White Sox player review: Dewayne Wise

November 1, 5:01 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago White Sox Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Wise filled one of the backup OF roles for the Sox in '08.

The player:

Dewayne Wise

Position: Outfield

Vital statistics
Batting average: .248
OBP: .293
SLG: .450
OPS: .742
Home runs: 6
RBI: 18
Runs: 20
BB/K: 8/32
SB/CS: 9/0

Wise's stat line may not be impressive over 129 at-bats, but at lot of that has to do with him being inserted as the White Sox' starting left fielder when Carlos Quentin went down with a wrist injury in early September. Wise has been and will always be a fourth outfielder—and a good one at that—but when he's asked to start for an extended period of time, he likely won't have success.

He was thrust into the starting left field role late in the year because of two factors: Nick Swisher's September struggles and a hot streak of Wise's from Sept. 14-19, in which Wise went 7/19 with four home runs and nine RBI. One of those home runs was this huge go-ahead grand slam against Detroit in the nightcap of a doubleheader that ultimately gave the White Sox an 11-7 win.

Ozzie Guillen decided to play the hot hand in Wise after that hot streak, but it didn't pay off late in the year. Wise went just 3/31 after Sept. 19, looking completely overmatched for much of that time.

However, it's not Wise's fault Guillen kept running him out there late in the year. Again, Wise isn't somebody who should be starting on a consistent basis—he's a good backup, and nothing more. He's a good spot starter and late-inning pinch runner or hitter, if the situation calls for it.

I'm not going to write a ton about Wise—it's tough to get a really good handle on Wise because he had so few at-bats—but before Wise became a regular starter, he was hitting around .280, handling his limited playing time well. When he was given everyday playing time, he ultimately struggled.

I personally like Wise as a backup outfielder—he provides good speed and has a decent enough bat to be used as a pinch hitter late in games. He can always fill in as a late-inning defensive replacement for a corner outfielder as well, enhancing his value.

There's no question that, if the White Sox are picking a backup outfielder to complement Brian Anderson, Wise is the man to go with (as opposed to Jerry Owens). And, if he does end up having to start, a lefty/righty platoon of Anderson and Wise is far from the worst option.