Struggling Beckham gets a day off
For all you young hitters out there — OK, the older ones, too — don't do what Gordon Beckham is doing.
After batting .230 in 2011, his second straight subpar season, Beckham retreated home to Atlanta and broke down his swing.
Beckham focused on getting a better load, but he is off to another poor start this year. The White Sox' second baseman is batting .136 and has struck out 10 times in 22 at-bats.
Eduardo Escobar started at second base against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, with Beckham taking a seat on the bench.
Manager Robin Ventura said it's still too early to be making any permanent lineup changes, but you have to wonder how long Beckham is going to play if he continues to scuffle.
Before Sunday's game, a major-league scout said there is one glaring problem with Beckham's approach.
“He's not getting his front foot down, and that's the most important part of the swing,” the scout said. “(Beckham's) hands are coming through before his foot gets down. You can load, but it's not going to matter if the front foot's not down.”
The scout also said Beckham is standing too close to the plate.
Escobar made his first start of the season at second base, and the switch hitter was 1-for-3. If Beckham doesn't get it turned around soon, Ventura has an option in Escobar.
“Even in spring training, (Escobar) had great energy,” Ventura said. “From seeing him last year to this year, he's just matured, he has a better approach at the plate.
“In spring training, when he was in games, stuff happened. He was doing a lot of positive things for the lineup, and defensively he showed he can play anywhere in the infield.”
Long layoff:
Philip Humber makes his first start of the season tonight when the White Sox open a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Humber was scheduled to pitch at Cleveland last Tuesday, but bad weather postponed the game. John Danks stayed on normal schedule and pitched against the Indians on Wednesday, and the rest of the Sox' rotation followed suit.
As the fifth starter, Humber knows there are going to be some skips and bumps.
“Last year the times I had six, seven, eight days off in between starts, for whatever reason it doesn't seem to affect me as far as being able to command the baseball,” said Humber, who was 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA last season.
“That's the only thing you worry about. For me, for some reason I'm able to still feel pretty comfortable no matter how much rest I've had.”
Around the horn:
The White Sox and the Tigers all wore No. 42 Sunday in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier 65 years ago … The Sox also wore their throwback 1972 red pinstripe uniforms, as they will do for all Sunday home games … The White Sox drew 96,844 in their three-game series vs. Detroit.
White Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field
TV: Channel 26 today-Tuesday; Comcast SportsNet Wednesday-Thursday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Sox' Philip Humber (0-0) vs. Jake Arrieta (1-0) today at 7:10 p.m.; John Danks (1-1) vs. Wei-Yin Chen (0-0) Tuesday at 7:10 p.m.; Jake Peavy (1-0) vs. Tommy Hunter (1-0) Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.; Gavin Floyd (1-1) vs. Jason Hammel (1-0) Thursday at 1:10 p.m.
At a glance: You can call this a matchup of the American League's two most surprising teams. The White Sox are 5-3. The Orioles are 5-4. The Sox were 4-4 vs. Baltimore last season (1-3 at the Cell). Humber made 2 starts against the Orioles last season and was 0-1 while allowing 6 runs in 13 innings. Arrieta, a right-hander, made 1 start vs. the Sox last season and got the win despite allowing 3 runs in 5 innings.
Next: Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, Friday-Sunday
— Scot Gregor