Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

Pitch and moan

Three funny things about the White Sox pitching staff:

1. It'd be a step up for the starters if they averaged 2-2/3 innings during the Minnesota series.
2. Nick Masset leads the Sox with 7-2/3 innings pitched.
3. Matt Thornton, the Sox's best reliever during spring training, is currently faring the worst out of the lot.

Of course, it's a little easier to be amused by the whole thing since Mark Buehrle didn't break anything after Ryan Garko's line drive knocked the lefty out of today's game.  At best, he's day-to-day, but he could miss a start or two.  Either way, it's way better than what I originally feared when seeing the ball ricochet towards the third-base line, which is what happened to Mark Prior when he took the shot off his elbow.

Some more assorted thoughts about the pitching:

Though the results are hard to decipher, I'm a much bigger fan of this year's bullpen setup.  It's not like the '07 crew is better at throwing strikes so far, but at least these relievers look much harder to hit.

I'm guessing Gavin Floyd would have the leg up on filling in for Buehrle should he have to miss a couple of starts, but I'd rather see Charlie Haeger get the shot if he's up to it.  Haeger's been better both in the big leagues last year and during spring training (considering the Arizona air), and it's hard not to root for him after reading Rany Jazayerli's profile of him in a free Baseball Prospectus article (hat tip to Keith at South Side Sox.)  Scott Merkin indicates Masset would be the spot starter should no significant roster change need to be made.

Meanwhile, this is an old item but I keep forgetting to mention it:  Lou Piniella had a great quote about Neal Cotts during spring training, which was mentioned in Sports Illustrated's baseball preview issue.  Asked what he sees in Cotts, Piniella responded, "I see he gives up runs every time he pitches."  Cotts did survive his first regular-season outing with the Cubs.

Brandon McCarthy's first start:  6 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K in a loss to the Angels, with four runs scoring in the first inning.  Sadly, I'd be ecstatic if John Danks matched that, with the way things are going.

And two unrelated notes...

I'm currently writing with the A's-Angels game on my TV, Extra Innings is using Anaheim's feed featuring the abominable Rex Hudler, and I couldn't be happier.

Since Extra Innings shares channels with NHL's Center Ice package on digital cable, so I got to see a rare Blackhawks home game via the away feed.  They managed to beat the Red Wings in a shootout despite getting outshot 58-21 during regulation.  Nikolai Khabibulin stood on his head throughout the entire third period.  It's just a shame a) nobody could see it, and b) Khabibulin doesn't have any help.

So far, so gritty grindy gamery...

Since I've been highly skeptical of the Darin Erstad signing since it was even suggested, I'd like to clearly acknowledge that he is playing a very high level of baseball right now.  He's successful when he swings (3-for-6, 1 HR), when he doesn't (3 BB, 0 K), he's running well (2-for-2 stealing), and he's not providing any Mackowiak Moments in center.

Maybe that doesn't need to be said, but I'm grateful he's actually doing things worth praising besides looking you square in the eye, shaking hands like he means it, punting and playing hockey, et al., since things like hitting, running and fielding actually count towards increasing the chance of the Sox winning a ballgame.  He's actually swinging the bat, not just handling it.  If he keeps setting the table like this, then laud away.



Now, concerning the guy standing to his right...

Scott Podsednik was thrown out by Victor Martinez today.  I know I mentioned that in the game recap, but it's worth stating again. 

And it's not new.

Last year, he was caught stealing twice with Martinez, who owned the lowest success rate throwing out runners of any starting catcher, behind the plate.  Add in today's thwarted attempt, and Pods is 7-for-10 stealing off the worst arm behind the plate since last year.  That's below the generally accepted break-even rate of 75 percent.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Sox team is 11-for-13 off Martinez since the start of the 2006 season, with Pablo Ozuna and Joe Crede the only other victims.  Neither are regarded as high-quality baserunners.

Pods' penchant for getting himself out on the basepaths illustrated itself perfectly today.  In the first inning, he walked, then didn't try to steal.  He advanced to second on Erstad's walk, then scored on Jim Thome's first home run of the year.

In the fifth inning, Pods reached on Josh Barfield's error.  He then tried to steal second and was thrown out.  Four of the next five batters reached base, amounting to two runs.  While the same series of events wouldn't have happened had Pods stayed put, he threw away a gift Barfield gave him right in front of three Sox hitters who are seeing the ball well right now.  Pods' CS may or may not have cost the Sox a run, but it certainly hurt the team.  And today, the Sox happened to lose by a single run.

Obviously, Podsednik isn't the biggest problem facing the Sox right now.  That would be the pitching, which has yet to get a consistent performance from either a starter or reliever.  Even David Aardsma's electric outing today turned scary in a hurry.  But there isn't a lot that can be done right now -- that it's cold as balls this week won't help, and even if weather has nothing to do with their awfulness, it isn't easy to replace a pitcher.

The point is, as it stands now, the Sox are going to need every run they can get their hands on until the pitching settles down.  Giving the most at-bats a game to the most self-destructive player the Sox have isn't going to help them towards that end.