Watching the White Sox offense go to work is like watching a three-legged dog try to run. Except in this case, the dog is lacking a different leg from week to week, and it doesn't evoke overwhelming sympathy; only frustration.
This week, the middle of the lineup has vanished:
- Paul Konerko: 3-for-26, two GIDPs
- Jim Thome: 2-for-26, two GIDPs
- A.J. Pierzynski: 3-for-18, two GIDPs
The good news is that Pierzynski is having a much better August than he did last year, when concerns about his durability arose. He went 0-for-2 and grounded into a 3-6-3 double play
during tonight's "nailbiter," but he also drew a pair of walks. He's batting .294/.385/.647 this month; last year, it was .228/.265/.402. He should see a lot of time off down the stretch, as
the Sox will likely call up a third catcher when the rosters expand in September.
The bad news is that Konerko isn't right, Thome appears to be wearing down as well, and there hasn't been a solid reason why. Konerko's had a couple of days off in the past week and wasn't available to pinch-hit for Darin Erstad in a key situation, and the only thing Konerko's said about it is that
he has a "slow bat."That same phrase describes Thome's issues. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Thome breaking this many bats, and
the Gentleman Masher (I very much want this nickname to catch on) at 100 percent wouldn't have seen
a squarely hit ball bounce off the top of the center field fence, like it did on Sunday.
If there's one way to spin his struggles positively, it means that Josh Fields should have a major-league job next April, even if Joe Crede reclaims third base. Thome needs a platoon partner in the DH role, and Fields fits the profile. Look at these numbers:
- Thome vs. RHP: .310/.461/.614 over 184 AB
- Fields vs. LHP: .351/.398/.727 over 77 AB
On the flipside:
- Thome vs. LHP: .180/.292/.288 over 111 AB
- Fields vs. RHP: .199/.259/.336 over 146 AB
I'm somewhat confident that Fields will be able to hold his own against righties in time, because he managed to keep
his splits in Charlotte quite reasonable.
Thome, meanwhile, is in the middle of a precipitous decline against southpaws. He's gone from having an .803 OPS against lefties in 2004 to .714 in 2006 to .580 in 2007.
The Sox will pay Thome $9 million next year, while Fields will still be in the six-figure salary range. Therefore, it's not that unreasonable to pay under $10 million for a bitchin' two-headed DH. Whether that happens depends on one or two things -- Thome swallowing his pride, and/or Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams' willingness to accept that Thome is on the downslope.
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Minor league round-up:- Durham 4, Charlotte 3
- Heath Phillips allowed only one unearned run over six innings, but Jason Childers allowed Durham to blow the game open by allowing six hits and three runs in an inning of work.
- Alex Sanchez went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
- Kenny Perez hit a solo homer, and now owns a higher slugging percentage (.412) than Ryan Sweeney (.403), after Sweeney went 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Birmingham 6, Mobile 3
- David Cook went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run. He owns a 1.663 OPS in his first 10 games with the Barons.
- Jeremy Frost went 3-for-4, and Victor Mercedes, Cory Aldridge and Chris Kelly had two hits apiece.
- Corwin Malone met the minimum requirements for a qualty start, and Adam Russell, Fernando Hernandez Jr. and Oneli Perez closed it out with a scoreless inning each.
- Winston-Salem 8, Frederick 6
- Gary Bakker had a wild line: 5 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. He gave up five runs in the second inning thanks to a catcher's interference and two errors.
- The bullpen pitched four scoreless inning, including two from John Lujan, over which he struck out five.
- Matt Sharp went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI; Robert Valido hit a two-run homer, and Micah Schnurstein hit his 21st.
- Hagerstown 14, Kannapolis 11
- Carlos Perez nearly topped Bakker: 5 1/3 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Nobody pitched well for Kanny.
- John Shelby went 4-for-5, falling a triple short of the cycle. He drove in two, and also stole his 18th base.
- Chris Carter hit No. 24, a two-run shot; Sergio Miranda went 2-for-4 with three RBI.