It was not a very good week for the White Sox as they went 1-6 and were swept in Detroit in the most important series of the year to date. There wasn’t a whole lot positive this week but we will try and see who did play better and who the biggest culprits in the skid were.
It certainly was a rough road trip this past week. Credit: Newsday
Streakers
Dylan Axelrod: He only had one start last week but it was the only decent start and helped the Sox get their only win on the road trip. Axelrod was called up for his first in the Majors since July 16th in Boston. In that start he went 6.2 innings and gave up just 1 run on 7 hits with 8n strikeouts and no walks. Wednesday in Baltimore he was strong again, going 7.1 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits and getting the win.
He had been pitching well in Charlotte before being called up and could prove to be a very useful piece to have as the Sox go down the stretch, especially if Quintana and/or Sale need to skip a turn or get some extra days off.
Nate Jones: “The Vulture” has appeared in 6 of the White Sox last 9 games. He picked up back to back wins in relief against the Mariners to close out the Sox perfect homestand and hasn’t allowed a run since August 7th. During his last 6 appearances Jones is holding batters to a .190 batting average and has 5 strikeouts against 2 walks and allowed only 1 of the 7 runners he inherited to score. Jones has been a huge addition to the Sox bullpen in his rookie season and has performed well in a variety of roles. The Sox will need him to keep it up down the stretch.
Alexei Ramirez: The “Cuban Missile” has been the lone bright spot for the Sox offense over the last week. He hit .391 on the road-trip with a double and 4 RBI to go along with 3 walks. He has raised his average to .270, the highest it has been since April 20th. Ramirez has been pretty productive this season, despite his power numbers being down. He has traditionally been a strong performer down the stretch and the Sox could certainly benefit from him being productive in the bottom of the order.
I’ll post this picture of Alexei every chance I get. Credit: South Town Star
Slumpers
AJ Pierzynski: Once the hottest member of the White Sox lineup, AJ has gone into a massive slump. Last week he went 3-22(.136) with 9 strikeouts in 6 games. He did homer on Friday in Detroit, his first since August 12th, but he has really struggled and look lost at times at the plate. His average has dropped 16 points since August 15th when he was hitting .300 and his 9 strikeouts last week account for almost 15% of his season total. AJ has always been a streaky hitter, and it would be a good time for him to level off and start trending back upwards.
Kevin Youkilis: Youk is another Sox veteran mired in a huge funk. He was just 2-for-23 (.087) last week and is 0-for-his last 19 since homering against the Orioles last Monday. After getting off to a hot start with the White Sox his numbers have leveled off a little, overall he is hitting .236 with 12 homers and 38 RBI in 56 games with the Pale Hose. Not bad production, but he has also struck out 49 times against 29 walks, which is a bit of a concern. Youkilis is a veteran who has been in plenty of pennant chases and the White Sox hope that his experience will pay off for them down the stretch.
Regular Rotation Starters: The Sox regular rotation starters went 0-5 last week and haven’t won a game since Chris Sale’s 13 strikeout performance against the Yankees on August 22nd. They had a 7.53 combined ERA last week and nobody pitched more than 6 innings in a start. Liriano had the best performance in the first game against Baltimore giving up 2 runs in 5 innings before the bullpen blew two separate leads.
Guys like Peavy and Sale, who have stopped losing streaks before were unable to step up and do the job this weekend in Detroit. The Sox starting rotation has been a strength throughout the season and if they want to win the AL Central and advance to the post-season, they will have to step up.
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Posted by Matt Hoeppner, GSB! Contributor.