The last member of the White Sox’s regular lineup finally has joined the hit parade, and manager Ozzie Guillen said, “When the bats come alive, this team is going to be fun.”
In Saturday’s 8-0 victory over the Twins, Alexei Ramirez strung together two straight singles after an 0-for-14 start.
“It felt good to get that hit,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been working hard on adjusting, so it felt really good.
“I was pressing a little bit. I was a little anxious to get that first hit, and that’s why I was working so hard. But I got it and now the confidence is there.”
Guillen said Ramirez had to adjust to pitchers throwing him almost all breaking balls after he had feasted on fastballs in his rookie season.
Carlos Quentin, who got his first hit Friday, socked his second homer in five at-bats after his 0-for-7 start.
The only Sox player without a hit after Saturday is Brent Lillibridge, who nonetheless had two walks and a sacrifice in his first start for the White Sox. In fact, Saturday was the first time in his short major-league career that he started as a leadoff hitter and as a second baseman.
But the lineup should start to solidify with Chris Getz and Josh Fields settling in as the first two hitters.
“I have confidence Getz is going to do a good job there,” Guillen said. “I think he feels comfortable there. That’s the main thing. Leadoff is about keeping your head straight when you’re 0-for-5. You have to go back the next day and battle.
“Fields is doing a tremendous job because I moved him all over the place and he handled it well.”
With the bottom of the lineup also composed mostly of pesky hitters, Guillen sees good things.
“This team is not going to be like in the past because we have people who can do little things,” he said. “We have guys with a lot of speed at the top and bottom. We can use them when we struggle.”
– – –
Big number
21: Wins against Minnesota by Mark Buehrle, most against any team he has faced.
