posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 1:10 AM
by
Jim
Weekly spring training stock report
After a 7-6 victory over the Angels today, a full week of White Sox spring training games are in the book. Let's see where we stand with the non-locks:
GOING UP1. Jerry Owens. Ozzie Guillen likes him a lot, and he's playing well enough to stifle any doubts from forming. As long as he's healthy, he's probably starting.
2. Brian Anderson. He needed to make an impact if he had any hopes of sticking with the Sox this season, and he's off to a good start. A 2-for-3 day today boosted his average to .375 -- he's played solid defense in both corner positions and is running well. While he was caught stealing today, it appeared to be on a busted hit and run, as Owens struck out looking.
3. Alexei Ramirez. His whippy swings and the number of bats he breaks indicates he's too aggressive, but doesn't seem to swing at awful pitches. He's also played well at short for the most part, so he seems to be on a fairly quick learning curve.
4. Charlie Haeger. He's a man without a role right now, but he's doing his best to claim one. The dry Arizona air decreases his knuckleball's effectiveness, but he's working through it. Compare this year's start to his last two springs:
- Last two: 23+ IP, 38 H, 24 ER, 14 BB, 15 K
- This year: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
As somebody who thinks the Sox need to keep Haeger in the fold, this is exciting to see.
5. Pablo Ozuna. He doesn't appear at all rusty at second base, and his 7-for-12 start to spring is chock full of Secret Weapon goodness, with infield hits galore.
6. Cole Armstrong. Ozzie gave him the start against Kansas City on Monday to see what he had against major-league pitchers. Though he had his first hitless at-bat of the season, he went 1-for-2. He's also scored every time he's reached base, and it's not completely by luck because he runs well for a big guy (6'3", 220ish lbs.). He could get the call if Toby Hall isn't ready Opening Day.
HOLDING1. Juan Uribe. He's off to a decent start offensively (3-for-11) and defensively, and nobody's complaining about his conditioning or attitude.
2. Josh Fields. Only 2-for-11, but the Sox are liking his defense. From what I saw, he looks a little smoother. And I only consider him a non-lock because Joe Crede is still on the roster. Speaking of which...
GOING DOWN1. Joe Crede. Crede commited his second error of the spring with an errant throw in the second inning today -- and Paul Konerko's massive vertical prevented a third one last week.
2. Carlos Quentin. It's understood that he's coming off shoulder surgery, but the zero walks and five strikeouts aren't going to help him leap-frog Owens for playing time, and Anderson's doing everything better as well.
3. Mike MacDougal. 'Nuff said.