You could the result of last night’s game coming from a mile away. The surging White Sox were coming to town armed with a tough left-hander to take on a struggling member of the Rays rotation. Not exactly the best recipe for success in game one of the series. The good news is that should be the stiffest test of the series for the home team.
Poor execution: The story of the game last night was the Rays inability to get the runner home from third base with less than two outs. The Rays were 1-4 in this situation with 3 Ks. When a team is presented with such a great opportunity to produce runs against a tough pitching staff they need to be converting at a much higher rate. Especially consider that the White Sox were playing their infield back in each situation. The most painful of these unsuccessful at-bats came by Carlos Pena in the 3rd inning. The Rays managed to get their cleanup man to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out. If Pena came come through in this situation the course of the game may have changed dramatically. As it stands, Pena struck out swinging, and, after a Longoria ground out, the White Sox were out of a big jam with a 2-1 lead. The outcome of the game never felt in doubt after this point.
Hit parade: For at least one night, the inability to throw strikes was not the downfall of Edwin Jackson. He threw strikes at a 69% rate, but far too many of those were hit really, really hard. Hanging sliders and straight fastballs are not going to work against such a talented lineup. It was honestly one of those nights that could have been much worse than the line score indicates. Hopefully Edwin can rebound next week in Fenway Park where he struggled earlier in the season. Despite the wishes of his many detractors, he is not leaving the rotation anytime in the near future.
Carlos Quentin>Eric Byrnes: For all the great things that the Arizona Diamondbacks have done to build their franchise, choosing to re-sign Byrnes instead of playing Carlos Quentin was moronic. Yes, I’m aware that Byrnes is a great clubhouse guy, but would you rather have a cheerleader or the AL home run leader. The D’backs practically gave away Quentin to keep around an aging corner-outfield with no pop. How scary would the D’Backs outfield be with Quentin, Chris Young, and Justin Upton? I’m going to resist the urge to make an easy joke about Josh Hamilton..
Upton still impressive: B.J. Upton continues to awe me with his amazing, pure talent. He has no peers on this team when it comes to putting together great at-bats, and it is easy to see he is still improving. His OBP is up to .405 and I think we are about to see a big power outburst from the elder Upton. Also, how about that throw to third from deep center last night? How many center-fielders in the game could make that throw? 1? It is scary to think that he has still played the position full-time for less than a year.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Do you think Pena’s next spanish lesston should be how do say “I can’t hit the ball”. I do love the way Gomes plays the game but I do believe either facing right or left handed pictures you get better at bats from Hinske. Sox are not in first because their lucky, they are good. Well the big guns come to the mound tonight, maybe starting 3 in a row. See you at the game.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Justin Ruggiano AB 112 Avg 330, 4 HR, OBP 402, SLG 536, OPS 937
Johnny Gomes AB 86 Avg 209, 4 HR, OBP 310, SLG 407, OPS 717
I think it’s time to make this team the best we can with the people we have. Let Ruggiano have his shot. I can’t stand watching Gomes fail at the plate anymore. It would also be an improvement in the field. What do you think?
May 30th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Charlie,
Gomes did put together some terrible at-bats last night. Sadly, he is still worse in the field than he is at the plate. I’m not sure what they are going to do with him. I still think a trade should clear things up in the near future. Nobody seems interested in Ruggiano being the answer for whatever the reason, though.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I’m not against giving Ruggiano a shot, but obviously, he won’t get his chance this year. I am getting tired of Gomes in the lineup. He is pitiful right now, and doesn’t look to be getting any better anytime soon. He has been an overachiever for the last few years, in my eyes. He might have 30-HR potential, but he would only hit .205 in doing so. There are actually a lot of guys who can do that that are playing minor league ball right now. We could probably do it with Joel Guzman if we wanted. I know he’s a good clubhouse guy, but he is really not producing at all at the plate. The clubhouse card can only be played for so long. I think Longoria, Hinske, Floyd, and Percival carry enough clubhouse character to pick up where Gomes would leave off. I will say this, though-I don’t think this is the time to make a move. I think in a few weeks we will see where we are, and if changes need to be made. I would do it by June 15th. We should know where we stand in the next 2.5 weeks, and will be able to see if we need to package Gomes with somebody else to make a move, or if we need to just see if we can get a low-level prospect for him.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Last night was a tough loss, of course, but they happen. Just wanted to note that Rocco Baldelli played in an extended spring training game yesterday and went 1-5. I know not to get excited, but I will say that I am happy for him. I don’t know if he’ll really ever be able to get back to 100%, but if he gets back at some point this year, you can bet that the crowd will be sold out that night with a standing ovation for him when he comes to the plate. It’s hard not to get excited just for him playing in a game yesterday. Nobody thought he’d be playing so soon. He’s actually going to play again in a couple days, so I might try to make it over to watch him. Let’s all just hope he stays healthy, and if he gets back to the majors, then great. But there’s obviously no rush, and no need to be a rush.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Trade for Matt Halliday of the Rox and move him to RF.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
BillG, that could be an option in a few weeks. I would prefer someone else though-Josh Hamilton. I know it’s a long shot, but why not offer McGee, Ruggiano, Talbot, and Zobrist for the former Ray? There isn’t a better player in the game right now than him (I’m talking about this year). That might be enough of a package to get him in a few weeks. If we have to substitute a major-league ready pitcher for Zobrist, we can toss another one in-maybe Sonnanstine or Hammel. But that is one of those, ‘I wish it could be true’-type of moves that never really happen.