2012 White Sox Catch-All thread

[kev211]

President gave us some love during his NATO news conference speech.

[elrockinMT]

President gave us some love during his NATO news conference speech.

 

 

What did he say?

[southsider2k5]

What did he say?

 

So far the Chicago cops have made better contact than the Cubs...

[ScottyDo]

So far the Chicago cops have made better contact than the Cubs...

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

What did he say?

 

"I am especially pleased that I had a chance to show them Soldier Field. I regret that I was not able to take in one of the Crosstown Classics, although I will note that my teams did okay. (Laughter.) Now -- White Sox fan in the back. (Laughter.) Right on."

[IlliniKrush]

I still laugh every time I think about how Hawk said "stretch" on Dunn's homer that went to the back of the bleachers in left center, nearly out of the park. A blind guy would have immediately known that was gone.

[ScottyDo]

"I am especially pleased that I had a chance to show them Soldier Field. I regret that I was not able to take in one of the Crosstown Classics, although I will note that my teams did okay. (Laughter.) Now -- White Sox fan in the back. (Laughter.) Right on."

I heard that and can't fathom why he made it plural. Misspoke?

[oldsox]

I heard that and can't fathom why he made it plural. Misspoke?

I wonder if he can think of the name of one Sox player yet.

[2nd_city_saint787]

I wonder if he can think of the name of one Sox player yet.

 

Has he been questioned on this before or something?? I keep hearing hes a huge sports fan, I got a feeling he can name them all

[justBLAZE]

Has he been questioned on this before or something?? I keep hearing hes a huge sports fan, I got a feeling he can name them all

 

Lol in fact he is not, and he was once on a radio show and couldn't name his favorite Sox player when growing up.. then again I'm sure the radio and tv broadcasts in Kenya might have something to do with that.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Lol in fact he is not, and he was once on a radio show and couldn't name his favorite Sox player when growing up.. then again I'm sure the radio and tv broadcasts in Kenya might have something to do with that.

 

 

I know zilch about politics (I have a bs felony on my record so I cant even vote) so you're prob right...I just know what they say about him from time to time on sportscenter, like when he made his brackets, or invited the 85 Bears to the White House I remember the anchors saying he's a huge sports fan.

[hogan873]

So far the Chicago cops have made better contact than the Cubs...

Post of the thread.

 

[Balta1701]

Lol in fact he is not, and he was once on a radio show and couldn't name his favorite Sox player when growing up.. then again I'm sure the radio and tv broadcasts in Kenya might have something to do with that.

He wasn't a chicagoan growing up.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,3632810.story

 

By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune reporter

 

7:29 p.m. CDT, May 21, 2012

 

About a year ago, Addison Reed still hadn't made the 7 1/2-hour drive from Class A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham, where Nate Jones and Hector Santiago were polishing their skills.

 

But in a span of 6 1/2 weeks, the three have developed into more than just rookies happy to make the White Sox's opening-day roster.

 

"It's exciting for us because it's been more than a few games you see us pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth innings with rookies out there," pitching coach Don Cooper said. "And I don't know if there's any other bullpen that has (three) rookies. But it's fun to watch them succeed."

 

They're learning in different stages. Reed, 23, has become the Sox's unofficial closer and has converted four saves in as many chances. He has been unscored upon in 15 of 16 appearances.

 

After losing the closer role, Santiago, 24, hasn't allowed a run in his last five outings. And Jones — the only one without prior major league experience — has a 1.33 ERA in 15 games and is pitching in more prominent situations.

 

"Coop and (bullpen coach) Juan Nieves have challenged me mentally to attack the strike zone," said Jones, 26. "I've taken to that as my No. 1 goal. It doesn't matter what the score or situation is in the game."

 

The biggest endorsement of the threesome comes from catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who said the rookies have benefited from having veteran relievers Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain as mentors.

 

"They belong here, and it's fun to watch and see those guys get better and mature in front of your eyes," Pierzynski said.

 

And with more success, Reed doesn't have to worry about retrieving his mail as he did last year, when he was promoted to four levels in one summer.

 

"I had buddies that still lived in those apartments," Reed said. "So if they got my mail, they would forward it to me. A few letters from my parents were forwarded."

[oldsox]

Has he been questioned on this before or something?? I keep hearing hes a huge sports fan, I got a feeling he can name them all

Last year on national TV, he threw out the first pitch at National's game (or tried to), and then he went up the press box for the typical shallow interview. Interviewer (one of the FOX TV guys) remarked about his well known status as a Sox fan. So then the announcer asked him to name his favorite Sox player, and he could not name one. All he could do was "er, ah, a." Then he got out of it by saying he likes the Cubs, too. The announcer let him off the hook.

Edited May 22, 2012 by oldsox

[southsider2k5]

Chris De Luca ‏@ChrisDeLuca

 

WhiteSox honor members of Chi Police for service/professionalism during #NATO. Each officer gets 2 tix to 1 of 10 select games in 2012.

[Steve9347]

Last year on national TV, he threw out the first pitch at National's game (or tried to), and then he went up the press box for the typical shallow interview. Interviewer (one of the FOX TV guys) remarked about his well known status as a Sox fan. So then the announcer asked him to name his favorite Sox player, and he could not name one. All he could do was "er, ah, a." Then he got out of by saying he likes the Cubs, too. The announcer let him off the hook.

Why does everyone care about this so much? The President talking about the White Sox is a good thing, regardless if he has the time in the day to analyze every box score. You know, he's kinda busy.

[Princess Dye]

Obama has said in the past that the 90s Chicago teams are "his" teams, kind of noting that he isn't as quick to follow as of late. Hey, he's busy. To say the least.

[fathom]

Obama has said in the past that the 90s Chicago teams are "his" teams, kind of noting that he isn't as quick to follow as of late. Hey, he's busy. To say the least.

 

He's a bigger basketball fan than baseball fan it seems. When ESPNU showed the Kentucky visit to the White House, he had a good understanding of who their key players were and he even acknowledged Rod Strickland from his past hoop days.

[Steve9347]

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2505086.story

 

By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune reporter

 

7:22 p.m. CDT, May 21, 2012

Adam Dunn's recent surge is one of this baseball season's most impressive transformations.

 

His two tape-measure home runs against the Cubs on Saturday and Sunday helped propel the Sox to their first three-game sweep at Wrigley Field since 1999. His 43 home runs against the Cubs are second only to Albert Pujols (51) among active players.

 

In addition to his power surge, Dunn reached base in eight of his 11 at-bats in the weekend series.

 

The White Sox slugger has said he is having fun again, and certainly it has to be more enjoyable to play when you're not hearing sarcastic cheers just for getting a hit or for not striking out.

 

Dunn has hit 14 home runs and driven in 32 runs after the Sox's first 42 games, including 13 homers in his past 101 at-bats. Here's his view on how he has done it:

 

Offseason swinging: For the first time since 2006, Dunn resumed swinging and taking casual batting practice near his home north of Houston to get a better feel for his swing.

 

A 45-year-old friend who pitched in the minors did some of the tossing to Dunn in short sessions designed mostly for enjoyment.

 

"(New hitting coach) Jeff Manto and I had a good plan coming into spring training," Dunn said. "We've worked on it and solidified some things that were probably lacking a bit to set up the swing. We've been consistent."

 

When Dunn arrived at the Sox's spring training facility in Glendale, Ariz., hitting off a batting tee was one of the drills designed to make sure Dunn's swing was sound.

 

Stick with same stance: A photograph of Dunn's batting stance on opening day at Rangers Ballpark looks nearly the same as it did Sunday at Wrigley Field.

 

And he's making himself less vulnerable than last year, when he batted .097 after falling behind 0-1 on the count.

 

"I basically got away from my approach last year, among other things," Dunn said. "I think sometimes I changed approaches, not just from at-bat to at-bat but pitch to pitch, and I can't do that. Some people can. I can't.

 

"That's one thing I'm pretty proud of so far, good or bad. I've stayed with the approach that I come to the game with. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. (But) there's a reason I go into the game with that approach."

 

One reason why Dunn remains reluctant to declare his progress a success is that he has struck out 62 times. But he's also batting a combined .545 (12-for-22) with eight home runs and 16 RBIs on the first pitch or on a 1-0 count this season.

 

Two-strike improvement: Dunn is no longer an automatic out with two strikes. Even when he makes outs, he works counts deeper than he did last year, giving his teammates a better look at the pitcher's repertoire of pitches.

 

"It's been better," Dunn said. "I'm not a good enough hitter to be hitting 0-2 all the time. That's where my approach kind of gets me some times. In fact, it gets me a lot of times because I'm kind of (looking) in this area or that area, and they throw there on 0-2, and I'm not there.

 

"I don't want to say I'm disciplined enough not to swing at it, but a lot of people probably are able to swing at it, and I'm not. "

 

Dunn, who batted .038 (4-for-106) after an 0-2 count last year, is batting .235 (8-for-34) with two home runs in the same situation this season.

 

Left is all right: Three of Dunn's 14 home runs this season have been hit against left-handed pitchers, including two in consecutive games against the Cubs.

 

That's a dramatic improvement over last year, when he managed only six hits — with a double as his only extra-base hit — in 94 at-bats against lefties.

 

"I've never felt bad," Dunn said. "I know the numbers have sucked. But I've never gone up there saying, '(shoot), another lefty." I feel fine batting off them."

[southsider2k5]

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/..._medium=twitter

 

Emotional Sox not at best in loss to Twins

May, 22, 2012

By Scott Powers | ESPNChicago.com

 

 

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox's emotions were thrown into a mixer over the last three days.

 

On Sunday, they celebrated a sweep of their cross-town rival, the Chicago Cubs.

 

On Monday and Tuesday morning, they mourned the passing of former White Sox pitcher and special coaching assistant Kevin Hickey during his wake and funeral.

 

On Tuesday evening, they were beaten handily by the Minnesota Twins, struggling equally offensively and defensively in a 9-2 loss at U.S. Cellular Field.

 

“They’ve been dealing with (Hickey’s medical situation) all year, but the finality of it with Hick…” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We’ve been dealing with it all year, so guys have been able to put it aside when they play. It could (be a reason for today.)”

 

White Sox starting pitcher Gavin Floyd and first baseman Paul Konerko admitted Tuesday was a difficult day for their team.

 

 

“Today was a tough day at the start, but we’re there to celebrate his life and try to go out there and do your job,” Floyd said. “I wasn’t able to do that. But you got to remember him and how he’s affected our lives.”

 

Konerko said, “Obviously the whole routine changes today because everybody was up early and that kind of stuff. That could affect your play because we’re kind of creatures of habit. Yeah, there was a lot of mental energy burned today before we got here. But I thought we did the best could. It just wasn’t there tonight.”

 

Twins trouble: It’s safe to say the Twins have Floyd figured out.

With Tuesday’s defeat, Floyd fell to 0-8 with an 8.96 ERA in his last eight starts against the Twins dating back to Aug. 31, 2009. He allowed eight hits, nine runs and three walks and lasted just 3 2/3 innings on Tuesday.

 

“I guess I have to figure that out,” Floyd said of struggles against the Twins. “I don’t know. They have a good plan against me apparently, so I got to change that and try to get them next time.”

 

Hudson debut: Recently signed infielder Orlando Hudson made his major-league debut at third base on Tuesday after playing 1,268 games at second base in his career.

 

Hudson was inserted into the game at third base during the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game. He fielded a slow grounder in the inning and rifled a throw slightly off the mark to first base. Konerko was able to reach high for the ball and remain on the base for the out.

 

Hudson also singled in his lone at-bat and scored one of the team’s two runs.

 

Ventura’s frustration: Ventura hasn’t shown a lot of emotion so far in his young managerial career, but he openly let reporters know how he felt about Tuesday’s loss.

 

“We just got it kicked today,” Ventura said. “We got our (rear) kicked, and that’s it. So you just come back tomorrow. It was all the way around.”

[southsider2k5]

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales

 

Hudson tentatively scheduled to start at third and bat ninth Wednesday night

[cabiness42]

In addition to his power surge, Dunn reached base in eight of his 11 at-bats in the weekend series.

 

It's a pet peeve of mine when someone who is paid to write about baseball doesn't understand the difference between at-bats and plate appearances. Dunn did not have 11 at-bats in the weekend series. He had eight at-bats with two hits, and an additional six plate appearances that resulted in walks.

[hogan873]

It's a pet peeve of mine when someone who is paid to write about baseball doesn't understand the difference between at-bats and plate appearances. Dunn did not have 11 at-bats in the weekend series. He had eight at-bats with two hits, and an additional six plate appearances that resulted in walks.

Even saying he had 11 at-bats is inaccurate. He had 14 plate appearances with 2 hits and 6 walks. It is annoying when professionals can't get stuff like that right.