Just stop it Joe...oh wait, sorry, figured it was him.

 

The difference is I KNOW mine are terrible and will tell you up front. I have no delusions that they're at all good

The difference is I KNOW mine are terrible and will tell you up front. I have no delusions that they're at all good

If only Sergio was left handed and broke his arm at some point and had to learn to throw righty...he'd be SET

 

I also, just thought of the WORST nickname for Santos: Serg Protector... Awful. You're welcome.

 

I know that one

 

But didn't you mix up the left/right arm thing?

Every closer not named Mariano Rivera will struggle at some point.

 

Agree.

I'd like to see thornton back in there right now, personally, to see if he can hack it. It would be nice to see this team make moves before their non-decisions bury them.

 

I think it's fair to say Matt is NOT a closer.

We don't need to go there any more.

 

I think Crain (gulp, I said it) could maybe do it for a while. I'm not crazy about Crain's control. I'm saying I wouldn't mind him closing once in a while, but it's sink or swim with Sergio this year.

Matt can't do it.

I know that one

 

But didn't you mix up the left/right arm thing?

 

Yeah, but I didn't want Sergio to break his arm NOW and learn lefty, so I flipped it in this hypothetical story haha

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06...sergio-fastball

 

Manager Ozzie Guillen isn't as worried with Sergio Santos' slider as his results last Friday may suggest.

 

In reinforcing his faith in Santos, Guillen said the Chicago White Sox's closer must possess better control of his fastball and not work so quickly at the first sign of trouble.

 

"When you throw 95-96 mph, and your slider is a secondary pitch, you don’t have to be perfect," Guillen said. "But when your fastball is 96-97 mph and around the plate, and you’re behind and you have to come in with a slider, that’s not going to make you effective. But you throw a strike with your fastball, and throw a slider just to show it, you’re going to be effective. No doubt.

 

"When you see a closer with that emotion, that can effect you. As a closer, you got to calm down, breathe, try to handle the situation the right way because all of a sudden, you can breathe."

 

Guillen used Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan and Bobby Jenks as examples of closers who keep their composure, no matter how tough the situation.

 

"I worry about how he’s handles that," Guillen said. "He’s got to learn that. He’s still in the process and still learning. But it’s not a matter of his fastball and slider. It’s grab it and throw it. That’s what I see from him. That’s the reason I went to the mound (Sunday)."

 

Santos said he's absorbed the words Guillen told him, as well as what Rivera told him during a chat in New York in late April.

 

"I found myself wanting to go back out there the next day to put myself back in that position and learn from what happened Friday," Santos said. "How to speed things up and slow down and dig deep. When you don’t feel your best, how to come out of an outing successfully instead of not feeling great and wondering what’s going to happen, 'are you going to lose this thing?' So to me, I try to draw as much from it as I can."

 

Guillen reiterated his faith in Santos.

 

"This kid is a very tough kid," Guillen said. " ... I’m OK with Sergio as long as Sergio is OK with him."

BTW, after all the pitches he threw over the weekend, the extra offday yesterday probably was a good thing for Sergio.

BTW, after all the pitches he threw over the weekend, the extra offday yesterday probably was a good thing for Sergio.

 

I worry a lot about his pitch load. He totally gave out last year. With him being the defacto closer, he is way more important now.

The guy has been one of the best relievers in baseball and is in only his second year. He blows one save and we get this topic? Man, Soxtalk overreaction at it's finest...

The guy has been one of the best relievers in baseball and is in only his second year. He blows one save and we get this topic? Man, Soxtalk overreaction at it's finest...

Technically he blew 2 in just over a week with another loss thrown in.