
It's Andruw Jones Week here at Sox Summary Saturday.
He had a .502 wOBA over the last six games. That's good in a superlatively good sort of way.
In a week when it was reported that Kenny was throwing out feeler calls on Pierzynski with his 10-5 rights vesting in June, Juan Pierre managing to not strike out and not take a walk, Floyd looking just absolutely awful, Peavy rebounding peripherally but still not fooling anybody and the third and fifth hitters (Quentin and A.J.) going a combined 2-33, the walk-off made the week feel...less hair-pullingly abysmal.
This week's recap from Saturday to Friday (2-4, 2-2 at home, 0-2 away):
Offense:
.218/.290/.378 for a .668 OPS (.592 OPS before last night's 4-hr night)
.223 BABIP for the week, .221 for the year, good for dead last BY FAR in all of baseball. This is going to change, people. No team in the last five years has finished lower than .278 (2007 White Sox, of course).
K rate - 15.5% Good sign. This seems to be holding steady. Best rate in baseball for the year.
Walk rate - 8.8% Up a tick for the week but still below average. At least they're not the Astros (3.6% on the year...holy crap!)
Avg. with RISP: .159 (sigh)
The "I'm gonna steal home in the first inning" stolen bases stat: Stole 10, caught twice. Allowing two SBs, catching two. Pierre had five of them. Just think how many he would have had if he had an OBP higher than .231 for the week. Just. Think.
Fielding:
The first UZR/150's were released this week. The Sox are the fifth-worst team in baseball early on (-12.1 UZR/150). WAY too early to find anything in these numbers but let's! In the two main position switches on the year, Gordon Beckham at second has been ridiculously good (27.0) while Carlos Quentin in right has been ridiculously bad (-45.8). Teahen's been awful at third (-37.6) while Alexei's been good at short (11.3).
Pitching (Do I have to?):
Overall, worst walk rate in baseball for the week (5.71 walks per game) coupled with the second-best K rate (8.48). It's like they're trying to emulate Jonathan Sanchez as a group. 6.56 ERA with a 4.46 xFIP. Whoa! Those numbers are uncomfortably close to 2007 Jonathan Sanchez when he contributed a 0.1 WAR (that's with a point). Stellar job. That's who you want to be.
Well...Peavy. 5.93 xFIP, good for third-worst in the league behind only Rowland-Smith and the prodigious leader, Rich Harden and his 9.17 walks per nine. Why is Jake so bad? Well...among other reasons, his line drive percentage is sitting at 26.7% (fifth-worst in the league. Bullpen-bound Big Z is a tick worse). That's terrible. He's fooling nobody. And it's not really BABIP. It's at .324 (Big Z at .435. Discuss.). For the year, Peavy's K and walk rates are an identical 6.04. Icky.
Floyd was worse. He's continuing a trend over his career this year, using his fastball less and his curveball more. The problem is that his curveball is seeing less horizontal movement and more drop but he can't locate it. The velocity has been consistent and Floyd's always been streaky. He's kind of like Quentin in a way. Both has a lot (maybe too many) mechanical issues that all have to be in line in order for them to work. No worry right now. Too early.
Danks is quickly becoming one of the best pitchers in the league and is easily the ace of the Sox staff with Buehrle currently creating a new Buehrle trend as he hits his 30s stride - starting hot, gradually losing his stuff but getting through it and then imploding for a month or so.
Santos continues to excel in low-leverage situations, Putz gave up the slam last night to Jose "Look what I hit!" Lopez but three of those runners were Floyd's. Randy Williams continues to be awesome at being bad with Tony Pena a close second in that category. Thorton lost Saturday's game but he's fine and Linebrink continues to be very un-Linebrink-y, meaning quite solid and durable.
On the bullpen, if Kenny picks up Juan Cruz, released by the Royals yesterday, I will have to laugh. Because it will be funny. He is now a hard-throwing ex-Royals reliever, ya know.
Inter Alia
* Another six-game slate this week with Monday off. Two more against Seattle at home and then they go on the road for three against an under-achieving Texas team followed by the start of a Yankee series in the Bronx.
* Garcia is scheduled for two starts (might not happen with rain scheduled for today and tomorrow) after missing his turn last week.
* Pitchers scheduled to start against the Sox: Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, C.J. Wilson, Rich Harden, Scott Feldman and Andy Pettitte.
* Fister threw six shutout innings against the Sox, giving up one hit on August 11 of last year. Alexei hit a three-run shot off Aardsma in the ninth to win it. Rios played his first game the next day and the Sox were two games back in the Central. 'Member that? 'Member?
* Vargas and Wilson have faced the Sox in the past but never in a starting pitcher capacity.
* Anybody else completely dumbfounded how Rios is hitting with his hands so gosh darn low?
* A near-catch by Byrnes last night on Rios' double almost made me really hate him and his divey-grindy-hustle-douche ways. Just for a split-second. I thought he was going to get it and a intense wave of forthcoming hatred started pulsing through my veins.
* Minor League Report: Flowers is hitting .310/.431/.595 in Triple A with three homers and 14 rbi. Not saying it prompted Kenny's calls but it probably didn't hurt. A favorite of Phil Rogers, Brett Morel, has a .663 OPS in Double A. Retherford has a .765 OPS in Triple A and, interestingly, he's playing a few games at third while spending all of 2009 at second. Danks has a .907 OPS in Triple A but is striking out 32% of the time. Viciedo is struggling in Triple A with a .541 OPS, walking exactly one time in 57 at-bats while striking out at a 31% clip. Nobody from a pitching standpoint is ripping it up at the higher levels with Hudson getting knocked around a little (1.50 WHIP and four homers allowed in three starts).