February 27, 201214 yr http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/..._medium=twitter Beckham focusing on just 'being me' February, 26, 2012 Feb 26 4:44 PM CT Email Print Comments2 By Bruce Levine GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham is finished trying to live up to other people’s expectations. “I have re-dedicated myself to being me and just that,” Beckham said. “I don’t know any other way to put it. This offseason I got back to being me.” The Georgia native is coming off his second straight disappointing season and, after a long conversation with his father, he’s prepared to implement a new approach to the 2012 season, including paying less attention to what is said in the media or by fans. “That’s not important to me. It used to be, but it’s not anymore,” Beckham said. “I talked to my dad and asked what he sees, and he said what he saw was not me. It’s like I can act like the guy I have been acting like and roll over and die, or become the guy you were and let it loose.” Beckham hit .230 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs in 2011, a far cry from his rookie season, in which he hit 16 home runs in three and a half months. “It’s hard to hear from your dad that he didn’t even recognize who you were,” Beckham said. “That’s hard, but that’s what I needed to hear. I knew I needed to change and I’ve changed.” Beckham said that he does not need to alter his swing, just the way he works. “It was more my approach and who I was being on the field, he said. “I have tweaked some stuff, but it is not my swing, it is more about the guy who is swinging the bat.”
February 27, 201214 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 27, 2012 -> 08:29 AM) http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/..._medium=twitter Yeah, well whatever works Beckham...last year it was the same spring song with reducing his media involvement...etc. For all KW's bluster about "Chicago tough", enough with the mental midget roster already.
February 27, 201214 yr This is the Yin to the Yang that is showing up to camp in the best shape of one's life.
February 28, 201214 yr Need more of those four guys being the guys on the back of their baseball cards through 2009 and not them being "themselves," whatever that was, in 2011 (Rios/Peavy/Dunn/Beckham).
February 28, 201214 yr If "himself" is the guy that didn't try to make up a 100 points in batting average with every swing, go ahead and be yourself, Gordon.
February 29, 201214 yr Author QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 04:49 PM) The more Beckham talks the more he sounds like a head case. He reminds me a lot of a young Paul Konerko.
February 29, 201214 yr I also wish he'd just shut his mouth as well and go back to his old swing/mentality. This begs the question- why didn't he just "go back to himself" last year?? Sounds silly to me to say something like this, unless he felt someone was not allowing him to do that. I haven't given up on him, however. I loved watching him swing the bat in 2009 and if we can get that back it would do wonders for the future prospects of this team going forward.
March 1, 201214 yr I really want him to turn it around. I remember how giddy ST was when we got him. Plus, I have a Gordon Beckham t-shirt and I want to be able to wear it without people calling me a "Soccer fan" (I live in LA now).
March 1, 201214 yr I wish I had a job where when my boss asked for my business plan, I could say "I'm just focusing on being me". I'm really good at being me! It's pretty much the only thing I ever do.
March 1, 201214 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 29, 2012 -> 04:36 AM) He reminds me a lot of a young Paul Konerko. ha! Paul Konerko believes Gordon Beckham will bounce back after a disappointing 2011. “I know where he’s at in his head; it’s in a good place,’’ Konerko said. “I think he’s going to have a big year and is ready to take that step. He didn’t really get to learn a lot in the minor leagues.’’
March 2, 201214 yr Author QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Mar 1, 2012 -> 05:01 PM) ha! I just remember PK early in his career used to take each at bat so seriously, and he would take a bad result with him for the rest of the game at times. Heck I swear you could put him in a slump if you made him look bad enough.
March 2, 201214 yr Paul Konerko believes Gordon Beckham will bounce back after a disappointing 2011. “I know where he’s at in his head; it’s in a good place,’’ Konerko said. “I think he’s going to have a big year and is ready to take that step. He didn’t really get to learn a lot in the minor leagues.’’ KING
March 2, 201214 yr QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Mar 1, 2012 -> 05:23 PM) I wish I had a job where when my boss asked for my business plan, I could say "I'm just focusing on being me". I'm really good at being me! It's pretty much the only thing I ever do. Funny, but as u know, sports is a different animal.
March 2, 201214 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2012 -> 02:55 PM) I just remember PK early in his career used to take each at bat so seriously, and he would take a bad result with him for the rest of the game at times. Heck I swear you could put him in a slump if you made him look bad enough. Beckham has some of the same tendencies. In the game threads, I'll often remark that if Beckham looks bad in his first AB, you might as well pull him for the rest of the game. Similar to how Paul O'Neill was.
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