Hawk & DJ's baseball blog

En route to their World Series championship, the Chicago White Sox posted the best record in the majors in games decided by two runs or fewer last season. The Sox were 61-34 (.642) in one- and two-run decisions, and 38-29 (.567) in all other games. . . A key to Chicago's success in close games was the stinginess of White Sox pitchers with runners in scoring position. With runners perched beyond first base last season, Chicago hurlers allowed hitters to bat just .222 and slug only .349 with a .309 on-base percentage. All three were the lowest marks in the majors. Houston ranked second by allowing opponents a .234 average and .319 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position.

Posted by at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a young lefthander trying for a spot in our bullpen to keep an eye named Boone Logan.  This young man was over at the minor league camp and doing well.  Meanwhile, the group of free agents and others the Sox had brought in for a bullpen slot were collectively not getting it done. So Ozzie & Kenny said "run this kid over here and let's see what he can do."

He's been throwing nothing but strikes, getting nothing but outs, and how his lockered over there has been cleaned out and moved to the big league clubhouse. The biggest thing for him is the mental side of it.  A majority of guys who are 22 or so in A ball are a little scared, but you get a minority like this kid that don't care where they pitch or who's at the plate.  They don't want to know who's at the plate.  He also does it in a hurry.  The other day I saw him against Colorado and it was 5 pitches for 3 outs.

Hawk

Posted by at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Nobody likes to lose in spring training. We saw Ozzie go through this last year. He is not going to jeopardize his need to see players to win a ballgame in spring training and a lot of managers are not like that. Most of the teams who are really trying hard in March to win games are second division clubs who are trying to improve and impress their fans to sell some tickets for the regular season. Ozzie just wants to see all this players. It sure worked out well for him last year and I think in the next week or ten days you'll see a different MO so to speak. I love what he's done. He has seen all his players, he knows what they can do, and more importantly, he knows what they can't do. That's what you have to in baseball - find out what your players can't do and then don't ask them to do it.

Posted by at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The wearing of the green took on a fun tone on St. Patrick's Day at Tucson Electric Park.  Sox fans were out in force wearing their best emerald duds.  A trip around Tucson Electric Park offers the chance to take in the party with the fans who were having a great time and showing their support.

Posted by at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another day, round of off-the-wall fun for the World Champs in Tucson.  Not surprisingly, AJ Pierzynski and Ozzie Guillen were right in the middle of it.

White Sox Wrestling Rumble In Tucson

Posted by at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know that the White Sox record hasn't been real impressive so far and fans may wonder "are they being a little lackadaisical or sitting on their laurels?"  Right now, that's not the case.  They are just not playing good baseball. That's all is comes down to.

I talked to Sox hitting coach Greg Walker recently.  He said the guys are getting closer and closer to their timing each day.  They had a game the other day where they hit some good balls that I thought would go out, but fell just short.  That's the type of thing shows a need for better timing.

As you saw last season with the White Sox, the main reason for spring training is getting yourself ready to go for the main thing.   I think Ozzie has that same approach.  It's way too early to worry.

DJ

Posted by at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is unmistakable air of celebration as the White Sox go through spring training in Tucson this year.  It's no doubt who the baseball World Champions are this year.  A trip around Tucson Electric Park offers the chance to take some photos Sox fans have waited 87 years to see.

Posted by at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the hidden dramas that occurs each spring training is the numbers game.  A low number can be the indicator of great things to come,while a high one can mean there's more work to be done.  WGN's Pat Tomasulo did the counting in Tucson recently.

Pat Tomasulo Looks At The Sox Numbers Game

Posted by at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sox start playing games today so the road to repeating is underway. The key here is Ozzie. He's going to be the one guy who won't let these guys get too high or try to do too much. Ozzie will keep that good balance. He's got a coaching staff he loves and works well, so I think he'll be the key to being able to keep the Sox loose, happy, and focusing on baseball, not all the extra stuff that comes with being World Champions. As everybody knows, it is tough to repeat, but we've made some improvements and a second win could be on the horizon.

How do the players handle themselves? It's an individual thing and these guys are going to take it upon themselves, no matter what a coach or the manager says, and focus on baseball exactly the way they did last year - get their individual jobs done and come together collectively. That's how you win. It will be hard to do, because they are going to be bombarded with what happened last year. You have to find the balance between enjoying the success of last year and focusing on doing it again.

It's scary to think about how good our pitching was last year and then realize we have the chance to have an even stronger staff this year. The makeup of our staff, the way they're built and think is anchored by their competitiveness. Mark Buehrle wants to do better. Jon Garland wants to be better than Buehrle and better than he was last year. Jose Contreras finally showed us all the talent we need he had and became one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. Javier Vasquez is ready to jump right into the fray and no one will forget about Brandon McCarthy. It's a great mix of talent and experience and I think we'll be as strong, if not even stronger on the hill than we were last year.

DJ

Posted by at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)