The funny thing about
Ross Gload's departure is that I still can't tell if he was the most expendable reserve on the roster, or the least expendable in terms of filling a hole.
On one hand, Rob Mackowiak is left-handed and can play first base and corner outfield positions. Alex Cintron and Pablo Ozuna are faster. Gload can't throw well because of his shoulder, so basically almost all his skills as a bench player are redundant.
On the other hand, I still can't grasp why the Sox didn't ditch Scott Podsednik and give Gload every opportunity to play an acceptable left field during Spring Training. One of those fellas stopped hitting as the season went on and didn't compensate with the glove, and it wasn't Ross.
My feeling is that .300 hitters don't grow on trees, and that's what Gload was with Chicago. With the Sox,
he hit .308/.351/.447; take out the 2005 in which he was jerked around, even when his shoulder was healthy, and that line improves to .323/.366/.472. It's understood that he posted those averages over less than a full season's worth of at-bats (390), but if a guy can maintain that while getting erratic playing time and pinch-hitting, I'm inclined to think it's fairly real.
All Gload showed us was that he could roll out of bed and spray line drives all over the field, whether against lefties or righties.
That's another thing! While he has less than 100 at-bats against southpaws, Gload has shown he could hit them. In 2004, Gload hit
.425 (17-for-40) against lefties; in 2006, Gload hit
.308 (12-for-39) with respectable extra-base power. Considering Pods
couldn't crack .300 slugging against lefties, it's another point for Ross.
Gload also went 6-for-6 stealing bases last year. Pods, meanwhile, posted a career-low success rate on the basepaths (67 percent).
The only advantages Podsednik had over Gload entering the offseason was his speed -- which he often misused, as noted above -- and his defense, which Pods
self-described as "horseshit" during the season. That said, it makes little sense to me why Gload wouldn't have the first crack at the starting left field job. It's not like Pods is cheaper, because he'd cost $2 million more.
I wholly acknowledge that Gload could continue to be an abysmal outfielder, but two things gave me hope. Carlos Lee improved to be almost average with the glove as he gained more experience, which indicates that it can be learned. Also,
Brian Anderson is great at going to his right, so it's not like Gload would have all that much ground to cover.
It's entirely possible that I'm a little hung up on Gload -- as you might've been able to tell throughout the season, I
admired his hitting quite a bit. But had I the reins of the Sox organization, I would've been tempted to stick Gload in left when Tucson time rolled around, and try to sign a right-handed, lefty masher like
Craig Wilson or
Jon Knott as the backup first baseman who could also play outfield.
It would've been risky, and it would've taken Ozzie Guillen out of his comfort zone by not having a track star to install at the top of the lineup. However, I think any competent major-league manager could acknowledge that Gload not only got on base more (.354 OBP, compared to Pods' .330), but also made it to second without having to steal far more often. In his semi-full seasons with the Sox, Gload averaged an extra-base hit once every 10.8 at-bats; Pods once every 15.9 ABs.
It's not right to lose sleep over Gload's absence. He's 31 and has yet to play a full major-league season, and the Sox have Ross Gload Lite,
Casey Rogowski, down in Charlotte.
At the same time, the Sox still have only one and a half outfielders, and there are no indications that the situation will be improved before the sport starts up again in February. I'm concerned that either the Sox will have to suffer through Podsednik once again, or make a wrong move in trying to replace him when a solution was in the organization all along.