Tuesday morning manager
Ozzie Guillen made two questionable but defensible decisions that just so happened to blow up in his face
Monday afternoon. Leaving hindsight out of it, let's try to figure out how right or wrong he was.
***
Inning: Top of the ninth.
The situation: Sox lead 2-1.
The decision: Ozzie Guillen calls for Bobby Jenks to retire the last three hitters after eight great innings by Javier Vazquez.
The result: Jenks blows the save.
Reasons for: Vazquez ended the eighth inning on his 100th pitch, and would be coming up on the top of the order with Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora, who would be getting their fourth look at Javy. Also, Jenks is one of the best closers in the game. It's very simple, by-the-book managing that nobody would argue with had Jenks done his job.
Reasons against: I didn't like this move for several reasons.
No. 1: Jenks, as I've written before,
has struggled against Baltimore, and Roberts and Mora are often at the heart of the Orioles' ninth-inning rallies against him. After Roberts' double and Mora's single, they're now 7-for-11 against Jenks combined.
No. 2: Not only that, but the Orioles had already seen Jenks three times in the past two weeks,
beating him once and coming close another time. Vazquez's start today was his first against Baltimore this season, and the O's looked like they were unfamiliar with his stuff.
No. 3: Javy was on a roll, having retired 11 of his last 12. Plus, he had only thrown 18 pitches over his last two innings.
No. 4: Pitch count isn't an issue with Javy, who worked deeper into games last year than any other Sox starter. While he'd been roughed up a little bit
between pitches 91 and 105 this season (8-for-20), that's a small sample size issue. In 2007, he held opponents to a .209 average (33-for-158)
between pitches 91 and 121.
If Javy said he couldn't go, that would be one thing. However,
from postgame comments, it seems that Vazquez was fine, and Ozzie just wanted to go with the guy he always gives the ball to in the ninth inning:
Guillen: "I have one of the best closers for the last three years, and that's his job. Today, he [didn't] do what he always [does]."
Vazquez: "As a pitcher, you always want to stay in. But that's
the manager's decision. We had Bobby to close, and that's it."
I probably would have sent Vazquez out there with Jenks ready to go at the first sign of trouble. At the very least, he seemed like a better matchup against Roberts, who was only 5-for-26 lifetime against Vazquez at that point. Mora was 6-for-23.
***
Inning: Bottom of the 10th.
The situation: Game tied 2-2, runner on third, one out and Brian Anderson at the plate.
The decision: Ozzie Guillen calls for the suicide squeeze.
The result: Anderson whiffs on the bunt, Quentin is tagged out, and Anderson strikes out to end the inning.
Reasons against: With one out, I'd rather have two chances to drive in Quentin instead of letting it all ride on one pitch. Anderson isn't exactly Pablo Ozuna when it comes to bunting, and with first base open and Juan Uribe on deck, Jim Johnson was under no obligation to give him anything in the strike zone. Plus, Anderson came through in the same situation
Saturday night.
Reasons for: Anderson likely works on his bunting more than the others unusual suspects, and obviously the element of surprise (and fear) plays a big part of the squeeze. Also,
here's what Anderson did with his at-bats with a runner on third since his game-winning single:
- Shallow flyout to right.
- Weak grounder to short.
- Foulout to first.
A replay of any of those events probably wouldn't have scored Quentin -- especially with the infield and outfield drawn in -- and obviously he has a far more extensive track record of failure than success in such situations.
I probably wouldn't have called for the squeeze, only because Johnson had no reason to throw Anderson anything he could get his bat on. I don't think the idea was fundamentally wrong, and if Anderson walked, it probably would have been the right call with Uribe at the plate. Either way, I find it a more defensible decision than pulling Vazquez.
Thankfully, Uribe tied up the game again with a homer in the 12th. Now they'll have to finish it up a couple months from now.
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While we're in a grateful mood toward ¡Profundo!, let's thank him for giving Guillen a reason to play him over Alexei Ramirez, who is clearly in over his head at the major-league level.
Ramirez dropped to 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position after failing twice in the clutch Monday. He grounded out to short with runners on second and third after working the count to 2-2 in the fourth inning, then did the same thing on the first pitch after Daniel Cabrera had walked the two batters before him.
Ozzie, suffice to say,
wasn't thrilled:
"This is the big leagues," Guillen said. "You should know what you're doing."
He has reasons for not knowing what he's doing. Despite a hot spring, Ramirez shouldn't have started the season in the big leagues. I suppose it didn't hurt to give him a shot, but now that he's quite exposed, the Sox should send him to Charlotte to refine his hitting approach and get used to shortstop again. Orlando Cabrera, while adequate, isn't giving the Sox reasons to extend him right now.
Jason Bourgeois would make matters a whole lot simpler by hitting, because he'd fill out the infield and outfield depth chart a whole lot better than Jerry Owens, but he's not cooperating. Either that, or it's a regression to the mean after what looks like
a career year in 2007.
***************************
Hey Minnesota, prepare yourself for
a hefty dose of Nick Magic:
Nick Masset prevented the White Sox from getting swept in a
three-game series at Wrigley Field last May, and he'll try to stop the
Sox's pitching staff from getting taxed.
Masset was named to start Wednesday's game at Minnesota despite his current role as a long reliever. Manager Ozzie Guillen selected Masset to avoid the temptation to bring back 23-year-old left-hander John Danks on short rest.
Of course, if trends continue, Masset will merely be shifting the tax burden to the bullpen. To rehash a chart
after Masset's last outing against the Twins:
| Masset vs. Twins |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
K |
ERA |
WHIP |
| 2007 |
5.2 |
15 |
11 |
10 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
15.88 |
3.35 |
April 9
|
3.2 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
12.27 |
2.45 |
| Total |
9.1 |
21 |
16 |
15 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
14.46 |
3.00 |
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Minor league roundup:- Norfolk 10, Charlotte 5
- Jack Egbert pitched well, allowing only a solo homer over five innings. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out four.
- Rob Bell allowed seven runs in one inning of work and took the loss.
- Josh Fields hit his fourth homer of the year, a solo shot.
- Jerry Owens went 2-for-5 with a double; Dewayne Wise went 3-for-4 with a double to raise his average to .385.
- Birmingham 4, Montgomery 0
- Six shutout innings by Brian Omogrosso led the Barons to their second straight blanking of Montgomery.
- Joe Torres, Fernando Hernandez Jr. and Jon Link pitched a scoreless inning apiece to close it out.
- Thomas Collaro, Robert Valido and Joe Persichina all had a double and an RBI; Micah Schnurstein went 2-for-4.
- Winston-Salem vs. Potomac PPD
- Kannapolis OFF