Sox Machine

And he could've been gone

It was only three days ago that Juan Uribe was headed for Dumpsville.  Now, he's the toast of the team.

Turns out it's not that difficult to restore a reputation when everybody else on the team is sucking as much as he did over the past two weeks.

Uribe hit the first non-solo While Sox homer since April 26 in Thursday's 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins, but he overshadowed it later with a fierce takeout slide of Minnesota's (and Queensbury, N.Y.'s) Brendan Harris:


If Uribe was ever in danger of being cut (as in released, not as in ripped -- there's little chance of that), he's given himself quite a bit of breathing room.  But there's still some work to be done.

That's where Alexei Ramirez comes in.  Ramirez got the start at short as Orlando Cabrera got his first off day as a member of the White Sox, and while he didn't look pretty, he found ways to contribute.

One inning after the Sox offense embarrassed itself by not scoring with runners on second and third and nobody out, Ramirez started his own rally by singling on an 0-2 mistake by Juan Rincon, stealing his first career base and scoring on Carlos Quentin's single for a key insurance run.  One inning later, he reached on a Justin Morneau error (erroneously charged to Matt Tolbert) by busting butt down the line, which brought another runner home.

Doesn't Ramirez's formula for success sounds a little bit familiar?  A little, I don't know, Pablo Ozunaish?

I'd say so -- and that's not really a good thing.  One Ozuna on the roster is enough.  However, since Ozuna is a shadow of himself these days, I'd like to give Ramirez a chance to be a better Ozuna than Ozuna.  He has a higher ceiling, wider range of defensive capabilities and healthier, younger legs.  The only thing he lacks right now is experience.

He is learning, but playing once a week isn't enough of an education.  So I'd give him two starts over the three-game Seattle series.  Maybe in center, since Nick Swisher is down 0-2 before he even steps in the box these days and has struggled against both Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista (5-for-37 combined). 

Second base is a possibility, too, though not at the expense of Uribe.  Juan has hit all three Seattle pitchers well (and he owns Carlos Silva), but I'd like to see how well he plays third, as that would go another step toward figuring out how to replace Ozuna.  Crede has struggled against Wasburn and Batista, so that's another possibility.

Neither Washburn, Batista or Silva are fastball pitchers, so they probably don't play to Alexei's strengths, but that's kind of the point.  The problems caused by the floundering lineup are compounded by a bench that Guillen is afraid to play.

Give Ramirez a couple starts.  If he goes 0-for-8 and breaks six bats, then add Jason Bourgeois to the 40-man and give him a ride.  If he gets a couple hits and doesn't make any massive mistakes, then the Sox have their requisite human energy ball.  At this time, the only better options Ozzie has are in name only, so the Sox may as well use the weekend as an opportunity to let Ramirez learn, and to learn about Ramirez.

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Another possibility to replace the loser of my imaginary-as-of-now Ramirez/Ozuna run-off is Jerry Owens, but the guy who's beating the drum for him isn't the obvious choice (hat tip to The Cheat):


One, I like that without the bracketed text, Guillen's quote reads, "We talked about panicking."

Secondly, I wonder if Guillen looks at Owens and sees the groin-afflicted Scott Podsednik.  He didn't exactly open his arms when Pods returned to the lineup late last year, and with Brian Anderson producing reasonably well, there's no easy place to slot Owens except as pinch-runner.

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When people propose adding Owens to the mix, they never explain how speed translates into runs, just that it does.  I for one, would like to know how Owens would help his teammates hit better, as that's why the offense is dysfunctional.

Even though the Sox managed to score two runs in such situations, it doesn't make up for going 0-for-5 with a runner on third Thursday.  If Harris steps toward third base instead of first on the pivot, Uribe never has his takeout slide, Hall grounds into a 5-4-3 double play, and the Sox end up emptyhanded once again.

Since the suspended game against Baltimore, two things to know about the Sox:

• 2-for-14 with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, with zero sacrifice flies.
• 4-for-26 in all situations where there's a runner on third.
  

Strikeouts aren't the culprit.  The Sox have whiffed only twice in the 14 at-bats with one or zero outs.  No, the problem has been the number of grounders too routine and pop-ups too weak to get the runner home.  Unless Ozzie wants to call the squeeze play far more often, those two types of batted balls are the two biggest parts of the Owens arsenal.

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Minor league roundup:

• Scranton-Wilkes/Barre 5, Charlotte 4 (11 innings)
• Mike MacDougal looked MacDougalish in Charlotte, losing the game in the 11th by walking four batters.  He walked the first two, they stole bases, he intentionally walked a third, and the fourth ended the game.
• Charlie Haeger pitched well -- 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
• Dewayne Wise doubled, tripled and drove in one; Brad Eldred and Josh Fields replacement Gookie Dawkins also had two hits.
• Jason Bourgeois went 1-for-4 with a walk but was caught stealing; Jerry Owens went 0-for-4 with a walk.
• Winston-Salem 0, Salem 0 (Susp. 6th)
• Matt Long threw six shutout innings, scattering six hits, walking one and striking out three.
• Francisco Hernandez had Winston-Salem's lone hit.
• Kannapolis 4, Lakewood 3
• Logan Johnson and and Danny Jordan each had three-hit games.
• Jose Martinez went 2-for-3 with a walk, run and RBI.
• Anthony Carter struck out seven over five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks.
• Hector Santiago (2 IP), Santo Luis (1 IP) and Henry Mabee (1 IP) held Lakewood scoreless the rest of the way.
• Birmingham vs. Montgomery PPD