greasywheels121 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 http://whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/ar...t=.jsp&c_id=cws Notes: Raines to keep Sox on run By Scott Merkin / MLB.com TUCSON, Ariz. -- With the White Sox launching 12 hits, including four doubles and their first home run of the spring, during Saturday's 10-0 shellacking of Arizona, there wasn't a great opportunity for the South Siders to show off their run-and-gun style of offense on the basepaths. But according to Tim Raines, the White Sox's first-year baserunning coach, the team's success in 2005 will depend more on its ability to manufacture runs then simply beating up the opposition. "It's trying to figure out what you can do, how far can you go, reading the pitchers and taking the chances," said Raines, who also will serve as first-base coach. "We will make a decision on who will get green lights and who will get the stop sign, who will go on certain pitches. "We want all the players to know that everyone in the lineup has the chance to do something on the basepaths. We want to get it in their minds that, if there's a base hit and you are at first, we are taking third. We want everyone to have that sort of mindset. Just be aggressive on the basepaths." With his 806 career stolen bases, Raines appears to be the right man in terms of teaching this new style to the White Sox. He met with the players on a couple of different occasions during early workouts prior to live game action, preaching the same mantra that he explained above. During the 2005 campaign, the White Sox set a single-season franchise record with 242 home runs and tied the New York Yankees for the Major League lead. But this same squad swiped a mere 78 bases, ranking them sixth from the bottom in the American League. They are off and running during current Cactus League action, with four stolen bases in six games, but they swiped 26 over 29 games last March. Even with Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee having moved on, there's still plenty of power left in the White Sox lineup. The addition of players such as Scott Podsednik and Tadahito Iguchi gives the South Siders better balance and what they hope is a chance to avoid scoring 15 runs in back-to-back games, only to have trouble plating four runs in the next three or four games combined. As manager Ozzie Guillen has stated previously, speed never goes into slumps. He no longer is relying on Saturday's sort of output to produce victories. "That's the style of ball we have to play," Raines said. "We won't beat a team with three-run homers, especially with Big Frank not in the lineup. We have to be that type of team that pitches well, plays good defense and manufactures runs." Four up, four down: Despite the steady rainfall that dampened the crowd's spirits at Tucson Electric Park, it was a near-perfect Saturday afternoon for Brandon McCarthy. Making his first start against Major League competition, the right-hander retired two hitters on groundouts, one on a line out to third and one on a hard drive to left. But a 32-minute rain delay cut McCarthy's planned effort by 1 2/3 innings, as Guillen and pitching coach Don Cooper didn't want to risk pushing him back out on the field. The taste of success, coupled with the taste of mild disappointment, has McCarthy fired up for his next start Thursday against Texas in Surprise. "It does," McCarthy said. "Plus knowing the next start is Texas and they have a phenomenal lineup, it's going to be exciting going in there and keep working on what I worked on out there." In Quinton McCracken, Matt Kata, Chad Tracy and Shawn Green, McCarthy went up against two switch-hitters and two left-handed hitters. After getting two quick outs, he fell behind Tracy with two pitches outside the strike zone, but induced a fly ball to Ryan Sweeney to end the first inning. McCarthy kept it simple, featuring a fastball, curve and the change-up with his unique grip that's been in his repertoire only about a year. His mechanics were good, as was his control -- both emotionally and in throwing the baseball. He finished the day with 20 extra pitches in the bullpen at the White Sox's complex. The rain not only stopped short McCarthy's pitching effort, but it also left him on-deck as the leadoff hitter in the third. McCarthy has not stepped to the plate since he was at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado. "I've been lobbying every coach I had," said McCarthy with a laugh, regarding his chance to swing the bat. "I have to wait until I have a little more service time, and I'm a little more comfortable with the coaches. Then I might push for an at-bat here or there." Moving behind the microphone: Darrin Jackson's prior commitments will prevent him from taking part in four of the television broadcasts on Comcast SportsNet during the station's 20-game spring schedule. So the White Sox have turned to Robin Ventura in a pinch-hitting role. Ventura will join Ken "Hawk" Harrelson in the booth for a game against Arizona on Mon., March 21. Ventura, a two-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner at third, retired after the 2004 season, his 16th in the Major Leagues. He played the first 10 seasons with the White Sox and was part of the 1993 American League West championship squad. Currently, Ventura resides in Santa Maria, Calif., and has spent a great deal of time coaching his daughters' youth basketball teams. Going deep -- finally: Carl Everett's grand slam off reliever Jose Valverde with two outs in the fifthg was the White Sox's first home run in Cactus League play. "At least we didn't have a solo home run," said Guillen, repeating a main complaint from the 2004 season. "We got it at the right time and in the right place." Around the horn: Willie Harris has been taking extra ground balls with third-base coach Joey Cora in preparation for his start at shortstop during Sunday morning's "B" game against the White Sox minor leaguers. Harris also will play the position during Cactus League play, according to Guillen. ... Joe Crede picked up his first hit of the spring with a double during Saturday's seven-run fifth, snapping an 0-for-7 streak. ... Damaso Marte had back-to-back hit batsman in the bottom of the seventh, but escaped the inning unscathed with a double-play grounder. He struck out three over two hitless innings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFanForever Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Awesome, I wanna see if Robin is any good in the booth. Maybe a future replacement for DJ? One can only hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 I thought Robin was pretty soft spoken. He'll need to open it up if he wants to be able to be an analyst. Those guys are required to talk all the time. Didn't Hawk get on DJ one game for not talking enough? I love Rock Raines and remember his Sox days fondly but isn't it interesting that he pretty much stopped running when he became a Sox. Remember how he built up the body and stopped stealing bases or am I dreaming this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFanForever Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 QUOTE(greg775 @ Mar 6, 2005 -> 02:54 AM) I thought Robin was pretty soft spoken. He'll need to open it up if he wants to be able to be an analyst. Those guys are required to talk all the time. Didn't Hawk get on DJ one game for not talking enough? I love Rock Raines and remember his Sox days fondly but isn't it interesting that he pretty much stopped running when he became a Sox. Remember how he built up the body and stopped stealing bases or am I dreaming this?? A little bit of both. In '91 and '92 he had 51 and 45 steals for us. Then he decreased to 21 the following year then 13 and 13 the last two years with us. So he started off with a lot of steals for us and eventually eased off as he got older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjm676 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Moving behind the microphone: Darrin Jackson's prior commitments will prevent him from taking part in four of the television broadcasts on Comcast SportsNet during the station's 20-game spring schedule. So the White Sox have turned to Robin Ventura in a pinch-hitting role. Ventura will join Ken "Hawk" Harrelson in the booth for a game against Arizona on Mon., March 21. Can you tell I'm a little excited!! Time to set the DVR! Robin may be soft spoken, but he at least has a personality. If he doesn't want to coach in the majors, I can definitely see him in the booth. His quotes I've read of his in the past made me ROFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 I luv Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Wait, Hawk getting on DJ for not talking enough?? DJ is usually the only one talking when the Sox are losing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winninguglyin83 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Robin is a smart guy. He'll figure out the job. He'll know he has to be insightful to have a chance to make it in TV. Best of all, it's good to see another former Sox player come back without any hard feelings. Welcome back, Number 23. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POPPY_HIDALGO Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Maybe they can just have Nolan Ryan come and beat the s*** out of Ventura in the booth. That would be entertaining at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Yess!!!!!!!!!!! I love Robin Ventura! Can't wait to hear him again and maybe even see him! Lol. Hawk and Robin would make a great 1-2 punch in the booth. Whose idea was it to get DJ in the 1st place???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkey Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 I like this part of the story... "Even with Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee having moved on, there's still plenty of power left in the White Sox lineup." Don't hear that often. All you hear is that Mags and Lee are gone, and Thomas is out. Well they forget that Mags and Thomas were out for a huge chunk of the year last year, and they still hit alot. About time someone realized that instead of just repeating the same old crap again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted March 6, 2005 Share Posted March 6, 2005 Welcome back Robin!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLAK Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Darrin (Wally Pipp) Jackson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 QUOTE(TLAK @ Mar 6, 2005 -> 06:21 PM) Darrin (Wally Pipp) Jackson? We can only hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted March 7, 2005 Share Posted March 7, 2005 QUOTE(greg775 @ Mar 6, 2005 -> 02:54 AM) I thought Robin was pretty soft spoken. He'll need to open it up if he wants to be able to be an analyst. Those guys are required to talk all the time. Didn't Hawk get on DJ one game for not talking enough? Robin has been on Dan Patrick's radio show a few times. judging by that he should be OK. He shows a lot of personality and a good sense of humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.