Well, the last 2 games in Texas were pretty ugly to the Sox. First there was the thumping that Jose Contreras took on Saturday night, and then the listless performance on Sunday night in front of a national audience.
The Saturday debacle fueled questions about the reliability of Contreras in his rotation spot. His return fron injury and weight loss, had many encouraged that he would do a quality job for the Sox in 2009. Maybe he just needs more time to find his groove, but should the big club suffer while he's doing that?
A few minor league starts might turn the trick, but who takes his spot in the rotation if they send him down? Clayton Richard is used to being a bullpen guy by htis time, and might not easily slide back into a starters role.
The game on Sunday, had the Sox hitters being fooled by an inexperienced pitcher, who also got some Tom Glavine like help from the plate umpire, on that outside corner. Josh Fields can attest to that as he struck out badly, with the bases loaded, after an outside strike was called and he was forced to swing at anything thrown up there on the next pitch.
One bright spot on this road trip so far is the quality at-bats that Carlos Quintin is getting. He looking like the same dominate player we saw most of 2008.
Today we get the chance to close ground on KC, but must do it against the best pitcher in baseball this season, in Zack Greinke.
Keywords: Clayton Richard, Contreras, Quintin, Sox, white sox
