JUGGERNAUT

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/ds.../pro/191sd2.htm Guillen: " I don't have the right to pick on one of the best players ever to wear the White Sox uniform." Thomas: "It's special what's happening with this team right now. These guys are playing well together. Great chemistry and a will-to-win attitude. That's what I've always wanted." http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...tesox-headlines Williams: "I told him how happy and proud I was of him with his spring training comments about how he feels about the club, how he fits and his willingness to sit against certain right-handed pitchers." What I to be the most amusing of all this is that when you peel away the layers this verbal sparring is centered around one belief: too much talent on the White Sox to play every one worthy every day. I don't know if I share that belief yet but it sure is weird reading about it.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay19.html - Kotek boy endorses Thomas. Guillen: "It made me sick to my stomach because I put Frank Thomas in this situation." I've given Ozzie the lineup. Use Carl to spell all 3 OFers & Thomas once every 7 gms. That gives Carl 4 starts out of every 7. He can do that because Pods can play CF when Rowand has an off day. None of our OFers are hitting great or even good enough to warrant more playing time. That will make the Sox a better team. When Carl is DH'g & looks baffled some night, Thomas can come off the bench. In the games where he doesn't start Carl can come off the bench to replace any one of our OFers because again Pods can play CF. It's not as big a problem as Ozzie makes it out to be. Carl doesn't like being a DH. He wants to play the OF. Give him the playing time.

At the same time Williams words are kind of errie: Williams said he would like to see Thomas agile enough to play 1B by June 6. What does that say about Koney? He may only be hitting 239A but his 952 OPS is a big part of why the Sox are in 1st place. Then again the Sox are dead last in walks right now so Thomas is sorely needed.

Ozzie mis-spoke. Plain & simple. Carl himself has spoken out on this. He wants to play the OF. He's not fond of being a DH. If you are going to keep him beyond this year you had better clear a spot for him in the OF. Thomas was simply echoing Carl's sentiments with his own. Ozzie never mentioned Carl's words on the subject & that's why it came across as being very negative towards Frank.

Great stuff for the rivalry: Gardenhire on AJ: ''He's a talker, a really funny guy. 'When Shannon Stewart fouled one off his knee, A.J. kept saying, 'Wear it, kid! Wear it!. That was my guy who was hurt, but I couldn't help but laugh. It was our turn to laugh at A.J. when a foul tip knocked his mask off. We were yelling, 'Wear it, A.J.! Wear it!' ' AJ's slumped to 214A (566 OPS) but stats aren't everything. He blocked some important pitches in the dirt last night that might have given the Twins the edge. We all know what he's going to give us bat wise over the season, so anything he gives us defense wise is a bonus.

For Twinkee fans who might troll here, Lohse is a consistent starter. Consistent at giving up 5R a start

That may have been the White Sox best game to date this year. Why? 1-Crede saved the day, Everett gave us the win, & the bullpen held up. 2-The Twins were given 2 "gift" runs. So despite the luck falling the Twinkees way again personal effort got the Sox the win. Cotts continued to prove to be useless, but Vizcaino defied the odds by pitching another inning. I've got no problem tempting fate with him for a 2nd inning of work. Especially when he looks sharp & on his game. But if he puts some one on you've got to yank him. Hermanson was his good ole reliable self & Shingo held the fort after surrendering a HR. About the only questionable Oz call was yanking Contreras early for Cotts. But since we don't know his real age limiting him to around 100 pitches is probably a safe bet. Joe is proving me a believer. I have to admit when I heard he had built the batting cage in his home I was impressed as well. Those kind of things make you want to cheer a player. Crede now has 11H in his last 11 gms & some of them have been difference makers. His 250A is good for 3rd on the team amongst every day players. Way to go Joe! Joe's making me a believer of the Lee trade. Lee's hitting 204 right now, & as he goes so goes the Brewers. Dropping from 1st to 4th. If not Lee then it would have been Crede or Koney. They were the only ones with enough power to fit that bill. Both Crede & Koney have won games for the Sox this April. It's Radke vs El Duque tonight. I'm expecting nothing less than a quality start from El Duque & a sweep of the Twinkees.

Joe was 0-3 going into the 9th today. He got an IF hit that resulted in moving a run into 3rd that Jose would not have.

Today was yet another sign of how this year will be hit or miss. This team is last in what many GM's in the majors call the most important stat: OBP. That means it's not going to blow any one out like in the past. Nearly every game will be a battle to the end. Do we have the personnel to pull off that kind of day to day struggle? Thomas can't get here any sooner. Koney stated during the off-season how important his presence alone is to the lineup. His career 429 OBP is worth a ton to this team. I'm already looking forward to the lineups with Thomas: Pods, Guch, Thomas, Koney, Everett(RF), Rowand, AJ, Crede, Uribe Uribe, Guch, Thomas, Koney, Everett(LF), Dye, Rowand, AJ, Crede Pods(CF), Guch, Thomas, Koney, Everett(LF), Dye, AJ, Crede Pods,Guch, Everett(DH), Koney, Dye, Rowand, AJ, Crede, Uribe That will lead to Everett starting 4 out of every 7 games as Oz looks to rest his regulars at least once every 7 games. That's not a bad strategy when you consider how it strengthens the bench for CL&Late sits. I think when Thomas returns this lineup will be poised to take off. Especially when you consider that Koney will be feeding off a pitcher that has exhausted an avg of 10 pitches on Thomas. When he loses the battle & surrenders the hit or the walk it makes it all that much tougher to face Koney. I think that will help Everett & Dye as well. Thomas will be turning 37 soon so it's reasonable to expect him to start no more than 6/7 days. I wouldn't be surprised if they look for my days off with him with the ankle. Contreras vs Lohse, Hernandez vs Radke at the Cell. Let's say sayonara to the loathesome Twinkees until Jul with a sweep.

Joe has quietly picked up 9H in his last 8 gms after going hitless for the first 2. He's producing again. Even if the hits don't result in runs or rbi they still represent small victories against opposing pitchers.

Mark's got a new weapon this year: the high pitch. He's getting more K-outs because of it. He used to be primarily a control picture that needed the corner calls to be effective. Not unlike Maddux. But now Mark features gas up high & that has really got hitters clueless against him. I don't know who thought of this but it really was a stroke of genius. Maddux' never featured that kind of gas. This new dimension to Mark may prove to be the big step to the dominant level for him. How do you defend the plate against him? He can throw on both corners, low & inside, or down & away with a lot of movement on his pitches. That will cause you to cheat & swing early like Ichiro did today. But if you do that Mark can go up high with gas & blow you away. HAIL TO THE VICTOR!

Unless Minny gives me Nathan, Rincon, & Romero for Shingo, Hermanson, & Marte I'll keep Mark & they can keep Santana. Mark proved again today why he is the franchise player for the White Sox. The pen had been roughed up the last 2 nights. The best remedy is a day off. Dr Mark does it again. Santana doesn't go the distance like Mark does. Look at the avg' IP/gm between them. Even better it seems like Mark is getting better with age. The Summer of 2004 might be the best Santana ever pitches. It certainly one for the record books. But Mark looks poised to have his best year ever this year. His 12K's over 9IP today are just as bit impressive as Santana's 11K's over 7IP earlier this week. I know JR doesn't believe in long term contracts but Mark is certainly the safest bet for one. Don't ever give him the chance to wear a Cardinal uniform. There is no breathing room this year. That AAA starter just went out & pitched his first quality start for Twins at the Jake. Mully made it interesting but Nathan shut the door. The next 3 games matchup wise favor the WhiteSox (Garcia, Contreras, & Hernandez) are favored to win those games. Here's a great chance to make a statement before we say goodbye to the Twinkees until after the AS break. Let's get it done!

I agree he did pitch a quick 8th (10 pitches) but he had faced 3 batters in doing so. It's true he's actually more effective vs LHers than RHers. But he's got history that if you use him more than an inning you're going to pay. Ozzie left him in there after Ichiro singled, & then after Reed singled. That's inexcusable. When Thomas returns maybe we should look to make a trade for another solid reliever. It won't be easy because every team wants solid relievers but the SOX just might have more to offer than most teams. You can argue that Ozzie has misued the pen in 2 of our 3 losses but that doesn't excuse the fact that the pen is looking shaky. Feel bad for El Duque as well. He leaves last night's ball game w a 5-5 tie having given up a walk in the 6th. Cotts just needed to get the lead runner out to get El Duque off the hook. Instead he advances him on a WP, walks Crisp, gives up a single, & a double. After the damage had been done he did go on & record the next 6 outs. Maybe there's hope in that.

I think you can all it either way after that. The next guy was a RH & Shingo might have been the better matchup there. But I think you'll agree Marte should have started the 9th. You don't give a guy much room for error if you're bringing him in with RISP & less than 2 outs. I feel bad for Vizcaino. Ozzie's tried to stretch him more than 1 in now twice & that decision is just smoking his ERA. He took the damage again tonight. Both R's charged to him. Just like last week. Coming after he pitches a scoreless inning. Can the Sox go with just a 6 man pen when Cotts is so bad? 10R, 24IP first 10 gms. 12 days w/out an off day. At least 30IP expected out of the pen. Cotts having to pitch 5+ innings in that time is scary. In contrast MIN's pen line is 3R, 27IP first 10 gms. That's why their 7-3 as well.

What really bothered me in this game is that I believe it's a completely different game if Marte is allowed to relieve Viz at the start of the inning. Opp are hitting .125 vs him w NON, & .227 in 04. There's just no way he could accrue those numbers & suck. He used Marte for 2 pitches! It's a small sample size but look at how Marte matched up in the 9th: Ichiro .167 vs Marte Reed never faced Marte Ibanez .267 vs Marte (533 OPS) Boone .000 vs Marte Winn .750 vs Marte Spiezo .600 vs Marte Dobbs never faced Marte It's just like last night. If Politte/Hermanson relieve El Duque it's a differen t ball game. Maybe the SOX squeak out a win. If he uses Marte correctly tonight maybe he saves Hermanson for the next game. When you mess up the pen it cascades & it gets real dicey when you go a long stretch without an off day.

Do we still have Walker? Let's bring him up & send Cotts down.

http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/pitc...Type=2&type=std This isn't rocket science. Vizcaino is a 1 inning / 15 pitch guy. He's not a 2 inning guy. There is nothing this year or last year to suggest he is. Yet Ozzie continues to try & use him in that role. It's moronic. Politte, Marte, & Hermanson are your best guys in the pen right now. These are the guys who have the numbers to back them up as being 2 inning guys. Politte the least of the 3. Shingo has never been anything more than a 1 inning / 15 pitch guy. His numbers make him one of the best 15 pitch guys in the game. But he's clearly having control problems this year & that's probably why where not seeing much of the frisbee. You have to be able to throw it for strikes. Cotts is the guy you don't use unless he's mopping up for a short bad start, or the SOX are blowing someone out. When Ozzie learns this & starts managing wrt it we might start getting more fans as the surgeon general would downgrade the risk of heart attack.

Did Ozzie learn anything this week? 1) Never ever pitch Vizcaino more than 1 inning. (He's had this lesson twice) 2) Stop using Marte for just 1 batter with RON or RISP. 3) Stop using Cotts to relieve starters. 4) Use Shingo to start 9th, or finish 9th but not in a RISP sit. 5) Use Hermanson whenever the game is on the line but try to save him to close.

Hermy looks head & shoulders above the rest of our pen. I think he's earned himself the closer role. SOX WIN!

Nice pitch! 2 outs, 1 more & we go 7-3! C'mon Hermy!

IF we lose this, it's yet another loss due to Ozzie's mis-managed pen. That's now 3 for the season. That's pretty bad. Why do you bring Shingo in when you've got mostly LHers to face this inning?

I am so against this. Hopefully Shingo can get the save, but c'mon. Ibanez walked into that pitch. Marte got him on the corner the pitch earlier so he decided to take one for the team. Ozzie clearly has no confidence in Marte & that's going to hurt the team in the long run. If the next matchup favors Shingo then I can understand it but using Marte for one batter is crazy otherwise.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gameLog?gameId=250415104 ESPN has it right. I'd go with their pitch count as well (84-53). That's a Santana like line. It was a solid start because he rested the pen. It looks like just Viz & Marte will have to pitch tonight.

Ozzie! Why?! Why do you persist in giving me an ulcer?! Vizcaino is NOT a 30 pitch releiever. He's good for one inning. That's it. Why can't you figure that out? Just look at the numbers if you didn't learn anything from the last game!

I agree with the decision as well. You had Viz up & throwing last inning & let's face it. Jon lost his control. He's leaving with 7IP, 2ER. That's another quality start. Why risk damaging it? This way his confidence remains high.