If you missed tonight's game, Darin Erstad put on quite the display. Not in terms of quality contributions, but in terms of illustrating quite starkly how he should and shouldn't be used. If you're reading, Ozzie:
DO: Use as a defensive replacement.Erstad robbed the Mariners of two hits with a leaping grab and a diving stab, and also made a nice running, over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory. Although tonight's lineup couldn't hit for anything, it was fun watching him and Danny Richar give the Sox some range on the right side of the infield for the first time in several years.
DON'T: Count on Erstad for any meaningful offensive production.Erstad had his worst game of the season at the plate tonight, which is saying something for a guy with a .650 OPS. As he came up to the plate representing the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning, he had already struck out twice, and was nearly doubled up twice when he put the ball in play. He hit too slow of a grounder to third the first time, and then Eric O'Flaherty made the softest toss imaginable to second on what should've been a 1-6-3 double play.
We could've guessed what was coming, although perhaps not as pathetically as it played out: J.J. Putz struck out Erstad on four pitches, and Erstad didn't take the bat off his shoulder. The final pitch was a 94-m.p.h. fastball right down the pipe, and Erstad started walking to the dugout as soon as the pitch crossed the plate.
Paul Konerko was available on the bench. A.J. Pierzynski had come out on the on-deck circle to hit for Alex Cintron if Erstad could keep the inning alive, so he could've also hit for Erstad, too. Erstad didn't have any sort of
outstanding success against Putz over Konerko or Pierzynski, so there's absolutely no way to justify Erstad's presence in a do-or-die situation in this case.
I said in
Erstad's season preview that if Ozzie Guillen limited him to Ross Gload-like playing time, that
could actually help the team. After tonight, Erstad has 212 at-bats to his credit; Gload had 156 all last year. That's awful no matter how you look at it, because:
- There's still nearly two months left.
- Gload didn't spend a month on the DL because he swung a bat wrongly and dropped like a sack of potatoes.
- Erstad's 2007 OPS is roughly 150 points lower than Gload's 2006 OPS.
Let's just be thankful that Erstad won't be reaching 600 plate appearances, thus escalating the 2008 option to $6 million. He's not even worth the $750,000 the Sox are paying him this year. That's not Erstad's fault, though -- Ozzie depreciates his value with his usage pattern.
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Speaking of weak-hitting outfielders, here are some interesting numbers to take into account when September call-up season comes. Since July:
The direct comparison is unfair to Sweeney because 1) he's battling wrist problems and 2) Bourgeois is three years older, but it does put Bourgeois' excellent stretch into perspective. He's worth a look, because if Ozzie has to have fast guys who can play multiple positions, Bourgeois could be the best of the recent lot.
He doesn't have a good glove? Neither does
Pablo Ozuna. He's making his major-league debut at 25?
Andy Gonzalez did the same. Neither of those guys have matched Bourgeois' 2007 in the minors, and Bourgeois is a far better base stealer (34-for-41 between Birmingham and Charlotte).
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Minor league round-up:- Durham 3, Charlotte 2
- Andy Sisco returned to Earth with his start today: 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. It could've been worse, but Dewon Day actually stranded inherited runners by getting a double play with the bases loaded.
- Bourgeois went 2-for-4 with a double; Kenny Perez went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI.
- Sweeney went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts; Thomas Collaro lived up to his billing with a 1-for-4, three-strikeout day.
- Birmingham 6, Huntsville 4
- David Cook keeps going deep -- he hit his seventh homer in nine games for the Barons, part of a 2-for-2 day in which he also drew two walks. Also, he threw a runner out at second from right field.
- Kyle McCulloch allowed three runs in six innings, but only one was earned. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out three.
- Adam Shabala, Chris Getz, Cory Aldridge and Victor Mercedes also had two hits apiece.
- Potomac 2, Winston-Salem 0
- Clayton Richard somehow allowed only two runs (one earned) over 6 2/3 despite allowing seven hits and walking six. He induced 12 groundouts, and more double plays (three) than strikeouts (two).
- The Warthogs didn't have a baserunner until C.J. Lang singled with one out in the ninth. Robert Valido added a single, and that was offense.
- Lake County 9, Kannapolis 7 (12 innings)
- Brandon Allen went 3-for-6, and all of his hits were doubles.
- Sergio Miranda, John Shelby Jr. and Lee Cruz each drove in two runs.
- Jacob Rasner was shelled for six runs over 5 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 6.52. Ryan Rote threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, but Steven Spurgeon took the loss thanks to an error leading off the inning.