Tagged: Dan Hudson

2012-04-296JulUTC20:30+00.00

While Peavy Prepares for Surgery, Hudson Hopes to Keep Sox on a Roll Heading into All-Star Break

Dan Hudson (above), who was so impressive in his short stint with the White Sox last year and is 11-4 with Charlotte in 2010, takes the mound at the Cell today against Zack Greinke and the Royals as he tries to help the Sox win their eighth in a row.

Hudson’s appearance will follow another gem by a Sox starter. This time it was Gavin Floyd‘s one-run, 7 2/3 inning performance in last night’s 5-1 Sox win. It’s hard to believe how dominating Sox pitching has been. In the last three series–nine games–they have allowed only 17 runs and no more than three in a single game.

The South Siders have also found their homer stroke. Carlos Quentin hit a pair last night, Gordon Beckham slugged his third of the season and A.J. Pierzynski went deep twice the night before. Pitching, power and the recent outstanding defense is a pretty solid combination, right?.

Standings Update: With the Tigers’ second straight triumph over the slumping Twins, the Sox remain a half-game out of the division lead with the possibility of reaching the top today with a win and a Detroit loss to Minnesota…the Twins are now 3 1/2 games behind the Sox, amazing since the Chicagoans were 9 1/2 behind them as recently as last month…The Pale Hose have won 13 of their last 14 at the Cell.

Paulie an All-Star: It’s unfortunate that it was a result of someone else’s injury as he should have been selected out of the gate, but Paul Konerko has been named to the A.L. All-Star team to replace concussion-plagued Justin Morneau. He’ll join the entire 25-man Yankee roster in Anaheim (OK, I’m exaggerating).

All-Star Konerko congratulates Quentin after No. 20’s second homer last night

2012-04-297JulUTC20:30+00.00

White Sox Bullpen a Sight to Behold

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Pena, Putz, Thornton and Jenks Seal Deal Against Angels

I don’t want to be the typical provincial fan who can’t see beyond his own team and, admittedly, I haven’t done the required research to make the case. But it’s hard for me to believe there’s a bullpen in baseball with as much quality and depth as the White Sox.

The pen was on display again last night against the Angels as it was put to the test when Jake Peavy left the game in the second inning with a back injury. Cause for concern? Not really.

Tony Pena, who has come through time and again as the long man, was outstanding in the relief of Peavy. He picked up the slack by pitching 4 1/3 innings, allowing a single run on only five hits. He was followed by J.J. Putz, All-Star Matt Thornton and closer Bobby Jenks, who each pitched a scoreless inning. It all added up to a 4-1 over the Halos and Jered Weaver, who in his previous five starts against the South Siders surrendered a total of two earned runs.

Stats don’t tell the entire story, but here are some bullpen highlights:

–Jenks has 18 saves and has improved as the season has gone on, despite missing a week on the bereavement list.

–Thornton has been good enough as a setup guy to be named to the A.L. All-Star team. He’s recorded a 2.78 ERA with five saves.

–Putz’s ERA is an impressive 1.69. He has also been credited with five wins and a pair of saves.

—Sergio Santos, the converted infielder who is in his first season in the majors, has a terrific 2.03 ERA in 30 games and has rescued the Sox more than once with his clutch pitching. He’s exceeded everyone’s expectations.

–Pena, except for his recent slump, has been a godsend in his “long” role as he was last night. He also leads the Sox pen in innings pitched.

Notes of the day: Peavy will most likely head to the DL. We’ll know more today after his MRI, but it doesn’t seem as serious as it looked at the time…Dan Hudson, enjoying a fine season at Charlotte with an 11-4 record and a 3.47 ERA, is expected to replace Peavy on the roster…With last night’s victory, the Sox kept pace with the Tigers and Twins. We’re a game behind division-leading Detroit and a half-game behind second place Minnesota.

2012-04-2914MarUTC20:30+00.00

Sergio Santos is Living the Dream, Reaches the Majors as Sox Announce 25-Man Roster

After failing to get a sniff of the major leagues as an infielder with five organizations, Sergio Santos is finally a big-leaguer–as a relief pitcher. He earned that distinction with a fine spring and today the 2002 No. 1 draft pick of the Diamondbacks was named to the White Sox 25-man roster heading into Opening Day. And he’s only been pitching since last year.

The other roster question was also answered as Jayson Nix made the team as a utility infielder/outfielder.

The final cuts were infielder/outfielder Brent Lillibridge, outfielder Alejandro De Aza, pitcher Dan Hudson (Charlotte) and hurlers Greg Aquino, Erick Threets and Charlie Leesman plus catcher Donny Lucy (assigned to minor league camp).

The Sox will go into battle beginning next Monday with the following roster:

Pitchers (12): Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia, Bobby Jenks, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena, Randy Williams, Sergio Santos

Catchers (2): A.J. Pierzynski, Ramon Castro

Infielders (7): Paul Konerko, Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez, Mark Teahen, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel, Jayson Nix

Outfielders (4): Juan Pierre, Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin, Andruw Jones

The dream comes true for Sergio Santos

2012-04-298MarUTC20:30+00.00

With Opening Day a Week Away, Ozzie Says: “I’m Glad With What I Have”

You wouldn’t know it by the 8-15-4 spring record or the fact the White Sox lost both ends of a split-squad doubleheader yesterday to the Rangers and Royals, but Ozzie Guillen is happy with the team he and GM Kenny Williams have put together.

The truth is that spring training records mean little. Of course any time they’re keeping score you want to win, but getting the regulars ready for the season and the liberal use of secondary players and youngsters to see what they can do is the main purpose. And there is really no proof that a winning record in Arizona or Florida will mean a winning season or vice versa. For the record, the Sox went 14-18 in the spring of 2005.

The Sox brass is reportedly meeting today to make decisions on the 25-man roster. The big issue appears to be whether or not they keep 12 or 13 pitchers or an extra infielder. It seems like Sergio Santos would be the 12th pitcher with Greg Aquino and Dan Hudson vying for the 13th spot. If 13 hurlers go north, it could spell the end of Jayson Nix in a Sox uniform since he’s out of options.

Sox notes of note: Despite yesterday’s two losses, there were some bright spots. In the 10-8 loss to the Royals at Camelback Ranch, Mark Teahen continued his resurgence. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI, lifting his spring average to .277…Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz each pitched a scoreless inning against K.C….The Sox were blanked 5-0 by the Rangers in Surprise, but Paul Konerko‘s two hits brought his spring average to .327 and Gavin Floyd gave up only a pair of runs with six strikeouts in six innings of work…John Danks makes the start tonight at home against the Angels.

2012-04-2919MarUTC20:30+00.00

Successful Finale in Tucson, Beckham is OK (Whew!) and Getting Down to Business

From 1998-2008 the White Sox called Tucson Electric Park (above, top) their spring training home after 37 years in Sarasota, FL. With both the Diamondbacks and Rockies moving to the Phoenix area next spring, the Sox played their final game in Tucson today at venerable Hi Corbett Field (above, bottom), beating the Rockies, 6-2, with an impressive 15 hits.

The Sox rebounded from a 10-1 pounding at the hands of the D-backs on Friday in their TEP finale. Mark Kotsay went three for three with a walk, including a double and a triple. Alexei Ramirez had a pair of singles with two RBI, Paul Konerko collected two hits and an RBI and a rejuvenated Mark Teahen singled twice and scored two runs. After a couple of days in minor league camp, Teahen has been hitting and is now up to .256. Jayson Nix also doubled in a run.

On the pitching side, Randy Williams and Greg Aquino, a candidate for the last pitching roster spot, threw scoreless ball.

Sox notes of note…

It looks like Gordon Beckham‘s abdominal strain was nothing to worry about as reported yesterday. He should be back at second base Sunday…Sox have a pair of split-squad games

tomorrow. They are at home against the Royals and on the road in Surprise vs. the Rangers.

Dan Hudson is scheduled to start at Camelback Ranch and Gavin Floyd will be given the nod against Texas…Ozzie has made it known that starting Monday it’s time to bear down and get ready for Opening Day with the starters playing nine innings. There undoubtedly will be a different intensity that has resulted in an 8-13-4 spring record thus far with a mixture of starters, prospects and other minor leaguers.

2012-04-298MarUTC20:30+00.00

When Hitting a Home Run is Not a Good Thing and Other Notes From Spring Training

White Sox notes of note…

* After receiving an alert on my BlackBerry yesterday that Brent Lillibridge (above) smashed a home run in the Sox 5-3 loss to the Padres, it dawned on me that I couldn’t remember the last time a home run was a negative for the player hitting it. There certainly have been times when a home run meant nothing–for instance, in a blowout game–but this was rare. Why? because Ozzie has been preaching to Lilli that he shouldn’t try to be a power hitter and he’s much more suited to play small ball. So, instead of the Sox brass liking what they saw, it very well could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in Brent’s quest to win a roster spot in his tug of war with Jayson Nix.

* Speaking of Nix, it looks like he’s won the battle. Earlier in the spring Ozzie expressed his disappointment in both Lillibridge and Nix, but in Jayson’s defense he has hit .345 to Brent’s 214. A negative for both is their strikeout totals. Nix has K’d nine times, Lillibridge eight.

* Sergio Santos, the much-ballyhooed “out of options” converted infielder who is making a bid as a reliever on the 25-man roster, had his scoreless spring halted yesterday. He gave up two runs, two hits and a walk in one inning of work. Reading comments from Ozzie, it doesn’t appear this blip will affect Santos’ chances.

* While Santos struggled against San Diego, both J.J. Putz and Scott Linebrink pitched scoreless baseball.

* In the category of small victories, after his two-run homer on Wednesday Mark Teahen doubled against the Padres–hopefully showing he’s on his way back.

* Interesting piece by Scott Merkin on whitesox.com focusing on the mentor-student relationship between vet Jake Peavy and up and comer Dan Hudson. Peavy: “To be as young as he is, he does a great job of just kind of observing and taking in everything…
Huddy has a great idea of what is going on, and I love his makeup and ability.”

* Freddy Garcia and the Sox face the Diamondbacks today at their former spring home in Tucson.

2012-04-2913MarUTC20:30+00.00

Sox Cut Seven, 32 Remain in Major League Camp

In less than two weeks (Monday, April 5), the White Sox open up the regular season against the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

Today, the Sox got a bit closer to their Opening Day 25-man roster by sending two players to Charlotte–pitcher Carlos Torres and catcher Tyler Flowers–and five others to their minor league camp. They include outfielder Jordan Danks, first baseman Josh Kroeger, third baseman Brent Morel, second baseman C.J. Retherford and pitcher Ryan Braun. There are now 32 left in the big league camp.

The likely scenario finds two roster spots yet to be filled. The Sox expect to take 12 pitchers north–starters Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Freddy Garcia and a bullpen of Bobby Jenks, J.J. Putz, Matt Thornton, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena, Randy Williams and one of the following: Sergio Santos (pictured below), Dan Hudson, Greg Aquino, Erick Threets and Charlie Leesman. The best bet to make it is Santos, who is out of options and has been very impressive this spring.

The other spot, a backup infielder/outfielder, will probably go to either frontrunner Jayson Nix, who is out of options, or Brent Lillibridge. The wild card here is if the Sox decide to go with red-hot outfielder Alejandro De Aza instead of Nix or Lillibridge. Or, they could go with 11 pitchers and take both De Aza and Nix/Lillibridge (pictured below, left to right, under the watchful eye their skipper). One last possibility, admittedly remote, is to take a 13th pitcher instead of the extra position player.