Anderson gets lucky break
Brian Anderson was more than due for some good luck.
The White Sox center fielder freely acknowledges he struggled mightily last season, batting well below .200 over the first three months before finishing at .225. But he also says now that he couldn’t catch a break.
On Sunday, Anderson finished off a 2-for-2 day with a seeing-eye single through Seattle’s infield during Chicago’s 12-7 win at Peoria, Ariz. That pushed his batting average to .348 this spring.
“Last year, that probably would have hit a rock and popped up to the first baseman for a double play. Nothing went right,” Anderson said. “That’s the thing I have to realize. Not only did I not feel good at the plate, but nothing went my way.”
Anderson is trying to keep his starting spot, which White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said is still up for grabs. Veteran Darin Erstad has arrived from the Los Angeles Angels and his right ankle is finally healthy. He is competing with Anderson and Scott Podsednik to start in left field and center field.
Guillen has already said Anderson will not platoon in center field – he will open the season in Triple-A if he doesn’t win the job.
“I don’t give anybody the job just because. You earn it,” Guillen said. “I have a couple guys fighting for the job, and whoever performs better, that’s who is going to stay.”
The White Sox struggled early, managing just one hit through six innings while falling behind 3-0. However, they exploded for an eight-run seventh and then tacked on four more in the eighth and ninth innings.
Seattle starting pitcher Horacio Ramirez continued his impressive spring.
An offseason addition from the Braves in a trade for highly regarded reliever Rafael Soriano, Ramirez has thrown seven scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in two outings.
Ramirez induced nine ground-ball outs and walked only one against the White Sox, showing off two integral parts of his game.
“I’m happy I’m throwing the ball well,” Ramirez said. “The swings the guys are taking off me, they’re hitting the ball off the end of the bat and I’m jamming them.”
Mariners pitcher Jim Parque – a rising star for the White Sox in 2000 before hurting his arm in playoffs against Seattle – was shelled in the third outing of his comeback attempt. He allowed six hits and six runs in 2/3 of an inning. Parque has not pitched in a major league game since 2003, with Tampa Bay.
Notes: Seattle 1B Richie Sexson went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 18 at-bats this spring. … OF Wladimir Balentien, who ended last season with Seattle’s Double-A team, hit a grand slam in the seventh inning.