If the Chicago White Sox become the second Windy City team to flame out in the Division Series (and as I’m writing this, they’re down 5-2 in the 7th inning of Game 4), there’s one guy who can’t be blamed: 23 year old pitcher Jon Danks. Danks was the only Sox starter to win a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, winning Game 3 with 6.2 solid innings. And Danks was also the guy who pitched the ChiSox into October with his DY-NO-MITE outing in the one-game playoff against the Twins last week. Working on 3 days rest, Danks threw 8 shutout innings to lift Chicago into the postseason. It capped off a brilliant year for Danks, who finished with a record of 12-9 with a 3.32 ERA.
So why do I keep harping about John Danks on Big Apple Sports? Because New Yorkers, particularly Yankee fans can learn a valuable lesson by following the progression of Danks from 2007 to 2008. Drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft by the Texas Rangers, Danks was traded to the White Sox in December 2006. Sox G.M. Ken Williams made a daring leap of faith by penciling in Danks as a member of the Chicago rotation. It was a miserable failure in Year 1, when Danks went 6-13 with a 5.52 ERA. How could Williams be so stupid as to turst a 22 year old pitcher? Sure it didn’t pay off at first, but who’s second-guessing Williams now? Danks has established himself as the best pitcher on the Sox, and maybe even one of the best in the American League. His future is bright and he will probably be a fixture in the Sox rotation for a very long time.
So Yankee fans, what does this situtation remind you of? Or even better, who does Danks remind you of? A 23 year old former first round draft pick who struggled in his first full year of action? A guy named Phil Hughes. Here’s the moral of the story: When you’re developing young pitchers, you need to be patient. Not all pitchers are like Joba Chamberlain, where they can come in immediately and dominate. Most ptichers take time to develop. They’ll take their lumps, but eventually it may pay off. It’s like the old Guns N Roses song goes, “All you need is just a little patience.”
Happy Birthday to Joe Frazier, Tony Dungy, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Elisabeth Shue, Ruben Sierra, Darren Oliver, J.J. Stokes, Rebecca Lobo, Ricky Hatton and Richard Seymour
Filed under: MLB - Yankees, Writer - Bill Slattery
[...] glad that the Yankees took the right approach, holding on to Hughes and giving him another shot. Here’s what I said about Hughes last October: If the Chicago White Sox become the second Windy City team to flame out in the Division Series [...]