The Sox may have finally solidified their bullpen,
acquiring Andrew Sisco from the Kansas City Royals for Ross Gload.
There's a lot to like about
Sisco, but it makes me just a little bit uncomfortable that the Sox are attempting to plug two holes in their staff with two pegs from the worst bullpen in the majors. MacDougal worked out, but I'm wondering if trying a second guy is pressing our luck.
Over the last two years, we've seen the spectrum of what Sisco can do: pitch well or suck. If Don Cooper can work some magic and Sisco posts his 2005 line (3.11 ERA, a strikeout every inning), everything will be gravy. And because Gload makes no sense for the Royals, who have about two dozen younger guys and Mike Sweeney vying for the same roster spots, I don't see the Royals winning this trade no matter what happens.
Still, this trade doesn't thrill me because I'm looking at
Sisco's 2006 splits and thinking, "Good Lord -- he was way worse than Neal Cotts!"
That's not to say I disagree with either trade, but I don't think Sisco is anywhere near a lock for the bullpen entering Spring Training. There are actually a couple interesting parallels between Cotts and Sisco -- they're both lefties with only one dynamite season in the bank, and as it stands now, hitters have no trouble figuring them out. They also each have one and a half pitches working for them.
But the differences between them work in Sisco's favor -- he's about seven inches taller and throws a 95 m.p.h. fastball, and considering that Cotts' control betrayed him, it's not like he's a marksman in comparison.
So what I'm saying is that ultimately this is an upgrade for the Sox's second lefty position. I'm just not doing backflips because I don't see Sisco showing us right away. Plus, I'm somewhat saddened by Gload's departure, but that warrants an entire separate entry.
Maybe the most interesting thing about this deal is that if Sisco makes the team, the Sox bullpen will be just about as big as the Bulls' starting lineup. If they ever played a pickup game, it'd be something like this:
 |
A.
Sisco
6'10" 270
|
C |
B. Wallace
6'9" 240 lbs.
|
 |
 |
B. Jenks
6'4" 270 lbs.
|
PF |
A. Nocioni
6'7" 225 lbs.
|
 |
 |
M. Thornton
6'6" 235 lbs.
|
SF |
L. Deng
6'9" 220 lbs.
|
 |
 |
M. MacDougal
6'4" 185 lbs.
|
SG |
K. Hinrich
6'3" 190 lbs.
|
 |
 |
D. Aardsma
6'4" 205 lbs.
|
PG |
C. Duhon
6'1" 185 lbs.
|
 |
Average height/weight of starting fives:
- White Sox: 6-5 1/2", 235 lbs.
- Bulls: 6-5 1/2", 212 lbs.
And if Brandon McCarthy were still a reliever, the Sox would clearly be taller on average. It's probably the only time we'd miss having him in the bullpen.
Unfortunately, I think Thorndog's the only one who could hold his own, and I don't think his
Grand Valley State scholarship would hold any water against two Dukies, a Jayhawk and an Argentinian national team member.
Bobby Jenks would have to try to emulate Charles Barkley, because there's no way he could guard the perimeter. Sisco would probably be barfing up tacos after the first four minutes with Ben Wallace beating him up.