Attack of the Colorblind Duffers

The  murder

of two men

by a young

kid

wearing lemon-colored

gloves.

"The Murder of Two Men by a Young Kid Wearing Lemon-Colored Gloves," Kenneth Patchen

Gordon Goes to Hollywood: Relax, don't do it, Bacon.

Apparently I made a bunch of otherwise responsible and card-carrying adults wet themselves with frenzy, humiliation, and anger a month ago when I called them out on some elitist bullshit.

Since then, I've remained more apt to criticize than compliment, which is the nature of the beast anyway, right? I mean, Dan McGrath is just asking to be punched, metaphorically.

Still, you might wonder, well, what makes this smart-ass with the venomous fingertips giggle?

Tom Fornelli kicked ass all over a needlessly written column about White Sox fans last week. Alas, his mockery is amounting to a loogie in the wind, as now even the estimable New York Times is running their take on the horseshit that is the White Sox vs. Cubbies attendance debate.

[Please, people, there are no simple answers in this world. But jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, for three decades one team had what amounted to free commercials in the most powerful media channels in Chicago, while the other was left with ... Sportsvision ... the Daily Herald ... WCIU. If you believe the attendance discrepancy is effect-and-cause rather than cause-and-effect, you are beyond gullible and you really must burn your laptop rather than type any more words. Ever.

Seriously. If you're not on board with this extremely simple concept, destroy that which you are reading from.]

Anyway, as you can see above, that's not the point of my modest post. It's this review of the photo above, from the incomparable James Fegan over at White Sox Observer.

This is the very, very best of what sportswriting can do. Oh, I get it; it's a dumb little catwalk review of a scene it seems readily apparent not all White Sox were on board to release to "twitpic." But in this writeup sits all the fun and flavor that we so rarely get to see in sportswriting today.

Oh, there's more sportswriting than ever, to be sure. Relentless gobs of information, often parroting itself into a draining, wasteful game of Telephone, where even the final, inaccurate, inarticulate answer isn't much fun to read.

Not here. James has written some of my other favorite stuff, because it's funny, inventive, creative, and insightful. More so than even I can muster most days.

I'll piggyback his wonderful post with some observations of my own:

• Gordon Beckham is far, far, far, far, far too comfortable as a metrosexual. I didn't even recognize him at first—with his jaw jutted out like a come-hither collegian on 80s Night, I thought for sure it was the Bulldog.
• Contrast Bacon with Alexei right next to him, too cool for school. Tipo just wants to finish his beer and smoke a Sancho Panza cigarro.
• I'm not going to bust Vinny Fresso (behind Bacon and Bulldog) because it seems several in the party are wearing "wacky pants only," but seriously, if you're not dressed for the photo, why stand in?
• Don't be fooled: Cultural attaché Jackson Miranda (left of pinko Paulie) is not wearing a "wacky" outfit. Jackson would totally wear that outfit out clubbing. OK, minus the hat, maybe.
• Dewayne Wise isn't just fake-geeking it here with his understated polo, as James scoffs. He's throwing up signs for the shot! ("Weezy holla'n back to the Carolinas, yup-yup!")
• Philip Humber, in front of Weezy, misunderstood the schtick and thought the gig was to dress up like a clubhouse attendant for the Baltimore trip.

And how about this for comedy: There are at least three guys regularly working the White Sox beat at Comcast, so how come the guy who pulled the best stuff from the recent Yankees series--exclusive chortles from Derek Jeter, no less--isn't one of them? Hat tip to Jeremy Lynn for not just going through the motions in getting a view from the other locker room, but hitting Jeter up with some interesting questions about his future and White Sox manager Robin Ventura, and conveying the answers in a pretty artful way.

Contrast that with the Yankees backup work done by well-paid Tribune hustlers Phil Rogers and Dave Van Dyck. Both hightailed it from USCF somewhere between the hot dogs being served in the press box and the proper end of game; Phil the Baseball Expert split before Jeter passed Eddie Murray on the all-time hit list (ironically, just the sort of thing he likes to pull out of his boots as a game witness in another empty-caloried "Morning Phil"), the almost-Hall-of-Famer Dave deciding to split without postgame reax from that grumpy Buffo's booster Joe Girardi, who chose that night to chase down an overserved South Side fan.

They both love the game. Except for when it gets in the way of a smooth drive home.

Meanwhile, back Comcast way, the new White Sox guy apparently is doing a lot more for the ball club than any previous writers did. I haven't been able to locate his ERA or OPS, but it must be pretty good.

Atten-dance

now old friend

I walk on cement

and carpet

and sit in cars

I miss dancing on

turf

dirt

looking at sky

for clouds

to daydream with

wind to judge

friend or foe

immense blue sky

full

of the mind of God

Dan Quisenberry, "A Day at the Park"

Short posts ain't my style, which I understand puts me on the outs with an ever-increasing portion of the readership, folks (not any of you bright persons, of course) who think of polysyllabism as a venereal disease.

There are a few angles to take on this recent, latest, tedious, unnecessary debate over Chicago White Sox attendance. But lucky for me, they've almost all been made in Tom Fornelli's brilliant call-and-response answer (indeed, it won't be long before "going FJM" on bad writing makes its way into the AP Stylebook) to the sheer idiocy Tim Baffoe posted over at CBSChicago.

No, I'm not going to link to Baffoe. You can get there through Fornelli, who probably already dirtied himself having to link to Baffoe. But if you're going to thrash a fella that hard, guilt alone oughta compel you to link.

Anyway, I'd already addressed the argument in my own thrashing last week of favored piñata Dan McGrath, so feel free to check it out.

Fornelli doesn't care if more fans show up to Wrigley, in light of all else being a White Sox fan accords him. I imagine most White Sox fans feel that way.

But that said, it's important not to underestimate the impact of some 28 years of the most powerful media entity in Chicago owning one baseball team, and not the other. And that holds true even if the decision-makers at Tribune sports—or likely, the whole of the Tower itself—chose only the most subtle of ways in highlighting their team and downplaying the White Sox.

We all know the Tribune didn't choose the most subtle means of bias, not when pot-smoking in the U.S. Cellular neighborhood graces the front page of the paper on the day of Game 1 of the ALDS in 2005. 

But I digress. For the sake of argument, imagine what 28 years of such subtle bias—some 10,000 days—could accomplish.

Could it earn you 11,000 more fans per game? Fucking well right, it could.

And look at how things continue to break against the White Sox in terms of coverage. The holdover bias from the actual Tribune newspaper/site is hardly notable any longer (at least as far as I've bothered to follow). But look at the discrepancies in the broadcast schedule (as laid out before the season) and dare to tell me that there's no lingering bias in the way things wring out:

Channel	White Sox	Cubs
CSN	94	71
WGN	30	63
WCIU	25	8*
CSN+	7	9
FOX	5	9
ESPN	1	2
Total	162	162

 *apparently eight is the customary and traditional (contractual?) WCIU max for the Cubbies each season.

The national games are added just to get to 162, but all that's concerning here are local broadcasts. The only possible head-to-head broadcast disadvantage the Cubbies have is with two extra, where-the-hell-are-they-oh-it's-the-number-of-the beast-on-DirecTV CSN+ games. The Cubbies have more than twice the number of national broadcasts (63-30) via WGN, while the White Sox have more than three times the number of please-no-not-more-Family-Guy-promos WCIU games, and if that's not the equivalent of black sheeping a team, what is?

The White Sox getting some 23 more CSN games is meh epitomized. Perhaps that provides a nice bonus for viewers, in that you can enjoy some pre- and/or postgame coverage you wouldn't normally—but then for White Sox fans, that also requires heavy doses of Chuck, Beltin' and Big Hurt, and sometimes even the insufferable pointlessness of PGL Interactive.

Anyway, this post was supposed to be short, merely praising Fornelli's fangs and then dropping the mic. Oops.

Well, as the credits roll here, I'll add that the normally-incisive and entertaining Jon Greenberg weighed in on the attendance topic yesterday in a surprisingly pedestrian manner. Oddly enough, the other writer to address attendance was not another city columnist but Sun-Times beat Daryl Van Schouwen, who likewise didn't take much of a stand but did incorporate some tweets and addressed the prohibitive pricing that makes a weeknight game against anyone more exception than rule.

Plus, Daryl included this typically kickass Ken Williams gem:

“I know there at least 2 million of our fans rooting and watching every day in their own way. We met them all one day on LaSalle Street [at the 2005 World Series parade], and I’m pretty sure they haven’t moved."

Bravo to the GM for showing some restraint vis-a-vis fanbase blame and sort of getting off the nut of that hopeless fight.

Some of the other writers in town should take his cue.

The Devil's Deal

Lucky number seven called my name and passed on by.

Well he came back, don’t you know,

with his brother six in tow,

and that's how number thirteen wound up by my side.

Johnny Hickman, “Lonesome Johnny Blues”

Nosfera-tude: Who'd have known Floyd and Danks came to Chicago in deals with the devil?

There are two trades on Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams’ resume that stand above all others, and they took place within three weeks of one another at the end of 2006.

It always had been an uphill climb for Williams on the job, but his December 6, 2006 acquisition of Gavin Floyd (along with Gio Gonzalez) from the Philadelphia Phillies for Freddy Garcia was the first unadulterated steal of his tenure. Three weeks later, he pilfered John Danks (and Nick Masset) from the Texas Rangers for Brandon McCarthy, thereby setting up 40% of his rotation for several years to come.

At that moment, Williams was riding higher than he ever had. After all, the White Sox had won 189 games over the previous two seasons and snapped an 88-year title drought in 2005. There was every reason to believe that the Pale Hose would win another 90 in 2007 and continue on as a serious factor in not only the AL Central race, but the fight for the pennant, season after season.

But at that moment, after securing Floyd and Danks in trades that at the time could have been perceived as salary/veteran dumps, the only place Williams would go was down. For any lows of the early years of his tenure (paging Todd Ritchie), it’s been rough going for the GM since acquiring Floyd and Danks.

As Gavin prepares to ascend to the mound to take on Garcia and the New York Yankees on Monday night, the question is thus begged: Was the Floyd-for-Garcia trade Ken’s own deal with the devil?

Yes, there are the obvious signs that some satanic skullduggery was at the core of Ken’s holiday shopping in 2006, namely the shoulder problems that would see Garcia win just one game for the Phillies and delay McCarthy’s ascendance into a reliable rotation piece. And noting those shoulder woes doesn’t even begin to acknowledge another Beelzebubba moment of that month: That Williams, just one year after dealing diminutive future starting star Giovany Gonzalez as part of the Aaron Rowand-Jim Thome swap, was able to steal him right back from Philly along with Floyd.

Alas, it got much more complicated and painful for Williams ever since.

In the six years leading up to the Floyd and Danks deals, Williams traded away 84.1 seasons’ worth of players and acquired 82.8. Those players dealt had a 57.5 WAR, and the players acquired amassed 74.4. The dollar value of the players traded away was $204.3 million, and the players brought to Chicago totaled $275.2 million. The overall surplus value of the players dealt was $74.4 million, and those acquired were $15.8 million.

In the almost five years since the Floyd and Danks deals, Williams has traded away 46.7 seasons of players and acquired 31.6. The WAR of the traded players totals 35, compared to 21.4 of the new White Sox. The dollar value of the players traded is $154.4 million, of the acquired just $94 million. The total surplus value of the traded players is $53.6 million, of the acquired players -$19.6 million.

Obviously, subtracting the two best deals of the Williams era is going to tarnish the overall statistics. But the contrast of pre-December 2006 and post- is staggering. Take the difference in WAR, for example. The key hallmarks of a Williams deals are:

1. he brings a huge WAR advantage to the White Sox in trades and 

2. he tends to pay pretty dearly for that WAR advantage.

Will dealing Floyd away save Ken's soul?

But look at that post-December 2006 WAR differential: Here Williams has “lost” the WAR battle, as the players he’s dealt have earned 164% more WAR than those acquired. His biggest strength as a GM has failed him.

Williams has had a similarly rough track record in the free agency arena post-December 2006 as well. In his first six years, players Williams allowed to sign elsewhere accumulated a total surplus value of -$47.7 million, while players signed by the White Sox have amassed a surplus value of $77.1 million. In the five years since, Williams has cut loose a total surplus value of -$15 million, while the players he’s signed have compiled a surplus value of -$45.9 million.

Put in a slightly different way, seven of the eight best WAR trades and five of the six best surplus value trades Williams made came before December 2006.

Floyd has been the subject of almost constant trade rumors over the past few years, which is puzzling given that until this season, he’s always been a great value for the White Sox, basically drafting right behind Danks in terms of his overall value to the team.

However, it's now very clear that the righthander has been the equivalent of an upside-down horseshoe hanging in Williams’ office. Perhaps once the GM deals Floyd away, Williams can break out of his Swisher-Dunn-Rios-Young slump that has marred the latter half of his tenure.

P.S. to Groovy Gavin: When the Grim Reaper guised as the GM comes for you, be sure to cite the names Youkilis, Liriano, and Myers, and don’t forget to mention how very good the second half of 2012 has been to everyone. We’d love to keep you in town, big fella.

White Sox Value Survey: Almost Home

Locked in heated battle for the cure that is their prize.
It's so dangerous, but they're determined.
Theirs is to win, if it kills them.
They're just humans, with wives and children.

Wayne Coyne, “Race for the Prize”

Alex & Adam Lumber Co: The bats have awoken, but only one stick offers surplus value. (Nam Huh/AP)

The successful season of the Chicago White Sox has been a story of the fortunes of two of its most star-crossed players, and they provide a great contrast for the purposes of this White Sox value survey.

Alex Rios isn’t a legitimate MVP candidate, but he should be a shoo-in for Comeback Player of the Year. He has done everything and more that White Sox GM Ken Williams hoped he would when he lifted him off the waiver wire three seasons ago. In 2011, Rios was a shell of a player, Frisbee-tossing in throws from center field (if his guess-me-if-you-can reads on fly balls and liners even allowed for fielding the ball cleanly), losing all hope in the batters’ box by either waving off any notion of contact or tapping out customary 6-4-3s, and generally making all the mental errors not of a man being steadfastly supported by his manager (in this case, the consummately-forgiving-unless-he-changes-his-mind Ozzie Guillen) but of one being thrashed nightly by a disapproving helicopter parent. Rios’s turnaround in all phases of his game translates into gaudy WAR numbers, the best of his White Sox career (currently 3.8, projecting to 5.3, the best among Sox hitters this season).

Adam Dunn is the brasher older brother of 2011’s disappointing pair. It was Dunn who cajoled Rios last July into forming a blood brotherhood wherein if the White Sox were to make a move in the standings, it would be “on their backs.” As it turned out, Rios and Dunn played the rest of the season as if lying on their backs, not strapping the team on them, which is why the All-In 2011 South Siders sported a record payroll but languished four games under .500 by the time Ozzie cleared out his office and unpacked his linenwear.

Dunn, with 35 homers that lead the majors, is the more popular choice for Comeback Player of the Year in 2012, especially after having played the Worst Season in Baseball History in 2011. But even in Dunn's comeback season, the flaws in his game long before his ballyhooed, I’m-homering-to-the-scoreboard arrival at USCF are apparent. As a defender, Dunn is generally passable and mildly on par with the club's regular first baseman, Paul Konerko, but still appears to be every bit the guy who had played one full season at first base before turning DH in the American League. And as a hitter, his approach still betrays a Three Outcomes Guy who seems to pride himself on putting the ball in play as rarely as anyone in the game ever has. Somehow, Rob Deer doesn’t pop up among Dunn’s similarity scores at Baseball-Reference, but still, Adam, being Rob Deer is no way to go through your baseball life. Even in such an uplifting bounce-back, the limitations of Dunn’s game are apparent in a 1.5 WAR (projecting to 2.1), a figure that would be decidedly better than only about half the 12 seasons of Dunn’s career.

For value survey purposes, this difference in all-around games between the two guys—what either player provides a team at his best—is absurdly evident. Rios’s high WAR balanced against a $12 million salary means that he roughly projects not only to earn his salary, but double its value … in other words, Rios will provide $12 million in surplus value on top of salary, back to the White Sox. Dunn, with a modest WAR that seemingly represents about the best he can do at this time and position in his career, is playing a game he can’t possibly win; it will take some luck (and maybe a couple of actual base hits supplanting Ks) for him to push his WAR high enough to earn his $14 million salary—that is, break even with the White Sox for the season.

It’s studies in contrasts like these—mining more deeply into the numbers than mere home runs or errors—that make the value survey so fascinating. It tells a true tale of each season, of the bottom lines of teams and players. We’re three-quarters in, so it’s time to dust off the midseason survey and update it for the stretch run.

White Sox Bargains

Bargains are the players who have added surplus value to the White Sox (production beyond their salaries).

1. Chris Sale ($14,790,418)

Prior survey: 1

The good news for Sale is that he is still far ahead of the race to be the best value on the White Sox, to the extent that he has effectively clinched the title, with a $5.5 million lead on Alejandro De Aza. The bad news? His value has essentially remained the same in the third quarter of the season.

2. Alejandro De Aza ($9,251,103)

Prior survey: 2

De Aza’s production trails Alex Rios, but his bargain-basement price nudges him ahead of his outfield mate.

3. Alex Rios ($9,091,714)

Prior survey: 3

It’s quite simple: There is no more valuable position player on the White Sox this season than Rios.

4. A.J. Pierzynski ($8,498,959)

Prior survey: 5

The first significant jump of this survey is A.J., who is having a second half for the ages.

5. Jose Quintana ($7,567,270)

Prior survey: 4

Quintana only lost the No. 4 spot because of Pierzynski’s ridiculous gain of more than $3 million in surplus value.

6. Kevin Youkilis ($4,925,826)

Say what you will about Yolk cooling off after making an immediate impact on the South Side, but he’s on pace to provide close to $10 million in surplus value for the White Sox.

7. Addison Reed ($3,181,137)

Prior survey: T7

Mr. Excitement continues to compile stirring surplus value.

8. Jake Peavy ($2,734,871)

Prior survey: 6

As great as Peavy’s value to the White Sox has been—in the mix forteam MVP for sure—in surplus value terms, it’s a near miracle that his value continues to surpass a $17 million salary.

9. Francisco Liriano ($2,611,344)

Another extraordinary pickup for loose change made by GM Ken Williams.

10. Nate Jones ($2,475,022)

Prior survey: T7

Overlooked in Reed’s record-breaking rookie season is Jones’s terrific work in front of him.

11. Tyler Flowers ($999,174)

Prior survey: 12

Continued production on both sides for the ball would give Flowers a chance to surpass last year’s surplus value of almost $1.5 million.

12. Dewayne Wise ($890,142)

Yes, a ridiculously small sample size. But yes, another sly snag by Williams.

13. Eric Stults ($544,892)

Prior survey: 13  

Ah, the power of one good start.

14. Jesse Crain ($537,024)

Prior survey: 17

Through multiple injuries, Crain is gradually building a solid surplus value season.

15. Donnie Veal ($484,892)

Among all the in-season bullpen adds, Veal might be the real keeper.

16. Gavin Floyd ($411,701)

Prior survey: 13^th on the Busts list

It’s a down season for Floyd, but there’s still time for him to change that.

17. Dylan Axelrod ($404,892)

Prior survey: 11

Liriano’s gain is W. Axel Rod’s loss.

18. Hector Santiago ($324,892)

Prior survey: 11^th on the Busts list

Having settled down before and after his stint down in Charlotte has brought Hector back to the plus side, where he ended last season as well.

19. Brett Myers ($218,346)

The Games Finished Watch is fully on.

20. Brian Bruney ($98,013)

Prior survey: 19

Hip surgery means Bruney finishes this season where he could not in 2011—on the plus side of the ledger.

21. Dayan Viciedo ($40,283)

Prior survey: 16

It says a decent amount for the Tank that he’s having a very modest season, but is still on the plus-side in surplus value despite a $2.5 million salary.

White Sox Busts

Busts are the players who have cost surplus debits to the White Sox (production at a negative-WAR level and/or modest WAR unable to keep pace with salary).

1. John Danks (-$5,541,554)

Prior survey: 1

It will take a terrible stretch run from Dunn for Danks not to finish atop this ignominious list.

2. Adam Dunn (-$3,836,033)

Prior survey: 12

Talk up a comeback season all you wish, but Dunn’s fairly modest production overall can’t keep pace with his salary. On the plus side, at this time a year ago, Dunn was fast approaching -$20 million in surplus value to the White Sox.

3. Brent Morel (-$3,612,216)

Prior survey: 2

Morel is earning at a minimum level, so his being this deep in the hole is purely a product of running up a tab of -0.7 WAR in just two months.

4. Will Ohman (-$2,944,677)

Prior survey: 3

Now rocking a 4.26 ERA and 3.16 WHIP at Louisville for the Cincinnati Reds.

He's Pawtucket's problem now.

5. Zach Stewart (-$2,899,239)

Prior survey: 4

Now rocking a 4.13 ERA over 10 starts at Pawtucket for the Boston Red Sox. No word on the return of his permed locks.

6. Orlando Hudson (-$2,297,529)

Prior survey: 8

The O-Dog experiment did not work. It was the last hunch that failed to play out well for Williams this season.

Danks (R) is probably not discussing Beckham's poor
faring in this latest value survey. (Jennifer Stewart/UP)

7. Gordon Beckham (-$1,773,772)

Prior survey: 9

There’s no urgency to give up on players making nothing at the major league level, from a salary standpoint. But the value survey screams murder when a below-replacement level player gets 500 ABs in the majors.

8. Brent Lillibridge (-$1,620,212)

Prior survey: 6

Three teams in one season; as bad as he was for Boston, he’s been good for the Cleveland Indians.

9. Kosuke Fukudome (-$1,275,118)

Prior survey: 7

Now rocking a .749 OPS at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the New York Yankees.

10. Eduardo Escobar (-$1,261,342)

Prior survey: 10

Now rocking a .634 OPS at Rochester for the Minnesota Twins, his worst mark since Single-A.

11. Matt Thornton (-$1,179,538)

Prior survey: 21^st on the Bargains list

His wishy-washy production is swallowed up by salary.

Q remains puzzled.

12. Pedro Hernandez (-$1,149,785)

Now rocking a 5.40 ERA in three starts at Rochester for the Twins. Carlos Quentin goes all Hulk whenever he remembers this was one of the guys traded for him.

13. Philip Humber (-$950,732)

Prior survey: 15

It’s doubtful that spot appearances out of the pen will get Perfect Philip out of the value hole he’s dug for himself this season.

14. Paul Konerko (-$674,773)

Prior survey: Ninth on the Bargains list

PK’s 1.7 WAR is fighting to keep pace with his salary, especially after being shelved for a week post-concussion.

15. Ray Olmedo (-$660,094)

If O-Dog had done his job, Olmedo would still be luxuriating in his Charlotte digs.

16. Jordan Danks (-$393,010)

Prior survey: 20^th on the Bargains list

That game-ending dinger couldn’t stave off a demotion, and it couldn’t raise his WAR to 0.0, either.

17. Alexei Ramirez (-$229,481)

Prior survey: 5

The Missile has turned his season around in the second half and is on pace to be a plus-value player for his fifth straight season on the South Side.

18. Jhan Marinez (-$181,223)

19. Leyson Septimo (-$80,000)

Prior survey: 14^th on the Bargains list

20. Brian Omogrosso (-$40,000)

Prior survey:18^th on the Bargains list

With just 18 appearances among them, this trio of bullpen arms are the epitome of replacement players.

Yolk leads the way for White Sox value gainers. (Nam Huh/AP)

White Sox Value Gains

Since the midseason report—thus over the course of approximately a quarter of the 2012 season—these White Sox made positive value gains.

1. Kevin Youkilis ($3,968,816)

2. A.J. Pierzynski ($3,193,879)

3. Francisco Liriano ($2,611,344)

4. Alexei Ramirez ($2,270,519)

5. Alex Rios ($2,105,589)

6. Jose Quintana ($1,780,307)

7. Chris Sale ($1,086,238)

8. Hector Santiago ($1,002,962)

9. Tyler Flowers ($999,174)

10. Dewayne Wise ($890,142)

11. Alejandro De Aza ($589,517)

12. Gavin Floyd ($553,161)

13. Addison Reed ($500,667)

14. Donnie Veal ($484,892)

15. Jesse Crain ($304,625)

16. Kosuke Fukudome ($281,892)

17. Brett Myers ($218,346)

Unfortunately, back in a familiar place.

White Sox Value Losses

Since the midseason report, these White Sox lost value.

1. Adam Dunn (-$3,329,096)

2. Paul Konerko (-$2,677,850)

3. John Danks (-$2,271,671)

4. Philip Humber (-$1,415,849)

5. Matt Thornton (-$1,203,984)

6. Pedro Hernandez (-$1,149,785)

7. Orlando Hudson (-$995,443)

8. Jake Peavy ($-885,078)

9. Gordon Beckham (-$758,765)

10. Ray Olmedo (-$660,094)

11. Leyson Septimo (-$640,094)

12. Eduardo Escobar (-$568,338)

13. Jordan Danks (-$461,048)

14. Brent Morel (-$347,187)

15. Dylan Axelrod (-$298,825)

16. Dayan Viciedo (-$219,732)

17. Nate Jones (-$205,448)

18. Jhan Marinez (-$181,223)

19. Brian Omogrosso (-$162,023)

20. Will Ohman (-$88,419)

21. Zach Stewart (-$54,816)

22. Brent Lillibridge (-$36,199)

23. Eric Stults (-$19.202)

24. Brian Bruney (-$4,801)

Team Value Summary

White Sox hitters boast a cumulative $16,728,129 in surplus value on the season so far, an improvement of $4,245,775 since the midseason report. The average White Sox hitter brings $929,340 in surplus value to the team.

Pitchers are, as in 2011, carrying more than their share of surplus value for the team: $22,504,205, a drop of $38,675 since the midseason report. The average White Sox pitcher brings $978,444 in surplus value to the team.

The roster has produced a surplus value of $39,232,334 at the three-quarter mark of the season, an increase of $4,207,100 since midseason.

In 2011, the White Sox provided just $20,573,350 in surplus value (pitchers $33,253,350, hitters -$12,680,000), so the 2012 club is assured of providing more value than their predecessors.

Note: For batters, 1.0 WAR is equal to $4,650,708; for pitchers, 1.0 WAR is equal to $4,236,693. WAR data was compiled using Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus, and FanGraphs. Small changes in inactive player values are most often a result of slight tweaks in the $/WAR data. Players not on the roster for the midseason survey don’t have “prior survey” results. Figures are through games of August 17.