Jose Contreras
has cleared waivers, and word on the street is that the Dodgers are interested. Jon Heyman has one theory on why some teams may be more interested in the Count than they were a few weeks ago:
Scouts say they've noticed he's corrected his delivery and is back to
an over-the-top style, perhaps leading to recent successes.
That's the one I'm inclined to believe, but it's only a couple of appearances. But there are also these corrections/excuses:
Aug: 9: "I was pitching off of my back foot. My balance was off, and I was pushing off of my back
foot. I was pitching with my upper body, but not my lower body. That's what happened with the velocity. It was getting to me going out every start and not having it. They did the right thing putting me in the bullpen and letting me relax and find that confidence."
July 29:
"He watched video with [pitching coach Don] Cooper and saw he
was on the wrong part of the rubber and his legs weren't right. But the
big part was, mentally, he's fine. I trust him because whatever he
feels, he'll tell you."
At least it's nice to see that he may have used the bullpen demotion to his advantage instead of sulking, which I feared might happen after he declared he started ballgames, and didn't enter in the middle of them.
MLBtraderumors.com pitched the idea of
a Jose Contreras-Rafael Furcal trade, which, if I'm Kenny Williams, I'd agree to in a heartbeat. That solves two problems, and while
Furcal is owed $13 million in 2008, he's still an upgrade at shortstop despite a down year. It may not affect the Sox's overall payroll, but it's a wiser allocation of those funds for 2008.
Unfortunately, I don't see what's in it for the Dodgers unless the Sox throw in a chunk of money with Contreras, something Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't really do.
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It strikes me oddly that there's seemingly as much noise about moving Josh Fields to left field now as there was back in Spring Training when it was actually a viable option.
First, Fields mentioned several days ago that he
might not be able to handle short-term position switches like Pablo Ozuna does.
Then, Ozzie Guillen chimes in with
a fairly unusual rationale for keeping Fields at third:
“I always say when you play the infield and you
make an error, that’s one base,’’ Guillen said. “If you play left field
that’s two bases, and you play right field that’s three bases.
“I
don’t know if we’re going to keep him at third base, but just in case
when he makes an error, we have a chance for the double play.’’
Nevertheless, I think if the Sox are serious about contending in 2008, they have to give Fields some reps in left during winter ball or Spring Training. Otherwise, they'll continue to have the issue of not playing enough major-league-caliber players at the same time.
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Minor league round-up:- Durham 4, Charlotte 0
- Charlie Haeger pitched a decent game, allowing four runs on nine hits over eight innings. He didn't walk anybody, but he gave up two homers.
- Jason Bourgeois went 4-for-4 with a double, raising his average to .316.
- Ryan Sweeney went 0-for-4, and is 3-for-19 since returning to the lineup.
- Frederick 5, Winston-Salem 0
- Brian Omogrosso allowed only two runs over seven innings, striking out seven.
- Paulo Orlando and Brandon Johnson had the Warthogs' only singles; it's the second time in three games they have been held to two base hits.
- Hagerstown 5, Kannapolis 2
- Anderson Gomes went 2-for-5 with two RBI; John Shelby went 2-for-5 with an RBI and three outfield assists.
- Sergio Miranda had a hit and two walks, but committed his 11th error and was picked off.
- Jose Zazueta threw a quality start, and while Steven Spurgeon took the loss, he allowed only two runs over 4 2/3 innings.