Phil Rogers throwing a little love Uribe's way:

[CSF]

From Chicagosports.com:

 

Sox's Uribe fuels campaign as AL's most valuable sub

 

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April 23, 2004

 

 

Juan Uribe, a man of action, did everything he could to get fans home from U.S. Cellular Field in time to catch David Letterman's monologue Thursday night.

 

At the plate, Uribe swung at Mike Mussina's first pitch the first three times he faced him, lining two singles and hitting a soft liner back to Mussina to start a double play.

 

Uribe was more selective his last time up. He took one ball before flying out to the wall in center field. And I was starting to think maybe he's a free swinger.

 

In the field, Uribe did what a shortstop is supposed to—he got outs just about every time he could get his hands on the ball. That was quite often, as the surprising Scott Schoeneweis kept the Yankees off balance with a 91-m.p.h. fastball mixed with an improved changeup and a new cutter.

 

Uribe may not have been the star of the White Sox's 4-3 victory, but he led in time of possession. He showed why Jose Valentin, who is a tremendous team player, wasn't afraid to rest his tight left hamstring for two weeks on the disabled list.

 

With their backup shortstop in the middle of things, the Sox showed that one thing the Yankees can't buy is extra outs. They were limited to the standard 27 by an almost flawless night of fielding, which made the difference in the one-run victory.

 

More than almost any team in the majors, it appears the Sox could go as far as their fielding takes them. Their pitchers work quickly and don't miss many bats, averaging an American League-low 4.7 strikeouts per game.

 

"I'm not a high-strikeout guy," said Schoeneweis, who fanned only Bernie Williams. "I do tend to get a lot of ground balls. These guys have played outstanding behind me. That's the type of defense I'm going to need the rest of the year if I'm going to be successful."

 

Uribe, who has the arm to play deep, spent most of the evening positioned at the lip of the outfield grass and between pitches smoothed the infield dirt over and over. He accounted for 12 outs and participated in three huge double plays.

 

Two were especially dramatic. His strong relay after a grounder to Willie Harris nailed Gary Sheffield and stopped an eighth-inning rally before it got going. Then he handled a squibber by Travis Lee and flipped to Harris to start the game-ender with the tying run on third base.

 

No wonder Valentin trusts Uribe. Ditto manager Ozzie Guillen.

 

"Uribe is doing a tremendous job," he said.

 

The two-hit night against Mussina raised the 25-year-old Uribe's batting average to .368. It was his fourth start at shortstop, his natural position, and his 10th overall.

 

He's making himself into one of the most valuable extra men in the AL, but when Valentin returns, Uribe could cramp the playing time of Harris. The second baseman struck out three times, slipping to .213.

 

"I told Uribe in spring training you will get more at-bats than you think," Guillen said. "He started out well, so I don't have to worry about playing him."

 

Looking for a possible successor to Valentin, in the last year of his contract, Sox general manager Ken Williams traded offensive-minded second baseman Aaron Miles to Colorado for Uribe in December.

 

Both teams like the deal at this point. Miles, who platoons with fellow rookie Luis Gonzalez, is hitting .304 with two homers and nine RBIs in 11 games for the Rockies.

 

Early returns are good on other Williams moves too.

 

Ross Gload, placed on the 40-man roster because of his play in winter ball in Mexico, slashed a two-run double to cap the three-run first off Mussina. Timo Perez, acquired from the New York Mets in a spring deal for expendable reliever Matt Ginter, made a diving catch to take a run-scoring hit away from Alex Rodriguez.

 

Williams and his scouts may have found another Esteban Loaiza in Schoeneweis, who, like Jon Garland, fared well in two starts against the Yankees. Then there's the Guillen hiring. He got the ninth-inning matchups he wanted for left-hander Damaso Marte, who survived a scary inning.

 

This was a situation for Marte, not the right-handed Billy Koch. It also was a good situation for Uribe.

 

Unless you need a walk, it seems, most are.

 

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Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

[mreye]

Did you see Uribe almost get run over by the UPS truck that delivers the game ball at the Cell last night? It was damn close! The driver had to come to a screeching halt.