Carlos Quentin May Need Special Shoes

While the White Sox offense has finally started to show some life during the last week and the team has won six of their last eight games, they still can't be too pleased about the prospect of having to place Carlos Quentin on the disabled list. The man who might have been AL MVP last season if not for a broken wrist started off the season pretty nicely for the Sox, but has struggled recently while battling foot problems.

Quentin has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and despite a couple of attempts to get back on the field, the pain in his foot has proved to be too much for him to handle. He had to leave Monday's game after doubling in the first inning and feeling a pop in his foot as he ran to first. So now the Sox are wondering whether or not they need to put their young slugger on the disabled list, or if there are other options. One of which would be some new shoes for Carlos.

It seems that Carlos' teammate Jim Thome has worn similar shoes the last three years and they've worked out well for his feet along with his back, and the Sox are hopeful they'll work out for Quentin as well. Quentin also got some advice from former Major Leaguer Matt Williams who had special shoes made for him when he was playing and told Quentin that they helped him out quite a bit.

So I guess it's time for Quentin to hit a local Walgreens in Chicago and get himself some Dr. Scholls. Still, even if he does get the special shoes and they help his foot, it might not be a bad idea for the Sox to put him on the disabled list for a few weeks anyway. Two weeks of rest for the foot along with the insoles would probably go a long way in making sure that the injury doesn't flare up again later in the season.

Now I don't know how much losing Quentin for two weeks would help the team's offense, but the fact of the matter is they've been playing pretty well without him lately anyway, so it might not hurt that much. Besides, a healthy Quentin through the summer and the rest of the season would be far more beneficial to this team than anything.