What's the reason for this recent White Sox slide? Everyone seems to have an opinion. Could it be the opposition's choice in bad 70's music? A lack of intensity? Too much intensity?
Ever since Stu wrote the Sox were 'set for a run', they've run off five losses in their last six games. The Sox are now a game below .500, and trail the Tigers in the AL Central by 4.5 games. Things do not look good.
The Sox themselves can't even agree on the problem. Scotty Pods - who could probably hit 30 homers if he only played against the Red Sox - said his teammates need "to start taking the field with a little more intensity".
How you do that, I'm not very sure. Perhaps every Sox player can sprint out to their position on the field the way Sammy Sosa used to do. Maybe the Sox need to hang their own version of the "Play Like a Champion Today" sign up the locker room. I'm told it has worked well for Charlie Weis. Or they could just bring back the blowup doll. Where's Nick Swisher when you need him? He was always here when we didn't need him.
Paul Konerko, for his part, isn't buying what Pods is selling.
''This isn't football,'' Konerko said after the third straight loss on this 11-game road trip. ''I'll take execution and smart play over intensity. That stuff will win out.''I think everyone is getting after it here. There is no one doing anything different now than from the start of the season, so if you thought we were a good team then ... when you don't execute, make a pitch here and there, someone throws out the 'intensity' word. And I just don't go that way.
''I do think you have to play with intensity, but we're playing with the same style we have all year. Just because we lost four games in a row, I'm not going to say one of those rah-rah speeches. That's just my opinion. Execution, timely hitting, that's a different animal. Sometimes you can give too much intensity, which is probably going on now. It's about having your foot on that gas pedal just enough and not too much.''
Interesting. How do we feel about this, Full Court Press?
I, for one, am not buying what Joe Cowley is selling. From the Sun-Times White Sox beat reporter's Twitter account:
Well look at it this way, now Sox fan can focus all his attention on Jay Cutler throwing interceptions. Chicago baseball is just about over.
Cowley is such a knucklehead. Bash the Sox all you want, but leave Jay Cutler out of this. That man is a saint.
Anyways, there's a reason this post isn't titled 'Stick a Fork in the Sox'. It's because they aren't done yet.
Well, let's not get too optimistic. The Sox are probably done. But may I remind you that baseball is a weird game, my friends. Stranger things have happened with 32 games left to play.
Need an example? How about last year's White Sox.
Last season, the Sox headed to the Metrodome for a pivotal three game series against the Twins. The winner of the series, presumably, would represent the AL Central in the playoffs. The Sox got swept. And we all know how the story ends. The Twins proceeded to lose two of three to the forever lowly Royals, and the Good Guys ended up extracting their revenge in Game 163.
I'm not saying it's going to happen again this year. All I'm saying is that baseball is crazy. Never trust it. Just when you think you have a read on baseball, baseball tends to go the other way.
Do not abandon hope yet. Besides, Cutler can't throw any real interceptions until September 13. There is still time.
Ricky O'Donnell is the designated pinch-hitter at FCP. Contact him at richardpodonnell@gmail.com.
Put Cowley in perspective - remember the infamous Sirotka for David Wells trade? He went on the air with a list of players the Jays would get to pick from as compensation since Sirotka was hurt.
Problem was, it was the list of players the white sox PROTECTED and shared with the Jays (I knew someone with the sox at the time).
And who can forget his reporting of the Carbrera/Willis "done deal" to the Sox 18 mo ago??? Romo felt so bad for his inadequate reporting he had to take down the blog topic!
Cowley is one of the laziest reporters around.
This team is now built for a run next year. Whatever happens this year, like making the playoffs or finishing a game above .500, is gravy.
I love your posts Ricky.
Yeah they are not out of it but they have one foot in the grave right now and the other is on a banana peel.
Losing to a good team like Boston is not a reason to hang your head in shame but the way they did it sure was.
They would not be in this situation if they had taken care of business against the bottom feeders and they did not do that.
That stretch at the end of July when they lost 3 of 4 to the Tigers and then got swept by the Twins was a killer.
That was 6 divisional losses against your main competition in 6 days and that is why every single game right now is magnified.
Boston tonight… 3 against the Yankees in New York and then on to their house of horrors for 3 against the Twins.
That does not look good and they still have games against the Red Sox, Angels, Twins and Tigers in September.
I am going to stick with my comment about the series in Minnesota as being the nail in the coffin.
Get your forks ready.
Not You Phil! Nooooooooooo!
Not over until its mathematically impossible!
Red Sox are joy killers. But it was our own fault. Series should be 2-1 in our favor. Jose, Freddy and Danks look ok to me and that is why I still have hope.
My dad and I have had many discussions over the years about one of the key intangible differences between football and baseball. We have found that intensity, emotion, "gutting it out," etc. do tend
to bring far more success to the gridiron game than they do on the diamond.
Let's say you're a football lineman. We wholeheartedly believe that the player who "wants it more" on a given play between two similar talents and technique users opposing each other will emerge victorious almost every time.
Now, let's take that same emotion to the plate in baseball. The batter says to himself, "I'm gonna hit this guy if it's the last thing I do." He's likely to tense up in ways you shouldn't, swing without fluidity, and probability erase a clear-minded thought process about what kind of pitch to expect, the rotation of the ball, the precise instant to swing, etc.
I'm glad that Paulie didn't fully discount intensity however as a certain amount is still needed in baseball for focus.
All that said, I would prefer less stubborn approaches at the plate which result in 0-2 counts like I can't ever recall seeing as well as execution with runners on third with less than two out. We do still have a plethora of guys who swing for the fences almost without exception even with two strikes and that runner on third. (Let's not forget the lack of focus in the field this year!)
I understand that major league pitchers can make a lineup look lethargic, but I find the White Sox can play into that role with their own lack of focus in doing "whatever it takes" to have a positive "at bat." It's that intensity that I think has been woefully lacking most of the season. It is excessive nauseating to watch that time after time after time.
I agree with Phil, "One leg's in the coffin, the other's on a banana peel," and they've had so many opportunities to avoid that throughout this "teaser" of a baseball season.
I'm sure that other teams have this problem at times but over the last several years, even for a time in their championship season, the entire team goes into an offensive slump.
Right now, I think that the Sox have gotten exactly 7 hits in 6 of the last 7 games, getting 8 hits and 8 runs in the other, a 12-8 loss to the BoSox.
And they do it all too often against bad pitchers and/or young, inexperienced ones.
So what causes this kind of mass psychological problem and what can be done about it?
Anyone with an answer could make a lot of money but, as in the Sox case, I do believe that a team cannot afford to have too many of their top players who are essentially introverts, at least in the clubhouse and on the field.
When you have guys like Konerko, Dye, Ramirez, Quentin and, it seems, Beckham, as well as all the top pitchers being such quiet types, I think it is not a positive.
Just a thought.
You can't count these guys out until they're actually mathematically out of the race. Until then, they should all just stop talking to the press or answer with the typical baseball cliches and just play the game. Their actions on the field will speak for themselves and right now, the Red Sox are just the better team at this time, but the White Sox can still catch the Tigers.
Intensity is being in the moment. Paulie needs to shut up and hit the ball! Maybe why he is always slumping! Podsenik is RIGHT. You give the game everything you got until its gone. Just like Charlie Hustle used to do! And just like Torii Hunter currently does. Most of the time thats the difference between average and great...WANTING IT MORE. Podsednik WILLED himself back into the game. Speaks volumes.
All I know is the White Sox were in position to win every game in Boston this week. Monday, 'Ol Man Contreras stumbles over his walking chair, Tuesday, Linebrink (need I go any further), Wednesday, stranded runners against a lollipopper. Actually, Wednesday killed me the most. Here's a guy who throws 72 MPH, just off the DL, can barely walk without a limp and we're swinging at almost every first pitch. Not one player, NOT ONE, moved closer to the mound from their batting stance, a smart procedure against a knuckleballer. Not one quick runner had the patience to draw a TWO BASE WALK, D'oh! Again, we stranded men at third with less than two out. Crikey!
Dye is pressing, Alexi isn't too smart with the wood in certain situations, Konerko has an 0-2 count easily 80% of the time, Rios hasn't done diddly since he donned the black n white, Thome is boom or bust, and the pen has been ATROCIOUS the last 45 days. All this and we're still in it. All this and it's one or two little things, far from the realm of difficult, that make or break us.
We're slowly running out of time, but it's not like we're getting our butts kicked and there's no light in sight. Matter of fact, we're kicking ourselves in the butt more often than not. Give me the helm this last month and I'll show the Venezuelan Wizard how subtle changes make a difference. Shoot, I won't let my Hispanic heritage influence my downfall; I won't be afraid to use the same reliever an inning longer; I won't let first and second, no outs, be the start of a big inning mirage by not bunting; I won't hesitate to ask my big guns to choke up with two strikes and just get some damn wood on the ball! Hell no! I'm the manager and I'm here to win games. Even the pitch sequence has been questionable lately.
I'm done; that's it. I'm pissed because sometimes it takes the most minor detail to swing the pendulum in our direction, and Ozzie hasn't pulled the right strings. Yeah, that's right, Ozzie. I'm putting it on him right now because I've seen enough to realize there could have been needed changes that dragged on, possibly past the point of no return. Damn stubborn, ramblin' mouth, wrong turning, bad guessing son of a gun.......
Oxygen!!!!!!
I think Tim hit it on the head with his comment about many of the Sox so called leaders being introverted, "quiet types".
I don't know about intensity, but OMHO you need a certain amount of "swagger" in order to dominate in any sport, whether it be individual or team play.
And swagger is what the Sox are missing.
Sorry Keith but with each lose they move that much closer to 3rd place and being close to winning the games in Boston is just a consolation prize.
They still count as a lose and they are not looking like a team that is going to put together a streak right now and the clock is ticking.
They have plenty of games left and are 4 ½ games behind the Tigers and I am not counting them out but they lost again tonight and have the Yankees and Twins waiting for them.
That Twins series in Minnesota looms as the killer for them.
They roll over and die every time they go up there now and thankfully this is the last series they ever will play in that dump.
If they look bad against New York and go into the Dome with their heads down they will be ripe for a sweep.
I say they have to win at least 4 of the 6 games against the Yanks and Twinkies to get things back in order and that is not going to be easy.
They have proven that they can beat the better teams and they are gong to have to do just that starting right now.
This has to start now.
I guess not.
Same old story against the Yankees.
They look like they are reedy to make a quick and quite exit.
Nice to read a blogger with a pulse again. Good job. Now if only the sox could get peavy on the mound finally. This is getting old, no wonder he spent most of the last two years on the dl. If everything has to be perfect for him to pitch he'll never get off the DL.
Now the sox are pitching Contreras again? And they are supposed to be taken seriously as playoff contenders? This move says their season is over. Maybe Jake is waiting until the sox are out of contention before he gets out there and pitches for the sox.
A little off the subject, but this is a Sox thread. One of my good friends, and a very intelligent and devoted Sox fan had this to email to me after last night's game:
"How do you not have a pinch runner for Castro on 2nd base, down 2-1 in the 7th with bases loaded and 2 out? I was screaming for it! Especially given that you've got both AJ and Pods on the bench.
As I'm sure you're aware, Beckham singles and Castro is thrown out by 10 feet. It's situations like these that highlight what a bad manager Guillen is. This is a game lost in the 10th that shouldn't have gotten there. What makes this season so frustrating is they're in every game. A good manager would have them 20 games over 500."
As I recall, the count was also 3-2 meaning Castro had to running with the pitch and still was thrown out easily.
I was totally in my buddy's camp prior to their '05 Series victory and have forced myself to observe Ozzie's other qualities that include that fact that he's not been able to play "Ozzie Ball" most of the time since that victory. However, that said, that victory is becoming more and more distant in time. I don't agree with my friend that we'd be 20 games up because we've talked ad nauseam on this blog about this team's implosions for reasons that managers can't control. Nevertheless, Ozzie has never been a mental giant, is often without answers, takes pitchers out one batter too late, and does these kinds of things in which my buddy alluded with all too much frequency.
I guess my point is that we should be guarded against giving Ozzie something akin to the "Ditka Lifetime Adoration" key to the city and the White Sox dugout. He often does avoid the blame that he should be getting including getting this band of introverts looking more "on fire," especially in what should be seen as "must win" situations.
It's all Peavy's fault. If Jake the fake wasn't malingering on the dl the sox would be right in this thing. Now they are going the wrong way and Peavy keeps getting reinjured and he isn't even playing yet. How do you get injured while you are on the dl? I don't even think that line drive hit his elbow, his elbow was already hurt. Well maybe he can pitch for the sox next year, if he can avoid surgery.
shame on guillen and kenny for sending out this bum today - a different "white flag" strategy.
disgraceful...
A week ago I stuck my fork in the Cubs, and sure enough ... they were done.
Today I took my trusty tines and inserted them into the Sox.
Yup; you guessed it. They're done too.
Go Bears!
It looks like they are not even going to wait for their series with the Twins to call it a season.
What a pathetic display today.
I don't see any reason to rush Peavy back now.
Shut it down and see who can play and who will be with this team next season.
I'd rather watch the Little League World Series and I never watch the LLWS! There's better defense being played for one thing, more evidence of fight and competitiveness, and just more entertainment period.
I can hear Dandy Don Meredith singing his "...party's over" song. If it weren't for the Perfect Game (about the last time Buerhle's pitched well by the way), as well as diminished expectations overall, this season would be go down as even more dreadful a performance than that 2007 debacle IMHO.
Go Bears!
As long as there is math - I am on board! But its getting pretty empty on this bandwagon. Bad loss! Line-brink of destruction.
PK raised an intense question last night too!!!!
Where do we trade him!!!!! Sick of him.