Sort of retreading things here but thought it was worth discussing at length.

 

Does anybody here at Soxtalk for a minute believe that Jose is not hurt? Even with the official denials (which are odd, coming from a team whose manager is psycho--and rightly so--about players being upfront about injury) do not change the simple fact: first half Jose was lights out and if you watched Jose, his angle was primarily over-the-top with 3/4 and the occasional sidearm mixed in.

 

Now he throws ENTIRELY sidearm, 3/4, whatever that is, and he's been getting rocked. His placement is completely shot. Even Hawk the Homer has mentioned that since Jose went on the DL for the sciatic nerve thing he's been a shadow since returning.

 

So I guess--at the risk of sounding naive, and I'm sure I'll hear it here if that's what I'm being--I'm amazed that we're keeping him a) in the lineup and B) hush-hush about this. To what end? Are we gonna hope he heals? Wouldn't this be the time to put him on the DL and start McCarthy?

 

Or what? Help me out, I'm confused here.

 

Jose says he's healthy, but I don't believe it when he has to drop down like that on every pitch when he did not do that first half.

I wondered the same thing. It would certainly make sense. The real question is what to do about it. Would a not-stretched-out McCarthy be a better option? Perhaps. They would either need to call someone up for the 'pen or use Contreras in that role. Maybe he would be better off pitching shorter intervals out of the 'pen? I read recently that Hermanson may be coming up but could only pitch one inning per appearance so he might be of help if Brandon joined the rotation. Either way, we couldn't short the 'pen by removing Brandon and having an ineffective Cotts. This is all just speculation on my part. My guess is that the Sox won't really do anything different.

I think Freddy is hurt but is too stubborn to day anything and would rather suck every 5th day.

Why would the Sox benefit from hiding an injury?

Jose has some mechanical issues, and he's gone away from what made him great. However, Contreras is not as good as he looked for that extended stretch. He's never had pinpoint control....and then all of a sudden, he was able to throw any pitch he wanted in the perfect location.

Why would the Sox benefit from hiding an injury?

 

Most likely because it would bolster the confidence of opposing teams. The Sox look a lot more beatable if they KNOW that Contreras is pitching poorly because he has an ailing back.

Jose has some mechanical issues, and he's gone away from what made him great. However, Contreras is not as good as he looked for that extended stretch. He's never had pinpoint control....and then all of a sudden, he was able to throw any pitch he wanted in the perfect location.

 

He is not a sub three era pitcher... anything in the 3.30-3.75 range should not be out of question. I also have a feeling we are gonna see he make one last run... along with two others from out of starters. Blind hope maybe... considering who it is coming from.

Jose has some mechanical issues, and he's gone away from what made him great. However, Contreras is not as good as he looked for that extended stretch. He's never had pinpoint control....and then all of a sudden, he was able to throw any pitch he wanted in the perfect location.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. He just wasn't as good as he showed in the first half. On the other hand, he's not as bad as what we're seeing from him now. Count is somewhere in between a 3.50 and a 4.00 ERA pitcher.

 

He had a great 2nd half last year, but he did have a lot of games against weak hitting teams.

 

Most likely because it would bolster the confidence of opposing teams. The Sox look a lot more beatable if they KNOW that Contreras is pitching poorly because he has an ailing back.

 

Oh please. Other teams have this funny thing called advanced scouting. If the scouts see Jose's bad 3 or 4 games in a row, not too many players will be intimidated even if they think Jose's pitching healthy.

Oh please. Other teams have this funny thing called advanced scouting. If the scouts see Jose's bad 3 or 4 games in a row, not too many players will be intimidated even if they think Jose's pitching healthy.

 

There's a huge difference between not pitching well because you don't have your best stuff/location and not pitching well because you physically CAN'T. Jose could be dangerous down the stretch if the former scenario is correct, but not the latter.

Edited August 30, 200619 yr by WCSox

I've wondered more about Garcia than Contreras but both of them might be. Either way I wish BMac would get to start.

I think he's hurt. That might not be his WHOLE problem, but its part of it. His mechanics went off, but just watching him pitch, I get the impression he is holding back grimaces. Just an impression I am getting.

The white sox wouldn't hide Contreras being hurt. But Jose probably would. The sox could stick in Bmac.

A healthy BMac >> than an injured Contreras.

 

I don't think he's hurt enough not to pitch. He's thrown a lot of pitches since going on the DL. It's the damn different arm angles he's throwing each pitch. Unless he's trying to compensate for an injury---I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case with him trying to suck it up and win another title.

There's a huge difference between not pitching well because you don't have your best stuff/location and not pitching well because you physically CAN'T. Jose could be dangerous down the stretch if the former scenario is correct, but not the latter.

 

Yes, there's a difference as far as Jose is concerned. But from the other team's point of view, there's no difference if they're going up against a bad pitcher or an injured one.

Jose has some mechanical issues, and he's gone away from what made him great. However, Contreras is not as good as he looked for that extended stretch. He's never had pinpoint control....and then all of a sudden, he was able to throw any pitch he wanted in the perfect location.

 

I don't think he's hurt - I think he's been inconsistent his entire career. Obviously we got him for a great stretch and hopefully he'll get back to that. Remember when he got good again and the reason why? He started throwing fastballs for strikes and didn't insist on throwing the splitter so much. Why not go back to that? His fastball made that splitter unhittable, not the other way around.

Linky

 

According to this article in today's Sun-Times, it appears his problem is mechanical.

 

It basically says he's been relying too much on his sidearm stuff. When he does go over the top, he's inconsistent and is unable to locate it properly.

 

It doesn't make any sense to hide an injury. Remember what happened last year when Damaso hid an injury from Ozzie? You could make an argument that if Jose gets on track, he would be more important than having Thome in the lineup. During the games Thome missed the past week, the Sox offense more than stepped up.

Yes, there's a difference as far as Jose is concerned. But from the other team's point of view, there's no difference if they're going up against a bad pitcher or an injured one.

 

Again, I disagree. If, for example, the Tigers watch Jose struggle now and KNOW that he's hurt, they pretty much know that they're going to be able to hit him next month, they're going to get a huge confidence boost, and are going to attack him when they square off in a couple of weeks. If they chalk up his struggles to a bad stretch that he could snap out of at any time, they're not going to step into the batter's box with the same confidence.

 

The white sox wouldn't hide Contreras being hurt. But Jose probably would...

 

I don't think he's hurt enough not to pitch. He's thrown a lot of pitches since going on the DL. It's the damn different arm angles he's throwing each pitch. Unless he's trying to compensate for an injury---I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case with him trying to suck it up and win another title.

 

If Herm knew that Jose was injured and that continuing to pitch would aggravate the injury, Jose would be on the DL right now. But if Jose can pitch through it without any long-term damage, it wouldn't make any sense for the Sox to announce the injury.

 

I agree that Jose's just sucking it up and taking one for the team. And as was mentioned before, him throwing exclusively sidearm instead of mixing it up with 3/4 angle pitches like he did earlier may be to take strain off of his upper back/shoulder.

 

 

t doesn't make any sense to hide an injury. Remember what happened last year when Damaso hid an injury from Ozzie? You could make an argument that if Jose gets on track, he would be more important than having Thome in the lineup. During the games Thome missed the past week, the Sox offense more than stepped up.

 

Didn't Konerko have an injury back in the first half of '03 that the Sox kept under wraps?

 

In general, it's never a good idea to tell your opponent that "this guy is hurt" if he's in the game.

In Ozzie's press conference tonight, he mentioned that Thome still had a slight pull. He then said this is the 2006 White Sox not 1990 and they don't try to hide injuries.

I'm not trying to accuse Ozzie or Jose but the fact remains that all of a sudden Jose is only throwing sidearm, and that to me is just odd.

Didn't Konerko have an injury back in the first half of '03 that the Sox kept under wraps?

 

In general, it's never a good idea to tell your opponent that "this guy is hurt" if he's in the game.

Played through a broken foot at the end of 2002 in the pennant race. Came back in 03 before it was completely healed.