White Sox’ Cooper speaks, and has plenty to say
Don Cooper has been pretty quiet since the Chris Sale injury scare in early May.
But the White Sox’ chatty pitching coach had plenty to say to all the naysayers before Saturday’s interleague victory over the Houston Astros.
“If I’m not mistaken, I think that all of you guys had us picked to be horse(bleep),” Cooper said. “And we haven’t come to that yet. There’re a lot of good things going on.”
Two Sox starters — Gavin Floyd (5.38 ERA) and Philip Humber (5.68) — have been anything but good lately, which Cooper admits. But, as usual, Cooper chose to look at the positives.
“We have two guys that we are trying to bring out of their inconsistency to more consistency,” Cooper said. “We’ve seen them good before, and we know what it looks like.
“With that being said, everyone likes to pick out our issues or our weak points or things we need to improve. We are well aware of them, first of all.
“Thanks to everyone for telling us. We are well aware of everything that is going on.
“Here’s some news, too — there are 30 other clubs and they all have issues, too. We are not sitting and lamenting our inconsistency. We are trying actively to get it better. That’s all you can do.”
Viciedo sits:After coming out of Friday night#146;s game with tightness in both hamstrings, left fielder Dayan Viciedo sat out Saturday.When he singled in the fourth inning Friday, Viciedo felt discomfort.#147;It#146;s just tight, but I#146;ve been getting therapy on it, so it#146;s starting to feel better,#148; Viciedo said through a translator.#147;The left (hamstring) is tighter than the other. They both are tight. It#146;s not something I#146;m working through right now. Just being cautious; it#146;s something I don#146;t want to risk anything.#148;Viciedo might not play Sunday, either, especially with Jordan Danks playing so well after coming up from Class AAA Charlotte to replace the injured Kosuke Fukudome.Danks made his first start for the White Sox on Saturday and was 2-for-5.After Sunday, the White Sox play six interleague games, at St. Louis and Los Angeles.With no designated hitter, Adam Dunn is likely to play left field for most of the games, so it could be an extended break for Viciedo, who has 3 hits in his last 26 at-bats.#147;We#146;ve got a long way to go,#148; manager Robin Ventura said. #147;I don#146;t want to push him to go out there.#148;Danks set to rehab:As expected, John Danks is going to pitch for Class AAA Charlotte on Tuesday at Columbus.Danks (sore left shoulder) hasn#146;t pitched since May 19, so he likely is going to make 2 rehab starts.While Danks builds his strength and endurance, Jose Quintana (1-1, 2.05 ERA) will make at least 1 more start for the Sox.#147;He#146;s going out there and he#146;s making his way in the major leagues,#148; pitching coach Don Cooper said of Quintana. #147;I mean this is stuff that#146;s great to watch.#147;See a kid go out there for the first time, get his first win. Pitching well, trying to live his dream. That#146;s good; that#146;s not bad.#148;