Nick Swisher
entered The SouthtownStar's "interrogation room" (hat tip to
South Side Sox) for an interview that wasn't all that interrogatory. In fact, he uses the word "fun" seven times.
He also explained his dance in the White Sox commercial:
The little shooter, the six-gun shooter? Ah, I don't know, man. I was just having fun with it.
If you haven't seen said commercial, here 'tis:
I can't blame him from his overuse of that three-letter word, because over the past couple days, the Sox have been extremely fun to watch. Starters enter pitching duels and emerge victorious. The bullpen hasn't messed around. The defense is making all the plays it should, and some it shouldn't, and the hitters are picking each other up.
And, of course, Swisher has been a big reason. Look at the differences in the following facets of the game:
TOP OF THE ORDERSwisher is sporting a .435 OBP from the leadoff spot, and No. 2 hitter Orlando Cabrera isn't far behind at .367. Put 'em together and what do you get? A .400 OBP, and a massive improvement in that category from the top two spots in 2007 (.301), 2006 (.317) and 2006 (.327) over the first 11 games.
I don't know if there's any way to definitively prove a trickle-down effect -- though
Colin gave it a shot -- but something might be up when you realize that Cabrera's sterling .367 OBP is only good for
sixth on the team among White Sox regulars.
As a result, the Sox are currently
second in the American League in OBP (.352), a category in which they finished dead last in 2007.
A LACK OF SMALLBALLSince the dawn of the Ozzieball/Smartball tags in 2005, the Sox have finished in the top three in sacrifice bunts, and top half of the American League in stolen base attempts in each of the last three years.
So far this season, the Sox are
dead last in both categories. And the offense isn't exactly suffering.
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4+ |
| 2008 |
19 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
| 2007 |
13 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
| 2006 |
11 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
| 2005 |
19 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
To the right is a chart illustrating how many runs the Sox have scored in an inning when they've scored. Through the first 11 games, not only have the Sox played for one run as well as any other team in the last three years, but they've had twice as many big innings in 2008 as they enjoyed in the previous three seasons combined.
The first inning of
Sunday's 11-0 victory over Detroit is a good example. Swisher led off with a single, and Cabrera followed up with a walk. Jim Thome bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, but Paul Konerko picked him up with a single and gave the Sox a quick 1-0 lead.
In previous seasons, if the leadoff man reached base, Ozzie Guillen would have been prone to give the bunt sign. Maybe Cabrera would have bunted over Swisher successfully, Thome gets Swisher over to third with a grounder to the right side and Konerko would single and give the Sox a 1-0 lead.
But there's a significant chance that Cabrera would have popped up the bunt, Thome would have grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and Konerko would come to the plate with the bases empty.
Perhaps when Cabrera stops seeing the ball so well (he's on pace for 117 walks, roughly 50-60 above his average), Guillen will revert to the traditional style he's favored the last three seasons, which may not be unwise given Cabrera's propensity to ground into double plays when he's off his game. But right now, Swisher and Cabrera are giving Guillen every reason to swing
the bat, and to Ozzie's immense credit, he's not getting in the way.
SUCCESS AGAINST LEFTIESKenny Rogers entered today's game with
a 2.81 ERA against the White Sox since 2005, with a 1.23 WHIP over those 48 innings. Sunday, the Sox roughed him up for seven runs on seven hits over four innings, during which 11 White Sox reached base.
Over 88 at-bats so far, the Sox have posted
an AL-best .889 OPS against southpaws, with Swisher reaching in seven of 13 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. While the Sox won't maintain that, having a competitive lineup against lefties will helping the Sox to stay in contention deep into the summer. The Sox were 13th in the AL last year (.731) and 12th in 2006 (.742) in that category.
In 2005, because of Carl Everett and Frank Thomas' presences in the lineup instead of Thome, the Sox were third in OPS (.782) against lefties, while 10th against righties. Lefties may make up a minority of opposing pitching, but a little success against them can go a long way.
The next three games will help bulk up the sample size in this category -- the A's are set to start
Greg Smith and
Dana Eveland, while the Orioles have scheduled
Adam Loewen for Wednesday. All three are left-handed.
***************************
Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 6, Columbus 5
- Roughed up in his first start, Rob Bell worked six innings of one-run ball to lower his ERA to 7.20.
- Ehren Wassermann picked up the save, erasing a walk with a double play to end the game.
- Jerry Owens went 0-for-4 with a strikeout; Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts and two runs scored.
- Chris Getz had two hits, Dewayne Wise went deep and Paul Phillips drove in two.
- Salem 8, Winston-Salem 4
- Michael Dubee struck out six over five innings, allowing three runs.
- Matt Long took the loss, as he was roughed up for the second consecutive outing.
- John Shelby stole four bases, leading to two runs scored.
- Salvador Sanchez drove in two runs; Brandon Allen had two hits.
- Kannapolis 5, Hickory 3
- Charlie Shirek allowed one unearned run over 6 1/3 innings, with five K's to zero walks. His ERA is 0.54.
- Leroy Hunt picked up the win, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and two walks.
- Jose Martinez had his first multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
- Birmingham OFF