Abreu looking to produce more for White Sox' offense
Jose Abreu set a very high bar for himself as a rookie last season, posting a .317/.383/.581 hitting line along with 36 home runs and 107 RBI.
The 28-year-old first baseman is having a good sophomore season with the White Sox, but his numbers (.294/.368/.493 through Tuesday) pale in comparison to last year.
"I know that I'm able to produce more than I'm doing right now, but I'm very confident that sooner than later that I'll be in a good spot with my offense," Abreu said through an interpreter.
Through his first 36 games last season, Abreu had 12 home runs and 34 RBI. This year, he had 6 homers and 22 RBI.
When the weather finally warms up, so should Abreu's production.
But even with a slower start than last year, Sox manager Robin Ventura is hardly worried about his No. 3 hitter.
"I think there is more there," Ventura said. "I think he is a good hitter, and I think he will have a fine year. If we're worrying about him, we have a lot of problems because he's a good hitter and he's going to be in the middle of our lineup. I know he cares and works hard and all of that."
Abreu's power numbers might be off a bit, but he took the American League's longest hitting streak (14 games) into Wednesday night's game against the Indians.
"He knows how to stay inside the baseball," Ventura said. "There are times when he is a swing-and-miss guy if he's trying to hit homers, but for the most part just his technique of being inside the baseball and being as strong as he is, to take an inside pitch and take it the other way, he gets balls through the infield and to the outfield that a lot of people can't."
"It's a gift and he's one of the few that can do that. To be able to do that consistently, you're going to get on base a lot, you're going to get hits and it's hard to pitch to you."
Konerko's return:
Paul Konerko will be at U.S. Cellular Field Saturday afternoon, where his uniform No. 14 will be retired before the White Sox face the Twins.
Konerko played 16 seasons for the Sox and ranks first all-time with 4,010 total bases and second with 432 home runs, 1,383 RBI and 2,268 games played.
A pregame ceremony is scheduled for 2:25 p.m. and will include specials guests and video tributes. The 3:10 p.m. game is sold out, but standing room only tickets are available.
Konerko retired after the 2014 season.
"It'll be cool," said infielder Gordon Beckham, who still keeps in touch with Konerko. "The whole ceremony will be something he'll really enjoy. He watches a lot of our games so I get a text from him every now and then, stuff like that. It's good to hear from him. He definitely keeps up with us, so it's good to know that he cares."