Results tagged ‘ Gordon Beckham ’
White Sox Look to Viciedo and Morel as Possible Pieces to 2011 Puzzle
Dayan Viciedo (above), Brent Morel (below), Tyler Flowers and Alejandro De Aza found themselves in the Sox starting lineup last night as the likes of Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski, Manny Ramirez and the injured Gordon Beckham were firmly planted on the bench in the third base dugout.
Ozzie apparently felt that giving the youngsters some playing time was more important than the Sox extending their three-game winning streak and finishing the season a game shy of 90 victories. The Good Guys wound up losing to the Tribe, 7-3, after Tony Pena surrendered three runs in the first.
With so many questions that need to be answered, it’s impossible to predict what roles, if any, the above four prospects will have with the big league club in 2011. In my view, Morel could certainly be the starting third baseman and Viciedo either a DH or maybe the first baseman if Konerko doesn’t return. With his great speed, De Aza is a possible fourth or fifth outfielder. Pun intended, the bloom could be off the Flowers rose. He no longer looks like the blue-chipper both the Braves and White Sox thought he was. I would be surprised if he’s in the picture next season.
With two games remaining, it’s uncertain who Ozzie will put on the field. But there is still something to play for. I would like to see Mark Buehrle get to the .500 mark tonight with his 13th win and it would be a nice sendoff for Edwin Jackson, who has been less than stellar lately, to shine in his last start of the season.
The “Cojones Kids” Do it Again
Time will tell whether or not the White Sox will overtake the Twins and go to the postseason. Regardless of the outcome, it’s been a treat to watch this team from the point in early June that they made their move.These guys just won’t quit. Because of their extraordinary intestinal fortitude, maybe we should call them the Cojones Kids (please see a Spanish dictionary for details if you’re not familiar with the term).
On this road trip alone–where they now find themselves 6-0–there were a pair of late-inning three run-homers (A.J.Pierzynski and Paul Konerko) and a close-to-a-miracle 11th inning shot by Brent Lillibridge in Cleveland and the amazing comeback this afternoon in Boston. This, after the impressive doubleheader sweep yesterday.
Down 5-3 heading to the top of ninth today against the Red Sox’s Jonathan Papelbon, here’s what happened on a beautiful day in Beantown. Please note that all the scoring came after two were out.
--Omar Vizquel flied out to center.
–Alex Rios walked.
–Andruw Jones, batted for Konerko. With Jones at bat, Rios steals second. Jones called out on strikes.
–Carlos Quentin doubled to center, Rios scored. Red Sox, 5-4. Brent Lillibridge ran for Quentin.
–Ramon Castro singled to center, Lillibridge scored. Score tied at 5-5.
–Alexei Ramirez walked, Castro to second.
–Dustin Richardson replaced Papelbon for Boston.
–Mark Teahen walked, Castro to third, A. Ramirez to second. Robert Manuel replaced Richardson.
–Gordon Beckham walked, Teahen to second, A. Ramirez to third, Castro scored. White Sox lead 6-5.
–Juan Pierre walked. A. Ramirez scored, Beckham to second, Teahen to third. Sox, 7-5.
–Vizquel lined out, making his second out of the inning.
And Matt Thornton, in his first appearance since coming off of the DL, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save as the Pale Hose remain 3 1/2 games behind the Twins, who finished the sweep at home vs. Texas.
What a day–and now on to Detroit for four.
The Quentin Factor: There were many heroes in today’s glorious comeback win. Count Quentin as one of the biggest ones, as he went 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs including a key one during the ninth inning uprising. CQ is beginnning to heat up and that can mean only good things for the South Siders.
Note of the Day: The Good Guys were a huge threat on the basepaths today with a total of six stolen bases, paced by Rios whose three thefts gives him 32 on the season. Only Pierre, with a league-leading 54, has more this season in a White Sox uniform.
Holy Beantown! Pale Hose Sweep Red Sox
The battle of the Sox was won today by the White over the Red as the Pale Hose swept a day-night doubleheader at Fenway with identical 3-1 scores to move within 3 1/2 games of the Twins. The suddenly “on-fire” South Siders have now won the first five games of their 10-game road trip with the time-honored formula of outstanding pitching and timely hitting.John Danks outdueled 15-game winner Clay Buchholz, Gordon Beckham delivered a key RBI double in the seventh inning, red-hot Paul Konerko collected three hits and Sergio Santos and Bobby Jenks preserved the win out of the bullpen in Game 1.
Gavin Floyd was the winner and John Lackey the loser in Game 2 with Scott Linebrink and Chris Sale excelling out of the pen before Jenks got the last four outs for his second save of the night. Offensively, Carlos Quentin smashed a double and a triple while scoring a pair of runs and Mark Teahen had a 2 for 4 night. Due to a pair of Bosox errors, which resulted in two unearned runs, backstop Ramon Castro had the only Chisox RBI with a sac fly.
The Manny Watch: In his return to Boston, Manny Ramirez went 2 for 4 in the first game and 1 for 4 in the second, all singles.
The Morel of the Story: Sox Promote 3B of Future
Brent Morel, who won the Arizona Fall League batting title in 2009, is now a major leaguer. He has been called up from Charlotte and will join the White Sox this weekend in Boston.
Having impressed the Sox brass in spring training, Morel hit .320 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 81 games at Charlotte after being promoted earlier in the season from Birmingham.
In addition to the fact he has proven to be an outstanding gap hitter, Morel is a major league third baseman defensively right now. The hope is that he can contribute with that exceptional glove down the stretch.
While Gordon Beckham appears ready to play after the injury, who knows how he will perform. That would mean Omar Vizquel would see some action at second with Mark Teahen and Dayan Viciedo, who won’t be confused with Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt in the field, as the existing options at third.
Welcome, Mr. Morel.
A Sunday to Forget
BALTIMORE–The White Sox gave every indication that they were going to get to Oriole righthander Jeremy Guthrie in the early going today, but the runners they got on base never came around to score. As a result, Guthrie settled down and proceeded to stymie the Hose, giving up only a single run in eight innings of work as Baltimore hung on to win, 4-3.
The bats that were so silent in the season’s early going and so explosive since the beginning of June have been back to being silent the past three games at Camden Yards. The big Sox blow today was the two-run home run by Ramon Castro (pictured above after slugging a homer earlier this season at the Cell ) in the ninth. Unfortunately it was too little too late.
The loss combined with the Twins 5-4 victory in Cleveland, decreased the Sox lead in the A.L. Central to a half-game. The South Siders are hoping for a split of the four-game series here tomorrow night with Edwin Jackson making his second Sox start.
Sox notes of note: After leaving last night’s game with a “tweaked” knee, A.J. Pierzynski got his usual “day game after a night game” rest and should be good to go tomorrow night…Today, it was Gordon Beckham who was replaced as he strained a groin. Early word is that it’s not serious…Speaking of injuries, Mark Teahen will spend a little more time rehabbing in Charlotte. Seems that the Sox want him to spend more time at a variety of positions. The longer Teahen’s there, the more time they’ll have to make a decision on the necessary roster move when he’s ready to come back to the 25-man roster. And don’t forget, rosters expand on September 1…Mark Buehrle pitched well enough to win if only the Sox bats were clicking. He gave up 10 hits, but only three earned runs in seven innings.
Late White Sox Comeback Hands Mr. Baseball First Oriole Loss; Markakis is the New Mattingly
BALTIMORE–The White Sox scored a run in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th innings tonight to come from behind for the 4-2 victory. It gave Buck “Mr. Baseball” Showalter his first loss as the Oriole skipper and it was also the first game in the last three that the temporarily resurgent O’s didn’t win on a walk-off.
Tonight’s heroes were July’s A.L. Pitcher of the Month Gavin Floyd, who won his eighth game with another superb performance; Carlos Quentin, who broke the ice for the Hose with a fourth inning solo blast; Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz, who closed the door with an inning of scoreless relief apiece; and A.J. Pierzynski (double), Alex Rios (single) and Gordon Beckham (single), who drove in the Sox’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th runs in the last three frames, respectively. A.J.’s heroics may have been costly as he left the game with an apparent ankle injury after sliding hard into third. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.
Oh, that Markakis
Years ago, when the Yankees’ Don Mattinglywas battering American League pitchers, one of the Yankee announcers mentioned that he hit a little over .500 against the White Sox. My reaction was, when did he make the outs?
Having watched the Orioles’ Nick Markakis over the past few years, and the last two nights, in particular, I’m having Mattingly flashbacks.
For the record, he went 4 for 5 on last night and 1 for 3 with a walk tonight, but it seems like he’s on base every time up. There are certain guys who have killed the Sox over the years–Mattingly and Mike Sweeney for instance–and Markakis is certainly one of the them.
Bobby Who?
That’s right, Ozzie went to Putz tonight to close out the game. Frankly, it was a relief I didn’t have to sit in Section 44 at Camden Yards and chance another Bobby Jenks‘ meltdown. Now that the door is open and Putz breezed through the ninth, has Jenks lost his job? Stay tuned?
The Best Part of Tonight Happened in Cleveland
BALTIMORE–I arrived here today with the hope that the White Sox would derail the Orioles from their three-game winning streak under new manager Buck “Mr. Baseball” Showalter.
Unfortunately, the streak hit four tonight as the O’s eeked out a 2-1, 10-inning victory over the South Siders. Aside from John Danks‘ outstanding seven-inning performance, Gordon Beckham‘s homer and a Mark Kotsay triple which eventually went for naught, there wasn’t much to cheer about.
That said, a few hundred miles North and West in Cleveland, a walk-off homer by Matt LaPorta (below) in the bottom of the ninth powered the Tribe over the Twins, 7-6, after Minnesota scored a pair of runs in the top of the inning to tie the score. And in the process, it made the Hose loss much easier to take as our game and a half lead is still in tact.
Thanks Matt.
No Manny, No Dunn, No Sweat
The false rumors about Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn being dealt to the White Sox might make it seem like the South Siders failed to get the job done at the trade deadline. I look at it quite the opposite. Sometimes the trades you don’t make benefit you the most.I certainly don’t know exactly what the asking price was for either slugger, but adding one or the other could have hurt more than helped if it meant giving up the likes of Gordon Beckham, Carlos Quentin or Tyler Flowers. Not only for the future, but for the present–on the field and in the clubhouse. And we all know Kenny Williams. If there is a way to improve the club by claiming somebody on the waiver wire, he’ll do it.
With Jake Peavy out for the season, Edwin Jackson (pictured above) is a fine pickup. I hated to part with Daniel Hudson, who has the potential of being a fine major league starter, but Jackson’s veteran presence will help fill the Peavy void. He’s also signed through next season.
Thought for the day: No need to dwell on last night’s 6-2 loss to the A’s. It was bound to happen after the amazing winning streak at home. The important thing is to come out today and beat former Sox Gio Gonzalez and stay ahead of the surging Twins, now just a half-game behind.
The Pen Sparkles as Sox Top Mariners in Impressive Comeback Win
Credit Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko for their clutch home run prowess and Alex Rios‘s clutch single which drove in the winning run in the seventh. But the real heroes in the 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Seattle tonight came out of the bullpen in a game that saw Mark Buehrle struggle in only five innings of work as he missed the opportunity to win No. 10.
A scoreless inning and a third from Sergio Santos…
A scoreless 2/3 of an inning from Matt Thornton, who was credited with the win…
A scoreless eighth inning from J.J. Putz…
And a scoreless, three strikeout save from Bobby Jenks…
And the Sox remain one game up on the Twins in the A.L. Central pennant race as they won their 10th straight victory at home and made it 17 of 18.
Floyd and Alexei Head List of Sox Heroes
Three homers (Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, Andruw Jones), 12 hits, four doubles (two each by Dayan Viciedo and Gordon Beckham) and a Gavin Floyd gem later, the White Sox walked away with an 11-0 thumping of the Mariners tonight at the Cell.
It was the ninth straight home victory for the South Siders and 16 of the last 17. The win, combined with the Twins’ victory over the Royals, keeps the Sox lead in the A.L. Central at one game.
Floyd continued his sparkling pitching run with seven innings of shutout ball. In his last 10 starts he has compiled an impressive 1.04 ERA and hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in a game in almost two months.
The one thing that stands out to me more than anything else–including what Floyd has
done–is the recent play, both offensively and defensively, of Ramirez. He had a homer, three hits and three RBI tonight and has now brought up his average to .288. And he’s been virtually flawless in the field with his patented flair.
Simply put, Alexei’s performance alone has been worth the price of admission.
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