Tag Archives: Jake Peavy

White Sox and Tigers Get Ready for a Motown Showdown

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Bring out the big guns this weekend boys! After a disappointing series in Baltimore, the White Sox have headed to Motown to take on their ferocious conference rival Detroit Tigers. This series is crucial as the Tigers trail the AL-Central leading White Sox by three games and are vying for the conference crown this season.

Both the White Sox and Tigers are coming off losing series, so we’ll call it a wash. The Tigers haven’t been playing their best ball lately – they were swept in three games by the Royals, whereas the Sox came into their roadtrip after a 6-0 homestand against the Yankees (swept the Yanks for the first time in 21 years) and the Mariners. If Detroit takes advantage of their home field advantage (which they’ve done this season – Chicago is winless in four straight at Comerica Park) they could pick up some serious conference ground. In other words, the White Sox need to take this series in Detroit to prove they’re the big dogs in the ALC.

Here are the three top “musts” the Sox must do to keep those Tigers in check.

1. Pitching

Detroit has their three big mound guns going Friday through Sunday with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Chicago’s big guys need to show-up and shut-out – I’m talking to you Jake Peavy, Francisco Liriano and Chris Sale. Peavy has the honor of opening the series and starting things off right. This Tiger offense is powerful, the Sox need to maintain and tame it. Also, the bullpen needs to be one their best behavior. No hiccups allowed.  Addison Reed (who’s really performed like a vet when called upon), Nate Jones, Brett Myers, Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain all need to be ready for tight situations.

2. Heat-up the bats

Detroit has some of the heaviest hitters in the league (Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to throw out some names) and Chicago’s offense needs to heat things up a bit. After some slumping in the Orioles series, the Sox need to see a resurgence from Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn. A.J. Pierzynski has been having a career year and seems to have hit his first major funk of 2012 – let’s put a kabosh on that right now. Also, they need their lead off men to get on base, we’re looking to you Dewayne Wise and Kevin Youkilis.

3. Attack with the gloves

Defense is something a professional baseball team can take for granted – especially with the Tigers. Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez have been making some incredible moves throughout the infield, don’t stop now! The Sox have to allow the Tigers 3 outs and that’s all folks. If Chicago makes defensive errors and allows Detroit freebies to get on base – they can say goodbye to the top spot in the ALC.

Give them hell White Sox! Make it a showdown in Motown to remember.

Chicago Baseball is Around the Corner

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Well wouldn’t ya know, baseball is back, the sport has been off for a solid 4 months. Baseball fans are probably itching for a stadium hotdog, cold beer, peanuts and to sing the lyrics of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”  Do not fret, as of Friday, the Cactus League (click for schedule) will have started it’s 2012 spring training season. Fans will be able to tune into Cubs and White Sox games on TV or take a little vacation if you can scrape up the dinero.  What a rough life professional baseball players have, in the midst of the winter when most of us are itching to escape the cold, Cubs and White Sox players get to head down to Spring Training in Arizona- real tough guys.

If you want to get away and find your Chicago White Sox, head down to Camelback Ranch in Glendale. The Sox are hoping to prepare for a solid recovery season, gain some confidence that had been long lost last season, and find a way to compete in a division that recently got even more competitive with many off season trades (example one: Prince Fielder to the Tigers). Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Gordon Beckham all under performed last season, and Sox management is hoping they get back into the groove. Jake Peavy expressed this weekend that he feels his healthiest since joining the White Sox, his shoulder is “amazing” and he is hoping to perform at an elite level again.

Focus has been placed on 22-year-old lefty Chris Sale, who is being added to the starting pitching rotation. He has come out firing, extremely impressing his teammates early on in spring training. He is hoping to pitch 200 innings as a starter this season. Known for looking much like a string-bean, Sale is looking more manly according to A.J. Pierzynski, “Chris Sale looks good, looks like he put on a pound or two.”

With ex-manager Ozzie Guillen happily in Miami and the security of a four-year, $10 million contract, any and all scrutiny of the team will be fully placed on White Sox general manager Ken Williams. Kenny will be starting his 12th season as the Sox GM, but after not advancing to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, he knows this season will directly effect his future with the Sox. He told Comcast Sportsnet, ”It’s professional sports. If you do not win, and it has been three years since we’ve gone to the playoffs, if you don’t win, changes are made. I have gone into this situation knowing that. I can accept it if ultimately that’s the call. And we can go out the next day, he can call me up and we’ll go out for a steak and a cigar. It will be all good.”

The Cubs are over in Mesa, hoping that their move of snatching Theo Epstein as President of Baseball Operations will break their World Series curse (I’m not holding my breathe just yet, I’m going to give him a few years to get things right).

First order of business was to settle the Theo Epstein compensation issue with the Red Sox, I like to think of it as a consolation prize for the Sox. The Red Sox acquired right-hander Chris Carpenter — not the Cardinals’ former Cy Young Award winner — and a player to be named in exchange for a player to be named. Seems like quite a few ?? to me.

The Cubs are currently a team without many big names, and their only well known player is Alfonso Soriano, who to most people has seemed like an overpaid, 36-year-old unreliable outfielder, with no-trade rights and $54 million guaranteed through 2014. As the veteran on the Cubs, Epstein is looking to Soriano to be a leader this season. “The past couple years we had a nice group, but some people (weren’t) giving 100 percent,” Soriano told CSN. “Now this group is kind of young. They’re hungry to play and we’re ready to compete.” As a role model for the younger players, he should begin by not dropping any fly balls in left field this season.

Both teams are going to have a challenging season, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that both the Sox and Cubs can make it to the post-season this year. It might be a long shot.