posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 1:13 AM by Jim

And break!

I'm thankful I wasn't brought up a Rangers fan, because Sunday's game was agonizing to watch on a number of levels.  There's nothing fun about four-hour games, especially ones that are only nine innings, in a park where every grounder is a single and every lazy fly goes to the warning track.

It almost made me happy to see Paul Konerko strike out, because I didn't really care to see the game go on any longer.

We have four whole days to talk about the first half, so for now, here are some brief news and notes:

*Bobby Jenks will Jenks will begin his rehab assignment Monday in Birmingham.

*Greg Walker can't wait for the offense to flip the switch ... again.

*A.J. Pierzynski is OK after taking a pitch to the ankle.

*Your choice:  D.J. Carrasco or Adam Russell?  Not to place too much importance on one outing, but the Sox might have more use for Carrasco as a tandem starter for Jose Contreras.

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

Minor league roundup:
  • Charlotte 3, Richmond 2
    • Josh Fields went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
    • Danny Richar did the same, without a double.
    • Ehren Wassermann picked up the win with a scoreless inning, lowering his ERA to 0.75.
  • Kinston 7, Winston-Salem 5
    • John Shelby went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
    • Salvador Sanchez had two hits and two RBI.
    • Matt Zaleski and Kanekoa Teixeira combined for three shutout innings in relief.
  • Greeneville 7, Bristol 6 (10 innings)
    • Jorge Castillo went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and an RBI.
    • Justin Greene and Brandon Short each had two hits and two RBI.
    • Gregory Infante allowed one run on four hits over six innings, striking out three.
  • Great Falls 15, Ogden 4
    • Kent Gerst hit a grand slam, part of a 2-for-3, three-walk, four-run day.
    • Tyler Kuhn went 4-for-6 and fell a homer shy of the cycle.
    • Mike Grace went 3-for-5 with four RBI; Johny Celis and Kyle Shelton also had three hits.
    • Kevin Skogley struck out six over five innings, allowing three runs.
    • Daniel Albritton pitched three scoreless innings in relief.
  • Birmingham OFF
  • Kannapolis vs. Rome PPD
Note: Clayton Richard took the loss in the Futures Game thanks to an error.  Chris Getz went 0-for-2.

Comments

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 8:30 AM by chisoxt
I wonder if the genius who rebuked me for saying two weeks ago that the Sox pitching staff is beginning to show 'some crack' has seen enough 'proof' based on the pile of dung witnessed over tha last week.

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 9:05 AM by Fundman
Completely in agreement that Konerko striking out simply expedited the loss that would have occurred in the bottom of the ninth. That ballpark is Loony Tunes.

Chisoxt, I'm a little concerned about the pitching, but judging them based on that park is simply impossible.

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 10:40 AM by soxfan1
Sox pitching definitely needs a break and a shot of something to re-start them. I agree with chisoxt that the signs of wear and tear have been showing for a couple of weeks now. Is there any way we can put Contreras in the pen/or on the DL and replace him with Carrasco for a couple of weeks. Maybe Jose can come up with a case of tendonitis over the break??

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 12:32 PM by Salty Dog
My level of concern for Sox pitchers* (from most concerned to least concern):

1) Jose Contreras - can you go on the DL if you need to see a shrink?
2) Javier Vazquez - always seems to have really good stuff, but doesn't have much of an idea how to use it.
3) Gavin Floyd - I'm not sure what we're going to get out of this guy for the 2nd half. I'm hoping more good stuff. Sure didn't finish the 1st half very strong.
4) Mark Buehrle - Will careful management of his workload continue into the 2nd half?
5) John Danks - I think he's turned the corner to becoming a solid, reliable starter.

* No research went into the making of this list.

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 3:22 PM by El Duque's Raft
chisoxt, I'm about as much of a genius as you are. Unfortunately, you said two weeks ago that for the past three weeks, they've begun to show cracks. So that covers a 5 week period and during that time, you chose the past week to reinforce your statement, where they played in a ballpark that plays smaller than a Little League field. Not to mention, they were going against the best offense. The fact is, they're not going to roll through the rotation getting a quality start every time. That doesn't excuse Contreras for being awful for the past month or so, but I still like their rotation matched up against the rest of their division.

Jim, what are the odds Clayton Richard gets a few spot starts a la McCarthy in '05? Is he ready for something like that or does he still need seasoning?

# re: And break!

Monday, July 14, 2008 4:00 PM by Jim Margalus
I'd probably reverse the order of Vazquez and Floyd, because I'm thinking (hoping) we've seen the worst out of Javy (he says, fingers crossed).

Richard most closely resembles what he's capable of at this time compared to the other guys in Charlotte, namely Broadway and Egbert. I'd like to see a couple more starts out of Egbert because he's been on and off all season. I'm not down on him, but he got a late start this season due to elbow issues in the spring, and might just now be finding his rhythm.

That doesn't count Haeger, who I like a lot. But Contreras is basically a knuckleballer now, based on how much he depends on the tumbling forkball, and if you're looking to get the team out of his slow-paced ruts, Haeger's not going to provide any relief there.