I’ll say this about Birmingham Barons manager Sergio Santos: His messaging is incredibly disciplined.
Santos spoke to White Sox beat reporters, including James Fegan, on a conference call Thursday, and a couple things he said were rather reminiscent of what he told me in April.
Regarding the importance of winning in the minors, Santos on Thursday:
Player development is always going to be number one but if you do player development in the right way wins will be a byproduct.
And Santos in April:
First and foremost is player development, but I’m a big believer in that if you do player development the right way, wins will be a byproduct of that.
And regarding his aspirations, Santos on Thursday:
I mean, again, like I go back, because I did it as a player and it never worked when you are worried about what’s next and what’s next. So, I really focus on trying to be where my feet are. I know if I do a good job here, all that other stuff will take care of itself.
And Santos in April:
If I can’t control it, I don’t worry about it, and what I can control is what I do every single day. I tell the players this all the time: Be present, be where your feet are. And I feel like if I do my job and I do my job really well, that’ll take care of itself.
I’ll also say this about the White Sox: For all the attention they are drawing to their Double-A team, Birmingham’s lead over the Tennessee Smokies is now down to a half-game.
Santos said whatever happens over the remainder of the week will be instructive …
In our case, up one and a half games with four to play gets them used to that. The heightened attention, the heightened details because everything matters and that will help them in the big leagues because they’ve been there, done that. […]
We tell them yes it’s great if we clinch and win games in Birmingham but more importantly I’m looking to next year and the year after that when they’re in the hunt for the AL Central they been there and done that. There is an importance to winning because you learn how to win and put teams away because that will help them later in their career.
… and that didn’t remind me of anything Santos said in April, because that would’ve been a very specific scenario to discuss three games into the season. Instead, it brings to mind what Hawk Harrelson used to say about experience being something you get when you don’t really want it.
Charlotte 7, Gwinnett 5
- Colson Montgomery went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Zach DeLoach, 0-for-3 with a walk and a K.
- Touki Toussaint had one of his unique lines: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
- Jordan Leasure struck out all three batters he faced.
Montgomery 5, Birmingham 1
- Brooks Baldwin went 1-for-4 and Jacob Gonzalez both were 1-or-4.
- Edgar Quero and Wilfred Veras both were 0-for-4.
- Tim Elko went 3-for-4.
- Jake Eder joined Jairo Iriarte in suffering an early ambush: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 HR
Notes:
*On the subject of Iriarte’s start at Rickwood, Santos said that their coaching staff noticed a potential tipping issue.
Winston-Salem 11, Asheville 10
- Samuel Zavala went 0-for-5 with a sac fly and two strikeouts.
- Ryan Galanie was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Calvin Harris, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Wes Kath went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk.
- Eddie Park was 1-for-4 with a sac fly.
- Shane Murphy: 3.2 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 2 WP, 60 of 91 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*Winston-Salem rallied for six runs over the final three innings while Jared Kelley posted zeroes, so that’s a well-earned relief win.
Kannapolis 4, Myrtle Beach 3
- Ronny Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Aldrin Batista: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 54 of 76 pitches for strikes.
ACL Reds 6, ACL White Sox 5
- Javier Mogollon went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Eloy Jiménez was 2-for-4 with a K.
- Adrian Gil, 0-for-1 with a walk and two HBPs.
- Stiven Flores went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Abraham Nunez, 1-for-4 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Davis Martin: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP
- Luis Reyes: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
DSL Blue Jays 6, DSL White Sox 3 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-4.
- So did Jurdrick Profar, who stole a base.
- So did Eduardo Herrera, who struck out once.
- Jesus Premoli was 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jehancarlos Mendez was 1-for-2 with a walk.
DSL Blue Jays 7, DSL White Sox 6 (Game 2, 8 innings)
- Jurdrick profar homered, doubled, singled and walked.
- Eduardo Herrera went 1-for-4.
- Angel Bello: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K,1 HR
Jim Margalus Writing about the White Sox for a 16th season, first here, then at South Side Sox, and now here again. Let’s talk curling. View all posts
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