Carlos Quentin, Rollercoaster Tycoon

Watching Sunday’s game was a bit of a flashback to Friday. I had high hopes through the first few innings, thinking of what solid pitching the day had before the end of the starter’s turn and the bullpen gave up a touchdown. Of course, unlike Friday, the offense was silent. Just one run crossed the plate for the White Sox.

And of course, the story is Alexei Ramirez bunting into a triple play. A rare feat in baseball. Almost as rare as having two identical pop-out-foul-bunts, one of which ended up in someone’s glove. Now, Alexei needs to be scolded for his terrible bunting, but isn’t Ozzie really to blame for giving the sign for small ball when obviously it wasn’t going to work? It’s like asking Juan Uribe to bunt all over again: why bother when you saw with you own eyes that it wouldn’t work? I’m sure my question will go unanswered, and I’m not waiting for an answer. I’m waiting for a change. 2 on, not outs… and you choose to make Alexei Ramirez bunt. Sure… you’re the manager, not me.

There is a bright spot for the 2nd place Sox, though. They are playing the first place Royals (seriously) next, which should make for an easy couple of wins, and will hopefully result in the Sox taking over first place. First place, just like Carlos Quentin, who was voted the AL Player of the Week. In just 11 at-bats, CQ picked up 7 RBI and 3 doubles (leading the American League in both those categories). TCQ seems to be off to a good start, so long as he keeps from punching bats, twisting his ankles, or stays away from really dangerous areas such as baseball fields.

Quentin is really the only surprise this year. So far, Dunn and Konerko are blasting RBIs and looking every bit as solid as we could have hoped for the first 3 games. Quentin is really a surprise because the last 2 or 3 seasons have been a rollercoaster ride for him and his fans. Come to think of it, let’s add that to the list: no rollercoasters for Quentin. Or those spinning teacup things.