Below is a chart of all the balls put in play off the starters in
Wednesday night's game, Javier Vazquez and Mike Mussina:
| Yankees |
White
Sox |
Damon |
Middle |
Swisher |
Bunt |
Jeter |
Opposite |
Cabrera |
Pull |
Abreu |
Pull |
Thome |
Opposite |
Matsui |
Opposite |
Konerko |
Middle |
Posada |
Opposite |
Dye |
Pull |
Ensberg |
Middle |
Pierzynski |
Opposite |
Cabrera |
Opposite |
Crede |
Pop-up |
Jeter |
Pull |
Swisher |
Middle |
Abreu |
Middle |
Cabrera |
Pull |
Posada |
Pull |
Thome |
Pull |
Cano |
Opposite |
Konerko |
Pull |
Giambi |
Pop-up |
Dye |
Pull |
Cabrera |
Pull |
Pierzynski |
Opposite |
Damon |
Pull |
Quentin |
Opposite |
Jeter |
Middle |
Crede |
Pull |
Abreu |
Opposite |
Uribe |
Pull |
Matsui |
Opposite |
Thome |
Pull |
Posada |
Opposite |
Konerko |
Pull |
Giambi |
Pull |
Dye |
Pop-up |
Ensberg |
Pull |
Pierzynski |
Opposite |
Cabrera |
Pull |
Quentin |
Pull |
Damon |
Middle |
Crede |
Opposite |
Jeter |
Middle |
|
|
The White Sox's already unimpressive tally in going to opposite field is rendered less sterling when considering two more factors:
- Jim Thome's opposite field venture was on a check swing.
- There was no chance A.J. Pierzynski was going to pull the ball with his approach.
So when it comes down to it, you can count all the legitimate attempts to go the other way against Mussina on one hand. That isn't good, because Mussina had to live on the outside corner with a fastball couldn't crack 85 on the YES gun.
Now contrast that to the display the Yankees were putting on. The Yankees had a primarily left-handed hitting lineup against Javy, and since Vazquez's best fastball tails away from them, they settled on targeting the left-center gap. They went in that direction in three consecutive at-bats to stretch their lead to 3-0, and Jorge Posada, who hit the key double that inning, went back to the well against Nick Masset in the seventh, splitting Carlos Quentin and Nick Swisher once again.
That's pretty much the difference between an offense like New York's, and what the Sox are throwing at opposing pitching. The additions of Quentin and Swisher may give the Sox a boost in OBP, and the Sox have shown the ability to knock the ball out of the park. However, everything the Sox can do the Yankees can do better -- especially when it comes to hitting for average.
Against Vazquez, the Yankees showed exactly how they led the AL with a .290
team average (Jim Thome
led the Sox with a .275 average last year). They roughed up Vazquez for 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, while the Sox were good for six hits the game. And they accomplished it by using the entire field, something the Sox have been loath to do for some time now.
It's not a good sign when the Sox can still be
Sonnastined with relative ease when the lineup features three new faces and everybody else in better health. Nobody in the organization seems to endorse blaming the hitting coach, which is understandable to a certain degree. But outside of Juan Uribe, who won the second base job in a battle of attrition, there are no longer obvious places to upgrade.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 11, Durham 2
- Josh Fields went 3-for-5 with his third homer; Jerry Owens went 2-for-3 with three walks and three runs scored.
- But neither of them had the game Dewayne Wise did: 2-for-3, a homer, a walk, two stolen bases and an outfield assist.
- Lance Broadway had his worst start of the season, which isn't saying much: six innings, two runs.
- Jack Egbert struck out two in one inning of relief; Ehren Wassermann threw a perfect ninth.
- West Tenn 8, Birmingham 4
- Brian Omogrosso came off the DL and gave up three runs over five innings on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three.
- Clevelan Santeliz took the loss with five runs allowed over three innings, with four in the sixth innings.
- Ricardo Nanita went 2-for-4 with his second homer; Javier Castillo had three hits and two RBI.
- Winston-Salem 7, Potomac 5
- Michael Dubee pitched six shutout innings; Israel Chirino, Matt Davis and Ryan Rote were all touched up for runs.
- Brandon Allen hit a two-run homer, his third in four games.
- C.J. Retherford went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI; Javier Colina went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
- Kannapolis 3, Greensboro 1
- Nathan Jones allowed one run over four innings, but while he struck out seven, he also walked four.
- Levi Maxwell picked up the win with two perfect innings.
- Joe Persichina went 2-for-4 with an RBI; Jose Martinez went 1-for-4 with two runs scored.