Sox’ Viciedo makes saving play on youngster
Thursday afternoon’s White Sox-Orioles game was plodding along until the sixth inning, when another small U.S. Cellular Field crowd of 11,836 was treated to some unusual entertainment.
A young boy, estimated to be 4 or 5 years old, got on the playing field down the left-field line and started running toward center.
With the Orioles’ Robert Andino at the plate, Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo was worried about a line drive causing an injury, so he scooped up the youngster and helped escort him off the field.
“What I was thinking was that I hoped a ball doesn’t come and hit him, so that is why I instinctively went to grab him,” Viciedo said through an interpreter. “I didn’t know if the play had stopped or not. My first reaction was just to grab him.”
Major-league baseball rules prohibit anyone from running on the field, so the boy and his family were ejected from the stadium.
The White Sox issued a statement after the game: “Safety is our No. 1 concern and we are happy that the child is fine. Obviously it was a nonissue for Dayan, who was able to field the kid cleanly. But going on the field is something we do take seriously. It’s not something we condone in any way.”
Morel, Beckham sit out:
For a change, you can’t blame Brent Morel or Gordon Beckham for the White Sox’ poor offensive showing in Thursday’s loss to the Orioles.
The struggling infielders were both on the bench, with Brent Lillibridge taking over for Morel at third bade and Eduardo Escobar playing second in place of Beckham.
Morel is off to a horrific start with a hitting line of .103/.146/.128. Beckham’s not much better at .152/.222/.212.
On the positive side, Beckham did snap an 0-for-14 hitless streak Wednesday night with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
Trying to bounce back from poor offensive seasons in 2010-11, Beckham said his early struggles are nothing to worry about.
“I believe in myself, I promise,” Beckham said. “I’ve been in the situation before and I’ve let it get the best of me. I haven’t given in yet.
“I don’t intend to give in. You know, I’ve kind of built up a shell about that kind of stuff.”
Beckham is keeping his head up during a rough start to the season, and he’s trying to set a good example for Morel.
“We’ve talked a lot lately,” Beckham said. “He’s got to stay positive. I’m the poster child for what he’s going through right now, so I’m definitely talking to him and just keeping him positive.”
Ramirez rolling:
Usually a slow starter at the plate in April, Alexei Ramirez extended his hitting streak to seven games Thursday and is batting .295 overall.
Ramirez has been even better at shortstop, making several highlight plays over the first two weeks of the season.
“He’s got a lot of range, good hands, he’s fast,” said Sox manager Robin Ventura, who won six Gold Gloves at third base during his playing days. “He has a lot of things that are good about shortstops. He makes a lot of tough plays. He goes in the hole, up the middle.”
Ramirez has also been doing a much better job taking throws from catchers A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers and tagging out potential base stealers.
“There’s been (some) little things we said that we wanted to clean up,” Ventura said. “He’s been receptive to it. He’s worked at it and he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”
Flowers threw out 2 Baltimore runners trying to steal Thursday, and he is a perfect 4-for-4 on the season. Pierzynski is 2-for-3.
Last year, White Sox catchers were 22-for-157 throwing out base stealers, the worst percentage (14) in the American League.