Last year, the White Sox were soundly criticized for hitting too many solo homers. In
Thursday night's depressing loss to Baltimore, they were a godsend.
Solo shots by Carlos Quentin (twice) and Joe Crede did the job, helping to regain a lead for a starter and provide an insurance run that stretched a lead to three, one that should have been insurmountable.
As Quentin's eighth-inning opposite-field blast showed, the Sox will be better off hitting
more solo homers, because if Sox hitters don't score themselves off relief pitching, who will?
That home run was one of only two hits off Oriole relievers over four innings, and the only run the Sox have scored off relief pitchers in the last 14 1/3 innings. It's too early to state anything definitively, but for all the trends and patterns the 2008 team has bucked so far, the Sox still find themselves struggling with relief pitching.
Entering Thursday, the Sox were
fourth in the American League in OPS, but
ninth in OPS against relievers and falling. Their .246 batting average is an improvement over
the .229 average posted against bullpens in 2007, but it's
only good for 12th in the American League.
In a way, the continued struggles against relief pitchers are even more troubling because the Sox are shortening starting pitchers' outings with their increased patience at the plate, and it's almost turning an advantage into a disadvantage.
There's no reason to press the panic button yet -- it's not like they've gone
61 consecutive at-bats without a hit or anything -- but it is something to keep in mind. Advance scouting was called into question last year
in the spat between A.J. Pierzynski and Greg Walker, and
after Opening Day as well.
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If you read past the halfway point of multimedia machine
Joe Cowley's column praising of Kenny Williams, it's actually pretty interesting, with regards to how Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn engage in trade talks.
Cowley also
tried to steal bases on A.J. Pierzynski and is
going nuts on Twitter.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 10, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2
- Jerry Owens went 3-for-5 and stole two bases, and threw a runner out at home.
- Josh Fields went 2-for-5 with two RBI, struck out the other three times and committed an error.
- Brad Eldred had a homer and three RBI; Donny Lucy hit a three-run homer.
- Wes Whisler allowed two unearned runs over 5 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.08.
- Ehren Wassermann struck out two in a perfect ninth.
- Birmingham 6, Mississippi 5
- Fernando Hernandez picked up the win in his return to the Barons, throwing a scoreless inning.
- Micah Schnurstein had his first real big game, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
- Robert Hudson had two hits and two RBI; Cole Armstrong had two hits to raise his average to .152.
- Frederick 7, Winston-Salem 2
- Ricky Brooks was roughed up for five runs over four innings.
- Matt Long pitched well for once, allowing one run over three innings, with three strikeouts and no walks.
- Lee Cruz had two of the Warthogs' six hits.
- Augusta 4, Kannapolis 2
- Levi Maxwell and Wander Perez threw two scoreless innings apiece.
- Logan Johnson and Andrew Mead drove in a run apiece.