Tinkering Around The Edges
The White Sox have set the Opening Day roster. Sort of, anyway. They haven't yet placed Dustin Hermanson on the disabled list, where he will certainly start the season. And they haven't made official the media-friendly but baseball-stupid Boone Logan promotion. Both moves will happen this weekend, when the Sox return to Chicago to open the season on Sunday night.
Yes, Logan has had a great spring. The 20th round pick in the 2002 draft has pitched 11 1/3 innings, allowing just five hits and two walks while fanning five. That's very nice, and should have resulted in a nice pat on the back and a bus ticket to Birmingham or Winston-Salem. Instead, Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen are bringing him north as the third lefty in the bullpen.
Setting aside the ridiculous idea that a team "needs" three lefthanders in the bullpen, there are a whole lot to worry about here. Logan has barely progressed past the Pioneer League; he made four appearances at Winston-Salem last year and didn't pitch particularly well. The Sox credit a change last year from an overhand to a three-quarters delivery for his success. Great, but shouldn't he get some minor league time to perfect it, instead of trying to sharpen it by pitching two innings a week against Travis Hafner?
Essentially, the Sox have saddled themselves with a Rule V pick from their own system. At least they have the option to send him back down when the chariot turns back into a pumpkin.
I liked the Jeff Bajenaru for Alex Cintron trade. I liked it even better when it appeared that Cintron would replace Pablo Ozuna, but now the Sox are carrying both, which is a bit of a redundancy.
And then there was the Joe Borchard/Matt Thornton trade. I've hoped against hope that Borchard would develop, but it just wasn't happening. With Borchard out of options, the Sox had to find a trading partner, and they managed to get someone with a very live arm. The problem for Thornton, besides a couple of injuries in his past, is his walk rates, which are dreadful. The idea, I'm sure, is that Don Cooper can fix him. If he can, the Sox have a valuable weapon. Essentially it was a swap of two broken parts, with each side thinking that they can put the pieces into working order.
Seeing Ross Gload make the roster gave me a smile. I like Gload; who can play or at least stand around first base and the outfield, DH, and supply a strong left-handed bat to the bench. I'm of the opinion that he is more the player he was in 2004 than in the injury-plagued 2005.
Ozzie Guillen has shown himself to be very flexible with his bench, using everyone in a number of roles and keeping them fresh. Gload, Cintron, and Rob Mackowiak give him the players he needs for that.
Yes, Logan has had a great spring. The 20th round pick in the 2002 draft has pitched 11 1/3 innings, allowing just five hits and two walks while fanning five. That's very nice, and should have resulted in a nice pat on the back and a bus ticket to Birmingham or Winston-Salem. Instead, Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen are bringing him north as the third lefty in the bullpen.
Setting aside the ridiculous idea that a team "needs" three lefthanders in the bullpen, there are a whole lot to worry about here. Logan has barely progressed past the Pioneer League; he made four appearances at Winston-Salem last year and didn't pitch particularly well. The Sox credit a change last year from an overhand to a three-quarters delivery for his success. Great, but shouldn't he get some minor league time to perfect it, instead of trying to sharpen it by pitching two innings a week against Travis Hafner?
Essentially, the Sox have saddled themselves with a Rule V pick from their own system. At least they have the option to send him back down when the chariot turns back into a pumpkin.
I liked the Jeff Bajenaru for Alex Cintron trade. I liked it even better when it appeared that Cintron would replace Pablo Ozuna, but now the Sox are carrying both, which is a bit of a redundancy.
And then there was the Joe Borchard/Matt Thornton trade. I've hoped against hope that Borchard would develop, but it just wasn't happening. With Borchard out of options, the Sox had to find a trading partner, and they managed to get someone with a very live arm. The problem for Thornton, besides a couple of injuries in his past, is his walk rates, which are dreadful. The idea, I'm sure, is that Don Cooper can fix him. If he can, the Sox have a valuable weapon. Essentially it was a swap of two broken parts, with each side thinking that they can put the pieces into working order.
Seeing Ross Gload make the roster gave me a smile. I like Gload; who can play or at least stand around first base and the outfield, DH, and supply a strong left-handed bat to the bench. I'm of the opinion that he is more the player he was in 2004 than in the injury-plagued 2005.
Ozzie Guillen has shown himself to be very flexible with his bench, using everyone in a number of roles and keeping them fresh. Gload, Cintron, and Rob Mackowiak give him the players he needs for that.
posted by Jim at
4:17 PM
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