"Tiger Killer" Floyd to come back Wed/Liriano pushed back?

[caulfield12]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4513754.story

 

Steve Stone hinted at this possibility as well during the broadcast yesterday.

 

Seems like there's one more test left to pass on Monday...

[chw42]

Why can't he just start tomorrow (or today)?

 

I don't want to see Quintana pitch again this year.

[nickofypres]

I would love to see Floyd back.

[JoshPR]

I bet the tigers are shaking in there shoes....

[southsider2k5]

Ugh

 

A big hurt: DH Adam Dunn continues to have a worst-case problem with his strained right oblique.

 

"For the most part, getting up in the morning is better," he said, "it's just swinging (a bat that hurts) — and that's part of what I kind of need to do."

 

Swinging is all Dunn really gets paid for and it is doubtful he can swing against the Tigers the next four days.

 

"(Swinging) is terrible. It's like a hot knife," he said. "I can deal with an ankle. I can deal with anything. It gets to the point where it makes you mad because you sneeze and you're doubled over. It feels like you just ripped it in half and it just makes you mad, is what it does."

 

Dunn admits he came back too soon from when he originally strained the side muscle, when he missed the first two games of September.

 

"Looking back now, I probably would have missed a couple days in Minnesota and probably would have been fine now," he said. "But me being stupid probably cost me a couple extra days, to be honest with you."

[hogan873]

Ugh

Even though it has nothing to do with Floyd, that sucks.

[southsider2k5]

Even though it has nothing to do with Floyd, that sucks.

 

It was out of the same article.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

[elrockinMT]

If he is healthy and can stay focused having him back can be a plus.

[bmags]

God damn it. Dunn's diagnosis sounds just like what he said after his appendicitis.

[The Ginger Kid]

God damn it. Dunn's diagnosis sounds just like what he said after his appendicitis.

I'd be surprised if he's back before the last series of the season. Those damn obliques take forever to heal right.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

They said on MLB Network yesterday that Dunn was gone for the rest of the year, but I haven't seen that confirmed elsewhere yet.

[JohnCangelosi]

They said on MLB Network yesterday that Dunn was gone for the rest of the year, but I haven't seen that confirmed elsewhere yet.

Cuddyer had the same thing this year and came back a bit too early and now appears to be cooked for the year. Hopefully not the case for Adam.

[Quin]

Floyd is going to dominate September.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Getting Floyd back is great, lets hope we get hot Gavin from the time he gets back to the time we win the World Series.

 

 

On Dunn per the little yellow page on yahoo fantasy sports

 

Manager Robin Ventura said Dunn's oblique is a very much a touch-and-go issue, but the current plan could have him out for another five days. The team will use his absence to get some of their bench players at-bats.

[cabiness42]

Hopefully "bench players" is code for Wise and maybe Flowers, because the other bench players should not be getting any meaningful at-bats.

[Ross]

Hopefully "bench players" is code for Wise, Olmedo, and maybe Flowers, because the other bench players should not be getting any meaningful at-bats.

 

FIFY

[JoshPR]

Free Dan Johnson!

[everafan]

If he is healthy and can stay focused having him back can be a plus.

 

Floyd always produces 4 to 6 weeks each season of absolute dominance. Since he hasn't done it yet, nw is the perfect time.

[clyons]

Floyd always produces 4 to 6 weeks each season of absolute dominance. Since he hasn't done it yet, nw is the perfect time.

 

I approve this message.

 

He has been announced as Wed.'s starter:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,0,668537.story

[kitekrazy]

BTW did they send that one guy that really sucked back to the minors?

[Jake]

BTW did they send that one guy that really sucked back to the minors?

 

Olmedo? No, they wouldn't send him down. They would have released him, but they haven't done that. It would make the White Sox look like an undesirable place to play...plus, he's the one that warms up the pitchers in between innings.

[JohnCangelosi]

Olmedo? No, they wouldn't send him down. They would have released him, but they haven't done that. It would make the White Sox look like an undesirable place to play...plus, he's the one that warms up the pitchers in between innings.

So you're saying he's a fluffer?

 

[CyAcosta41]

So you're saying he's a fluffer?

 

FLUFFER? How funny.

 

Back in the day when I had time off from the OF, I used to love warming up pitchers between innings -- watching how the ball came out of the pitcher's hand, really focusing on spin and movement, and just generally getting a good sense of those "skill" positions (I never pitched nor caught).

 

Suddenly I feel kind of gross and really need a hot, soapy shower!

 

As far as Olmedo goes, given that horrific combination of very limited talent and low energy/effort, the dude should see playing time in 2012 in total emergency situations only. Every game, but especially in the homestretch of a pennant race, you want to use talented guys who really want it. It was horrible to see Olmedo batting #2 in the Sunday KC game and being allowed to hit during the game's last at-bat. It was inexcusable to witness a AAA guy (who on his best day couldn't be described as a AAAA guy) fail to hustle on multiple occasions.

[caulfield12]

Phil Rogers

 

On Baseball

 

September 11, 2012

Jose Quintana does not tiptoe into a room. He opens the door and waltzes right in, sometimes to stick around, sometimes to be promptly escorted out.

 

It's a direct approach, one built around challenging hitters with strikes, and the White Sox prefer it to the p****-footing style of newcomer Francisco Liriano, who has gone from rotation savior to odd man out. He has been bounced to the bullpen for the Tigers series, if not longer, while Robin Ventura and Don Cooper put their trust in Gavin Floyd and a pair of young lefties, Hector Santiago and Quintana, down the stretch.

 

Liriano, who has lost track of the strike zone, the consolation is that in regard to the White Sox's starting pitching, all plans are subject to change.

 

"Starters, give us what you've got,'' Cooper said. "We're trying to win a game today with an eye toward tomorrow … and from where I'm standing right now, we're (in first place).''

 

Cooper talked about the starters being on a short leash, and sure enough Dylan Axelrod warmed up in the third inning Monday, after six of the first 10 Tigers hitters had reached base. But the 23-year-old Quintana made it into the eighth inning by piling up five strikeouts against Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young while otherwise letting his teammates make plays.

 

When back-to-back homers by Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski gave Quintana the lead, the 30,287 fans at U.S. Cellular celebrated briefly before returning to their nightly vigil, waiting for the bottom to fall out.

 

If you've been following along, you know this is how it has been for some time on the South Side. With Liriano's earned-run average at 5.09 after eight starts in a White Sox uniform, Ventura is trying to the reach the finish line with a starting rotation that features Chris Sale, Jake Peavy and a changing cast of question marks.

 

"To me it's not that much different than what we've done all year long,'' Ventura said. "To me, it's just baseball.''

 

Maybe. But despite the encouraging 6-1 win Monday, if the White Sox are to hold on to their lead in the American League Central, they're going to have to build off the Quintana performance. They must get better results from their rotation in the 22 remaining games than they've gotten in the last month.

 

From Aug. 11 through Monday, the White Sox starters were 11-8 despite a 4.51 ERA — the highest among the eight AL contenders. The Rays, Tigers and A's have been far superior, and even teams like the Yankees and Orioles have been better.

 

While the White Sox have some advantages over the Tigers — the biggest being their consistently excellent play in the field, compared with the ham-fisted nature of the guys from Motor City — they need to get an ERA of 4.00 or better from here on to win the Central. The Tigers' lineup remains surprisingly unproductive, but Detroit's rotation is ultra-solid (3.25 ERA since Aug. 10).

 

Ventura can't know what he'll get from Floyd, but he's starting him Wednesday against Max Scherzer. I had thought that would only mean two more days of rest for Liriano, but Cooper says the free agent-to-be has been reassigned, at least for the next few games.

 

"Liriano's going to be in the bullpen,'' Cooper said. "If he hasn't been in a game by Wednesday, we could give him a sideline with the idea of starting him some time in the Minnesota series. But we haven't been thinking about the Minnesota series.''

 

Quintana, a swingman for the Class A Yankees last year, is closing in on 170 innings. I would use Floyd's return and a day off next Monday to give him a break before going to a six-man rotation for the end of the season (you can do that without costing Sale and Peavy starts). But Quintana's success Monday probably will get him back on the mound Saturday in Minnesota, after Santiago (or possibly Liriano) pitches the series opener.

 

"Tough kid,'' Ventura said. "Very, very tough kid.''

 

For better or worse, it's a patchwork quilt that the White Sox pitchers are making. Cooper hopes his guys can finish complete stitching it together, one strike at a time.

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