Griffey, Uribe Keep Sox Atop Central

by The Cheat on Aug 1, 2008 10:55 PM CDT in Recaps Comment 65 comments

By all accounts, it was about as successful of a debut as Ken Griffey Jr. and the White Sox could have hoped for. Junior reached base 3 times, fielded only one lazy fly ball, and drove in each of the Sox first two runs, with each of those runs coming with 2-outs and a man in scoring position, a situation the Sox have particularly struggled with this season, hitting just .194/.305/.325 as a team.

With Javier Vazquez, a flyball pitcher, on the mound, and the spacious Kauffman Stadium outfield, it didn't appear to be a great situation for Griffey to make his return to everyday duties in center field. But luck, not to mention the wind, was on Griffey's side, as the only ball that came his way was a routine pop-up, which he fielded just as routinely.

Vazquez had his best outing in, well, I'd have to look it up. It's been a while. Yep, it was his best outing since May. He appeared to tire a bit in the late innings, as he struggled to limit damage in the 6th inning. Ozzie made the right move going to the pen to start the 7th, even though it started with a bit of mess.

Thankfully, Trey Hillman, who has done a number of questionable things against the Sox this season (though none that I can think of off the top of my head), kept the bunt on in a 3-2 count to give DJ Carrasco his first out of the inning. Juan Uribe would make a couple of nice plays to close out the inning, and the Sox escaped unscathed.

Uribe was in the middle of everything in the last few innings. He supplied a true 2-out hit in the Sox 3-run 6th, after Mark Grudzielanek gifted the Sox a pair to keep the inning alive, and added nice defensive plays in each of the last 3 innings.

* * * * *

Joe Crede went 0-3 with an error in his first rehab start with Charlotte. He was pulled before the game was over, but Mark Gonzales makes no mention of it, and says he's due to be back by Wednesday.
After the game, Ozzie made it sound as if we'll see more of Uribe at third until Crede is back.
"Uribe plays third base pretty good," Guillen said. "And I don't right now Fields is swinging the bat the way we think he can swing the bat. I'm going to sacrifice a little bit of offense for some defense. I need better defense right now. I think the offense is going to be fine, I just need Uribe to catch the ball most of the time."
That's fine with me considering it looked like the Twins had read all of the Throw Fastballs to Fields book earlier this week.
Also, to go along with the "we need more defense" theme, Ozzie showed a quick and proper hook, pulling Junior for Brian Anderson after he reached base with a 2-out walk in the 8th.

0 recs | Comment 65 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Uribe and OC had some nice defensive plays tonight... someone earned their BBQ tonight

Nothing like the Royals to right the ship after so many miscues in the dome. DJ and Hawk were saying Javy’s velocity was down, but there was no radar during the game. Any truth to that?

I was a multiple time all star throughout my little league career. Won 5 championships- 4 in a row- thats more in a row than MJ… (kenwo4life@aol.com)

by Ozzie Montana on Aug 1, 2008 11:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I didn't notice because there was no gun.

It’s easy to check on gameday.

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Aug 1, 2008 11:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hawk said that the gun was offline due to heat isues.

He also got in another round of Carlos Gomez-fluffing which made me want to vomit. They were talking about Griffey’s nickname “The Kid” and how it should be Gomez’s new moniker. I just about wanted to drive to Kansas City and strangle Hawk.

"god, you’re fucking stupid."
-- Larry

by SSH2005 on Aug 2, 2008 12:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Holy shit we agree...

You could hear Hawk gagging on Gomez during the entire Twins series.

by Craig Grebeck on Aug 2, 2008 5:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Line-Up

Ozzie deserves his props for tonight…. Alexi in the 6 hole was a dynamite play…

by P-Hose08 on Aug 2, 2008 12:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I didn't know that the Sox were able to score runs with two outs...

I thought it was against the rules?

And like you mentioned, how does Fields whiff on straight fastballs right over the plate?

Oh yeah, can the Twins please fucking lose?

"god, you’re fucking stupid."
-- Larry

by SSH2005 on Aug 2, 2008 12:22 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Not against Jeremy Sowers, they can't.

Is it me, or does Jeremy Sowers pitch every other game for the Indians?

by The Actual El Guapo on Aug 2, 2008 12:49 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

From Alex Eisenberg's article on the Griffey trade...

This is nice to know…

Alex Eisenberg wrote:

One last thing to point out, the White Sox will get some sort of compensation in terms of draft picks when they decline Griffey’s option and if they choose wisely, the prospect(s) they end up picking could easily have more value than Masset and Richar going forward.

"god, you’re fucking stupid."
-- Larry

by SSH2005 on Aug 2, 2008 12:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i see that as a significant portion of the trade's value

and i’m sure kenny knows it too. i still don’t see them as committing to Griffey in center in Sept and Oct. Or even all of August.

nothing gets ‘em wetter than infrequent postings on the city’s second favorite team

by colintj on Aug 2, 2008 3:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

as I told HSA during the game

nice start for JR, defense still scares me. But as she pointed out, he looks good in a Sox uni.

In two weeks they will win 7 or 8 in a row and you all will have 10 inch boners.

by Chiburb on Aug 2, 2008 5:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i don't. i would not risk arbitration with griffey.

nothing like buying a guy out and then having to pay him $13M anyway.

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 10:49 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

How do the Elias rankings work when you switch leagues mid-season?

Because Griffey actually was a type A player in the NL 2006-2007 Elias rankings and would have a very legitimate shot to remain type A for the NL 2007-2008 rankings due to his 2008 Elias stats being being better than his 2006 Elias stats except for maybe home runs. But he would have a very small chance to make type A being considered in the AL Elias rankings because DHs are included with the First Basemen and Outfielders and dominate most Elias stats. My gut feeling is that a player is grouped with players from the league that he most recently played in. But if the rule is you are grouped with the league that you spent the most time in during your two-year evaluation period, that would be great and our chances at 2 comp picks increase.

by 3E8 on Aug 2, 2008 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

people seriously knee to give a nanosecond of thought before they blithely say "and he's a type a/b free agent, so they'll get compensation."

teams don’t offer arbitration to every eligible player. for reasons that are damn obvious. the sox got griffey for masset, richar, and a lot of money. think about it for a second, alex.

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 10:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't need to think about it.

He’s the big kahuna at Baseball-Intellect.

Pitching, defense and health.

by ballyb on Aug 2, 2008 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

he should stick to what his blog is about then.

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If we win tonight

then at the least we have a split on this road trip, which isn’t too bad because sometimes when I read this blog you get the impression the the Sox are the shittiest team in the division.

regards

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 6:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Curious,

where do you live now?

Pitching, defense and health.

by ballyb on Aug 2, 2008 8:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

what are you on about

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 8:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm in Leeds anyway

same place I’ve always been since I started posting on here

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 8:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought you were in England,

but I saw a post that would have been 3 or 4 AM your time and I was curious.

Pitching, defense and health.

by ballyb on Aug 2, 2008 9:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

probably

sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and watch a couple of innings on MLB tv, I’m not a good sleeper

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In London

I remember staying up till 3 or 4 AM to watch some baseball… thank god the school I went to academically was a joke.

I’m not a good sleeper either though.

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 9:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not a Rhodes scholar?

Pitching, defense and health.

by ballyb on Aug 2, 2008 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nope

I was talking about the English school being a joke… my school in the states was pretty hard and for what its worth I was on the deans list all semesters except for one…

Glad its over now, but I’m kinda wondering if its worth it. Most of my friends who graduated are working jobs now that do not require a degree. Hopefully this changes when the market gets better

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 10:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Griffey and Harold Baines

Seeing Harold Baines congratulating Ken Griffey Jr at first base was terrific! In my opinion the two sweetest swings in baseball.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell

by phastphil on Aug 2, 2008 9:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That was pretty cool

I am also ashamed that my cousin who is staying with me for a month didn’t know who Ken Griffey JR is. However, I had to hear about “how creative” some dude from some band called “Of Montreal” is.

Whatever, he’s a nice guy… just doesn’t like sports except for the Olympics… ??

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Olympics are sports?

I’m waiting for the professional downhill skiing/rifle shooting league.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biathlon

"would've been a sweep if pablo was here" -Kenwo-

by Hazymania on Aug 2, 2008 9:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thats my second favorite Winter Olympics sport.

Snowboarding and bobsled are tied for 1.

I tell myself, 'You are a superstar, don't worry about it. You'll be all right.' - Carlos Gomez

by omnipotent grab on Aug 2, 2008 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

of montreal kick ass

nothing gets ‘em wetter than infrequent postings on the city’s second favorite team

by colintj on Aug 2, 2008 12:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh shut up

you indie rock dweeb ;-)

He was a catcher with the Orioles back in the day. Sorry looking (expletive). My brother had his card. He looked like this little kid who got left at a bus station by his parents. You know why? Because he had to catch Hoyt Wilhelms knuckle ball five (expletive) years.

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Disagree.

I CAN'T STAND IT.
Sox Machine

by Sox Machine on Aug 2, 2008 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of music...

Radiohead last night was fucking awesome. They sang Fake Plastic Trees to an amazing firework show. Jack White and the Raconteurs were also good, although I didn’t get to see as much of them as I would’ve liked because the people I went with wanted a relatively decent spot for Radiohead (they were on opposite ends of Grant Park). The Black Lips were pretty neat, too—we had great seats for them but had to give ‘em up when it looked like one of my friends was going to spontaneously combust because of the heat.

I’m definitely buying the weekend package for next year.

by CWSKeith on Aug 2, 2008 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

AJ on Griffey

’’[Griffey] is going to come in and try and fit in the best he can. The bottom line is if we make the playoffs, everyone will say it was a great trade. If we don’t make the playoffs, then everyone will say it was a bad trade.’‘

AIM: SouthSideCheat

by The Cheat on Aug 2, 2008 11:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

that's hardly a ringing endorsement

of your new teammate

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 11:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

huh?

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

what I said

it doesn’t read like a positive quote to me.

Sox fan from England, marching on together

by hoodlight on Aug 2, 2008 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

it's called reality.

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and the quote

emphasized his take on the media/fans perception of the trade. and it was right on..

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you see

us americans like to keep it real yo ;-)

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

AJ Keeping it real

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Play on Player

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

haha

forward this pic to mrs aj?

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's more

http://itsasecretsohush.blogspot.com/2005/09/not-so-blind-items-part-ii_21.html

by 815Sox on Aug 2, 2008 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

damn

i expect these ballplayers to have better taste in women

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They are jocks

I know its hard to think fo your favorite players as such but when it comes down to it most of them are big dumb jocks.

Bloggin'

http://bierjournal.blogspot.com/

by Six Pack on Aug 2, 2008 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

forgot to add 'clearly' above

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Saw this link posted on THT

its pretty funny

by onlysoxfaninboston on Aug 2, 2008 11:24 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Matchup: White Sox (61-47) at Royals (50-60), 2:55 p.m. CT, FOX
Probable Starters: Mark Buehrle (144 IP, 4.38 RA, 1.29 WHIP, 83 K) vs. Kyle Davies (58, 4.66, 1.60, 30)
Pythagorean Record: Chicago, 62-46 (543 RS, 465 RA); Kansas City, 47-63 (456 RS, 532 RA)
Hit List Rankings: Chicago, #4; Kansas City, #23
Prospectus: Ken Griffey Jr., one of three future Hall of Famers to be traded at this year’s deadline, made his White Sox debut in center field last night, going 2-for-3 with two RBI in Chicago’s 4-2 win. In terms of offensive production, as Christina Kahrl discussed, trading for Griffey was a good move for the south siders. Griffey’s presence will serve to bring some balance to the White Sox lineup, for Chicago has received fewer plate appearances from left-handed batters this season (28.1 percent of their total through Thursday) than any other American League team. (Detroit, one of the teams chasing the White Sox, is also overly right-handed at 28.7 percent.) Griffey’s bat had perked up lately; he hit .271/.386/.541 in 101 plate appearances in July, a significant improvement over Paul Konerko (who he’ll likely be replacing in the lineup most days) who hit .209/.274/.284 in 67 PA for the month after his return from the disabled list. Griffey currently stands at 608 home runs, and with two more will pass North Side legend Sammy Sosa and move into fifth place all time. Between Griffey and Jim Thome, the White Sox now have two of the six greatest left-handed home-run hitters of all time in their regular lineup.

Of course, the biggest issue regarding the newly-pinstriped Griffey is his defense, for the White Sox plan to employ a 38-year-old in center field, where he hasn’t played since 2006, and where he has not even been average (by Range Factor) since 2000. General Manager Kenny Williams isn’t concerned about Griffey’s play at the position, and he stated on Thursday that “Center field is actually the easiest of the outfield positions to play from a health perspective…we feel he’s going to give us at least what we were getting out there. Remember, we didn’t have the prototypical guy out there in the first place.” Williams’ assertion is backed up by the numbers: the White Sox got a collective 2.20 Range Factor from their center fielders (Nick Swisher, Bryan Anderson, DeWayne Wise, and Alexei Ramirez) before Griffey’s arrival, the lowest of any team in the majors at the position. The bar Griffey will attempt to clear has been set pretty low then, although that alone does not justify the move.

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 11:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

griffey batting second (as he should) and glad we didn't sign this guy

Reliever available, lineups

By Mark Gonzales – 12:29 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta, whom the White Sox unsuccessfully tried to sign last winter, was designated for assignment Saturday by Kansas City.

Yabuta, signed to a two-year, $6 million contract, was 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA in 26 games with the Royals before he was optioned to Triple-A Omaha six weeks ago.

Here’s today’s lineups:

SOX
Cabrera ss
Griffey cf
Quentin lf
Dye rf
Thome dh
Konerko 1b
Ramirez 2b
Hall c
Uribe 3b
Buehrle p

KANSAS CITY
Aviles ss
German 2b
Teahen rf
Guillen dh
Butler 1b
Gordon 3b
Olivo c
Gload lf
Maier cf
Davies p

sweet. let's sign willie mays, too. he’ll suck but it’s willie. fucking. mays.

by larry on Aug 2, 2008 12:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs