Nick Swisher has been awful so far this season for the White Sox. They have him playing out of position in center field and he isn’t hitting at all. Swisher has played in 32 games for the White Sox this season and he is 22 for 112 (.196 avg, .645 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. He has also whiffed 28 times this season while walking 24. The White Sox need Swisher to de-program his thinking that the A’s required of him and he needs to get aggressive at the plate. Pitchers now that Swisher looks at a lot of pitches and they are taking advantage of him.

A.J. Pierzynski, Juan Uribe, Joe Crede and Jermaine Dye all had rough starts to the season.  Pierzynski is only hitting .244 with 26 runs scored, 8 homers and 27 RBIs so far this season and the White Sox expected much more from him this season as he consistently hits in the .270s or .280s.  Uribe hitting hasn’t been up to par either as he’s only hitting .232 with 24 runs scored, 8 homers and 32 RBIs so far this season.  If Uribe doesn’t start to hit soon he will likely be replaced as the White Sox are asking for a shortstop back in trade talks concerning Jermaine Dye.  Joe Crede’s season ended with back surgery and he played awful before having the surgery.  You could tell his back problem was bothering him all season long as he only hit .216 with 4 homers and 22 RBIs in 2007.  Josh Fields might steal Crede’s job with the way he has been playing as a rookie.  Jermaine Dye had a career year in 2006 and he got paid because of it…but he hasn’t been worth the cash this season.  Dye is only hitting .214 with 30 runs scored, 12 homers and 39 RBIs so far this season.  It’s very likley that the White Sox will trade Dye in the coming weeks.

It’s amazing to me that the White Sox are 25-27 on the season with how poorly they are hitting as a team this season.  The White Sox are hitting .232 as a team this season which is the worst in the American League.  They are also last in OPS (.674) and runs scored (209) which is unacceptable for a team with caliber of hitters that the Pale Hose have.  Also hurting the team is the fact that they aren’t trying to make anything happen on the bases (26 steals-12th in league) and are often waiting around for the long ball.  Only Jim Thome (.275), Darin Erstad (.264) and A.J. Pierzynski (.256) have batting averages above .250 and that’s pretty pathetic!  Jermaine Dye (.228), Paul Konerko (.218), Joe Crede (.221), Juan Uribe (.212), Tadahito Iguchi (.212) and Rob Mackowiak (.233) are all much better hitters than what they’re showing so far.  If the White Sox don’t start hitting soon their have been whispers about a Fire Sale and that would be sad because this team is too talented to keep playing like they are right now.

Alex Cintron has had some off the field issues with sickness in his family which could be a reason for his slow start.  In 16 games, Cintron is 7 for 43 (.163 avg, .403 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs.  Look for Cintron to start hitting the ball better soon because he’s too good of a hitter to keep this up for much longer.

The White Sox have high hopes for 24 year old third baseman Josh Fields.  So far this season though, Fields has had a rough time in AAA ball.  In 34 games in AAA, Fields is 29 for 122 (.238 avg, .749 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 5 homers and 17 RBIs.  He has been very patient at the plate as he has walked 22 times this season, but, he also has whiffed 35 times and that’s way too many.   The White Sox hope Fields can get his act together soon in case they need him at the major league level because 3B Joe Crede’s back could go out at any time.