Chicago White Sox Notes, Quotes 2009-04-10
--Twins 3B Joe Crede, who spent his entire career with the organization until free agency -- as well as chronic back problems -- led to him signing with rival Minnesota in the offseason, returns to the South Side this weekend and will receive the red-carpet treatment, including a pregame video tribute. "Joe is very special in this house," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Very, very special. In my heart, in my mind, that guy is a pro. I don't see anybody in this ballclub or anybody in this organization that has got anything bad to say about this kid."
--Manager Ozzie Guillen has been touting the balance of this year's team since midway through spring camp, and he let it be known that he plans to be more aggressive with the 2009 version of the White Sox than he was last season. "No doubt, I got more tools on the field," Guillen said. "When you got (Dewayne) Wise, (Chris) Getz, (Carlos) Quentin, and then go to A.J. (Pierzynski), (Josh) Fields and (Alexei) Ramirez, you got more ability to do more stuff. I don't have to wait for (Paul) Konerko, (Jermaine) Dye, (Jim) Thome to get hot to score some runs. We can create some things and do a little more stufff, and I'm excited about it. --Hitting coach Greg Walker knows that there are numerous question marks surrounding the likes of youngsters Josh Fields and Chris Getz as well as starting CF Dewayne Wise, but Walker said those three showed last year and especially in spring camp that they could be better than people are expecting. "What I liked to see was not only did they win jobs, but they played at as high a level as anyone in camp," Walker said. "We're excited about them. We feel like what they do mechanically holds up and they are mentally strong kids, so they should be just fine."
BY THE NUMBERS: .412 -- The batting average for opposing hitters the third time through the lineup for Clayton Richard in 2008. Hitters hit .226 the first time through, then .351 the second time.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Defense is my game. If we don't play defense, we won't go anywhere. Only one reason, defense makes good pitching. If you make those plays, they're going to be better. You give outs away, instead of 27 outs, you'll make 30 outs." -- Manager Ozzie Guillen on the importance of his young infield playing good defense this season.
Author: Fox Sports
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: April 10, 2009