In case your eyes started to bleed when reading in
Toni Ginnetti's notes that Ozzie Guillen didn't want to DH Rob Mackowiak because "it's easier to make changes" with him playing right, there's an interesting development just beyond that sentence:
Infielder Casey Rogowski was outrighted to Class AAA Charlotte, reducing the Sox' 40-man roster to 39.
It's probably a little too early to see a trade coming, and
Rogowski's .514 OPS makes it an easy decision if the option's available to Kenny Williams, but we can dream about having a second outfielder, can't we? There's no reason why a major league ballclub should ever have to play a guy like Andy Gonzalez in the outfield.
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Speaking of trades, let's see where we stand entering today with regards to the offseason deals:
- John Danks: 0-3, 5.32 ERA, 22 IP, 26 H, 4 HR, 6 BB, 20 K
- Nick Masset: 1-1, 4.05 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1 HR, 12 H, 6 BB, 7 K
- Brandon McCarthy: 1-3, 9.00 ERA, 17.2 IP, 26 H, 3 HR, 6 BB, 8 K
- Jacob Rasner: 1-2, 5.60 ERA, 17.2 IP, 20 H, 3 HR, 9 BB, 13 K (A+)
- Freddy Garcia: 1-1, 4.66 ERA, 9.2 IP, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 9 K
- Gavin Floyd: 1-1, 3.24 ERA, 25 IP, 27 H, 4 HR, 10 BB, 25 K (AAA)
- Gio Gonzalez: 3-1, 1.69 ERA, 21.1 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 8 BB, 30 K (AA)
- David Aardsma: 2-0, 2.13 ERA, 12.6 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 20 K
- Neal Cotts: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 7 K
- Carlos Vazquez: 0-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 9 K (AA)
- Andrew Sisco: 0-0, 3.68 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 6 K
- Ross Gload: .255/.286/.383, 1 HR, 8 RBI in 47 ABs
- Chris Stewart: .300/.364/.400, 0 HR, 2 RBI in 10 ABs
- John Lujan: 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 9 IP, 9 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 8 K (A+)
There really aren't any losses in that group -- even though Chris Stewart at that production would be exponentially better than Gustavo Molina, it's not like we could count on a minor-leaguer in the Sox system actually hitting upon his promotion. It's just something Sox prospects can't do, and it hasn't been addressed for quite a long time.
That said, the biggest question mark has to be Nick Masset's fastball. It was advertised to touch 98 m.p.h., but I've maybe only seen it hit 94, and he sits around 91-92. The strikeout rate isn't anything to write home about, and equally troubling is his 0.76 GB/FB ratio, backwards for a sinkerballer. He had
no trouble getting ground balls in the minor leagues last year, so that's odd. Masset's held his own so far, and his ability to throw multiple innings has come in handy, but I'm nervous warmer weather is going to pose major problems for him.
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Minor league round-up:
- Durham 5, Charlotte 2
- Vladimir Nunez gave up all five runs in seven innings, but you have to figure his days in the Knights rotation are numbered no matter how he performs with the way Gonzalez is pitching.
- Wiki Gonzalez had three more hits including a double, and is now hitting .317. He's not on the major-league roster because...
- The Knights stranded a whopping 15 runners -- Charlotte had 12 hits, five walks, and Durham committed three errors.
- Josh Fields hit a speedbump on his road to revival, going 0-for-4 with a walk and stranding three runners.
- Birmingham 1, Huntsville 0
- Adam Russell (6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K), Carlos Vazquez and Oneli Perez combined for a three-hitter.
- Robert Valido drove in the only run with a two-out single, his only hit of the day.
- Thomas Collaro went 2-for-4, and didn't strike out for the first time in eight games.
- Winston-Salem 5, Potomac 2
- Justin Cassel continues to dominate, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. He's averaging five groundouts per flyout, and his ERA sits at 1.03. The 21 strikeouts in 26 innings isn't bad for a groundball pitcher, either.
- Aaron Cunningham had an RBI single, and has a hit in six straight games. Micah Schnurstein went 2-for-4 and is hitting .338.
- Kannapolis 6, Asheville 4
- Matthew Long had his best start of the year, which isn't saying much, providing the bare minimum for a quality start.
- No. 2-5 hitters John Shelby Jr., Chris Carter, Lee Cruz and Brandon Allen went 9-for-16 with 6 RBI; Allen hit his first homer of the year, a three-run shot.