easy for either team in this series. They’ve already faced off nine times in the first month-and-a-half of the season. This isn’t a case where there are months in between meetings and both teams have drastically changed. Quite the contrary, actually. Both of these teams know each other pretty well at this point. They know each other’s strengths and they know each other’s weaknesses. The bottom line: expect some close, hard-fought baseball games over the coming days.

The White Sox come into tonight’s game on a pretty good tear. They’ve won 7 of their last 10 games and are playing inspired baseball. This isn’t a team many felt could compete for the Central division crown, but thanks to bounceback seasons from Adam Dunn and Jake Peavy, a career year from A.J. Pierzynski, and the ever-consistent Paul Konerko, the White Sox find themselves squarely in the thick of things after almost two months.

It hasn’t been all good, though. Despite the great years by their key cogs, the White Sox still have a lot of questions left to be answered. They have a great number of young players who are just now learning the ropes at the big league level—Alejandro De Aza, Brent Morel, Dayan Viciedo, Chris Sale. For some (De Aza and Sale), the results have been great thus far. For others, it’s been anything but. Morel looks lost at the plate and Viciedo has yet to live up to his billing as one of the top young hitters in the White Sox organization.

Will all of the inexperience be their downfall? It’s possible, so much so that the White Sox have attempted to address it. Thanks in part to Morel hitting the DL, the White Sox went out and signed recently released veteran infielder Orlando Hudson to man the hot corner. It’s an interesting move for two reasons. First, what does it say about their confidence in Morel once he returns from the DL? It seems likely he’s looking at a reduced role or even a trip back to the minors. Second, it shows that this team isn’t interested in rebuilding. By signing Hudson, it tells everyone that the White Sox are all in.

Meanwhile, the Indians need to keep the positive momentum going from their sweep of the Tigers. The past three games served as a statement of their legitimacy in 2012. You could feel it each and every inning as their confidence grew and it was a huge step in their development as contenders. Anything less than winning two of the next three would feel like a disappointment. They have the lead in the division and the goal from here on out should be winning series and continue to widen the gap between themselves and the next best team.

Pitching Matchups:

Game one is an interesting matchup. The Indians will send Jeanmar Gomez to the mound to face off against Jose Quintana. Gomez has been exactly what the Indians needed him to be thus far in 2012. He’s shown flashes of dominance in his few call ups prior to this season, but now, with a full time role on the staff, Gomez is really starting to shine. He pounds the strike zone and doesn’t beat himself. The results speak for themselves and after Derek Lowe he’s been the Tribe’s most consistent pitcher.

As for the White Sox, Quintana is making his first Major League start and tonight’s game will be just his second MLB appearance. In his one relief appearance—against the Indians—he threw 5.2 effective innings. The question is, how will he respond when all the lights are shining on him from the get-go against a team that’s on a roll right now? The overwhelming lack of experience could pose a problem should he get in trouble early. Combine that with a low-90’s fast ball and a dependency on fly ball outs and it could be a good day for the Tribe.

Game two is the marquee match-up of this series. Derek Lowe and Jake Peavy, both of whom have a history of success, have bounced back in a big way in 2012. For Peavy, it all comes down to being healthy. It seems like an eternity since he’s been able to simply take the mound every fifth day and do his thing. The funny thing is, Peavy is finally pitching rather than relying simply on a dominating fastball. He’s hitting his spots, mixing up his pitches, and seems to have broke through the door and into the next stage of his career.

Meanwhile, what else can I say about Derek Lowe that I haven’t said already? He’s been fantastic for the Indians. Even when he loses, he still pitches great (as he did last Sunday against Miami). Expect a lot of ground balls if he’s on his game. Just don’t be surprised if he’s on the short end of the stick yet again. Last time out Josh Johnson got the best of him, and this time around it could be Peavy.

In the series finale we draw Gavin Floyd. Floyd is an interesting case. He’s only 29 years old, but it feels like the Indians have been going up against him forever. Every year, every series it feels like we get to see Floyd take the mound. He’s had an up-and-down year so far, but he has a solid arsenal of pitches that can cause serious issues for any lineup.

Finally, we’ll get our weekly dose of Ublado Jimenez. Just when I’m ready to give up on the guy, he pulls me right back in. Despite the walks and the high ERA, he’s somehow managed a record of 5-3 on the year. I don’t know how. Honestly, I don’t think I want to know how. All I want is for him to find his groove and get on a roll. I don’t feel like that’s a lot to ask from someone who’s billed as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. It’s time for Ubaldo to turn it up a notch. What better way to do it than by putting up a dominant performance against the team chasing you in your own division?

Players to Watch: White Sox

  • Adam Dunn: Adam Dunn has bounced back quite nicely after a horrendous 2011. So far he has 14 home runs and 33 RBI despite an average of only .239. But the White Sox aren’t paying him to hit for average. They’re paying him hit homers and drive in runs. So far so good. If the Indians want to win this series, keeping Dunn’s impact to a minimum should be the primary goal.
  • Paul Konerko: I have a new level of respect for Paul Konerko. For those of you who aren’t aware, Konerko was hit in the face by an wild pitch from Jeff Samardzija. He was back in the lineup four days later. Yes, you read that right. On top of that, he’s having another great year with 10 homers and 27 RBI while leading the White Sox with an OPS of 1.111. He also has a knack for killing the Indians, so pay close attention to what he does or doesn’t do over the next three days.

Players to Watch: Indians

  • Jose Lopez: I know, I can’t believe I’m putting Jose Lopez here either, but the fact remains that he’s on fire right now. Over his past 10 games, Lopez is hitting .353 with 4 doubles, a home run, and 8 runs batted in. Supposedly, Jack Hannahan will be good to go either tonight or tomorrow so that begs the question, what to do with Lopez? Can they afford to take his bat out of the lineup right now? Will Manny Acta consider putting him in left field? Will Hannahan stay on the bench for the time being? It’s going to be interesting to see how Acta handles this.
  • Jason Kipnis: Kipnis has been struggling to find his stroke of late; luckily for the Indians they’re headed to his hometown. Last time the Tribe traveled to Chicago, Kipnis erupted and went on a tear at the plate for a solid two weeks. Could this Chicago series be the catalyst to get him going again? Hopefully, the answer is yes.

Series Trivia: This series will be the 10th, 11th, and 12th times the Indians have played the White Sox so far this season. In an odd scheduling quirk, they won’t meet again until September 24th. Meanwhile, the Indians have played the Tigers just three times in the first two months and the Twins just twice.

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