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White Sox notebook, 9/7
Flowers finally blossoming into big leaguer
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
“[Flowers] put himself back on the map not just for this year but next year, too,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “That’s what we were waiting for.”
Flowers’ development has come slowly since the White Sox acquired him as one of six players in a trade with the Braves for Javier Vazquez in December 2008.
But since he was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, Flowers has been solid in the second half for the White Sox, especially defensively.
“Now he’s more hungry than he was before,” Guillen said. “Signing A.J. and [Ramon] Castro back maybe opened his eyes to, ‘Wait a minute, I’m getting behind.’ We’ve been waiting for this kid for the last two years but couldn’t get anything from him. Now we are.”
Quentin likely to return this weekend
MINNEAPOLIS — Right fielder Carlos Quentin took batting practice this week at Target Field for the first time since suffering a shoulder strain on Aug. 20. He could be back in action soon for the White Sox, but the question is where and in what capacity.
With the Minor League seasons having wrapped up, Quentin will not be able to go through the usual rehab process. He’ll likely have to just jump right back in at the Major League level.
“Pretty good,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of how Quentin looked. “I think he’s ready to go out there. We need to figure out, since Minor League is over, try to figure out how to do something about it. But I like the way he’s swinging. It seemed like he was pain-free.”
Quentin injured his left shoulder making a diving catch in the first inning against the Rangers on Aug. 20, and was eligible to return from the disabled list on Monday when the series against the Twins began.
“Hopefully in the next couple days — I don’t think tomorrow, but maybe over the weekend — he’ll be back in the field,” Guillen said.
Peavy expected to face Tigers on Monday
MINNEAPOLIS — For now, the White Sox will move forward with a six-man rotation that includes right-hander Jake Peavy.
Both Philip Humber and Zach Stewart — who both delivered brilliant performances in Monday’s doubleheader — are scheduled to start against the Indians over the weekend in Chicago, and Peavy is expected to follow them on Monday against the Tigers.
“I think we should keep it the same way,” manager Ozzie Guillen said of the rotation. “I’m not going to throw in the towel.
“I think [Peavy] should prepare himself for his next start. I don’t think there should be any problem with that. I expect him to go out there in the next start.”
If the White Sox decide they’re out of the American League Central race, it’s likely Peavy will be shut down at that point, to avoid any further injury risk.
Peavy said after his start Tuesday night, in which he tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 win, that he felt he could continue to pitch, but would leave the decision up to the White Sox.
“I’ll let those guys make that decision,” Peavy said. “All I can do is be honest with them about the way I feel. Obviously, now it doesn’t seem like we’re playing for much.”
Rios putting together solid finish at the plate
MINNEAPOLIS — Center fielder Alex Rios entered Wednesday’s series finale against the Twins with a six-game hitting streak, including a solo home run in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory.
Rios has batted .423 with 11 hits in 26 at-bats while driving in three runs during the streak. Over his past 27 games (23 starts), Rios batted .288, raising his average from .206 on Aug. 2 to .224 entering Wednesday’s contest.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said the key for Rios has been hitting to all fields, rather than trying to pull the ball too often.
“You can see it every time Alex wants to pull the ball … it’s a ground ball somewhere,” Guillen said. “But when he stays in the middle of the field, he does what he’s doing right now. The last couple weeks, that’s why he’s been doing it.”
Rios’ streak ended in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss, as he went 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly. He struck out looking with the tying run at third in the eighth inning.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
White Sox notebook, 8/7
Stance adjustment pays off for Rios
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
Instead of holding the bat more vertically, Rios moved it down to rest on his shoulder until the pitcher began his delivery. While one game is not enough to say if the change made the difference, Rios had his best game at the plate since late June, when he went 3-for-4 against the Nationals.
“I hope he keeps swinging the bat like that, we need it,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “I don’t know what he did, I never asked him what he did. I told him the other day to raise himself up. I don’t know if it was that, but the last couple days, he’s swung the bat better.”
Rios continued to produce in Sunday’s 7-0 victory, going 2-for-4 with a double, homer and two RBIs.
Struggling Dunn sits against Twins lefty
MINNEAPOLIS — With the Twins starting lefty Brian Duensing on Sunday, White Sox designated Adam Dunn got a day off, his first in two weeks. Manager Ozzie Guillen said he may give Dunn another day off later on the road trip as well.
After picking up a few hits against the Yankees, Dunn went 0-for-7 in the first two games of the series against the Twins, with two walks, three strikeouts and a run scored.
“He’s struggling so much right now. Hopefully, with a little break we give him, we can get something better out of him,” Guillen said. “He was swinging the bat a little bit better in Chicago, but the last couple days he lost it.”
Dunn has just 54 hits in 331 at-bats and a .163 average to go along with a .294 on-base percentage, and he’s slugging just .302. His struggles drew national attention on Thursday when Stephen Colbert joked about Dunn threatening Bill Bergen’s record-low batting average of .139.
While his continued struggles could likely be affecting Dunn’s confidence at the plate, which would only compound the issue, Guillen thinks it’s more frustrating than anything for Dunn right now.
“I think mentally, he should be very exhausted,” Guillen said. “He’s missing pitches. He’s missing fastballs, he’s missing changeups, he’s missing breaking balls, guessing wrong pitches. Everything has piled up, one thing after another.”
With two months left in the season, it’s unlikely Dunn will be able to improve his poor offensive numbers. But Guillen hopes that Dunn will learn from this season and come back better prepared and in better shape for the 2012 season.
“He has to stay in shape now, he’s not 22 years old anymore,” Guillen said. “Now he has to learn that he has to prepare himself better. That happens to everyone. That happened to [Paul Konerko], that happened to [Mark] Buehrle.”
Brent Lillibridge started at first base in Sunday’s 7-0 victory and went 2-for-4 with a homer, his second in two games.
Stewart an option for rotation, bullpen
MINNEAPOLIS — Ozzie Guillen has not decided yet, but the White Sox manager said he’s leaning toward giving Zach Stewart another before putting him in the bullpen.
Stewart would likely pitch on Friday, if he did start again, but he could be needed out of the bullpen before then, which would be the most likely thing keeping Stewart from making a second start.
“I’m thinking, personally, we should keep him and give those guys six days,” Guillen said. “I don’t know yet, but … I have to know in the next couple days because I have to know exactly who I’m going to have in the bullpen and how I’m going to use them.”
Stewart allowed just one run on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings Saturday night in in a 6-1 victory to pick up his first Major League win.
While it remains a possibility that Stewart could start against the Royals, the right-hander would not start again the next time through the rotation, because the White Sox have off-days on Aug. 15 and Aug. 22, and using a six-man rotation through that stretch would give everyone too much time between starts.
Guillen said he would talk to White Sox general manager Ken Williams before making a decision on when Stewart would pitch next.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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