posted on Friday, June 08, 2007 1:15 AM
by
Jim
At least they're great at sabotage
Maybe the White Sox relievers aren't actually bad. Maybe they just hate each other.
That's the only other possible explanation after watching Sox relievers allow five of six inherited runners to score
during tonight's loss, including perfect performances by Matt Thornton (2-for-2) and Ryan Bukvich (3-for-3). They're all so intent on inflating the ERA of the guy ahead of him that they get carried away with baserunners and put the fate of their ERAs into the hands of their successors.
It actually reminded me of the Simpsons episode with the fire drill that takes over 15 minutes as they fight each other to evacuate the building, then Homer gets out and blocks the door. I
did find that clip on YouTube, but then I stumbled on the clip to the right and that made me laugh more. I didn't know Nelson's laugh had to be dubbed.
At this point, the only option Ozzie Guillen has left is to not save Bobby Jenks for save situations anymore. Jenks should've been in the game instead of Bukvich, but because there wasn't a meaningless stat on the line, he remained firmly seated in the bullpen. With the bullpen undergoing murderous turmoil, the team's best reliever has only pitched three times over the last 17 days. That's unacceptable.
Hell, I would start calling for Jenks in the seventh inning for any non-blowout situation just to see what happens. If he were efficient enough in one game to go two, three innings for the save, I wonder if complete negligence would finally embarrass the bullpen.
Ozzie has tried encouragement, he's tried direct criticism, he's tried demoting and promoting and the message still hasn't been received. The only other option is to avoid the six other relievers altogether, either by going to Jenks right away for having a starter out there for 130 pitches. The former suggestion is a lot less dangerous, and it would be another way to tell the other relievers that they're largely useless. One of these times it'll stick ... right?
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Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 10, Louisville 5
- Ryan Sweeney went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI; Scott Podsednik went 2-for-4 with a double, and still hasn't attempted a steal.
- Everybody on the Knights had at least one hit, and Kenny Kelly went 1-for-2 with three walks and two RBI; Craig Wilson went 1-for-5, and Brian Anderson did not play.
- Carlos Vazquez gave up two runs over two innings; Andrew Sisco and David Aardsma both threw a scoreless inning, but couldn't avoid walking a guy.
- Mississippi 6, Birmingham 3 (10 innings)
- Ryan Wing allowed one run over five innings; his ERA stands at 1.62.
- Victor Mercedes and Ricardo Nanita had two hits apiece; Cory Aldridge and Chris Kelly had the lone RBIs.
- Thomas Collaro finally cracked double-digits in walks with his 10th, while striking out for the 68th time.
- Winston-Salem 5, Wilmington 2
- Clayton Richard allowed only one earned run over seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.95. John Wesley pitched two scoreless innings for the save.
- Micah Schnurstein went 3-for-4 with a double; Aaron Cunningham went 2-for-4, and Cole Armstrong hit his 10th homer of the year.
- Kannapolis 9, Greensboro 8
- Maurice Gartrell went 2-for-3 with a double, a homer and four RBI. He also drew a walk.
- Chris Carter hit homer No. 13, a solo shot, while John Shelby Jr. fell a homer short of the cycle.
- Back in the starter saddle, Matt Long struck out five over four innings, giving up six hits and two runs. Steven Spurgeon made the game more interesting than it had to be in relief, but Kanekoa Texeira retired the last hitter to shut the door.