Dunn As A Society

With the middle of June here, it's fair to start making some assessments on certain players in Major League Baseball. A stern look is in order when analyzing Chicago White Sox newcomer Adam Dunn's struggles and surely some of it can be attributed to his off-season plan.

Image: AP

Yes, Dunn moved to a new league (National to American), a new role (designated hitter), and a new team in the South-Siders, but his numbers have not been great. In fact, they've spelled out B-U-S-T when it comes to living up to the four-year, $56 million contract he signed this winter.

He's hitting .180 and slugging .335, adding in his requisite 84 strikeouts through 58 games. And as was pointed out during Wednesday night's Twins' broadcast, Dunn has one hit in 47 at-bats against left-handed pitching in 2011. Since we're throwing up numbers, the Big Donkey (which I didn't know was his nickname), is hitting .135 at the Not-As-Friendly Confines of U.S. Cellular Field. Go ahead and peruse his other splits and you'll find yourself having a hard time coming up with one that is in his favor.

It may not be fair to go after someone on the AL Central's third-place team when my favorite squad is currently in last place but Dunn gave me ammunition to use when he showed up for spring training in February, as reported by Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.

Taking his first swings since the end of last season, the newest threat in the middle of the Chicago White Sox order hit the batting cage Saturday as a shower passed through the desert. His session was brief and he took whacks only at underhand tosses from batting-practice pitcher Kevin Hickey, but the preparation process is now underway.

"I have tried it both ways, [also] starting around Thanksgiving and I just feel like [this] works better for me," Dunn said. "Instead of getting in bad habits by myself, it's good to come a few days early and lube it up. You have 40 days down here, and it usually takes a hitter about two weeks."

Yep, Dunn didn't swing a bat over the off-season. Quotes from the spring, when the Washington Post did a story, don't tell a better tale for the slugger either:

“I can’t hit water if I fell out of a boat. I feel terrible at the plate. And it’s almost game time” for the regular season, Dunn said. “So perfect — I’m right where I need to be!”

“I’m not asking for much,” he said. “Just have a normal spring. Just hit .250 or something, hit a few bombs and feel like you’re ready for the season to start. Is that asking too much?”

Yeah, Adam, I think you're asking too much. It's going to be hard for a hitter to get going when he's going against major-league pitching and his bat has been collecting dust for the last four months. High schoolers can get away with this, professional hitters just can't hibernate over the winter and hope to be ready. The writer acknowledges that Dunn was being playful, but it's kind of scary to think about how right this prediction was, especially after Nationals' fans had gotten used to his slow starts. Dunn hit .160 in March/April.

There are a lot of moving pieces associated with the White Sox, led by their braggadocios and boisterous leader Ozzie Guillen, which are pieces that Guillen is usually able to align. But all of your pieces have to be moving in the same direction, from the beginning, a point that maybe only the Minnesota Twins have learned in a rougher manner this year. If Dunn comes into the picture hoping to just catch up, what does that tell the established guys on the team, some of whom won a World Series championship six years ago.

Looking at this, I found some parallels to Joe Mauer. Honestly though, I'll bet Mauer swung his bat a couple of times over the winter, even if he wasn't rehabbing whatever ailments he had. Dunn has been in the league long enough and I wonder if he's ever had a teammate call him on what he does in the off-season. That Post article ends with a paragraph that about sums up the thoughts on Dunn, who's hopes might have been finished before the trucks pulled into Arizona for spring training.

“I feel great about this team — how could you not?” he said as he walked away, bat in hand. “I just hope I don’t screw it up.”