Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

Old days

The last time I saw Dustin Hermanson pitch, he was being escorted off the field at Tucson Electric Park by Herm Schneider shortly after Don Cooper came out to the mound to check on his back. 

I was skeptical that he'd pitch again in the major leagues, but I'm glad my inklings were wrong.  In Charlotte, he'd make progress, followed shortly by setback from back inflammation, and his velocity was reportedly in the mid-80s.  He struggled to pitch on back-to-back days, even though he averaged less than one inning an appearance.

Watching him on the mound tonight, it's great to have him back, albeit somewhat weird. The success of Hermanson and Bobby Jenks all of last year made Shingo Takatsu seem like a relic of a former era.  It'd been about 10 1/2 months since Hermanson pitched at the big-league level, which is even longer. 

Working without his trademark Svengoolie-grade goatee, Hermanson pitched a 1-2-3 inning straight out of early 2005.  Two groundouts and a strikeout, every pitch around the knees and not center-cut, which was his recipe for success when he converted 30 of his first 31 save opportunities, or started the season with 21 consecutive scoreless innings.  I didn't see a radar gun on NESN's broadcast, so I can't tell you if the means were the same, but tonight's results certainly resembled 2005's ends. 

Kenny Williams has made a few PR gaffes in relation to his players, but I'm glad to see that he and Hermanson were able to work something out.  Hermanson could've gone to any other big-league team after his rehab stint ended in August.  After talking with Williams, he decided to accept another 15 days on the disabled list instead of forcing the Sox to cut him loose.

He handled David Ortiz and Trot Nixon well enough tonight, but it remains to be seen if he can be used in anything resembling a close game.  Everything up to this point has indicated that a promotion to the major-league roster was out of respect for his contributions in 2005, not because he can help an awful lot in 2006.  If that's the case, I hope the Sox can have themselves a similar blowout at home so Hermanson can close out a game in front of Sox fans in Chicago. 

Grills, grills, grills

At Fenway Park on Monday, the great Luis Tiant sat at a table by the grill bearing his name, signing autographs for anybody who wanted one.  I don't seek autographs, but since that's the reason he was there, I asked if he could sign my scorebook, and he kindly obliged.

That's the second barbecue-related signature in my scorebook this season, the first being Manny Sanguillen at Manny's Barbecue at PNC Park.  Boog Powell is often at Boog's Barbecue in Camden Yards, though I didn't see him there this summer.  Also, Greg Luzinski mans "Bull's Barbecue" at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

It's a tremendous trend, and given that the White Sox thought to attach names, famous, infamous, and somewhat obscure, to almost all the food stands at Comiskey, it's a mystery why the White Sox haven't run with this idea yet.  Chicago loves a good barbecue, and we all know there are plenty of viable candidates of Sox semi-stars who may have nothing better to do.  If Bill Melton didn't have the TV gig, he would be a natural.  He's recognizable, he has a nickname, and "Melton" is an easy name to attach to a signature sandwich. 

There may come a time where Melton is available, but until then he's out.  Ozzie Guillen would've been a natural fit as well, but I've heard he has some other job.  I can't confirm that, though, since I haven't seen him doing it lately. 

Since I'm tired of writing about how much the Sox suck, I've come up with a list of canididates to man the barbecue at the Cell.  My memory only kicked in around 1986, so perhaps there are some naturals I'm not aware of.  Add any other candidates if you have 'em.

Honorable mentions:  Richie Zisk, Donn Pall, Jack McDowell, Minnie Minoso

Zisk only played for the Sox for one year, but he's the Polish Prince -- imagine the sausage possibilities.  Pall has the nickname and seems like an outgoing sort, but he was just a reliever for a few years.  McDowell would draw the fans, but he's a Californian, and they don't know unhealthy food.  Twenty years ago, this would've been Minnie's gig hands-down.

No. 5:  Ron Karkovice 

Unlike Powell, Sanguillen, Tiant or Luzinski, Karkovice was never what you'd call a good baseball player.  To put it plainly, his career stats are uglier than he is.  On the other hand, he gets points for a solid name and a career spent entirely with the Sox.  You'd trust a guy named Ron Karkovice at a grill.  He could marinate the meats in his signature "Seventy-One Sauce," in honor of his .071 batting average in 1987.

No. 4:  Richard Dotson

A candidate with some sort of talent, Dotson receives points for being part of the "Winning Ugly" team, as well as for being a 22-game winner and finishing fourth in Cy Young voting that year.  Also, I saw him at Tucson this spring, and he's let himself go a little.  This works in his favor, since nobody trusts a skinny guy at a barbecue.  He spent 10 of his 12 seasons with the Sox, although he falls a little short in the field of name recognition.

No. 3: Bobby Thigpen

Now we're talking.  First of all, "Thigpen" can work with barbecue in so many ways.  Secondly, he's perfectly semi-known.  Thirdly, who would pass up the opportunity to attain the autograph of and sample the meats approved by a major-league record holder?  I couldn't even remember what other teams he played for, so that works.  (Philly and Seattle, 24 games combined). On the other hand, he's 43 years old, still a little young for this sort of thing.

No. 2: Wilbur Wood

From what I can gather online, he lives in Massachusetts and works in the pharmaceutical business.  But if he ever wanted to get out of New England and sit at a ballpark and sign autographs all day, this would be the guy.  He's fifth on the White Sox career wins list, but never stood a chance of making the Hall of Fame.  He was known for being out of shape, yet as serviceable as they come.  Knuckleballers are always fan favorites, and Wood was as reliable an asset as the Sox had in the 1970s.  He has a great barbecue name, and he has autograph cachet.  All-around great pick.

No. 1: Ron Kittle

Since Kittle is ever-present in the Chicagoland area and does a ton of things for the Sox already, he has the best combination of name recognition and availability.  He's a big guy with a great barbecue name, was well-known even if he was only a one dimensional player, and he seems to enjoy interacting with the fans.  On days when Kittle's not available, one could slap a big pair of glasses on Dan Pasqua and see if anybody notices the difference.  I know they confused me when I was a kid.