Sox Machine

The Secret Weapon: Disarmed? (updated)

Joe Cowley Twitters twice:


If Pablo Ozuna isn't before him, color me confused.  At least he won't be starting, as Alexei Ramirez was dubbed the second baseman for the opener against the Twins. 

As much as I like Ozuna, I can't figure out what the post-broken-leg version of the Secret Weapon offers anymore.  He's noticeably slower, he doesn't have much of a glove anywhere (his inability to make an exchange cost Javier Vazquez a complete game), the little power he had is gone, and he had some swings in the last two games of the Toronto series that made it look like his walleye vision prescription ran out.

I watched the ninth inning of Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays on DVR with knowledge of the game's outcome, so I didn't have the opportunity to first-guess.  But watching the events unfold, I wondered if a suicide squeeze might have been the better call.  Conventional wisdom says to play for the win on the road, but with the way Ozuna is swinging the bat, that may have been an impossible request.  Not completely blowing bunts is the only thing Ozuna has accomplished at the plate in weeks.

(I'm not a fan of second-guessing without making a decision right along with it, because anybody can do hindsight.  But I am curious whether that thought crossed anybody's mind watching the game in real time.)

Uribe may have frustrated the Sox by not running on a weak chopper to short and testing David Eckstein's even weaker arm, but if they're going to eat somebody's salary, may as well start with the one that's $3 million cheaper.  By the way, I thought this Mark Gonzalez Hardball entry regarding the possible cutting of Uribe was missing something:


Considering the Jays won four of those games by scoring 12 runs combined -- eight of them either unearned or scored after a blown call -- it seems like they could still use a Frank Thomas.  The Big Hurt is hitting .270/.400/.378 with the A's, compared to .166/.306/.333 in Toronto.

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Speaking of first guesses, Adam Russell will return to the minors as the Sox return to the United States.  Russell's line over four days: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 G, 0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.  He may have stood up in the bullpen once.

Meanwhile, Ozuna had to hit with the bases loaded in the ninth inning against Toronto's closer because the only other options on the bench were ... a migraine-suffering Joe Crede, Russell and the rest of the bullpen.  Brian Anderson had pinch-run for Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski had hit for Toby Hall, so that was it.

I don't want to beat the Josh Fields point into the ground (even though he could've been playing third instead of Ozuna Monday), but rather highlight the odd decision to go with 13 pitchers and 12 position players when the offense -- especially the bench -- is so very awful right now.

It comes down to a newfound emphasis on long relievers, something the White Sox didn't have in 2005 and more than half of 2007.  And they only had one in 2006 because they didn't have room for Brandon McCarthy in the rotation, and there was no use sending him back to Triple-A.  Long relief was an uneasy compromise, one that ended up leaving nobody happy.

This year, the Sox found themselves not being to go without a long reliever for four days -- even though they haven't needed Nick Masset aside from the spot start.   He came in handy Opening Day and took an extended beating against the Twins April 9, but from that point to his start last Wednesday, he was used three times over three weeks, and two of those occasions were in blowout victories. 

Sure enough, Sox starters nearly threw three complete games, rendering Russell useless while having to bat Ozuna or Jim Thome in situations where they had little chance of succeeding.  Hopefully we won't have to see 13 pitchers for quite some time, because the Sox need as many possibilities on the bench as possible to counter the numerous late-game disadvantages they'll face.

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Speaking of first guesses, Toby Hall is starting to live up to my advantages.

With a double in today's game, Hall raised his OPS to .619.  That's more than 100 points over the magic .515 mark, which is the line that officially determines whether the Hall signing ended up being a complete waste, or just 99 percent of one.

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Minor league roundup

• Charlotte 5, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 0
• Lance Broadway struggled through five shutout innings.  He walked gave up five hits and walked four, but saved himself by stranding runners on second and third in three of his five innings.
• Oneli Perez (2 IP), Jason Childers (1 IP) and Mike MacDougal (1 IP) preserved the shutout.
• Brad Eldred, Chris Getz, Paul Phillips and Fernando Cortez all had two hits, with Eldred hitting his eighth homer.
  
• Jerry Owens and Jason Bourgeois each went 0-for-5; Josh Fields did not play.
  
• Montgomery 2, Birmingham 1
• Clayton Richard pitched seven strong innings in defeat, allowing two hits on seven hits.  He had two strikeouts and zero walks.
• Leadoff man Robert Valido went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .158.
• Lynchburg 7, Winston-Salem 6
• John Ely suffered his first bad outing, giving up six runs on 12 hits over four innings.  At least he didn't walk anybody.
• Javier Colina went 4-for-5 with three doubles; Brandon Allen hit two doubles as well.
• John Shelby hit his fourth homer, a two-run shot, but also struck out three times.
• Kannapolis 13, Lake County 8
• Jose Martinez hit his first homer, part of a 3-for-6, three-RBI day.
• Christian Marrero drove in four with a pair of doubles.
• Jim Gallagher and Logan Johnson joined Martinez with three hits; Sergio Morales and John Curtis each hit two doubles.
• Nathan Jones struck out eight in five innings, allowing two runs for his first win.