If you said "Jim Thome is not clutch late in games" I'd actually agree with you. When you say "Jim Thome is not a clutch hitter" I greatly disagree. He really is pretty bad late in games, that I can not defend but he tends to come through big in the first 6 innnings. There's just something about Jim Thome (probably all the K's late in games) where people tend to forget all the times he comes up big in close games while a guy like Joe Crede who's "clutch" stats aren't all that impressive is considered one of the best clutch hitters in the game. (it seems like every time Joe Crede comes through with a big hit it's memorable, which leads me to believe that he's more "memorable" clutch than he is "consistently" clutch but that's a theory for another time)

 

So really it's all about the wording.

 

If you remember, I used to have the stats for Thome from 7th inning on in my sig. Great answer!

If you said "Jim Thome is not clutch late in games" I'd actually agree with you. When you say "Jim Thome is not a clutch hitter" I greatly disagree. He really is pretty bad late in games, that I can not defend but he tends to come through big in the first 6 innnings. There's just something about Jim Thome (probably all the K's late in games) where people tend to forget all the times he comes up big in close games while a guy like Joe Crede who's "clutch" stats aren't all that impressive is considered one of the best clutch hitters in the game. (it seems like every time Joe Crede comes through with a big hit it's memorable, which leads me to believe that he's more "memorable" clutch than he is "consistently" clutch but that's a theory for another time)

 

So really it's all about the wording.

 

 

and there you have it...

i prefer the way he drives in runs batting lower in the order, but it's a close call.

That's just the thing, how can you justify moving him to the top of the lineup when he's hitting .425 with a 1.080 OPS w/ RISP? I don't think you can. In reality he'd probably be a great 5th hole hitter with Dye hitting 4th and Quentin hitting 3rd.

Is this that time where PK grounds into the 6-4-3 DP only to shift the momentum to Baltimore, and in the end they get 3 in the bottom of the 8th?

 

BTW- we need another run(s) because it seems like Bobby struggles vs Baltimore.

Paulie shoulda parked that 2-1 pitch.

Feels like we're really missing out on some insurance runs. Thome has got to pull that ball on a 2-0 count.

Does it seem like we leave more guys on when there is a guy or 2 guys in scoring position, 1st and 2nd, or 1st and 3rd with less then 2 outs then any other team in baseball?

 

Or is it just me??

I wish they'd break up thome and kong in the lineup - it's a dead spot with no speed

If you said "Jim Thome is not clutch late in games" I'd actually agree with you. When you say "Jim Thome is not a clutch hitter" I greatly disagree. He really is pretty bad late in games, that I can not defend but he tends to come through big in the first 6 innnings. There's just something about Jim Thome (probably all the K's late in games) where people tend to forget all the times he comes up big in close games while a guy like Joe Crede who's "clutch" stats aren't all that impressive is considered one of the best clutch hitters in the game. (it seems like every time Joe Crede comes through with a big hit it's memorable, which leads me to believe that he's more "memorable" clutch than he is "consistently" clutch but that's a theory for another time)

 

So really it's all about the wording.

 

I really don't have stats to back this up and I am not going to look for them, but I think one of the reasons that Thome struggles so much late in games is that he is probably faces a lot of left handed specialists and he struggles to hit lefties to begin with.

Yikes, that doesn't set up well for the bottom of the inning.

Awful job by 5-6-7 guys.

I wish they'd break up thome and kong in the lineup - it's a dead spot with no speed

Don't forget Griffey hits after PK usually.

What a terrible 0-2 pitch to Mora. Ozzie needs to just let Thornton start an inning.

OMG. Watch Dotel f*** everything up again...

Thornton's coming in.

 

Please no walks or wild pitches...

OMG. Watch Dotel f*** everything up again...

 

How many 0-2 hits must he give up before realizing he needs to waste a pitch?

you should be pissed Dotel - that was a terrible 0-2 pitch

That was a very difficult play by Crede. Hernandez scares the crap out of me, as he's had many clutch hits in the past.

How many 0-2 hits must he give up before realizing he needs to waste a pitch?

DJ told me that you didn't necessarily need to waste an 0-2 pitch.

 

If I was ever a manager, at any level, my competitiveness to win would take over and I'd tell all my pitchers that for every 0-2 hit they give up, it's 2 laps around the field.

 

So annoying.

Very nice play by Joe. As Hawk said, that ball was mashed.

I really don't have stats to back this up and I am not going to look for them, but I think one of the reasons that Thome struggles so much late in games is that he is probably faces a lot of left handed specialists and he struggles to hit lefties to begin with.

I'd love to see the numbers but I'd venture to guess that about 85% of his PAs in close and late situations since joining the White Sox have been against lefty specialists with the other 15% being made up of mostly starters and closers. He's so bad vs funky lefties that he has no chance in those situations.

Great reflexes by Crede. Fastball pitcher against fastball hitter. I'd pitch around him to get to Scott.

Awful job by 5-6-7 guys.

 

that's 25M worth of choke right there, when all you need is a single, 2 future HOFers cant deliver

Great job Thornton! Dye scared me out there.

After a full season here and hopefully another month in the playoffs too, I really doubt they'll send Alexei to winter ball, but hey, you never know. Remember he was a SS in Cuba full time I believe.

 

 

No. Alexei played 7 or 8 seasons in Cuba. I do not remember exactly how many seasons he played back home, but he played SS in his rookie season only. Then, he played CF the rest of the way. He played 2B in emergency basis.