Mark Buehrle Continues His Dominance Against NL Teams
If Mark Buehrle ever got to pitch for a National League team I think he would win the NL Cy Young award. Okay, maybe I won’t go that far, but Buehrle is one of the all time best pitchers in interleague play. On Wednesday night Buehrle went for his 25th win against interleague opponents but fell short after giving up just two solo homeruns and leaving with the game tied.
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Sox Reach Agreement With Keenyn Walker
It appears that the White Sox have reached an agreement with their first round pick Keenyn Walker. According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the signing will become official by next Tuesday after Walker passes a physical.
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Brent Morel: Just Another White Sox Player Not Performing
With the month of June wrapping up, I still don’t know how I feel about the White Sox third base situation. Brent Morel is hitting .253 with just 1 HR and 15 RBI. Not to mention his OBP is a sad .267. Not to mention that Tuesday night was the second time Morel has walked all season. I keep hearing by different sports experts that Morel is a great talent, and his real numbers will show up in the years to come. That may be the case and I may not be giving Morel enough time to really show what he can be.
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The Time For Dayan Viciedo Is Now
The thing that I keep hearing on Chicago sports radio as well as all of the sport’s television shows is that White Sox fans want Dayan Viciedo up on the big league club. The 22 year old power hitter has been lighting up AAA Charlotte with his big bat and I believe that the time is now for the White Sox to bring up the big right hander and start playing him every day.
Tale of Two Hitters: Alex Rios and Adam Dunn
For the past few months everyone has been saying that when Alex Rios and Adam Dunn get out of their slump the White Sox will start to win games. One of those players got the message, the other has yet to really do anything.
My Problem With the Cross-Town Rivalry
Out of the 3-game series of the White Sox vs. the Cubs I was personally at 2 of them. I went to game 1 and then the series finale. You get a totally different feel for the series when you are able to watch it all unfold live. You also get a totally different experience depending on where you sit in the park. For game 1 I sat on the first base line in the lower level and in the last game of the series I sat in the bleachers. The one main thing I noticed about being at this series is that people take it more seriously than they should.
When I say that I think people take it more seriously than they should, I don’t just mean with the numerous fights, both verbal and physical, that go on in the crowds. More importantly, I feel that fans care about the other team much more than they should. I care about the Chicago Cubs 6 times a year, and that is when they play the White Sox. But one thing that I noticed the entire time I was there was how many Sox fans root for the Cubs to lose all year round. It just doesn’t make sense to me when the teams aren’t even in the same league. After the first game I was at where the White Sox lost I heard the entire time after the game that “Cubs still suck!” all the way down the exit ramps. The same thing happened at the finale when the Sox took the rubber game when I heard many Cubs’ fans screaming “The Sox still suck!” To me the hatred that each side of town has for the other is just ridiculous.
I am not claiming to be a “Chicago baseball fan” and if the Cubs were in the playoffs I wouldn’t root for them. But I am stating that I would not root against them. In fact, I will go as far as to say that if the Cubs were playing anyone from the AL central that I would most defiantly root for the Cubs. I am a White Sox fan. Anything that helps the White Sox in the race for the playoffs I am going to root for. I have literally asked other White Sox fans if they would root for the Cubs if they were playing a series against the Tigers or the Indians and I have gotten the answer back: “No way! I will never root for the Cubs!” All I can do is shake my head because it is completely asinine that some Sox fans feel this way.
Now, I am not claiming that all or even most Sox fans feel this way. I am sure there are many smart Sox fans that know that these games against the Cubs the past series and the upcoming one at Wrigley Field are just other games that the Sox need to win in order to stay relevant. I knew that some fans felt this complete and utter hatred against the Cubs, but it is something that really comes out full force when you are at the game. I saw 3 giant “L” flags last night. I just had to laugh when I saw them. Not because I thought it was cleaver that fans had them, but the fact that fans actually bought them. That means either 1 of 2 things: They bought them just for the 6 games the team face each other, or they love when the Cubs lose so much they thought it was a smart purchase. Either way I just find it amusing how much attention that Sox fans pay to the Cubs and vise versa.
Sox move on to another interleague series against the Nationals this weekend at U.S Cellular field. The Cubs go into Kansas City to face the Royals. I beg you, White Sox fans: Please care about the Nationals series more.
White Sox vs. Cubs: Round 1
White Sox vs. Cubs. It is something that fans look forward to every year. In the 2011 season both teams come into the series under .500 with the Sox looking to gain some ground in the AL central while the Cubs look to continue to try and gather up wins and try to become more relevant in the NL central. I will look at the matchup for the first game that starts Monday night at U.S Cellular field.
Carlos Zambrano vs. Gavin Floyd
Zambrano comes into the series with an average record of 5-4 with an ERA of 4.59. The always controversial right hander has not had a great month of May going 0-2 with an ERA at 6.05. The White Sox have hit Zambrano pretty well in his career with Zambrano holding a lifetime record of 5-4 against the Sox with an ERA of 4.97. With the most recent game being last June in the middle of the White Sox huge run. Zambrano completed only 1 inning allowing 4 ER and taking the loss in a 6-0 shut out. Not only was it an ugly outing on the field by “Big Z” but it was the game that caused much drama afterward with Zambrano blowing up on his teammates causing, then manager, Lou Piniella to remove him from the Cubs clubhouse.
Gavin Floyd has gone 6-6 this year with a nice ERA of 3.94. Floyd has had a mediocre June going 1-1 with an ERA of 4.79. In those 3 starts he had a quality start against the Mariners but did not factor in the decision, a nice start at Fenway Park in which he earned the win and a tough luck loss in Minnesota where he started off shaky but finished nicely. Floyd has only had 2 career starts against the Cubs and in those 2 games he holds an 0-1 record but a sparkling ERA at 1.20. His last start against the Cubs was last year when Floyd and Ted Lilly both had no-hitters going into the 7th inning with Floyd being the loser on a Chad Tracy single. Lilly ended up losing the no-hitter in the 9th in a game that was one of the best pitching duals in the teams’ history against each other.
I believe that the advantage goes to the White Sox in the pitching matchups, but only slightly as I believe Zambrano could come through with a lot of intensity and throw a great game.
The Cubs are 2nd in the National League in batting average at .265 while being 9th in runs scored. White Sox are 8th in batting average (.254), 8th in runs scored but 5th in homeruns (76) in the American League. Both teams have had their obvious troubles at the plate. Both teams also have their fair share of hitters who are on fire right now with the Sox having Paul Konerko, and the Cubs having their star shortstop Starlin Castro and even Aramis Ramirez has been great at the plate as of late.
I will give the slight advantage to the White Sox in the hitting category, but again, it is not by a large margin. The Sox have had their problems at home, but with a nice offensive showing in the finale in Arizona, I believe that that can carry over in the series against the Cubs.
I think that this will be a hard fought series by both sides and will be exciting to say the least. Will Floyd step up with another big performance against the Cubs? Will Zambrano be able to harness his emotions for the best or the worst? Round 1 starts Monday night at 7:10 central time.
Peavy Possible Against Cubs
Jake Peavy is on line to make his return to the White Sox rotation as early as Wednesday against the Cubs. His one rehab start down in Charlotte went well as Peavy threw 6 scoreless innings striking out 9 and giving up only 2 hits. If Peavy is fully healthy this could be a great game to return because his lifetime during inter-league play he has some pretty nice numbers.
While his record isn’t eye popping, he holds an 11-8 record during inter-league play. More importantly his ERA in those contests is just 2.89. Another stat that jumps out to me is that lifetime against the Cubs, Peavy is 5-2 with an ERA of just 2.40. Hopefully Peavy is 100% healthy and can bring the Sox back to their winning ways.
Jake was noted as to say he would be open to being in the bullpen, but this idea was promptly shot down by Ozzie. Pitching coach Don Cooper was well didn’t like the idea of having Peavy in the pen. Both of them, along with many White Sox personnel, believe that, when healthy, Jake Peavy is too big of a weapon to have in the starting rotation to take out.
One thing that the Sox have found problem with again is scoring runs, having only scored 2 runs on their current 3 game losing streak. In years past, when the Sox played the National League it has been the jump start for the season. This year the Sox play an extremely hot Diamondback’s team, two mediocre teams in the Cubs and the Nationals and a decent Rockies team. Hopefully the Sox can get back on track because while they may not be that far away from first place, they are even closer to last place.
Not the Same Old Juan
Juan Pierre isn’t what he used to be. I hate to say it, but I believe it is time for Juan to not be the first option in left field anymore. His numbers at the plate this year are eye opening, and not in a good way. Ozzie keeps trotting the 33 year old veteran out in left almost every game and consistently Pierre is at the top of the line-up. It’s obvious that Pierre’s best days are behind him, that goes without question as one gets older. But especially with his recent trends, I think that it is time Juan loses his starting job.
If we look at Pierre’s stats for the 2011 season so far he is hitting .255 with an OBP of .319. Obviously his power numbers really aren’t that big of a deal, but the average and OBP are two huge stats when looking at a leadoff hitter’s productivity. Over his past 3 seasons including 2 with the Sox and his final year as a Dodger, Pierre’s stats have decreased every year. He finished the 2009 season with the Dodgers with a .308 average and an OBP of .365. His first year in a White Sox uniform started out very slow, but Juan was able to pick it up and finish with an average of .275 with an OBP of .341. As you can see both of those categories have consistently gone down as Juan has gotten older.
Especially this season, with his batting average on the downslide, at least you would hope when he does get on base he would be able to swipe some bags. This is yet another category that Pierre cannot seem to do like he used to. Granted last year Juan led the American League in stolen bases with 68, his highest total in his 11 year career. But when you look at him this year when he gets on base, he seems to have lost a step or two. Currently he only has 10 stolen bases with 9 caught stealing. He had only 18 caught stealing the year before, and 12 in 2009. It’s obvious that with his age he is losing a step here and there and is becoming, somewhat, of a useless player in the outfield.
With interleague play coming up I would like to see Ozzie shuffle his options where Juan Pierre would usually be. For instance, Adam Dunn has played left field in his career, and while he cannot move the same as Pierre, he has been starting to find it at the plate in the past week hitting over .300. Also, the obvious would point out that Lillibridge has been playing out of his mind this year, and can also lead-off for the Sox. Changes have to be made and soon, and hopefully Ozzie will not continue to be stubborn and make some changes before it becomes too late.
Mr. Peavy’s Wild Ride
Many would say that Jake Peavy’s time in a White Sox uniform has been quite the disappointment. I would be one of those many even though I believe Jake is an amazing talent and can be a big key to the White Sox winning when he can stay healthy. But therein lies the problem: Jake Peavy cannot seem to stay healthy since he has been on the Sox. When the Sox acquired Peavy in late 2009 he was already on the disabled list from an injury that happened in San Diego. Peavy ended up pitching 3 games for the Sox at the end of an irrelevant 2009 season going 3-0 in 3 games started with an ERA of 1.85. This was something that really made White Sox fans look forward to the 2010 season because a healthy Jake Peavy is a big difference maker.
Then 2010 came. Jake only made 17 starts that season going 7-6 with an ERA of 4.63, and of course the injury that required surgery that no other pitcher has been through before. Peavy had his latissimus dorsi muscle actually detach from the bone. We were told that Peavy would come back possibly by the middle of the 2011 season. Just another bump in the road for a pitcher that the Sox gave up 4 top prospects to get. Again, Sox fans wait for a healthy Jake Peavy.
Then the offseason before the 2011 season comes and all the news out of Jake Peavy’s camp is that the right hander is feeling great and well ahead of the time table that was earlier reported. Sox fans’ ears perk up when they think of the possibility of Peavy being ready for the start of the season and what it could possibly mean. We then go through spring training and everyone watches Jake Peavy’s first start back and he looks great. Sox fans optimism grows even greater but still has some concerns if Jake would stay healthy. Then the setback comes and we hear that Peavy wouldn’t be ready until possibly mid-May. Still some good news as we were told he wouldn’t be ready until after the All-Star break in 2011. Again, Sox fans wait.
Peavy’s first start of the 2011 season comes for Jake and he has a decent game against the Angels. A few more starts after that and Jake Peavy is looking like he did in San Diego when he was the Cy Young winner. Was this Jake Peavy that was finally here to stay? That answer came in Peavy’s start against the Tigers this year. While covering first base on a ground ball Peavy hurt his groin and landed on the DL once again. While the injury was not as serious as many thought, it was still another injury. Again, Sox fans wait.
Now the most recent news coming out of Jake Peavy camp is that Jake is throwing bullpen sessions and also willing to move into the bullpen if that helps the team the most. This got me thinking about John Smoltz move into the bullpen to be the Braves closer when John Rocker was replaced. Smoltz in three seasons posted 55, 45, 44 saves and was truly dominant in the spot. I think of this and I think about how Jake would fare as the White Sox closer. One thing he has that really needed in that spot is the attitude. Peavy is as intense as anyone on the Sox staff, not to mention the entire team. He has the stuff as well with over powering pitches that would really make him dangerous in the back end of the bullpen. The only thing that would worry me is if he has the stamina. Being a reliever is a totally different routine then being a starter. Could Peavy go out on three consecutive days and have three good outings to close out a game? Could he stay healthy enough for that kind of work load? There is no doubt that it is a different work load and with the way Peavy has been plagued with injuries, I am not sure how well Peavy would hold up. Of course it has been done in the past by previous pitchers, and it has been a successful transition by those pitchers, but every case is different, and anything can happen.
Again, Sox fans wait…
