posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 2:15 AM
by
Jim
A Swish wish comes true
For a week, at least:TUCSON, Ariz. - The White Sox acquired switch-hitter Nick Swisher last
winter to provide production in the middle of the batting order and
some swagger in a mild-mannered clubhouse.
Now the Sox are asking Swisher to become their leadoff batter and
regular center fielder while Jerry Owens recovers from a right-groin
tear.
I'm officially ready for the season to begin, because we'll finally get an extended look at what the Sox offense looks like with a non-traditional leadoff hitter. This is something I've advocated many, many times over the last two years, not only with Swisher, but with other non-speedsters like
Rob Mackowiak and
Ross Gload.
It's entirely possible that Swisher might fail leading off in the same fashion that great setup men sometimes struggle to record the last three outs in a ballgame. I'm willing to take that risk, because if a leadoff hitter's job is to get on base, the numbers say that he's the second-most qualified player on the team. And if the leadoff hitter's secondary job is to see a lot of pitches, the eye says that you'll be hard-pressed to find somebody more comfortable with two strikes on him than Swishalicious.
At the very least, it's something new. We've seen what the offense looks like when a guy with sketchy on-base skills catches fire (pretty good). We've seen what it looks like when the fast guys can't reach base (dysfunctional at best). We haven't really seen what it looks like when a non-speed burner who can get on base bats first, and I'm excited to see the outcome.
(I'm also wondering how many 4-6 forceouts we'll see in the first week if Swisher leads off with a walk. But that's neither here nor there right now.)
*************************
Other brief notes:*Gavin Floyd was roughed up
for six runs in five innings Wednesday, so a fast start by Swisher might be more necessary than merely appreciated. The Cheat has
some quality thoughts on Floyd's non-quality start.
*Alexei Ramirez hit
a grand slam off Ben Sheets, one of four homers Sheets allowed on the day. I do like Ramirez hitting ninth, as he did today. If his hot March turns into a hot April, he'll give Swisher somebody to drive in. If he falls back to Earth, he'll be exposed as infrequently in a game as possible.
*Deja Vu: After beating Sheets pretty thoroughly, Derrick Turnbow, Guillermo Mota and Saloman Torres recorded 1-2-3 innings, which brought back memories of the Sox's famous 0-for-61 streak.
*Scott Linebrink pitched a scoreless inning today. Octavio Dotel was roughed up for four runs in the same span. If I looked at their lines only, I probably would've put the wrong names next to them:
- Linebrink: 9 2/3 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
- Dotel: 9 1/3 IP, 14 H, 12 ER, 4 BB, 11 K
Dotel's strikeouts are a dead giveaway, though.
*Speaking of lines, the much-maligned Toby Hall improved his with a pinch-hit single. He's now above the Ron Karkovice Line. Joe Crede and Jermaine Dye also had a much-needed hit apiece.
*Alex Cintron was released by the Cubs. He actually hit .325 this spring, so thankfully the Sox are awash in middle infielder types.