First of all, I apologize for not posting in a very long time. I've been
swamped with multiple tasks and responsibilities.
That said, I wanted to quickly post about where this team is at and what I
think we need in order to win this division. I think the first half of the
year, while surprising to most, was not all that surprising to me. Those of you
who have read my stuff (whether on here or at southsideshowdown.com) know that
I've seen this club as a contender in this division for quite some time, dating
back to the winter. Guys who had career lows last year have been playing up to
form (and some of them have been exceeding that) and those question marks have
been answered. We've gotten some pleasant surprises in guys like Quintana and
Peavy. The starting rotation has struggled with injury but has been able to
weather the storm thus far.
The problem has been our bullpen. With the majority of the kids in the pen
being rookies and the few veterans we've had out there this year struggling,
the bullpen has posed a huge question mark as to how far this team really can
go. In this day and age, the bullpen is arguably the most important part of a team’s
success. We've seen the Sox give games away multiple times this year, games
that we all assumed we had in the bag, if we want this division, that HAS to
stop now. Matt Thornton has had a rough year, shaky at best. Guys like Nate
Jones and Addison Reed have shown to possess the talent necessary to succeed at
this level, but not always the consistency or mental toughness. I've also been
questioning the pitch selection this season. It seems like we've given up more
hits to batters who were 0-2 or 1-2 in the count than I've seen in quite some
time. I know some of that rests on AJ putting down the fingers, but at the same
time, most of our pitchers have given hitters way too good of pitches when we
have them down in the count. Those are the things that cannot happen if you
expect to keep guys off base. We've got guys like Septimo, Omogrosso, and
Santiago coming out of the pen and getting hit around the yard in big
situations. We need to strengthen this pen if we want to win close ball games.
Look for Kenny to either make a big move for bullpen help or for a starting
pitcher (Like Greinke). Buy acquiring a big name starting pitcher, Kenny is
giving Robin the option to move a starter to the pen when and if Danks gets
back. If Kenny picks up relief help directly, well then he’s directly helping
the bullpen.
Bottom line is, this offense is not going to be our down fall. There’s
plenty of thunder in our lineup to win ball games. Overall, the starting
rotation is very solid (especially when healthy), and is not going to be our
downfall. But the bullpen has been anything but lights out, we cannot have
shaky pitchers coming into one run situations in September and October.
In terms of this divisional race, I would keep your eyes open for Detroit to
cool off. That Tigers team reminds me a lot of us last season. Winners on
paper, but too many issues with execution on the field. Their pitching is weak
overall and their offense seems to be inconsistent. This race is about to get
very interesting as the trade deadline approaches and the Tigers have already
made a big move. Let’s hope and pray our bullpen stiffens up, because if it
does, there is no reason we should not be the odds-on favorite to take the
central.
In terms of the components of this club, the offense has been fine, a little inconsistent, but fine. With Rios having a monster year and Dunn exploding in three offensive categories.... well four (RBIs, HRs, Walks, K's) and Konerko showing why he's the captain. With the addition of Youkilis for essentially nothing (Now I know how the Dutch settlers felt when they bought the Island of Manhattan from the Indians for 24 bucks) and the on base percentage, speed and production coming from De Aza at the top, this offense is scary good at times.
As I alluded to earlier, the starting 5 have been solid with Sale, Peavy, and Quintana becoming Chicago's own "Big 3." If the Sox can make it to the post season, mark my words we could win the pennant. Because as we all know, in the playoffs, it all comes down to the top of your pitching rotation, its hard to find a better top 3 in baseball right now.
Wrap Up: Sox need to get the job done against the Twins this series and stay on Detroit's heels. With Cy Quintana pitching tonight and the bats showing signs of life for the first time since the break, the Sox should be the favorites.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Positive Signs For 2012
Hey everyone, I apologize for not posting on here in a while. My last semester of undergrad has been getting really busy and I've also been picked up by The South Side Showdown as a staff writer. So please feel free to check my stuff out there I write totally original articles for them that you won't find on this blog (southsideshowdown.com). That being said lets get to it.
So after the first 2 series of the year the White Sox have shown some promise. Although it is extremely early there are some positives that I have taken from these first few games.
First of all Paul Konerko is absolutely raking, going 9 for 20, driving in 5 runs. He's spraying the ball all over the field and he's racking up the hits left and right. It would appear that he's turning into an all around hitter, not just a home run hitter.
A.J Pierzynski has looked comfortable at the plate since arriving in Cleveland, knocking in 6 runs, putting the ball in play almost every at bat. While he has handled the pitching staff well over the years, his plate approach has always been hit or miss. He could be a solid guy to bat 2 for us or hit in the middle of the lineup. A good lefty contact bat can always find a place into the lineup.
The bullpen has been impressive. New young up and comers Addison Reed and Hector Santiago have the demeanor of veterans while they're on the mound. They've gone right after the hitters they've faced and really flashed their stuff. Reed featuring a powerful fastball and some impressive off-speed to back it up. While Santiago, coming out of the bullpen to shut down his 2 save opportunities, has shown his heavy fastball, sharp slider and impressive screw ball that has really had hitters off balance. Matt Thornton has been solid as usual while Will Ohman struggled today (which is going to happen). All in all the bullpen has done its job keeping the Sox in every game they've appeared in.
The starting pitching has been solid as well. I thought it was very impressive that the pitching staff held the prominent Texas Rangers offense to 5 runs or under in each game we played them. That offense is so deadly and to hold them down and be within a run of taking 2 of 3 from them was a solid way to start off the season. Chris Sale was phenomenal in his first start, locating his fastball, setting up his off-speed and keeping hitters off balance. He was the most impressive of all the starters in their debuts (although Humber has not had his debut yet).
Another big positive I've taken from these first 5 games has been Adam Dunn's plate presence. He has been seeing the ball well lately, he's walked 4 times, hit the ball hard when he's put it in play and driven in a couple runs. I think he's going to have a bounce back year, he's looked significantly better at the plate compared to last year. Not to mention his mere presence on deck has already led to some runs in the form of the hitter in front of him getting straight fastballs to hit.
I think there have been a lot of positives signs shown so far by this team. Like I said earlier it is way to early to really make anything of these signs but it is a good place to start when evaluating the team. I think this team is going to surprise a lot of people. I see a boatload of potential in this club and I think Ventura has them playing as a unit.
Follow me on twitter @RyanGanser
and at "The SouthSide Showdown" at southsideshowdown.com
Feel free to contact me with any kind of feedback, comments, or questions and Go Sox!
So after the first 2 series of the year the White Sox have shown some promise. Although it is extremely early there are some positives that I have taken from these first few games.
First of all Paul Konerko is absolutely raking, going 9 for 20, driving in 5 runs. He's spraying the ball all over the field and he's racking up the hits left and right. It would appear that he's turning into an all around hitter, not just a home run hitter.
A.J Pierzynski has looked comfortable at the plate since arriving in Cleveland, knocking in 6 runs, putting the ball in play almost every at bat. While he has handled the pitching staff well over the years, his plate approach has always been hit or miss. He could be a solid guy to bat 2 for us or hit in the middle of the lineup. A good lefty contact bat can always find a place into the lineup.The bullpen has been impressive. New young up and comers Addison Reed and Hector Santiago have the demeanor of veterans while they're on the mound. They've gone right after the hitters they've faced and really flashed their stuff. Reed featuring a powerful fastball and some impressive off-speed to back it up. While Santiago, coming out of the bullpen to shut down his 2 save opportunities, has shown his heavy fastball, sharp slider and impressive screw ball that has really had hitters off balance. Matt Thornton has been solid as usual while Will Ohman struggled today (which is going to happen). All in all the bullpen has done its job keeping the Sox in every game they've appeared in.
The starting pitching has been solid as well. I thought it was very impressive that the pitching staff held the prominent Texas Rangers offense to 5 runs or under in each game we played them. That offense is so deadly and to hold them down and be within a run of taking 2 of 3 from them was a solid way to start off the season. Chris Sale was phenomenal in his first start, locating his fastball, setting up his off-speed and keeping hitters off balance. He was the most impressive of all the starters in their debuts (although Humber has not had his debut yet).
I think there have been a lot of positives signs shown so far by this team. Like I said earlier it is way to early to really make anything of these signs but it is a good place to start when evaluating the team. I think this team is going to surprise a lot of people. I see a boatload of potential in this club and I think Ventura has them playing as a unit.
Follow me on twitter @RyanGanser
and at "The SouthSide Showdown" at southsideshowdown.com
Feel free to contact me with any kind of feedback, comments, or questions and Go Sox!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Fukudome, good or bad move?
My apologies for not posting in a while, with the 2nd semester starting up I've been a little busy with school. That being said, we all are aware of the fact that a little less than a week ago Kenny Williams signed ex cub Kosuke Fukudome to a contract to play on the South Side of town. I noticed a lot of mixed reactions amongst sox fans after this deal went down. My question to those who are wondering why Williams did this is, why not?
I think this was a tremendous pickup, for a few reasons. The main reason being price. We signed him to a one year, 1 million dollar contract with a 3.5 million dollar club option for 2013. Not to mention that this season he's actually only making $500,000.00 with a $500,000.00 buy out. To pay 500 K for a lefty bat (career .260 hitter) who can lead off and play an above average outfield is always going to be a plus in my book. Not to mention that he has the potential to turn it on offensively. Another reason I like it is because as much faith as I have in De Aza to perform this season, if he doesn't pan out as an every day player, Fukudome can easily step in and fill that role at the top of the lineup.
The only thing that worries me about this pickup is what role the White Sox have in mind for Kosuke. I think he should be a 4th outfielder who sees the field when someone in front of him needs a day off, goes down, doesn't pan out. If the Sox plan to stick him in front of De Aza or Viciedo, I am gonna be pissed. I say, we give the young guys a chance to make an impact before we throw them on the back-burner for yet another season. Let them play their way out of a spot before we hand it to a 34 year old .260 hitter. I just see a lot of potential in Viciedo and De Aza and I think they're hungry to prove what they can do at the major league level.
Like I said, there is always that chance that Fukudome could come out of nowhere and really turn it on, its a long season and we'll have plenty of time to see how it pans out and how our outfielders settle into their roles. I'm really hoping Rios will play with some personal pride this year instead of just collecting a paycheck. The unfortunate thing about Rios is that no matter how awful he is, he's most likely going to see the field because of the huge amount of money that we're paying him. I'd be all for putting Kosuke in front of him.... but thats another discussion for another day.
So those of you ripping Williams for this pickup need to review the contract. Thats like buying a used 03 convertible for 200 bucks. Just thank God we didn't pay him 12 million dollars a year like the cubs did because he is no where near that kind of a pay day. But that of course is vintage Chicago cub baseball.... also another discussion for another day.
By the way, it took me a while to find a picture of Fukudome without an Indians or a Cubs jersey on, you'll never see that trash on this blog.
The only thing that worries me about this pickup is what role the White Sox have in mind for Kosuke. I think he should be a 4th outfielder who sees the field when someone in front of him needs a day off, goes down, doesn't pan out. If the Sox plan to stick him in front of De Aza or Viciedo, I am gonna be pissed. I say, we give the young guys a chance to make an impact before we throw them on the back-burner for yet another season. Let them play their way out of a spot before we hand it to a 34 year old .260 hitter. I just see a lot of potential in Viciedo and De Aza and I think they're hungry to prove what they can do at the major league level.
Like I said, there is always that chance that Fukudome could come out of nowhere and really turn it on, its a long season and we'll have plenty of time to see how it pans out and how our outfielders settle into their roles. I'm really hoping Rios will play with some personal pride this year instead of just collecting a paycheck. The unfortunate thing about Rios is that no matter how awful he is, he's most likely going to see the field because of the huge amount of money that we're paying him. I'd be all for putting Kosuke in front of him.... but thats another discussion for another day.
So those of you ripping Williams for this pickup need to review the contract. Thats like buying a used 03 convertible for 200 bucks. Just thank God we didn't pay him 12 million dollars a year like the cubs did because he is no where near that kind of a pay day. But that of course is vintage Chicago cub baseball.... also another discussion for another day.
By the way, it took me a while to find a picture of Fukudome without an Indians or a Cubs jersey on, you'll never see that trash on this blog.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
White Sox still hoping for Cespedes
Yoenis Cespedes has officially arrived in Miami. He's meeting with the Marlins today and has verbally expressed interest in staying right where he's at and playing for Miami. The GM of the Marlins has said that they want Cespedes but do not need him. Apparently they have been aggressively pursuing the 5-tool stud for quite some time now, however after spending a lot of money this offseason, negotiations might reach levels unreachable for the Marlins. With speculation about whether or not Miami will be able to land the 26-year-old outfielder, the White Sox (amongst other teams) are lying in the weeds, with hope that they'll get their chance to court Cespedes.
Yoenis and his agent are hopeful that they will be able to come to some sort of an agreement with a major league team in time for Cespedes to report to spring training. Due to a delay in receiving his working visa from the Dominican Republic, negotiations have taken longer than originally anticipated. Although it would appear that the Marlins are the front-runners at this point in the process but I think the White Sox can still remain hopeful.
This White Sox have had a long history with Cuban baseball players coming to play on the South Side of Chicago. Reports have indicated that current White Sox players Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo have been attempting to reach out to Cespedes in order to recruit him for the Sox. A guy like Yoenis Cespedes would be a very nice addition to this White Sox roster. If (and this is a huge "if") Kenny Willaims could find a way to move Alex Rios, we would have a very young, very talented, very Latin outfield from left to right. I think he could add significant offensive production to a lineup with a lot of question marks and play a solid outfield. The only problem is, because of Alex Rios basically wasting space in center for us right now, the move seems a bit impractical at this juncture of the franchise. Combine that with the fact that we really don't have a ton of money to be throwing at a 26 year old Cuban defective who hasn't proved a thing in the big leagues yet, (especially when you consider the bullpen still needs some help) signing him would be a tough one to fully explain and would require a roster move to make room. Options would and could include benching someone like De Aza or Viciedo in order to get Cespedes more time or splitting time between those 3 guys (because we all know Rios is going to see the field due to his massive contract).
We're just going to have to wait and see exactly what happens and how things play out. Keep in mind, as of right now, it is a little bit of a long shot for the Sox to even land this guy, but if we do, there will be a lot to talk about.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Top 5 Keys to the 2012 Season
The White Sox have the potential to make some noise this season. However, there are a few things that are going to need to happen in order for the Sox to make a splash in 2012. I've compiled a list of the 5 most important factors that will need to go our way this season.
5. Gordon Beckham
Gordon Beckham had a stellar year last year at 2nd base. Posting the best fielding percentage in baseball. However, his offensive performance was a liability all season, posting a .230 batting average and leaving a lot of men on base. Because of the expectations this organization has for Beckham, he is going to be plugged into the lineup everyday and expected to produce. If he fails to produce this season, not only will our run production be down as a team (as he contributes to both the runs scored and RBIS categories) but his job security on the South Side could be called into question. Now, I personally have huge expectations for Beckham and have always been a big fan of his. I think he's a very talented ball player and I know he can hit. According to some of the interviews he's given this offseason, he has really been working towards getting back to the little things that he's gotten away from that have always made successful at the plate.
4. Alex Rios
I really don't have much to say about Alex Rios. I was extremely disappointed in the effort that Rios put forth last season. He was seen jogging after balls in center, not running ground balls and pop-ups out down the first base line. Being a middle of the lineup guy (usually hitting 5th or 6th) he comes up with the opportunity to drive guys in quite often. He needs to show a little pride in his play and put some effort into everything he does. He has the ability and opportunity to drive in a lot of runs, it just comes down to wether or not he wants to apply himself to do that. He had a horrendous year last season batting .227. The only positive I can take out of his awful year in 2011 is this: historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend will continue this season because we need him to produce if we want to win some ball games (not to mention the amount of money we're paying him, it would be nice to see him earn his paycheck).
3. The Bullpen
Lets face it, the bullpen wasn't exactly lights out last season. We're talking about 15+ games that we lost late in the game, so many leads were blown. Pitching wins championships, the bullpen will always play an important role in contributing to the win column. We lost Santos, which as I've stated in my earlier blogs, isn't as big of a deal as everyone has made it out to be. Ventura has already said that he wants to give Thornton a chance to be the closer this season, with Addison Reed lying in the weeds, waiting to see what his fate will be. I personally think we should leave Thornton where is has always been successful (an 8th inning guy, late inning setup man) and give Reed a chance early to see how he does. But thats just me. We have a similiar bullpen this season in comparison to last year. We still have Thornton, Crain, Ohman, Reed, Axelrod. It will be interesting to see if Williams will make any moves to solidify the pen.
2. The Health of the Pitching Rotation
The White Sox pitching rotation has a lot of talent, there's no doubt about that. What worries me about them is wether or not they can stay healthy. Seeing as how we don't have a 6 man rotation this year, Jake Peavy will be called on to eat a lot of innings and hold down his spot in the rotation. Peavy, having been plagued by injuries since coming to the White Sox, posts a pretty big question mark going into 2012. At Soxfest, Kenny Williams said he expects Jake to post over 200 innings this season, pretty high expectations for a guy who hasn't been able to stay healthy since coming here. This season we're moving Sale from the bullpen to the starting rotation. I can't help but worry about Sale's arm holding up through the grind of a 162 game season, pitching every 5th day and going more than an inning or two like hes used to. Sale has filthy stuff, it will all come down to how Cooper and Ventura manage his innings and build up his stamina. If Those two guys can stay healthy and play to their potential along side Humber, Danks, and Floyd, this rotation could do some damage. And like I said earlier, pitching wins championships.
1. Adam Dunn
There's really not much to say that hasn't already been said since last season. Im assuming if you are reading this blog, you know how horrendous Adam Dunn was last season. All I'm going to say is, if this guy hits like we all know he can, he could post 50 homers in that small ballpark. It's mind-blowing to think of how many wins you could have added to the Sox record last season if Dunn was in his right mind. If he shows up this season, this team is going to win some ball games. Not to mention hitting is contagious, if Dunn starts producing, that takes pressure off of everyone else, before you know it the whole lineup is spraying the ball all over the yard. Dunn actually came out today and said he guarantees to be the comeback player of the year (not necessarily the hardest thing to do when you post a .159 batting average the year before, I mean if he came to bat with a pulse this season he could be eligible for the comeback player of the year). But I personally think he's going to put up big numbers for the rest of his time here in Chicago. I still like Dunn (as unpopular of an opinion as that may be right now, I don't care, come talk to me in August). Last thing I'm going to say about Dunn: Here's a guy sitting in the middle of the lineup and if we actually have a manager that will bat Konerko behind him so he sees some more fastballs (instead of what Ozzie was doing, the opposite, so guys would just pitch around Paulie to get to Dunn last year). The more fastballs he sees, the more dangerous he will become and the more his confidence level will increase, a confident Adam Dunn in the 4 hole is going to drive in some runs which increases our chance to win.
5. Gordon Beckham
Gordon Beckham had a stellar year last year at 2nd base. Posting the best fielding percentage in baseball. However, his offensive performance was a liability all season, posting a .230 batting average and leaving a lot of men on base. Because of the expectations this organization has for Beckham, he is going to be plugged into the lineup everyday and expected to produce. If he fails to produce this season, not only will our run production be down as a team (as he contributes to both the runs scored and RBIS categories) but his job security on the South Side could be called into question. Now, I personally have huge expectations for Beckham and have always been a big fan of his. I think he's a very talented ball player and I know he can hit. According to some of the interviews he's given this offseason, he has really been working towards getting back to the little things that he's gotten away from that have always made successful at the plate.
4. Alex RiosI really don't have much to say about Alex Rios. I was extremely disappointed in the effort that Rios put forth last season. He was seen jogging after balls in center, not running ground balls and pop-ups out down the first base line. Being a middle of the lineup guy (usually hitting 5th or 6th) he comes up with the opportunity to drive guys in quite often. He needs to show a little pride in his play and put some effort into everything he does. He has the ability and opportunity to drive in a lot of runs, it just comes down to wether or not he wants to apply himself to do that. He had a horrendous year last season batting .227. The only positive I can take out of his awful year in 2011 is this: historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend will continue this season because we need him to produce if we want to win some ball games (not to mention the amount of money we're paying him, it would be nice to see him earn his paycheck).
3. The Bullpen
2. The Health of the Pitching Rotation
1. Adam Dunn
Thursday, February 2, 2012
South Side Pride: What does it mean to you?
I actually wrote this last year, but this is an article that will never go out of style. This will always apply to my life. And I thought with a lot of people being down on this White Sox team right now and this sort of bleak out look for our 2012 season, I would post this to remind everyone what it means to me to be a South Sider. Also, please feel free to throw in a comment in the comment box underneath this post, sharing what it means to you to be a a Sox fan.
Teams like the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees and Dodgers are name brand, nationally followed teams. There are so many Cubs or Yankees “fans” around the globe that the majority of them couldn’t tell you a thing about their “teams.” You might refer to them as “the common fan.” What makes us special, Sox fans, is that we do not consist of just common fans. Sure, there are some Sox fans who don’t exactly follow the team, just like there are some Cub or Yankee fans who DO follow their teams. But the majority of Sox fans know baseball and they know their team.
Teams like the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees and Dodgers are name brand, nationally followed teams. There are so many Cubs or Yankees “fans” around the globe that the majority of them couldn’t tell you a thing about their “teams.” You might refer to them as “the common fan.” What makes us special, Sox fans, is that we do not consist of just common fans. Sure, there are some Sox fans who don’t exactly follow the team, just like there are some Cub or Yankee fans who DO follow their teams. But the majority of Sox fans know baseball and they know their team.
Amongst most South Side families, the Sox run deep in that family, like hair loss or brown eyes. Our families have lived and died with the Sox, from Charles Comiskey to Bill Veck, to Jerry Reinsdorf. They aren’t just a team that keeps us entertained or gives us a place to go during the summer, they’re part of our family, making nightly visits into our living rooms or places of business through our television or radio, guided there by the smooth, eccentric voice of Hawk Harrelson or the monotone of Ed Farmer. When they lose, it seems as though, for a brief moment, we will never feel happiness again, and when they win, the sun is a little brighter and the air, a little cleaner. We could recognize one of our players by the way he stands in the field, his batting routine or the style of facial hair he sports.
When “Don’t stop believin” comes on the radio, we don’t think back to the 80’s… our minds are “swept” away, back to 2005, the greatest year Sox fans have ever known. Instead of Steve Perry and ‘Journey’ we think Aaron Rowand, Scotty Pods, Paulie and the “journey” they took us on. Everyone knows where they were when Uribe recorded the most important 6-3 putout in White Sox history, bringing the commissioner’s trophy back to 35thand Shields, thus igniting the powder keg of happiness that was the South Side of Chicago.
When someone says “1959” we think Nellie Fox, Go Go White Sox, and the first Mayor Daley setting off the “air raid” sirens in Chicago in celebration of a White Sox American League pennant. Half the City thought we were being bombed while the other half was dancing in the streets.
When the power goes out and someone yells “blackout” we think 163 in 08. Drama with the Twins, again. Jim Thome’s monster blast to the fan deck, Ken Griffey Jr.’s peg from center field and John Danks, the untouchable.
“83” isn’t just a number, its Winning Ugly, the blue and red logo, LaRussa was manager, the Sox had the rookie of the year award (Ron Kittle) and the American League Cy Young (LaMarr Hoyt). The Sox were in the playoffs for the first time since the 1959 series.
“93” was Bo’s blast and good pitching all season, Frank Thomas going yard with his flattop hair cut and Ozzie was still playing short.
1906 was Sox over Cubs in the series, giving us the ultimate bragging rights. The first World Series in Sox history
1917 was the benchmark that took 88 years to overcome
I don’t even like to wear dress socks because they’re “black socks…. “
Our dedication to this team is unsurpassed; the strongest feelings can be aroused by just mentioning a number or a word. When the White Sox are successful everything associated with that success and happiness is embedded in our minds and stored there for the rest of our lives.
((One more example (on top the ones already listed above) If I say “Jose Valentin” to most Sox fans, the first thing that comes to mind is a walk off winner in the cross town classic. A little Hispanic man with a dynamite mustache and his hands over his head in victory as he trots to first base. ))
We are working class, we have roots in the community that were there when Sears was THE department store and the stockyards were the center of industry in Chicago. We might not be able to sell every ticket to every game, but its not because we don’t love our team, its because we have jobs…... We aren’t Sox fans because thats the “hip” thing to do, we love them because they represent us, they’re humble, scrappy, hard working, prideful, they aren’t flashy, they play with a chip on their shoulder and don’t expect anything from anyone.
When things go wrong they don’t blame anyone but themselves. Sox fans deserve the most respect from the baseball world, because we lost as long as the Red Sox and the Cubs did, but we didn’t go around, bitching at the world about it and making excuses. We kept our mouths shut and played the game.
The White Sox bring families together; they give total strangers common ground to walk on. 50 years from now you might not be able to remember exactly when your old man taught you how to mow the lawn or do your homework, but you’ll remember to the day you die when he took you to the ballpark; when you sat together down the line and the age gap between you ceased to exist, becoming two boys again, cheering on your hero’s in a stadium on 35th street that became a palace, housing your most precious memories, connecting you to your father, grandfather, great-grandfather who all experienced the same thing decades before you. There is a history there, I take absolute pride in being where I’m from and the working class background and White Sox fandom that has paved the way for me to become who I am. I thank my Father and my uncles, who have allowed, taught, and invited me into this great tradition that exists and has existed amongst us South Siders for over 100 years.
Just remember, no matter how crappy life gets or how worn down you become, the White Sox are always there, bringing a smile and a tear to your eye as they take the field on the most beautiful patch of land these eyes have ever seen, if they miss a game, they make it up to you. They never die, they’re as constant as time itself.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Sox Pickup Ex Rays First Baseman
This past september Dan Johnson blasted the biggest homerun of his career down 2 strikes with 2 outs in the 9th inning to tie the Yankees, ultimately setting up a walk-off home run by Even Longoria, punching the ticket to October for the Rays. Unfortunately that was Johnson's first hit since April 27th of that season.
The Chicago White Sox just signed Dan Johnson to a minor league contract and extended an invitation to spring training to the 32 year old veteran. He's bounced around baseball since his debut in 2005 with the Oakland A's, playing on the Rays twice with a stint in Japan in between. The question is do the White Sox really need any help at first base right now? The answer is no, not at this moment. With Paul Konerko coming off another stellar year anchoring down first and Adam Dunn available to fill in on Paulie's days off, the Sox are pretty set. Not to mention the fact that super utility man Brent Lillibridge can also hold down the fort at first if need be.
But lets think outside the box here, with potentially 3 men on the roster who can play first base on any given day, why would Williams sign a mediocre first basemen like Johnson? Well, there has been a lot of speculation about what Williams is going to do if the Pale Hose start out slow this season. Could guys like Konerko, Dunn, and/or Lillibridge be on the trading block if the Sox start out slow/ have a bad season? With the word "rebuilding" being thrown around this offseason, one can't help but wonder if Williams has that in the back of his mind as sort of an exit strategy should the 2012 campaign prove to be a disaster. At Soxfest when asked about rebuilding this offseason, Williams clarified that it was not a total rebuild, he called it a "hybrid rebuild," explaining that he wanted to keep certain guys and mix in some rebuilding type moves. But as I mentioned earlier, I can't help but wonder if the White Sox have a horrendous year (which I doubt will happen) will the phrase "hybrid rebuild" be given a violent shove into a "total rebuild."
The bottom line is Dan Johnson is a career .236 hitter with 56 home runs and 187 RBIs (since 2005). Hes been on 3 different major league teams now with a stint for the Yokohama Baystars of Japan thrown onto his resume. He's very grateful for the shot the Sox are giving him and is determined to work his way into a spot. Unfortunately for him, he's going to need to undergo some massive improvements and/or see a few injuries in front of him if he's going to get the call from the big club.
But, it is baseball and stranger things have happened, so all we can do is sit back, relax, and strap it down and let it all develop.
The Chicago White Sox just signed Dan Johnson to a minor league contract and extended an invitation to spring training to the 32 year old veteran. He's bounced around baseball since his debut in 2005 with the Oakland A's, playing on the Rays twice with a stint in Japan in between. The question is do the White Sox really need any help at first base right now? The answer is no, not at this moment. With Paul Konerko coming off another stellar year anchoring down first and Adam Dunn available to fill in on Paulie's days off, the Sox are pretty set. Not to mention the fact that super utility man Brent Lillibridge can also hold down the fort at first if need be.But lets think outside the box here, with potentially 3 men on the roster who can play first base on any given day, why would Williams sign a mediocre first basemen like Johnson? Well, there has been a lot of speculation about what Williams is going to do if the Pale Hose start out slow this season. Could guys like Konerko, Dunn, and/or Lillibridge be on the trading block if the Sox start out slow/ have a bad season? With the word "rebuilding" being thrown around this offseason, one can't help but wonder if Williams has that in the back of his mind as sort of an exit strategy should the 2012 campaign prove to be a disaster. At Soxfest when asked about rebuilding this offseason, Williams clarified that it was not a total rebuild, he called it a "hybrid rebuild," explaining that he wanted to keep certain guys and mix in some rebuilding type moves. But as I mentioned earlier, I can't help but wonder if the White Sox have a horrendous year (which I doubt will happen) will the phrase "hybrid rebuild" be given a violent shove into a "total rebuild."
The bottom line is Dan Johnson is a career .236 hitter with 56 home runs and 187 RBIs (since 2005). Hes been on 3 different major league teams now with a stint for the Yokohama Baystars of Japan thrown onto his resume. He's very grateful for the shot the Sox are giving him and is determined to work his way into a spot. Unfortunately for him, he's going to need to undergo some massive improvements and/or see a few injuries in front of him if he's going to get the call from the big club.
But, it is baseball and stranger things have happened, so all we can do is sit back, relax, and strap it down and let it all develop.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Your 2012 Chicago White Sox
Hello again to all my fellow South Siders, it's been a while and we're coming off a particularly disappointing 2011 season. I want to first apologize for discontinuing this blog towards the end of last season and offer an explanation. We all saw how much our White Sox were underachieving last season, especially towards the end, which was extremely frustrating (especially for a diehard like myself). I decided it was probably better to not post at all rather than posting negative articles every day only to expose the sad truth that we were all already aware of.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets talk 2012 White Sox baseball. Everyone seems to be down on this team because we didn't make any huge offseason moves..... but I got news for each and every one of you: we didn't really need to make any huge moves. The team that we have coming back has the potential to be a winning team. Before you go out and give Detroit the division, lets break things down and look at the numbers and the potential associated with this years team.
First things first.... I want to compare this years team with last years White Sox. Lets start in the outfield, seeing as how thats where most of our changes took place this off-season. Carlos Quentin is gone, not a big deal in my opinion, he was a very streaky hitter and an average outfielder. Sure he had the ability to get hot and carry a team for a week or 2, but he was usually more cold than hot. Not to mention his lack of intelligence in the batters box. Carlos will be replaced by Dayan Viciedo (who I am particularly excited about). Heres a kid who has put up monster numbers in the minor leagues the last two years and has posted a .282 batting average in 206 at bats at the major league level. He has something to prove and he knows it, this is one hungry kid who wants to show the south side of Chicago that he belongs in the show. Alex Rios is the only outfielder from the 2011 season who will be starting in the same place come April. All I can say about him is hopefully he starts showing a little pride in his play. He has great potential to be an integral part of this team, historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend continues. We did not offer Juan Pierre his arbitration and he recently signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, so he's gone. Pierre had an interesting year last year, struggling early to get on, play left field and steal bases. He came on a little bit late in the season, posted some respectable numbers. Juan Pierre is in no way irreplaceable, Alejandro De Aza is someone who I am excited to watch this season and who will be replacing pierre in left and at the top of the lineup. De Aza is another young guy looking to prove himself, he came up last year and showed that he wants to play, he was a spark plug at the top of the lineup who played his rear end off every day he touched the field. To sum it up, the outfield is loaded with talent and potential, its all going to come down to which Alex Rios shows up and how the two young guys adjust to playing everyday at the major league level.
The infield is the exact same as last season. Starting at the hot corner with Brent Morel. His glove has always been there, his offensive production has pretty much always struggled. Hopefully his bat will be able to contribute more consistently now that he has another year under his belt. Over to Ramirez at short stop. A solid fielder, needs to work on his positioning before the pitch (based on the situation/location of the pitch). If he can learn how to put himself in a better position before the play begins to develop he could become one of the best fielding short stops in the game. As frustrating as it is to watch his plate approach, he still produces at a consistent level with the bat. Beckham at second had the highest fielding percentage in the game last year at second base. His bat will come around this season, he has been working hard this offseason and has gotten back to his basics. Hes been talking about how last season he got away from his fundamentals and the things that made him successful. He will be ready this season. Konerko at first, need I say more? The man is a force, great first basemen, one of the best pure fastball hitters in baseball, with the ability to adjust to any off speed pitch and dump it into right. Hes a leader in the club house and has a very high baseball IQ.
As far as the DH role. Look for Adam Dunn to have a normal season this year. Hes been working out this off season, hitting, and mentally preparing himself. He was kind of screwed from the get go last year and I'm expecting a huge year out of him. Hes going to prove a lot of people wrong and a lot of you are going to owe him an apology come september.
The pitching staff will play a vital role in our success this season. We lost Buehrle this offseason, which opened up a spot in the rotation for a young Chris Sale, who's stuff is absolutely filthy. Peavy is healthy for now and at soxfest this weekend Kenny Williams said he expects 200+ innings out of Jake this year (we'll see how that plays out). Danks is still with us despite the rumors this season claiming that Kenny was looking to dish him. Look for Danks to lead the team in wins, he is easily our best pitcher. Gavin Floyd has not gone anywhere and will stay in a White Sox uniform this year, he has great potential, hopefully he's worked on spotting his breaking ball more consistently, giving him more flexibility in setting up his other pitches. And finally Phillip Humber anchors the rotation this year, he proved himself last year, coming out of nowhere to arguably be our best pitcher. Hopefully he can follow up that performance this year. The bullpen lost Santos (not a big deal in my opinion, the guy had good stuff, wasn't exactly a lights out closer, not the smartest pitcher, control issues). Addison Reed was a nice pickup and is a name that comes up when talking about a potential closer. From what I gathered at Soxfest and through certain articles I've been reading, The closer role is going to be between Thornton and Reed. We'll see how that plays out, Williams needs to pickup at least one more guy to solidify our bullpen. But in terms of our pitching staff overall, its strong, the potential is through the roof.
We have AJ and Flowers available to handle the pitching staff again this year, look for them to split time, possibly as much as 60/40 with AJ being the 60 (obviously). Flowers certainly made a splash last season, taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. AJ will be AJ, leading in the clubhouse and hopefully putting up similar offensive numbers this season.
Don't worry about the fact that Detroit picked up Fielder this offseason, they've had injury problems these past few years and are already having injury issues this year. Just because they look like theyre the best on paper, doesn't mean they still don't have to show up and play all 162 games.
What I've been telling everyone this off season is this: The 2011 White Sox did not play anywhere near their potential and they still contended for 85% of the season. If Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, and Alex Rios come to the plate with a pulse this season, this team could easily contend for and win the AL Central. Not to mention that more and more guys are coming out and saying that they really didn't like playing under Ozzie last season. We have new blood in the clubhouse and young, eager guys on the field. The potential of this club is unreal. Lets also remember that most people have written this team off already, the last time we had expectations this low, we won the world series. Maybe flying under the radar this year is exactly what we need. Keep your minds open to the possibility of success. Don't write this team off just yet. Lets see what these kids can do along side our veterans. We're in a weak division with a talented team, anything can happen.
Look for my 2012 Soxfest recap coming in a few days. As always, feel free to comment, vote in my poll, email me questions or comments. Please feel free to help pass the word along and share this blog on facebook, twitter, ect. Thanks and go Sox.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets talk 2012 White Sox baseball. Everyone seems to be down on this team because we didn't make any huge offseason moves..... but I got news for each and every one of you: we didn't really need to make any huge moves. The team that we have coming back has the potential to be a winning team. Before you go out and give Detroit the division, lets break things down and look at the numbers and the potential associated with this years team.
First things first.... I want to compare this years team with last years White Sox. Lets start in the outfield, seeing as how thats where most of our changes took place this off-season. Carlos Quentin is gone, not a big deal in my opinion, he was a very streaky hitter and an average outfielder. Sure he had the ability to get hot and carry a team for a week or 2, but he was usually more cold than hot. Not to mention his lack of intelligence in the batters box. Carlos will be replaced by Dayan Viciedo (who I am particularly excited about). Heres a kid who has put up monster numbers in the minor leagues the last two years and has posted a .282 batting average in 206 at bats at the major league level. He has something to prove and he knows it, this is one hungry kid who wants to show the south side of Chicago that he belongs in the show. Alex Rios is the only outfielder from the 2011 season who will be starting in the same place come April. All I can say about him is hopefully he starts showing a little pride in his play. He has great potential to be an integral part of this team, historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend continues. We did not offer Juan Pierre his arbitration and he recently signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, so he's gone. Pierre had an interesting year last year, struggling early to get on, play left field and steal bases. He came on a little bit late in the season, posted some respectable numbers. Juan Pierre is in no way irreplaceable, Alejandro De Aza is someone who I am excited to watch this season and who will be replacing pierre in left and at the top of the lineup. De Aza is another young guy looking to prove himself, he came up last year and showed that he wants to play, he was a spark plug at the top of the lineup who played his rear end off every day he touched the field. To sum it up, the outfield is loaded with talent and potential, its all going to come down to which Alex Rios shows up and how the two young guys adjust to playing everyday at the major league level.
The infield is the exact same as last season. Starting at the hot corner with Brent Morel. His glove has always been there, his offensive production has pretty much always struggled. Hopefully his bat will be able to contribute more consistently now that he has another year under his belt. Over to Ramirez at short stop. A solid fielder, needs to work on his positioning before the pitch (based on the situation/location of the pitch). If he can learn how to put himself in a better position before the play begins to develop he could become one of the best fielding short stops in the game. As frustrating as it is to watch his plate approach, he still produces at a consistent level with the bat. Beckham at second had the highest fielding percentage in the game last year at second base. His bat will come around this season, he has been working hard this offseason and has gotten back to his basics. Hes been talking about how last season he got away from his fundamentals and the things that made him successful. He will be ready this season. Konerko at first, need I say more? The man is a force, great first basemen, one of the best pure fastball hitters in baseball, with the ability to adjust to any off speed pitch and dump it into right. Hes a leader in the club house and has a very high baseball IQ.As far as the DH role. Look for Adam Dunn to have a normal season this year. Hes been working out this off season, hitting, and mentally preparing himself. He was kind of screwed from the get go last year and I'm expecting a huge year out of him. Hes going to prove a lot of people wrong and a lot of you are going to owe him an apology come september.
The pitching staff will play a vital role in our success this season. We lost Buehrle this offseason, which opened up a spot in the rotation for a young Chris Sale, who's stuff is absolutely filthy. Peavy is healthy for now and at soxfest this weekend Kenny Williams said he expects 200+ innings out of Jake this year (we'll see how that plays out). Danks is still with us despite the rumors this season claiming that Kenny was looking to dish him. Look for Danks to lead the team in wins, he is easily our best pitcher. Gavin Floyd has not gone anywhere and will stay in a White Sox uniform this year, he has great potential, hopefully he's worked on spotting his breaking ball more consistently, giving him more flexibility in setting up his other pitches. And finally Phillip Humber anchors the rotation this year, he proved himself last year, coming out of nowhere to arguably be our best pitcher. Hopefully he can follow up that performance this year. The bullpen lost Santos (not a big deal in my opinion, the guy had good stuff, wasn't exactly a lights out closer, not the smartest pitcher, control issues). Addison Reed was a nice pickup and is a name that comes up when talking about a potential closer. From what I gathered at Soxfest and through certain articles I've been reading, The closer role is going to be between Thornton and Reed. We'll see how that plays out, Williams needs to pickup at least one more guy to solidify our bullpen. But in terms of our pitching staff overall, its strong, the potential is through the roof.
We have AJ and Flowers available to handle the pitching staff again this year, look for them to split time, possibly as much as 60/40 with AJ being the 60 (obviously). Flowers certainly made a splash last season, taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. AJ will be AJ, leading in the clubhouse and hopefully putting up similar offensive numbers this season.Don't worry about the fact that Detroit picked up Fielder this offseason, they've had injury problems these past few years and are already having injury issues this year. Just because they look like theyre the best on paper, doesn't mean they still don't have to show up and play all 162 games.
What I've been telling everyone this off season is this: The 2011 White Sox did not play anywhere near their potential and they still contended for 85% of the season. If Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, and Alex Rios come to the plate with a pulse this season, this team could easily contend for and win the AL Central. Not to mention that more and more guys are coming out and saying that they really didn't like playing under Ozzie last season. We have new blood in the clubhouse and young, eager guys on the field. The potential of this club is unreal. Lets also remember that most people have written this team off already, the last time we had expectations this low, we won the world series. Maybe flying under the radar this year is exactly what we need. Keep your minds open to the possibility of success. Don't write this team off just yet. Lets see what these kids can do along side our veterans. We're in a weak division with a talented team, anything can happen.
Look for my 2012 Soxfest recap coming in a few days. As always, feel free to comment, vote in my poll, email me questions or comments. Please feel free to help pass the word along and share this blog on facebook, twitter, ect. Thanks and go Sox.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Crosstown Classic and Other Concerns
Alright folks, the Sox and cubs are tied at 1 game a piece right now. Last night after a vicious rain delay the Sox came out and were able to post a 1 run lead and hold on for the win. Tonight is the rubber match of the series and the most important part about it has nothing to do with the fact that its against the Cubs. The Sox are still lingering a few games under .500. It is disappointing because they are a better team than what their record shows.
The problem is this team plays to their competition. They are 5 games over .500 when facing teams who are above the .500 mark. But are an astonishing 8 games under .500 when playing teams who are under the .500 mark. That is a huge problem people. Those are the teams you have to beat if you expect to win a division. Now the Sox are still only 4.5 games back, which is a minor miracle considering how inconsistently they have played this season. The offense has been sluggish at best lately and really just looks dead, most of the guys in the lineup do not have productive at bats. I would like to give a hearty tip of the cap to Paul Konerko who has homered in his last 5 straight games and is hitting right around .330. The man is on fire, the reason his average has been so stellar lately (last year and this year) is because he has figured out how to turn good pitchers pitches into base hits. He dumps the ball into right field when he needs to and he drives pitches that are on the inner portion of the plate. What I mean to say is, he has figured out how to hit in all situations. Even when hes down in the count, he fights off good pitches and turns them into gold. Paulie, this buds for you, you are a legitimate contender for AL MVP as of right now. Anyone who wants to argue that, look at his numbers.
From what I can see, this offense needs to make some changes if we expect to make a pennant push. We need an offensive spark plug, because really its basically been the Paul Konerko show, featuring AJ Pierzynski lately. The rest of the lineup just goes up there and looks like they don't wanna be there to be quite honest. They'll scatter a few hits here and there, but they just don't look hungry, they never get clutch hits and when its going like that, it spreads to everyone else in the lineup, a lineup with low confidence is not going to produce. So here is what I suggest (just in case Kenny or Ozzie are reading this lol)
1) Problem: Juan Pierre does not deserve to be starting for this team, especially in the lead-off spot, since he never gets on base. Since a lead-off man has one job (getting on base) and Pierre doesn't do it, there is no reason to keep running him out there. Not to mention he is a liability in left field.
Solution: Brent Lillibridge has earned the chance to start. He has made countless great plays in the field and has been that spark plug when he has had the chance to hit in the lineup. Its no coincidence that we usually win when he gets his hacks. I don't know how he would fare as an every day lead off-man because he hasn't ever had that opportunity in his career, but I think its worth a shot, what are we going to lose? Someone who cannot get on base or run down a ball in left field? Come on now, Brent is fast, he hits, he busts his butt every time he's given a chance, he is spectacular in the field and he has something to prove. Give him the nod Oz.
2) Problem: The DH, Adam Dunn is having the worst season of his life. He is basically a waste of an at-bat folks. He is hitting .178 (which I don't wanna dwell too much on his average since that is not what we picked him up for) But he only has 7 homers, which is the reason we picked him up. The problem here is, he is making so much money, they won't bench him.
Solution: I would say bench him and bring up Dyan Viciedo from the minors, he's hitting .330 down there and has tremendous power, he isn't a great fielder which is why DH would be perfect for him. But that won't happen because they are paying Dunn so much money, I hate to say it folks, but we're gonna be stuck with Dunn in the DH because of the big bucks we're giving him. We better just pray he figures it out, because I'll tell you this, it is all mental at this point, he is pressing so hard right now, he just needs to relax and go up there swinging.
3) Problem: Offensive production has been down and basically Rios hasn't done anything and Morel hasn't done much and Mark Teahan is just a waste of space on this roster. I do like Morel at 3rd though as he has a great glove, not to mention his bat is coming around.
Solution: I really want to see Dayan Viciedo get a shot in this lineup. I mean think about it, a young guy who is hungry and has something to prove. You bring him up and plug him in for someone like Rios or Teahan, he is going to spark this offense.
Overall Solution: Here is exactly what I would do. Move Quentin to left, replace Pierre with Lillibridge and put Lillibridge in Center and then plug in Viciedo in right. Either that or put him in at third and sit Morel, either way your sacrificing a little defense for a potential offensive explosion. But I think plugging in guys like Lillibridge and Dayan would spark this offense and that is what we need right now people. Unfortunately, money controls everything and they aren't going to bench Rios and probably not Pierre because of the big contracts they have. Which is sad, that we are going to sacrifice winning for money.
Anyway, hopefully we can start a winning streak as we are playing a few bad teams these next few series. We'll just have to weather the storm and hope these guys (who are going to keep getting the starting nod) will start turning things around and start playing to their potentials.
Game is at 7:10 tonight, Jake Peavy returns to the starting rotation, lets hope he looks as good as he did in his rehab start and lets hope this offense wakes up. I've said it all year and I'll say it again, this team has too much talent to have the record they have. The Cubs are just a bad team this year as they are 13 games under .500, this is a team we should beat.
By the way, I went to the first game of the crosstown classic the other day, what a joke. I'm not just talking about the way the Sox played. I'm talking about the type of "fan" that invaded the Cell. I've never seen so many plaid shorts, dress shirts, man earrings, and drunks at a game than I saw on Monday night. Talk about binge drinking, Cub fans left and right stumbling around, trying to walk the stairs to their seats, starting fights, bragging about their 13 games under .500 team. It really was pathetic to watch. If I can make time for it, I will be posting that video, explaining Cub fans and the differences between us and them, since if I typed everything I wanted to say, it would be wayyyy to long.
Go Sox.
The problem is this team plays to their competition. They are 5 games over .500 when facing teams who are above the .500 mark. But are an astonishing 8 games under .500 when playing teams who are under the .500 mark. That is a huge problem people. Those are the teams you have to beat if you expect to win a division. Now the Sox are still only 4.5 games back, which is a minor miracle considering how inconsistently they have played this season. The offense has been sluggish at best lately and really just looks dead, most of the guys in the lineup do not have productive at bats. I would like to give a hearty tip of the cap to Paul Konerko who has homered in his last 5 straight games and is hitting right around .330. The man is on fire, the reason his average has been so stellar lately (last year and this year) is because he has figured out how to turn good pitchers pitches into base hits. He dumps the ball into right field when he needs to and he drives pitches that are on the inner portion of the plate. What I mean to say is, he has figured out how to hit in all situations. Even when hes down in the count, he fights off good pitches and turns them into gold. Paulie, this buds for you, you are a legitimate contender for AL MVP as of right now. Anyone who wants to argue that, look at his numbers.
From what I can see, this offense needs to make some changes if we expect to make a pennant push. We need an offensive spark plug, because really its basically been the Paul Konerko show, featuring AJ Pierzynski lately. The rest of the lineup just goes up there and looks like they don't wanna be there to be quite honest. They'll scatter a few hits here and there, but they just don't look hungry, they never get clutch hits and when its going like that, it spreads to everyone else in the lineup, a lineup with low confidence is not going to produce. So here is what I suggest (just in case Kenny or Ozzie are reading this lol)
1) Problem: Juan Pierre does not deserve to be starting for this team, especially in the lead-off spot, since he never gets on base. Since a lead-off man has one job (getting on base) and Pierre doesn't do it, there is no reason to keep running him out there. Not to mention he is a liability in left field.
Solution: Brent Lillibridge has earned the chance to start. He has made countless great plays in the field and has been that spark plug when he has had the chance to hit in the lineup. Its no coincidence that we usually win when he gets his hacks. I don't know how he would fare as an every day lead off-man because he hasn't ever had that opportunity in his career, but I think its worth a shot, what are we going to lose? Someone who cannot get on base or run down a ball in left field? Come on now, Brent is fast, he hits, he busts his butt every time he's given a chance, he is spectacular in the field and he has something to prove. Give him the nod Oz.
2) Problem: The DH, Adam Dunn is having the worst season of his life. He is basically a waste of an at-bat folks. He is hitting .178 (which I don't wanna dwell too much on his average since that is not what we picked him up for) But he only has 7 homers, which is the reason we picked him up. The problem here is, he is making so much money, they won't bench him.
Solution: I would say bench him and bring up Dyan Viciedo from the minors, he's hitting .330 down there and has tremendous power, he isn't a great fielder which is why DH would be perfect for him. But that won't happen because they are paying Dunn so much money, I hate to say it folks, but we're gonna be stuck with Dunn in the DH because of the big bucks we're giving him. We better just pray he figures it out, because I'll tell you this, it is all mental at this point, he is pressing so hard right now, he just needs to relax and go up there swinging.
3) Problem: Offensive production has been down and basically Rios hasn't done anything and Morel hasn't done much and Mark Teahan is just a waste of space on this roster. I do like Morel at 3rd though as he has a great glove, not to mention his bat is coming around.
Solution: I really want to see Dayan Viciedo get a shot in this lineup. I mean think about it, a young guy who is hungry and has something to prove. You bring him up and plug him in for someone like Rios or Teahan, he is going to spark this offense.
Overall Solution: Here is exactly what I would do. Move Quentin to left, replace Pierre with Lillibridge and put Lillibridge in Center and then plug in Viciedo in right. Either that or put him in at third and sit Morel, either way your sacrificing a little defense for a potential offensive explosion. But I think plugging in guys like Lillibridge and Dayan would spark this offense and that is what we need right now people. Unfortunately, money controls everything and they aren't going to bench Rios and probably not Pierre because of the big contracts they have. Which is sad, that we are going to sacrifice winning for money.
Anyway, hopefully we can start a winning streak as we are playing a few bad teams these next few series. We'll just have to weather the storm and hope these guys (who are going to keep getting the starting nod) will start turning things around and start playing to their potentials.
Game is at 7:10 tonight, Jake Peavy returns to the starting rotation, lets hope he looks as good as he did in his rehab start and lets hope this offense wakes up. I've said it all year and I'll say it again, this team has too much talent to have the record they have. The Cubs are just a bad team this year as they are 13 games under .500, this is a team we should beat.
By the way, I went to the first game of the crosstown classic the other day, what a joke. I'm not just talking about the way the Sox played. I'm talking about the type of "fan" that invaded the Cell. I've never seen so many plaid shorts, dress shirts, man earrings, and drunks at a game than I saw on Monday night. Talk about binge drinking, Cub fans left and right stumbling around, trying to walk the stairs to their seats, starting fights, bragging about their 13 games under .500 team. It really was pathetic to watch. If I can make time for it, I will be posting that video, explaining Cub fans and the differences between us and them, since if I typed everything I wanted to say, it would be wayyyy to long.
Go Sox.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sox Finish Road Trip on High Note
Again, I apologize for not posting in a couple games. I have been really really busy, not to mention the Sox didn't give me much to post about at the beginning of this past road trip, but I digress. Ok, I'm going to make this post quick so we can move on to previewing the crosstown classic (amongst other Sox/cub things).
Alrighty then, The Sox just took 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks in AZ, as Danks picked up an impressive win on Saturday. What made it even more impressive, was that Johnny took a line shot off the side of his head in the early goings of that game, only to stay in and pitch 7 strong innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. I mean the man laughed on the field after taking a laser to the side of the head. He didn't ask for a doctor, he asked for the ball and that is what makes John Danks the competitor that he is. He's a bulldog as Hawk would say. Johnny, this buds for you. Anyway the offense would come alive in that game on Saturday late. As the Sox broke a 2-2 tie with a Konerko solo job in the 6th (picking up his 2nd RBI of the day and 2nd home run in as many days) making it a 3-2 Sox lead. But the finishing blow came in the 8th, with 2 on and 1 out Alex Rios, your neighborhood insurance agent, blasted a 3 run homer to give the Sox a 4 run cushion. They would hold on to win that one 6-2.
Yesterday, on Fathers Day, the Sox received another excellent pitching performance from Phil Humber. He went 7.2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. The bats stumbled out of the gate but came alive late (again) plating 2 runs in the 7th and a 5 spot in the 8th. The Sox won that one 8-2 to take the series and pull (yet again) to within 3 games of .500. Konerko homered for his 3rd straight game and Rios homered for the second day in a row as well.
The Sox need to take this momentum and have a tremendous home stand this week. We play the Scrubs..... Chumps.... Chubs... sorry CUBS starting today (Monday) in the "Crosstown-Classic" Or as it will be known in about 2 weeks, the "Crosstown-Beat Down." Then we get the Nationals at home starting Friday. So we really really need to take care of business against 2 lesser National League teams.
Just would like to take this last opportunity to say thank you to my Dad. A hard working man who taught me everything I know about the White Sox. Always set a great example for me growing up on how to be a man and act like an adult, work hard for what I have, love the Sox and hate the Cubs. Thanks Dad! Happy Fathers Day (again).
Look for a post very soon previewing the crosstown classic (there might even be a video in there where I de-bunk Cub fans top 3 crosstown arguments as well as separate the two fan bases by demographic). Go Sox.
Alrighty then, The Sox just took 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks in AZ, as Danks picked up an impressive win on Saturday. What made it even more impressive, was that Johnny took a line shot off the side of his head in the early goings of that game, only to stay in and pitch 7 strong innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. I mean the man laughed on the field after taking a laser to the side of the head. He didn't ask for a doctor, he asked for the ball and that is what makes John Danks the competitor that he is. He's a bulldog as Hawk would say. Johnny, this buds for you. Anyway the offense would come alive in that game on Saturday late. As the Sox broke a 2-2 tie with a Konerko solo job in the 6th (picking up his 2nd RBI of the day and 2nd home run in as many days) making it a 3-2 Sox lead. But the finishing blow came in the 8th, with 2 on and 1 out Alex Rios, your neighborhood insurance agent, blasted a 3 run homer to give the Sox a 4 run cushion. They would hold on to win that one 6-2.
Yesterday, on Fathers Day, the Sox received another excellent pitching performance from Phil Humber. He went 7.2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. The bats stumbled out of the gate but came alive late (again) plating 2 runs in the 7th and a 5 spot in the 8th. The Sox won that one 8-2 to take the series and pull (yet again) to within 3 games of .500. Konerko homered for his 3rd straight game and Rios homered for the second day in a row as well.
The Sox need to take this momentum and have a tremendous home stand this week. We play the Scrubs..... Chumps.... Chubs... sorry CUBS starting today (Monday) in the "Crosstown-Classic" Or as it will be known in about 2 weeks, the "Crosstown-Beat Down." Then we get the Nationals at home starting Friday. So we really really need to take care of business against 2 lesser National League teams.
Just would like to take this last opportunity to say thank you to my Dad. A hard working man who taught me everything I know about the White Sox. Always set a great example for me growing up on how to be a man and act like an adult, work hard for what I have, love the Sox and hate the Cubs. Thanks Dad! Happy Fathers Day (again).
Look for a post very soon previewing the crosstown classic (there might even be a video in there where I de-bunk Cub fans top 3 crosstown arguments as well as separate the two fan bases by demographic). Go Sox.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Twins Continue to Make Life Hell For Us
We are 0 for 4 against the Twins this season.
The Twins have 8 starters on the DL and we still lost both games to them
Thank God for the rain out or we would have dropped 3 games
In 36 innings against the Twins this season, we've scored 3 runs...........
I literally cannot watch this team sometimes, they are so frustrating
We hit into 6 double plays in 2 games against the Twins. Should have been 7 double plays, but the Twins committed an error.
The mediocracy of this team right now is really overwhelming.
They have so much talent in the lineup and are underachieving so much, I almost can't stand it.
Our only chance is if inter league play bails us out..... yet again.
We're in Arizona tomorrow. First pitch is at 8:40pm on Comcast Sportsnet.
The Twins have 8 starters on the DL and we still lost both games to them
Thank God for the rain out or we would have dropped 3 games
In 36 innings against the Twins this season, we've scored 3 runs...........
I literally cannot watch this team sometimes, they are so frustrating
We hit into 6 double plays in 2 games against the Twins. Should have been 7 double plays, but the Twins committed an error.
The mediocracy of this team right now is really overwhelming.
They have so much talent in the lineup and are underachieving so much, I almost can't stand it.
Our only chance is if inter league play bails us out..... yet again.
We're in Arizona tomorrow. First pitch is at 8:40pm on Comcast Sportsnet.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away So the Sox Can Win Today
Alright Sox fans, I'm just sitting here, waiting out the rain delay, flipping around stations (because God knows as soon as WCIU put "Meet the Browns" on as their rain delay programming, I turned the station). Anyways, I just wanted to take this time to preview this upcoming series in Minnesota.
We come into this 3 game set with an overall record of 33 and 35, 4 games out of first place, we're 6 and 4 in our last 10 games. The Twins come in with an overall record of 26 and 39, 9.5 games out of first, however, they've been playing good baseball lately sporting an 8 and 2 record in their last 10 games. This is going to be a big series for our White Sox. We have battled back over this past month to bring it within 2 games of .500. The Twins are a team you can never count out and have been charging as of late. We need to cool this team off and come away with at least a series win.
My keys to this series:
1. Get it Dunn
What I mean by this is, Adam Dunn needs to have a break out series. He has slowly begun to hit and when he starts to hit, our lineup becomes 10X more dangerous as he not only provides offensive production but protection for the hitters around him. He is a big key to our offensive success.
2. Clutch Hitting (By the way, they just cancelled the game for tonight)
Our offense is still leaving way to many men on base, the only way we are going to play to our potential is by knocking in runs when we have them out on the base paths. Obviously, we can't drive in every runner we put on base, but leaving 15 men on base in a game is unforgivable. If we are going to cool off the Twins, we need to start cashing the checks that are runners in scoring position.
3. Twin Throwings
Now that we're only playing 2 games in this series because of the cancelation today, we need our pitching staff to come out in both of our games and shut it down. We cannot have a let up, and that goes for our bullpen too. Santos especially needs to come out and absolutely shut it down (for his confidence and for the teams momentum)
This is a big one for our Sox folks. Lets hope they can come out and shut down a weak Twins team. Reason I say they're weak is because of the massive amount of injuries and big name players they have on the DL right now. They have been playing better than the team that they actually are. Its also a big one for us because after this series we go into Arizona to play a hot Diamondbacks team which kicks off inter league play for us, which is traditionally where the Sox make up a ton of ground.
By the way, I also just started a new poll, located on the right side of this page, let me know who you think has been the biggest surprise of the 2011 season so far. Also, like the perspective on facebook!
So lets come back tomorrow and get that first win in Minnesota, the game starts at 7:10 and thats going to be over on WCIU. Big series. Lets get it done Sox.
So lets come back tomorrow and get that first win in Minnesota, the game starts at 7:10 and thats going to be over on WCIU. Big series. Lets get it done Sox.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Sox Get it Dunn in Finale
Adam Dunn has been struggling mightily these first 2 months of this 2011 season. But lately it seems he has started to turn the corner, belting two home runs in this last series against the A's, driving in 6 in the series while walking 3 times and scoring 3 runs. One of his two series home runs was a game changer in the series finale on Sunday.
The White Sox offense struggled early, unable to get anything going until the 4th when Konerko started things off with a single, followed by an hit batsmen to AJ, which eventually set Dunn up with 2 on and 2 out to take a hanging curveball and absolutely park it deep in the right field bleachers.
You can't leave the breaking ball there.....
That was a big moment for a few reasons, first of all it gave the Sox the lead and put a struggling offense right back in the game. But possibly more important (because this is more long term) it gave Adam Dunn more confidence and right now, that is what he needs. Nothing helps break a ball player out of a huge slump more than production. He said in a post game interview that he is finally starting to feel better up there at the plate, which is huge for the White Sox.
After 2 A's runs (which tied the game at 3 in the 7th) the White Sox would catch a break and take full advantage of it in the bottom half of the 7th. With men on 1st and 2nd Carlos Quentin would hit a slow roller to A's third basemen Scott Sizemore who would rush his throw to second (as a speedy Alexi was trucking into second) and throw the ball into left field, allowing Teahan to round 3rd and score and Alexi to get up and make 3rd. Konerko would follow with a solid single into left to plate an insurance run in Ramirez to give the Sox the 5-3 lead. Santos would come in for the save, he looked shaky again giving up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. The game ended on a ground ball to third and a close (and questionable) play at first, but none the less the White Sox got the much needed win to close out the A's and take 3 of 4 for the series.
Lets talk pitching real quick. Phillip Humber was absolutely solid yet again, he has yet to give up more than 4 runs in a game for this entire season. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. Phil had a rocky first inning but after that he was lights out, striking out 7 and only walking 2. He has been our most reliable starter all season and quite the pleasant surprise I might add. Humber was done in the 7th, giving way for Matt Thornton in the 8th who pitched an inning, giving up no hits and walking one. Cue Sergio Santos in the 9th, coming off a horrendous blown save on Friday Sergio looked shaky again. As I said earlier he gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. But he did record the save, giving the Sox the win.
Where does this win put us? 3.5 games out of first and 2 under .500. We go on the road to Minnesota to face off with a red hot Twins team who have been charging as of late. They are 8 and 2 in their last 10, hopefully we can cool them down and get back to .500. I don't mean to pat myself on the back prematurely but I do believe I set the date at June 15th for the Sox to be back to .500. Well they're 2 games under with 2 games to play until June 15th..... (not to mention that game on Friday night, if they hang on to that, they're an even .500 right now, oh well). But we need to keep this momentum going and we need to just dominate in Minnesota to propel this team into inter league play (which is where we always make up ground).
I wanna talk about one player right now who has been an absolute force lately. Paul "The Captain" Konerko. He is currently on a 13 game hitting streak, hitting an unreal .460 (23 for 50) with 9 doubles, 6 homers, 15 RBIs, 6 walks, and 10 runs scored during this streak. That is unbelievable. The man has been on a mission. That is why he is our captain people, he has single handedly ignited this offense. Numbers don't lie. As of right now, his numbers on the season are as follows:
Average: .322
Home Runs: 16
RBI: 52
Doubles: 11
OBP: .390
SLG: .563
Walks: 28
The man has literally gotten better with age. Paulie, this buds for you.
Anyway, today (Monday) is a much needed off day for the club as they travel to Minnesota. Lets hope we can cool the Twins down and get back to .500. We are right back in this pennant race folks (just as this White Sox fanatic predicted we would be). This team is too good to not be in it. Enjoy the off day and lets go out and get those pesky Twins tomorrow. Go Sox!
The White Sox offense struggled early, unable to get anything going until the 4th when Konerko started things off with a single, followed by an hit batsmen to AJ, which eventually set Dunn up with 2 on and 2 out to take a hanging curveball and absolutely park it deep in the right field bleachers.
That was a big moment for a few reasons, first of all it gave the Sox the lead and put a struggling offense right back in the game. But possibly more important (because this is more long term) it gave Adam Dunn more confidence and right now, that is what he needs. Nothing helps break a ball player out of a huge slump more than production. He said in a post game interview that he is finally starting to feel better up there at the plate, which is huge for the White Sox.
After 2 A's runs (which tied the game at 3 in the 7th) the White Sox would catch a break and take full advantage of it in the bottom half of the 7th. With men on 1st and 2nd Carlos Quentin would hit a slow roller to A's third basemen Scott Sizemore who would rush his throw to second (as a speedy Alexi was trucking into second) and throw the ball into left field, allowing Teahan to round 3rd and score and Alexi to get up and make 3rd. Konerko would follow with a solid single into left to plate an insurance run in Ramirez to give the Sox the 5-3 lead. Santos would come in for the save, he looked shaky again giving up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. The game ended on a ground ball to third and a close (and questionable) play at first, but none the less the White Sox got the much needed win to close out the A's and take 3 of 4 for the series.
Lets talk pitching real quick. Phillip Humber was absolutely solid yet again, he has yet to give up more than 4 runs in a game for this entire season. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. Phil had a rocky first inning but after that he was lights out, striking out 7 and only walking 2. He has been our most reliable starter all season and quite the pleasant surprise I might add. Humber was done in the 7th, giving way for Matt Thornton in the 8th who pitched an inning, giving up no hits and walking one. Cue Sergio Santos in the 9th, coming off a horrendous blown save on Friday Sergio looked shaky again. As I said earlier he gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. But he did record the save, giving the Sox the win.
Where does this win put us? 3.5 games out of first and 2 under .500. We go on the road to Minnesota to face off with a red hot Twins team who have been charging as of late. They are 8 and 2 in their last 10, hopefully we can cool them down and get back to .500. I don't mean to pat myself on the back prematurely but I do believe I set the date at June 15th for the Sox to be back to .500. Well they're 2 games under with 2 games to play until June 15th..... (not to mention that game on Friday night, if they hang on to that, they're an even .500 right now, oh well). But we need to keep this momentum going and we need to just dominate in Minnesota to propel this team into inter league play (which is where we always make up ground).
I wanna talk about one player right now who has been an absolute force lately. Paul "The Captain" Konerko. He is currently on a 13 game hitting streak, hitting an unreal .460 (23 for 50) with 9 doubles, 6 homers, 15 RBIs, 6 walks, and 10 runs scored during this streak. That is unbelievable. The man has been on a mission. That is why he is our captain people, he has single handedly ignited this offense. Numbers don't lie. As of right now, his numbers on the season are as follows:
Average: .322Home Runs: 16
RBI: 52
Doubles: 11
OBP: .390
SLG: .563
Walks: 28
The man has literally gotten better with age. Paulie, this buds for you.
Anyway, today (Monday) is a much needed off day for the club as they travel to Minnesota. Lets hope we can cool the Twins down and get back to .500. We are right back in this pennant race folks (just as this White Sox fanatic predicted we would be). This team is too good to not be in it. Enjoy the off day and lets go out and get those pesky Twins tomorrow. Go Sox!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Brent Lillibridge Saves the Day
As I posted yesterday, I apologize for not posting this past week, I was in Cooperstown NY. The Sox had a decent week while I was gone and are slowly climbing the ladder. That being said, lets get started.
The White Sox came into US Cellular field on Saturday needing to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss on Friday. We have been slowly crawling back towards a .500 record and the top of this division. On a night where the bats weren't really there, the Sox needed all the help they could get from their pitching and defense. Brent Lillibridge and John Danks certainly rose the the occasion.
John Danks who recently made a minor change in his mound mechanics has been lights out his last 2 starts (including last night). He went 7.2 innings only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He was stellar. John Danks obviously is a better pitcher than his 2-8 record reflects. But it is nice to see him still going out there and absolutely battling every time he has as start. Look for him to start stacking up the wins, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ended the season with a winning record (Mark my words right now). Anyways, Danks goes 7 and 2 thirds innings and gives way for Jesse Crain who finished off the final inning and a third to nail it down and get the save to give the Sox a 3-2 victory.
Lets talk about the defense real quick. Not the strongest outing all around as the Sox committed two errors, one by Ramirez at short and one by Castro behind the plate. But those errors were erased from our minds when Brent Lillibridge made a game saving, home run robbing snag, going over the wall and bringing a Coco Crisp shot back into the park.
From this angle you can really see what a great catch (especially given the circumstances) this really was.
With a man on base for the A's, that ball would have taken the lead away from our Sox and a win away from John Danks. Brent Lillibridge has been playing his way into a starting position. He hustles all the time, he throws the leather, and boy for a little guy, he can really swing. Last night was no different, making a huge play in the field as well as on the base paths, stealing second and advancing to third in the 6th, only to score what turned out to be the winning run on the next play. Brent Lillibridge, this buds for you.
As I stated earlier, the offense struggled a little bit scoring 3 runs on only 6 hits. Out of our 3 runs 2 of them were the results of throwing errors. Ramon Castro led off the 4th inning with a solo home run and that was really it for the offensive fireworks. But we took advantage of mistakes by the other team and thats what great teams do. They find a way to win, which is exactly what the Sox did last night.
We need to keep stacking up wins people, there has been a changing of the guard in the AL Central as the Tigers moved into a first place tie with the Indians last night. I don't mean to say "I told you so" but just as I stated many times earlier this season, the Indians have finally come down to earth and are fading fast. They are 2 and 8 in their last 10 and I suspect they will continue to fade. This race is between 2 teams folks, the White Sox and the Tigers. We need to keep winning, we're almost back to .500 and when that happens this race will really heat up. First things first, we need to take care of business today against Oakland and take 3 of 4 from the A's at home. The key for us to winning this division is going to be to win games at home, our home record going into today (Sunday) is 15 and 17. Thats not good folks, we need to win at home. Its as simple as that, if we can start winning big at home, this team is really going to take off. They have been playing better and better and continue to climb, lets get this one today and go from there.
Today (Sunday) we have Phil Humber on the mound who has been our best starter, first pitch is going to be at 1:10 over on Comcast Sportsnet. Go Sox.
The White Sox came into US Cellular field on Saturday needing to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss on Friday. We have been slowly crawling back towards a .500 record and the top of this division. On a night where the bats weren't really there, the Sox needed all the help they could get from their pitching and defense. Brent Lillibridge and John Danks certainly rose the the occasion.
John Danks who recently made a minor change in his mound mechanics has been lights out his last 2 starts (including last night). He went 7.2 innings only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He was stellar. John Danks obviously is a better pitcher than his 2-8 record reflects. But it is nice to see him still going out there and absolutely battling every time he has as start. Look for him to start stacking up the wins, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ended the season with a winning record (Mark my words right now). Anyways, Danks goes 7 and 2 thirds innings and gives way for Jesse Crain who finished off the final inning and a third to nail it down and get the save to give the Sox a 3-2 victory.
Lets talk about the defense real quick. Not the strongest outing all around as the Sox committed two errors, one by Ramirez at short and one by Castro behind the plate. But those errors were erased from our minds when Brent Lillibridge made a game saving, home run robbing snag, going over the wall and bringing a Coco Crisp shot back into the park.
With a man on base for the A's, that ball would have taken the lead away from our Sox and a win away from John Danks. Brent Lillibridge has been playing his way into a starting position. He hustles all the time, he throws the leather, and boy for a little guy, he can really swing. Last night was no different, making a huge play in the field as well as on the base paths, stealing second and advancing to third in the 6th, only to score what turned out to be the winning run on the next play. Brent Lillibridge, this buds for you.
As I stated earlier, the offense struggled a little bit scoring 3 runs on only 6 hits. Out of our 3 runs 2 of them were the results of throwing errors. Ramon Castro led off the 4th inning with a solo home run and that was really it for the offensive fireworks. But we took advantage of mistakes by the other team and thats what great teams do. They find a way to win, which is exactly what the Sox did last night.
We need to keep stacking up wins people, there has been a changing of the guard in the AL Central as the Tigers moved into a first place tie with the Indians last night. I don't mean to say "I told you so" but just as I stated many times earlier this season, the Indians have finally come down to earth and are fading fast. They are 2 and 8 in their last 10 and I suspect they will continue to fade. This race is between 2 teams folks, the White Sox and the Tigers. We need to keep winning, we're almost back to .500 and when that happens this race will really heat up. First things first, we need to take care of business today against Oakland and take 3 of 4 from the A's at home. The key for us to winning this division is going to be to win games at home, our home record going into today (Sunday) is 15 and 17. Thats not good folks, we need to win at home. Its as simple as that, if we can start winning big at home, this team is really going to take off. They have been playing better and better and continue to climb, lets get this one today and go from there.
Today (Sunday) we have Phil Humber on the mound who has been our best starter, first pitch is going to be at 1:10 over on Comcast Sportsnet. Go Sox.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Apologies for not posting for so long
Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in about a week, I was actually in Cooperstown NY on a very baseball oriented trip. I just wanted to apologize and give my explanation really quick. That game last night was the first thing I saw when I got back into town, needless to say I don't have much to say about it. I'm actually still in shock that we couldn't close that one out last night. I keep randomly saying out loud "how... how did we lose last night? I mean it was right there...." So I'm gonna need some time to collect my thoughts. But I will be posting again tonight after the game ends, so look for a much needed new post after the game tonight! Go Sox! We really need this one!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
White Sox Complete The Boston Massacre
Shout out to Jay Modelski for the title.
The White Sox completed a HUGE sweep of the Boston Red Sox today (Wednesday). This was a back and forth game that eventually landed on the White Sox side. Just a monster win today for our Sox. They NEEDED this one and they got it. What I loved about this game was the fact that we were down early and battled back to hang on and win by 3 runs. Right now, we are to the Red Sox what the Twins are to us. A pain in the rear. How great is it that we stormed into Fenway and swept the hottest team in the league?
Come on, I had to do it
Gavin Floyd looked very shaky early on, giving up a quick 3 runs in the 2nd inning. But after that folks, Gavin settled down and put it on cruise control with just a 1 run speed bump in the 6th. So Floyd goes 6.2 innings and gives up 4 earned runs and 9 hits. The Red Sox scored 3 in the 2nd as I said already, those 3 runs off 4 hits. They would score again in the 6th on a David Ortiz home run. Sale would come in and shut down the Bo Sox for the 3rd out of the 7th inning and then the entire 8th, he goes 1.1 innings retiring everyone he saw, setting up Sergio Santos to come in and close it out in a 1-2-3 9th.
The offense was stellar again, scoring 7 runs on 12 hits. Highlighted by a powerful day at the plate for Brent Lillibridge, who was 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a homer and a double off the top of the green monster (which was his second ball in as many days that hit the very top of the monster, if we were at home, he would have had 2 more homers). Alexi was 3 for 5 with an RBI, continuing to tear the cover off the ball. Not to mention another great day at the plate by the captain, Paul Konerko who was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a homer, and a run scored. This offense is heating up with the weather (just like I said it would about a month ago). The pitching is completely shutting teams down, the bullpen has been stellar, and the offense is starting to really mash. This team is falling right into place like we thought it would (well most of us at least).
Their last 15 games against the Red Sox, the White Sox have outscored Boston 88 to 50! They have now won their last 7 straight games at Fenway Park, the last time the White Sox did that..... 1959. Foreshadowing? We'll see.
We come home now and let me just say, its about time, we've already had 3 ten game road trips and have played the most road games in all of the major leagues. Get this, the Sox are only on the road for 9 games from now until the all-star break (July 11th). This is our time to get hot and tear it up at home. This is our chance to get back to .500 and burn right past it and take our top spot in the division. I don't think its any fluke that the Indians have played mostly home games (when compared to the other teams in the league) and we've been on the road more than any team in the bigs and the standings look the way they do. Its going to even out, the Indians are on their way back down to earth, and our talented Sox are finally starting to let their talent show. Sit back, relax, and strap it down Sox fans, here come the Sox!
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Also, make sure you take a look at my wrap up for the Sox month of May. Some pretty eye opening stats in there.
The White Sox completed a HUGE sweep of the Boston Red Sox today (Wednesday). This was a back and forth game that eventually landed on the White Sox side. Just a monster win today for our Sox. They NEEDED this one and they got it. What I loved about this game was the fact that we were down early and battled back to hang on and win by 3 runs. Right now, we are to the Red Sox what the Twins are to us. A pain in the rear. How great is it that we stormed into Fenway and swept the hottest team in the league?
Gavin Floyd looked very shaky early on, giving up a quick 3 runs in the 2nd inning. But after that folks, Gavin settled down and put it on cruise control with just a 1 run speed bump in the 6th. So Floyd goes 6.2 innings and gives up 4 earned runs and 9 hits. The Red Sox scored 3 in the 2nd as I said already, those 3 runs off 4 hits. They would score again in the 6th on a David Ortiz home run. Sale would come in and shut down the Bo Sox for the 3rd out of the 7th inning and then the entire 8th, he goes 1.1 innings retiring everyone he saw, setting up Sergio Santos to come in and close it out in a 1-2-3 9th.
The offense was stellar again, scoring 7 runs on 12 hits. Highlighted by a powerful day at the plate for Brent Lillibridge, who was 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a homer and a double off the top of the green monster (which was his second ball in as many days that hit the very top of the monster, if we were at home, he would have had 2 more homers). Alexi was 3 for 5 with an RBI, continuing to tear the cover off the ball. Not to mention another great day at the plate by the captain, Paul Konerko who was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a homer, and a run scored. This offense is heating up with the weather (just like I said it would about a month ago). The pitching is completely shutting teams down, the bullpen has been stellar, and the offense is starting to really mash. This team is falling right into place like we thought it would (well most of us at least).
Their last 15 games against the Red Sox, the White Sox have outscored Boston 88 to 50! They have now won their last 7 straight games at Fenway Park, the last time the White Sox did that..... 1959. Foreshadowing? We'll see.
We come home now and let me just say, its about time, we've already had 3 ten game road trips and have played the most road games in all of the major leagues. Get this, the Sox are only on the road for 9 games from now until the all-star break (July 11th). This is our time to get hot and tear it up at home. This is our chance to get back to .500 and burn right past it and take our top spot in the division. I don't think its any fluke that the Indians have played mostly home games (when compared to the other teams in the league) and we've been on the road more than any team in the bigs and the standings look the way they do. Its going to even out, the Indians are on their way back down to earth, and our talented Sox are finally starting to let their talent show. Sit back, relax, and strap it down Sox fans, here come the Sox!
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Also, make sure you take a look at my wrap up for the Sox month of May. Some pretty eye opening stats in there.
Month of May: Turn Around?
Alright Sox fans, May is over with. Was May the month the Sox started to turn it around? Or just a big tease? I believe that in a few months, we'll look back on May and say "Yes, this is where our season turned around." Hawk Harrelson always talks about "season defining moments." So far, the play that seems to have turned our season around was a 3 run home run by Brent Morel back on Tuesday, May 17th against the Texas Rangers. I was actually at that game and let me tell you, it was not a pretty start. John Danks was wild, falling behind hitters, walking guys, giving up hits. He had 72 pitches through the first 3 innings. The offense was dead. It looked like we were going to get shutout. But then Brent Morel of all people, stepped to the plate in 5th, setting the scene for what up until now, has been the moment that has turned this team around.
With a 2-1 Count of all things, Brent gets a fastball out over the plate and does not miss it. Notice that there was also 2 outs. This ball got out of here in a hurry and I remember sitting there at the game (after I came down off the high supplied by this Brent Morel shot) that this could be the moment that gets this team going and not to pat myself on the back, I believe that I was right.
Look at his swing, head down, bat and arms extended. Perfect. Since this play the Sox have been playing a lot better, they've had a tough game here and there but you can see the offense and the pitching bearing down. They were 9 and 6 after this home run, not great, but thats also including this tough road trip we've had to deal with lately. But anyone who has watched this team lately can tell they've been playing better.
I have a few stats here for the Month of May, especially compared to the awful start we got off to in April.
We closed out May with a 13 and 16 record. That compared to our 10 and 18 record in April.
In April we were 4 and 8 at home. That stat needs to improve if we're going to win this division. In May we were 6 and 5. So it is improving.
We were 10 and 8 on the road in May as opposed to 6-10 in April.
In May our we scored 129 runs and only allowed 109. As opposed to April, where we scored 109 runs and gave up an astounding 149 runs. What does this mean? Well the pitching gave up 30 less runs which is huge. The offense also scored an additional 20 runs. Thats a pretty nice swing on both ends.
A few stand out players from the month of May:
- Offensively Paul Konerko, Alexi Ramirez, and Carlos Quentin had a great month, Paulie continued to lead the team in RBI's, Carlos Quentin would lead the team in doubles and Alexi Ramriez turned it on late in the month, with a ton of clutch hits and RBIs.
-Phil Humber gets my shout out for the pitching staff, closing out the Month with a 3.06 ERA overall and a 4 and 3 overall record (which is impressive especially when you look at the lack of offensive support the pitching staff received earlier in the year). He has shut down teams like the Yankees and Red Sox AT their ballparks and has arguably been our most reliable starter. Which is why Ozzie continues to stick with the 6 man rotation (which seems to be working for us) because Phil Humber has more than earned his spot in this rotation. Phil, this buds for you
-Out of the bullpen, this one goes out to Sergio Santos, closing out the month as our closer, with a stellar 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings pitch, he has 8 saves and a 2 and 1 record. That is just unreal. He has been the most reliable reliever that we have, stepping up and filling in our whole at the closer's role. Sergio, this buds for you.
In conclusion Sox fans, we continue to climb... look at the stats and watch the team, you can see the improvement all around. We just need to continue to play to our potential and get better and this team will be something special. A month from now, for my next month wrap-up I'll be talking about a first place Sox team who charged hard in June. Lets get em' this month boys. Go Sox.
With a 2-1 Count of all things, Brent gets a fastball out over the plate and does not miss it. Notice that there was also 2 outs. This ball got out of here in a hurry and I remember sitting there at the game (after I came down off the high supplied by this Brent Morel shot) that this could be the moment that gets this team going and not to pat myself on the back, I believe that I was right.
Look at his swing, head down, bat and arms extended. Perfect. Since this play the Sox have been playing a lot better, they've had a tough game here and there but you can see the offense and the pitching bearing down. They were 9 and 6 after this home run, not great, but thats also including this tough road trip we've had to deal with lately. But anyone who has watched this team lately can tell they've been playing better.
I have a few stats here for the Month of May, especially compared to the awful start we got off to in April.
We closed out May with a 13 and 16 record. That compared to our 10 and 18 record in April.
In April we were 4 and 8 at home. That stat needs to improve if we're going to win this division. In May we were 6 and 5. So it is improving.
We were 10 and 8 on the road in May as opposed to 6-10 in April.
In May our we scored 129 runs and only allowed 109. As opposed to April, where we scored 109 runs and gave up an astounding 149 runs. What does this mean? Well the pitching gave up 30 less runs which is huge. The offense also scored an additional 20 runs. Thats a pretty nice swing on both ends.
A few stand out players from the month of May:
- Offensively Paul Konerko, Alexi Ramirez, and Carlos Quentin had a great month, Paulie continued to lead the team in RBI's, Carlos Quentin would lead the team in doubles and Alexi Ramriez turned it on late in the month, with a ton of clutch hits and RBIs.
-Phil Humber gets my shout out for the pitching staff, closing out the Month with a 3.06 ERA overall and a 4 and 3 overall record (which is impressive especially when you look at the lack of offensive support the pitching staff received earlier in the year). He has shut down teams like the Yankees and Red Sox AT their ballparks and has arguably been our most reliable starter. Which is why Ozzie continues to stick with the 6 man rotation (which seems to be working for us) because Phil Humber has more than earned his spot in this rotation. Phil, this buds for you
-Out of the bullpen, this one goes out to Sergio Santos, closing out the month as our closer, with a stellar 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings pitch, he has 8 saves and a 2 and 1 record. That is just unreal. He has been the most reliable reliever that we have, stepping up and filling in our whole at the closer's role. Sergio, this buds for you.
In conclusion Sox fans, we continue to climb... look at the stats and watch the team, you can see the improvement all around. We just need to continue to play to our potential and get better and this team will be something special. A month from now, for my next month wrap-up I'll be talking about a first place Sox team who charged hard in June. Lets get em' this month boys. Go Sox.
Boston Tea-Off party
The White Sox charged into Fenway Park on Tuesday looking for a much needed win. Thanks to the offense and a strong start by Phil Humber, the White Sox achieved that goal. The White Sox scored early and often. There was so much offense, I'm only going to list a few notable highlights and then I'll list the offensive stat lines.
The White Sox scored 10 runs on 15 hits. Finally, the offense is starting to play like the team we had envisioned at the beginning of this season. The Sox scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning, highlighted by a 2 run single off the bat of Alexi Ramirez (who has been absolutely on fire as of late). The Sox scored 1 in the 3rd inning after back-to-back doubles off the bats of Konerko and AJ. Then they scored again in the 4th on another 1 run single by Alexi. The Sox then put 4 more runs on the board in the 6th highlighted by a RBI double by Carlos Quentin.
Here are the offensive lines I promised you:
Here are the offensive lines I promised you:
Juan Pierre: 1 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI
Alexi Ramirez: 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and a run scored (Have a day!)
Carlos Quentin: 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI
*Brent Lillibridge: 1 for 1 with a pinch-hit single
Paul Konerko: 1 for 3 with a double, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and a walk
AJ Pierzynski: 2 for 4 with a run scored, a double, 1 RBI and a walk
Alex Rios: 0 for 5, the only White Sock without a hit
Adam Dun: 1 for 2 with a run scored, 2 walks
Gordon "The Slayer" Beckham: 3 for 5with 2 runs scored and an RBI
Brent Morel: 1 for 5 with 2 Runs scored
Phil Humber had another impressive start, giving up only 1 run through 7 innings. He pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 3 more earned runs in the 8th, when he was clearly out of gas. Despite his shaky finish, he still pitched a great ball game, shutting down a dangerous Red Sox offense for 7 strong innings. Once Humber ran out of gas towards the end the Sox called upon Will Ohman who looked a little off, giving up a 2 run homerun to David Ortiz (one run charged to Humber, One to Ohman) Ohman escaped the 8th. 9th inning cue Brian Bruney who was just brought up. He looked a little shaky in his first major league outing of the year, giving up 2 more earned runs. The Sox 10-1 lead quickly turned into a 10-7 score, but either way, held up in the end, as Chris Sale came in and got the final out, giving our White Sox another huge win against a tough team.
Thank you offense.
Right now, I would like to take this time to give Alexi Ramirez his due. I know I ride him a lot and I criticize the way he does things at the plate, but he's really been showing me up lately (and I'm loving it). He was 4 for 5 tonight, with a lot of big hits, 3 RBI's and he didn't leave anyone on base. Alexi has had an unbelievable month this May (especially as of late) and a case can be made to give him the player of the month for the American League and all of the Major Leagues. The four hit game today for Alexi raised his overall average to a respectable .290 and his average for May to .313. Alexi, this buds for you.
This game was just a HUGE win for this club. The White Sox have now won their last 7 games in a row at Fenway Park (Shout out to THE Tim Madden for bringing that stat to my attention). The way this road trip started, it did not look good for us going into Boston, but let me just say this, these last 2 wins will not mean nearly as much if we don't get the job done tomorrow. This is because of the position we're in.... constantly working up hill, and needing winning streaks to get back to .500.
Let me tell you why tomorrow is so HUGE for this club:
-It would salvage the road trip (allowing us to split the tough road trip at 5-5)
-It would complete a sweep of the Red Sox
-The momentum would propel us into a 10 game home stand where we could really do some damage
-Most importantly it would bring us closer to .500 and a slipping Indians team
Sweeping a dangerous Red Sox team would really do a lot for the mental state of this team. Lets get this done tomorrow boys, we need it! First pitch is going to be at 12:35 over on Comcast Sportsnet.
Just a heads up to all you Sox fans out there. Look for a special post from me tomorrow; I will be doing a monthly wrap up for this past month of May. See you then!
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