Fields hot at plate, but on defense …
Rain -- make that a lot of rain, with a sidecar of thunder and lightning -- doused Josh Fields' sizzling bat Thursday.
The White Sox' game against the Boston Red Sox was washed out, and a day-night doubleheader is scheduled for today. Game 1 starts at 1:05, Game 2 at 7:05 p.m.
Fields, the White Sox' 24-year-old third baseman, leads all American League rookies with 15 home runs, and overall he ranks third in the league with 7 homers in August.
"Josh is doing pretty good,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
To the surprise of many, Guillen has been batting Fields second the past few weeks. But with Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye hitting behind him, Fields has been feasting on a steady diet of fastballs.
"He has a lot of home runs late in the game because the guys hitting behind him, (opposing pitchers) don't want to face them and they have to throw something to him,'' Guillen said. "I see a good thing happening to this kid in his career.''
Offensively, Fields already is looking like a finished product. On the defensive side, he still is a work in progress.
Since coming up from Class AAA Charlotte on June 6 after Joe Crede (back surgery) was shelved for the season, Fields has played in 69 games and committed 8 errors. Last year, Crede made 10 errors in 150 games.
The Sox don't expect Fields to emulate Crede's spectacular play at third base, but they do expect some improvement. Guillen, a standout shortstop during his playing days, already has advised Fields to "throw his glove in the trash.''
While it's too late in the season for Fields to follow that radical piece of advice, the rookie has been practicing with a much smaller glove. Crede also plays with a glove that looks more suitable for a Little Leaguer.
"(Guillen) just jokes around a lot, but he probably does want me to burn it,'' Fields said of his "big'' glove. "Oh, well, it's what I'm comfortable with. I'm not going to go out there and play with the (small) glove I'm training with. When it comes down to it, you can't switch in the middle of the season. Maybe next year I'll come out with a smaller glove.''
Why switch to a small glove?
"It makes you stay down on balls,'' Fields said. "That's my problem.''
He's working to fix it, and hitting a lot of home runs in the process.
Should Crede return to the White Sox next season -- a proposition that probably is 60-40 right now -- there is a chance Fields will be moved to left field.
"If it comes down to it and I do get moved to the outfield, that's fine,'' said Fields, who played left field in winter ball last year. "I'd just like to know that I'm going to stay there for a while and be able to get comfortable with it rather than moving back and forth.''