Battling the Wrong Side of a Sweep – Lineups 6/7

Jose Quintana produced another solid outing Wednesday night but the Sox bats slept through the day despite the insertion of Tyler Flowers at first base in attempt to add some power to a Konerko-less lineup. The only hits produced came off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski and Brandon Morrow completed the game for his third shutout of 2012. That shouldn’t be the case tonight. Aside from the face that Brandon Morrow couldn’t possibly pitch two nights in a row, tonight marks the return of Paul Konerko. The Sox world was worried, certain information was being withheld and that there was a larger problem with the heart of the offense than presented. Worry no more.

Tonight’s Lineup:

1.De Aza – CF
2.Gordo – 2B
3.Big Donkey – 1B
4.Paul Konerko – DH
5.Rios – RF
6.AJ – C
7.Dayan – LF
8.Alexei – SS
9.Hudson – 3B

I don’t hate Orlando Hudson, he’s making enough plays so that I don’t have to worry about balls hit to the left side of the field. However he’s hitting with roughly the same level of effectiveness as Brent Morel, and all things equal, I go with the younger guy who has a chance to break out. Hudson might surprise at some point but I’m back to just not understanding the acquisition.

Jake Peavy will put his 6-1 record up against Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez is coming off of a string of less than stellar starts having given up 14 runs in his last 18 innings. At 22 years old he’s only a kid, and a pitcher that age always runs the risk of figuring it out on any given night. He’s not out there for nothing.