Lilly flower

[iamshack]

But Juan's actually showing improvement while Rios is just going through the motions and has been dreadful with RISP. Rios, especially on the road, has been killing this team.

Yeah, I am one of Juan's bigger supporters....but he is still terrible defensively, and just sort of average offensively.

 

I wonder what would happen if we put Rios in the leadoff spot and just said "Concentrate on getting on base. Don't worry about driving in runs or hitting home runs. Just get on base and steal bases when you can."

 

I think he would do better than Juan in such a role, and we would maintain his defense in center.

[Milkman delivers]

It wouldnt be the first on-air partner that Hawk had a tiff with. But if Stone leaves because of Hawk, it will gain a hell of a lot more attention than DJ or Wimpy.

 

Gee, I hope Stone wasn't molested as a child.

[Balta1701]

Brent Lillibridge couldn't be blamed if feelings of frustration seeped into his psyche during the first five weeks of the 2011 season.

 

The utility player was hitting, with an average above .300, and much of the rest of the White Sox lineup wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball. Yet, Lillibridge wasn't getting consistent at-bats.

 

Once he realized those feelings couldn't be a part of his everyday job description, Lillibridge took his game to another level.

 

"You know, I think it's attitude," Lillibridge told MLB.com. "I won't lie that at times, even early in the season, I was frustrated I wasn't playing. I was hitting really well, other guys weren't hitting, and I felt like I should have been out there for let's say like a week.

 

"I can't have that kind of attitude. All I can do is what I can do when I get to play. Other than that, I have to have a good positive attitude as a teammate, as a friend of the guys. Being negative about things, always saying, 'Woe is me, I should be playing,' or then I play and I go 0-for-4, and it was, 'Oh, I wasn't playing for a week,' well, those are excuses for myself and nobody else.

 

"Nobody else cares," Lillibridge said. "Once you realize nobody else cares about you and your situation, then you are just like, 'I'm going to do what I know, no excuses.' Play as hard as I can, swing at good pitches and play great defense. That's all I can control."

 

Two starts against Detroit give Lillibridge six since May 28. He is 7-for-22 during that stretch, with three homers and five RBIs, including his seventh long ball on Friday, marking his second straight game with a homer.

 

A career goal for Lillibridge remains to be an everyday player. For now, he's thriving and enjoying the super-sub role, even discussing the responsibilities with other renowned utility players such as Willie Bloomquist, to gain a greater understanding.

 

"You start pointing fingers and say you deserve this and that, the game will catch up to you," Lillibridge said. "I couldn't ask for anything better for the start of two months, for me personally. As a team, we have higher goals.

 

"I've done what I had to do. I've been able to make some big hits and help us win games in my small amount of at-bats. I've given them peace, [White Sox manager] Ozzie [Guillen] and [bench coach] Joey [Cora], to throw me out there when they need it."

Link

[greg775]

Yeah, I am one of Juan's bigger supporters....but he is still terrible defensively, and just sort of average offensively.

 

I wonder what would happen if we put Rios in the leadoff spot and just said "Concentrate on getting on base. Don't worry about driving in runs or hitting home runs. Just get on base and steal bases when you can."

 

I think he would do better than Juan in such a role, and we would maintain his defense in center.

 

Shack my gosh I can't believe I read this.

So take Juan who actually is doing OK and just demote him and promote Rios, who can't hit a Little Leaguer to leadoff.

For the life of me I can't understand those who actually want Rios on this team much less hitting leadoff.

We have to find a way to dump Rios on somebody.

 

[southsider2k5]

http://www.csnchicago.com/06/04/11/Sox-Dra...&feedID=621

 

By Chuck Garfien

CSNChicago.com

 

Brent Lillibridge has been a “game-changer.”

 

Those aren’t my words. They belong to Jake Peavy.

 

Lillibridge looks like “Spiderman climbing a wall.”

 

Again, not my description. Sergio Santos said it.

 

“I don’t think there’s any doubt, (Lillibridge) is the best outfielder we have.”

 

Who said that??

 

None other than Brent’s manager: Ozzie Guillen before Saturday's game.

 

Welcome to the new and drastically improved world of Brent Lillibridge, one of the last players to make the team out of spring training, whose career has suddenly shot out of a cannon - with numbers so stunning, so puzzling, they nearly broke my computer.

 

In just 73 at-bats, Lillibridge - who hit only three home runs in his major league career entering this season - already has seven. That’s more than Matt Holliday, David Wright, Vladimir Guerrero, Adam Dunn, Victor Martinez, Carl Crawford, Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Santana, Andre Ethier and Carlos Lee.

 

I can go on. For a while. But I won’t, because there’s more.

 

His 12 RBIs are more than Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand and Marlon Byrd. His five stolen bases are more than Denard Span, Alex Rios, Ryan Theriot, Brandon Phillips and Torii Hunter.

 

Again, with only 73 at-bats. My hard drive is starting to melt.

 

So how did this happen? How did Lillibridge turn into the Lilli-Hammer or the Lilli-Hurt? Let’s start with his hitting, and the coach who he credits for helping turn his career around: Greg Walker.

“If it wasn’t for Walk, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at,” Lillibridge explains. “Two years ago, after my first year when I was hitting .158, and I was just lost, mechanically more than anything, he said, ‘Let’s work on things in the off-season,’ and we totally redid my swing to get a feel for what was right. Now it’s been a 2-3 year process and it’s come to fruition.”

 

And come a long way.

 

“I think every single baseball player at one point wakes up and thinks, ‘Maybe I can’t play baseball anymore,” Lillibridge said, reflecting on his struggles. “It’s just something you have to go through, and have to fight through.”

 

Remember the Lillibridge of old, who used to stand in the box looking like he was playing wiffleball, swinging (and often missing) for the fences?

 

“I’ve always been told that since I was in college.”

 

He’s not missing so much anymore. But is there some truth to it?

 

“It’s just my mentality. I want to hit the ball hard,” Lillibridge said. “I’m not trying to hit the ball over the fence, I just don’t want to cheat myself. When my swing is right, I can swing hard and still be under control, hitting to right field, center field. But when things are off, and you’re swinging at the ball hard, you’re not going to be able to do anything with it.”

 

Call him a utilityman or a super-sub, Lillibridge has heard it all, and until recently, he had trouble accepting the role that has been attached to him his entire major-league career.

 

Brent Lillibridge and Juan Pierre react after Lillibridge's diving catch - the second of consecutive outstanding plays - saved a win for the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 27. (AP)

 

“I didn’t really get the opportunity to play every day when I was younger. I became a utility guy and I used it as an excuse at times when I didn’t play for a week and a half.

I’d say ‘What do they expect me to do?” he explained. “I got over that this season. I said ‘Hey, I’m going to go out there, put my work in during batting practice, and the results are going to come. All I do is have the mentality that I’m going to go out there and be dangerous, I’m going to play hard, and I’m going to go out there and do something today to help the team win.”

 

That became apparent on April 27 in New York, when Lillibridge came off the bench in the ninth inning to make the final two outs on back-to-back incredible plays in right field, robbing Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano of hits, sealing a dramatic victory over the Yankees.

 

How big were those catches? Just ask the guy who was on the mound for both of them.

 

“On A-Rod, I kind of had a feeling that maybe he could catch it,” said Santos. “And then the ball kept carrying, and he looked like Spiderman climbing that wall, catching that ball. On Robinson Cano, as soon as he hit it, I was like ‘Shoot that’s going to be hit,’ but (Lillibridge) came out of nowhere and seemed like he was in the air for 10 seconds and he caught the ball. I don’t think I ever screamed so loud on a baseball field before when he caught that ball.”

 

The two catches won the game for the White Sox, and might have been the turning point in Lillibridge’s baseball career.

 

“I guess you could say it might have been,” Lillibridge said. “Just showing Ozzie, Joey (Cora), and Kenny (Williams) that I can play the outfield. It was awesome.”

 

And it showed Ozzie something else.

 

“It shows how dumb we are, or I am,” Guillen said. “For three years he got to play the infield. All of a sudden he’s a better outfielder than infielder. Defensively, he’s the best outfielder we have.”

 

And maybe the best is yet to come.

[iamshack]

Shack my gosh I can't believe I read this.

So take Juan who actually is doing OK and just demote him and promote Rios, who can't hit a Little Leaguer to leadoff.

For the life of me I can't understand those who actually want Rios on this team much less hitting leadoff.

We have to find a way to dump Rios on somebody.

Greg, I'm just looking at the big picture. Juan will be gone after this season. Rios will be here for three more. And we are on the hook for $45 million or something.

 

Now which player would you want to get on track more?

 

That being said, as Hawk mentioned the other night...this is no time for hurt feelings.

[Milkman delivers]

This is certainly a feel-good story, and I'm happy for Brent.

 

My only concern is that Lillibridge will be Walker's "World Series" in that his one success amid countless failures will keep him around for another 5 years.

Edited June 5, 2011 by Milkman delivers

[Lillian]

I'm always amazed at why guys don't try to emulate other players who have "figured it out". If you were Rios, and you saw how Konerko's great mechanics help him to be such a good hitter, and then you witnessed Lillybridge turning his career around with a few positive changes in his mechanics, wouldn't you think about trying to tinker a little with your own approach?

 

Every time I watch Rios hit, or should I say "not hit", I wonder why he doesn't try to get his hands up, where they belong, and place his feet in a good athletic stance. Rios probably has a lot more athletic ability than Konerko, but his approach to hitting is just awful. If I were the hitting coach, I'd tell him to try something new, because whatever he's doing now isn't working.

[Balta1701]

Every time I watch Rios hit, or should I say "not hit", I wonder why he doesn't try to get his hands up, where they belong, and place his feet in a good athletic stance. Rios probably has a lot more athletic ability than Konerko, but his approach to hitting is just awful. If I were the hitting coach, I'd tell him to try something new, because whatever he's doing now isn't working.

Rios had his hands higher up in 2009 when he was having a terrible season with the Blue Jays/White Sox. He lowered his hands last year and suddenly refound his stroke.

[Lillian]

Rios had his hands higher up in 2009 when he was having a terrible season with the Blue Jays/White Sox. He lowered his hands last year and suddenly refound his stroke.

 

You're probably correct. I don't remember how he used to bat. In any case, It looks like a terrible way to hit.

He better change something, because whatever he's doing, isn't working.

[greg775]

I'm always amazed at why guys don't try to emulate other players who have "figured it out". If you were Rios, and you saw how Konerko's great mechanics help him to be such a good hitter, and then you witnessed Lillybridge turning his career around with a few positive changes in his mechanics, wouldn't you think about trying to tinker a little with your own approach?

 

Every time I watch Rios hit, or should I say "not hit", I wonder why he doesn't try to get his hands up, where they belong, and place his feet in a good athletic stance. Rios probably has a lot more athletic ability than Konerko, but his approach to hitting is just awful. If I were the hitting coach, I'd tell him to try something new, because whatever he's doing now isn't working.

 

 

You're probably correct. I don't remember how he used to bat. In any case, It looks like a terrible way to hit.

He better change something, because whatever he's doing, isn't working.

 

I agree that by the simple eye test, it does look like a terrible way to hit.

What would be the harm in tinkering?

 

[Soxbadger]

Rios is pressing, they just need to tell him to go out there and make great plays in the outfield and try and make productive outs at the plate.

 

Right now I think you have to let Lilli play and that means Pierre/Dunn sitting more, with Q getting some time at the DH. Biggest problem is that even with the new found Lilli the Sox still have 2 problems between Pierre, Rios and Dunn. At least when you put Rios/Lilli out there you should have a better defense. If Pierre's of wasnt so bad you could have Q dh a lot more and go with a good defensive outfield to try and limit runs.

 

Rios is just an enigma.

[Lillian]

The great intangible positive with Lillibridge is his heart. This guy is like Notre Dame's Rudy.

You would have to think that his hustle and determination would light a fire under some of the other guys. He's the classic over-achiever.

Of course, he can't possibly keep up this pace. After all, he isn't really going to hit .300 with over 50 homers.

Nevertheless, he is putting guys like Dunn and Rios to shame. They have to be embarrassed to begin with, but Lilliibridge is making them look even worse.

 

In his very limited playing time, he's already made twice as many really great, all out effort, plays in the outfield as any other full time outfielder on this squad.

What an inspiration!!

He's becomming my favorite player. How can you not love a guy like that?

[hogan873]

Lillibridge is one of the players I don't worry about when they bat. And as many of us have said, he's not going to keep on the same pace and crank out 30 HRs. But with semi-regular playing time he could hit .260+ with 12 HRs and 30+ RBIs.

 

I expect nothing but Ks or weak pop-outs when Rios and Dunn are at bat. Lillibridge is such a breath of fresh air. As Lillian said, some of these other players have got to be embarrassed...and they should be.

[soxsoxsoxsox]

The great intangible positive with Lillibridge is his heart. This guy is like Notre Dame's Rudy.

You would have to think that his hustle and determination would light a fire under some of the other guys. He's the classic over-achiever.

Of course, he can't possibly keep up this pace. After all, he isn't really going to hit .300 with over 50 homers.

Nevertheless, he is putting guys like Dunn and Rios to shame. They have to be embarrassed to begin with, but Lilliibridge is making them look even worse.

 

In his very limited playing time, he's already made twice as many really great, all out effort, plays in the outfield as any other full time outfielder on this squad.

What an inspiration!!

He's becomming my favorite player. How can you not love a guy like that?

 

Have to agree. I see the complete opposite every time I watch Rios. They're like polar opposites.