Results tagged ‘ Nick Swisher ’
Sox, Swisher Head West to Battle the As
Swisher and the Pale Hose play a three game series with the Oakland Athletics.
Pitching:
- Floyd
- Danks
- Vazquez
This is another important series for the Sox. The Twins are at home still, and they are playing the Dirty Fishermen ( A joke I have with a friend from Seattle. ) Sox haven’t played will in Oakland, but I think they have momentum on their side with a good homestand. These next six games are very important to the Sox. Don’t let their records fool you. These teams will play hard, and the Sox need to remain focused and continue to pitch, play solid defense, and have timely hitting.
I hope Ozzie keeps Griffey batting second. He looked almost at home batting there, and he was able to extend innings with his walks. AJ has been in a mini slump which might give him a break if you bat him lower this weekend. He might sit out tho. Konerko has been hitting as of late, and Ozzie might want to keep his bat in the lineup. I assume he will give Swisher some starts in his return to Oakland. I expect Griffey might get some DH time to give Thome a rest. His home run yesterday was his first hit in over 10 at-bats.
Ozzie wants to give OC a rest, so I assume that will happen this weekend. Ramirez will slide over to play SS, and Getz should get another start at 2B. I assume this will happen Sunday when the Sox play against Gio Gonzalez.
Since I like making lineups:
1. OC, SS
2. Griffey, DH
3. CQ, LF
4. JD, RF
5. AJ, C
6. PK, 1B
7. Swisher, CF
8. Ramirez, 2B
9. Uribe, 3B
Vazquez Pitches Gem; Sox Win
Sox WIN! And, boy did we really need this win. It was a morale win after the Sox waste the beautiful gem Danks pitched last night.
Vazquez really stepped up tonight and pitched a whale of a ballgame. The Sox needed an outing like this from the 32 year old starter, and Vazquez dominated the Royals lineup. It was nice to see the Sox bounce back from the disappointing loss last night. They seemed to be a livelier crew and responded quick and efficeint. Russell came in the 9th and cruised to the final out.
Congrats go to Chris Getz for his first hit and RBI as a Major Leaguer.
Brian Anderson hit a double in the 8th after coming in as a defensive replacement for Griffey at the top of the inning.
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The White Sox have Vazquez on the bump tonight versus The Royals.
CQ was scratched from tonight’s lineup because of general soreness. ( He was hit with a pitch in 5 consecutive games ). Konerko will play first, and Swisher will start in LF.
Vazquez Continues Woes; Sox Fail to Sweep
I do not understand Vazquez. The guy has outstanding stuff, yet when he struggles, he is so-so bad. Pitches are not even close to the plate, and last night was no exception. After a amazing catch in CF by Nick Swisher to save a run, Vazquez gave up a two-run homer to Cabrera with the first pitch offered. You could sense this was going to be a long game for the Sox – one that will not bode well if Vazquez continued to pitch like that. Good for the Sox, he settled down and got into a grove until he started leaving his offspeed stuff up in the zone. The game was still in reach for the Sox even when they were down 5-3.
The offense was a little disappointing. Man at third with less than two outs? Nada. Sox couldn’t bring them home. The rally in the 8th? I felt it was cut short because Cox sent Thome home off of Konerko’s Double. You cannot first-to-home Thome. I’m sorry, but he had nothing left in the tank and the Sox paid the price, settling for Quentin’s solo shot.
The bullpen came in and gave up three runs which put the game out of reach for the Sox.
It was really good to see Paulie have a decent game. I hope he can pull it around because this team needs him.
Griffey still looks alittle uncomfortable at the plate. With Paulie heating up, Griffey needs to step it up a little. He can do it. I have faith in him. I still feel there are going to be good things that come from Griffey in the near future.
Sox fall 8-3.
Today’s Lineup:
1. OC, SS
2. AJ, C
3. CQ, LF
4. Thome, DH
5. Paulie, 1B
6. Jr, RF
7. Ramirez, 2B
8. Swisher, CF
9. Uribe, 3B
Griffey is back in the lineup today playing in RF. JD has the night off.
Sox look for the sweep today, and they send Javvy to the mound. The Sox will need another strong outing from their Starter today.
Uribe’s defense has been awesome as of late, and the Sox need to continue to play good defense behind their pitching.
I would like to see a little more situational hitting: men in motion, bunting, and hitting to the opposite field. The latter helped Thome raise his average. I like to see the same from Paulie and Swisher.
After having a day off yesterday, look for Griffey to be in the line up today.
Griffey Makes His Presence Known, Sox Win
1. OC, SS
2. AJ, C
3. CQ, LF
4. JD, RF
5. Thome, DH
6. Ramirez, 2B
7. The Kid, CF
8. Swish, 1B
9. Uribe, 3B
Jr will wear No. 17. Swisher originally offered Griffey his No. 30, but Griffey said no, he didn’t want to be a disruption to the clubhouse and No. 17 will be okay.
Jr helped the Sox with going 2-3, 2RBIs, 1 Walk as the Sox win 4-2. Javvy gets the win, and Jenks gets the save.
Floyd, Quentin Powers Sox to Win
Gavin Floyd and Carlos Quentin took it upon themselves to right the ship for the AL Central First Place White Sox. Floyd pitched 7 2/3 innings, striking four walking one, and giving up one earned run. Quentin hit a solo shot and a bases clearing double which game him 28 home runs, AL best, and 4RBIs- 83 RBIs Total.
JD continued to play solid, and Thome, Swisher, and AJ had two hits a piece. Alexei smacked a three run shot that put the game out of reach for the Twins. Jenks came into the 9th, and he gave up two runs. The Sox won 8-3.
The Kid Headed to the Windy City
The Chicago White Sox acquired Ken Griffey Jr from the Cincinnati Reds for Nick Masset and Danny Richar. The position where Jr will play is unclear, but the rumor is he will play CF. This will most likely spell the end for Paul Konerko who has struggled for the better part of two seasons. I foresee the Sox trading Konerko for pitching or at least try to offload him.
I would be sad to see Paulie go. He was a big part of the 2005 team, but his production for the last two years haven’t been the best. Swisher would most likely take over first base.
Biggest concerns: Can Jr still play CF? He hasn’t played the position in a few years, and the Sox will be stupid to move him in RF with JD playing MVP-type of year. Also, there is no way they will move CQ who is the Sox Golden Goose. That leaves Jr to two likely spots: CF or 1B. I am more inclined to see Jr in CF than at first base.
The Sox didn’t give up a lot for him. Masset hasn’t been good, and if I recall, he is out of options. Richar was playing so-so in Triple A. By moving Richar, the Sox might want to hold onto Uribe for a little longer. Most likely OC will not be back next year which means that Alexei will move over to SS. Uribe could be given back 2B has he had earned it out of Spring Training before his hamstring pull in May. I guess it will depend on the Free Agent market for 2B in the off season.
Here is a line-up I came up with:
OC, SS
AJ, C
CQ, LF
JD, RF
Thome, DH
Griffey, CF
Ramirez, 2B
Swisher, 1B
Uribe, 3B
I left Thome as the #5 hitter because he has been getting better in the summer months.
Dye Powers White Sox To Series Win Over the Tigers
JD, who should have gone to the All-Star Game, continued to show why he should be mentioned as a possible MVP candidate. Hitting a two-run blast in the top of the 9th was so-so sweet over closer Todd Jones. JD didn’t stop there. He continued his torrid pace of home runs by hitting one Saturday and Sunday. Quentin stretched his Home Run AL lead to 27 as he crushed a two-run bomb. The Sox managed wins on Friday and Saturday, but they lost the finale Sunday.
The Sox had opportunities to sweep the Tigers, but in the top of the 9th, all three batters: Swisher, Ramirez, and Uribe all had 3-2 counts, and they all swung at pitches out of the strike zone. Steve Stone had a nice comment on the radio about having the bases loader without a bat because Rodney could not throw is fastball for strikes. The batters helped him out by chasing out of the strike zone.
Aside from the errors, and there were a lot of errors, and the poor at bats in the 9th on Sunday, the Sox did pretty well against a surging team. The Sox head to face the Twinkies next in this 10-game road trip.
Observations, Game #3: White Sox vs Angels
Game #3:
White Sox sport a new lineup:
1. OC, SS
2. AJ, C
3. Carlos Quentin, LF ( Or as I call him CQ )
4. JD, RF
5. Thome, DH
6. PK, 1B
7. Swish, CF
8. Crede, 3B
9. Uribe, 2B
Carlos Quentin hits a Grand Slam in the top of the 8th, and Nick Swisher hits a solo home run in the top of the 9th.
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