When we look back at the 2006 season -- whose end is approaching at an increasingly rapid rate -- one of the greatest mysteries will be how the Sox managed to crap the bed when just about every bench player met expectations, if they didn't blow them away completely.
Case in point: Ross Gload. Actually, we should call him "Ross Ballgame" now,
because he's batting .406 since June 11 (
what is with that date?).
He
started at first today, made his debut in the No. 2 hole and responded with a 3-for-5 performance, which included a stolen base. Given his contact rate -- he's only struck out 12 times in 135 at-bats -- and that he holds his own against lefties, he appeared to be a great fit at the top of the order.
That begs two questions:
What the hell took so long? and
Why does he have fewer at-bats than any non-catcher on the team?Gload may be the poster boy of the 2006 team when it's all said and done, representing the productivity that went wasted because it didn't fit in Ozzie Guillen's scheme. Even with Scott Podsednik scuffling the entire second half and Jim Thome employing the "walks or bust" approach, Gload can't fit in a lineup in desperate need of a spark.
And it's not like he's a flash in the pan, considering that he did the same exact thing in 2004 when injuries ravaged the Sox lineup. Gload performed even better then, posting a line of .321/.375/.479. Combine his two full(ish) seasons spent in a Sox uniform -- 2005 doesn't count -- and here's what you get:
AB
| H
| R | 2B | 3B | HR
| RBI | BB
| K | BA |
OBP | SLG |
369
| 120 | 45 | 23 | 1 | 9 | 60 | 26
| 49
| .325 | .374 | .466 |
Throw in his defensive range and his perfect stolen base percentage this year (5-for-5), and he's actually a valuable ballplayer. There are sample size concerns, but 369 at-bats is enough to tell you something about his capabilities, especially since he's often playing cold.
He's not the only one performing well:
- Rob Mackowiak: Setting career highs in batting average (.292) and on-base percentage (.365).
- Pablo Ozuna: Exploded out of the gate, nearly fell off the face of the Earth, now has leveled off and is still posting unreal line of .322/.355/.429
- Alex Cintron: Doing everything we'd expect offensively and defensively
Each of these players proved to be an upgrade over who they replaced the previous year (Timo Perez, Willie Harris, Geoff Blum), but Guillen has managed to make less with more. Much of the reason stems from Guillen reducing the versatility everybody but Cintron. Look at their positional breakdowns this season compared to last (or in Gload's case, 2004):
|
| 2005 | 2006 |
Name
| P | IP | IP |
Mackowiak
| 3B | 411
| 25 |
| CF | 281 | 434
|
| RF | 127 | 92 |
| 2B | 146 | 0
|
| 1B | 16 | 0 |
| LF | 2 | 50 |
Ozuna
| 3B | 261
| 65 |
| SS | 99 | 0
|
| LF | 65 | 248
|
| RF | 2 | 2
|
| 2B | 29 | 28 |
| 1B
| 3 | 0 |
Gload
| 1B | 218
| 213 |
| LF | 94 | 3
|
| RF | 137 | 73 |
| CF | 6 | 0
|
In some cases, the decreases are understandable (I don't want to see Gload in center, ever). However, it does illustrate how stringent Ozzie was in using his bench players for specific roles, and it was a marked departure over Ozzie v2005. The guy who tried Timo at first and Joe Crede at short last year could only give Gload and Mackowiak 53 innings (less than six full games) in left when the Sox
had zero productivity out of that spot.
I'm not sure what the bench will look like next year. Mack will be back, but Cintron is somewhat expensive for his contributions, Ozuna and Gload are one-year-contract guys, and Sandy Alomar Jr. is ready for a
Viking funeral on Lake Michigan. With the Sox looking to cut some costs, Ozzie could find himself with a much weaker bench in 2007. On paper, that would be a weakness, but maybe he's better with fewer options.