Sox’ Dunn feeling better after adjustment
Believe it or not, a sliver of hope emerged with Adam Dunn in the wake of another unproductive day during Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker noticed something on videotape, took it to Dunn, and here is the early result: He was 0-for-4 but put the ball in play three times.
Three times!
When you’re hitting .165 and have struck out 104 times in just 242 at-bats, that is reason to celebrate.
On a more serious note, Walker talked about Dunn’s adjustment in the Sox’ postgame clubhouse.
“We’ve been trying to get him a feel of getting the foot down on time, getting into a body position on time,” Walker said. “That dictates his swing. He’s been doing this for a long time, and his swing works.
“But if his body’s in a bad position, if he’s got bad posture, if he’s late, the swing doesn’t line up.
“There have been a lot of games this year where I felt like he was kind of pushing the bat instead of pulling it. Besides that, he’s got to be more aggressive, get the foot down and get his body more forward. Step to balance, that’s what we’re trying to get him to do.”
In Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Cubs, Dunn actually ripped the ball his first time up, but he lined out to right fielder Kosuke Fukudome before striking out his final three trips to the plate.
On Sunday, Dunn struck out in the first inning, popped out in the fourth, popped out in the seventh and flied out in the ninth.
Dunn said he started feeling more like his old self during his second at-bat Sunday.
“I don’t know what it was, something actually felt normal for once in awhile,” he said. “I don’t really know how to describe it to people watching. It felt, I guess, balance would be the right word.
“Or feeling that I had everything underneath me to where it felt normal to me. Maybe not to anyone else, but hopefully that will carry over tomorrow.”
One and done:Sox starter Gavin Floyd pitched 7 innings Sunday, and only one was bad.In the fourth, Floyd gave up all 3 runs when Darwin Barney led off with a single and scored on Starlin Castro#146;s triple.Aramis Ramirez followed with a 2-run homer on a good pitch from Floyd.#147;You#146;re going to get runners on and stuff and you try to make pitches,#148; Floyd said. #147;I made pretty good pitches today. Ramirez was out in front, he happened to barrel it up, and in this ballpark it#146;s a home run.#147;I#146;ll take that pitch any day. He was out in front and hit it right. Nineteen times out of 20 it#146;s probably an out. But it happened.#148;Grand Central:The White Sox play their next 19 games against AL Central opponents, including seven at home this week against the Royals and the Twins to close out the first half of the season.So far the Sox are 6-11 against their division.#147;That#146;s more important than the Cubs,#148; manager Ozzie Guillen said of Central games. #147;Like I said in the past, you are not going to win your division unless you are pretty good against them.#147;We have not been too good so far against them. We have to start playing better, and that#146;s a very important stretch for us.#148;