It may be hard to believe, but the Sox have beat Luis Mendoza this year. Twice. The Royal pain in the White Sox arse is just an illusion. I mean, it doesn’t carry the same weight as beating the esteemed Jeremy Guthrie, or the legendary Bruce Chen, but it provides a little extra hope. It could even make a team feel darn good about themselves.
The White Sox are sending Francisco Liriano up to the mound. Liriano is coming off of a start in which he only lasted 4 innings and managed to issue 7 walks. Being that Liriano is such a wild card, Robin Ventura may have another chance to prove that he’s not afraid to dig into a bullpen full of September call-ups early if he has to. I hope he doesn’t have to.
1.De Aza – CF
2.Lopez – 2B
3.Wise – LF
4.Konerko – 1B
5.Rios – RF
6.AJ – C
7.DHayan
8.Alexei – SS
9.Gordo – 2B
I don’t know, what do you want to talk about first? Jose Lopez starting or Dewayne Wise hitting third? Both aren’t completely foreign sights but neither is doing much to optimize the chances of victory. Presumably it’s the barking knee of** Kevin Youkilis that necessitates Lopez’s name in the lineup, and even with Wise in the mix, I’m not exactly sure why he is a good choice to bat third. Especially when Lopez is batting ahead of him. The weakest stretch of tonight’s lineup may conceivably be 2-3. That’s…an odd approach.
**Shows what I know. Turns out there is a little Youk on the way and Dunn is having more issues with that oblique he missed time with last weekend.
Where to Watch
Game available in Chicago on WCIU and FoxSports Kansas CIty in the Royals market. 7:10 Central start time.