Late season swoons common for Ozzie
It's late August. Time for White Sox panic.
If you're a White Sox fan and you feel like you are always more stressed out in August, there's a reason: Under Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox are bad in August.
How bad? Ozzie's career record in August is 84-104, 20 games below .500.
In fact, this goes well beyond just the month of August. Guillen's teams are traditionally bad after the all-star break and it's becoming a defining theme in his managerial career.
Ozzie's career record in the second half (post all-star break) is 230-249. That just doesn't cut it, especially when you consider that his career first half record is 301-229. That means the White Sox are often right in the middle of the pennant race in early July, but dead in the water by late September.
You can easily say that was the case in 2004, 2006 and 2009. Unfortunately, it appears 2010 might be headed in that direction as well.
So why does this keep happening? The most obvious reason is interleague play, which is almost always completed before the All-Star Game. Guillen has a ridiculous 77-49 record against National League teams, which has inflated his first half record.
Wondering why the 2007 White Sox were never in the pennant race? That was the only year Ozzie didn't beat up on the N.L. His team only went 4-14 in interleague play that year.
There are no games against the National League in the second half, hence, Ozzie's record is worse.
But that doesn't fully explain the career 91-game swing from the first half to the second half for Guillen.
Take a look at the pitching staff, specifically the bullpen. Ozzie's staff has a 4.15 ERA in the first half since he took over the team in 2004. That ERA rises to 4.51 in the second half.
The starters' ERA is 4.25 in the first half and 4.46 in the second. That's definitely worse, but not horrible. Want horrible? Look at the bullpen.
Under Ozzie Guillen, the bullpen has a 3.92 ERA in the first half, but a 4.62 ERA in the second. That includes this season, in which the bullpen's ERA was 3.59 in the first half, but 4.20 since the all-star break.
Now, Ozzie isn't the one throwing the pitches out of the bullpen, but he is the one who manages his pitching staff every season. The evidence points to this being a problem every year and contributing to a large disparity in wins and losses between the first half of the season and the second half.
If you are looking for good news, there is a little bit. Ozzie's career record in September is 92-84. Unfortunately, a big chunk of those wins came in '04 and '05 when they went 19-13 and 19-12 in September, respectively. Since 2006, the White Sox are only 54-59 in the final month of the season.
You can follow Adam Hoge on twitter at www.twitter.com/AdamHoge670.
