I said after the Red Sox series that if the White Sox were to come back and sweep the Twins this team was for real. Low and behold, that happened today. It was a nice present for all those Sox mothers out there. Last Wednesday, I went to a pretty horrendous game, and Thursday wasn’t too good either. Erik Johnson was given the nod to start in place of John Danks, after he was DFA’d. He did not have a very good start, and the southsiders kept leaving runners stranded. He was sent down right after the game to AAA Charlotte, and we probably won’t be seeing him for a while. Look for Miguel Gonzalez to get another chance tomorrow night against the Rangers, and if he doesn’t do well, then we could see Jacob Turner. Tim Lincecum had his showcase on Friday and touched 91 mph in cargo shorts. That’s vintage Lincecum. That’s Cy Young Lincecum at his finest. Kenny Williams attended his showcase. He could be pursuing him pretty strongly. Why not? That’s a stereotypical Kenny move, like I said before, and we need that gap in the back end of the rotation to be filled immediately.
Let’s switch up the topic. The Twinkies came to town, and the Sox handled them on Friday and Saturday. The bats woke up, driving in 17 runs in the first two games of the series. In addition to that, on Friday, it seemed that Robin woke up, too. Nate Jones hit Byung Ho Park with a 96 mph heater in the top of the 8th. In retaliation, Trevor May drilled Abreu in the rib cage with a 97 mph heater. The umpires issued warnings, and Abreu kept on jawing at May. In fact, both teams cleared the benches. Even though no fight occurred, Robin was livid. He got tossed, and it was awesome. Atta boy, Robbie!
Quintana started today and continued his campaign for a Cy Young. Chris Sale isn’t the only one eyeing that award on the southside this year. Q is still extremely underrated, and people are beginning to recognize it since the team is actually good this year. Austin Jackson played well, robbing a double in the right center gap in the 9th. He also doubled in a run. Dioner Navarro did the same. Avila’s injury might give Navarro a shot at more starts, even when he returns from the DL. Nate Jones and David Robertson did their jobs, and the Sox rounded off a sweep, leading their record to 22-10 and a five game lead over the Indians in the AL Central.
MVP of the Week: David Robertson
Robertson now sits at a 0.68 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched with a WHIP of 0.83, which is unbelievable. He also has 10 saves, trailing only Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies and Kenley Janson of the Dodgers. Well done, D-Rob.
Most Improved: Avisail Garcia, once again
Avi is now batting an astounding .435 with an OBP of .519 in his last seven games. I am telling you, if he can be a halfway decent hitter, the Sox front office can focus on rounding off the rotation to make it even better than it already is.
Needs to figure it out: Whoever our 5th starter is
I will make this simple for you. Erik Johnson got shelled last Thursday. Miguel Gonzalez got shelled the last time he threw against the Jays, but luckily clutch hitting backed him up. Gonzalez gets another start tomorrow against the Rangers. If it doesn’t fare well for him, I think Kenny and Rick might expedite the process of acquiring another starting arm.
The Sox are good. They were 2nd to just the Cubs in reaching 20 wins. They have the best record in the AL. Yet, they can still be better. Frazier hasn’t quite hit his stride with the stick. Abreu has been coming around only recently and so have some other guys in the lineup. Lawrie could limit some of his K’s, but he has also been walking a lot in the past week or so. I think one tweak that Robin needs to try is batting Jackson or Melky second. I’ve said this a lot. I know he is extremely formulaic in that he believes that the two-hitter in the lineup should be fast. Rollins is sort of fast. He used to be much faster. He also now has an OBP of .299, and hasn’t been swinging a very good stick the last week. I know he’s a veteran and maybe will reach the Hall one day, but batting him last might be the move for a little while. I don’t agree with Robin all the time, but in his defense, I think he finally has a team he believes can make a playoff run. If he messes up at the end of the season, though, we can go back to blaming him for everything like the terrible people we are.
The Sox start a three game set in Arlington against the Rangers tomorrow. Thursday they have an off day and will take on the Yankees in the Bronx on Friday. The Rangers are tough. I would be shocked if we sweep them again, but I wouldn’t count the Sox out for doing anything this year. Let’s hope Gonzalez can redeem himself tomorrow. Let’s go Sox! Let’s get Sonny Gray or Tim Lincecum (or both) in a Sox uniform and make a run for a title!