Jump to content

White Sox ready to defend crown

SSH2005

By SSH2005
in Pale Hose Talk

 Share

Recommended Posts

SSH2005 Grand Master

SSH2005

Posted
Posted

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

White Sox ready to defend crown

South Siders open regular season next Sunday night

 

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

 

TUCSON, Ariz. -- For those who have felt an increasing sense of dread as each loss piled on the White Sox ledger during Cactus League play, it's now time to forget about the first 24 games of Spring Training.

 

The White Sox began to feature more of their starting players together in the same lineup on Sunday against Kansas City, along with having more of them in the game for a longer period of time. Manager Ozzie Guillen will continue that plan up through the final four days in Arizona, in preparation for Sunday night's 2006 opener against the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

 

In fact, Guillen hopes to have his final 25-man roster set on the bus ride back from Mesa on Monday night, after the White Sox second and final spring game against the Cubs. The South Siders are pretty close now, as six expected cuts on Sunday left the team with 28 players in camp.

 

That number actually should read 27, with Guillen all but confirming after Sunday's victory that reliever Dustin Hermanson will start the 2006 season on the 15-day disabled list. Hermanson told Guillen before the contest against the Royals that the pain was still there in his back, and that he was unable to go back-to-back days.

 

Hermanson was scratched from Sunday's scheduled appearance, after throwing one inning against the Mariners on Friday in Peoria.

 

"He told me a couple of things I wasn't happy about, but it's not his fault," Guillen said of Hermanson, who did not talk to the media before leaving the Kino Sports Complex. "We need him to go back-to-back days and he can't. It's a little too late in camp to have him with us.

 

"I want him to be 100 percent ready. I don't think he'll ever be 100 percent, but I want him to be good enough to go out and pitch."

 

Guillen admitted that the constant questioning of Hermanson in regard to his back not only wore thin on the veteran right-hander but also on Guillen and the team itself.

 

"It's not easy coming here every day asking, 'How do you feel, how do you feel?'" Guillen said. "It's like punishing your kids, 'Did you do your homework? Did you do your homework?' I don't want to deal with that and I don't think he wants to deal with that."

 

One option for Hermanson is to stay back in Tucson, during extended Spring Training, and continue his rehab program. It makes better sense than a trip to Chicago, in Guillen's opinion, with Hermanson and his family living in Phoenix.

 

When asked about retirement as a possibility for Hermanson, Guillen could only answer in reference to his own decision to walk away from the game after the 2000 season with Tampa Bay. It's not an option that Hermanson, 33, has remotely entertained for the immediate future.

 

"You deal with pain almost every day when you're in this game for that long," said Guillen in regard to retirement for Hermanson, who will earn $3 million in 2006, with a club option for $3.5 million in 2007. "But the thing is, can you have fun coming here every day? Can you have fun being in the trainer's room all the time? Can you have fun performing in pain?

 

"If you still feel you can enjoy this game, you should stay. But if it's to the point where you'd rather be with your family, I respect that. When you take the uniform off, it's tough to put it back. Hopefully, he can be healthy and help us in the future."

 

The roster decisions become clear cut with Hermanson out of the picture. Left-handers Boone Logan and Javier Lopez and right-hander Tim Redding are competing for the 11th and final spot on the pitching staff. Logan appears to have the upper hand, allowing just one earned run in 10 1/3 innings this spring, covering seven games. Logan also gives the White Sox a chance to develop one of their own at the Major League level, much as they did with Mark Buehrle in 2000.

 

While general manager Ken Williams, assistant general manager Rick Hahn and Guillen focus on the final personnel decisions, the players turn their attention to a slightly greater sense of urgency on the field. A game at HoHoKam Park against the Cubs, which automatically increases the level of play even if it takes place at a neighborhood park, just might be the perfect way to start the final Spring Training push for the defending World Series champions.

 

"If we go up there and they kill us, it's not like it's for bragging rights or anything," said Buehrle, who makes his final spring start for the White Sox on Monday, opposed by the Cubs' Greg Maddux.

 

"It's more than just a Spring Training game, with the atmosphere and the fans caring a little more," Buehrle added. "It's going to be a little more adrenaline, and obviously, it's my last start of the spring so I want to go out there and do good."

 

To a man, the White Sox have paid very little attention to their poor Cactus League record. The only time Guillen spoke out was after his team lost the first six games, and the manager didn't feel the right effort and attitude were being shown on the field.

 

Getting a true read on pitching or hitting in Arizona is a tough thing to do, with the winds swirling as high as 25 mph, at times. Watching how the White Sox perform during this final week, though, might give a slightly more accurate glimpse of what to expect from the season ahead.

 

"We are going to get everyone together this week, get everyone on the same page and start gunning," said White Sox left fielder Scott Podsednik.

 

"But we could still go 6-0 here the last week, and once the bell rings [for the regular season], it still could be different," Buehrle added. "We all need to step it up. We are getting down to the main core guys, and we have to say that even those games don't count right now, it's getting closer and we can't wait until April 2 to just turn it on. Let's get it going down here and leave here on a good note."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kyyle23 Grand Master

Kyyle23

Posted
Posted

I went to ESPN.com, and found this strange assessment by Peter Gammons. I couldnt read the whole article because I am not an insider, but this paragraph caught my attention:

 

Would Japan, which won the WBC last week, win if it was in the AL Central? Of course it could, Peter Gammons writes in his Insider blog.

 

Followed closely by another thought provoking statement , "Would the All-Star laden US team beat any team in the Japanese League? Of course it would, Peter Gammons writes in his Insider Blog."

 

Does Peter Gammons have nothing to write about one week before the 2006 season starts so that he has to make up scenarios that will never happen? Has he been hanging out with Bobby Valentine over the winter? This crap is ridiculous.

I swear, the writers here on Soxtalk blow these guys out of the water. I would say some of them should submit a resume' to ESPN, but I would be afraid that they would be assimilated into the borg, so to speak. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...