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If you missed the news earlier today, A.J. said that he is "the most likely guy the Sox can move via trade."  He sites his proximity to 10 and 5 (ten years in the league, five with one team) no trade clause, Konerko's full no trade clause, and the up and coming Donny Lucy and Tyler Flowers behind him.

Frankly, A.J. is right in this situation.  He is a year from a full no trade clause, and Tyler Flowers probably is the future behind the plate.  Therefore he is pretty much expendable.  But there's also another big reason for why the Sox may want to move him that he didn't reference.  HE'S HITTING .182.

Read more: A.J. Should Stop Talking, And Start Hitting

Yesterday I called for the firing of Greg Walker.  Today I want Ozzie to go off on the team... and fire Greg Walker.

After two weeks of baseball the White Sox are in last place in arguable the worst division in baseball.  They have lost more games to the Indians than they have won games total.  They have one player hitting over .300 and that's the backup catcher who is 2 for 4.  No everyday player is hitting over .270.  The dominant starting rotation we thought we had, has three pitchers with an ERA at 6.00 or higher.  And the Sox have lost 4 games in a row and have yet to win a series this season.

So it's time for Ozzie to close the doors, sit down the entire team, and give them a piece of his mind.  Let them know that this is far from acceptable.  This kind of hitting performance should (and could) land every last one of them in AAA.  The pitching staff needs to be able to pitch at home and on the road.  And the bullpen has to be able to hold on to these leads when we get them.

Managers can only do so much to turn a team around.  Some of them take a more hands off approach and just tell their guys to keep plugging.  Some have team meetings.  Other explode both on the team themselves and in the media.

The Sox have a manger who prefers the last of those options.  And if now isn't the time to do it, I don't know what is.

Root for the Home Team!  The Charlotte Knights so far have had sweeping success in their first home series of the season against the Gwinnett Braves.  In their first season opener win since 2008, the Knights kept the spirit alive thru game three of the four game series and defeated the Braves. 

 Saturday nights game was not a steal for the Knights.  Tyler Flowers, Catcher for Charlotte who made is Major League debut for the Chicago White Sox, on September 3rd 2009, drove home a run in the bottom of the third inning and brought outfielder, Josh Kroeger with him, and thanks to Kroeger’s quick defensive thinking in the top of the second the Knights held the Braves scoreless. 

 Prior to, Flowers, home run Jordan Danks in the bottom of the second doubled to bring C.J. Retherford home.  Danks, also, doubled in the first inning to help bring home Brent Lillibridge. 
   
 In the top of the fourth the Braves infielder Barbaro Canizares earns a single off Knights Pitcher Daniel Hudson, and the Braves bring him home to score one run in the fourth.

 The Knights match the Braves run in the fourth and add one.  With Robert Hudson and Brent Lillibridge both with singles, Jordan Danks grounds into second for the force out on Lillibridge, Danks remains on first.  With Stefan Gartrell up to bat Danks stills second, Gartrell reaches first due to an error of the Braves third baseman Joe Thurston.  With the Braves second error of the inning, while, Josh Kroeger is batting Jordan Danks scores due to a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Tim Gustafson Pitcher for the Braves.  

 The top of the fifth the Knights leading 6 to 1, the Braves determined to catch up, Matt Young an outfielder for the Braves steals a home run of Daniel Hudson.  The fifth inning for the Knights is a quick 1.2.3.

Top of the 6th and the Braves fueling with their previous home run Brent Clevlen steps up to bat and first run of the 6th is a home run.  The Knights just couldn’t seem to match the Braves, but continued their defense to hold the score for the rest of the game 6 to 3 the Knights. 

What a series for the Knights!  Number one prospect for the Chicago White Sox, pitcher, Daniel Hudson ended the night with three earned hits and five strike outs.  With a victory in three of the four games in the series the Knights are looking to score their fourth one, and claim the victory of the series in game 4 today at 2:15pm and the Knights Stadium.
 

(Photo Courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times.

Hitting coaches have a fragile job.  A hitting coach's job relies not on his own ability to succeed, but on the success of the 9 hitters that are sent to the plate each game.  When the team hits, the coach looks like a genius, when they don't they coach looks like a moron.  But the debate always arises anytime a team stops hitting of, is it really the hitting coach's fault?

My thoughts on that is quite simple.  Hitting coaches are hired to instill a philosophy in the team as to how to approach at bats.  Whether the philosophy is pull the ball and try to hit every pitch hard, go the other way, take lots of pitches, swing early in counts, give yourself up whenever possible, or always try to get a hit, the hitting coach is responsible for giving the hitters an idea of what they should be doing at the plate.  My thoughts also extend to, if the team is hitting, the coach can sit back and relax, when they don't he must make a change.  If the ship isn't righted soon, then the coach's head is on the block.

Greg Walker is in his 6th year as the White Sox hitting coach.  The philosophy that Walker has preached to the Sox is quite simple.  Hit the ball out of the ball park.  And with that, pull the ball, forget about bunting, and focus mostly on getting hits as opposed to moving people over or getting guys in.  The Sox are perennially the worst bunting team in the league, strand the most runners on third base in the league, and hit the most home runs in the league.  They also are prone to games in which they score 10 runs, or games where they score 0.

Read more: Greg Walker Has To Go