White Sox top home run hitter Adam Dunn will miss his 7th straight game Thursday night due to his mysterious oblique injury. Each day Dunn has been held out, many surrounding the team have been optimistic that he’ll be able to get back in there the following day … but that obviously hasn’t been the case.
His Sox are 2-4 since he’s been out of the lineup, as neither the offense or the pitching staff has been able to put together much consistency at all. The Sox have been a very stagnant offense of late, relying on the home run nearly every time out. Our very own Matt Hoeppner described the situation in a very simple and concise, yet effective manner …
Again, I know it’s simple and obvious, but it’s the truth. Dewayne Wise deserves tons of credit for being a big help as he’s had to fill in for Alejandro De Aza and now Dunn, but he’s not a 3 hitter on a playoff contender. Heck, he’s not a 3-hitter on the Cubs.
For those of you wondering just why he’s the Sox’ 3-hitter of late, well that’s a quite simple explanation as well. Manager Robin Ventura didn’t want to mess with the lineup as a whole, so by putting Wise in the 3-spot, the other 8 starters are in their normal, comfortable positions.
Dunn has 38 HR’s so far in 2012, 27 more than he totaled in ’11. Credit: Getty Images
Now obviously, the Sox’ offensive attack hasn’t been successful of late. Showing up for only the 8th and 9th innings when you’re trailing by several runs doesn’t count, either. GSB!’s Luke and I both feel a lineup shakeup is in order, as he’s written about on the site in recent days.
It’s clear that Paul Konerko is not a clean-up hitter right now, so Robin has to suck up his pride and move Paulie to about the number 6 spot. With so many power bats in your order such as Alex Rios, AJ Pierzynski, Kevin Youkilis, Dayan Viciedo, and even Alexei Ramirez, you have the luxury to be able to move things around while still having it ‘look good’ 1-9 on paper.
At least for Thursday’s contest, Ventura has opted not to shake things up quite yet, as Wise will be hitting third in the ‘normal order’ again against Justin Verlander this evening.
As for Dunn – he hopes to be ready to go this weekend in Minnesota. Let’s hope he’s finally ready to come back, as it’s time for the Sox to put up or shut up.
—
Posted by GSB! Founder & Managing Editor, Zach Gropper. Go, go White Sox!