Meet the Sox

Ross Gload

It’s far from certain that the man who was MIA in 2005 will even make the team in 2006, though there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be part of the mix.

Overview:  Ross Gload’s performance in 2004 was one of the pleasant surprises of an otherwise disappointing season.  The former Cub prospect had a breakout season as a 28-year-old part-timer with the Sox, batting .321/.375/.479 in 234 at-bats.  

He filled a few holes last year, giving Paul Konerko rest at first base, pinch-hitting or starting against tough righties, and even played some corner outfield when Magglio Ordonez went down, though he should probably never play there again.

Gload started the year with the team, but suffered a shoulder injury and returned to the minors.  Sox fans figured to see him back in Chicago, with Carl Everett struggling as a DH and Timo Perez, Jermaine Dye and Pablo Ozuna seeing action at first base, but he only made brief appearances in July and Septemer.

Rumor had it that he was in Ozzie’s doghouse, but I hadn’t seen anything confirming or denying that.

Hitting:  Gload didn’t do much with his 42 at-bats stretched out over 28 games in 2005.  He hit only .167 with no homers, and only drew two walks, but most of that can be attributed to the fact that he wasn’t on the Sox roster for long stretches of time.

But while he didn’t impress at the big-league level before his injury, we were left wondering why he wasn’t called up after the All-Star Break when he was tearing the cover off the ball in Charlotte.  In 236 Triple-A at-bats, Gload hit .364, hit 15 homers, and slugged .657 while Timo served as the top lefty off the bench.  

He was obviously healthy and ripping the ball, but there was some non-performance-related issue that must have been holding him back.  When he was seeing semi-regular playing time in 2004, he was hitting both lefties and righties, so there should’ve been a spot for him…

Defense:  …and if that’s not enough, the Sox spent plenty of time trying to help Konerko out at first.  By all accounts, Gload is a good defensive first baseman, and in 42 games in 2004 he didn’t commit an error.  That errorless streak came to an end last year when he committed one, but that shouldn’t have been enough to indict him.

However, Gload did prove that he couldn’t play the outfield two years ago.  The team cut down his number of games in the outfield from 40 to three.  He was the worst corner outfielder I could recall in recent Sox history, rarely in the same screen with the ball when it was hit his way.  And his arm wasn’t enough to compensate for his lack of a jump.

2006 Outlook:  With the addition of Jim Thome, there may not be as much of a need for Gload this year.  Thome is also a lefty first baseman, though one who didn’t play most of last year.

If Thome gets hurt again, Gload should fit in right behind Konerko on the depth chart.  If Thome’s healthy, Gload may not be on the roster at all if Ozzie feels he can play Thome once a week at first.  New Sox Rob Mackowiak will be the top lefty hitter off the bench, so if Ozzie wants to carry 12 pitchers out of camp, Gload appears to be the most redundant player on the depth chart.