Monday, June 09, 2008 - Posts

Sweep sassy molassy

A few notes in the wake of a four-game sweep of Minnesota and a 7-0 homestand:

*Jim Thome proved his worth in Monday's 7-5 victory over the Twins, reaching base three times and scoring two runs.  One of them was the go-ahead run on Paul Konerko's game-winning two-run homer.

Thome has his detractors, and he's not a lot of fun to watch these days, but he should be able to contribute to the offense with his ability to make pitchers work even if he can't get around much on fastballs anymore.  His prospects beyond this season don't look promising at this point, but today's performance, even with a bases-loaded strikeout, is a prime example of why he shouldn't be shoved out the door at all costs.

*John and Jordan Danks have dumped Scott Boras, which means the Sox could have a potential seventh-round steal on their hands.  I doubt this has any meaning beyond the Dankses, but Joe Crede fans have a small reason for optimism.

*Aaron Poreda received a promotion to Double-A Birmingham (thanks to Wiz for the link).

Regular posting resumes tomorrow.

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Minor league roundup:
  • Birmingham 4, Montgomery 3 (10 innings)
    • Dave Cook went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in three runs.
    • Carlos Torres tiptoed around six hits and four walks and only allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings.
    • Fernando Hernandez threw two scoreless innings of clutch relief, allowing only one of three inherited runners to score.
  • Potomac 5, Winston-Salem 3
    • Matt Zaleski allowed one run over six innings of relief.
    • Clevelan Santeliz made his first start and allowed four runs over two innings, but three of them were unearned.
    • Javier Colina had the Warthogs' lone extra-base hit (a double) and one RBI.
  • Kannapolis 8, West Virginia 5
    • Jim Gallagher had a three-hit day, including a double, and scored two runs.
    • Mark Fleisher and Sergio Miranda each had two hits; Logan Johnson drove in two.
    • Santo Luis struck out five over two scoreless innings of key middle relief.
posted Monday, June 09, 2008 11:43 PM by Jim with 7 Comments

Sox offense curing the blues

So I was at the Chicago Blues Festival on Sunday, listening to a guy who seemed a little bit too sensitive about somebody recording his performance, when somebody emitted a drunken laugh and yelled "White Sox 12, Twins 2!"

I thought about correcting him and saying the Sox only scored 11 runs.  Then I checked the time, thought the Sox may have finished the game, and looked it up on my phone.  Sure enough, the Sox had scored in the double-digits for the third consecutive game.

It almost makes me want to end my vacation now and get back into the normal writing routine, except that means I'd have to, you know, work.  But it is nice to see Nick Swisher's fortune evening out in a hurry.

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Minor league roundup:
  • Durham 3, Charlotte 2
    • Dewayne Wise hit a two-run homer, his ninth of the year.
    • Josh Fields went 1-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
    • Tomo Ohka allowed one hit and one unearned run over five innings, walking nobody and striking out six.
    • D.J. Carrasco took the loss despite striking out seven over 3 2/3 innings.  He allowed two runs on five hits.
  • Montgomery 6, Birmingham 2
    • Javier Castillo went 2-for-4 with a double.
    • Ryan O'Malley allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings, and received no help from his bullpen.
  • Winston-Salem 6, Frederick 2
    • Aaron Poreda allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over six innings, striking out two.  He also picked off a runner.
    • Ricky Brooks struck out three over two scoreless innings of relief.
    • Javier Colina and C.J. Retherford each drove in two runs apiece.
  • Greensboro 15, Kannapolis 6
    • Three Kannapolis errors led to six unearned runs, five to Hector Santiago alone.
    • Dale Mollenhauer and Matt Inouye had two hits apiece.
posted Monday, June 09, 2008 2:30 AM by Jim with 1 Comments