Regular Season, Week 2: April 7-13
Results of the Week
4/7: Chicago Black Sox @ Twin Cities River Monsters - Loss, 7-8.
River Monsters Sneak By Black Sox, 8-7
W: B. Coleman (1-0) L: F. Brinson (0-1) .
HR - CHI: J. Figueroa (2), A. Budding (2) TWC: J. Cordero (2), J. Gutiérrez (1)
4/8: Nashville Bluebirds @ Chicago Black Sox - Loss, 3-2.
Bluebirds Clip Black Sox, 3-2
W: H. Kun (1-0) L: F. Brinson (0-2) .
HR - NSH: T. Frost (3), A. Rodríguez (2) CHI: T. Durán (2)
4/9: Nashville Bluebirds @ Chicago Black Sox - Loss, 3-2.
Bluebirds Deal Black Sox 3-2 Loss
W: C. Kim (1-1) L: D. Bates (1-1) S: L. de' Medici (2).
HR – None
4/10: Nashville Bluebirds @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 3-5.
Black Sox Top Bluebirds, 5-3
W: J. Nicto (2-0) L: J. Ruíz (0-1) S: G. Sosa (2).
HR - NSH: T. Frost (4) CHI: G. Lee (1), J. Figueroa (3), A. Budding (3)
4/12: Chicago Black Sox @ Louisville Sluggers - Loss, 3-6.
Late Magic Gets Louisville 6-3 Win
W: R. Hobbs (2-1) L: J. Alfonzo (0-1) .
HR - CHI: G. Lee (2) LOU: T. Bourges (4), S. Kwakou (3)
4/13: Chicago Black Sox @ Louisville Sluggers - Loss, 1-7.
Sluggers Get 7-1 Win Versus Chicago
W: A. Feliciano (1-1) L: L. Gonzáles (0-2) .
HR - LOU: R. Gutiérrez (1), D. Miller (3)
Heroes of the Week
José Figueroa, OF: 14 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.324 OPS
Rocky Wattson, 2B: 21 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .333 AVG, .845 OPS
Grant Lee, OF: 22 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 2 RBI, .227 AVG, .865 OPS
Bums of the Week
Luis Gonzáles, SP: 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 7 HA, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks, 9.53 ERA
Brian Smith, RP: 4 G, 4.1 IP, 5 HA, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks, 8.31 ERA
Hao Hang, RF: 24 AB, 5 H, 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .208 AVG, .490 OPS
Record as of April 13
W-L Record for Week 2: 1-5
Overall Record: 5-7, .417
Position in Standings: 6th Place in the Heartland Division, 3 games behind Yellow Springs, Louisville, Nashville and Madison.
The Halt and The Lame
RP Francisco Salgado has recovered from his shoulder soreness and was restored to the active roster, but will work with a pitch count for a couple of weeks to protect his well-being. OF Manny Cleide was sent to AAA Carolina to make room for Salgado.
Hot Take
Correct us if we’re wrong, but didn’t we tell you last week not to let us look until it was safe? You call this safe? Manhandled by Twin Cities, Nashville and Louisville to the tune of a 1-5 record? If so, you’re using a definition of “safe” that had never occurred to us before.
So, what do we make of this reversal of fortune, exactly? Well, one thing that’s hard to ignore is that many of Chicago’s best hitters, well … ain’t.
RF Hao Hang, for example, is sputtering along at .204/.235/.367 with just 2 homers and 5 RBIs. DH Aarnoud Budding barely matches that output. He’s at .189/.295/.459 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs. And 1B Mark Simpson is limping along at .195/.333/.366 with 1 homer and 4 RBIs.
The Sox won’t go far with that kind of offensive production from the core of their lineup. In the hopeful news, though, it’s also unlikely that those guys will keep up that kind of feeble performance.
So, is it possible they didn’t get enough work during Spring Training, thanks to the Sox inviting 70 players to camp this year, and entered the season still needing to kick the rust off? Or, is it just one of those things?
We wouldn’t presume to know, but we do want to remind everyone that we were apprehensive going into the week given the opposition.
Also, we pose this question: Why, exactly, are we using the royal “we” in these Hot Takes? We are not exactly regal in lineage or bearing. And yet, here we are throwing “we’s” around as if we were one of the Windsors.
Again, we don’t presume to know the answer. But we kind of like our royal persona.
In lieu of Black Sox wins, it’s pretty much all we’ve got.
The Week Ahead
1 Game at Louisville
3 Games at Long Beach
2 Games at Vancouver
