Results tagged ‘ Wise ’

July 24 Pregame – Sox in Detroit – Game 1

The Sox have a quick turnaround from their dramatic afternoon as they fly to Detroit to take on the Tigers. The timing on this series is great from a baseball fan’s perspective since the Tigers and White Sox are now tied for first place. Including the doubleheader today, neither team wants any worse than a split in the 4 game series. 

The White Sox lineup for game 1 from Scott Reifert’s Twitter account ( http://twitter.com/InsideTheSox/status/2818991502 ): 
Wise – CF
Ramirez – SS
Dye – RF
Thome – DH
Konerko – 1B
Pierzynski – C
Quentin – LF
Getz – 2B
Beckham – 3B
Contreras – SP
The big surprise in this lineup is Wise leading off. Wise was one of the hottest topics in baseball after his amazing catch yesterday; we’ll see if he can ride that momentum into today. I am also  surprised that Castro is not catching Contreras. Castro, who caught Buehrle’s perfect game yesterday, has been Jose’s personal catcher since Contreras returned from the minors. For the most part, Jose has found success with Castro, but was roughed up last time out against Baltimore. You figure Castro will play in Game 2 (it could also be possible that Colon requested him), but I’m also surprised since Ozzie is picking the lefty against Verlander. A.J. is hitting over .300 against Verlander, so it’s nice to see Ozzie straying from an obsession with playing the percentages. 
Sox fans know Verlander well. Justin has a stellar 1.34 E.R.A. with a 6-0 record at home this year. He doesn’t give up a lot of home runs or walks, and figures to be a tough customer for the Sox today. The Sox should have some hope going into this game. In the past the Sox have given Verlander a tough time, even when the rest of the league has trouble with him. Verlander has a 3-9 career record and 5.44 E.R.A. against the Sox. That is Verlander’s worst career E.R.A. for any team he has faced over 3 times.
One quick note for Game 2, Bartolo Colon will be making the start, and to make room for Colon, the Sox sent rookie Carlos Torres back down to AAA. Torres had a quality start in his major league debut against the Rays.

July 18th Pregame – Sox vs Orioles on FOX

We’ve got a great matchup today. Sox fans might remember Brad Bergesen. Bergesen made his first start against the White Sox earlier this year and shut them down. At the time, Sox fans were pretty upset. “Oh great, another rookie comes up and embarrasses us!” Looking back, it doesn’t look so bad, because Bergesen has been putting together a damn good season. His 3.54 ERA is better than any of the starters in the Sox rotation, and unlike last night’s starter, he has no problem going deep into games. On July 1st, the kid held the Red Sox to 1 run in 8 innings of work. You get the picture, the kid can pitch, and Sox are hoping they learned something from his first start, where he went right after Sox hitters. The good news is that Bergesen has yet to win on the road (although the O’s have won a road game that he started), and the Sox offense has been hot in July. 

Mark Buehrle is starting for the Sox. Buehrle got roughed up in his last start in Minnesota, but was dazzling in his inning at the All-Star Game. In typical Buerhle fashion, if you took a bathroom break, you missed it. Baltimore’s offense put up an 8 spot last night, so Buehrle knows he can not take them for granted. 
We have two very good pitchers facing two good offenses…enjoy it! Same lineup as yesterday, per an ‘Inside the Sox’ Twitter update ( http://twitter.com/InsideTheSox/statuses/2707855973 ):
Podsednik – LF
Ramirez – SS
Dye – RF
Thome – DH
Konerko – 1B
Pierzynski – C
Getz – 2B
Beckham – 3B
Wise – CF
Buehrle -SP
If you’re like me, you’re wondering why Dewayne Wise is still getting a chance to play…the leash has been much shorter on guys like Josh Fields and Brian Anderson. Wise had a miserable performance last night and is a career minor leaguer (over age 30), while the other two I mentioned are younger and guys that were supposed to play a role in the future of the White Sox. The platooning will definitely end when Quentin comes back, but I think Anderson has earned the starting spot until then. He is a much better defender, his offensive numbers are better, and he still brings speed to the table. For those reasons, the change should be made, and Anderson needs to stay on the team when Quentin does come back. Quentin coming back means Podsednik will be moving to center field, and Anderson will provide a great option as his defensive replacement. 
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