I will try to make a regular habit out of posting my thoughts on each game, but like everyone else, I have I busy schedule so I may not get around to this every single day. For now, though, I am in St. Louis for the series and will be at every game this series, so I am excited to give everyone a perspective of what it was like at the park as opposed to watching the game on television.
– First, the painfully obvious: Paul Konerko is a machine. He’s done a much better job this season of getting base hits off of tough pitches. It looks like he’s trying to put his focus more on taking things up the middle that aren’t his pitches. In the past, he’d foul off “pitcher’s pitches” and extend at-bats, which is what you are supposed to do. Now, however, he’s taking that to another level and turning those into hits.
– I love this Jose Quintana kid. Today, the numbers show that he did not have his best stuff, giving up 10 hits. However, just as in every single outing this far, his control was almost pin-point, as today he had no walks. Think about our new “Q” for a second (if you’re late to the party, it’s no longer Carlos Quentin). A lefty without overwhelming stuff, but throws strikes, doesn’t walk guys, keeps his pitch count down and keeps his composure. Who does that remind you of Sox fans? Mark Buehrle? It’s only a handful of starts, but on the surface, I think that’s a spot-on comparison. This guy better not lose his rotation spot once Danks gets back.
“Jose Buehrlita.” Photo courtesy ESPN
– Speaking of Danks, he gave up three runs in four innings in his rehab start tonight in AAA. Not great numbers, but really, the concern for him is health. If all things are OK tomorrow, that’s way better news than the statline. Also, his brother got a hustle double tonight after entering into the game for defense late. He now has four hits in eight at-bats. The man he replaced, Kosuke Fukudome, had seven in 41. And oh, he has more speed and has always been regarded as the system’s best defensive outfielder. Please Sox, make the right decision when Kosuke gets healthy and just leave Danks up here.
– Don’t look into Reed working the ninth with a five run lead too much, as it has nothing to do with lack of confidence with anyone else in the bullpen. Reed worked that inning simply because he hadn’t pitched since June 7, and before that game, he hadn’t worked since June 2. He just needed to get an inning of work in, and would have no matter the score.
Photo courtesy iSportsWeb.com
– One nugget from before the game that was pretty cool: Jake Peavy’s son, who didn’t look like he could be any older than six or seven, was pitching on the outfield grass during batting practice and Chris Sale was catching him. Sale was having a fun time joking around with him, falling down a few times when he threw a pitch hard. I thought it was a cool side of Chris Sale to see.
Well, that’ll do it. It was great to see Dunn and AJ continue to hit baseballs into the seats, and De Aza continued his case for an all-star bid with yet another opposite field double. Tomorrow’s game should be a dandy, with Jake Peavy on the bump facing 9-2 Lance Lynn. Here’s to hoping the Sox can gain more games on Cleveland and Detroit as they did tonight.