Robin Ventura built up some momentum last night by calling for a Jordan Danks sacrifice bunt with Ray Olmedo standing in the on-deck circle. White Sox fans went wild. What greatness! When Danks popped the bunt up, enabling the Royals to double A.J. Pierzynski off of second, it became the type of thing I’d like to print out and hang on the refrigerator. Speaking of refrigerator material, tonight’s lineup is building off of yesterday’s managerial momentum and threatening to bump your child’s report card into the trash:
1.De Aza – CF
2.Gordo – 2B
3.Dunn – 1B
4.Youk – 3B
5.AJ – C
6.Alexei – SS
7.Dayan – LF
8.Danks – RF
9.Hudson – DH
De Aza and Youkilis have returned, and that’s a boon to the lineup. However that benefit is quickly negated with the absence of Paul Konerko and Alex Rios. This puts our old friend Orlando Hudson at DH. Hudson has had a total of 12 ABs since June, so sub-Mendoza average aside, he may not be too sharp out there. Of course, to truly blame Ventura for all of this would be a bit silly. Rios is sitting with a sore back (nothing to worry about) and though Paulie’s reason for sitting is as yet unstated, I’m sure it’s not just an ordinary day off. The fact of the matter is, with 2 starters sitting, the bench just doesn’t have the depth to plug quality players in at multiple positions.
Jose Quintana has struggled since his outing at Fenway when he gave 8 shutout innings to be handed a no-decision at game’s end. The start that preceded that came in Kansas City, where these Royals got him for 5 runs in 5 innings.
Jeremy Guthrie, the Royals starter, is a recent addition to the team, having been traded there for Jonathan Sanchez. His services have amounted to little more than tossing some balls in the direction of the catcher in his time wearing the royal blue. He’s given up 14 runs in just over 16 innings pitched, which isn’t terribly far off of the pace he set for himself while in Colorado during the first portion of 2012.
O-Dog at DH or not, the White Sox should be able to put some serious runs on the board tonight and take this series, keeping Detroit at bay for at least another day.