White Sox catchers finally get a fighting chance
For years, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski held his tongue when talk turned to his weak throwing arm and inability to stop opposing runners from stealing bases.
Instead of pointing his finger at the numerous Sox pitchers with slow deliveries and inability to hold runners on, or blaming shortstop Alexei Ramirez for consistently failing to properly cover second base, Pierzynski took the heat.
This season Pierzynski and backup catcher Tyler Flowers appear to have a fighting chance behind the plate.
“It takes three people to throw a guy out, the pitcher, the catcher and the guy covering second base,” Pierzynski said. “You all have to be in sync.”
New bench coach Mark Parent was a major-league catcher for 13 seasons. He didn't hit much, as his .214 career average indicates, but he had solid defensive skills.
Not long after joining new White Sox manager Robin Ventura in the dugout, Parent contacted Pierzynski.
“(Parent) heard it from everyone on down,” Pierzynski said. “I talked to him over the winter and he said, ‘Hey, we're going to try to make this a priority, shutting down runners. It saves you runs at the end of the day.'
“We did a good job of it in spring training, and we've done it the first 10 or so days of the season.”
So far, Pierzynski is 1-for-2 throwing out basestealers. Flowers is 2-for-2.
It is early, but that is a far cry from last season, when Pierzynski was 14-for-94 and Flowers was 6-for-25.
“The pitchers have been doing a great job,” Ventura said. “That's just another part of the game that you have to pay attention to, otherwise you're just letting guys go and get into scoring position.
“And it helps them, too, that's the thing for pitchers to understand. We're trying to help them, too. But they've doing a great job, and they're giving A.J. and Tyler a chance to throw somebody out.”
Neither Pierzynski nor Flowers has a rocket throwing arm, but they are good enough to cut down their fair share of basestealers if given the opportunity.
“One thing that's big is when you have confidence knowing you actually have a chance,” Pierzynski said. “That definitely helps you as a catcher. Sometimes when you know you have no chance, you rush and you make bad throws because you're rushing so much to try to make up for the pitcher being slow or the guy getting a great jump.
“Whenever you look up and see you have a chance, you just let things happen a little more naturally than trying to make them happen faster than they should.”
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