Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
True, for anyone who remembers the 2005 Sox, this year’s team did not look like championship contenders; there were holes, quite obvious to the fan, and therefore glaring to the opposition. True too, this year’s Sox were not built to play “Ozzieball,” not after GM Kenny Williams extended Jermaine Dye’s contract last year. Considering the Sox were already committed to Paul Konerko and Jim Thome, it left them with a slow (if sometimes powerful) middle of the lineup prone to double plays. True again the team was not equipped with a true leadoff man: Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera have both failed in the uncomfortable position. So what’s a manager to do?
So look, Ozzie, do the same. If you’re not scoring runs, stress defense. Put Brian Anderson in center and leave him there. Play the three hot hands (or not-so-cold bats) between Dye, Swisher, Thome, and Konerko between first, right field, and designated hitter. If you want to run more, by all means put in someone like Alexei Ramirez and run and hit-and-run. Yes, it’s a bulbous, misshapen roster, but the Sox are in first place — remember? — and it’s your job to find a way to keep them there as long as possible. Given the roster, stress defense, on-base percentage, and power — in that order — and you’ll get the most out of the players Wiliams has given you. And if wholesale changes are made and the Sox drop from first place? It’s all on you, Ozzie.
