The White Sox certainly have gotten into the swing of things since the All-Star break, and hitting coach Greg Walker couldn’t be more pleased.
Frank Thomas and Carl homered and Jose Valentin went deep twice in Friday night’s 7-1 triumph over Texas at U.S. Cellular Field. It was the fifth straight victory for the first-place Sox.
“We’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, but each player is different,” said Walker, who spent nine seasons in the majors with the White Sox and Baltimore. “My theory is to get in the cage [under the stands] before we get into batting practice and get into a routine where they learn their own swing.”
Walker, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, wears a brace on his right arm. Carlos Lee shattered his elbow accidentally during a batting-cage session in late July.
Walker was flipping the ball underhanded as Lee worked on his swing.
“I would throw the ball and get behind the net,” said Walker, who became a bit distracted while talking to Lee. “I didn’t think he was going to swing. I left my arm just a little bit out from the cage and the bat hit my arm just as square as you can hit somebody. It shattered it pretty good. But it’s no big deal. It’s not like I’m hitting cleanup.”
An American League-best 23-12 since the break, the Sox have rapped 171 home runs, including 85 in their last 48 games. The Sox homered in a franchise-record 19 straight home games from June 27 to Aug. 8.
Thomas says he is swinging deliberately for the fences now, but Walker does not detect any major overhaul in his approach at the plate.
“Not really,” said Walker, who took over for the fired Gary Ward on May 19. “I think it’s a little bit mental. Frank always has had an approach to hitting. It may not be the exact approach he had when he was hitting .330 and .350. But he has put us on his back and carried us at some crucial times. . . . Our lineup seems to feed off Frank. When he’s doing well, everybody seems to be going well.”
Thomas is batting .350 (7-for-20) with four home runs and eight RBIs over the five-game winning streak. Thomas leads the American League with 24 homers at home, including 14 in his last 22 games.
“The biggest thing with our hitters is getting their bodies in position,” Walker said. “You do a lot better if you work every day. We call them `flips’ in the cage. We’re just trying to work through the ball. Sometimes our bodies won’t let us do as much as we want. And sometimes our minds keep our bodies from doing what we want. It’s a process.”
