PREVIEW: 1st Base

In 2008, Paul Konerko had one of the most disappointing seasons in his career. You can blame it on injury, yes, but is it just Paul aging? According to John Dewan, who is on weekly with Mike Murphy, a radio host for the White Sox flagship station 670 the Score, Paul Konerko's average on line drives is .551. The league average is .701 and Paul Konerko's average for his career is .702. Here is his Metrics:

I would say that Paul's struggles had mostly to do with a combination of injury, age, and just plain and simple bad luck. Konerko's defense was also not as good as it was in years past. He really struggled in getting an angle to throw it over to 2nd base and has lost some range. Off-season acquisition Wilson Betimet could see some time over at 1st to spell Paul Konerko.

Overall I see Paulie hitting .255-.260 with 25-30 HR and 80 RBI. He won't be a 40 HR guy any more but can still be a contribute on offense.