Sunday, July 8, 2012
Return of the Blogger
My apologies for not blogging much over the past month. The fault is entirely mine (“it’s not you, it’s me”). I just found myself so crazily busy (Gold Medal, #TakeJake, etc) that I never seemed to have the 45 minutes it takes to sit down and write. The result is a lot of my information went out on twitter (@whitesox) or Facebook.
During the second half, my goal will be to write two or three times a week, collecting stories and such along the way to keep it interesting. If there is news or something worth posting in the interim, I may ask a staff member to throw the info up at Inside The Sox.
So that is the plan (and my hope is this season just keeps getting busier and busier!)
Where We Stand
Shows what I know. I looked at our schedule from New York to the All-Star Break and thought, “that’s pretty tough, I hope we can play .500 baseball into the break.”
We’ve gone 7-2 over that span (with one to play today), and have almost reached the point of wishing the break didn’t arrive to challenge our momentum (almost!)
So here are some of manager Robin Ventura’s thoughts heading into the break …
On the ups and downs of the season:
“That stuff’s fun. I think that’s part of going through a season – you’re going to have different things. You add a guy like (Kevin) Youk(ilis) and it just changes the mentality of where we started and where we’re at now.”
On the confidence of the players:
“You feel you can play with anybody; how it’s going to end up, nobody knows that. You can control your effort. You can control your concentration and things like that. The things that we work on is we’re working on the defense and being cognizant of that kind of stuff as opposed to things you can’t control so that’s the stuff you stay focused on.”
On his message to the players about the All-Star Break:
“Yeah they get to enjoy it, but when they get back be ready to go the same as it was before they left. It’s going to be the same when they get back in regards to expectations and the focus shifts back to playing games. Enjoy the four days; guys going to the All-Star Game enjoy it; when we get back we still have more to do.”
On what to be concerned about with rookies in the second half:
“Again, it’s just about making things simple. If you think too much about the consequences of what can happen two weeks down the road it can overwhelm you as a young player so it’s more about staying focused on the day-to-day stuff. It’s really no different. That’s my focus and it might as well be theirs.”
On if it takes a lot of guys having a good year to win it all:
“I don’t think anybody’s overachieving. I think guys are just playing to their capabilities and they’re playing well as a team. They’re getting hits at the right time. Guys are getting on base when we need a guy to get on base. In games that are closer, if we need a guy to get on we get him on, get him over and get him in. That’s the best part of it is that we’re all working together. But I don’t see anyone that’s overachieving, I just see guys that are playing to their capabilities.”
On how he would evaluate himself from Opening Day until now:
“Me? I’m probably better than I was on Opening Day. I won a few games so that would be natural. I don’t think I lost any games early on.”
On his focus on the fundamentals:
“In baseball you sometimes try and take things a little further and then it gets confusing. You can forget about one thing and add three or four more things. It’s always been a simpler approach for me, even on the teams that I was on that could probably do a little bit more, it’s just easier to make sure you do the simple things, fundamental things, and the rest of it is just playing baseball.”
On if he needs to safeguard anyone in the second half:
“We’ll figure it out. I just want them to play. I don’t want them going in thinking anything different than what they are right now. I want them to be ready to play.”
On if he thinks about pennant races:
“No, I do not. Just get them through today and get ready for the start of it. If you start thinking too far down the line then you just lose focus on what you can actually control, even for me. Guys can sit in there and talk about it, but if they see me thinking two weeks down the road then they’re going to think two weeks down. You have to think about it as a manager, but I don’t do it around anybody.”
On if it’s been a fun for him thus far:
“I’m in a place where I want to be, with a staff that I enjoy being around and the players have been great. I got a good group. I got lucky for a first year. I got bros.”
On if he evaluates himself at all:
“I have a boss that does that. I don’t feel it’s necessary for me to try to assess myself, but they let me know.”
On if he’s learning as a manager so far:
“You’re always learning. Even guys that have been around a long time, many different situations come up. I don’t think I know it all. You continue every day to get a little more comfortable and learn new things.”
On his toughest decision as a manager:
“Pitchers – when you’re pulling a pitcher, when to leave him, when to take him out, those are always the hardest ones because you never know. Whether you take him out or leave him in you’re still going to have the same result, but the effect on the guy of when you take him out or leave him in is just as much a part of the story as whether he got the batters out or not.”
On the mental break that comes with the All-Star Break:
“It is (mentally taxing). It’s good for us to get that break. We’ve got guys that have been around long enough, that get it, and it’s up to us to make sure they’re focused enough to stay on task of what we’re trying to do.”
Heading Out of Town
Staff and players have flights booked to various locations for the All-Star Break, while PK, Chris Sale and Adam Dunn head for Kansas City. Most seem to be looking forward to sleeping in their own beds and a break in the baseball routine before returning to action Friday against the Royals.
Fan Cave
Speaking of Sale, the lefty and Addison Reed visited MLB’s Fan Cave recently when the team was in New York. The two had fun in front of the camera and meeting the Fan Cave contestants.
Click here to see what Chris Sale is most looking forward to at the All-Star Game in Kansas City.
Click here to watch Addison Reed ask fans to help him choose his walk-out music.
Best Line of the Week
Adam Dunn about Snoop Dog (to MLB Network):
“He makes Chris Sale look fat!”
©Ron Vesely/Chicago White Sox
Double Duty Classic
The White Sox again hosted the Double Duty Classic at the end of June. The Classic, the club’s annual homage to the old East-West Negro League game played at OCP from the 1930s-60s, now features some of the top amateur minority players in the country (White Sox 2012 first round pick Courtney Hawkins played in the 2011 game).
The teams were comprised of players from 10 states and the District of Columbia. 31 players hailed from Illinois. The West All-Star team prevailed this year shutting out the East All-Stars 4-0.
Shadow Infield
Few could believe it in New York the other day as the White Sox took an entire infield without a baseball. This “shadow or phantom infield” is something high school and college teams sometimes do for fun (and to learn where/how to take infield without the errors and misthrows). Some say Negro League teams did it to entertain fans, but you rarely see a professional team do it before a game, and never a major league team … until the Sox (and in Yankee Stadium no less).
Keith Olberman happened to be there and caught the infield on tape: http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/2012/06/29/phantom-ball-with-video-and-monty/
Speaks to how loose this club is with Ventura as manager.
Caught in Translation
With Cuban Dayan Viciedo about to hit against a new Yankees pitcher on June 28 in New York, hitting coach Jeff Manto grabbed a translator and approached Viciedo in the dugout. Manto went through the “book” on Dave Robertson as Viciedo repeatedly nodded his head in agreement.
“Do you think he understood what I said?” Manto asked the interpreter as Viciedo approached the plate.
BOOM! A game winning home run to left field, stunning Yankee Stadium’s crowd.
“I think he understood,” the interpreter said after high fives were exchanged.
Click here to re-live Tank’s game-winning home run
Tradition
Heading to Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove tomorrow for the annual Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities outing. Word is I get to play with Mr. Bill Pierce and former Cub Gene Heiser. I told them that means I am either extremely honored or no one else wanted to play with me. I’m going with the first answer, regardless of the truth! Looking fun, as always, to playing with Billy.
Thanks
Doesn’t matter what the final Final Man vote todals say, we won. Jake Peavy may not have passed Texas’ Yu Darvish on the last day, but the White Sox won. We won because once again our fan base responded beyond all belief (a city took on and was gaining on Texas and the entire country of Japan), our clubhouse rallied around a teammate (see the great Beckham video of Jake) and Jake (and the rest of our players felt how our organization, and our fans, supported them. Jake may not be in KC this Tuesday, but we won the Final Man vote in so many ways.
Thank you fans for once again responding to the online vote and for a deafening response on Twitter and Facebook. There is a reason we get a final man candidate each year, it is because our fans respond to the challenge. We cannot say enough.
6.24.12
Ken Williams (regarding Kevin Youkilis trade)
Can you talk about the completed deal?
Very simply – I must commend the spirit, and the job that Orlando Hudson has done up to this point for us because we needed to fill the position. He came in admirably and really went after it. And he’s made some great plays over there. In terms of wanting and needing a little more stability at the position as well as providing a little bit of offense in the form that Kevin [Youkilis] can provide. Another on-base percentage guy, another guy that’s not afraid to get a big hit. We just felt at this time it was necessary, and necessary to do it sooner rather than later.
What does your scouting report say about Youkilis at this point in his career? He was a big power-guy earlier in his career before injuries…
That is something that obviously you check into right away. We were given a good bill of health from him; it’s been described that he hasn’t felt this good physically in a long time. I just got off the phone with him and he’s very excited to join our club, he’s got a little edge to him, which I like. I think he’s going to fit in just fine with our ballclub.
What does “got a little edge” mean?
I can’t tell you exactly what he said, but he wants to come in and he wants to prove some people wrong.
Did this come together pretty quickly or was it a long process?
Well, quickly in the sense that in the last 24 hours we were able to consummate a deal when we had been going back-and-forth for a number of days. I wasn’t really sure whether or not this was going to materialize.
How much of the deal had to do with getting the money right?
Well, a lot of it. I don’t want to get into dollars and cents because you guys bury me when I do that, so I think we’ll just say that the deal made sense from a player standpoint – a talent standpoint – and a financial standpoint for us.
Do you see yourself making further moves this season?
I think at this point in time, we owe it to our fans and the men in that clubhouse in uniform to try to exhaust ourselves to try to be the best possible team we can be. Often times it’s determined that it means bringing veterans into the equation, and I don’t necessarily believe in that. Sometimes it’s pulling the youth that you have together, both in terms of talent and the spirit that they bring, and the energy that they bring. So I think it’s something that you have to be very careful to – that’s why you have a lot of conversations, because you don’t want to disrupt that mix, you don’t want to disrupt that chemistry. That’s why I lean on the coaching staff and Robin quite a bit in terms of what we’re dealing with in terms of the makeup of the club. And we’ll cross those bridges when we get there and determine whether it’s a veteran or a young guy. But I think our young guys have risen to the occasion on darn near every level, and I think they deserve to be given at least the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t too long ago that we took a guy from Double-A in Bobby Jenks and put him right in the mix of things, and that helped us win a world championship. So we’re not afraid to go with the young guys.
What does this mean for Brent Morel this season?
All Brent can do right now is focus on his health. And we’re focused on getting him the best possible medical care that we can give him and get him back on the field. So right now he’s not really a factor in terms of the major league team. We’ve got to get him healthy so he can get back on the field, number one.
With Quintana pitching so well recently, does it take pressure of needing another starter right now?
Well there’s no doubt that he’s shown himself to be a major-league pitcher. And I think he’s shown the type of quality that he brings to the table. But we have to assess our entire situation; we have to be patient in some areas. The great thing is we’re getting a lot of quality pitching right now and we’re not completely healthy. So once we get healthy, I think there’s room both offensively and on our pitching staff for this team to grow. And it’s exciting to watch.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Looking To Monday
Scouting director Doug Laumann met with the media Saturday before the game and discussed his team’s general plans for Monday night’s First-Year Player Draft. The Sox pick 13th in the first round and then have the 48th overall pick as compensation for losing free agent Mark Buehrle.
Here are some of Doug’s comments:
Are you prepared for Monday or do you still have a lot more work to do?
We’ve got a lot more work to do, but we’re in pretty good shape. We came in on Wednesday, did some video work on Wednesday and Thursday; just breaking down the upper portion of the draft the last couple of days. Kenny [Williams] and Mr. Reinsdorf are going to come in and spend a couple of hours with us today to help us get prepared for that first pick, and along the way we’ll get the rest of them lined up. So we’re in pretty good shape right now.
Some drafts are deeper than others. How would you characterize this year?
Probably as thin as I’ve seen in a decade. A lot of different factors play into it. I think personally one of the biggest ones is, as of about two or three years ago – and I don’t know if people were anticipating the CBA changing a little bit with the amount of money people were allowed to spend – but teams started spending a lot more money on high school players a couple of years ago and I think that’s really kind of depleted the college ranks. A lot of the good high school players over the past few years have been signing, and we see that it’s pretty thin right now in the college ranks.
Is pitching usually your focus?
Yeah, typically it is. I’ve commented before that Kenny and Jerry have always said that pitching is where it starts. And we kind of feel that way, although you certainly have to have people that can catch the ball and throw it across the infield and stuff like that. But we always look to see if there’s pitching; if we’re going to break a tie, we’ll usually break it with a pitcher. But at the same time it’s important just to see who the best and most impactful type of player is out there.
Your last No. 13 pick was Chris Sale. Do you think there’s a guy in this draft that could help your team quickly?
There may be. The thing about Chris that was so interesting was a couple things: number one, he was able to help quickly, and we recognized that; we knew that. But at the same time, teams have done that in the past. And those types of guys didn’t particularly have a high ceiling. They were guys that you thought maybe could get there quickly, but they kind of were what they were.
With Chris we recognized that he could get there quickly, but also that there was something beyond that with him. I can’t speak highly enough about the minor league system and the way we handled him. We kind of had a career path set out for him, and that was that initially he was going to go ahead and get some innings in the bullpen to get accustomed to the professional life; and that at some point in time he would develop into a starter. Thank goodness that everything has worked out that way so far.
Are there any other positions that you’d especially like to improve upon?
Buddy Bell, who’s kind of in charge of the minor league system right now – Buddy and I are really close, we’ve been friends for 30 years – we communicate very well with each other. I’m cognizant of always talking to him about, ‘do we have needs; do we have certain areas that we have to get stronger in?’ There’s always that need for pitching, like I said, but if perhaps I’m thinking about taking a catcher in the first couple of rounds, I’ll ask Buddy: ‘how is our catching? Where do we stand with that?’
So we’ve identified a few areas; we’re always looking for middle infielders, those skill type of players. Hopefully with what we’ve got going on in Latin America as well, we can go ahead and fill those needs. But you don’t really start filling needs until a little bit later in the draft, you try to get the best players initially.
How important is it for the top picks to make an impact in the near future?
I kind of view myself as a purchasing agent. I have my own personal views, and sometimes they may or may not line up with what the organizational views are. Typically they do, that’s why I’m in the position that I’m in. But it’s Kenny’s philosophy that you win championships with Type-1 players; with impact types of players. We have good discussions, healthy discussions, about whether or not, ok, well this guy can get there, he can get there quickly, he’s not going to be a great player but there’s a high percentage that he can get there. Take that versus this other guy that, it may take him awhile, but ultimately he could be that impact player. And we’ve always opted for that impact-type player.
Are there any high school players on your draft board?
This year more than any, there’s a chance that a high school kid could be considered with that pick.
With where you’re picking, do you worry about signability at all?
Well hopefully the way the new CBA was set up – we’re always going to do our homework – but I think agents, players, families and everybody is kind of aware of exactly where it is. At this point you identify that we pick at 13, this is what we’re going to spend and are you willing to take this? If you’ve got a guy that you think is worth way more than that, then you’ve got to get creative and get some other things done. But I think we’re confident that the guy we get is going to be somebody that’s going to take the type of money that we have.
Going into the draft, do you have a list of potential players and cross them off as the day unfolds?
We probably have 20 names on that list for the 13th pick right now. There are probably about eight-10 of them that we know are going to be gone, and then we’ve got a list of about 10 that we’re kind of putting in order. Would we take them if they got there, wouldn’t we?
Then we have those philosophical discussions: ‘Ok, we have a college right-handed pitcher that could maybe help you here pretty quickly. Or we’ve got a high school left-hander that might take three or four years, but when he gets here, this guy could be dominant.’ And those are the types of things that we discuss.
Quite frankly – I won’t run or hide from it – we weren’t sure where we were going to be at this point. Through the offseason with all the naysayers, some people had us losing 100 games. So are we in a rebuilding mode, or are we in a mode that we’re going to do this and that? As we sit here today we’re in first place and have a six-game lead on the team that was going to run away and hide. So does that then change our philosophy a little bit? Well, those are the kinds of discussions that we have.
Had we been 15-30 and not where we are right now, the mode might’ve been that: ‘hey, let’s start building a little bit. Let’s start taking some guys that are a bit further away.’ Versus right now, where maybe there’s someone out there that can contribute fairly quickly.’
All of those questions haven’t been answered yet, but we certainly go through all of them.
Info
Live coverage of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft begins with a one-hour preview show on Monday at 5 p.m. CT on MLB.com and MLB Network, followed by the first round and compensation rounds (best guess is the Sox picks will fall around 7:30 p.m. and 9 pm). MLB.com will provide exclusive coverage of Day 2 and Day 3. You can also keep updated by following @MLBDraft on twitter and #mlbdraft. You also can follow @whitesox Monday evening. Ron Karkovice (the Sox first-round pick from 1982) and Kevin Coe, Sox manager of youth baseball initiatives, are attending the draft as representatives of the White Sox.
Saturday, June …
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Any Publicity is Good Publicity …
I kidded Hawk today that it’s a pretty good sign when your photo on this back page is bigger than the President’s photo on the front page of the newspaper (I couldn’t tell if Hawk liked my joke or not) …
On A Roll
Always amazing how many great stories and stats get produced when your team is winning.
For example:
- The White Sox nine-game winning streak is the longest since 7/4-15/10. We won 11 in a row from 6/15-27/10.
- Our 30-22 record is the team’s best after 52 games since 2006 and 6.0 games better than last year.
- The Sox have won seven straight over Seattle.
- Sox are hitting .312 with a 3.78 ERA on this nine-game winning streak.
- The Sox have been in first place 10 days this season compared to four in 2011, 33 in 2010 and 13 in 2009.
- The Sox lead the majors in avg, HR, runs, runs/game, OBP, SLG and avg with RISP over the past 17 games.
- Since 1995, 72 of the 102 teams (70.6 percent) who have held at least a share of the division lead entering June have reached the playoffs (Sox are three of four, missing in 2004)
- Sox have outscored the opposition by +40, the third-largest gap in baseball behind only Texas (+77) and St. Louis (+57).
- The Sox have won six straight at home.
Chuckle
Guest coach Art Kusyner on seeing Harold Baines and Robin Ventura sitting together at a table in Tampa’s clubhouse:
“Look at those two working each other up into a frenzy.”
As told by Tom Paciorek during the game broadcast.
Class Act
White Sox pitcher Philip Humber was gracious enough to autograph a mini poster of his Perfect Game for Sox front office staff and even some members of the Seattle front office who helped out with his Perfecto on April 21. It’s a tradition started by Jim Thomas (500th home run) and continued by Mark Buehrle (Perfect Game) and now Humber. Very cool.
Your 1st Place White Sox
Family Field Day
Saturday, May 26, 2012
On Saturday, June 16, the White Sox host what I consider one of the best charities events of the year, the Family Field Day and Garage Sale. Now in its ninth year, this is a fun and affordable opportunity for fans to play catch in the outfield grass, sit the dugouts and bullpens, pose for photos on the field and make those once-in-a-lifetime memories with loved ones. It makes for a perfect Father’s Day gift or simply a fun family outing.
For all the collectors out there, you have the chance to purchase game-worn hats, pants, gloves and team-issued jerseys, along with used bats, balls and a wide variety of exclusive and rare White Sox gear at the Garage Sale.
To participate in this unique experience, you can sign up for one of three time sessions (9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., or 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) at whitesox.com. Tickets are $30 for adults and $12 for children age 13 and under. There are a limited amount of tickets available, so get yours soon!
http://atmlb.com/JW0rpz
Catching Back Up
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Been crazy around here for a number of reasons, so trying to catch back up with this blog.
Crazy windy tonight. Game might be very interesting.
Former White Sox player Greg Norton was in the ballpark for BP today. Great to see Norty, who brought along his six-year-old son and a friend to the game. After retiring (makes me feel old), Norton managed at Class AAA for a couple of years before taking this year off to be with his family.
Robin Ventura, Paul Konerko and Mike Gellinger all made a beeline over to see Norton.
Stop Bullying Message
Special thanks to Brent Lillibridge, who visited McClellan Elementary School down 35th street this morning to send the kids an anti-bullying message and debut a new video released by the club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZkb-ZdLqsc
You can read about the visit here: http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/29705364/white-sox-launch-campaign-against-bullying
Perspective
Fans who attend home games often know we feature a special “Hero of the Game” in the third inning when a serviceman or woman is brought out onto the field between half innings to be recognized by our fans and the teams. The always-touching moment features a standing ovation, and members of both teams (and the umpires) stand and applaud. We received this email from one of our honorees who is now back on duty in Afghanistan:
First Name: Michael
Subject: Hero of the game
Message:
On April 19th I was the Hero of the game. I’m in Afghanistan now and I wanted to thank you for all you did for me. It was the greatest feeling ever being down there and having the greatest fans in the world cheering for me. The only bad thing was I couldnt here what was being said. Is there any way I can get a script or video of what was said. All I heard was “Operation Iraqi Freedom” Anyways as a Service Member I think what you do for all the troops is great and I will never forget this. The Staff that made it possible, the chevy pride crew that guided me to the field, and the Players who also stood up and clapped all make serving this country the greatest job in the world and worth every sacrifice we make.
No, Michael, we thank you. God bless.
Remembering
With Kevin Hickey’s passing and funeral this week, we’ve now lost two important members of the White Sox family this season.
You’ll see our players wearing patches to honor Bill “Moose” Skowron and Kevin “Hicman” Hickey the rest of this season.
Losing Kevin was tough on our entire team. When the bagpiper began Amazing Grace at the end of his funeral service on Tuesday morning, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place. A tough, tough emotional day.
Hicman was one of a kind. Definitely South Side. Definitely proud to be a White Sox.
I was supposed to play golf with Hick and Mark Salas after our workout on April 5, the day Hic didn’t show up for our workout. EMT’s found him in his hotel room and rushed him to the hospital. He never really came back to us after that. Man, I will miss him.
AJ Pierzynski and Don Cooper showed great courage in speaking at Tuesday’s funeral. AJ talked about all of Hickey’s exhortations from the bench during a game (“Show him your credentials, Paulie!” … “Crown him!” … “You’re better than him!”) and remarked that Hickey would be the happiest guy in heaven because of the three-game sweep of the Cubs.
Cooper joked that Hickey probably was already nagging God. “What can I do to help?” he imaged Hickey asking incessantly.
No one worked harder. No one took more pride in wearing a big league uniform. Another dear friend lost.
Roland Hemond came up for the service and pulled a beat up sheet of paper out of his coat pocket.
“Look at this, look at these numbers,” he said to me, pointing at the line. “Hickey against George Brett, 0-15 for his career. Wade Boggs, 1-11 …”
Warming Up
“Hey, Alexei,” Ken Williams called out to Alexei Ramirez today as BP ended. “Look at the scoreboard. It’s 84 degrees! You don’t need to wait until June 1,” he said laughing.
Alexei broke into a big smile.
Williams on Comcast
KW sat down with Pat Boyle of Comcast last night before the game. Catch it here: http://www.csnchicago.com/pat_boyle_podcast
Friday, May 18, 2012
Below is an email that one of our staffers received yesterday. We liked it so much that we had to share it with you.
Hi Jo.I hope this finds you well and I wanted to share this with you. Jason and I went to the Sox game in Anaheim last night & sat behind our dugout.. There was a little boy, about 6 or so, decked out in head to toe Konerko gear, just like his father. Every inning break, he would run down to the dugout and shake his glove, hoping for a ball. The other kids (angels fans) were bigger than him & he kept walking past me to go back to his Dad, disappointed. I turned to the Dad and said “Next time, I’m taking your kid down there myself…”
At the inning break, I looked to my right & there was the kid, waiting for my help. I said, “OK Tommy, lets do this!” I held him up a little and he was shaking his glove, Paulie spotted him and pointed right at him so all the other kids knew to stay away, and he rolled the ball on the dugout right into little Tommy’s glove! We were jumping up and down like crazy, he was so happy and when he got back to his Dad, he just started crying… he finally turned around and said thanks with the biggest smile and tears in his eyes.
Long story short, Paul Konerko made that kid feel so important, he will probably never forget it so I want to say THANKS TO HIM!!!…It was a great night (that would have only been better if we won).
GO WHITE SOX!!
Best Regards,
Gina M.
Paulie also made the day for one of our twitter followers (@itsmarthab). You can see some of her tweets here.
Quest for BP Crosstown Cup begins
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The quest for the BP Crosstown Cup begins tomorrow as the White Sox head to the North Side for a three-game set. The action begins tomorrow at 1:20 pm. This season marks the first time in the history of the interleague series that both teams enter with rookie managers. We’ve put together some Cubs-Sox series facts for your enjoyment. BP Crosstown Cup Facts & Figures
Big Hitter
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
On Monday, White Sox designated hitter/first baseman/leftfielder Adam Dunn spent time talking to Sox season ticket holders on a special conference call. Here are a few of his select comments from the conversation:
Q: Later on this week, you are scheduled to play the field. Are you excited about that?
A: I’m hearing that I’ll be back in the outfield a little bit. That will be exciting. It will be fun, a little change up for me.
Q: You’ve played the field before. You’ve played first base for us, sharing time with Paul Konerko. The newspaper today says you’ll be playing in the outfield. Is this true?
A: Yes. It’s something I’ve done my whole career, so it’s not too foreign for me. Anytime I can get on the field, especially during interleague when there is no DH, I would much rather play in the outfield or anywhere I can play instead of sitting on the bench.
Q: It’s great to have you back to your old self. What made the difference?
A: It’s really nothing mechanical. I think this time last year I really wasn’t as healthy as I would have liked. That resulted in some bad habits I wasn’t able to get out of. This year I have been 100 percent healthy and feel like my normal self.
Q: Do you think that you playing in the field, rather than DH, has helped you this year?
A: This year I’ve gotten a bit more acclimated. That was a much bigger adjustment than I had anticipated. If you know my personality, you know I’m not the type to just sit there and twiddle my thumbs. I’ve got to be doing something all the time. Robin’s done a really good job with letting me get out there usually about once a series. I don’t know if it’s helped, but I certainly like being out there and having fun.
Q: How has the coaching staff been? Have they been helpful to you this season?
A: Yes. I feel like I got to hand pick the coaching staff. I’m serious. It’s everyone. It’s as good of a coaching staff as you could put together. They relate to the players so well. Everyone has the utmost respect for all the coaches. That’s hard to find.
Q: How does the support from the fans impact your performance at the plate?
A: It’s huge, especially at home. You’re used to getting booed. You’re used to getting talked about on the road. It adds to the pressure. Hitting is so hard, and when you add just a little pressure to an already high-anxiety at-bat, you start pressing. And once you start pressing, bad things happen. It definitely makes it easier to go up there more relaxed, more focused on getting on base and driving in runs than “I’ve got to get a hit, I’ve got to get a hit, I’ve got to get a hit.” It’s definitely been a lot better.
Q: Are there times in games where you take a different approach in hitting?
A: Absolutely. Let’s say there’s a guy on third base with two outs and all you have to do is hit a ground ball or a fly ball to get him in. That’s probably the one time that you’ll see me change my approach the most. Again, when there are two outs and nobody on, I’m trying to get us a run on the board. I’m always looking for that pitch. Is that the right way to go about it? I don’t know, but it sure is nice when you can get there and get an early lead on a two-strike homer.
Q: Are you able to help some of the younger teammates when they’re at the plate?
A: I’ll do anything to help these guys, but they for the most part are so talented. They’ve done this their whole lives. I think guys put so much pressure and so much emphasis on the wrong things about hitting that they just forget the basics. I know I did last year and I’ll never do that again. It’s basically “see ball, hit ball” and people put so much emphasis on mechanics and this and that. Next thing you know, they’re forgetting the main thing and that’s getting a good pitch and hitting it.
Q: How did you keep up your morale last year?
A: Baseball does not define me as a person. It’s a job. I enjoy doing it. As far as the morale, every day I thought, “This is the day. This is the day everything is going to change and get back to normal. This is the day I’m going to help the team win. I can’t take back what happened previously, but maybe I can do some things that will help us win today.” There’s no use in sitting around pouting about it because nobody cares. That’s something I was fortunate to learn at a very young age.
Q: Do you prepare yourself a little differently when you know you’re either on the field or DH?
A: I’ve taken the same routine each and every day regardless of whether I’m DH or playing the field. The only difference would be that obviously I’m in the cage hitting a little bit more during the game because I’m not out on the field playing. Other than that, I take the same pre-game approach. My day is pretty much consistent.
Q: How tough was the transition from being an everyday player to DH?
A: Again, it was a lot tougher than I had anticipated. It sounds really cool just to go out there and hit four or five times a game. What people don’t realize is how hard it is to stay in the flow of the game and stay loose for four or five at-bats. That’s why routine is really, really big for me, especially being DH.
Q: How are you enjoying the city of Chicago this year compared to last year?
A: Last year, I would come home, lock my door and shut my blinds and not enjoy my favorite city. I’ve said it from day one, this is my favorite city. This year I feel like I can take the family out to some restaurants that we like to go to and go out and see the city. We’ve been able to do that a lot more this year than last year. It’s such a great city. Last year, I feel like I deprived my family by not taking them out and enjoying it.
Q: Do you really get a chance to enjoy the city while you’re here in Chicago, or are you pretty much here just to play?
A: It’s a lot easier to see the things you like to see because we don’t have to be at the field until (later in the day). Like this morning, we have a little breakfast spot we like to get up and go eat at. It’s great. This is your home city. I’m here more than I am at my home city in Texas. I can’t think of a better place to call home for six to eight months.
Q: How does it feel to silence all your critics from last year with all your home runs this year?
A: That’s something I don’t even think about. Last year was last year. I can’t take it back. I know it wasn’t me. I know what I’m capable of doing if I’m healthy and I play every day. The number one goal is to go out and play in as many games as I can and just be me. At the end of the year, the numbers will be what they are and it will make everyone happy. We’ll go on to next year.
Q: What is your thought process as you approach an at-bat?
A: I’ll have a plan each and every at-bat, whether it looks like it or not. Depending on how I think they’re going to pitch me at that at-bat or the situation or this and that, I sell out. If that pitch isn’t there early in the count, I’ll take it. A lot of people ask, “How do you take that pitch?” I’m not able to swing at balls early in the count that I’m not sitting on or really thinking about, which leads to high walks because I get myself in good hitter’s counts and I don’t swing at bad pitches. It also gets me into bad counts, 0-1, 0-2, really quick. I don’t know. If you can help me out with that one, it would probably solve a big problem.
Q: Is there one thing you want to say to all our season ticket holders?
A: Absolutely. I want to thank all of you for the support. I promise you we will definitely turn it around. Personally, I would like to thank you for sticking with me. We’re going to have a few more good years here and hopefully bring another championship back here to Chicago. Thank you.
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Scott Reifert
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