A series of loosely connected observations after a stress-free evening...
No. 1: After belting two homers in an 11-1 trouncing of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night -- including the season's first grand slams -- the White Sox are now tied with their current opponents for the league lead in home runs with 13.
So prodigious are the Sox when it comes to the long ball, that they're the only American League team with more homers than doubles. That's fine for now, but here's hoping they're able to change gears if Andruw Jones remembers that he's supposed to be washed up.
No. 2: Speaking of league leaders, guess who's leading the AL in hitting with a line of .307/.362/.450?
None other than the Kansas City Royals. And they're also 12-for-13 in the stolen-base department.
Scott Podsednik is the ringleader of the operation in the early going, hitting .457/.525/.486 with six stolen bases in six attempts, which prompted Joe Cowley to ask how Juan Pierre is working out so far.
It's not an unfair question, it's just premature. If I had to draft a player for a month-long season, I'd pick Pods over Pierre every time. Pods packs a "wow" factor; Pierre's game is steady as she goes.
But it's a question that's only appropriate after half a season, at least. If Pods repeats his 2009 season and Pierre's OBP is still languishing around .300, then we can start talking about whether the Sox misread the market and how much it may have hurt them. Until now, good on Pods for continuing to prove people wrong, and that's about it.
No. 3: Pierre somehow played the sidewall at Rogers Centre perfectly. He didn't stutter-step or stagger while chasing a foul ball down the line. Instead, he slowed down enough just to get a good feel for the wall, and then lunge over it to try to catch a foul ball that a fan caught instead.
So maybe it's purely a stadium thing, although I don't know why the Rogers Centre would feel like home to him. Maybe the attendance reminds him of Florida.
No. 4: John Danks' changeup is great. Hopefully his fingers will continue to let him feel it.
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Two huge shockers:
*Ozzie Guillen is candid:
When we won this thing in 2005, I've always said they have a right to fire me, they do. But I think there's a lot of people now, where if I'm going to leave, I think they would give me a shot. There are a lot of horse[bleep] managers out there that they've given two and three shots to manage in the big leagues. I don't see why not me.'' [...]
"Manny Acta - I don't want to talk [bad] about Manny - but Manny had negative seasons, no? He had two [bleeping] teams that wanted him. Why can't I get another chance with another team?"
The Sox head to Cleveland after finishing their series with Toronto today. I bet this will be brought up.
Oh, and Guillen said of the booing of Alex Rios, "Bull[bleep], horse[bleep] fans." Considering Jays fans set a record for lowest attendance in Rogers Centre/SkyDome history, I think he wins this one.
*Jake Peavy is intense:
''I was just talking to Coop, and if I don't throw seven innings in a ballgame -- I don't care if I throw six shutout [innings] -- that's unacceptable,'' Peavy said. ''If I don't throw seven innings a game, I don't feel like I've pulled my weight.
''I mean, giving up a couple of leads [Monday] -- there's no other way to say it -- that just makes me want to puke. I want to vomit on the mound.''
It's looking to me like "Jake Peavy is intense" is going to be the greatest gift-giving storyline since "Jon Garland is from California." At least until he starts using a Roger Bossard rake for bloodletting in the clubhouse. His or somebody else's.
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Minor league roundup:
- Norfolk 9, Charlotte 0
- One rough inning doomed Carlos Torres, who allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over five innings, striking out two.
- Dayan Viciedo went 2-for-4.
- Jordan Danks went 0-for-3 with a walk, and stole his second base.
- Mobile 7, Birmingham 2
- Brent Morel went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Christian Marrero walked and struck out in four at-bats. He committed an error, but threw a runner out at second.
- Matt Long was shelled for six runs on 10 hits over three innings.
- Winston-Salem 13, Potomac 4
- Josh Phegley, Jon Gilmore and Kenny Williams Jr. had two hits apiece.
- Phegley committed a throwing error and allowed a passed ball.
- Drew Garcia went 3-for-5 with a doubule and four RBI.
- Justin Greene went 3-for-4 with a doubele, walk and two RBI.
- Dan Remenowsky struck out three over two innings, allowing a solo shot.
- Justin Edwards gave up one earned run on three hits and a walk over five innings, striking out five.
- Kannapolis 6, Lexington 1
- Nick Ciolli went 2-for-3 with a double, walk, RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. He struck out once.
- Juan Silverio doubled, tripled and drove in two. He also struck out once.
- Joe Serafin worked around a ton of baserunners, allowing just one run on five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings, with two strikeouts.
- Ryan Buch walked one and fanned one over 1 2/3 innings.
- Drew O'Neil struck out three over two perfect innings.
And tip a 40 for Santo Luis, who is following in Dewon Day's footsteps by being claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. And that's two Dewon Day references this week.
