Pierre vs. Pods: Place your bets

I was a pretty big fan of the new Scott Podsednik last year after the Sox picked him up (actually one year ago yesterday), though I knew there was probably no keeping him at the end of the year. He finished with an average above .300, and, evoking 2005, was a major catalyst in several Sox wins. Still, you had to figure the Sox got the best and maybe last of what the old speedster had to offer. They let him go to Kansas City and traded to minor leaguers to L.A. to get Juan Pierre, another aging speedster, but one who over the years has been a far better hitter than Pods.

But now, Pierre is batting ninth for the Sox, and there are good cases being made by other outfielders for him not to be playing at all. Meanwhile, as Mark Gonzales pointed out in the Tribune today, Pods is hitting .326.

Still, as much as I like Pods and relish his 2005 contributions to the Sox, I'll be very surprised if he's able to maintain that average. In fact, I'll wager that by the end of the year, Pierre has both a higher batting average and more stolen bases.

Stevie Ire retires

Good guy Scott Eyre, who will forever be remembered as "Stevie Ire," the name bestowed on him by Cubs manager Lou Piniella in one of Lou's "senior moments," has announced his retirement at 37.

Eyre had stints with both the Sox and the Cubs, and was mostly effective as the Cubs' southpaw specialist until a horrible stretch in mid-2008 resulted in his being moved to the Phillies, where he did better and won the World Series ring that everyone had assumed he wouldn't get that year once he got shipped out of Chicago (for those who don't remember, the Cubs were a lock to win the World Series in 2008).

Retiring before the age of 40 seems a bit early for a lefty who can always find bullpen work somewhere, so who knows, maybe he'll play again.

Not much else going on: Rumors that the Cubs are interested in Heath Bell, the Padres closer, as insurance against whatever disasters might befall Carlos Marmol. And, Scott Podsednik signed with the Royals. He had a great 2009 with the Sox, but almost no one believed he could keep it going in 2010. Juan Pierre probably will be better than Pods this year--or at least let's hope.

Fickle about Figgins

As we move a little deeper into off-season action, it might be getting more apparent that neither of our Chicago teams will make a strong case to sign speedy, multi-position free agent lead-off man Chone Figgins.

One school of thought has it that the Cubs won't make a run on Figgins because that already have too much committed salary (around$120 million) for next year, and probably will have to commit even more to re-signing other players who have filed or are expected to file for free agency--Rich Harden, Reed Johnson and John Grabow being some examples. The Tribune reported that Harden and Johnson already filed for free agent status.

I think the Cubs should wave good-bye to both at this point. While Harden is spectacular in short stretches, he doesn't go deep enough in most games. His health issues have lessened, but that makes his 4.00-plus ERA for the 2009 campaign even more troubling. Maybe the Cubs could go after a non-glitzy bottom-rotation known for relaiability, like Joel Piniero, who was great for the Cardinals in '09. As for Grabow, the Cubs need the southpaw in the bullpen.

Johnson has a lot of defensive value and the scrappiness factor that so often defines winning teams, but he is already 32. If the Cubs do unload Milton Bradley and don't sign another outfielder (Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir aside), Johnson probably would be worth keeping. I'm back to suspecting the Cubs may keep Bradley, despite the reports of interest in him elsewhere. The Cubs may assume the worst is over with Bradley, though it's hard to believe that until we see it.

The Cubs seem indecisive about offensive contributors/defensive liabilities Fox and Hoffpauir, which make me think we will see another season of spot duty for both, though there is potential that an American League team could make an offer for Fox (a potentially great DH) that the Cubs won't be able to refuse. All of this, plus new owners, suggests no Figgins for the Cubs.

The Sox, meanwhile, might be more interested in giving Jordan Danks an outfield job than spending money on Figgins. I wouldn't mind taking a gamble on Danks (who may feel at home with his brother in the dugout) and keeping the resurgent Scott Podsednik as an insurance policy, but it sounds like the Sox don't have much interest in re-signing Pods (visions of 2006, I guess).

Signing Figgins would end all outfield questions (except whether or not Alex Rios actually will hit next year). But, the Sox might making signing a new DH a higher priority, unless Carlos Quentin moves into that role. though that again would heighten the need to sign a player like Figgins.

Decisions, decisions...

A little flag-waving music?

So, Kenny Williams denied that shipping out Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were white-flag trades, even after he indicated he was looking to help Thome get a World Series (sort of implying he wouldn't have that chance if he stayed with the White Sox this season). Then, it's reported in the Tribune and elsewhere that the GM shopped a number of guys last week.

Kenny being Kenny, he said he was just trying to wake up his team, and the 4 wins that followed those trades suggested he did. The debate about whether or not the GM gave up and whether or not he was being sneaky is over-shadowing the fact that both moves were timely and correct. The Thome move is certaintly hard for fans to swallow, and the Sox only got one iffy minor leaguer for him, but it sets the Sox up well for next year, and is already giving Manager Ozzie Guillen more line-up and field position flexibility. It's been interesting seeing Carlos Quentin and Scott Podsednik in the DH role this week, the latter hinting at a creative way of redefining the DH spot with small-ball speed.

The Sox are no worse off right now without Thome. They dropped today's game to the Red Sox, and Podsednik went 3-4 on the DH spot. Rather, they lost because the rest of the line-up only managed 3 hits and Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and Quentin are pretty well mired in slumps.

Meanwhile, the Tigers had another amazing late comeback win and are looking awful tough to beat. The Sox are now 8 games out of 1st place. They play only division foes after Sept. 16, and with 6 games left against the Tigers, and 3 left against the Twins, it's time to hope for the best that those games will actually mean something when the dates arrive. For that to happen, the Sox need to get some help from the Tigers, while also refusing to think about whether or not their GM has waved the white flag.

C.Q. is back, B.A. is gone

Carlos Quentin officially is back from the disabled list, and to answer your next question, yes, Brian Anderson was indeed sent down to the minors to make room for him. In recent games, as B.A.'s average has again headed south while Scott Podsednik was still managing to somehow channel the 2005 version of himself, it has become clear that Pods would move over to centerfield when C.Q. returned.

At least, that's what we think is happening. Tonight's line-up for the first of four games against last year's hated play-off foe, the Rays, was not yet posted as of this writing. Maybe we'll also see a variation in coming games with C.Q. DH-ing against lefties, though Jim Thome has been hot enough lately, hasn't he?

7 and counting

The White Sox have won 7 games in a row, and while the streak has come against teams best described as "troubled"--the Royals, the Indians and the Cubs--they have definitely found a rhythm.

Great pitching has been the top reason for the streak, and in a 5-0 trouncing of the Royals last night, John Danks contonued his recent comeback from a string of inconsistent starts: 7.1 IP, 5 Ks, 0 BB, 0 ER. Danks and Gavin Floyd, getting the Star-Spangled start today, have gradually found their way back to 2008 form. With Jose Contreras pitching like the second half of 2005 and Mark Buehrle throwing more like its 2001, the Sox staff has figured out how to bottle their best moments and tap into them when need (OK, maybe not the best metaphor in the era of PEDs).

The offense is starting to show up as well. Newly rejuvenated by lead-off man Scott Podsednik, these Sox hitters do not look like the same ones who have been shut out 9 times this year. They are keeping the line moving, taking advantage of whatever opposition errors fall their way and not relying too much on the long ball, though homeruns certainly have helped, like A.J. Pierzynski's tone-setting solo shot last night against Zack Greinke.

Pods proves an effective lead-off man doesn't always have to draw a walk. Just the threat of something else, like the combination of speed with a bunt or a swinging bunt, which Pods has started to do very well, is enough. That may be the only element that the Cubs are missing with Alfonso Soriano, who reportedly is being moved out of the lead-off spot. Sam Fuld, in a few games leading off for the Cubs this week, looked more like Pods than anyone else in compiling a .600 OBP in his first 10 at-bats.

The rest of the Sox line-up is hitting, too, with Gordon Beckham really finding his stroke and his confidence. Could the Sox have a Rookie of the Year candidate two years running?

Pods and Beck bring it home

Scott Podsednik had maybe his best overall day offensively for the White Sox, even going back to his stint as chief fire-starter in 2005. He was 4-5 with a homerun--as we all know, he rarely goes deep, so when he does, it's worth a big celebration--and had 3 RBIs. But, the biggest blow of the 8-7 Sox victory over the Cubs in the second game of the Crosstown Classic South series was delivered by rookie Gordon Beckham, who came up with the walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th.

Beckham has had his share of struggles while learning how to be a pro ballplayer on the fly, and until late in this one it seemed like a typical tough day has he had an error at 3rd base and was 0-3 heading into the 8th inning. But, he had 2 hits in the lat 2 innings, scoring the tying run before bring home the winning run in the 9th and getting mobbed by his mates (He also got the ritual shaving cream pie treatment later during a post-game interview).

This was probably the most exciting game so far this year between the Cubs and Sox, and that includes the Cubs comeback at Wrigley and their very close 5-4 win Friday. The lead changed hands several times, with both teams scoring in all different ways. For fans who were bored by Friday's close, but somewhat lifeless (except for the Milton Bradley flare-up) game, this contest had a bit of everything, even suspenseful pitcher-batter face-offs, like the 9-pitch 8th inning at-bat between Podsednik and the shaky-as-usual Carlos Marmol.

The Cubs also had some nice defensive plays, though the Sox were again particularly weak on the left side of the infield. In addition to Beck's bobble, Alexei Ramirez cam up with 2 more errors, and failed to look Ryan Freel back to 3rd base on a routine grounder with the infield drawn in. Freel scored-he's fast, but not that fast, and you have to wonder if The Missile's throw to 1st base was a bit soft, too. That makes 8 errors for the Sox in the last four games. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Pods' success continues to amaze. I would have thought he'd cool off by now, but maybe there is something to his new funky-motion in the batter's box. Or, maybe it's just his comfort in playing alongside fellow champs like Paulie, A.J., JeDye, Burls and Jenks

Finding their rhythm

As I write this Sunday night, the Cubs are losing early 6-0, but I'm going to ignore that and say their crisp 7-0 victory of the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon was a great demonstration of a team finding their rhythm.



The Cubs scored 7 runs on 10 hits, scoring on singles, extra base hits, walks, and one homer by Reed Johnson. They did waste a couple of baserunners, and probably should have had more like 10 runs, but they used patience and textbook contact hitting to get other runners home. Ryan Dempster pitched 7 shutout innings and the bullpen was airtight--and don't forget this game was against the best team in the MLB right now.



Milton Bradley was 3-4 for his biggest hit output as a Cub thus far in Wrigley. Johnson continued is hot hitting with a 3-3 outing, and Mike Fontenot continued working his way back from a slump with a 2-3 effort, including a run-scoring doubel and triple. The more even hitting throughout the line-up, combined with ongoing great pitching from the starters looks to me like a sign of good things to come.



The White Sox have been finding their own rhythm, winning with 9th inning runs both Saturday and Sunday against Kansas City, and finishing their first series sweep in ages. Saturday's 5-3 win came after Mark Buerhle pitched quite well, but just not well enough to survive the 8th inning, before the real action began. Old-is-new-again lead-off man Scott Podsednik singled home a run to break a 3-3 tie and Alexei Ramirez added an insurance run on a follow-up single.

Pods factored in another 9th inning rally Sunday as the Sox this time picked up 3 runs in the 9th to break a 4-4 tie, eventually winning 7-4. This time, Chris Getz single in 2 runs and Pods singled home the final insurance run. Bobby Jenks saved both games.

The real story with Sunday's game, however, was that the Sox beat--and beat up on--Zack Greinke, who has been beating everyone this year while giving up less than a run per 9 innings. The Sox scored 4 runs, 3 earned, off of him Sunday by twice getting 2-0ut run-scoring hits, and general pushing Greinke deep into counts. Pretty impressive stuff against the A.L.'s best pitcher this year.

24 good reasons for 17 runs

The Sox won two of three with strong pitching and just enough offense in the right spots before they left for one of those nerve-racking West Coast road trips (albeit a quick one, to play the Angels). Generally speaking, the Sox have had a ton of offensive trouble this year, and the Angels have put together some strong pitching outings.

What a surprise then to see the Sox explode for 17 runs on 24 hits. The Sox only had four walks, but it was more impressive the way the attacked pitches down the center of the plate before the Angels pitchers could really establish themselves. Patience certainly is a virtue at the plate, but it's also nice to see batters so confident and so unwilling to let an opponent settle in that they attack the ball.

Scott Podsednik continued to hang tough, with a 4-5 outing, and Alexei "The Missile" Ramirez may finally be airborne, going 4-7 with another all-around strong game that raised his average to .243. Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko were the predictable homer contributors. John Danks pitched well enough for the second game in a row, though he had an unsightly 6 walks, but there wasn't much he could do to lose this one.

The only bad moment in this game was a big one, when Carlos Quentin pulled up lame legging out a double, his nagging foot injury suddenly terribly worse--he had to be helped off the field. The Sox have been missing C.Q.'s bat most of the year, and even when he's been in, he's been off. Looks like Pods will be getting more PT, which is still a good thing, but for how long?

Mighty K.C.

The Sox have lost two in a row in Kansas City and four in a row overall. With the struggling Jose Contreras set to take the mound Wednesday night, I'm not feeling confident about their chances to bust the losing streak.

With the exception of a 3-0 loss to 2009 Cy Young Award Winner Zack Greinke the other night (What? You say they haven't given him the Cy Young yet?), the problems have been mostly in the pitching department. Last night, gavin Floyd let another lead get away from him after the Sox put him ahead 4-1 early on. Things actually looked pretty good in the early going because the Sox managed to hit well off Kyle Davies, the K.C. pitcher who previously has mystified them.

But, Floyd eventually let 6 runs go to waste before departing, and Matt Thornton and Octavio Dotel helped the Royals to a 7th run as this one went into extras 7-7. The Royals won 8-7 in 11 innings. No, K.C. is not the whimpering mess it once was, and the Sox are now 1-4 this season against the Royals. The worst stat from Wednesday night's game was a woeful 11 walks issued by Sox pitchers.

The Sox actually out-hit K.C. 16-11, so maybe they should have come up with a few more runs. Jermain Dye and Josh Field both homered, A.J. Pierzynski was 4-5, Carlos Quentin was 3-5, and Scott Podsednik had 2 RBIs, but as a team, the Sox left 13 men on base.

Still, I find pitching more troubling right now, as the bullpen has begun to weaken, and Contreras, Floyd and even John Danks have strung together a series of poor outings. Who thought at the start of the season that Bartolo Colon would be the second-most effective pitcher on the Sox after Mark Buehrle. Giving Contreras a breather might not be a bad idea, especially with Aaron Poreda picthing well in the minors, but Ozzie Guillen seems resolved to let Contreras find his old self while hacking his way through meaningful games.

Yes, it is still early, but K.C. is in 1st place, and we don't want them to get used to it.

Scotty Pods is back

Scott Podsednik is back in black. After a brief stop in the minors the White Sox called him up (and sent down Jerry Owens) for what likely will be the swan song to Scotty Pods' career. The only question: How long will it last?

If tonight is any indication, Pods is feeling comfortable with the organization which he helped drive to World Series Championship glory back in 2005. He was 2-4 with an infield hit, and caused enough havoc on the basepaths to draw a balk. He also had a nice hit-and-run on his second hit.

Who know how long it will last, but with Owens shipped and Brian Anderson injured, we're likely to see more of Pods in the days to come.

The Sox won, by the way, 4-3, behind gutsy pitching from Mark Buehrle against the team he no-hit last April, the Texas Rangers. But, tonight was almost as impressive, as Buehrle held the Rangers to 3 runs in a park that usually yields many more.

Jim Thome had a bases-loaded double to score 3 of the Sox' 4 runs, and Chris Getz tripled to score Podsednik in the 7th inning immediately after the balk brough him to 2nd base.