Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - Posts

Despite cutting mustard, B.A. can't ketchup


If yesterday's news wasn't bad enough, Ozzie just keeps bringing the pain:

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- As the White Sox nudge closer to Opening Day, center fielder Brian Anderson, who spent most of 2006 seemingly on the brink of being returned to Class AAA Charlotte, is now standing on his thinnest ice ever.

Blame it on veteran outfielder Darin Erstad and fast-healing left fielder Scott Podsednik.

''When the season is over,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said Monday of Erstad, ''he is going to have 500 at-bats.''

This wouldn't steam my hams so much (and I can say that because it's an Albany expression) except at this moment, Brian Anderson is playing circles around Erstad this spring.  The lines:

 
AB
HR
RBI
BA
OBP
SLG
Erstad
51
0
6
.275
.296
.333
Anderson
33
2
5
.303
.385
.585
Terrero
29
2
6
.276
.323
.483

Since Anderson scraped bottom in a game a couple weeks ago, he's been even better -- 7-for-17 with three walks and two homers.  Both Anderson and Erstad are 2-for-2 stealing bases as well.

(Aside: Not only did I witness the worst moments for Anderson, Mike MacDougal and Nick Masset this spring, but considering the same Adam Russell I saw get absolutely pummeled is now under consideration for a bullpen spot, I really don't know what the hell I was watching in Tucson.  At least the weather was great.)

I'm well aware that Anderson can provoke heated arguments by the mention of his name alone, but I don't think his fiercest critics could expect him to do more than he has this spring.  And while I ultimately wait until Ozzie's actions do the talking since he says 1,000 times more than he could possibly do, I don't think this amount of gushing is negligible.  It'd be like trying to dam up Niagara Falls, where they say "hamburgers."

At the very least, it's looking like I'll get a shot to see Anderson in mid-April when the Charlotte Knights visit Rochester.  They say "hamburgers" there, too.
posted Tuesday, March 20, 2007 10:52 PM by Jim with 4 Comments

'Two outs, nobody on, and here comes Thome...'

Mark Gonzalez bears the bad news:

PEORIA, Ariz. -- In a move that paves the way for Tadahito Iguchi to drop down in the batting order, manager Ozzie Guillen said Sunday he plans to bat Darin Erstad second against right-handed starters.

"[Scott Podsednik] is a better leadoff guy, and [Erstad] handles the bat better than Pods in hit-and-run situations," Guillen said. "We can play games even though Pods is our leadoff guy."

Can Jim Thome make a run at Alfonso Soriano's amazing 46-homer, 95-RBI season?  Only time will tell.

Here's the interesting thing -- if there really is a combo of Scott Podsednik, Darin Erstad and Thome at the top of the order, then situational lefties will cut through the lineup like a hot knife through butter late in games.  That's what killed the Sox last year, and with Tadahito Iguchi buried towards the bottom with Joe Crede and Juan Uribe, Ozzie's creating an even greater chance of that to happen again.
posted Tuesday, March 20, 2007 12:14 AM by Jim with 2 Comments