caulfield12

Floyd off the hook now. Good job, Alexei. Uribe-esque was that RBI. That's what he used to be so good at. Lillibridge still confused, bemused and bedazzled that he's not the type of hitter who can go yard to the opposite field.

Totally predictable by Brian Anderson in that at-bat. What new?

Well, someone should tell Betemit that Gavin is throwing a low, inside FB to Lopez that's likely to be pulled right down the line. As Stone said, he's 10 steps off the bag. So Stone Pony pretty much called it b4 it happened. Well, Fathom has been waiting for this at-bat by Betemit for weeks...let's see if he can make a productive out or drive in one of those runs. I just hope they don't have Wilson bunting against a RHP.

Still not sure why Betemit is playing 3B instead of Fields. That inning we had two hits that should have been outs before the Griffey double. Well, if Paulie had more than a 7 inch vertical. Strange game. Weird quality start for Floyd, too. Same thing with Bedard. Then again, every pitcher is drooling waiting to face the White Sox these days. Brandon McCarthy will probably have 11 K's.

Has Dye had one big hit in the last 2-3 weeks with RISP? Konerko should be hitting in that spot. Quentin, get out of the way of that ball. Harrelson, cut it out, it's getting ridiculous.

Javier Vazquez would be even better than 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA if he pitched against the Sox every game.

Lillibridge with a sterling .467 OPS now. Some players can put up a 467 OBP or SLG. Congrats, Eagle Scout Boy with Funny Ears.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 02:36 PM) When Floyd and Contreras are pitching, its a miracle if there is even a close play on a steal attempt. Don't forget Jenks. Anderson is faster than Beltre, he's out by 10-15 feet on a curveball...and Beltre doesn't even have to slide.

Why, exactly, would we want Lillibridge to lead off the next inning? C'mon Alexei, think! That was the worst display of basestealing against a LHP who wasn't even really paying attention to the runners. Not even close...

Did Ichiro go to the Greg Walker/Jerry Owens/Jim Thome school of hitting this offseason? Every ball this series has been to Lillibridge or Konerko. Well, thanks for that. He's much more dangerous when he goes the other way.

There goes our best scoring opportunity of the game. Anderson and Ramirez will be in trouble with that big curveball. Betemit, too. Over/under on White Sox hits today? 3, 4 or 5?

Does it actually matter if Lillibridge or Owens play hard? If they really, really try, they might be able to keep a 90 MPH fastball fair down the lines. Yay!

Even Cameron Diaz or Christina Applegate have been chances of reaching first than Brent "I am not an Eagle Scout" Lillibridge. Rumor has it that he's dating a middle school cheerleader...

Cruz rips a single to score speedburner Viciedo from 2B. 6-0. Hey, hey, hey, Goodbye, BayBears starter.

Harrell, with the sinker/slider combo, has given up 6 hits in 4 innings but has walked a tightrope and managed to avoid giving up a run so far. Didn't realize his first start in AA was all the way back in 2006. BOOO-YAH. CJ "Don't Call me Ray Liotta" Retherford rips one way out of the stadium (3rd) onto BayBear Mountain, waking up some cubs from hibernation (hopefully they return to their dens and don't spread swine flu amongst the thousands of kids at the stadium making so much noise you can't hear the announcers clearly). Beckham with an RBI double with two outs (yeah, we can hit to the opposite field gap) and Robert "Moscow on the Hudson" scored all the way from first....Shelby III had reached b4 Hudson hit into a FC. Flowers powers one off the AAA sign and scores Beckham from 2nd. Double. 3-0 lead for the Red Barons. Barons "very explosive" team. Thanks for that insight, BayBeats tools. Allen hits a ball so hard that Flowers can't score from 2nd. 1st and 3rd, two outs. El tanque Cubano up. Viciedo LACES a double to LF and plates two runs. 5-0. Roll Tide. That's seven hits since Sunday from Dayan, all the way up to .239.

It happened to Frank Thomas, too, later in his career. At one point, he had a career average of around .316, but the second half of his career, he basically became a dead lift-and-pull hitter to LF. At his best, he would dump outside pitches into RF with his strength and drill doubles into RCF...he would cover the outer half of the plate and take it the opposite way. His weakness, where he hated to be thrown, was inside, especially up and inside. Thome has basically had the same approach his entire career.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 01:03 PM) Looks like Beckham threw a runner out at home on a 1st and 3rd steal situation. Nix 2-3, 2 BB. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if he's in Arlington on Friday night. Nope...the runner was picked off leaving early from first (on a steal attempt), Harrell noticed it, they had the runner caught between first and 2nd, then the runner from 3rd broke for home and they caught him in a rundown after the throw from Gordo. Did a pretty bad job on the rundown, the other runner got all the way to third. Thanks, Buddy Bell. Beckham also threw a ball into the dirt that Allen bailed him out on.

Christian "The Crusader" Marrero Don't Call Me Eli Marrero Well, Viciedo took a bunt when he was playing back and threw it all the way down the RF line, allowing the runner to advance to third (hit and an error), but Harrell has limited the damage by pitching it around and also picking off a BayBear when he left early trying to steal 2B with a runner on 3rd and one out. Someone tell Harrelson there's another Yunesky (Sanchez) in baseball...although I think Betancourt on the M's has an "I" in his first name. Beckham down to .278. Viciedo has grounded out twice, Flowers K'ed and struck out. Brandon Allen has also been quiet...just fell to .299. Flowers is down to .286. I guess it was due to happen, as we've been playing some of the better teams in the SL like Mobile and Jacksonville.

I'm not BA fan, but he goes 0 for 7 in the DH and now Lillibridge is a better bet to do some damage leading off? God, this sucks not having Getz playing. When he does come back, we can't really know what to expect....he has been very streaky this season. When he got injured, Chris was arguably our best hitter. Is Betemit a better option to play 3B than Fields??? It's kind of tough to just stick Wilson out there in this weather when Josh has been playing nearly everyday. Well...if you play as badly as Brent did yesterday and are the leadoff hitter the next day, there's just not much you can say. Let's just hope Nix is on the way soon.

Jay Mariotti is pitching? Let's go Barons, take back first place!

Kroeger would be the most likely player to be recalled. Betemit, to Fathom's eternal delight, would get most of the at-bats, in all likelihood.

If we bring back Vizcaino, Cotts, Garcia, El Duque, Garland and Garcia, we'll have the best staff in baseball history. If baseball could be played in a "time warp," that is, or Strato-O-Matic reality from 2005.

Well, I guess the argument being made is Thome (or Griffey, etc.), aren't the same hitters, so they should try to adjust. Some want him to bunt and hitter grounders down the 3B for possible doubles, others think that is pretty much insane to suggest a radical change in approach (at age 38) when he's been a HOF player despite facing shifts (like Ortiz or Bonds) his entire career.

1) Because they pitch into the shift...and try to force him to roll over and ground to 2nd. If they threw all the pitches on the outside half of the plate (especially high), he would have many more opportunities to hit homers that way. As far as bunting, I don't know if we want Thome running full out at age 38 and risking more injuries like the heel problem he currently has. It's a lot easier for him to get a walk than learn how to bunt for the first time at his age. 2) In all fairness, Thome has hit at least two homers to the opposite field...and one single to the left side on the ground, and that's just from the games I've watched.

How concerned were the White Sox with Brian Anderson's 0-for-3 performance in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader? Apparently not much. He was in the leadoff spot for Game 2 for the first time in his career. ''I felt good about Brian for a couple years now,'' hitting coach Greg Walker said. ''We've seen pregame work now for two years that we think equates into game performance. We've challenged him a little bit where, 'Hey, it's time to step it up and start taking this pregame work into games.' We've seen that the last week, but now it's time to take this to the next level, which is consistency.'' That has been the Achilles' heel for the former first-round pick. Before stumbling against the Mariners -- he went 0-for-4 in the nightcap -- Anderson was hitting .462 over his last seven games. Sustaining a hot streak is what makes Anderson a work in progress. ''This kid is a superior athlete that is learning to hit in the big leagues, and sometimes it takes guys longer than others,'' Walker said. ''His problem is not the basic knowledge of how to hit because he's got it. It's about taking it to between the white lines. The last week was a nice showing, but now it has to keep up.'' The question facing the Sox -- which now sounds as if it will come up in late May rather than June -- is what happens when Dewayne Wise returns from a separated shoulder to try to reclaim the center-field job from Anderson? Manager Ozzie Guillen has indicated it wouldn't be fair for Wise to lose his spot because of an injury, and frankly, Anderson feels almost the same way. ''No idea. Zero. Not a single idea,'' Anderson said when asked what he has been told about the situation. ''I wish [Wise] a speedy recovery. You want to play every day, but you don't want to play because someone got hurt. I know he's working his butt off, and hopefully he gets back sooner than later.'' www.suntimes.com/sports