Archive
White Sox notebook, 9/6
Flowers: Gem fun for ‘everybody but me’
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
“It was fun for probably everybody but me. It was pretty stressful back there. I didn’t want to screw up and cause something bad to happen,” Flowers said.
“Now that it’s over, it was a lot of fun. … But he trusted in me the whole game, and that’s pretty good.”
Even though Flowers is now able to enjoy Stewart’s one-hitter, in which the right-hander retired 27 of the 28 batters he faced, the White Sox catcher did make one call that he could question.
Facing Twins third baseman Danny Valencia to lead off the eighth inning, Flowers and Stewart went with a 2-2 sinker off the plate for the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Valencia reached out and slapped the pitch a few inches off the plate and sliced it into right field for a double and the Twins’ lone baserunner.
“Now I do,” Flowers said of if he second-guessed himself. “But at the time, I thought that was the pitch to go with. We sped him up inside on a couple. [Valencia] was on the slider. [Stewart] had a good sinker all day. So go with what got you there. Sinker away.
“I was hoping we were going to freeze him. It was a little bit off the plate, too. It was a good pitch he hit. Tip your hat to Danny. He did a good job of putting the ball in play.”
Konerko given a breather against Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — After playing in each of the past 30 games for the White Sox, first baseman Paul Konerko got a day off Tuesday in the third game of their series against the Twins.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he tried to keep Konerko out of one of the games of Monday’s day-night doubleheader, but Konerko opted for the full day off instead. He should return to the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale at Target Field.
“I think today’s perfect because tomorrow we have a night game,” Guillen said. “This kid has been playing every day.”
Konerko last sat out when he missed three games in early August with a calf injury. Over the last month, Konerko has batted .333 with three home runs, 16 RBIs and an OPS of .930.
Adam Dunn started at first base and went 0-1 with three walks and a run scored in the club’s 3-0 win.
Axelrod hopes to get jump on Spring Training
MINNEAPOLIS — When he was not among the first group of September callups for the White Sox, right-hander Dylan Axelrod figured he would not be joining the big league club for the season’s final month.
But to his surprise, he got the call on Monday to pack his bags and join the team at Target Field.
“I knew I had a really good, solid year, but after the initial callups, it did come as a surprise,” Axelrod said. “I thought I was going home, and then yesterday I woke up, got a call at 11 a.m., had to go over to the field, get all my stuff, and I had a 1:50 p.m. flight.”
Axelrod arrived between games of the day-night doubleheader and suited up for the White Sox against the Twins for the nightcap.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen did not need to call upon his bullpen Monday night with Zach Stewart tossing a one-hitter, but Axelrod could get in a game soon with the White Sox bullpen having been overworked lately.
When he does see game action, Axelrod will be making his Major League debut.
“I just hope to make a good impression,” Axelrod said. “It is a building block for Spring Training next year, and as I try to come out and try to make the team next year. I’ll be ready whenever they tell me they need me.”
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, 9/5
Right-hander Axelrod joins White Sox bullpen
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
Axelrod, 26, made 26 appearances (24 starts) between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte this season, going 9-3 with a 2.69 ERA. He allowed 45 earned runs over 150 2/3 innings.
Signed by the White Sox as a free agent on Aug. 2, 2009, Axelrod was named to the Southern League midseason All-Star team after going 3-2 with a 3.34 ERA with the Barons. Axelrod was even better for the Knights, posting a 6-1 record with a 2.27 ERA in 15 starts.
Pena has been on the 15-day DL since May 29 with right elbow tendinitis. In 17 relief appearances before going on the DL, Pena went 1-1 with a 6.20 ERA, allowing 14 earned runs in 20 1/3 innings of work.
Struggling Dunn gets rare start in opener
MINNEAPOLIS — For just the third time in nine games, designated hitter Adam Dunn was in the White Sox lineup for Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said it was a product of the doubleheader and the need for everyone to play, as well as to “see what we can get out of him.”
“Hopefully, he’ll come out and help the ballclub to win the game,” Guillen said.
Dunn has struggled throughout his disappointing season, batting just .163 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs entering Monday. Over the last two years with the Nationals, Dunn hit 76 home runs while driving in 208 runs, and his batting average was 100 points higher.
White Sox center fielder Alex Rios also has struggled, batting .220 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs entering Monday. Rios’ numbers are down from 2010, when he batted .284 with 21 homers and 88 RBIs.
Guillen said he believed Dunn and Rios owed it to themselves to do whatever is needed in the offseason to improve in 2012.
“Everybody learns by mistakes,” Guillen said. “In the offseason, when you get older, you’ve got to work a little bit more, a little bit harder to try to get better.
“I don’t think they should feel guilty about how much money they made without contributing. They want to, they were ready. But I think when the years go by and you’re getting older, you have to take care of yourself a lot better.”
Guillen also was asked if he thought the respective performances of Dunn and Rios were “embarrassing enough” for them to put in the extra work needed to improve next season.
While he could not answer for how Dunn or Rios felt, Guillen made it clear how he felt.
“They should be embarrassed,” Guillen said. “I think they feel bad about the way they played this year.”
In the 2-1 Game 1 victory, Dunn went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Rios went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the 4-0 victory in Game 2.
Guillen attributes struggles to poor start
MINNEAPOLIS — Manager Ozzie Guillen attributed his team’s struggles this season to its poor start, when the White Sox dropped to 11 games under .500 in early May.
After a loss on May 6, the White Sox were 11-22 and sat in last place in the American League Central, 11 games behind first-place Cleveland.
So what can the White Sox do next season to improve in the first month?
“I guess, talk to the Commissioner and say, ‘The White Sox are not going to show up in April,'” Guillen joked. “In the past, I feel like we might not play enough guys [in Spring Training]. Now we did it opposite, but we didn’t play good in Spring Training either.”
The White Sox went 11-20 this spring, finishing 14th out of 15 teams in Cactus League play. They also had the worst record of an AL team in Spring Training.
But Guillen said he does not plan to change much next year.
“I will do the same stuff,” he said. “I think everybody was fine, because I think everybody liked it. Everybody was ready to go.”
White Sox not concerned with short turnaround
MINNEAPOLIS — With their series finale Sunday in Detroit moved to a night game, the White Sox had a quick turnaround going into Monday’s doubleheader against the Twins.
They arrived in the Twin Cities in the early-morning hours, less than 12 hours before the scheduled start of Game 1 at Target Field. Even with the short night, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was not worried about his team going into the twin bill.
“Most of the players, they have a lot of short nights,” Guillen said. “I think everybody should be fine. And I expect them to go out there and play the game.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
A Schelling For Your Thoughts 