There's only so many ways you can say the White Sox offense is in the toilet. What's interesting is that Scott Merkin and Dave Van Dyck have quoted Ozzie Guillen in differing fashions on the topic after
today's stinker:
Merkin:
"Without throwing anyone under the bus, it's time to get better
at-bats. It's a shame, and it's a little embarrassing."
Van Dyck:
"Without naming names, it's time to get better at-bats. It's a shame and a little bit embarrassing."
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Two non-sequiturs:No. 1: Before last October, I couldn't tell you the name of Mark Buehrle's wife. I learned it during the World Series after the
bogus web account that had the Buehrles mentally moving to St. Louis, and now I've seen it
three different times on the Sox's official site in the last month. Is it merely coincidence and the timing of his no-hitter, or is this part of an effort by the Sox to guilt-trip him into staying in the organizational family?
No. 2: Warren Newson had
an OBP of .394 with the White Sox over 495 at-bats from 1991 to 1995. Over that stretch, he drew 111 walks! Don't ask me why I was thinking about The Deacon today, but all I'm saying is if he came along 10 years later, he might've had a more significant career.
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Minor league round-up:- Norfolk 4, Charlotte 1
- Jerry Owens went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, but Josh Fields' 10-game hitting streak came to an end with a hat trick. He did draw a walk, at least.
- Toby Hall hit his first homer, his only hit in four at-bats. Brian Anderson had the same kind of day, except with a double.
- Paulino Reynoso gave up his first earned run of the season, but with 15 hits and eight walks in 15 1/3 innings, it's amazing it took this long.
- Mississippi 14, Birmingham 3
- First Gio Gonzalez, then Jack Egbert -- now it's Adam Russell's first thrashing of the season. It looks like Stretch's control was off -- five walks, six hits, seven runs in four innings. He also threw away a pickoff attempt.
- If it's any consolation to Russell, Edwardo Sierra was worse.
- No Baron managed more than one hit; Thomas Collaro and Ricardo Nanita had the only extra-base hits in the form of doubles, and each added an RBI.
- Lynchburg 3, Winston-Salem 0
- Kyle McCulloch shook off a rough first inning to go six strong. He gave up both runs and two of three hits in the first, then held down Lynchburg the rest of the way.
- Micah Schnurstein and Victor Mercedes went 2-for-4 (Schnurstein doubled twice); the rest of the lineup went 1-for-21.
- Aaron Cunningham went 0-for-4 and is down to .289; David Cook struck out four times.
- Kannapolis 5, Savannah 1
- Lee Cruz is coming along nicely: 2-for-4 today with a double and a triple. He has a nine-game hitting streak and four straight multi-hit games.
- Archie Gilbert scored three runs, as the Intimidators benefited from four Savannah errors.
- Tricky Ricky Brooks allowed only four hits and two walks in six innings for the win. Noe Rodriguez, Steven Spurgeon and John Wesley pitched three scoreless innings of relief.