Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

Home run snubs and subtraction by adductors

Nick Swisher returned to a taciturn dugout Wednesday afternoon following his 20th homer of the season -- and the 100th of his career. -- forcing him to do the bump by himself.

In a way, it was somewhat fitting, because Swisher's had a fairly quiet ride to that mark.  Not quite a Juan Uribe-type "..the hell?" reaction after realizing he's put together a 20-70 season once again through all the ugly swings, but I suppose that's what happens when you have two awesome months and three awful ones.  Swisher's OPSes by month:

• April: .709.
• May: .547.
• June: 1.032
• July: .676
• August: 1.077

If he were to finish up with a merely good September -- think .850 OPS or so -- that would basically bring his numbers back to the ballpark of what the Sox were expecting -- .250/.370/.450.  It's on the low end of projections, but considering the terrible luck he endured through the first two months, it could be far worse at this point.

(Hat tip to Palehosed.com for the video, a site of which I became aware today.)

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Ken Griffey Jr., meanwhile, joined Swisher in the four-homer parade Wednesday afternoon, hitting his first home run in a White Sox uniform.  He, too, received the cold shoulder upon his return to the dugout, but he got the last laugh:


Today was actually optimal usage of General Soreness -- slightly by accident.  He was originally set to start for Jermaine Dye in right field, which sounds half-right to me.  Dye had a lousy day at the plate Tuesday night, making six outs in four at-bats with two double-play balls, so there's no problem giving him a day off.  I'm just not a fan of Griffey in the outfield at all.

But then Jim Thome was scratched with slight soreness in his right leg, and Griffey took over DH duties with Swisher moving to right and Dewayne Wise taking over in center.  Much better.

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But Wise injured himself making a diving catch in the fifth inning, Scott Podsednik-style:


Wise, though he was playing well, was a luxury on the roster with Brian Anderson's continued development into a solid fourth outfielder.  Anderson doubled in today's game, raising his line to .240/.275/.453.  The on-base percentage is still ugly, but the 18 extra-base hits in 150 at-bats is quite handsome.

But it'll be interesting to see what the Sox do with the roster spot.  It's quite possible it could open the door for...

JERRY OWENS.

Well, first things first -- if Joe Crede ever gets healthy enough to get out of Charlotte, then there you go.  The Sox have five outfielders, along with Chris Getz and Alexei Ramirez should all three outfielders collide converging on the world's highest pop-up, injuring each other in the process.

The Sox also have just six relievers, still.  Aaron Poreda could join the club -- or less-inspired choices along the same vein like Ehren Wassermann or Jason Childers -- although with September 10 days away and off days both today and next Thursday, the extra arm isn't imperative, either.

But if Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams make a speedy-outfielder-for-speedy-outfielder swap, then Owens would probably be the favorite considering he's 1) on the 40-man roster, and 2) left-handed.

Seriously, Owens has played some of his best baseball as of late for the Knights. Since the All-Star break, he's hit .340/.409/.371 with nine steals in 11 attempts, much better than his first-half stats that included a .326 OBP and a 63 percent success rate on the basepaths.  Considering Wise started exactly two games in since Griffey joined the club, it's not like he would be a threat to steal any legitimate playing time.

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By the way, if you want to read some baffling analysis of the Crede-Uribe battle over third base, check out Mike Nadel.  I'd recommend reading it for the shock value, as it's hard to downplay a chronic back injury more than he did, but if you want to get the gist of it in two points:


Except it isn't.  OK, I'll give him the point about it being the same Crede who played in the All-Star game, as he showed the world how he pops up to second when he isn't right, physically.


Nadel hadn't watched Crede play defense this year.  Nadel also must not have been aware that Crede was hitting a cool .189/.211/.340 in the month-plus before he hit the disabled list.  Nadel also fails to inform us how the 2006 shooting incident and prior spring training complaints apply to this situation.

But hey, if Crede's past accomplishments can be applied to this season with no additional work required, then I'm all for it.  While we're at it, I also have some Paulie Points I'd like to redeem.

It all could be moot, though.  Crede didn't play again for Charlotte tonight after an 0-for-2 performance Tuesday, and I can't imagine it's because he has some great at-bats in him that he doesn't want to waste in Triple-A.

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Minor league roundup:

• Charlotte 5, Indianapolis 4 (11 innings)
• Dave Cook went 3-for-4 with a double and a solo homer.
• Jerry Owens went 4-for-6 with two stolen bases.
• Brad Eldred had two hits including his 34th homer.
• Charlie Haeger met the requirements for the quality start, allowing three hits and five walks while K'ing five.
  
• Boone Logan gave up a solo homer over two innings; Ehren Wassermann struck out the side for the win.
• Birmingham 8, Huntsville 2
• Lee Cruz went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI.
• Brandon Allen and Jared Price hit solo homers.
• Justin Cassel allowed two runs on three hits and three hits over six innings with five strikeouts.
• Winston-Salem 3, Salem 2
• Anthony Carter threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out five.
• Adam Ricks went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks.
• Kannapolis 3, Augusta 1
• Miguel Socolovich struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks.
• Santo Luis threw two scoreless innings, striking out three.
• Jordan Danks went 1-for-4 with an RBI in his pro debut.
  
• Gordon Beckham went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
• Jim Gallagher had two hits and an RBI.
• Bristol 4, Danville 1
• Steven Upchurch allowed one unearned run over seven innings, with four hits, no walks and five strikeouts.
• Brent DeFoor threw two scoreless innings for the save.
• John Kateon hit a solo homer; Hancer Vargas had two hits.
• Great Falls 8, Casper 1
• Kyle Shelton drove in six runs on a 3-for-5 day, including a three-run homer.
• Kent Gerst had three hits; Tyler Kuhn went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and three runs scored.
• Joshua Billeaud allowed one run over five innings for the win, striking out five.