For the first two months of the season, the White Sox had been one of the few teams in baseball showing no ill effects of the massive home-road split that has plagued the league as a whole.
After
losing their fifth consecutive road game on the heels of winning eight consecutive home games, that's not the case anymore. Two losses to the Tigers have dropped the Sox to 17-19 away from U.S. Cellular Field. The Angels and the Rangers are the only two teams at or above .500 on the road in the American League now.
As
Jayson Stark suggests, the Sox may have picked the wrong year to stop using amphetamines.
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Alexei Ramirez, like Carlos Quentin,
seems to make his own adjustments, says Greg Walker:
"But the thing I've noticed about him since spring training is that
he's very smart. He knows how to make adjustments. The first few weeks
of spring training he was trying to impress us and trying to do too
much. His swing was timing-based and very long. But you still could see
the physical ability was there."
The Sox saw Ramirez start to tinker with his leg kick and his stride,
and the improvement was noticeable toward the end of spring training.
He convinced the Sox's staff to keep him on the Opening Day roster even
though this is his first year playing organized baseball in the U.S.
after leaving Cuba.
The phrase "The Sox saw Ramirez..." indicates that Ramirez changed his approach without any outside help. But then again,
Nick Swisher and
Joe Crede went out of their way to praise Walker for his help, so it's pretty hard to tell whether Walker is one of the more humble coaches around, or if Sox hitters are trying to cover up for him because he's like the cool uncle who lets them have a beer when their parents aren't around.
I'd guess the former, but the latter is fun to think about.
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More evidence that the Sox can go with a six-man bullpen:
Esteban Loaiza couldn't get out of the 70s.
If that's the junk he's throwing, they may as well call up Charlie Haeger. In his debut, his knuckler was clocked at 75 -- roughly three to four miles per hour slower than Loaiza's "fastball."
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 11, Norfolk 2
- Brad Eldred and Jason Bourgeois each had three hits, including a homer apiece.
- Josh Fields hit a pair of doubles; Jerry Owens had two singles and his 16th steal.
- Lance Broadway enjoyed his finest start in a month, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over seven innings, striking out eight.
- Ryan Bukvich took the loss for Norfolk, though he did throw six innings.
- Birmingham 7, Carolina 2
- Kyle McCulloch tossed seven shutout innings, scattering six hits, walking one and striking out four.
- Victor Mercedes went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
- Noah Hall doubled, walked twice and drove in a pair.
- Potomac 7, Winston-Salem 1 (Completed game from June 10)
- Matt Long allowed five runs over four innings in relief of Anthony Carter, who pitched three scoreless innings Tuesday.
- John Shelby, Billy Killian and Javier Colina each had two hits.
- Potomac 4, Winston-Salem 1 (7 innings)
- Jacob Rasner struck out six over five shutout innings, allowing only two hits and two walks.
- Ryan Rote allowed four runs over one inning in relief.
- Brandon Allen went 2-for-3 and provided the only run with his 11th homer.
- Lee Cruz went 2-for-3 with a double.
- West Virginia 7, Kannapolis 1
- Miguel Socolovich allowed five runs (three earned) over five innings.
- Sergio Morales had the only multi-hit game; Lyndon Estill the only extra-base hit, a double.