TUCSON, Ariz. – It was only three innings of work, but projected No. 4 starter Jose Contreras continued to show that his dismal 10-17 record (5.57 ERA) from last season is behind him. The right-hander held Colorado to one unearned run on just one hit, while picking up a strikeout in the 12-3 Sox win.
“This year, I prepared hard physically and mentally and I feel good about it,’’ Contreras said afterward. “[Last season] was the worst year of my career.’’
Contreras had to deal with going through a divorce last year, which played a factor in his struggles.
--Alexei Ramirez showed the Sox early on in camp he could catch the ball, but on Thursday he showed he could hit. The Cuban rookie, who is a candidate for the starting job at second base, went 4-for-5 against the Rockies, scoring three times and picking up an RBI. “I feel like the way I did in Cuba,’’ Ramirez said afterward. “The confidence Ozzie Guillen gave me, he said just go out there and have fun and that’s what I’m going to do.’’
But Guillen is still not sure what the long-term plans are for Ramirez.
"Right now we have to work with him at second base if he's going to make it,’’ Guillen said. “He's pretty rough at second base. He hasn't played there that much. I'm going to talk to [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and see what we think and what we're going to do with this kid. I think he's got a lot of talent. I'm not sure if he's going to end at shortstop or second base or play everywhere, but the first game he showed he's good and showed a lot of speed. He seems like he knows what he's doing.’’
--More good news for the Sox on the injury front, with Jerry Owens [sore groin] ready to make his Cactus League debut on Friday, and reliever Matt Thornton [sore elbow] throwing live batting practice on Thursday morning. If Thornton has no setbacks he could be ready for games by next Monday.
--Appearing on ESPN 1000’s Waddle and Silvy Show on Thursday, former Sox hurler Jon Garland decided it was time for him to play prognosticator.
Asked if he would be surprised if the Sox won the American League Central, Garland replied, “I would be. Only because of how well Cleveland played last year, they have that young team. And then the off-season moves that Detroit made. It's kind of hard to look past them with what they did. But it always goes back to who can stay the healthiest. I think you can have the greatest team in the world, if they're not healthy they're not going to perform on the field."
TUCSON, Ariz. – John Danks was all giddy about making the start on Wednesday, because the wind at Tucson Electric Park was blowing in.
Maybe in right field, but as the White Sox lefty found out in the first inning, not left.
Troy Tulowitzki hit a solo home run off Danks in the two-run Colorado first inning, but was solid after that, allowing just three hits and another unearned run in two innings of work. He also had three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Sox got on the board in the second when Josh Fields picked up the RBI single.
After his outing, Danks was not only thrilled to wear the Northern Illinois University cap in memory of the five students killed at the campus earlier this month, but pleased with the cutter he has been working on since late last year.
“Obviously it was a tragedy, and being in Illinois, everything that happens there, we feel we’re connected to it,’’ Danks said of the team honoring the school.
As far as the cutter and the results?
“It was great,’’ Danks said. “Better than I thought it would be for the first time out. The pitch Tulowitzki hit out, I felt was the best pitch I threw. He just got it up in the jet stream up there.’’
There seemed to be more news off the field on Wednesday than on, however.
-- For the second time in eight years, a Jeff Berry represented player refused to sign off on his one-year contract, forcing the Sox to renew the deal and set the 2008 salary by next week.
Pitcher Mark Buehrle was the last to make that decision, before it was announced that Josh Fields chose that path on Wednesday.
“It’s something that I don’t really think matters right now,’’ Fields said. “It’s no disrespect between us and the Sox. It’s not like I’m trying to say, ‘I want more money,’ because I can’t afford to do that. They can say, ‘Go back to [Class AAA] Charlotte.’ ’’
Buehrle seemed to make a bigger deal of it when he went through it, while the understated Fields was in more of the downplay mode.
“Ultimately, it was my decision,’’ he continued. “Everyone understood where we stood. It’s something a player can decide to do.’’
There is a reason behind why Berry advises players to do it, however.
Basically, if the two sides ever do get to an arbitration hearing, the player and his camp can say, “Hey, we’ve been unhappy with our salary even back when.’’
Fields is coming off a year in which he became the everyday third baseman when Joe Crede was sidelined with season-ending surgery. In 100 games, he hit .244 with 23 home runs, 67 RBI and 125 strikeouts.
--Besides Fields, the Sox announced that 21 players agreed to terms on their one-year contracts, headlined by John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Bobby Jenks, Danny Richar, Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens and Carlos Quentin.
And while Jenks told the Sun-Times last month that he was looking to get a contract extension leading into this season, he had no problem with the decision that was made to possibly revisit talks following the ’08 campaign.
“That’s between the front office and my agent,’’ Jenks said. “I worry about what I do on the field and let them take care of the rest.’’
--Richar arrived into camp six days late, after his visa problems were cleared up. The infielder will be battling Juan Uribe and Alexei Ramirez for the starting job at second base.
“When I was at home I was worried,’’ Richar said. “I was telling myself, ‘Oh, those other guys are there working out.’ But I’m here and now I have to show that I’m ready, and was working out in the Dominican.’’
--As far as the injury front, Owens was a late scratch from the Cactus League opener, as his groin is still not game ready, while reliever Matt Thornton remained a few days behind because of left elbow soreness that slowed him at the start of camp. Thornton is expected to be ready by Sunday, while Owens is day-to-day.
Call it the aftermath of the Academy Awards or simply long, boring days in camp, but an esteemed group of movie goers made up of myself, White Sox director of media relations/media consigliere Bob Beghtol, first baseman Paul Konerko and assistant GM Rick Hahn have put together a list of the Top 10 Most Underrated Movie Villains of All-Time.
Think you have better, send ‘em.
10. Tommy – Michael Bowen in “Valley Girl’’ – Yes, the boyfriend that made Nick Cage’s punk life miserable. And anyone that can bust out the pink tux to prom and still make threats with karate moves is a keepsake on this list.
9. Mugatu – Will Ferrell in “Zoolander’’ – Classic line: “Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look, for Christ's sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigra? They're the same face! Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! I invented the piano key necktie, I invented it! What have you done, Derek? You've done nothing! NOTHIIIING!’’
8. Principal Richard Vernon – Paul Gleason in “Breakfast Club’’ – Gleason also gets honorable mention for his role in “Trading Places,’’ but making sure burnout Bender understood, “Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns,’’ will live on forever.
7. Hal the Nursing Home Orderly – Ben Stiller in “Happy Gilmore’’ – It doesn’t get more heartwarming than when Happy’s sweet old grandmother says to Hal, “Sir, can I trouble you for a warm glass of milk? It helps me go to sleep.’’ And in return hears from Hal, “You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut-the-hell-up. Now, you will go to sleep or I will put you to sleep. Check out the name tag. You're in my world now, grandma.’’
6. Johnny Lawrence – William Zabka in “The Karate Kid’’ – Forget the fact that he was the prized Cobra Kai student, but the idea that he can follow orders such as “Sweep the leg!’’ to perfection also means he’s a good listener. Zabka gets honorable mention for the bully in “Just One of the Guys,’’ where he would put on weight-lifting gloves to flip over cafeteria tables being used by geeks.
5. Shooter McGavin – Christopher McDonald in “Happy Gilmore’’ – Who hasn’t made a long putt and gone “Shooter’’ on the golf course since seeing this movie? OK, maybe I really am the only one.
4. Ernie McCracken – Bill Murray in “Kingpin’’ – While Murray has numerous classic characters, “Big Ern’’ might be the most underrated role he’s done. The comb-over alone can bring you to tears.
3. Chet – Bill Paxton in “Weird Science’’ – Every kid back in the 80s was hoping for an older brother like Chet. I mean getting blackmailed, having your allowance stolen, wedgies, who wouldn’t want that in their household when they were 16? Classic line: “How 'bout a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?’’
2. White Goodman – Ben Stiller in “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story’’ – Stiller’s best performance ever … hands down! Who could forget, “At Globo Gym we understand that ‘ugliness’ and ‘fatness’ are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it's only your fault if you don't hate yourself enough to do something about it.’’
1. Sensei John Kreese – Martin Kove in “The Karate Kid’’ – “We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy.’’ Words I know I would want my young son learning from his karate instructor. Sure, Kreese had his faults. I mean being a former Vietnam hero and then operating a wealthy chain of dojos can easily be thrown off track by some 98-pound kid that learns the “Crane’’ technique from his – I might add – unlicensed instructor. I’d like to say Kreese got the last laugh after losing the All-Valley Karate Championships, but as we found out in “The Karate Kid III,’’ Cobra Kai went out of business. Damn you Daniel Larusso!
TUCSON, Ariz. – Mark Buehrle threw his scheduled side day on Tuesday, and said he showed no ill-effects from the sore shoulder that forced him to be scratched from Monday’s intrasquad game.
The White Sox left-hander said he threw between 40-50 pitches, and didn’t hold back on his repertoire.
“Everything will be ready by Friday,’’ Buehrle declared.
That’s when he is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut against Arizona.
The one point Buehrle did bring up is he’s not the youngster that used to be able to just roll into camp, throw his bullpen session and go home.
“The older you get, the more you have to do,’’ Buehrle said. “A couple of years ago, I would come throw and leave and come throw again. Now, you have to do all this arm stuff and maintenance stuff to get you ready for next start.’’
TUCSON, Ariz. – How much is at stake for the White Sox this season?
The first intrasquad game of the spring answered that, as general manager Ken Williams was so into it that he clapped and all but jumped out of his seat after Jerry Owens led the bottom of the first off with a picture-perfect bunt down the first base line. Owens, who is a candidate for the starting job in left field, as well as the lead-off spot, then scored on a perfectly executed hit-and-run from Orlando Cabrera. Welcome to Sox baseball 2008.
While Owens did leave the game after tweaking his groin in the second inning, manager Ozzie Guillen said it wasn’t serious and he would be able to play in the final intrasquad game on Tuesday if need be.
Owens and Nick Swisher each finished the game with two hits, but Owens was clearly the story.
Other highlights included:
--Starter Gavin Floyd went two innings, allowing an unearned run thanks to a Cabrera error at shortstop, and only giving up a Swisher single.
--Reliever Scott Linebrink allowing an earned run off two hits in an inning of work.
--Reliever Ehren Wassermann looking nasty in throwing a perfect inning.
--Left-hander Andrew Sisco throwing a scoreless inning, as well as ending the game on a double play.
--Rookie Alexei Ramirez – starting at shortstop – falling a few feet short of a home run off Floyd in his first at-bat.
TUCSON, Ariz. – In a spring training camp with very little news thus far, Paul Konerko finally provided some.
Speaking with the Sun-Times over the weekend, the team captain admitted that he “dropped the ball’’ last year in the leadership department, stating, “I mean by July and August, you can go out there and get the best leader in the history of sports to come in and there is nothing he can say at that point. But there were some instances early on that I definitely think I dropped the ball on, I could have said something or did something that who knows, maybe it would have changed the direction.’’
The Sox were a dismal 72-90 last season, and Konerko said he will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen again. That includes laying down some rules with his teammates near the end of spring camp.
“We’ll do that at the end of spring training when the numbers get down. It will be pretty simple, just, ‘Hey listen, these are a few things that last year might have gotten away from us, things we saw on the bus, things on the plane, and we’re going to be tighter on this stuff.’ Little things to make sure we’re a little more focused on the game.’’
Not that Konerko is planning to go all “Truth-osaurus,’’ and play bad cop like Carl Everett. Far from it. The fact remains that Konerko still feels the best way to lead is by his actions.
“Show up, do your work, get ready for the game, give good at-bats,’’ Konerko added. “Anything you say can’t equal that kind of stuff.
“I think the key is that if it looks, talks and acts like last year, we jump on it and say, ‘Hey, we went down that road before and I saw this go from this, and then turn into this.’ You live and learn.’’
TUCSON, Ariz. – Mark Buehrle will be skipped from his scheduled start in Monday’s intrasquad game, but no one is very concerned. Buehrle is experiencing some soreness in his left throwing shoulder – a usual spring ritual for the southpaw.
The plan is to take it slowly with him, and get him ready for his first Cactus League game against Arizona on Friday.
Is there a way to defect from the Dominican Republic?
If there is, White Sox second baseman Danny Richar might want to explore that option.
Saturday came and went without the club hearing anything from their second-year infielder, and while manager Ozzie Guillen wasn’t feeling the need to completely bury Richar, there was no question that as each day goes by, Richar moves deeper and deeper into his skipper’s doghouse.
Guillen was asked if Richar’s fallen off the depth chart for that starting job at second, and after a long pause said, “He's going to have a legit shot. Not because of a mistake you make, I'm going to take this thing away. But when you are a couple days late and guys are getting ready for the season, that could hurt you.’’
As far as Guillen is concerned, former starting shortstop Juan Uribe and rookie Alexei Ramirez have each made a strong case to earn the job through the early days of camp, and the longer Richar is out, the harder it will be for him.
“I can talk about this issue because I played with this visa for 10-11 years,’’ Guillen added. “If you're supposed to be in spring training one day, you're not going to get your visa the day before.’’
-- Octavio Dotel was filthy on Saturday, breaking Nick swisher’s bat and leaving hitters shaking their heads.
-- Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger – fresh off shooting a 74 last week – was working with Gavin Floyd on his golf swing after practice.
-- Third baseman Joe Crede was back in the batting cages on Saturday, after a bruised hand hampered him the last two days. Crede also participated in live batting practice.
-- Sunday’s workout will be a short one, with the players getting a break before Monday’s scheduled intrasquad game. Call it a walk-through, and insert Bill Belichick joke here.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Joe Crede was back in action on Saturday morning, taking batting practice with his teammates, as well as facing live pitching.
Crede was plunked on the left hand by Mike MacDougal on Thursday, and was taken to the hospital for X-Rays. All the tests came back negative, but the hand was swollen enough on Friday that Crede was shut down from any batting practice.
After another day of treatment, the hand was noticeably back to normal size and Crede was cleared to go ahead and participate in the full workout.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Manager Ozzie Guillen unofficially made it official on Friday that Mark Buehrle would indeed start his sixth Opening Day in the last seven years.
The way the rotation sets up right now – with a slight subject to change – It will be Buehrle against Cleveland in the opener, followed by Javier Vazquez and John Danks. Jose Contreras would then start the three-game series in Detroit, followed by Gavin Floyd and then Buehrle.
As far as the home opener, that will fall to Vazquez, rewarding the veteran right-hander for his 15-8 2007 season.
With Cactus League play starting next week, Buehrle is scheduled to start the first intrasquad game, while Vazquez will start intrasquad game No. 2. That means Danks pitches the Cactus League opener against Colorado on Feb. 27.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Joe Crede did try taking batting practice on Friday, but the White Sox third baseman had to shut it down early with his injured left hand bothering him.
Crede was plunked on the hand Thursday, and was taken for X-Rays by head trainer Herm Schneider. Those X-Rays came back negative, but didn’t change the fact that the badly swollen hand now needed a few days off.
The immediate plan is allow Crede to go through drills and workouts, but put the bat down for a few days until the hands feels better.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had his annual full-squad spring meeting on Thursday morning, closing the doors of the clubhouse and making sure children weren’t anywhere in earshot of what was said.
“I cursed maybe 1,000 times, but that's your guys' [Americans'] fault,’’ Guillen joked. “That's the English I know and I learned it from you guys. I never went to school here.’’
Guillen said the underlying message was forget what happened in 2007 and turn the attention to ’08.
“It was a little bit talking about the past, make sure you leave it in the past,’’ Guillen said. “What we're looking for this year. Come in here and be the team to beat, and go out there and go compete. We believe, we truly believe, we have a ballclub. Make sure they believe. Don't get caught up in what people say, what people think. Just go out there and do the job.
“I think people understand where we're coming from and for the new guys, it was a different way to handle the meeting. Let them know exactly who I am, what I do. Because if you come from another organization, all of the sudden everything you hear from the TV, radio, whatever it is, I showed them who the real Ozzie was, not what they hear about it.’’
Coming into this spring, all the concern with Joe Crede centered on the third baseman’s surgically-repaired back.
Now it’s his left hand.
Taking live batting practice on the first day that position players were expected into camp, Crede was plunked on the hand by guess who? Mike MacDougal.
Crede was golf-carted to the Kino Hospital next door to the facility by head trainer Herm Schneider, had the hand X-rayed and was back in 30 minutes with as good of news as he could have hoped for.
“It’s not broken,’’ Crede said.
The hand was obviously swollen and will be looked at again on Friday. As far as how long Crede will be on the shelf with the injury, that will also be determined on Friday.
Either way, it was not how the free agent-to-be wanted to start spring training off.
