Choke

I try not to be the kind of blowhard who fills up the airwaves of sports’ talk radio.  I value opinion, most of all when touched by intelligent thought.  When you’re wrong, admit it as a sign of intelligent thought.  All of which is to say maybe I’ve been more wrong than not about White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson.

 

Ever since I complained about Steverson’s lack of visible effect on Eloy Jimenez, the Sox rookie has gone on a tear, including last night’s two-run homerun in the top of the ninth to give the South Siders a 3-1 win at Wrigley Field.  Jimenez’s twelfth homer is his fifth in his last eight games.  As the Sun-Times noted today, our very own Lou Brock is 11 for his last 29, and I think every one of those five homers has come against good teams.  But wait, there’s more.

 

Sox catcher James McCann, to be exact.  McCann singled ahead of Jimenez’s blast to left field, and he did it choking up on the bat with two strikes.  Talk about old school.  Maybe McCann decided to do that all on his own, or maybe his hitting coach suggested the idea.  Either way, McCann is batting .330 and has a shot at making the All-Star team.

 

A few more homeruns against the Cubs, and maybe Eloy does, too.