posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 2:57 AM
by
Jim
Gone but not forgotten, although he basically should be
Given the roll Joe Cowley was on during Tuesday's game -- from his discovery that
Kansas City is a cowtown (a nice one, in my opinion) to his
repeated complaints about Kauffman Stadium's media spread -- I didn't know how seriously I should take his tweet
during Jose Contreras' subpar start:
Jose Contreras was very upset when he heard the news about Ozuna, and he's pitching like a guy whose mind is somewhere else.
But after the game,
Ozzie Guillen didn't think the Count or anybody else should be crestfallen:
''[Bleep] Jose Contreras,'' Guillen said. ''Nobody in this organization is more upset or sad than Ozzie Guillen. Nobody.
''If some of the players didn't like the move, well, it's easy to
do. Just tell Ozuna to stay here and get them to get the [bleep] out of
here and go to the minor leagues.''
It's hard to disagree. Guillen has been one of Contreras' bigger supporters, but if Cowley is on the level, Contreras' official list of excuses is five deep:
- Family in Cuba.
- Divorce.
- Subpoena in smuggling case.
- English skills.
- Ozuna's DFA.
If he can get that shaken up over the departure of Ozuna,
who had the worst OPS of anybody on the Sox not named "Andy Gonzalez" since he pulled his hamstring against the Cubs at the end of June 2006, I don't think there's any limit to his potential for melancholia.
And this is coming from somebody who liked the Secret Weapon. He will receive a full eulogy, but I'm going to wait until he actually leaves the organization -- if that happens.
*********************
There were a number of wrinkles in the first game of the post-Ozuna era,
a wild 8-7, 13-inning victory over the Royals.
One was that Paul Konerko and Jim Thome, who are often characterized as Everything That's Wrong With The Team, sparked rallies without the long ball. Thome reached base four times, was the first baserunner of the inning each time, and, most importantly, scored each time (if you count pinch-running Brian Anderson, who scored in his place).
And Konerko,
who grounds into a double play every game, followed Thome with a couple productive at-bats. He got him from second to third once with a grounder, singled and walked after falling behind 0-2.
Meanwhile, Anderson and Dewayne Wise, both players who should be pinch-running ahead of Ozuna, were called in for such situations and did their jobs. Anderson scored, and Wise stole second easily.
What about Alexei Ramirez? He sprayed a variety of singles and ran like the dickens, just like Ozuna would have. He even told the umpire what to call on a check-swing, which is something Pablo did fairly often on the basepaths.
Add in Joe Crede playing a fine third base and adding a deep homer, and today's game showed how irrelevant somebody with Ozuna's skill set is to this team. Wonder how long it'll take some people to realize it.
*********************
With 1 2/3 dynamite innings Tuesday night, Matt Thornton took the lead for de facto closer in absence of Bobby Jenks,
who went to the DL and is probably out through the All-Star Break.
We know it will be a while since we see Scott Linebrink, who blew his second straight save and watched his ERA go from 1.32 to 2.37 over his last four outings, in which he has been scored upon each time. What's troubling is that his issues have shifted.
In his first two outings, he merely made two mistake pitches. In his last two, he's had nothing resembling an out pitch. He's thrown 54 pitches over his last two innings; Thornton, Octavio Dotel and Boone Logan threw 50 over 4 1/3 shutout innings preceding Linebrink's appearance.
Barring an outrageous matchup (three straight lefty-mashing righties), Thornton, a.k.a. Easy Heat, should be first in line with the ninth inning rolls around, with Dotel next in line. At this point, Linebrink should be working the seventh.
*********************
Minor league roundup:- Birmingham 6, Carolina 3
- Stefan Gartrell homered twice and drove in three.
- Kyle McCulloch pitched well, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings, striking out four.
- Robert Hudson had two hits; Lee Cruz doubled and drove in one.
- Columbus 5, Kannapolis 4
- Jim Gallagher went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.
- Eduardo Escobar had two hits, including a double, and two runs scored.
- Brent Morel enjoyed his first double at either level during a two-hit game.
- Charlie Shirek allowed one run on two hits and two walks over five innings, striking out two.
- Great Falls 7, Orem 3
- Tyler Kuhn went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI from the leadoff spot.
- Kevin Skogley allowed three runs (two earned) over six innings.
- Jordan Cheatham and Danny Jordan each had two-hit games.
- Charlotte PPD
- Winston-Salem OFF
- Bristol PPD