 |
| Young lefty Chris Sale is looking to make an impact in Chicago's rotation this season. |
However, observing players' performances in Spring Training can be beneficial when it is either a highly touted prospect trying to make the club, or if it is a player looking to rebound from a terrible year. Since the Sox have what is widely regarded to be the worst farm system in baseball, they feature more of the latter in Arizona right now.
One veteran who is looking for a bounce-back season is hurler Jake Peavy. His most recent outing was his most productive one of the spring, when he tossed five no-hit innings against the Mariners on Saturday. Granted, I am not about to do cartwheels and predict a 22-6 season from Peavy based on his most recent outing. However, we are deep enough into the spring where pitchers are beginning to go deeper into games, and considering he will likely earn two to three more starts before the season begins, this is a good thing to see. It is always difficult to evaluate pitchers in Arizona due to the altitude affecting things, but a nice outing like that is a great starting point.
On the other side of things, you have Chris Sale, who will be entering the rotation for the first time in his young career. In his start yesterday, Sale went six innings, giving up only two hits while striking out six against the Reds. Even better, he surrendered no walks. I was impressed with Sale's bullpen performance last year, and with the kind of stuff he possesses, I am eager to see how he can translate that to a full-time spot in the rotation.
Additionally, Adam Dunn appears to be swinging the bat well this spring. Jim Margalus of "South Side Sox" goes more in-depth with Dunn's performance this spring, even commenting on Dunn's assertion that he came back too soon from his appendectomy last year, which greatly threw off his timing. (South Side Sox)
Again, you do not want to put too much weight on what goes down in Spring Training, but I will defer to the words of former Sox manager (and Hall of Famer) Al Lopez, who mentioned this to John Kuenster in 1957. Kuenster was covering the team for the Chicago Daily News (a newspaper that gave up the ghost a long time ago):
"Watch the players in practice. See how they handle the ball, if they are careless. Those habits might stay with them in games that count." -Al Lopez (courtesy of Baseball Digest)
If it's from a Hall of Fame manager, it's good enough for me. It appears that manager Robin Ventura is handling his first spring well, and is making sure bad habits are not being formed. I am not certain that the same could be said of the last couple of camps Ozzie led in Arizona. With all of this said, Opening Day is only 17 days away!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stories of interest...
White Sox had the chance to be the first team to break baseball's color line. What happened? Chris Kamka of CSNChicago investigates. (CSN Chicago)
One of baseball's best writers, Furman Bisher, has passed away at age 93. Read one of his best pieces, an interview with "Shoeless" Joe Jackson for Sport Magazine, from 1949. (BlackBetsy.com)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look back at Bisher's long and illustrious career (AJC)
Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson pulls an ill-advised "prank" on former teammate Mike Napoli. Not too surprisingly, Napoli was not humored by this stunt. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Could Votto stay with the Reds? (Redleg Nation)
No surprises here: Bryce Haper will begin the season with Triple-A Syracuse. (Big League Stew)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For your viewing pleasure...
I take you back to July 31, 1991. This moment was perhaps the second most memorable one of Ventura's tenure with the Sox (next to the Nolan Ryan brawl). Chicago was locked in a divisional battle with the Minnesota Twins (sound familiar?) and entered the evening trailing them in the old AL West by three games. They were facing the Texas Rangers, a team not completely out of it (5.5 back in the West), but not quite in it. Since the Wild Card had not come into play yet, it was division title or bust for each and every team, and the Sox were attempting to earn their first since 1983.
The Sox entered the bottom of the ninth, trailing Texas 8-6. Kenny Rogers allowed the first two runners to reach base before retiring the next batter. He was removed for future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage. The Goose promptly got Carlton Fisk to pop-out (another future Hall of Famer) before walking Tim Raines. Bases loaded, two out. That sets the stage for Mr. Ventura. Look for big Frank Thomas picking up Ventura toward the end of the clip, along with a much younger Bobby Valentine in the dugout managing the Texas Rangers. Who else would be on the call for this one other than Ken "Hawk" Harrelson? Enjoy!
***For you drama-less people who do not enjoy watching a story unfold (kidding, only kidding), the moment occurs around the 1:16 mark.***
The Twins defeated the Yankees 12-3 that same night to keep the Sox at bay. Chicago would get to within one game of Minnesota as late as August 11, before losing 15 of their next 17 to fall out of the race. The Twins would ultimately win the West by eight games, and they would ride that momentum to their second World Championship in five years.
Nonetheless, in a franchise that does not quite have the illustrious history of teams like the Yankees, Cardinals, Reds, Giants or Dodgers, moments like this stand out and are fondly remembered by many Sox fans. Sure, there have been better walk-off homers hit in team history (Scott Podsednik's Game 2 World Series winner in '05, Jim Thome's 500th HR in '07), but this one still retains a special place in team lore.
No comments:
Post a Comment