White Sox need Dunn for division run
You know those bad dreams we all have from time to time, the one where someone evil is chasing or the one where college graduation never occurred because of sleeping through a class or two? Well, we all eventually wake up from those nightmares, breathe a sigh of relief or laugh at the absurdity and move on with our lives.
Now, try living those unwanted moments every day for almost four months, and you’ll have a greater understanding of Adam Dunn’s first season with the White Sox.
To Dunn’s credit, he has handled this most trying of situations with great class and dignity. No outbursts or hiding from the media. No sullen avoidances of his supportive teammates.
Dunn has been the same great clubhouse force everyone predicted when he agreed to a four-year, $56-million deal with the White Sox this past offseason. But nobody could have seen this disaster at the plate on the horizon.
Here’s the problem. This prolonged slump continues to cost the White Sox in games they simply can’t afford to lose. Take Monday’s 3-2 setback to the Yankees, as an example.
CC Sabathia struck out Dunn three times, raising his season’s strikeout total to 137. Dunn also slipped to 3-for-77 on the season against southpaws and just 21-for-159 in a home ballpark where it was thought he would flourish.
And with the game on the line in the sixth and the eighth, Dunn struck out both times and Sabathia knew he could get him. In the eighth, with none on, two outs and the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead, third baseman Eric Chavez came up to Sabathia and told him not to give in to Carlos Quentin because Dunn was on-deck, according to the Yankees ace.
“I mean, you know it’s there, and he’s just having a tough year,” said a respectful Sabathia of Dunn. “You don’t want to make mistakes, you don’t want to give in, you don’t want to get lazy and make a pitch that you’ll regret.
“He’s had a tough year. I know he hadn’t hit lefties really good this year, so like I said, I was just trying to make pitches and I ended up getting him in some tough spots.”
Quentin dropped a bloop single to center with two outs, but Dunn struck out on three pitches. As White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski pointed out, Sabathia aced Dunn with a 97 mph fastball, a 98 mph fastball and then an 84 mph slider. Even hitters going at their best have a tough time hitting one of the game’s top starters—especially through that sort of sequence.
With Paul Konerko out of action in this series opener due to a sore left knee/calf after being hit by an Andrew Miller fastball Sunday, Dunn had to face Sabathia. And with Alex Rios hitting fifth, struggling just as much as Dunn, there was no way in Ozzie Guillen’s estimation to drop Dunn from fourth in the order.
“What I have behind him is not better,” said Guillen in his pregame media chat. “Who, A.J.? When you look at A.J., he’s not hit good when we move him up, so we just leave him there where he is. (Gordon) Beckham struggles, (Brent) Morel is OK, but Morel is not a fifth hitter.
“Those guys are right where they are. They have to make it right. I think we set the lineup pretty well. Those guys gotta perform. They gotta do it for them.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well why you guys play this?’ Well, I want somebody else to send me the lineup,” Guillen said. “Send me the lineup, please, anybody, if I’m making the wrong lineup. No, I make the right lineup, we’re just not hitting. I’m going to play (Alejandro) De Aza against Sabathia and against (Jon) Lester? I think our lineup is good, it’s just not hitting.”
Support is there in full-force from Dunn’s teammates, as expressed by Gordon Beckham and Pierzynski following Monday’s loss. Pierzynski reiterated that they all hope Tuesday is the day Dunn takes off and hits 20 homers to carry this team over the final two months.
“I love Adam Dunn, on and off the field,” Pierzynski said. “Everyone’s been there. If you’ve ever played this game, you’ve struggled. This is not an easy game to play. It’s not something that you can go out there and say this or that and it works. It’s not football where you can get yelled and screamed it and it makes you play better.
“There’s only so much you can do. You’ve got to put the work in. He’s done that. He’s put the time in and he’s trying to make adjustments.”
Until those adjustments pay off in consistent offense, the boos will continue to cascade down upon Dunn’s broad shoulders at U.S. Cellular Field. Opposing pitchers will continue to target Dunn in potential game-changing situations, and the baseball nightmare will continue to be reality for the affable slugger.
“You just have to make sure that you’re going to make pitches, especially if you know that you’re going to not pitch around the guy, but not pitch in to him,” Sabathia said. “You better make sure that you make pitches to the guy you want to get out.”
“It’s not easy when people don’t seem like they are behind you, and I know it’s tough on him,” Beckham said. “Obviously he wants to do well, we want him to do well. I definitely wouldn’t be taking it like he’s been able to. He’s been upbeat the whole time but it still hasn’t come for him. There’s still time and I believe there’s still time. If he can just get going for us in any capacity, we have a good chance to win.”
Thomas on Dunn, Rios, Konerko and future
While Frank Thomas was rightfully basking in the glory of his statue being unveiled on Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field, the Big Hurt took the time to touch on a few other White Sox-related matters. Here’s a look at those topics.
ON ADAM DUNN’S STRUGGLES
“I’ve talked to Adam a lot. He’s a good guy, very, very good guy. He’s going through a tremendous slump. It’s part of the game. It won’t be his last slump if he continues to play this game a long time. But he’s never seen anything like it. No one else has. He’s going to come out of it, sooner or later. If it’s not this year, next year he’ll come out of it.”
ADVICE TO DUNN
“Adam is a different type of hitter than me. Adam is a long ball guy; he’s a monster home run guy. With me, I was happy to get a single, so when I was going through those slumps I didn’t mid punching the ball to right field or wherever else just to get a hit.
“I think he’s got to start doing a little bit of that. I told him the other day, ‘It’s OK to punch in a single every now and then. If they want to shift on you, punch the ball through the shortstop. There’s nothing wrong with it.’
“He’s having a lot of fun and he was happy to hear that the other day. I said, ‘You know what? Go up there and think about hitting three doubles and a home run will happen.’ He’s a good guy, he’s handled it well. He’s going to have a good future here.”
ON STRUGGLES OF FORMER BLUE JAYS’ TEAMMATE ALEX RIOS
“I spent a year and a half with Alex and I know what the guy is capable of doing. Right now, he’s fighting himself.
“For me, I would change that stance. We talked about it the other day. There’s nothing wrong with going in the cage and messing around with it.
“We saw one of the most successful players to ever play this game, Cal Ripken, he had a new stance every week. I told Alex, the bottom line is hitting the baseball. Go in the cage and figure something out. Get comfortable, because he’s not comfortable right now.”
ON PAUL KONERKO’S EXCELLENCE
“It’s great. Paulie has had a great last three years here. Some guys find it in their late 20s. Paulie is finding it in his mid-30s. Bottom line is he’s getting it done. He’s having fun and he’s comfortable. More power to him. If he keeps this up, he’s going to be out there on that concourse, too.”
ON THOMAS’ FUTURE IN BASEBALL
“Who knows? I’m not saying what I want to do or would like to do. Right now I’m just happy to be a part of this organization. It’s always great to come down and go into the locker room and see the guys.
“It just brings back so many memories. I can see the look in the guys’ eyes. I can see the guys who are doing well. I can look at the guys and tell who’s struggling. That’s just a part of my life. I like to come in and say hello and help guys out because we had older guys who came in and helped us out throughout my years.”
Guillen shows support for Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Ozzie Guillen spoke with great passion on Friday night that he wasn’t worried about losing his job as White Sox manager, despite his team underachieving in the first half of the 2011 season and the White Sox having picked up his contractual option for the 2012 season. As he said on the day he was hired, and has said many, many times after that important day in White Sox lore, managers basically are hired to be fired.
Saturday’s pregame meeting with the media brought more heartfelt discourse from the White Sox manager, only this topic had more of a baseball-wide theme. Guillen would like to see more support for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, both monetary and in-person.
“Major League Baseball or the American League should make guys go see the Negro League Museum in Kansas City,” Guillen said. “They should make them go there and find out the real history of the game and the great thing about baseball.
“I don’t know why they’re not doing it. The Players Association should make it happen. First of all, help them with the museum and we can see what those guys went through to make us make a lot of money. Every time I go there I take my family there. Every year I stop by and have lunch out there. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
In 2006, general manager Ken Williams and Guillen took the entire team to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum during the defending World Series champion’s first visit to Kansas City. Guillen hopes to make the trip during his team’s series this week, but will get there once before the end of the season with one more weekend series coming in Kansas City in September.
This topic came about Saturday with the Tigers wearing the jerseys of the Detroit Stars and the White Sox wearing the jerseys of the Chicago American Giants in the Tigers’ 17th annual Negro Leagues Tribute Game.
“Little by little, you see the real roots and how much fun it was,” Guillen said. “I say that in 2006. I think MLB should have the rule that we have to stop by.
“Everybody that goes by Kansas City has to have a bus before you go to the ballpark and stop by about an hour, two hours. You will learn a lot and appreciate what you do right now.”
Beckham helps White Sox become more interesting
Anyone watching Wednesday’s postgame interviews with A.J. Pierzynski and Jake Peavy might have been slightly distracted by a cardboard cutout standing behind them but in camera shot.
That cutout featured the likeness of Jonathan Goldsmith, who is more commonly known as “The Most Interesting Guy in the World.”
“Man,” said Adam Dunn, quickly correcting my mistake while sitting in the White Sox clubhouse. “The Most Interesting Man.”
So, how does one of the most brilliant commercial runs in the history of advertising, representing Dos Equis, factor into the White Sox push for the postseason? It has recently become the symbol of the White Sox Player of the Game in victories, as awarded by Gordon Beckham.
The one catch is that the chosen nightly winner must work the word “interesting” into his first answer to the media following the game.
“Hopefully, he’s going to be there after games, after wins, just bringing the people up in this clubhouse. That’s the goal,” a smiling Beckham said. “It’s going to probably rotate around the player of the game, depending on who does well.
“We are going to put him, the Most Interesting Man is going to put himself in the biggest spotlight, I guess is what’s going to happen. The problem is we might not have to move him from (Paul Konerko’s) locker for the next couple of weeks because of how well he has been playing.”
Beckham received “The Most Interesting Man in the World” as a gift from a family member. Beckham brought it into the clubhouse a while ago, but then the Most Interesting Man temporarily was lost with no signs of where he disappeared.
“He finally came back,” Beckham said. “And he’s back here for a bunch of wins, I think.”
About the only way to enhance the power of the cardboard cutout would be to have Goldsmith visit the White Sox in person. Dunn called the idea “awesome,” but Beckham preached patience with the White Sox version.
“This has to pick up some speed first,” Beckham said.
And just think of the marketing gems if this good luck charm’s arrival coincides with White Sox success. Remember, this campaign already has produced the following gems:
“He has been known to cure Narcolepsy, just by walking into a room.”
“His organ donation card also lists his beard.”
“His blood smells like cologne.”
“He lives vicariously through himself.”
“Sharks have a week dedicated to him.”
“Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.”
So, let’s say the White Sox go on a roll behind this new addition and win it all. How about this addition:
“He helped the White Sox win a World Series without throwing or hitting a pitch or even attending a game.”
Peavy’s prophecy: Twins have life
Before Jake Peavy left for his rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte Thursday, actually before Tuesday’s scheduled series opener at Target Field was postponed due to inclement weather, the veteran White Sox right-hander delivered a bit of an ominous message concerning the suddenly surging Twins.
“This team is starting to play well, and I think it’s a big series for the boys,” said Peavy of facing the Twins. “Come up here and win 2 of 3 and stop their momentum and win 2 of 3 in their park.
“If you give these guys life, … I certainly don’t want the Twins to have any more life than they already have. To lose a series and let them have life, we certainly don’t want to have to deal with this team down the stretch. We saw the problems that they can create to anybody they play.”
Two Minnesota victories later, a stretch in which the White Sox managed just one run scored, and the Twins have life. This latest Twin Cities debacle can’t be blamed on some three-hop triple off the Metrodome turf or some miraculous late rally inside the Twins’ indoor home.
Instead, the Twins have simply outplayed the White Sox in all four games this year. It was Mark Buehrle, Thursday’s hard-luck losing pitcher, who told MLB.com a few weeks ago how the Twins could never be counted out—even when they were sitting closer to 20 games under .500 than first place.
Too many heartbreaking setbacks for the White Sox exist in the memory bank to ever think that way. An otherwise pleasant trip to Minneapolis and the Twins’ beautiful ballpark has been consistently ruined by Minnesota victories.
“Leaving the Metrodome would be easy on us here, or that’s what I thought. I guess not,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “They play good baseball when they play at home. They’re not playing good baseball just against us. I think they’re playing good baseball the last few weeks. You have to give them some credit.”
“I like it a heck of a lot better than I did over at the Dome,” said Buehrle of facing the Twins. “It seemed like when we went to the Dome, it was like, ‘Get in, get out.’ If we won one out of three games, it was like throwing a party. But here, I don’t know. I love coming to this place. Good town, good stadium. Just seems like we don’t play too good here.”
Fortunes better improve quickly for the White Sox in the Twins’ home. The South Siders play seven more games in this venue before the season’s end, from Aug. 5-7 and Sept. 5-7. Ron Gardenhire’s crew is on the roll going into Interleague that Peavy wanted for the White Sox, and Minnesota’s best baseball usually comes after the All-Star Break.
MRI shows mild strain for Peavy
A MRI taken on White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy at Rush University Medical Center Monday afternoon revealed a mild strain of his right groin (adductor). Peavy left Sunday’s start against Detroit after four innings due to this injury, and he will be evaluated on a daily basis.
Ozzie Guillen said before Monday’s series opener with Seattle how he wasn’t automatically ready to view Peavy as a disabled list case simply because of Peavy’s early departure. He also didn’t mind Peavy trying to pitch through the pain on Sunday, although Peavy admitted afterwards the groin issue and his inability to use his legs during the fourth contributed to Detroit’s six-run inning.
Peavy was working on five days rest after pitching Monday in Boston, when he first felt the pain grab in the groin area. He was flip-flopped with John Danks, though, having Peavy move to Sunday and Danks start Monday.
Beckham feels like a .400 hitter
According to Gordon Beckham’s adjusted baseball math, the talented White Sox second baseman enters this three-game series in Texas carrying a .400 average. The official Major League Baseball statistics list Beckham as hitting .222 through 153 at-bats, so what change in scoring accounts for this huge differential?
Actually, it’s a change of feel at the plate turning Beckham into a .400 hitter.
“I told Walk (hitting coach Greg Walker) on Friday this is, in my opinion, the first game of the season because of the way I felt going into that game,” Beckham told MLB.com after Sunday’s 8-3 Interleague victory over the Dodgers. “I felt better. I felt like, ‘Let’s just start over here.’
“Since then, I’ve been hitting the ball well. Hopefully, that will continue. That main thing is I’ve been hitting balls hard and when you start doing that, you are going to get some balls to fall.”
Beckham has battled through his second high-profile slump in two seasons, after bursting on to the scene in 2009 and capturing two American League Rookie of the Year awards, which were both voted on by his peers. After hitting .199 as late as June 23 last year, Beckham rebounded to hit .310 the rest of the way and finish at .252. That number certainly would have been higher if not for a 6-for-32 Sept. finish after taking a Frank Herrmann pitch off of his right hand on Aug. 30.
In 2011, Beckham produced a trio of three-hit games and four multi-hit efforts over his first seven played. That hot start cooled considerably, with his average dipping as low as .194 at the end of April and rising to .230 or above just twice since April 20.
An off-day against Cleveland on May 19 helped him get away from a 4-for-30 slump over the past 10 games and go into this past weekend’s Dodgers series with that aforementioned new feel.
“It’s amazing what a feel will do for me. It’s just a totally different feel,” Beckham said. “It’s a relaxed feel, and when I’m relaxed, my hands work and I’m able to back up some balls and make good decisions. That’s what I’ve been doing my last three games.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been through this before. And I really feel like I’m out of it. I really feel like I’m out of that slump however long I had and my swing right now is good. It’s relaxed. It’s good. And I’m getting out of a slump a month and maybe a month and a half earlier than I did last year.
“So, you can look at that. I ended up doing what I did last year, and I can do better. I know that,” Beckham said. “It’s a matter of time before I start doing what I’m capable of doing. This weekend was just the start of it hopefully.”
His one hit on Friday was a two-run home run against Ted Lilly, and he added two hits and a walk in Saturday’s victory. The weekend concluded with a 1-for-3 showing on Sunday and three runs scored.
As Beckham indicated, there’s still plenty of ground to be gained. For example, the right-handed hitting Beckham is batting just .114 (4-for-35) against southpaws, and he’s batting .205 at U.S. Cellular Field. Beckham certainly is ready for the challenge, and to Beckham’s credit, while he has admirably dealt with a second slide on offense in two years, his defense at second has remained without fault.
“You have to play good defense,” said Beckham, who played his 61st straight errorless game on Sunday, dating back to Aug. 27, 2010. “That’s part of the reason I’m still here probably, playing defense and helping the team win, scoring some runs. Eventually the other stuff is going to come. I feel really good about where I’m at.”
Lillibridge creates new statistical category
In this day and age where all sorts of statistical rankings and ratings have replaced the tried and true “eye test,” I would like to suggest a new category.
It’s called WASLC, for short. In long form, the title would be Wins After Spectacular Lillibridge Catches. Unless the talented utility player gets traded, this category pretty much is White Sox specific.
Let me explain how it works.
On Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, before a crowd of more than 40,000, Brent Lillibridge made two spectacular catches to save the White Sox 3-2 victory, after entering in the eighth as a pinch-runner. Lillibridge put forth these efforts as the second and third outs of the ninth inning, stranding the tying run on second and the winning run on first.
So, you mark this date on the calendar, which would be April 26, and then see how many wins the White Sox rip off after Lillibridge made these catches. Sometimes all a talented team needs is one spark of momentum or one win they shouldn’t have had or almost didn’t record to turn things around and move in the opposite direction.
Lillibridge seemed to understand this point when talking to the large group of media stationed around his locker late Tuesday night.
“We needed a break like that,” said Lillibridge, who pounded his fist on the grass after making a diving catch on Robinson Cano’s line drive to right to end the game. “That’s why I was so excited. That’s the biggest thing. I’m glad I could contribute, but in the end we won.
“Making plays like that, how can you not be excited? More importantly, we got Gavin a win because of what I did and more importantly what we did to manufacture a couple of runs and Paulie’s home run was huge. We have to win these games and hopefully it gets a little easier.”
Of course, Lillibridge was speaking of Gavin Floyd’s tremendous pitching performance over eight-plus innings and Paul Konerko’s game-winning, one-out blast in the eighth off of Yankees set-up man Rafael Soriano. Lillibridge is about the team first, and his individual showing second.
Now, I know what some skeptics are thinking. The White Sox SSFROSITN, better known as Somehow Scoring Four Runs Off Soria In The Ninth, has not been at a high level after April 6, and nothing says momentum swing like putting together that kind of rally with two outs and nobody on base against one of the game’s best closers in Kansas City’s Joakim Soria.
Trust me, though. Their WASLC will be a more accurate depiction of the direction in which this previously disappointing 2011 season is moving.
Peavy throws two scoreless
Jake Peavy’s comeback took a major step forward Friday.
The right-hander, who last pitched in a game on July 6, 2010 against the Angels in U.S. Cellular Field, threw two scoreless innings against those same Angels at Diablo Stadium in his return from a detached latissimus dorsi muscle in his right posterior shoulder. Peavy fanned two and walked one during the 2011 Cactus League debut, as White Sox starters extended their hitless innings streak to 10.
Peavy opened with a swinging strikeout of Maicer Izturis, before falling behind at 3-0 on Bobby Abreu. He battled back to a full count, but Abreu drew a walk. Two pitches later, Torii Hunter hit into a 4-6-3 double play, a pitch on which Peavy topped out velocity-wise at 92 mph, from Brent Lillibridge to Alexei Ramirez to Dallas McPherson, ending the frame.
In the first, Peavy threw 12 pitches and six for strikes.
Vernon Wells struck out to start the second, with Peavy reaching back for something extra on a high fastball off of a 1-2 pitch. Howie Kendrick hit the ball hard but flew out to Alejandro De Aza in center. Erick Aybar came closest to getting a hit, lining a 3-2 pitch to left that was tracked down by Juan Pierre.
That effort meant 26 pitches in total, 16 for strikes. If everything checks out for Peavy Saturday following this important outing, then he’ll go with a side bullpen and get ready to face the Giants Wednesday in Scottsdale.
“Relieved, pleased, it’s a big step to get out there in a game,” Peavy said. “You know, I did what I expected to do and hoped what I would be able to do, turn it up a level and get some big league hitters out. And feel normal in doing that. We accomplished that today. I hope we’ve put a lot of questions and issues to rest.”
Bonus notes from Wednesday
Here’s a few quick items from Wednesday’s 7-6 Reds victory over the White Sox, since A.J. Pierzynski’s speedy driving took center stage on the news front.
Kyle Cofield was touched up for five runs in one inning of work during the fifth, but none of them were earned. Gordon Beckham dropped an inning-ending force at second on a throw from Brent Morel, and Cofield took a while to get that third out. But manager Ozzie Guillen thought Cofield, who was acquired from the Braves in a trade for Scott Linebrink, threw well.
Brent Morel and Beckham both picked up stolen bases in the defeat. Guillen plans to run and run often with every starter who has the speed to take the extra base.
Guillen realizes his hitters are a little behind at the plate during this 0-3 Cactus League start.
“But it’s early,” Guillen said. “We’ll be fine.”
Finally, after Guillen’s postgame media session Wednesday, he humorously informed the Cincinnati AP writer how ‘The Missile’ nickname belongs to White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez and not Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Guillen coined that nickname during Ramirez’s first year in 2008.
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