Bad News for Dewayne Wise

After injuring his shoulder yesterday, Dewayne Wise was sent back to Chicago for further testing, and according to Mark Gonzales at the Tribune, the diagnosis is a Grade III shoulder separation; the most severe type of shoulder separation you can realistically get without suffering from major physical trauma (such as being in a car accident). According to Wikipedia (take this FWIW), the healing time required to come back could be up to 12 weeks. You can also check out this site, maintained by an orthopaedic clinic in Colorado, that's got some good information for those of you looking for a more authoritative source.

Regardless of your feelings about Dewayne playing everyday in center for the Sox, it's tough to see a 31-year-old, after toiling through almost 1,000 career minor league games cut short what will probably be his last real chance to play everyday at the Majors, especially after he'd been playing well since moving down in the line-up.

The Sox purchased Jerry Owens' contract from Charlotte and added him to the 25-man roster, but Brian Anderson will be starting today in center field.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This is apparently "unintentional movie reference series," but the White Sox won their first road game of the 2009 season, 10-6 against the Tigers at Comerica Field yesterday behind an offense that is currently clicking on all cylinders. Yes, the eternal pessimist will point to the fact that 5 of the Sox's 10 runs came via 4 homers, but that's really missing the forest for the trees. The Sox scored early and often, mixing some good situational hitting with a couple of their patented home runs, sensational defense, and the pitching was... enough.

Chicago Tribune recap \ Chicago Sun-Times recap \ MLB.com Wrap \ B-R.com Box Score & PBP

THE GOOD

• As posted earlier, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko's back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning were the 300th of each of their careers. It is indeed the first time 2 teammates have ever hit a pair of such milestone home runs in the same game.
• Carlos Quentin hopefully put any doubts aside anyone has about the effects last year's wrist injury may still have. He clubbed a pair of homers, a two-run bomb off Zach Miner in the 4th that chased the Tiger starter and then a solo shot in the 6th off Eddie Bonine that he pretty much muscled out of spacious Comerica Field with one hand. Quentin now has 4 home runs in his last 4 games and is one off the pace of league leader Evan Longoria.
• Josh Fields and Dewayne Wise, both question marks at the start of the year had solid games again at the plate and in the field; Wise was 1-3 and since being moved to the bottom of the order, had been hitting .385. However, he separated his shoulder making a spectacular running catch in the 5th inning to help preserve a win for Gavin Floyd. Fields, meanwhile was 1-5 with a walk and scored a pair of runs, but made another nice play at third in the 8th, again, with the Tigers threatening.

THE BAD

• With Dewayne Wise sidelined for anywhere from 4-8 weeks, the Sox have recalled Jerry Owens from Charlotte. Yay.
• Brent Lillibridge got the start for the injured Chris Getz at 2nd and leading off and it was more the same for the Sox lead-off hitters. Lillibridge was 1-6 on the day with three strikeouts. Yes, his double to lead off the third inning sparked a 4-run "smartball" rally in the inning, but otherwise he was pretty brutal at the plate, striking out his final three appearances at the dish.

THE UGLY

• Gavin Floyd won his first game of the season despite his best efforts. He managed to get through only 5 innings, walking seven Tigers and allowing 6 earned runs. It seemed like every time the Sox staked him to a lead, he'd try his best to cough it up.
• DJ Carrasco had another scary outing, as well. With the Sox up 10-6, Carrasco relieved Floyd in the 6th and after getting Granderson to fly out, he immediately loaded the bases. Yet, somehow, he wiggled out his jam, too, striking out Carlos Guillen and then getting Ramon Santiago to ground back to him harmlessly. Still, I could have done without the drama.

White Sox Heed My Call

Less than 12 hours after I posted, "Dewayne Wise continues to be brutal at the plate, he's now 0-8 with 4 strikeouts. Can we please give someone else a chance to fail at leading off tomorrow?", the Sox lineup for this afternoon's affair with Kansas City was posted on Scott Reifert's blog.

• Chris Getz, 2B
• AJ Pierzynski, C
• Carlos Quentin, LF
• Jim Thome, DH
• Jermaine Dye, RF
• Paul Konerko, 1B
• Alexei Ramirez, SS
• Dewayne Wise, CF
• Josh Fields, 3B

I'm not sure if I should be surprised or not. On the one hand, Ozzie can be as stubborn as a mule when it come to these things, so for him to renig on his assertion that having Getz lead off would put unnecessary pressure on him is actually surprising, especially so early in the year. Wise, however, really made this decision a no-brainer. I know, 2 games and 8 plate appearances is a very, very small sample size but he looked absolutely brutal. Perhaps the pressure of leading off was weighing on the mind of a guy who has been a career minor leaguer.

Anyways, the Royals will start Kyle Davies in today's rubber game. Considering how the current roster has hit off Davies (.329/.390/.671), I'm hoping for a "W."

Finally, real sad story out of Los Angeles. As I'm sure you know by now, Angels SP Nick Adenhart was killed last night, hours after making his 1st start of the season. He was one of the Angels most promising young players, and his last start of 2008 (and 2nd to last of his life) was against the Sox on May 12 in Anaheim. That game proved to be the lone win in his Major League career. I remember watching part of that game on TV and being impressed with his arsenal of pitches. I remember thinking once he learned how to pitch at the Major League level, he would be a pretty solid starter, and since he was only 21 (at the time), the sky seemed like the limit.

Now he's gone, killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver. He was 22. I am 25. Kind of puts things in perspective.

161-1 Still Possible.

You can't win them all. Zack Grienke made the Sox look bad all night. All night. Granted, it didn't help that the lone time the Sox got to Greinke, they were in their classic "Station-to-Station" style; lead-off singles by Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye poised the Sox for at least 1 run, but a double play courtesy of Paul Konerko and a weak ground out by A.J. Pierzynski ended the threat harmlessly. 2-0 Kansas City. You win some, you lose some.

Still disapointing, however, given Greinke's career stats at the Cell entering tonight's game: 8 G, 6 GS, 0-6, 7.78 ERA, 37 IP, 47 H, 32 R, 32 ER, 11 BB, 30 K, 1.568 WHIP. Tonight's line: W, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.

POSITIVES

• Gavin Floyd entered the year as a chic pick to regress after his breakout year in 2008. Instead, he was on top of his game, even without his best command. He still attacked hitters and featured that dominant breaking ball, striking out 9+ for the third time in his career.
• Josh Fields made another great play at third base and has made every routine play with ease. It doesn't hurt that he's 2/5 with a walk.
• The bullpen again looked good; Matt Thornton and Scott Linebrink were both effective, pitching a combined 2 perfect innings, striking out 4. The Sox team ERA is now 2.00, second in the American League only to Texas, believe it or not.

NEGATIVES

• Dewayne Wise continues to be brutal at the plate, he's now 0-8 with 4 strikeouts. Can we please give someone else a chance to fail at leading off tomorrow?
• Paul Konerko's also not hitting. Aside from the aforementioned double play, he struck out. In fact the only positive thing he did at the plate tonight was merely flying out in the 7th rather than grounding into another rally-killing double play.

Chicago Tribune recap | Chicago Sun-Times recap | MLB.com Wrap | B-R.com Box Score & PBP

Quick update before bed

Very quiet day from Las Vegas, both for the Sox and just in general around Major League Baseball. What did we learn today? Apparently CC Sabathia wants to be a Dodger, Greg Maddux has retired and, as expected, Orlando Cabrera declined salary arbitration from the White Sox, so the Type A free agent is now free to sign with whomever he likes. For right now, I believe this means two things:

• The White Sox cannot negotiate with Cabrera until May 15, when he will almost assuredly be off the market and...
• The best case scenario for the Sox is OC signing with the Dodgers, as well. Since the first 15 picks of the draft are protected from free agent compensation, the Sox can only snag a 2nd 1st rounder if Cabrera signs with a team holding a pick between 16-30. If I did my math and slotting right, the Dodgers hold the 17th pick in the 2009 Draft.

If I'm wrong on any of those points, please let me know.

The only interesting nugget to chew on that I found today comes from John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus via Sports Illustrated.com hosted by CNN (got all that?). Perrotto claims that the Sox are likely to bring someone in to fill the hole in center field rather than give the job to our current internal options: Owens, Anderson, or Wise. If that is true, well, I can't blame them.

Finally, Jow Cowley threw together some KW soundbytes from the last few days, which summarize pretty succinctly where he and the White Sox organization stand. Can't be more than 300-400 words and is a good, quick read.

Not Over Yet

Hey, what do you know, they do want to keep playing ball?

After looking dead, old, tired, etc. in two ugly losses to the young and upstart Rays this week, the Sox once again stood on the edge of the cliff, toes overhanging, on the verge of season's end... And once again they pulled it out.

They're getting a lot of attention tonight, from local, out of market, national, and even international press regarding their stubborn resiliency. In the past week, the Sox have played 4 "must-win" games and they've come up aces in every one of them. Funny how in just 2 days you can go from down in the dumps (Friday afternoon) to feeling pretty good about things (today). I don't claim that this win swung the series back in the Sox's favor, even if they win tomorrow they still need to beat Tampa Bay in their dome to advance to the ALCS, a tall task in and of itself. But, at least they didn't just roll over and die for Tampa, either. Now, for some praise.

John Danks, of course, who won his 2nd consecutive "Do or Die" game. His line wasn't overpowering, just 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, and 7 K, but the all important win. Danks made pitches when they counted; in the first Tampa put 2 of its first 3 hitters on base and walked away with a goose egg. In the 2nd, after Tampa Bay struck first on a 45-foot RBI single by Akinori Iwamura, Danks could have imploded, especially when the Iwamura and Jason Bartlett moved to 2nd and 3rd respectively on a wild pitch. Instead, Danks got BJ Upton to fly out and end the threat. Danks wasn't spectacular, but he won.

How about Dewayne Wise, who keeps finding ways to win? The career minor leaguer who came up with the Sox's only big hit in the first two games of this series continued his big play in Game 3, stroking a big, 2-run double down the left field line in the Sox's big 4th inning that turned out to ultimately put the Rays down for good. Wise is hitting .400 in the LDS so far, 2nd on the team only to AJ Pierzynski (who had a nice 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB game himself batting 2nd for only the 4th time since September 9th). He's been so good even Fox Sport's Senior Baseball writer, Ken Rosenthal has taken notice:

White Sox left fielder Dewayne Wise is the kind of player who makes the baseball postseason unlike any other. Wise, 30, didn't even have a job at the start of spring training. Now, he's starring in the Division Series.

The bullpen trio of Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, and Bobby Jenks also were huge in putting this game out of reach. When Upton launched his 2-run bomb that made everyone sweat a litle harder, it was clear Danks was out of gas and in a do or die game, Ozzie needed his three best relievers to seal the deal. They were beautiful, whether it be striking out Evan Longoria looking, having great reactions and making great plays on a bizarre dropped third strike against Willy Aybar, or or slamming the door in Tampa Bay's faces with some 95+ MPH heat. For a unit that's been pretty rightfully maligned this season, the Sox's bullpen has by and large stepped up their game lately when needed.

Lastly, Ken Griffey, Jr. for tagging on up Alexei Ramirez's sac fly, moving from 1st to 2nd. Had he played it safe and stayed at first, he wouldn't have scored on Wise's double, and with Juan Uribe and Orlando Cabrera failing to keep the rally going, the Sox would have been out what proved to be a pretty crucial run. For all the homers and power the Sox can display, they played very smart and very aggressive baseball. They did the small and smart things needed to win games, rather than sit back and wait for someone to hit a 3-run homer. It was actually, very fun to watch.

So, Game 4 is tomorrow at the Cell... Gavin Floyd faces Andy Sonnanstine at 4:07 PM Central time. Nothing has been decided yet in the American League, so don't stop believing, Sox fans!

And now, for a few news tidbits before bed. Carlos Quentin took some live BP today at the Cell and said he felt great in a postgame interview. Ozzie Guillen was a bit more skeptical of Quentin's chances of returning to play in 2008, even if the White Sox advance past the ALDS, but it's nice to see Carlos working his tail off to even make a return a slim reality and not a complete fairytale.

Fox Sport's Gerry Fraley wrote a nice piece about Ken Williams' deliberate plan to keep the Sox competitive past the glory of the 2005 season. Though the Sox took a lot of heat after Games 1 and 2 for looking old and plodding; it's nice to step back and look at the enviable talented core of young playes they have; Alexei Ramirez (26), Carlos Quentin (25), Gavin Floyd (25), and John Danks (23) are as solid as any 4 young and upcoming stars on one team. Though 2007 was a distaster, both the short and long term future of the Sox looks good thanks in large part to Williams' wheeling and dealing.

As for Rays' fans, panic may be too strong a word for their current mindset, but concern may be right on target? A Rays blogger noted what a difference one game makes.

The White Sox looked very much at home. And they looked very much like a veteran team, getting stronger as the game wore on, making adjustments to Matt Garza's power game, staying patient, hitting the ball where it was pitched.

Finally, Metromix has a sweet slideshow of photos from the Sox's win this afternoon up. For anyone lucky enought to attend, try and find yourself! Tomorrow's game already looks to be a sell out (at least, according to Ticketmaster), but there are still some deals available on StubHub.

Go Sox.

Three Up, Three Down.. 0-2 Series Hole Style!

Oh god.

I was still confident after Game 1. It was more or less meaningless, the Sox are a veteran team and they basically sacrificed the game when they trotted Javier out there in an effort to reset their taxed rotation. Game 2 was supposed to make everything all right, but after tonight's ugly 6-2 loss, the Sox are once again, on the brink of elimination.

On the plus side, the last time we found ourselves in this situation, the Sox ripped off three straight wins, but methinks taking 3 from Tampa (including another one in their Dome) will be a bit more difficult than winning three straight over the Indians, Tigers, and Twins.

Anyways, here we go.

ONE UP: Clayton Richard
Wow. After Richard allowed an RBI single to Carl Crawford, the first batter he faced, he went on to strike out the next 5 Rays he faced. His line from yesterday is a bit inflated by the fact that Clayton wore down toward the end of his appearance; the last three batters he faced either reached base via the single or walk. Had Ozzie called on Octavio Dotel a few batters earlier, Richard conceivably could have retired 10 Rays and allowed only 2 baserunners. Nice.

Richard was so impressive in his post-season debut, Guillen is seriously considering starting Clayton if the series somehow makes it to a fifth game.

ONE DOWN: The Sox on Fake Field

Metrodome. Rogers Centre. Tropicana Field. Call them whatever you want, but as has been well documented this season, the Sox simply suck in domes and on fake grass. 4-16 this season, the worst record in the American League. I can't say why, maybe it's the teams, maybe it's the way the field plays, but the Sox struggles on turf are more than just a psychological thing at this point, I believe. The plus side is that, even though to advance now the Sox would need to win 1 more game at Tropicana Field, none of the other teams in the postseason play on artificial turf. The Sox are 85-58 on grass this year, a winning percentage over 59%.

TWO UP: Mark Buehrle

Despite the opening pic and his line from Game 2, Mark Buehrle pitched a real nice game. By now, we should all know that he's a guy that pitches to contact, a strategy that doesn't lend itself to turf or hard grass surfaces, where ground balls explode rather than slow down. Yes, he gave up a 2-run, go-ahead homer to Akinowri Iwamura and then was saddled with a few more runs in the 8th, but he still came out and pitched like the bulldog he was, especially considering the Sox found only 2 runs to support him. Here's hoping we get to see #56 at least one more time this year.

TWO DOWN: Wasted Opprotunites

The Sox left 12 runners on base in Game 2, obviously far too many, especially when you're in a tight battle. They left the bases loaded in the 1st, runners at first and second in the 2nd, 4th, and 7th, and a runner on third in the 6th. So many chances, and so many of them wasted. In the 1st inning, when they had Kazmir on the ropes and scored their 2 runs, they were 3-5 with Runners in Scoring Position. They had 7 more at bats with a RISP and failed every single time. You can't win if you can't hit with men on or hit home runs.

THREE UP: Dewayne Wise

Give the guy props, his three-run homer in Game 1 is currently responsible for 50% of the runs the Sox have scored. Wise has had a nice season here for the Sox. Considering he's been a career minor leaguer, I don't know if he's likely to reproduce his numbers, but he's another nice option off the bench and is better at every facet of baseball than Jerry Owens.

Of course, despite the fact he was pretty much the only guy who came through in Game 1, he was on the bench in Game 2, watching Nick Swisher have an OK game, but flying out and striking out in his last two at bats, both times with the potential tying run on base.

THREE DOWN: Jim Thome

For all the press Thome and Griffey have gotten about wanting that elusive World Series ring, neither had done much to show that on the field. The reason I pick on Thome more than Griffey is that Thome is still an intergral part of this team. He bats in the middle of the lineup, and while Junior has clearly lost a step from his prime, Thome still can play at a pretty high level. Yeah, his .245 BA this season was 30 points lower than his career BA and easily the lowest of his career when he wasn't limited to less than 60 games in a season either because he was a 21-year-old rookie still breaking in with the Indians or suffering from back problems in Philadelphia. Thome still his 34 homers, drove in 90 runs, and slugged over 100 points higher than Junior during Griffey's brief stay in Chicago.

This postseason? 1-9 with an RBI, and that easily would have been 0-9 had the Rays had their usual shift on for Thome.

Look, I know Thome was critical to the Sox, and was the only offense in their win over the Twins in the Tiebreaker game, but if you want to do more than just get there again, more production will be required.