[Scott Merkin]:
"Right now, I'm trying to get the swing down where it feels comfortable to me. I'm not worried about the other stuff. Obviously I want to do good down here, but I'm not really worried about what I'm hitting or what the numbers are saying. I'm trying to get something that feels good. Right now, my swing feels good and my approach feels good."
...
Following the AFL title game, Sweeney intends to take a break from baseball until December. Assuming he's still with the White Sox at that point, Sweeney will resume working on whatever the White Sox have in mind -- even if it's an increase in power for this natural talent.
"It's the end of a long season, so it's not an excuse, but hopefully the power comes. If not, I guess I'll just have to be a leadoff hitter or something," said Sweeney with a laugh. "[Last season], I just went into one of the biggest slumps I've had in my career. Hitting .270 [for Triple-A Charlotte] isn't bad, but I expect much more out of myself than that. Being in my second year in Triple-A and hitting pretty much .300 my first year [.296], I was pretty disappointed. There's nothing I can do about it because everybody has bad years. I just have to hopefully forget about this year and just worry about next year."
- Coco Crisp gets the highest plus/minus score at CF, 36, when "balls that hit an outfield wall at a height that is physically out of reach" are removed from the calculation (the Manny Adjustment).
- Jim has video of Ryan Sweeney's first AFL extra base hit (3-run HR). He had 2 doubles yesterday.
- Hot Stove: The Padres are interested in Matt Clement. Clement could be looking for a one-year deal with incentives. Torii Hunter is the Rangers #1 goal. Omar Minaya says he's willing to trade his top prospects for a starting pitcher. And Tadahito is a Free Agent.
- The advantage of batting left-handed.
- PMR stats for RF, 2B, and 3B.
- And Carl has a new comic strip: Another Slow Start