Manny’s Impact is On Deck
Maybe the question as to whether or not Manny Ramirez still has enough pop in his bat to make an impact on the White Sox lineup is a moot point. Maybe his presence alone is enough to help give the Sox an edge. In two games now since Ramirez joined the team, the Sox have clubbed two key home runs and he didn’t hit either one. He was, though, standing in the on deck circle for both. On Tuesday, in the 9th inning, with two men on, one out, and A.J. Pierzynski up at bat, Ozzie Guillen sent Ramirez to the on deck circle to pinch hit for Brent Lillibridge, hoping to break open a 1-1 tie. I guess that was all Indians reliever Frank Herrmann needed to see to unnerve him as he, on the second pitch of the at bat, served one up to A.J. that was launched into the right field seats and put the Sox up 4-1, a lead they would not relinquish. Last night, with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th, Paul Konerko was up at bat with Ramirez in the on deck circle and, this time, Rafael Perez got squeamish and served one up to Paulie that found it’s way out of the yard in left. In Manny’s 2 games as a South Sider, he is 1 for 3 with no runs and no RBI, but if they were to give out assists for home runs, he’d have 2 big ones right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AJ Pierzynski, Alex Rios, Alexei Ramirez, Brent Lillibridge, Brent Morel, Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Paul Konerko, White Sox
After last night’s 8-0 thrashing of the Orioles, another outstanding effort by Edwin Jackson and an upcoming weekend series aginst the defending champion New York Yankees, I was all set to do a full team evaluation and really decide whether this dog will hunt. However, when breaking news hits that the White Sox have been awarded the waiver claim they put in for Manny Ramirez, I must take a step back… 
With their backs against the proverbial wall yesterday, the White Sox were in a must-win situation as they hoped to avoid a sweep in Minnesota and an even deeper hole in the AL Central. They were embarrassed by Jim Thome in the first game, watched heplessly as Gavin Floyd got pounded in the second, and put the rest of their hopes in the hands of their leader, Mark Buehrle, in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He has had moderate success against them this year and in years past, but last night was probably one of the bigger ones, especially with the balance of their 2010 campaign resting on his shoulders. Fortunately, Buehrle was up to the task. 
Can somebody please tell me why we can’t beat the freakin’ Twins??? With yet another poor showing against Minnesota, all of the good the White Sox did for their season back in June and July is crumbling right before our eyes and the season is, again, in peril. I know there’s still 6 weeks of baseball still to go, but if we continue to play like we have here in the month of August, it’s going to be a long, cold off-season for the South Siders and their fans. For the second consecutive outing, Gavin Floyd has regressed back to his horrid April/May form and if the team isn’t careful, Floyd’s late season collapse is just the tip of the iceberg….the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. 
