Dunn Like Dinner

           The 6’6”, 285 pound Adam Dunn was invincible at the plate during Sundays White Sox game against Washington. Dunn joined the “Golden Sombrero” club after striking out in all four of his at bats on the afternoon. The White Sox designated hitter brings no defensive element to the Sox and when he is not hitting in is no good to any team other than the opposition.  It is clear that Dunn is lost at the plate this season as he is hitting a loathsome .173 with just 7 home runs (HRs) and only 29 runs batted in (RBIs) after 67 games. When facing left-handed pitching Dunn is 1 for 53 (0.019 Avg), while striking out 100 times which leads the league in that category shows that he has clear holes in his all or nothing approach at the plate. Even his biggest critics could not have predicted this poor of a showing from Dunn thus far in 2011. Some potential reasons for his struggles could be the necessary adjustment needed when facing a new group of pitchers in the American League (AL) or the fact that Dunn has some financial security. Dunn who is in the first year of a four year $56 million deal ($14 Million annually) has left many shaking their heads, none more so than White Sox fans who booed louder after each strikeout on Sunday.
            For the time been Ozzie Guillen and White Sox management have little choice but to keep sending Dunn out there due to the amount of money invested in him.  The only viable option I see is moving Dunn into the three hole in the batting order with Paul Konerko batting behind him in order to provide protection. One thing is for sure it will be interesting to see what if anything the White Sox do with Dunn both for the rest of this season and the remainder of his current contract.  

 The 31 year old Dunn has played in 1515 games over eleven seasons with the Reds, Diamondbacks, Nationals and White Sox with a career average of .247 to go along with 361 HRs and 909 RBI. Dunn was drafted by the Reds in the second round of the 1998 amateur draft out of New Caney HS in Texas.