Results tagged ‘ Detroit ’

No lefty in the bullpen

Matt Thornton returned to Chicago Monday to be with his wife for the birth of their daughter, leaving the White Sox without a left-handed reliever to combat Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel. Southpaw Clayton Richard, who still could move to the bullpen even after two stellar starts, was not available following his eight inning stint on Sunday in Detroit.

Pitching coach Don Cooper also is not with the team, returning home to deal with family matters.

In search of Colon

MISSING: A right-handed pitcher with a 153-103 career record, who checks in roughly as 5-foot-11, 250 pounds. If found, please return Bartolo Colon to Charlotte, where he is scheduled to pitch for the Triple-A Knights.

Apparently, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams both need a little help in the locating process where the veteran hurler is concerned.

“I know where he is supposed to be right now,” said Williams with a smile when talking about Colon on Tuesday. “He’s supposed to be in Charlotte, preparing to start on Thursday.

“Efforts to contact his agent have been successful. Their efforts to contact their client have not been so successful. The bottom line is if he’s out there and ready to go on Thursday and can show a better mix of fastballs to breaking ball ratio…”

Williams then went on to discuss the chances of the 36-year-old still fitting into the rotation. If he is to have any sort of chance at coming back, since being sidelined on June 8 with left knee inflammation, Colon won’t be able to solely rely on his fastball. That plan might have worked five or six years ago, when Colon still was throwing in the mid to high 90s. It doesn’t hold the same water with his fastball at 89.

“As you know, there was not enough of a mix,” Williams said. “Listen, he’s ready to go in terms of competing. But if he gets to the point where he’s ready to mix in more of his breaking balls, he’s got a place here. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t have a place here.”

Williams went as far as to list Colon as a potential starting candidate for the split doubleheader in Detroit on July 24. Of course, the White Sox have to first find Colon this week.

“Only he can dictate when he’s going to be ready for that,” Williams said. “He’s been rehabbing down in Phoenix, and we will see if he’s in Charlotte on Thursday and if he starts. If he’s in Charlotte on Thursday and he starts, then we’ve got him on the program we want him to be on and he’ll be a candidate for the doubleheader on July 24.

“Otherwise, somebody will take the mound. This train is going to keep rolling.”

Wise to begin rehab assignment

Dewayne Wise will begin a Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Monday in Columbus, as the center fielder continues to recover from a separated right shoulder suffered while making a spectacular diving catch in a victory over Detroit on April 13. Wise does not expect to play on Monday and said that he will serve as designated hitter before getting into an outfield role by Wednesday.

Wise expects to be gone from the White Sox during their weeklong road trip to Anaheim and Kansas City. The Knights also visit Toledo at the end of this upcoming week.

Words from Dewayne Wise

I had a chance to talk with Dewayne Wise for about 10 minutes in the White Sox clubhouse prior to Friday’s game. Wise re-joined the team after going through treatment back in Chicago on his separated right shoulder while the White Sox were on the remainder of their nine-game road trip. Needless to say, Wise is fighting boredom as much as the still present pain.

Wise does not expect to resume baseball activities until the end of May but still expects to be back in action some time in the middle of June, which would be about two months from the injury suffered on April 13 in Detroit. He was greeted by Gavin Floyd during our conversation, the same hurler who Wise basically saved a victory for at Comerica Park with his amazing catch in right-center in the fifth with two runners on base and one out.

To give you an idea of the pain still felt by Wise, who is working on strengthening the muscles around the injured area during his rehab, he was talking about ironing a shirt earlier this past week and how he pulled his arm back suddenly but slowly when his right hand basically got too close to the iron’s heat. Wise said the pain was excruciating.

This whole rehab process would have been even tougher for Wise, including a longer period away from the field, if he had suffered the same injury in his throwing shoulder. He maintains an extremely upbeat attitude and seems to be counting the days until he returns. There’s only so much baseball and other sporting events he can watch on television.

Live from Detroit

Having Sunday off and with a day game Monday at Comerica Park, I decided to fly into Detroit early.

I know Detroit gets a bad rap nationally. For those of you who remember the comedy classic Kentucky Fried Movie, there’s a great Detroit reference in there that makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. But the truth is that Detroit is a very underrated city.

Anyway, my flight was delayed an hour once we boarded the plane because according to the pilot, the fuel gauge was not working right and the person on duty did not know how to read the backup gauge so they had to go find another mechanic. I’ll spare the airline’s name because this is such an utterly ridiculous situation.

So, for those keeping track, it was an hour sitting on the plane and then 41 minutes in the air. I arrived at the Renaissance in downtown Detroit and was stunned by the overhaul this place has undergone. New bar/restaurant in the lobby, new workout equipment. If you make the trip to Detroit, this hotel is a good place to stay.

Not many people were staying on Easter Sunday, though. In fact, I was told they were at five percent occupancy for a 70-floor hotel. That’s right–five percent. Business picks up quite a bit over the next few days.

As for the White Sox, the biggest story for me from the first week was Bartolo Colon. I know it’s one start, but the veteran was better than I ever expected. Actually, the pitching in general was impressive. Octavio Dotel might lead the American League in strikeouts without making a start. Ok, not really, but the starting five in the rotation and the back four of Dotel, Matt Thornton, Scott Linebrink and Bobby Jenks in the bullpen have been pretty much everything the White Sox wanted.

The one-two punch at the top of the order in Chris Getz and Josh Fields also seems to have great potential, and Dewayne Wise might just be a better fit at the bottom of the order. I realize White Sox fans wanted more than a 3-3 start at home, but the signs are there for a fairly bright future from just one week.

Before I sleep for a few hours, allow me to make one more point. I didn’t watch the Rock of Love finale because the hotel doesn’t have VH1, but I watched the final clips online. Lame is the word that comes to mind, although I picked Taya from the beginning. Hopefully, this is the last one, although there were some entertaining moments.
 

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