April 21, 200421 yr From CBS Sportsline.com: White Sox report: Inside pitch April 19, 2004 Roster | Notes, quotes The White Sox want Danny Wright to stop looking over his shoulder, relax and simply go out and pitch. Advertisement Wright, who is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA after a loss to Tampa Bay on Friday (April 16), has a little different philosophy, and therein lies the problem. "That's nice to hear, but still it's not a situation where you want to get comfortable," Wright said. "I don't think you can ever take your spot for granted." Manager Ozzie Guillen and pitching coach Don Cooper don't want any of the players to take their spots for granted, but at the same time, they're both going out of their way to try to ease Wright's tensions so that he can concentrate on pitching rather then wondering when and if the other shoe is going to drop. "I don't want him looking over his shoulder," Guillen said. "I talked to him and told him he'll be there every five days and be ready for it." While his latest performance was slightly better than his debut against the New York Yankees in week one, there is a common problem that both outings shared. Wright went 4 2/3 innings against New York, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits, while walking three. Against the Devil Rays, Wright again went 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and walking three. He allowed a solo home run to Carl Crawford on a 1-and-0 count and a two-run homer to Julio Lugo on a 3-and-1 count. "It's still the same stuff for him," Cooper said. "We have to throw a higher percentage of fastballs for strikes. Again, I can take out stuff from years past that show when Danny gets early contact or first-pitch strikes he's been very successful." Cooper was also not thrilled with Wright's methods of attacking certain hitters, especially since they go over the game plan before every start. "Look at the first hitter (Crawford)," Cooper said. "Behind in the count, poorly located fastball, down. That's the thing we harped on -- don't go down there. Then with Lugo, behind the count, poorly located fastball after a walk. That brings in three runs. A few other things I wrote down during the game. We walked Tino (Martinez) on all fastballs, and we talked before the game about attacking Martinez a different way, not with fastballs." Cooper was asked if that was Wright's responsibility or catcher Miguel Olivo's, and he said it falls on the pitcher. "That's on Danny, because Danny's got the ball, he's in charge," Cooper said. Getting Wright to actually believe that he's not only in charge but his job as the No. 5 starter is safe is what Cooper's trying to get done between now and Friday (April 23), when Wright makes his next start. "You can't have the attitude, 'I don't want to lose my spot, I don't want to lose my spot,' " Cooper said. "Well, you got to pitch to take that spot, maybe grab two rungs higher and want to be the No. 2 guy. It's not, 'I have to make this pitch.' It should be, 'I'm going to make this pitch.' " Copyright © 2003 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
April 21, 200421 yr he better look over his shoulder. Cotts is there, even though he didn't pitch great last night, and Diaz is tearing it up at triple A
April 21, 200421 yr he better look over his shoulder. Cotts is there, even though he didn't pitch great last night, and Diaz is tearing it up at triple A I still like the swift kick in the balls idea.
April 21, 200421 yr I still like the swift kick in the balls idea. I'm sure we could find a bunch of volunteers to kick you in the balls
April 21, 200421 yr I'm sure we could find a bunch of volunteers to kick you in the balls be careful there 2k4, he's a Spartan and they like that sort of thing
April 21, 200421 yr Man, DanBoy is such a headcase. Too bad he can't relax and actually try to do his job for once instead of freaking out and thinking they are going to send him down if he makes one mistake.
April 21, 200421 yr I'm sure we could find a bunch of volunteers to kick you in the balls be careful there 2k4, he's a Spartan and they like that sort of thing Dont make me call pest control to get you rodents terminated.
April 21, 200421 yr Michigan State playing for the NCAA Championship? MSU getting A nice swift kick in the balls we are far afield of Danny Wright I like Danny Wright I wish him well
April 21, 200421 yr MSU getting we are far afield of Danny Wright I like Danny Wright I wish him well Oh youre evil... If you like DW so much, why dont you marry him?
April 21, 200421 yr Oh youre evil... If you like DW so much, why dont you marry him? People from Arkansas tend to marry people from MSU when they marry outside the family
April 21, 200421 yr People from Arkansas tend to marry people from MSU when they marry outside the family
April 22, 200421 yr People from Arkansas tend to marry people from MSU when they marry outside the family I cant compete with you today...Ill get you back in due time, but youre just on a roll.
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