Results tagged ‘ Clayton Richard ’

Another Error Spells Doom for the Sox

Heading into the bottom of the sixth, the White Sox had a 2-0 lead, but that was soon erased when Richard mishandled a grounder and overthrew first base.  A call of the bullpen was made, Richard was well over a hundred pitches, and Dotel was asked to get out of the inning.  I haven’t been impressed with Dotel as of late and after his outing tonight, my stock in him has dropped even further.  He has constantly been behind in counts, and because of that, he has been hit hard in his last few appearances.  He gave up three huge runs, and the Sox weren’t able to recover.  The Sox lack the offensive power to come back from a huge deficit.  Being down a run these days is a monumental hill to climb, and tonight was no different.   After Dotel’s exit, Carrasco came to the mound, and his outing wasn’t any better giving up four runs which really put the game out of reach.  The Sox didn’t have Konerko or Thome in the lineup, and we do not expect to have CQ back until after the All-Star break.

In this case, I cannot blame Ozzie for bring Richard back out since he was on a short leash.  BUT, having Dotel in that situation where he has been struggling with his control is puzzling.  I rather have Thornton out or even Carrasco.  Granted, I would most likely be bitching about Ozzie bringing out Carrasco with the way he pitched tonight. 

The offense went on cruise control after they scored their two runs.  They had some opportunities for more, but there was some nice defensive players and baserunning blunders that cost the Sox.  Pods was on base three times, and two of those times he was either picked off at first or caught stealing when he overslid the bag.  It’s the little things that is killing this team, and the players really need to have a long look at themselves and work at fixing what is wrong.

This isn’t the way to start a series in which you have a bullpen meltdown.  The only positive I saw was Poreda.  Contreras heads to the bump tomorrow, so I hope we see a better all-around game.  It’s unfortunate that Richard didn’t win because he worked his behind off tonight and SHOULD have won if the bullpen didn’t forget how to pitch.

Offensive Mistakes, Error Sinks Win Streak for the Pale Hose

We saw the best of the Sox on Monday, and the worst of the Sox on Tuesday.  You had a sense that the game wasn’t in the Sox favor when Alexei Ramirez couldn’t get Scott Podsednik to third, Podsednik getting picked off at second on what appeared to be a steal attempt of third base.  Lets think about that for a moment.  With JD at bat, there is NO reason whatsoever to even try to attempt to steal third – if that was what Podsednik was trying to do.  JD has been one of the hottest Sox hitters these last few weeks, so why on earth would you do something as boneheaded as getting picked off at second.  The kicker?  JD smacked a single that could have scored Podsednik if he was still at second base.

It was a game of missed opportunities.  A game of bad defense, bad pitching, and bad clutch hitting.  Paulie had a good hitter’s count, and he pops up.  I lost count how many times Sox hitters have been overly aggressive at swinging.  Ramirez is notorious for aggressive swinging especially balls out of the strike zone.  As much as it puzzled the annoucers, Kennedy bunted OC to third eventhough he has been the A’s hottest hitter.  He knew that his team has been struggling, and he wanted to make sure there was a runner at third with less than two outs.  Cust earns a sac fly, and the A’s were up 1-0.  The Sox almost had a carbon copy inning except they didn’t score.  Alexei couldn’t execute the bunt, and he popped out, failing to move Podsednik to third.  Execution has been a problem for the Sox all season, but they have been better during the last two weeks.  Why is Wise playing center?  I understand he was the starter before he went on the DL, but BA has been playing better as well as hitting better than Wise has been.  Wise has been terrible at the plate, and I only recall one hit that actually made it to the outfield since he has been back.  He either had soft grounders to the pitcher or strikes out.  While his defense looks good, his offense has more to be desired.  Make BA the starter and stick to it, Ozzie.

While the offense was giving you heartburn, the defense was giving you a stroke.  How many times will Ozzie put Betemit at third base?  It seems that everytime he is at the hot corner, he makes a error that changes the game.  His bat hasn’t been great, and his glove is worse than Fields.  I rather have Fields strikeout three times a game than to give up big errors.  Granted, Fields glove isn’t great, but it’s better than what Betemit has to offer.  I think we are going to see a bigger push for Beckham if Betemit/Fields continues to struggle as they have been.  Yes, Fields has been better, but Monday night we saw the bad Fields striking out three times and look completely lost at the plate. 

Colon doesn’t have the ability to pitch over mistakes.  We saw that in the whitewash the Twins gave the Pale Hose a few weeks back, and last night was no different after Betemit’s error.  Colon flip-flops wins, and last night was his turn to lose, and lose he did.  He was pitching well keeping the game close until the error, and then, as if punishing the team, lost all control walking batters and serving a room service fastball to Holliday for a bases clearing double which effectively knocking the Sox out of the game.

After the mistakes, you could see/feel the energy drain from the players.  They weren’t crisp, and it looked like pressure was getting to them to make plays offensively.  They say that you are only as good as your next pitcher, and the White Sox have Richard, who has been lights out, on the mound tonight.  Hopefully last night was a fluke, and the White Sox can rebound and play a solid game.  It’s another step in Richard’s evolution as a starting pitcher in the rotation, and if he has another quality start, he has my vote.

Sox Break Curse, Swept Past Greinke and the Royals

It has been a great week for White Sox baseball.  Heading into Friday, the White Sox were 2-1 on their six game road trip.  Angel’s pitcher Weaver was just too much for the Sox, and they failed to sweep on Wednesday.  With an important series starting on Friday, the White Sox needed to make up some ground on the Royals, Twins, and Tigers. 

The Pale Hose sent out Clayton Richard to the mound on Friday, and the young southpaw dominated the Royals lineup.  Not only did Richard pitch well, all the Sox hitters managed a hit and scored a run in the 11-2 shellacking.  It was Richard’s fourth start of the season, and it was his second win.  If Richard continues to pitch as well as he has in his last few starts, Ozzie is going to have a difficult decision with Contreras and Colon.  Currently Contreras is pitching in Triple-A trying to regain his lost command.  As for Colon, he has been hit or miss this season.  He is usually good one game and bad the next.  Hopefully he can break this pattern when he pitches against the A’s this week.

The 1-2 combination of Scott Podsednik and Alexei Ramirez are getting it done.  While the tandum isn’t as strong as it was with Podsednik and Iguchi, Ramirez has been working the field more and stopped trying to pull the ball.  He has been more discipline at the plate, and his average has gradually climbing.  Pods has been an excellent catalyst for the White Sox setting up the 3-4-5 hitters perfectly.  He is a much needed sparkplug for the offense, and he is one of the MVPs of the offense along with Dye and Konerko.

Saturday we saw Buehrle looking for win number seven, and he came close but he gave up a solo home run to walk away with a no decision.  The White Sox rallied past the Royals in the ninth to give them their forth win on their current road trip and in line for the sweep on Sunday.  With a 2-2 tie going into the eighth inning, the White Sox put runners at first and second with consecutive bunt singles by Podsednik and Ramirez.  JD managed a walk, and the White Sox took the lead on Thome’s RBI ground out.  Tied 3-3 in the ninth, Getz hit a one-out single, Fields walked, and Podsednik smacked a RBI single to give the Pale Hose the lead again.  Alexei got the Sox an insurance run, and Bobby Jenks nailed down his eleventh save of the season.  The White Sox offense managed to score three runs off the Royals bullpen to get them their second win in the three game set.

Sweeps haven’t been kind to the White Sox this season, and they looked to complete their third attempt of a series sweep in the last two weeks.  To complete this feat, the Pale Hose needed to get a win over Zack Greinke who has been magnificant this season.  At first glance, one might think that the Sox were doomed, but that was before Greinke had to pitch to Podsednik.  The speedy left-hander started the game with a triple and scored on a single to left from Thome who beat the shift.  The Sox lead 1-0, but the lead was a short.  The Royals managed to plate three runs off of Danks in the second.  I am sure there was a lot of collective sighs as Danks didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled and kept the Sox in the game going five and a third innings giving up four runs on nine hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. 

Dotel entered the sixth inning to get the Sox out of a pickle.  The righty has been lights out this season, and he continued to dominate Sunday giving up no runs in an inning of relief.  The Sox scored four runs, three earned off of Greinke in which he hasn’t surrendered more than two runs this season.  Thorton’s outing was superb going almost two innings in relief that lead to the Sox plating a three spot in the top of the ninth.  AJ started the inning with a single.  BA came in as a PH for Wise and coaxed a walk.  Fields walked which lead to Getz’s heroic GW single to right.  The ball sailed over the head of Guillen that plated both AJ and BA.  BA blew through the stop sign that Cox gave, but BA managed a beautiful slide that just beat the tag to put the Sox up by two.  Podsednik got an insurance run, and the Sox cruised to a 7-4 win. Jenks collected the save, and Thornton was awarded the win.  The Sox completed the sweep over insurmountable odds of beating Greinke and completing the sweep.

The curse is broken, and the Sox walk into their next homestand with a 5-1 road trip.  The Sox will see the A’s(4), Indians(3), and the Tigers(5).  It will be a long homestand, and the Sox play a double hitter with the Tigers to make up a previous rained out game.  It’s another important series with the Indians and the Tigers.  Both teams are playing well, and the Sox have the opportunity to gain some ground on the Tigers.  With the win on Saturday, the White Sox managed to slip into second plate in the AL Central.

Josh Fields has been playing much better on this last road trip.  He must have sensed his job might be in jeopardy because he has been delivering some clutch at-bats and showed better plate discipline.  

Richard, Alexei Give White Sox Another Shutout Win

The old saying goes, “You are only as good as your next starting pitcher,” and that saying held true today when Clayton Richard took the mound in search for his first win of the season.  He replaced Jose Contreras in the rotation when Contreras requested to be optioned to Triple A to work on his command.  Richard’s last outing was a gem in which he went seven inning giving up two runs, one earned.

Richard pitched six solid innings while surrendering four hits and three walks.  I thought he mixed his pitches well, and he was able to have hitters chase after his slider that helped him earn a career high eight strikeouts.  I like to see a few more solid outings from Richard before I start drinking the special koolaid, but so far his last few outings has really impressed me.

So far, it’s been a great homestand minus the blowup Thursday against the Twins.  Back-to-Back shutouts, strong starting pitching, a little small ball, a little long ball, and solid defense.

White Sox struck first when JD eached second base on an error by SS Jack Wilson.  Paulie hit a grounder up the middle for the first run playing Dye.  Alexei extended the lead when he hit his second home run, a two run shot to left, in as many days.  JD rounded the offense when he smacked a hanging curveball into left for his eleventh home run of the season.

Carlos looked like his was pushing himself.  He only had one good at-bat in his three attempts.  He missed a hanging breaking ball in one at-bat in which he again swung at the first pitch.  His last at-bat he finally tried to work the count to no avail.  With the weather getting warmer, I hope Carlos can get on track after suffering from his foot ailment for the past few weeks.

I thought Getz hit the ball well.  He seemed to be strugging in his last few games, but I thought he had some good at-bats.  Fields still looks to be lost at the plate even though he had a single in the game.

Buehrle heads to the mound tomorrow looking for the sweep.

Thome, Miller Squeek by the Slumping Tribe

It hasn’t been a good few weeks for the Pale Hose, but the Sox got on the board early in an important AL Central matchup with the Tribe.  Thome smacked the first of two home runs in the first inning to give the Sox a 2-0 lead, but that lead would dwendle over the next few innings.

Richard got the nod to start when Contreras was optioned to Triple A.  Contreras struggled mightly in his first five starts, and the Sox management thought it was time to make a change for the right hander.  The Sox starters haven’t been that impressive in their last ten starts.  The only starter that was consistent was Buehrle.  Danks and Floyd, two of the Sox young hurlers, didn’t have exception starts in their last few outings.  Danks did get a no decision in his last outing where he only yielded a run.

It’s hard to win games when your starter cannot go at least six innings.  You end up putting a lot of pressure on your bullpen as well as giving them an excess workload.  And to compound problems, the Sox hitters haven’t been all sharp.  In the game Monday, the Pale Hose were down by five runs in the top of the ninth with Alexei at bat.  Instead of working the count, he swung at the first pitch and effectively ending any type of rally the Sox could muster.  This hasn’t been the first time Alexei has been first pitch swinging.  There are times to be aggressive, but when you are down by five runs, base runners are more a premium than trying to smack the ball a long distance.  There was a reason Ozzie benched him a few games, and it seemed he didn’t learn his lesson.  He sat out of today’s game, but was inserted as a defense replacement at the end of the game.

To make matters worse, Carlos Quentin informed Ozzie of a heel issue that has been nagging him.  He sat out today, and he will most likely sit it tomorrows rubber match.  This will give Carlos a few days rest to heal his sore heel.  I assume if there is any progress, then Ozzie might be put in a position to place him on the DL.  Granted that CQ has struggled this past week, so this might be a blessing that he will have a few days rest.

Nix continues to make his presence known.  He launched his second home run of the season to make it a 3-1 early lead.  He also coaxed a walk in the lead off spot.  Another hero of tonight’s game was Corky Miller.  He is backup to AJ, but he looked far from a backup player.  He managed to toss out Grandy on a base stealing attempt, and he plated two on a clutch two-out RBI single that gave the Pale Hose some breathing room.  The man of the hour was Thome.  He struggled as of late, but two key home runs gave the Sox the lead twice, and he managed to raise his slumping average to a 227 clip.

Dye had a solid game going 2-for-4 with a walk.  He has been one of the most consistent hitters for the Sox these last few years, and the Sox really needed their veterans to step up in today’s game.  While the Sox were only two games under five hundred, you don’t want to see the gap widen between the Tigers, Royals, and the Sox.  Konerko continued to hit well going 1-for-4 with a walk and a double.

When Richard left in the fourth, he gave way to Carrasco.  DJ gave up a bloop RBI ground rule double to Cabrera, but afterwards he shut the door down on the Tribe giving the Sox an opportunity to stay in the game.  While Thome and Miller helped the Sox offensively, I think it was Carrasco who made that all possible with two solid innings of relief.  Thornton and Dotel made the bridge to Jenks possible, and Bobby had a 1-2-3 ninth that gave him his eighth save of the season.

Both the Tigers and the Royals lost today, so the Sox managed to gain a game on the two.  It’s still a tight race in which the top four teams are separated by two and a half games.  It’s going to be a grind, and if the Sox want to make the playoffs, they are going to have to win the division.  The AL East will most likely get the wildcard spot.

Ozzie Benches Ramirez, Nix Starts at SS

According to www.whitesox.com, Nix Starts at SS

I cannot say that I am shocked that Nix will start at SS.  He had a good spring training, and he had a very good debut game after his stint on the DL.  Alexei has struggled to find his swing, and there hasn’t been any improvement from game to game.  You see glimpses of him reading to right the ship, but the next game he is back to swinging at pitches out of the zone, swinging too early, or looking uncomfortable at the plate.

I do not know if Nix has what it takes to play every day, but he is a better option than Brent Lillibridge.

With this move, I assume that Contreras is on the hot seat.  He might get demoted if he doesn’t have a good start next outing.  There isn’t a good option to replace him in the rotation.  Richard hasn’t been stellar, and Broadway hasn’t been a head-turner either.  It’s a difficult situation for Ozzie and Kenny.  They might opt to look for one of the free agent pitchers that is still on the market.  A decision needs to be made soon before they sink more in the standings to the Tigers and Royals.

Contreras Struggles Again

Contreras got in trouble in the third when he walked the first two batters.  He served up a three-run homer to Blalock and numerous doubles before he left giving up seven runs in three and a third innings.  Richard replaced Contreras, but he didn’t fair any better.  He surrendered two runs, and the Rangers were up 9-1.

I got to the point in which I do not want to see Contreras pitch as a starter.  He’s good for a few innings, and then when the batters see him for a second or third time, the wheels come off, and it is a crash course to disaster.

I would say replace him with Richard, but he hasn’t faired any better.  Broadway looked solid in his innings of relief.  Maybe he is ready for a starting role again.

Sox Split Doubleheader Versus M’s

All eyes were on the matchup with Danks vs King Felix, but Colon had something to say about that.  This outing looked more like his first than his last.  He regained his command, and he was able to tip-toe out of danger.  He struck out six over seven innings of work.  He gave up one unearned run.  Sox Defense needs some work.  They committed two errors in the game that could have proved costly.  In the end, the Pale Hose prevailed winning 2-1.

While the Sox won game #1, game #2 was a different story.  Danks, being one of the hottest pitchers in the MLB at the beginning of the season, didn’t look comfortable on the mound.  He got into trouble early and couldn’t settle himself.  It was an outing that every pitcher comes across once in a while.  Being matched against King Felix is a tall task even if you give up one run, but Danks gave up a three run homer to Yuniesky Betancourt made it harder for the Sox to tally some hits.  They didn’t hit well in game #1, and that trickled into game #2.

I think a lot of people were looking towards game #2, and they might have felt robbed at the opportunity of two pitcher’s duels in a day.  That’s baseball though.  You never know when you will see something new with the game, and that is one of the beautiful things about baseball.

I am not worried about Danks, and if Colon can continue to pitch well, the Sox should do well.  What concerns me the most about the Pitching Rotation is Contreras.  He might need to come out of the bullpen and give Richard another chance.  Contreras is going to pitch in the Rangers series, so it is going to be an interesting game.  If he cannot find his command, it’s going to be a short game for him, and a long game for the fans.

Ground Control to Major Contreras

The outcome of the Sox game last night wasn’t a shocker for me.  I expected Contreras to continue to struggle with his control, and he let a winnable game get out of hand by not throwing strikes.  There wasn’t a lot of highlights if you were a Sox fan.

Jack Egbert made his major league debut, and he was greeted with a two-run homer from Audbrey Huff.  Egbert replaced MacDougal in the bullpen.  MacDougal was DFA on Tuesday.  I cannot say I was entirely impressed with his outing, but it was a crappy nigh for the Sox.

I think we are stuck with Contreras for the time being.  We are still competitive in the AL Central.  Once Contreras becomes a liability, I would think he would be placed into the bullpen and maybe pawned off before the trade deadline in July.  Kenny tried to dump him a few times, but no one wanted to pick him up.  I am a Contreras fan, and I want him to figure it out.  I do not think he has a lot of time because the AL Central is so competive.

The Royals are playing supremely well, and they look to be a solid contender with their starting pitching and lights out closer.  Crisp made that team hundred percent better, and I think he will make that team even better once the weather warms up.

I wouldn’t be opposed having Contreras in the bullpen to find his control, but we do not have a lot of choices to replace him on the starting rotation.  Richard has looked hit or miss.  Some outings he is good, and there are times in which I wonder if he knows what a strike really is.

Bullpen Cannot Hold Lead, Sox Lose

Colon left the 6th with a 5-2 lead.  Once the frame was over, the Rays took the lead 6-5.  Matt Thornton gave up a grand slam to put the Rays on top, and the White Sox couldn’t capitalize on opportunities again.

The Sox took an early 2-0 lead, but the Rays came back and cut the lead in half.  The Sox took a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the 6th, but a win wasn’t in the cards for the Pale Hose.

It was an unfortunate loss.  When Thornton loses his command like that, it is usually a sign that his arm was overworked.  Linebrink was up to pitch, but he promptly sat down and MacDougal took his place.  He walked one and was pulled for Clayton Richard.

Hopefully the Sox can bounce back tomorrow for the win.  Buerhle is on the mound. 

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