Hoge's Weekend Recap: Peavy, Zambrano, LeBron And More
By Adam Hoge-
CHICAGO (CBS) So who had five starts in the "When Will Jake Peavy Get Injured Again Pool"?
After suffering a groin strain in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Tigers, Peavy is likely on the shelf again after going 2-1 in five starts. No one is surprised, but White Sox fans have a right to be disappointed. Since Peavy came back May 11, the Sox are 14-10, much better than the 14-23 record they had before he was with the team. Granted, Peavy doesn't impact every game, but he was pitching well and the White Sox were 4-0 in his starts before Sunday's loss.
My fear with Peavy is that each injury he suffers is a result of rehabbing the one prior, and his body is just breaking down. Peavy said in the spring that being rushed back in September 2009, after he was traded to the White Sox, had an impact on him eventually tearing his lat muscle last summer. He said he compensated in his delivery in 2009 because his ankle wasn't completely healthy and the following spring he started feeling general soreness in his shoulder while using that same delivery. That soreness was actually the beginning stages of his lat tear, according to him. Of course this spring, while coming back from the lat tear, he developed shoulder tendinitis and now he has a groin strain.
Seems like a pattern to me.
Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are completely lost at the plate and have been for some time. I found it interesting yesterday when Ozzie Guillen said he told Dunn: "You're not here to save us. You are here to help us." In other words, he's pleading with Dunn to take the pressure off himself. Same goes for Rios. Both players have enormous contracts and are killing the White Sox right now. The only thing holding this team back from making a serious run is those two not performing.
Meanwhile, Brent Lillibridge is pretty much playing every day and he should be. Ozzie said Sunday that Rios might be out of the lineup for more than just one day, but we've heard these threats before. You know, the "Bobby Jenks isn't my closer anymore" threats. The next day, Bobby Jenks is closing. But right now, Lillibridge is better than Rios and it will be interesting to see if Rios is actually out of the lineup tonight against Seattle.
Fun moment of the weekend goes to Jesse Crain and Miguel Cabrera Sunday morning. After Cabrera hit the game winning home run off Crain Saturday night, he was walking over towards the Sox dugout to hit in the cage before Sunday's game. Crain saw him coming, looked right at him and showed him a playful middle finger. The two laughed and got ready for the next one. That's baseball.
Carlos Zambrano had a right to be frustrated after an incredibly embarrassing weekend for the Cubs in St. Louis, but what is this team going to gain from another tirade? The Cubs just simply aren't good enough to compete this year so I'm not sure it was worth it for Zambrano to explode like he did Sunday.
I actually have to applaud LeBron James for something. In the midst of all the acting, whining and premature celebrating, LeBron handled a somewhat offensive question from CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel perfectly Sunday. Here's the video:
A lot of Big Ten fans in the Chicago area are disappointed Soldier Field didn't get the Big Ten Championship Game -- at least through 2015 -- but no one should be surprised. I understand that all 12 Big Ten teams play outdoors so they could all handle an outdoor championship in December, but we've seen time and time again in football how snow and cold weather can give one team a decided advantage. Lucas Oil Stadium will provide the most even playing field possible and that's how it should be for a game deciding who goes to the Rose Bowl or the BCS National Championship Game.
Meanwhile, it will be nice to have the Big Ten Tournament back in Chicago in 2013. Downtown Indianapolis is a much better location for the four-day tournament because all the hotels, bars and restaurants are right by Conseco Fieldhouse, but selfishly I'm happy I won't have to drive down there every year.
Congratulations to Steve Stricker who used two hole-in-ones this weekend to win the Memorial. He's one of the nicest guys in sports and now the 44 year-old is the highest ranked American golfer at No. 4.
Tweet of the Weekend:
Do you agree with Adam? Post your comments below.
Adam is the Sports Content Producer for CBSChicago.com and specializes in coverage of the White Sox, Blackhawks and college sports. He was born and raised in Lincoln Park and attended St. Ignatius College Prep before going off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Journalism degree. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHogeCBS and read more of his blogs here.
