September 16, 200322 yr Esteban Loaiza knows why his cut fastball let him down in his last two starts. "I was dropping my elbow when I was throwing my pitches," he said. After back-to-back bullpen sessions with pitching coach Don Cooper over the weekend, Loaiza said he's confident his cutter will work Tuesday night against the Twins. "I corrected it, and it feels good now," he said. Two starts ago, Loaiza gave up five runs over seven innings to Cleveland. But the Sox pulled out an 8-5 victory. On Thursday, Loaiza retired the first six batters he faced before the Twins loaded the bases. Shannon Stewart then took Loaiza to the right-center-field gap, scoring three runs after Roberto Alomar couldn't hang on to Carl Everett's throw. After entering 2003 with 11 victories as a career high, Loaiza will shoot for No. 20 again Tuesday. The Sox used their Monday off to flip Loaiza and Jon Garland, pushing Garland back to Wednesday. Manager Jerry Manuel said the Sox's goal was to "set the tone" for the series by putting their best pitcher on the mound. "Plus [Loaiza] likes to stay on his regular turn," Manuel said. "I don't want to say he's sensitive about it, but he likes that routine."
September 16, 200322 yr I hope that is all it is, and if Loiaza and Coop say that is all it is, I will take their word for it. I guess we will find out soon enough...
September 16, 200322 yr Author You will be able to tell quickly if his cutter is fixed. If he is getting a lot of strikes looking, his cutter is working. If they are hitting it, or it is missing the strike zone, it will be a long night.
September 16, 200322 yr I hope that is all it is, and if Loiaza and Coop say that is all it is, I will take their word for it. I guess we will find out soon enough... Coop ain't Nardi. Loaiza and the White Sox will be fine as long as the White Sox offense shows up.
September 16, 200322 yr Coop ain't Nardi. Loaiza and the White Sox will be fine as long as the White Sox offense shows up. Speaking of Nardi, when I was at the Cell 3 weeks ago, I saw a guy wearing his jersey. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Not that it's important, but I just thought that it was funny.
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