posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 12:54 AM
by
Jim
Four starters, no complaints
It's difficult to gauge how good White Sox starting pitching has been when considering the quality of the offenses they've faced over the last two weeks. Nevertheless, there are plenty of good signs if you're willing to accept them:
*Javier Vazquez's line over the past two starts: 16 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 18 K. Maybe he has
Oakland figured out (he went the distance against them
in his other start), but the Royals had worked him over
earlier in the year. These are the kinds of games in which Javy should show no mercy, and that he has.
Maybe he's not the guy he was in 2007, but following his 2006 season would be plenty good enough, because he was tough over the final two months. Let's just hope he continues to receive run support, because
he got none of it in August and September two years ago.
*Mark Buehrle is not far behind Vazquez: 14 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 13 K, including a big start against a legit attack in
the Boston Red Sox. His changeup has been top-notch.
*John Danks was off his game and was lucky to escape with a quality start
Saturday, much less one run over six innings thanks to Juan Uribe's tremendous defense. Still, it was great to see him sac up after the 100-pitch barrier when the team needed one more inning from him. Scaling back on the overthrowing helped. Usually Ozzie Guillen will pull him when he starts falling off the mound too much, but Danks figured it out himself.
Endurance is the only thing keeping Danks from being a top-tier pitcher, and efforts like the one he showed Saturday indicate potential. Then again, maybe it's more the seventh inning than any sort of pitch count, because opponents are hitting .362/.423/.511 off Danks from the seventh on, opposed to .299/.353/.458 after the 75 pitches.
*Gavin Floyd survived in two subpar outings, working around a cheap three-run homer in the first
against Boston and sticking it out for the win, then
holding Oakland to two runs over 5 2/3 innings without any semblance of a curve. I get the feeling he's running on fumes, so anything coming close to a quality start will suffice in my book.
The fifth starter is the only question mark, one that became even bigger after Clayton Richard threw the final inning against Oakland Sunday. He hadn't seen any work against the lefty-heavy A's lineup, while D.J. Carrasco appeared in back-to-back games, so maybe it appeared Richard would get a fourth shot.
That appears to be off the board now, and I'm sure plenty of tears will be shed over that loss. But Jack Egbert is off the board after he pitched (well) for Charlotte Sunday afternoon. So the
leading option now may be Aaron Poreda, whose next start is slated for Tuesday. It's either that, or 1) a bullpen game featuring extended outings for Carrasco and Richard, or 2) Wes Whisler, who is supposed to start today for Charlotte. Poreda seems like the best option for one day.
************************
Speaking of starters, Buehrle will take the mound in the opener against Seattle, and you know who he's going to face...
...Jarrod Washburn!
This will be
the ninth time to the two lefties wearing No. 56 have faced each other, although the first time in more than two years, as Vazquez has faced Washburn in his last three starts against the Sox. But this one has some added intrigue after all the waiver rumors tying Washburn to the Sox. As it turned out,
the Twins placed a claim and couldn't work out a trade, which might've been more of an effort to block the Sox.
************************
Minor league roundup:- Norfolk 4, Charlotte 3
- Jack Egbert pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while fanning four.
- Jason Bourgeois went 3-for-5 with an RBI and his 25th stolen base.
- Boone Logan bombed, with four walks and a hit leading to three runs in only two-thirds of an inning.
- Josh Fields went 0-for-2 with a walk and a HBP; he's 0-for-9 over his last three games, and committed his 11th error.
- Winston-Salem 6, Lynchburg 5 (10 innings)
- Greg Paiml went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
- Joe Persischina had three hits and one RBI.
- Matt Long allowed four runs on seven hits over seven innings, striking out six.
- Kannapolis 14, Hickory 6
- Gordon Beckham was perfect at the plate, hitting a three-run homer during a 3-for-3, one-walk day.
- Eduardo Escobar joined Beckham with three hits and three RBI, and Mark Fleisher also hit a three-run shot.
- Brent Morel hit another homer, as did Jim Gallagher and Matt Inouye.
- Charlie Shirek threw a quality start, allowing three earned runs over six innings.
- Great Falls 11, Idaho Falls 4
- Kent Gerst and Lee Fischer each had three hits and two RBI at the top of the order.
- Mike Grace, Doug Thennis and Zach Larson had two hits apiece.
- Dexter Carter struck out six over four innings, but allowed three runs.
- Dan Remenowsky and Ronald Morales each threw two scoreless innings in relief.
- Birmingham OFF
- Bristol OFF