Al Lillibridge

Going into this 10 game road trip, Ill admit that I didnt expect the White Sox to do very well. We have had trouble with the Indians all year, we always seem to get knocked around by the AL East, and I figured that after playing Boston we would end up splitting the series with the Tigers and stumble home with a 5-5 or 6-4 road trip. The White Sox definitely proved me wrong on that one. Sweeping both the Indians and the Red Sox and starting the road trip 7-0 was about the last thing any White Sox fan expected. We all had so much hope going into Comerica Park to play the Tigers because we have played very well there all season. Going 8-2 or 9-1, possibly even 10-0 was a legit though.. and thats where the downfall began. We got our hopes up too high and the White Sox helped bring us all back to reality by stumbling out of Detroit with a 1-3 record for the series. Despite going 7-0 over the first 7 games, we managed to fall to 6 games behind the Twins in the division after losing the last 3. The offense had its good moments and its bad moments over the road trip: Paul Konerko: 9-31 (.290) 3 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI Manny Ramirez: 7-24 (.292) Omar Vizquel: 11-36 (.305) 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 RBI Alex Rios: 11-35 (.314) 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI Alexei Ramirez : 7-35 (.200) 1 home run, 4 RBI Juan Pierre: 8-43 (.186) 2 doubles, 2 RBI A.J. Pierzynski: 11-29 (.379) 1 double, 1 home run, 7 RBI Mark Teahen: 4-22 (.182) 1 RBI Gordon Beckham: 5-19 (.263) 1 double, 2 RBI Mark Kotsay: 6-18 (.333) 2 doubles, 1 RBI Carlos Quentin: 6-27 (.222) 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBI Andruw Jones: 6-15 (.400) 2 doubles You can clearly see who performed and who didnt there. As usual, Alex Rios and Paul Konerko are at the top of the team in almost every category and A.J. Pierzynski has stepped it up contributing 7 RBI and going on a 14 game hitting streak that ended after failing to get a hit in todays game. Other things need to change if the White Sox want to make the playoffs though. First off, our lead-off hitter needs to get on base a lot more than he has. Over the road trip, Juan Pierre had a .186 batting average. Yes the White Sox won 7 of 10 but how long can you go scoring runs with the lead off hitter playing poorly? If he cant get on base then that leaves little chance for guys like Konerko and Rios to drive them in. Mark Teahen is already on the bubble because of his very shotty defense lately and batting .182 along with that is going to get him benched very quickly. Both Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin are hitting poorly and at least one of them needs to step up and get some hits. If those players hitting poorly wasnt bad enough, the White Sox are having issues with runners in scoring position, especially over the last 3 games against the Tigers. Over the first 7 games, the White Sox were 23 for 84 with runners in scoring position. Thats a .274 average which isnt bad, but considering they won every game during that stretch, it was enough to get them the win. Over the last 3 games, the White Sox were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Thats a .083 average and is not going to give any team a win unless their pitcher pitches a no hitter or perfect game. Not even the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Rangers, or any of the top teams in baseball right now can win a stretch of games with an average that low. Pitching had its highs and lows as well over the road trip. The starters held their own for the most part but only went 3-3 over the 10 games. Freddy Garcia was definitely the low point due to being taken out of the game early in both starts due to lower back pain. This is how the starters performed over each of their two games pitched: John Danks: (1-1) 13 IP, 14 hits, 6 runs, 3 earned runs, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts, 2.08 ERA Gavin Floyd: (1-1) 12 IP, 18 hits, 7 runs, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts, 4.50 ERA Mark Buehrle: (0-0) 13 IP, 18 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned runs, 2 home runs, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts, 4.85 ERA Freddy Garcia: (0-1) 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 1 home run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 4.50 ERA Edwin Jackson: (1-0) 16 IP, 16 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned runs, 2 home runs, 2 walks, 17 strikeouts, 3.94 ERA Those arent horrible stats but they can definitely be better. Those ERAs are way too high for an entire starting rotation and Garcia only going 6 innings over two games is something the White Sox cant afford because their bullpen will tire out way too fast. Garcias sore back may cause him to miss his next start so who knows how that is going to affect the bullpen. The bullpen however, was the one true bright spot over this whole road trip. Aside from the blown save by Bobby Jenks against the Indians, they all held their own and more, giving quality outings every time they were called upon. Even after blowing the save against Cleveland, Jenks got out of the inning and the rest of the bullpen helped the White Sox win that game. Jenks even picked up two saves in the same day against Boston so he more than made up for his mistakes. Hes also is having forearm tightness so he may be out for a while. Heres how the bullpen came out of the road trip: Tony Pena: (1-0) 5 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 1.80 ERA Scott Linebrink: (2-0) 3.2 IP, 1 run, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts, 1 hold, 2.45 ERA Bobby Jenks: 4 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 3 saves, 1 blown save, 6.75 ERA Matt Thornton: 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 save, 0.00 ERA Sergio Santos: 3.2 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 3 holds, 0.00 ERA Chris Sale: (1-0) 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts, 2 holds, 1 save Its pretty obvious that without the outstanding effort of the bullpen, the White Sox would have a much worse record than 7-3 on this road trip. Probably the worst thing about this road trip was our defense. We had at least 1 error in 7 of the 10 games and they werent just errors that extended the inning a batter or two, it usually led to runs and even cost us games. Over the road trip, Brent Lillibridge has 1 error, Andruw Jones had 1 error, Alex Rios had 1 error, Mark Kotsay had 1 error, Alexei Ramirez had 2 errors, Mark Teahen had 2 very costly errors, and Carlos Quentin had an astounding 4 errors. Thats a total of 11 errors in 10 games if you werent keeping track of that. (the White Sox have 17 errors in their last 14 games) On Lillibridges error, that led to the blown save by Jenks and even though the White Sox won in extras, it shouldnt have gotten there in the first place. Mark Teahens 2 errors in the same game led to 4 runs scored by the Tigers and eventually the loss. Overall, 14 runs were scored on errors over the past 10 games, including 5 unearned runs off of errors by Carlos Quentin. Those problems mentioned above just arent acceptable. If the White Sox want to make any last ditch attempt at catching the Twins, things need to change quickly. Juan Pierre needs to start getting on base because thats the job of the lead off hitter. Alexei Ramirez and Mark Teahen need to snap out of their funk, especially Teahen because hes going to become an expensive bench player if he doesnt. (Brent Morel starting at 3rd today shows that its already being considered). We need to hit much better with runners in scoring position because 1-12 over 3 games isnt going to get us any closer to the Twins. A definite must is fielding needs to improve. I dont care what team you are, if you comming 11 errors in 10 games and that leads to 14 runs being scored, youre just not going to win games. Ive said in previous posts that Id rather see Brent Morel get a shot at third base or if worst come to worst put Omar Vizquel there when Gordon Beckham comes back. Regardless of who ends up there, Teahen needs to go. Hes too much of a liability and hasnt really done much of anything to help the team at all this year. All I know is this, changes need to happen soon or the 2010 season for the White Sox is going to be officially over by the end of next week.

"We went through it last year with the debate and talking about it in the offseason. But I really prepare the same way all the time." Lillibridge's quest for full-time role continues CHICAGO -- Brent Lillibridge isn't considered a starter going ...

But I really prepare the same way all the time." CHICAGO -- Brent Lillibridge isn't considered a starter going into the 2012 season, but he's the sort of valuable player any contending team needs to have. Although he's considered the best ...

Although Lillibridge will see some infield time ... Do you think Frank Thomas makes it in on the first ballot or at all? -- Nick, Park Ridge, Ill. Since I'm not a member of the BBWAA, I do not have a Hall of Fame vote. But the Big Hurt is ...

INF/OF Brent Lillibridge's 2011 season ended a bit early when his right hand was broken on a pitch thrown by Josh Judy on Sept. 9. The good news for the reserve is the hand has healed, and, according to the White Sox, he has resumed all baseball activity.

Plenty have clamored for someone to challenge Beckham for his starting spot – specifically super-utility player Brent Lillibridge – but don’t count Sox manager Robin Ventura among them. Beckham locking in mentally, Ventura said, is all he ...

Another of Ventura’s goals is to get Brent Lillibridge as much playing time as possible ... Ventura is just anxious to apply all the ideas that have come to him this winter. “Looking back to the process you get the job and the hooplah ...

Ventura has been in town all week and he's been busy doing the official meet ... Eduardo Escobar is positioned to replace Omar Vizquel as the Sox' utility infielder, but Brent Lillibridge might play the infield and outfield.

Brent Lillibridge earned high praise from Ventura for his versatility ... "He has more power than normal leadoff guys, but he's one of them." Of course, Ventura knows all about Fielder, his immense abilities and what he means to the Tigers ...

Plenty have clamored for someone to challenge Beckham for his starting spot – specifically super-utility player Brent Lillibridge – but don’t count Sox manager Robin Ventura among them. Beckham locking in mentally, Ventura said, is all he ...