Putnam aims to stay productive over long haul
Underrated Chicago White Sox reliever Zach Putnam was warming up in the bullpen Saturday night at Seattle when he noticed some soreness in his right groin.
Rather than try to pitch through it, Putnam did the smart thing and let manager Robin Ventura know he was a no-go.
"When you tweak a muscle like that, you run the risk of, even though if you think you can get back out there, if you do and it happens again, you're dealing with it for months rather than a couple of days," Putnam said.
"So I think that was the thing, just trying to get through the end of the season healthy. I had to sacrifice a few days here so I can get a bunch back on the back end."
After being shut down for three days, Putnam was available Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox.
All in all, the Sox' bullpen has been solid this season with a 3.43 ERA.
Putnam has been particularly effective. Heading into Tuesday, the right-hander ranked sixth among American League relief pitchers with 12.15 strikeouts per 9 innings. Putnam has only allowed 2 earned runs over his last 14⅓ innings.
With Nate Jones back in a big way after missing more than a year following Tommy John surgery, the White Sox' bullpen is as good as it has been all season.
"We've got a really good group down there, and we're pretty well equipped for just about any situation," Putnam said. "As far as my own role, as I always have been, I'm pretty much open for what's best for the club on that particular night.
"The way I've been used so far, I've kind of been a later inning, when we've got lefties and righties coming up. I think (manager) Robin (Ventura) and Coop (pitching coach Don Cooper) and the staff like to use me in those situations just because I can be effective against both sides of the plate."
Month to forget:
The White Sox got hot at the end of July and wound up holding on to starting Jeff Samardzija at the nonwaiver trade deadline.
A free agent at the end of the season, Samardzija has gone 0-5 with a 9.00 ERA in August. Opposing hitters are batting .331 against the right-hander.
"It's tough," Samardzija said. "We turned it around there for a couple of months, put that tough start behind us and were where we needed to be. That's the way the sport goes. It's not a forgiving game, and it really tests your will and how mentally strong you are.
"You need to do your work every time out and turn the page. You learn in this game to have thick skin and trust your work ethic and trust your routine."
Running wild:
As a whole, the Sox' baserunning has been atrocious this season.
Individually, Adam Eaton continues to make it interesting when he hits the ball on the ground and runs to first base.
Instead of striding through, Eaton likes to lunge to the bag and then immediately hit the brakes.
"That's the way he runs," manager Robin Ventura said. "We definitely brought that to his attention of being able to get it to where if you're not running you're going to put yourself in kind of danger as far as getting hurt.
"That's the way he gets down there. He's always done it that way, to get there as fast as he can."