We all know by now that 2009 is a disaster, and that’s all well and good, except everything that’s wrong with the Sox right now is everything that informed last spring’s wildly psychotic expectations. Carlos Quentin, for example, would not get hurt. Jim Thome would not continue his decline into old age and diminished skills. Last season was just a down year for Jermaine Dye in the outfield. And on and on it went.

But with this season almost in the books and two of the biggest question marks (Thome and Jose Contreras) out of town, who will carry us just short of what little the team needs from then next year?

Alex Rios. Not that Rios will be terrible, but expect a smattering of weird local projections insisting he’ll put up another 30-homer, 100-RBI season even though he’s never put up a 30-homer, 100-RBI season. People seem to forget this about Rios, that while he’s pretty good he’s not quite franchise good. And yet they will. And so will he.

Gordon Beckham. There is no such thing as “a book,” and the league would never assemble such a thing on young Bacon Spice, even if one did exist. Do you want to know the real reason he’s closing the season on a 17-for-76 slump? Because he’s awesome, that’s why.

Alexei Ramirez. It’s kind of funny how Ramirez’ sloppy defense was entirely overlooked heading into the season as the Sox moved him over to short, and it will be even funnier after his disastrous time in center next year spelling the DFA’d Alex Rios.

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The Sox, if you ask them, have not one but two legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates. As Guillen told the Sun-Times today:

Guillen continued to push for Beckham, and now Chris Getz, to be in the final argument for rookie of the year honors. But he made one thing clear for the Sox public relations department.

”You know, no one talks about Getz, but Getz has had a great year, too,” Guillen said. ”Those two guys grew up in this organization and hopefully they get it.”

”The only bad thing about it is maybe the [Sox] PR department will make me fly from Venezuela when they hear the news, and that’s [a negative]. I don’t fly from Venezuela for anybody’s award.”

Hilarity of that last bit aside, what about Getz’ chances as Rookie of the Year? Consider the numbers of the Sox’ prized freshmen:
Getz: 97 games, .271/.330/.366, 46 R, 18 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 22 SB
Beckham: 83 games, .274/.350/.458, 45 R, 23 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 52 RBI, 6 SB

On the surface, what we’re looking at are two players with two different sets of abilities; one who can hit well and run better, and one who does almost the opposite. Considering also the fact he was drafted in 2008, Beckham would seem to have the obvious advantage, and it’s unlikely anyone will argue Beckham as the superior player of the two.

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The Sox are not going to make the playoffs this season. (Unless you’re gripping to their seven percent chance at the moment.)

It’s been so rough as of late, there’s little reason to watch this team finish out the season. But, take heed, Sox fans. Here’s a few reasons you should watch the team in the month of September:

1) Gordon Beckham.

Though his batting average has plummeted nearly 30 points the last two weeks (he’s currently batting .271), Beckham is still the odds-on favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Only a few times in White Sox history has a player received such an honor. Might as well watch his last month of the year, huh?

2) Cubs vs. White Sox.

Yup, don’t forget: their makeup game is schedule for Thursday at Wrigley Field. And considering neither team is going to the playoffs, this is the closest fans are going to get to a postseason feel this late in the season. Revel in it, people. The Sox currently lead the series 3-2 this year, pending Thursday’s bout. If anything, Cubs and Sox fans should just be concerned with a race to the best regular season record. The Cubs (65-63) currently have the edge on the Sox (64-67).

3) Jake Peavy.

We’ll know more on his status after his series of tests today. If it’s not a season-ending injury, there’s still five weeks left in the season. If the elbow tightness sets him back even another 1-2 weeks, there still might be time for Peavy to start at least one game for the White Sox this season. It’s something he by all intents and purposes wants to do, and it’s something Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams want as well, even if the Sox are even farther out of contention by then.

4) Ozzie Guillen.

He’s going to say something fun. He’s going to say something outrageous. He’s going to do something to make you smile. OK fine, you don’t have to watch a game to see any of this stuff; it will be parsed out and written/shown for you elsewhere, or will occur before or after a game.

And yes, when you’re clutching to a manager for a reason to watch a team, you know the season is officially kaput.

If he picks up the Rookie of the Year award (and at this point that seems almost inevitable), Gordon Beckham will become the sixth White Sox player to earn the nod, joining the likes of Ozzie Guillen, Ron Kittle and . . . um, who, exactly? In the spirit of history, Mouthpiece presents a look at South Side freshmen past — and a possible glimpse into Bacon Spice’s future.

Ozzie Guillen, SS, 1985
In 150 games, Guillen posted a solid .273 average to bolster an abysmal .291 OPS. His lone home run and 33 RBI weren’t much to write home about either, but everyone knew Guillen’s glove was what won it for him. Guillen would go on to play 16 seasons between the South Side, Atlanta, Baltimore and Tampa Bay before eventually becoming one of the premier managers in the sport. But you knew that.

Ron Kittle, OF/DH, 1983
Thirty-five home runs in 145 games meant only one thing: DON’T MESS WITH THE KITTLE. Unfortunately, injuries hampered Kittle’s abilities, and his numbers dropped off considerably and in a hurry. Kittle had stints with the Yankees, Indians and Orioles before coming home in 1991, playing his final game on August 13, 1991. Kittle went 1-for-5 that day; his final major league hit was a two-run homer off of Tigers reliever Mike Henneman, a shot now immortalized on Henneman’s Baseball-Reference page. Henneman’s whereabouts are unknown; Kittle wrote a book, found out Barry Bonds is a huge racist and checks in on his blog every now and then.

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They talk quite often in the mainstream media, and especially the mainstream sports media, about the significance of access, about the inherent value of having a classically trained reporter able to get to a source and hear firsthand What It All Means in pursuit of Telling The Story. And in most cases, that’s absolutely true: how can you get a person or subject’s version of events without actually asking said person or subject? Without relying on a lot of conjecture or suppositions, you can’t, and this is where most (but not all) of the old-line, mainstream media sources have a leg up on a good deal of startup/DIY/indie/alt-media/anonymous/unknown blogs out there.

But what’s often left out of the conversation about access and sources and those vaunted principles of journalism is the question of what, exactly, a professional reporter does with all that hard-fought research and information. Perhaps that reporter will turn an already exceptional baseball game into a master clinic in creative non-fiction. Perhaps shine a light on the things a man will put his body trough to keep the only job he knows how to have. Perhaps expose a reviled villain as a misunderstood friend.

Or, if you’re Joe Cowley writing today’s piece for the Sun-Times, you can ask Gordon Beckham just how it feels to be totes aws ZOMG!!1!!:

Case in point: How many 22-year-olds can explain their way out of supposedly being nicknamed ”Slayer” for his prowess with the ladies? Call it Southern charm, but Beckham has done just that over the last week when it was first brought up on ESPN’s ”The Scott Van Pelt Show.”

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Not that Beckham doesn’t appreciate the ladies. He’s admittedly ‘’single and looking” and even has a crush on a certain young actress who recently became single.

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Let’s face it, even though Gordon Beckham was tearing up the minors, had it not been for the failings of Josh Fields, he would likely still be down there. But here the prodigal son sits at the All-Star Break, 34 games and 132 plate appearances under his belt. He’s shown some signs of promise … and some things he needs to improve upon. Keep it mind there is still a lot of baseball to be played by Beckham this season, as well as his MLB career.

Onward:

1) Gordon Beckham looks like a ballplayer.

I hate to use terms such as “he looks like a ballplayer” or “he’s a natural,” but that’s just what Gordon Beckham is. There are some faults in his game, obviously, but there is nothing unwieldy or awkward or something that makes you go hmm about his swing; it just looks darn good.

2) Gordon Beckham hits to the opposite field incredibly well.

Often with a young player, their hitting is one-dimensional. Some guys never figure out how to take a ball on the outside lower half of the plate and hit it the other way. Gordon Beckham can do that, and do that well. This has impressed me most about his game.

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“If we have Beckham here, we’re in trouble.”

Those were the words of Ozzie Guillen Monday speaking a few days after the White Sox brought Gordon Beckham up from Double-A Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte.

Last night, they called up Beckham to the South Side, and designated defensively-challenged  Wilson Betemit for assignment.

So are these Sox in trouble? Yes and no. Yes, because there are obvious holes in their roster that have been apparent since Opening Day. No because they are in third place in a winnable AL Central (3.5 games back) and are two games under .500. It’s not quite time to sell the farm and bring the young talent up to the big leagues. Kenny Williams dealing for Jake Peavy (and Roy Oswalt, sort of), is proof of that: This season has not been left for dead.

So then, why Beckham now, one day short of a year to the date after the Sox drafted him? His bat has just been too good. Gordon absolutely tore it up in Birmingham and hasn’t slowed down much in Charlotte as he went .464/.448/.679 with six doubles in seven games; he certainly could slide into the lineup quick and even if he skips a beat, will be more serviceable than Fields. I suppose the Sox were in trouble, as far as their poor offense and third base position was concerned.

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Have you heard? The kid’s on his way.

But assuming for a second we even know what position he plays any more, and assuming it’s “just a part of the game,” what does Gordon Beckham’s ascent really mean?

In an ideal world, it would be the equivalent of calling in the cavalry, young Beckham arriving just in time to rescue the White Sox in distress from the evil fire-breathing dragons of Minnesota and Detroit, slashing away with his Adamantium blade, saving the helpless villagers while getting the girl at the same time. Games would be won, division races would be called off and clubs throughout the land would be put on notice: a new day has dawned on the South Side!

Which would be cool, except this is baseball where no player in the history of the game, let alone a mid-season callup, has ever worked that kind of miracle that for a team. Ever. Albert Pujols had Mark McGwire; Ichiro Suzuki had Edgar Martinez (and Scotty Pods!); David Price had the 2008 Rays. Despite what Frank Thomas may have said about it, no ballplayer can do it alone; his own Sox went nowhere when Frank carried them, yet Frank went the distance when the team finally returned the favor.

People want to assume the best with young talent in sports, that things can go the way of the mid-80s Bulls, early 00s Cavaliers or any NFL whose new quarterback catapulted them from 3-13 to 8-8 and a crushing first-round playoff loss, but can any sane baseball fan really look to a sweet-swinging prospect who’s never seen a single at-bat past AAA for immediate salvation? This isn’t like adding Roger Clemens to the 1999 Yankees or Larry Walker to the 2004 Cardinals – two cases of adding elite talent to powerhouse teams – but more like the 1994 Mariners calling up superprospect Alex Rodriguez: a so-so team adding a highly-touted cog and hoping for the best.

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