Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

The AL Central Trail, Part II: April

And in case you missed it, here's the link to the first episode.

Treading water, Anderson demoted

Entering today's game, the Sox had a team line of .229/.323/.385.  Making matters worse, Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik, who sit 1-2 on the Sox OPS leaderboard, are both out for an undetermined amount of time.  And it's also bad when Podsednik is No. 2 in OPS.

Somehow, even with another disappointing discouraging boring loss today, they managed to escape April with a winning record, thanks entirely to the staff.  Entering today's game, Sox pitchers had held opponents to a line of .222/.296/.373.

Sox pitchers probably have a good idea of what the Bears' defense felt like the last 15 years or so. 

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Brian Anderson's heading back to Charlotte, as the Sox optioned him down after today's game.  No word yet on who's replacing him.  Let's just be thankful Darin Erstad is hitting well enough to warrant full-time usage, going 13-for-29 with five extra-base hits over the last week, because he'd be getting all the PT even if he were hitting .205.

This would be another good opportunity for Josh Fields, since they'll need a right-handed bat.  However, I'd wager Luis Terrero will get the call, since he can play center against tough lefties, even though he may not hit them either.  Actually, Erstad would be starting against lefties, so I'm mainly guessing it's Terrero because these things rarely work out the way I'd like them to.

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Ryan Sweeney made two putouts today, and Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson misidentified him on both of them.

On the first, Harrelson misidentified Sweeney as "Rob Mackowiak" when he caught the last out of the fourth inning.  Harrelson did get his name right the second time, when Sweeney made a nice diving catch that turned into a double play when Reggie Willits tagged from third "early."

Unfortunately, Jackson couldn't keep it going when the play earned the defensive play of the game status, heralding the great play by "Mike Sweeney!"  That's rather ungrateful considering the dearth of highlights Hawk and DJ have had to choose from recently.  Yesterday's Dodge Drive of the Game was a single to right field that resulted in zero runs.

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Minor league round-up:

• Durham 2, Charlotte 1
• A stiff back limited Lance Broadway to two pitches, says the report.  The bullpen filled in with 8 1/3 innings of scoreless relief until Ryan Bukvich blew the save and the game.  Ehren Wasserman struck out all four batters he retired.
• Josh Fields once again went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
• Luis Terrero was in the lineup, playing center, so no indication there.  Andy Gonzalez went 2-for-4 out of left field, and is hitting .348.
  
• Huntsville 8, Birmingham 0
• Chris Getz had the only multi-hit game (two hits).  Donny Lucy had the only extra-base hit (a double).  Robert Valido raised his average above the Mendoza Line with a 1-for-3 day.
• Wes Whisler matched his strikeout total on the season in his start today, fanning seven batters over seven innings.  He actually pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER), but Tim Bittner gave up five runs over the last two innings.
• Wilmington 7, Winston-Salem 1
• Aaron Cunningham's eight-game hitting streak came to an end, going 0-for-4.
• Javier Castillo went 2-for-4 and had half the Warthogs' hits.
• Clayton Richard threw the bare minimum of a quality start, but Wilmington blew the game open in the eighth on four unearned runs.
• Asheville 8, Kannapolis 6
• Chris Carter hit his third homer of the year, a solo shot.  He, Lee Cruz and Brandon Allen, who comprise the middle of the order for Kanny, each went 2-for-4.
• Jacob Rasner struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings, but he also gave up five runs (one unearned) on seven hits and three walks.
  

Roster shuffle, minor kerfuffle

UPDATE: It's official -- Thome's out, Sweeney's in.  Please note Merkin's notes were updated, and that the first paragraph of the below entry wasn't a failing of my reading comprehension. This time.  Anyway, Merkin's expectations sound a bit too high:



(Sweeney is slugging .397 at Charlotte.)

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There's kind of a weird information lag regarding Jim Thome's status.  Scott Merkin's notes, which pretty much serve as press releases, said Jim Thome is likely to go on the DL.  During tonight's highly predictable loss, Hawk Harrelson made it sound like Thome had already been placed there, but no replacement had been chosen yet.

Either way, Thome should be out for the next two weeks considering the vigor of his swing and the location of the injury.

That leaves the question of Thome's replacement, and when I looked at the Knights' box score today, I saw four interesting things:

1) Ryan Sweeney didn't play.  An unexpected day off is a pretty good sign of movement in situations where promotion/demotion can be anticipated.

2) Josh Fields played like he was jilted.  Three strikeouts, three errors.  It could be a coincidence, or it could be that Fields likes making me look stupid.

3) Wiki Gonzalez got the day off.  Could this be the sign that Gustavo Molina's days are numbered?  Not likely, since Charlie Haeger started for Charlotte, and Ryan Smith has caught every one of his games.  Curses!

4) Andy Gonzalez started in left.  Gonzalez was likely shoehorned into this spot because of Sweeney's day off/short-notice flight and Jerry Owens is battling elbow soreness.  Still, let's hope this was a very temporary solution.  Considering how poorly Alex Cintron has played so far, the Sox may need Gonzalez's services in the infield shortly.

Cintron had nothing during spring training, and the numbers reflected that (.179/.193/.250).  Take him away from the light air and mix of minor-league and major-league pitchers, and it makes sense that he's hitting even worse in the first month of the season -- tonight's 0-fer makes him 1-for-20.  Even Brian Anderson is kicking his butt.

It's hard to tell exactly how much slower his bat is this year compared to last season, because his swing makes the bat look like a sledge hammer even when healthy.  His whole body must pivot just to bring the bat through the zone.  All I know is that it's even harder to watch, and I wouldn't be surprised if the offseason surgery he had on his elbow is still hindering him big-time.

Right now, the only thing Cintron brings to the table is his status as the only other true shortstop aside from Juan Uribe, but Juan's hot start has limited his action there.  Instead, Ozzie's been slotting him in the DH spot, where he's 2-for-20 lifetime.  And if Cintron's going to see the bulk of his action away from his primary position, I'd rather give Gonzalez a shot while Cintron figures things out.

Gonzalez might have a subpar glove, but he has a track record of solid on-base skills, a laser rocket arm and plenty of experience standing between second and third base.  That's good enough for what the Sox need right now, which is offense from anybody while Thome's on the DL.  Sweeney, Fields, Eduardo Perez or whoever takes Thome's spot won't equal his production, so they need to make up for it from somewhere.

Just to finish up the Charlotte briefing:  Haeger had his best start of the year, though that's not saying much.  6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 8 K.  Two runs scored on passed balls.  Pedro Lopez and Ernie Young had two hits apiece.

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The rest of the round-up:

• Birmingham 4, Huntsville 2
  
• Jack Egbert continues to impress -- six innings of two-hit, shutout ball. He walked one and struck out six.  His numbers on the season: 31 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 32 K, 1.45 ERA.
• Robert Valido went 1-for-3, but he made his only hit count: a two-run double.
• Thomas Collaro went 2-for-4, and Ricardo Nanita had two hits as well.
• Winston-Salem 3, Wilmington 2
• Victor Mercedes went 0-for-3, but he did draw two walks.  He also started a fight Thursday, punching a guy who he felt slid too hard into him during a takeout attempt, leading to two fractured vertebrae for a Nationals prospect.  They really need to expand the box scores, because there's no category for that.
• Aaron Cunningham went 2-for-4 with his second triple of the year.
• Kyle McCulloch pitched his longest outing of the year -- 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4.
• Asheville 10, Kannapolis 5
• Scott Madsen, who I can't recall seeing before, went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI.
• Steven Spurgeon gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
  

Uribe muy caliente

Last year, Juan Uribe walked 13 times in 495 plate appearances.  This year, he's walked eight times in 76 PAs -- including two in tonight's game.  One of them came after Uribe faced an 0-2 count with two outs.  He hung in there, walked, stole a base, and scored a key insurance run.

I'd be slightly more thrilled about this development if he didn't get off to such a "hot" start last year, when he had five walks in April.  But as it stands now, however, Uribe is the one Sox on offense of whom nobody could reasonably ask to do more.

After tonight's 0-for-2, two-walk performance, his OBP is just above the league-average (.338, compared to .330).  He's second on the Sox and RBI and slugging .476, and when you factor that in with his rejuvenated defense -- how about that relay toss tonight? -- he's suddenly turned into an above-average player.

That's not to say he'll continue to excel, because everybody's well aware of his tendency to be...mercurial.   But let's enjoy it while it lasts, because it definitely gives the offense another facet when he's on his game.

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Considering how involved the oblique muscle is in a baseball swing, I can't say it shocked me when Jim Thome couldn't continue after his first in-game swing.  In fact, at this point I'd probably be unhappy to see him in the lineup over the course of the next week, at the risk of exacerbating the pain.

That said, the Sox don't have a lot of in-house options at DH.  Ozzie Guillen went to Alex Cintron today, and he responded with an 0-for-4 day.  Brian Anderson lost the momentum he had from the spring, Ozzie already stated that Rob Mackowiak's not DHing, and he probably avoids putting Pablo Ozuna there for the same reason.  And Gustavo Molina is Gustavo Molina.

No matter how you slice it, the Sox are down a hitter.  So here's a suggestion -- how about giving Josh Fields another shot?

Sure, Fields is only hitting .216, but even though he's struggling when swinging, he's having a better year at laying off pitches.  In 2006, he struck out three times as often as he walked.  This time around, he's drawn 17 walks to only 20 strikeouts so far, including three more today. 

I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to put Thome on the 15-day DL, call up Fields and see if he can provide lightning in a bottle for two weeks. He can't be any worse than the options the Sox have already employed, and his above-average speed and improved batting eye might help to keep the line moving even if he's not making tremendous contact.

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Minor league round-up:

• Durham 5, Charlotte 2
• After an aberration yesterday, Ryan Sweeney is back to going 1-for-4.  His only hit today was a triple, his first of the year.
• Wiki Gonzalez hit another homer, his second in three games.  And he's not on the major-league roster because...?
• Heath Phillips did Heath Phillips things -- 8 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR.  That's just about Mark Buehrle Lite, if Phillips weren't a portly fellow.
• Birmingham 6, Huntsville 3
• The strikeouts keep coming for Gio Gonzalez -- 13 more in seven innings, opposed to only one walk.  He did give up a homer, but considering he only gave up five hits, it didn't really hurt.  That's 43 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings (13.66/9 IP).  And he also improved to 4-1.
  
• Chris Getz had his first multi-hit game in a couple of weeks, and Jason Bourgeois went 2-for-3 with two doubles out of the leadoff spot.
• Dewon Day gave up two hits and a run in one inning of work, striking out one.
• Wilmington 4, Winston-Salem 3 (13 innings)
• David Cook and Micah Schnurstein each hit their fifth homer of the year.
• John Lujan and Gary Bakker combined for five scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts.
• Aaron Cunningham went 1-for-4 with a walk.
  
• Asheville 7, Kannapolis 3
• Catcher Francisco Hernandez fell a homer short of the cycle; Lee Cruz went 0-for-5, a minor setback after a couple of straight multi-hit games.
  
• Michael Rocco was the only one of five pitchers to not allow a run.

Trading space?

In case your eyes started to bleed when reading in Toni Ginnetti's notes that Ozzie Guillen didn't want to DH Rob Mackowiak because "it's easier to make changes" with him playing right, there's an interesting development just beyond that sentence:


It's probably a little too early to see a trade coming, and Rogowski's .514 OPS makes it an easy decision if the option's available to Kenny Williams, but we can dream about having a second outfielder, can't we?  There's no reason why a major league ballclub should ever have to play a guy like Andy Gonzalez in the outfield.

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Speaking of trades, let's see where we stand entering today with regards to the offseason deals:

• John Danks: 0-3, 5.32 ERA, 22 IP, 26 H, 4 HR, 6 BB, 20 K
  
• Nick Masset:  1-1, 4.05 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1 HR, 12 H, 6 BB, 7 K
• Brandon McCarthy:  1-3, 9.00 ERA, 17.2 IP, 26 H, 3 HR, 6 BB, 8 K
• Jacob Rasner: 1-2, 5.60 ERA, 17.2 IP, 20 H, 3 HR, 9 BB, 13 K (A+)
  

• Freddy Garcia:  1-1, 4.66 ERA, 9.2 IP, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 9 K
• Gavin Floyd: 1-1, 3.24 ERA, 25 IP, 27 H, 4 HR, 10 BB, 25 K (AAA)
  
• Gio Gonzalez: 3-1, 1.69 ERA, 21.1 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 8 BB, 30 K (AA)

• David Aardsma: 2-0, 2.13 ERA, 12.6 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 20 K
• Neal Cotts:  0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 7 K
• Carlos Vazquez: 0-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 9 K (AA)
  

• Andrew Sisco: 0-0, 3.68 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 6 K
• Ross Gload: .255/.286/.383, 1 HR, 8 RBI in 47 ABs

• Chris Stewart: .300/.364/.400, 0 HR, 2 RBI in 10 ABs
• John Lujan: 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 9 IP, 9 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 8 K (A+)

There really aren't any losses in that group -- even though Chris Stewart at that production would be exponentially better than Gustavo Molina, it's not like we could count on a minor-leaguer in the Sox system actually hitting upon his promotion.  It's just something Sox prospects can't do, and it hasn't been addressed for quite a long time.

That said, the biggest question mark has to be Nick Masset's fastball.  It was advertised to touch 98 m.p.h., but I've maybe only seen it hit 94, and he sits around 91-92.  The strikeout rate isn't anything to write home about, and equally troubling is his 0.76 GB/FB ratio, backwards for a sinkerballer.  He had no trouble getting ground balls in the minor leagues last year, so that's odd.  Masset's held his own so far, and his ability to throw multiple innings has come in handy, but I'm nervous warmer weather is going to pose major problems for him.

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Minor league round-up:

• Durham 5, Charlotte 2
• Vladimir Nunez gave up all five runs in seven innings, but you have to figure his days in the Knights rotation are numbered no matter how he performs with the way Gonzalez is pitching.
• Wiki Gonzalez had three more hits including a double, and is now hitting .317.  He's not on the major-league roster because...
• The Knights stranded a whopping 15 runners -- Charlotte had 12 hits, five walks, and Durham committed three errors.
• Josh Fields hit a speedbump on his road to revival, going 0-for-4 with a walk and stranding three runners.
• Birmingham 1, Huntsville 0
• Adam Russell (6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K), Carlos Vazquez and Oneli Perez combined for a three-hitter.
• Robert Valido drove in the only run with a two-out single, his only hit of the day.
• Thomas Collaro went 2-for-4, and didn't strike out for the first time in eight games.
• Winston-Salem 5, Potomac 2
• Justin Cassel continues to dominate, throwing seven innings of one-run ball.  He's averaging five groundouts per flyout, and his ERA sits at 1.03.  The 21 strikeouts in 26 innings isn't bad for a groundball pitcher, either.
  
• Aaron Cunningham had an RBI single, and has a hit in six straight games.  Micah Schnurstein went 2-for-4 and is hitting .338.
• Kannapolis 6, Asheville 4
• Matthew Long had his best start of the year, which isn't saying much, providing the bare minimum for a quality start.
  
• No. 2-5 hitters John Shelby Jr., Chris Carter, Lee Cruz and Brandon Allen went 9-for-16 with 6 RBI; Allen hit his first homer of the year, a three-run shot.

First is worst for White Sox

Fun facts:

The Sox have been outscored 25-8 in the first inning this year, including 14-1 over their last five games.

The Sox are batting .208/.326/.333 in the first inning; opponents are hitting .365/.427/.624.

The Sox have come out of the first inning leading only two times; they've trailed seven times.

Sox pitchers in the first inning:

Pitcher	BF	R	HR	BA	OBP	SLG
Contreras	25	10	2	.435	.480	.870
Garland	19	3	0	.313	.421	.375
Buehrle	17	4	1	.357	.438	.786
Vazquez	18	5	0	.375	.389	.563
Danks	18	3	0	.313	.389	.438

John Danks had been the only pitcher to escape the first unscathed until he gave up three runs in the first frame tonight, but maybe he figured he should just get the loss over with already.  After all, the Sox have scored eight runs in his four starts.

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The Sox promoted Andy Gonzalez earlier this week as Alex Cintron went on the bereavement list to attend to his ailing grandfather in Puerto Rico, a move I completely missed.

Gonzalez had 12 hits in 36 at-bats for the Knights, and I think he has the on-base skills to where he could eventually be a solid utility player.  The glove's not there yet -- he's had plenty of misadventures at third, short and second in spring and the first month of the season.

Of course, he made his debut in right field after Ozzie Guillen, down to only two real outfielders with Jermaine Dye nursing a bad back, locked one of them (Brian Anderson) into the DH spot.  Rob Mackowiak pulled an abdominal muscle running the bases, and Gonzalez replaced him.  This is the scenario I dreaded yesterday.

Fortunately, Gonzalez didn't see any action out in right.  He did get a couple chances at the plate, striking out against Chad Durbin in his debut before drawing a tough walk off Joel Zumaya.

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Minor league round-up:

• Charlotte 6, Toledo 4 (10 innings)
• Gavin Floyd gave up all four runs over seven innings on three homers.  There was a 15 m.p.h. wind blowing out in a tiny ballpark.  Floyd walked allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out eight.
• Dwayne Pollok had no such issues with the weather, throwing three scoreless innings of relief for the win.
• Josh Fields homered for the second straight game, a first-inning shot off Zach Miner; Wiki Gonzalez won it with a walk-off homer in the 10th, marking his first extra-base hit of the year.
• Ryan Sweeney is a two true outcomes kind of player -- he's gone 1-for-4 in five of his last seven games, and 0-for-2 with two walks in the other two.
• Mississippi 5, Birmingham 2
• Donny Lucy hit his first homer of the year, providing all the scoring for the Barons.
  
• Thojmas Collaro went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and is mired in a 2-for-21 slump, during which he's struck out 11 times.
  
• Kris Honel had another short outing -- 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K
• Ryan Wing threw three scoreless innings, and hasn't allowed in run in 12 1/3 IP this year.
• Potomac 13, Winston-Salem 11
• Name a pitcher -- Derek Rodriguez, Matt Zaleski, Brian Omogrosso, Jason Rice or Gary Bakker -- and he probably sucked.
• Aaron Cunningham hit his second homer of the year, and Javier Castillo also added a two-run shot and three hits overall. Daron Roberts had a three-RBI game on three singles.
• Kannapolis OFF
  

Can you dig it?

I'll poke fun at Paul Konerko's lack of mobility around first base every now and then, but he can scoop bounced throws with the best of them.  In fact, whenever a low throw gets by him, my first instinct is to wonder what Paulie did wrong.

I bring this up because Alex Gordon's piss-poor attempt at trying to dig out Joakim Soria's throw made the difference in tonight's ballgame.  Gordon isn't a first baseman, but he found his way there when Buddy Bell pinch-hit Esteban German for Ryan Shealy, with Ross Gload already out of the ballgame after an earlier substitution.

Soria's throw was probably ill-advised, but it wasn't all that bad considering the speed of Pablo Ozuna, the wet grass and the response time after getting plunked with a line drive.  However, when the ball short-hopped Gordon, the Royals rookie flinched big-time.  At the point the ball could've been entering his mitt, Gordon's head was pointed in the direction of right field, where he got a long look at Reggie Sanders.  The ball skipped away from him, Konerko came around to score, and that was the ballgame.

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Speaking of questionable position changes, I'm not sure I got Ozzie's decision to slot Darin Erstad in the DH spot.  What's nice is that I don't even have to go into a detailed explanation.  Instead, all I have to say is that at the end of the game, Brian Anderson was flanked by Pablo Ozuna and Rob Mackowiak.

Anderson, by the way, drove me nuts with the way he bailed out on inside-half fastballs.  Perhaps Wilfredo Ledezma spooked him by starting him off with two changeups the last time Anderson had to swing a bat, because he seemed genuinely surprised by mediocre fastballs.  He needs to see more pitches, and Charlotte may be the only way to achieve that end.

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Nice try, Royals assistant trainer Frank Kyte, but you have a long way to go before you topple Herm Schneider as the least athletic-looking athletic trainer.

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Minor league round-up:

• Charlotte 4, Toledo 2 (11 innings)
• Could this be the day Josh Fields breaks out of his slump?  He went 2-for-5 with three RBI, including a two-run walk-off homer.
• Kenny Perez had a Scott Podsednik-like day: he was caught stealing and picked off.
• Lance Broadway pitched six quality innings -- five hits, one run, two walks, four strikeouts.
• Ryan Bukvich and Bret Prinz struck out four over three combined innings; Paulino Reynoso loaded the bases in the 11th on singles but escaped unscathed for the win.
• Mississippi 4, Birmingham 1
• Robert Valido had half the Barons hits moving back to the No. 2 spot -- he went 2-for-4 with a double, scored the only run, and raised his average to .200.  He also stole a base.
  
• Thomas Collaro scored a hat trick -- 0-for-4 with three strikeouts; Cory Aldridge drove in the only run with a double.
• Wes Whisler allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings.  He struck out one batter, and now has only seven strikeouts over 22 innings.
• Dewon Day is back to striking out the side, but gave up a solo homer.  He's struck out 21 in 8 2/3 innings, but has a higher ERA than Whisler (3.12 to 2.45).
• Potomac 12, Winston-Salem 6
• Aaron Cunningham is due for a promotion -- 3-for-5 with two doubles, his second straight three-hit game.  His line is .393/.458/.590.
• Micah Schnurstein achieved the tough half of the cycle -- a triple and a homer.  He's currently slugging .683.
• Carlos Torres, who I mentioned a couple days ago since he started the season with 11 scoreless innings, came crashing down.  Two hits, three walks, four runs in 1 1/3 innings; Joe Gannon was roughed up even further, retiring only one of the six batters he faced.
• Augusta 9, Kannapolis 0
• Lee Cruz, who had missed about 10 days and was off to a slow start, had half of Kanny's hits with a 2-for-4 day.
• Jose Zazueta was the hard-luck loser, giving up only one hit and one run over five innings. 
  
• Kanekoa Teixeira helped blow the game open when he failed to retire any of the five batters he faced.  Making matters worse, they stole three bases on him.

Everything's the same but the uniforms

White Sox fans getting their first look at David Riske during tonight's victory can't say they were missing much.  On the other hand, neither can Royals fans who got a good look at Andrew Sisco.  The damage:

• Sisco: Three batters faced, two walks, one lineout to center that almost fooled Darin Erstad.
• Riske: Four batters faced, one homer, one double.

Riske looked like the pitcher who gave up runs in six of his last eight outings of 2006, and Sisco looked every bit the guy whose BB:K rate collapsed last year.  Good times.

Ross Gload seemed to be in good shape for the nine seconds he took the field, at least.

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Minor league round-up:

• Toledo 8, Charlotte 1
• Yes, Charlie Haeger started; no, Haeger didn't give up all of the runs.  The knuckleballer only gave up three of them over seven innings, despite giving up seven hits and walking six over a 120-pitch outing.  He did actually record a 1-2-3 inning, but was assisted in other innings by two double plays, a caught stealing and a blown sac bunt attempt.
  
• Sox ex-prospect Corwin Malone gave up four runs himself in only one inning on one swing, a grand slam by David Espinosa. 
• Old friend Timo Perez hit a solo shot in the ninth off Shaun Babula.  He also lined into a double play and was caught stealing.
  
• Ryan Smith provided the only Sox run with a solo homer.  Josh Fields had two of the Knights' five hits to raise his average to .200.
• Mississippi 2, Birmingham 0
• Jack Egbert was brilliant in defeat -- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K.  It marks his longest outing of the year so far, and he's only allowed 13 hits in 25 innings.  If only he knew how to win!
• Chris Getz, Donny Lucy and Thomas Collaro combined to go 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts against the aptly named Francisley Bueno.  The Barons only had four hits overall.
  
• Winston-Salem 10, Potomac 2
• Kyle McCulloch pitched five solid, unspectacular innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out three.
• Aaron Cunningham went 3-for-5 out of the leadoff spot with a triple; he's now hitting .375.
• Micah Schurnstein had a pair of doubles and RBI, and Victor Mercedes hit a two-run shot, his second of the year.
• Augusta 4, Kannapolis 1
• Faustino De Los Santos pitched five scoreless innings, but also walked five.  He has 12 walks and 16 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.  Michael Rocco gave up all four runs in two innings of relief.
  
• Chris Carter's RBI single provided the only run for the Intimidators, who had only seven hits.

Motown Blood

Thankfully, I didn't start writing about how awesome the Sox's bullpen has been before David Aardsma hung a slider to Marcus Thames in today's 6-5 loss.  That's not to say the bullpen isn't a pleasant discovery -- Sox relievers have gotten the job done up until this point, and Kenny Williams looks like he got the job done on that front.  It'd just help if Ozzie Guillen didn't allow opposing teams to see all of his relievers every single game.

Anyway, some thoughts on the near-sweep, which concluded on the seventh anniversary of the great White Sox-Tigers brawl...

Darin Erstad has reached base eight times in his last three games against righties, which is outstanding -- until you realize how exactly he's done it:

• One solid single
• One duck-snort single
  
• Two seeing-eye singles
• A bunt single
• A free walk when a reliever licked his fingers
• An infield single
• An error

You know what that makes him?  The Secret Weapon: Blanco Edition.  Maybe if Pablo Ozuna were named Paul Olson and hailed from the upper Midwest, he might get three-quarters of the acclaim Erstad receives instead of 1 percent of it.

At any rate, Brian Anderson didn't help his own cause when he failed to hold Brandon Inge to a single despite playing at no-doubles depth.

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Anybody else think that the Tigers were on to Razor Shines' signs over at third base?  They went 2-for-2 in pitchouts in the first two games, and then Justin Verlander threw an eye-high fastball to Ozuna on a potential hit-and-run, which Ozuna somehow fouled off.

They pitched out unsuccessfully later in the game, so maybe the aforementioned incidents were merely the results of sheer good timing and hunch-playing by Jim Leyland.  But it's something worth thinking about.  Unless it isn't.

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Uptight Paulie Alert!  Check out this quote from Joe Cowley (I've edited for TV):


Konerko went 0-for-6 and left eight on base, and is hitting .175 with one homer in 63 at-bats.  I'm not saying that we should start fearing a 2003 redux, but I am saying a hug might be in order.  Nobody has to question whether Paulie gives a SHIRT, but he is prone to give too many SHIRTS at times.

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Minor league round-up:

• Charlotte 3, Columbus 2
• Heath Phillips struggled with control, walking five in six innings, but perhaps that could be called effectively wild.  He gave up only two hits and two runs, while striking out five.
• Ehren Wassermann, Bret Prinz and Ryan Bukvich pitched three scoreless innings to close it out.  Today was Prinz's first outing -- he gave up two hits, but struck out two.
• Josh Fields went 0-for-4, his average dropping to .179, but Ernie Young hit his first homer of the season, and career minor-league homer No. 315.
• Wiki Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and is 7-for-15 over his last five games.  Can he please, pleeeease replace Gustavo Molina already?
• Mississippi 2, Birmingham 1
• Gio Gonzalez struck out 12 batters in six innings, walking only one.  Unfortunately, he was tagged with the loss for giving up two solo homers.  Gonzalez has struck out 30 hitters in 21 2/3 innings, and his ERA is 1.69.
  
• Thomas Collaro provided the only Barons run with a solo homer, his fourth of the year.
• Donny Lucy went 2-for-3, raising his average to .364 over 44 at-bats.
• Augusta 7, Kannapolis 0
• Coming off his best outing of the year, Jacob Rasner was hit hard -- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
• The Intimidators turned three double plays, but also committed three errors leading to four unearned runs.
• The first six hitters went 0-for-20 with two walks; Kannapolis only had three hits on the day.
• Winston-Salem OFF
  

Moonlighting

One of the things that struck me odd about Field of Dreams -- aside from Shoeless Joe Jackson batting righty and possessing no southern accent whatsoever -- is that while Moonlight Graham got a chance to hit, it didn't give him an actual at-bat to his credit.  His career began and ended with a sacrifice fly.

But Graham didn't complain -- he was fine trading in the "Moonlight" moniker for "Doc" instead.  And after watching Gustavo Molina attempt to hit at the major-league level, I'm wondering if there's a way somebody can force him into med school, too. 

Molina's MLB career started with a fairly deep sacrifice fly on Opening Day.  Since then, he is 0-for-8, and Ozzie Guillen has so little faith in his hitting abilities that Molina has yet to finish a game he's started.

Saturday's game marked the third designated off day of the season for A.J. Pierzynski, but he hasn't fully enjoyed any of them.  More than that, Pierzynski has multiple plate appearances in two of those three games.  A.J. said after the Toby Hall signing that he didn't want any at-bats taken away from him against lefties, and he's practically getting his wish.  So far, the results haven't been pretty.

Meanwhile, Hall says he's rehabbing well:

Let's hope he keeps making progress, because I don't know if Moonlight Molina's going anywhere otherwise.

***************

Minor league round-up:

• Columbus 4, Charlotte 1
• Jerry Owens, Ernie Young and catcher Ryan Smith had the only three hits for Charlotte.  Luis Terrero achieved the hat trick on an 0-for-3 night; Josh Fields went 0-for-2 with two walks.  He's batting only .192, but his OBP is .348 thanks to 13 walks in 15 games.
• An ugly day for pitchers all around -- both teams walked seven batters, and Vladimir Nunez walked five in 4+ innings himself.  Ehren Wassermann gave up his first earned run fo the season.
• Mississippi 6, Birmingham 5 (11 innings)
• Dewon Day continues his descent into mortality.  After the Barons gained the lead in the top of the 11th, Day gave it right back in the bottom of the inning and was tagged with the loss.  He gave up two hits and two walks (one intentional) without retiring a batter, though he was hurt by a Chris Kelly error.
• Adam Russell pitched five so-so innings -- seven hits, three runs, two walks, one strikeout.
• Ricardo Nanita and Jeremy West each had two-hit games; Cory Aldridge had a pair of RBI.
• Winston-Salem 6, Wilmington 1
• Justin Cassell pitched eight innings of two-hit ball, allowing one run and walking two while striking out seven.  He also induced 14 groundouts to only three flyouts.  The outing actually raised his ERA to 0.93.
• Keep an eye on Carlos Torres -- with another perfect innings of relief, Torres has started his season with 11 scoreless inning, where he's allowed five hits.  More impressively, he's struck out 13 batters while walking none.
• Aaron Cunningham hit his second homer of the year, and David Cook (4) and Micah Schurnstein (3) also went deep.
• Kannapolis 6, Augusta 2
• Justin Edwards pitched five innings of one-run ball for the victory, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out four.
• Archie Gilbert, Maurice Gatrell, Brandon Allen, John Shelby Jr. and Robert Hudson each had two hits; Hudson had a game-high two RBI.

B.A. still MIA

I'm having a difficult time charting this Darin Erstad-Brian Anderson saga.  Since Kenny Williams brought up winter ball, a couple of interesting quotes have arisen in the papers. From Joe Cowley's piece in the Sun-Times:


And in some notes also from the Sun-Times:


(The former piece also includes an awful Cowley line, "Rowand would run through a wall because he was told to. Anderson would run through a wall because it seemed fun and could land him a few 'honeys' along the way."  Between that and the "Dude, Where's My Car?" reference, I think he has a warped perspective on West Coasters.  At least I learned what AP style is for "honeys.")

That was on Friday.  On Saturday, the papers figured Anderson would get the start, as did I.  We were all wrong, as Erstad started in center field against lefty Nate Robertson and predictably went 0-for-5 in the Sox's 10-inning, 7-5 victory.  On South Side Sox, somebody mentioned that Hawk Harrelson grudgingly admitted Erstad is stinking up the joint, but I had Detroit's feed and couldn't enjoy it myself.  Anderson did enter the game as a pinch runner and scored the tying run, and was shortly yanked thereafter, in what was rather bizarre usage.

Ozzie's rationale for not starting Anderson?  The Trib's Mark Gonzalez reports:


So, if I'm getting this right, Anderson's playing time is now dictated by the presence of Molina, a backup catcher who still doesn't have a major-league hit to his credit, because playing two rookies against a lefty would be far, far worse than playing one rookie and a guy who is 1-for-13 (now 1-for-16) against lefties since Opening Day?  The only way Anderson could be provably worse is to give him enough chances to go hitless over four games or so, and we know that's not going to happen.

Many hands make light work

If Gary Sheffield had found a way to drive in Placido Polanco instead of stranding him on third in the ninth inning of tonight's game, here's what the pitching situations would have looked like going into extra innings:

Detroit	Chicago
Wilfredo Ledezma Joel Zumaya Fernando Rodney Todd Jones	Boone Logan Andy Sisco

The Tigers still had their three best relievers in the bullpen (and their closer!), while the Sox were left with their two worst and a possible second inning out of Bobby Jenks, who would've already been scored upon. 

On one hand, Ozzie Guillen shouldn't manage his relievers like he's expecting them to fail; on the other hand, that's kind of what he's doing when he goes all La Russa with matching up by handedness.

With one out in the eighth, Matt Thornton entered in relief of David Aardsma to face lefty Sean Casey, whom Thornton promptly retired for the second out.  I would've taken Aardsma against Casey, but since he had already retired four hitters, it wasn't an egregious substitution.  But after Thornton got out No. 2, Ozzie came out again and called for Mike MacDougal to face Omar Infante.

Infante is a useful bench player, but he's not Vladimir Guerrero against southpaws.  In fact, over his career, he's worse against lefties than he is against righties, and there's never been a stretch where he's proven that phenomenon demonstrably false.  So I'm not sure why Ozzie pulled his best lefty after four pitches to face a nobody, and while the Tony Tendency didn't bite him in this game, it could very well do so down the road.

****************

Here's a good illustration of how inconsistent the Sox offense is right now -- the Sox drew four bases on balls against Chad Durbin, yet Durbin used 11 pitches or less in four of the first five innings.  It's somewhat surprising that the Sox lead the league in walks, considering undisciplined they look at the plate sometimes. 

Jim Thome and his 21(!) free passes are a big reason why, but there are also a few unlikely contributions.  Tadahito Iguchi already has drawn eight walks, and A.J. Pierzynski has five himself.  A.J. earned his walk the hard way tonight, fouling off four straight pitches in a full-count situation before watching ball four to load the bases.

****************

Minor league round-up:

• Charlotte 3, Ottawa 1
• Gavin Floyd, pitching in weather 35 degrees warmer than his previous start, fared much better -- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K on 97 pitches.  He lowered his ERA to an even 2.50 in the process.
• Ryan Sweeney put the Knights on the board with a solo homer in the second, his second of the year.  He also added a go-ahead RBI with a fielder's choice two innings later.
• After a terrible start, Wiki Gonzalez has a four-game hit streak (5-for-12), and has raised his average from .071 to .231.  With no further improvement, he's still a better option than Gustavo Molina.
  
• Corwin Malone and Ryan Bukvich threw three scoreless innings in relief, with Bukvich working hard for a two-inning save.
• Birmingham 3, Montgomery 2
• Kris Honel was all over the place in his 4 2/3-inning outing, walking four and throwing two wild pitches.  Somehow, he only allowed two runs.
• Ryan Wing, Edwardo Sierra and Dewon Day threw 4-1/3 hitless innings of relief.  Wing has only allowed one hit in 9 1/3 innings this season, with four walks and nine strikeouts.  Day "only" struck out one.
  
• Chris Getz tied up the game with an RBI double in the eighth, and Jason Bourgeois drove in the game-winner in the ninth.  Bourgeois also scored on a balk.
• Winston-Salem 6, Wilmington 5
• The Warthogs won despite committing six errors by six different guys, leading to three unearned runs.
• Micah Schnurstein hit his second homer of the year, and leads the team with 13 RBI.
• All starters had a hit except for Victor Mercedes (who committed an error on top of an 0-for-5 night); Javier Castillo had three hits including a triple and two RBI.
• Charleston 3, Kannapolis 1 (Game 1, 7 innings)
• The Intimidators had only four hits, and Archie Gilbert, Anderson Gomes and Brandon Allen went 0-for-11 at the top of the order.
• Matt Long only struck out one in five innings of work, giving up five hits and three runs in the process.
• Michael Rocco pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
• Charleston 5, Kannapolis 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
• Kanny only racked up five hits in the nightcap; the top of the order went 0-for-9 with five strikeouts.
• Richard Brooks gave up four runs in five innings, but only one of them was earned thanks to a two-out error and a passed ball.

Strife of Brian

Evidently, the scars left by Rob Mackowiak's misadventures in center field have forced Ozzie Guillen into playing Brian Anderson.  B.A. has seen -- hold onto your hats -- TWO FULL INNINGS OF ACTION in the last two games as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Maybe it's baby steps towards more effective usage, but unfortunately, I think that's where he's going to stay, because now even Kenny Williams is bringing up winter ball for Anderson:


Ozzie mentioned winter ball a few days ago, and now Kenny raises the topic.  Winter ball.  In April.  With the guy ahead of him, Darin Erstad, playing as well as Anderson did in the first month of the season.  At this point, I'm almost hoping they send Anderson somewhere and replace him with Luis Terrero, because Terrero exactly the type of AAAA talent you can bury on the bench.  Going off the quotes in the Merkin column, I think Anderson wouldn't mind a change of scenery himself.

That's not saying Anderson is capable of handling a regular major-league job in center field, but it started to look like he could towards the second half of last season -- something nobody on the current Sox roster can claim.  Sadly, it doesn't appear that anybody in the White Sox system cares to find out more.

****************

Minor league round-up:

• Ottawa 5, Charlotte 4
• Lance Broadway threw an efficient quality start -- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K on 87 pitches.  He was pulled after running into trouble in the seventh, giving up an RBI single.
• The Gonzalezes -- Wiki and Andy -- each stole a base.  They also both committed errors, with Wiki's dropped ball on a fielder's choice in the eighth leading to Ottawa's game-winning rally.  Dwayne Pollok was the hard-luck loser.
• Andy Gonzalez went 2-for-4, and currently sports a line of .344/.417/.656.  His glove may be the only thing keeping him from a major-league utility role.
• Josh Fields went 0-for-4, sinking his average below the Mendoza Line once again (.196).
• Montgomery 3, Birmingham 2
• Like Broadway, Wes Whisler threw a quality but unremarkable start -- seven hits, three runs, three walks and no strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.  Whisler only has six strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings this year, yet owns a 2.65 ERA.
  
• Robert Valido went 2-for-3, and is 7-for-16 since being dropped from second to ninth.
• Hot-hitting Chris Getz hit second today, while Sean Smith and his .184 average led off.  Smith drew the collar and struck out with a runner in scoring position to end the game.  Getz went 1-for-3.
• Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 4
• Catcher Cole Armstrong had a big day at the plate -- two homers and 3 RBI.
• Clayton Richard put up a nice line: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K., but Brian Omogrosso blew the save and earned the win for himself.
  
• Victor Mercedes won the game with a walk-off RBI single.
• Kannapolis vs. Charleston PPD
  

The gritty wind beneath their wings

Give Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson credit: Their crush on Darin Erstad is indefatigable, even in the midst of a massive 2-for-32 slump. From Wednesday night's game:


How long do you think it'll be until they're discussing his musk?  And once again, note DJ's double negative.

***************

After his two-homer game Wednesday, Jim Thome has five homers and eight RBI.  To meet my projection, he'll have to spread out 23 RBI over his next 19 homers.  He'll have to contend with Tadahito Iguchi, who's warming up since returning to the No. 2 spot.  He's 2-for-7 with a walk in two games there.

***************

Minor league round-up:

• Ottawa 7, Charlotte 4
• Charlie Haeger contines to struggle -- seven runs on 10 hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.  His ERA stands at 7.56, and the only good thing about his outing is that he didn't allow any homers.
• Corwin Malone, Dwayne Pollok and Ryan Bukvich pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
• Jerry Owens and Ryan Sweeney had multi-hit games, and Casey Rogowski hit his first homer of the year.
• Montgomery 6, Birmingham 4
• Jack Egbert kept his ERA right at 1.50 with six innings of one-run ball.  He allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out two.
• Tim Bittner and Edwardo Sierra prevented Egbert from getting the win, giving up five runs in less than three innings.
• Thomas Collaro continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer (his third) and 3 RBI.  He leads the Southern League with 16 RBI.
• Robert Valido has a modest four-game hitting streak with a 1-for-3 day; meanwhile, Donny Lucy's eight-game streak ended with an 0-for-4 day.
• Winston-Salem 7, Myrtle Beach 4
• Aaron Cunningham raised his average to .390 with a 2-for-4 day.
• Micah Schnurstein had a double and three RBI.
• Kyle McCulloch struggled with his control, walking four in five innings.  He only allowed two runs, but was handed a no-decision when Jason Rice blew the lead and earned the victory in the process.
• Garry Bakker struck out the side in his inning of work.
• Charleston 1, Kannapolis 0
• Faustino De Los Santos was brilliant in relief of Jose Zazueta, striking out six in three hitless innings.  The Intimidators' bullpen didn't allow a hit in six total innings of work.
• Kannapolis only scratched out four hits, two of them by catcher Francisco Hernandez.
  

The anatomy of a no-hitter

I got some pizza, some pop, and I'm firmly planted on the couch, ready to watch Mark Buehrle's no-hitter, the first in 16 years for the White Sox, for the first time.  I'm going to keep a running log along with it, if only for posterity.

Check back every 10 minutes or so.  Or don't.  No spoilers, please.

TOP OF THE FIRST

No. 1: Kenny Lofton
First pitch, a curveball flipped foul.  High fastball evens the count, but he comes back with a changeup on the outside corner, which Lofton taps to second for a 4-3.

No. 2: Ian Kinsler
First pitch fastball outside corner, Kinsler hits it off the end of the bat to medium-range center for the second out.

No. 3: Michael Young
First pitch fastball, strike one, outside corner.   Second pitch almost in the same spot, but called a ball.  Fastball on the inside corner makes it a 1-2, and Buehrle finishes him with an outside fastball Young is late on.  Buehrle points to the sky with a smile for not allowing a run in the first, something he'd done in 15 of his previous 18 outings.

TOP OF THE SECOND

No. 4: Mark Teixeira
First-pitch fastball over the heart of the plate for strike one.  Two inside heaters put Buehrle behind in the count for the first time, 2-1.  Texeira chases a changeup low and outside for strike 2, and Buehrle blows it by him with a fastball up for strike three.

No. 5: Sammy Sosa
Fastball in, the first time Buehrle doesn't get a first-pitch strike.  Sammy with a big whiff for strike one, but lays off another high heater for a 2-1 count.  Way ahead on the changeup for strike two, and when Buehrle throws another change, Sammy hits a nubber off the bat to Tadahito Iguchi for the second out. 

No. 6: Hank Blalock
Fastball just off the outside corner for ball one.  Comes right back with a slider in the same spot, which Blalock fouls off.  Buehrle with another fastball outside, 2-1.  Tries to go inside with a change, and Blalock turns on it for a deep flyball to right, which Jermaine Dye tracks perfectly and snags right above the yellow padding topping the fence for a long, loud out.

TOP OF THE THIRD

No. 7: Jerry Hairston
First pitch fastball for strike one, and then Hairston chases a low change which he chops down the third base line.  Joe Crede dives to his right, snags it, rises, fires and gets Hairston by an eyelash.  Hairston argues, walks back to the dugout, comes back to argue some more, and is ejected.  The best angle shows that it might've been a tie, but Hairston hurt his own cause by sliding.  Not only does it slow you down in those last five feet, but considering umps use sound and visuals to determine close calls, the sound of a foot hitting the bag would've helped his case instead of fingers brushing over the top.

No. 8: Nelson Cruz
Curveball misses for ball one, and he misses with a fastball high for his first 2-0 count.  Cruz can't check his swing on a nice outside-corner fastball for strike one.  Buehrle throws a change or slider -- it was 83 and didn't do much, and Cruz fists it to the left field warning track, where Rob Mackowiak snags it with a nice running catch.

No. 9: Gerald Laird
Curve misses low for ball one, and the fastball follows suit for a 2-0 count.  Fastball inside pushes it to 3-0, and a get-me-over makes it 3-1.  Outside-half fastball for strike two, and Laird chops a changeup to Juan Uribe for the third out.

TOP OF THE FOURTH

No. 10: Kenny Lofton
Fastball just off the outside corner for ball one as Lofton flashes bunt.  He chops another outside fastball foul to even the count, then just misses a double when he pokes a changeup a few feet outside the left-field foul line.  Buehrle brushes him off the plate with a fastball inside, and comes back inside to get Lofton swinging for strikeout No. 3, a foul tip caught by A.J. Pierzynski.

No. 11: Ian Kinsler
Kinsler takes an outside changeup for ball one, then fouls off another change as he's way ahead to even the count.  Kinsler is again in front of a third straight change, and pops it up to center field.  Juan Uribe runs out there, but Darin Erstad charges in and calls him off at the last second for the second out.

No. 12: Michael Young 
First pitch slider gets in on Young's hands, and he grounds to third for an easy 6-3.

TOP OF THE FIFTH

No. 13: Mark Teixeira
Changeup outside for ball one, but he finds the corner with another change.  He then comes in with a fastball and saws him off -- 4-3, one out.

No. 14: Sammy Sosa
Buehrle bounces a fastball for strike one, but gets Sammy to whiff on a low-inside fastball.  Outside changeup, a fastball low, and another fastball low, and Sammy's on board with a walk.

No. 15: Hank Blalock
Blalock misses on a fastball up and in for strike one, but watches a high and outside fastball to even the count.  Buehrle picks off Mister Bulky for out No. 2.  Back to Blalock, he watches a fastball high, and then hits a curveball towards the hole between first and second.  Iguchi makes a diving stop and throws out Blalock, inning over.

TOP OF THE SIXTH

No. 16: Matt Kata
Fastball, over the middle and up for strike one.  Kata pulls a changeup foul for strike two, but lays off an outside fastball and a low changeup for a 2-2 count.  Another changeup, Kata tips it and A.J. hangs on for strike three.

No. 17: Nelson Cruz
Fastball misses outside for ball one, then up for a 2-0 count.  Another fastball, knee-high and over the plate for strike one.  Another fastball over the outside half, and Cruz lines it to right, but right at Dye.

No. 18: Gerald Laird
Slider high for ball one, but another one finds the inside corner to make it 1-1.  Laird chases an outside change for strike two, then watches a fastball on the inside corner for the backwards K.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH

No. 19: Kenny Lofton
Fastball in on the hands, fouled off for strike one.  Fastball on the outside corner, chopped foul.  Slider misses outside, and Lofton then grounds an inside fastball to Paul Konerko for out No. 1.

No. 20: Ian Kinsler
Kinsler watches a slider over the plate for strike one, then fouls off one on his hands for a quick 0-2 count.  He watches a change in the dirt, then chops at another one that gets past a diving Crede.  Juan Uribe picks it behind him, fires to first, and Konerko scoops it.  Two outs.

No. 21: Michael Young
Fastball up and in, ball one.  Young fouls off a slider in on the hands for strike one, but a fastball up and in makes it 2-1.  After fouling off an outside corner change, he takes another up-and-in fastball to make it a full count.  He then swings at a high fastball and flies out harmlessly to Mackowiak.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH

No. 22: Mark Teixeira
Comcast misses the first pitch, but it's a strike.  An inside fastball and an outside changeup make it 2-1.  Teixiera fouls off a slider in on the hands, then watches a fastball nail the outside corner for strike three.

No. 23: Sammy Sosa
Comcast misses strike one.  Slider up and in evens the count, and another slider misses high.  One more slider, and Sosa flips it weakly to Iguchi for out No. 2.

No. 24: Hank Blalock
Blalock gets jammed by a fastball, grounds it just foul, making a nifty flip worthless.  Another inside fastball, and Blalock grounds to Iguchi for a routine 4-3.

TOP OF THE NINTH

No. 25: Matt Kata
Hawk Harrelson mentions "no hits" and "no-hitter" for the first time.  Kata fouls a slider off his knee for strike one.  Another slider fouled off his shin for strike two.  Fastball on the outside corner, and Kata looks at it for strike three.  K No. 7 for Buehrle.

No. 26: Nelson Cruz
Cruz misses on a low changeup for strike one.  Another swing and miss on a low change, and it's 0-2.  Buehrle bounces a slider in the dirt, and just misses with a change off the corner to even up the count.  A slider in on the hands, and Cruz swings and misses for strike three.  The ball gets away from Pierzynski, Cruz recognizes this belatedly and doesn't make much of an effort.  Pierzynski throws to Konerko, two outs.

No. 27: Gerald Laird
Fastball misses in, and Laird chops an inside slider foul, 1-1.  Laird is sawed off by another slider, Crede charges and makes a running throw to get Laird by two steps.  That's the first no-hitter at home for the Sox since Joe Horlen in 1967.

Inventory:  9 innings, 27 batters faced, 0 hits, 1 walk, 11 groundouts, 7 flyouts, 8 strikeouts, 1 pickoff, 106 pitches, 66 strikes, 40 balls, 59 fastballs, 27 changeups, 16 sliders, 4 curveballs, 2 pitches Comcast missed. Here's the chart.

A brave new world

The season's first clash of a non-blacked out White Sox game and my Wednesday night basketball league forced me into getting a DVR. 

Observe, while I:

*THRILL! as I freeze the screen at the exact moment where Scott Podsednik closes his eyes during an attempt at a catch!

*DEFY! the laws of time to fast forward through six-pitch innings!

*MARVEL! watching Joe Crede's back knee bend in slow motion as he swings one-handed at a low and outside pitch!

*TRANSCRIBE! conversations between Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson as they find new ways to worship Darin Erstad in the face of a growing mound of evidence to the contrary!

Don't bother paying for the full seat, because you'll only need the edge of it!

Spelling 'Sox' without an 'O'

On one level, I can understand Ozzie Guillen's impassioned plea for Sox fans to not boo Sammy Sosa upon his return to Chicago.  I have objections to every single point he makes, but considering he got on Cleveland fans for booing Jim Thome, it seems like an effort to be consistent.

That's fine.  I was pleased to see that Sox fans didn't heed Ozzie's call, but whatever.  On the other hand, if he complains about Sox fans' verbal disapproval with the White Sox offense after tonight's debacle...

The Sox have scored two runs in their last three games.  They have not collected 10 hits or more since Opening Day.  Darin Erstad is in a 2-for-28 slump.  Joe Crede is completely off his game. Alex Cintron and Rob Mackowiak are providing no relief.  A.J. Pierzynski finally showed some signs of life today, but everybody in today's lineup outside the 3-4-5 combo hasn't gotten off the ground.

Jim Thome's on fire, and even though Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye haven't hit their stride yet, they're still posting a combined OBP of .360 (entering tonight's game), well above the league average.  Opposing pitchers tread carefully around the heart of the Sox order, then feast on the weak.

It's a truly pathetic display, and the only way to describe and diagnose it is "bad swings."  My brother and dad have a theory that they're not aggressive enough on first-pitch get-me-overs, instead resorting to the low and away stuff when they're behind in the count.  I started paying closer attention to it, and that wasn't the case tonight -- although I'm sure Paulie drove my dad nuts when he looked at the first two pitches for strikes in his first at-bat.

Thirteen times tonight, Sox hitters swung at the first hittable pitch.  They allowed Robinson Tejeda to throw two consecutive seven-pitch innings after a shaky first in which he walked two batters.  They pulled the trigger on pitches right over the heart of the plate, and either swung under them, or were late trying to jerk them.

It's times like these where Greg Walker is counted upon to earn his salary.  He'd be better served to stop thinking about Sosa himself, and concentrate on his own players.

**************

Minor league round-up:

• Ottawa 3, Charlotte 2
• Heath Phillips continues to get the job done: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K on 102 pitches.
• The Knights out-hit the Lynx 11-6, including three hits for Luis Terrero, and two apiece for Jerry Owens and Andy Gonzalez.
• Josh Fields went 1-for-1 with three walks.
• A throwing error by Wiki Gonzalez led to the decisive two-run eighth for Ottawa.
• Birmingham 10, Montgomery 1
• Gio Gonzalez allowed one unearned run in five innings, although he walked four while only striking out three.
• Dewon Day finally had a human outing -- only one strikeout in his one inning of work, while allowing three baserunners.
• Thomas Collaro had a four-RBI night, and leads the Barons with 13 in 12 games.
• Chris Getz went 1-for-3 with two walks out of the leadoff spot.  His BB:K ratio is 2:1, his OBP is .431, and he's reached base in every game this year.
• Myrtle Beach 9, Winston-Salem 8
• John Lujan, Matthew Zaleski gave up eight runs in relief of Joe Gannon, who threw three innings of one-run ball in his start.
• Third baseman Javier Castillo went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI
• Aaron Cunningham started a new hitting streak, going 1-for-3 with two walks.  He's batting .378 with a .467 OBP.
• Kannapolis 11, Charleston 2
• Archie Gilbert, Anderson Gomes and Francisco Hernandez all went deep for the Intimidators, who scored in six of eight innings.
• Jacob Rasner threw six shutout innings, his longest and most successful outing so far.
• Kanekoa Texeira gave up his first run of the year.
  

One wonder twin down

Scott Podsednik is back on the disabled list after aggravating that tricky groin of his, with Boone Logan, who was playing in Rochester a couple of days ago, taking his place.

Three things came to my mind:

1. The wrong guy got injured!
2. It'd've sure been nice to have Eduardo Perez for the first two weeks of the season.
3. Why do we need three lefties, anyway?

Three brief explanations:

1. I don't actively wish harm on anybody, but just saying if I had to pick the guy with the .378 OBP or the guy with the .262 OBP to make a trip to the DL, well...
   
   
2. This is what happened the last time Pods returned from a groin injury faster than expected.  The cold weather probably didn't help, and having another righty bat would've been nice against Johan Santana and C.C. Sabathia if Pods decided to take his time.
   
3. Only Hank Blalock and Frank Catalanotto are especially susceptible against lefties, and neither of those guys are worth carrying three lefties on the roster.
   

The first issue's impact is excerbated further, because in place of Podsednik, Darin Erstad is leading off tonight, giving him more opportunities to make outs just a day after Guillen had discussed dropping him lower in the order.  Rob Mackowiak is playing left, and Brian Anderson will continue to ride the bench.

Trying to take solace somehow, Boone pitched his tail off in spring training, so bully for him, I guess.

Deep sixed?

Ozzie Guillen may have one change in mind when the Sox resume play against the Texas Rangers tonight, according to Mark Gonzalez:


I like the first part.  I've been saying all along that even though Iguchi drove in more runs in Japan, his inside-out swing and satisfactory on-base and baserunning skills make him perfectly suitable for hitting before the Sox's biggest bats, and behind their most active basestealing threat. 

The second part?  He has the right idea, but it doesn't go far enough.  Erstad should be moved down, but hitting sixth is still way too high for a couple of reasons:

1) Too many RBI opportunities for an ice-cold hitter.  You know, assuming the 3-4-5 combo picks it up, of course.  Joe Crede hit sixth most of last year and drove in 94 runs.  That's an impressive total when considering he couldn't do anything for the entire last month.  Before his back flared up, he was on pace to clear 100.

While it's understood RBI is kind of a fluky stat, the point is there are runs to be had.  Going 2-for-25 -- with neither hit leaving the infield -- isn't going to help bring them home.

2) Way too many ground balls.  Out of the 23 balls Erstad has put in play this year, 16 of them have been grounders.  That's not a particularly good combination right behind two of the Sox's slowest runners.  Because he's lefty and somewhat fast, he doesn't hit into as many double plays as you might expect.  It does amount to a hell of a lot of fielder's choices, though, and I don't see Jim Thome, Paul Konerko or Jermaine Dye scoring from third on those.

That's about all the energy I can muster for the center field debate, because clearly he isn't going anywhere, and Ozzie's not in any rush to give Brian Anderson more playing time.  Erstad was given the job outright despite having as much to prove as anybody else, and because he's a BASEBALL PLAYER, he'll baseball play until he breaks down. We may as well just try to enjoy the gritty, gutty, all-out 4-3's the best we can.

************

Minor league round-up:

• Birmingham 2, Montgomery 1 (10 innings)
  
  • Adam Russell pitched a solid game once again, striking out six in five innings.  Plus, he only allowed one run despite giving up six hits and three walks. 
    
  • Fernando Hernandez Jr., Carlos Vazquez and Edwardo Sierra pitched four shutout innings of relief.
  • Jason Bourgeois drove in the game-winning run with a single up the middle.
    
  • Robert Valido, batting ninth now instead of second, went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Valido is 3-for-7 at the bottom of the order, compared to 2-for-33 hitting first or second.
• Winston-Salem 5, Myrtle Beach 2
  • David Cook and Daron Roberts homered during a four-run first; Roberts has homered in two straight games, and Cook, just named Carolina League Player of the Week, is starting off this one in strong fashion.
  • Aaron Cunningham saw his nine-game hit streak end, but he did score a run after reaching on an error leading off the game, and had a sac fly as well.  His average plummeted to .382.
  • Justin Cassell allowed two runs (one unearned), the first time the opposition has scored on him.  He allowed six hits, two walks, and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings.
  • Carlos Torres struck out four in 2 2/3 innings.  He has struck out nine in 8 1/3 innings, and has yet to walk a batter this season.
    
• Savannah 6, Kannapolis 3 (Game 1, 7 innings)
  • Francisco Hernandez and Robert Hudson each had two hits.
  • No pitcher had what you'd call an impressive outing.  Noe Rodriguez struck out the side, but not before allowing four hits and two runs, earning the loss in the process.
  • Clevelan Santeliz is having an interesting start to his season -- he's struck out 10 in seven innings, but has allowed more runs (4) than hits (3).  It's not even that he's walking a lot of people (3), but he's served up two poorly timed gopher balls.
• Savannah 3, Kannapolis 2 (Game 2, 7 innings)
  • Justin Edwards gave up his first three runs of the season, two of them earned. He did manage to strike out six in 4 2/3 innings.
  • Brandon Allen, Anderson Gomes and John Shelby Jr. posted the same line -- 2-for-3 with a double.&n