posted on Saturday, July 12, 2008 4:48 AM
by
Jim
Floyd regresses, Konerko depresses
Gavin Floyd suffered through the worst start of his career
Friday night, setting a career highs in walks (7; previous high: 5) while tying a career low in innings (2 2/3 innings).
You too, can find this kind of stuff out easily with
Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index tool, which is free through July 19.
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Paul Konerko avoided his second golden sombrero in three days when he flew out to right in the ninth inning off Eddie Guardado. Up until that point, he had struck out three times in three at-bats, and seven times in his last 11. Not that I'm a hitting expert or anything, but he appears to be pulling off the ball.
Fortunately, the Sox have some options when it comes to giving Eeyore a break. There are cases to be made for Saturday and Sunday:
Day off Saturday: Puts Dewayne Wise in against Kevin Millwood, which is a better offensive option at this point. John Danks is on the mound, and since he doesn't give up that many flies, having Wise in center shouldn't be as big a liability as normal.
Day off Sunday: Facing a lefty that they've never seen before in Matt Harrison, and if his performance against Luis Mendoza was any indication, he might want to rest. Also, Brian Anderson's glove would be in center and Nick Swisher's at first, which would help Jose Contreras.
Of course, there's the option of giving him both days off, too. It's not like he stands a chance of getting in a regular rhythm anyway, what with the All-Star Break coming Monday. If I had to pick a day, though, I'd go with Saturday.
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Speaking of unknowns, this is all that needs to be said about Mendoza's performance:
- Before Friday: 22 2/3 IP, 35 H, 30 R, 19 ER, 11 BB, 10 K
- Friday night: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
In three of his five starts, the Rangers lost by scores of 11-3, 16-9 and 18-7. Let's go back to
that Greg Walker quote from a couple weeks ago:
"We have guys like (special assistant) Dennis Gilbert, (computer
scouting analyst) Mike Gellinger here," hitting coach Greg Walker said
before the Sox edged the Los Angeles Dodgers and rookie left-hander
Clayton Kershaw 2-0. "We have the computer program. We have videotape.
We have everything. It's not a matter of being prepared. Our scouts do
a wonderful job."
If you say so.
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But hats off to D.J. Carrasco, who, after walking in a run, settled down to save the Sox bullpen with a tremendous effort. In his first game in a White Sox uniform, he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing only a run, striking out five and throwing 50 of 78 pitches for strikes.
If nothing else, it'll make Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams think a little bit when it comes time to pick a reliever to demote after Bobby Jenks comes back. It's my understanding that Carrasco might have to pass through waivers like Dewayne Wise did. Adam Russell wouldn't, so that may make him the natural choice -- even if he wins most of the games in which he pitches.
If it turns out that this is the only game Carrasco pitches in a Sox uniform, it was a helluva ride.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 4, Richmond 3
- Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored.
- Chris Getz homered for the second straight game, and Jason Bourgeois extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
- Charlie Haeger allowed two runs over seven innings, allowing just five hits and a walk while striking out four.
- Birmingham 9, Carolina 8
- Aaron Poreda was roughed up for five runs on eight hits over four innings. He walked three and only fanned one batter.
- Victor Mercedes drove in four, including three on one swing.
- John Lujan picked up the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
- Jon Link struck out the side for his 26th save.
- Winston-Salem 8, Frederick 1
- Matt Long struck out eight over seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball.
- John Shelby homered, doubled and drove in four.
- Estee Harris went 2-for-4 with a solo homer.
- Kannapolis 4, Rome 2
- Eduardo Escobar went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
- Mark Fleisher homered again, his eighth of the year.
- Miguel Socolovich allowed two runs over six innings for the win.
- Leroy Hunt retired all six batters he faced for the save.
- Greeneville 7, Bristol 6
- Downers Grove native Kevin Dubler hit a three-run homer.
- Justin Greene, Jordan Kendall, Jorge Castillo and Juan Silverio each had two hits.
- Justin Kuehn pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
- Orem 11, Great Falls 10
- Tyler Kuhn drove in five as he fell just a homer short of the cycle.
- Mike Grace had a three-hit game; Jesus Avila went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
- Ryan Strauss retired all six hitters he faced; everybody else was hit hard.