Monday's intrasquad game had a number of heroes -- although
Nick Swisher wasn't one of them. Here's a brief effort trying to sort through the hype:
Jerry Owens: If you hadn't heard, Owens and Orlando Cabrera combined for some first-inning awesomeness, when Owens laid down a bunt single and scored on a Cabrera double, delighting those in attendance. The Cheat already
debunked the comparisons to 2005, and there is the question about why Owens wasn't taught to bunt earlier in his career, as well.
I'm not necessarily worried about Carlos Quentin's future yet, though. Once he's going through all the drills, we'll hear how he's really impressing Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams, that he's in tremendous shape, etc.
Orlando Cabrera: Along with the double, he also added a sacrifice fly. He led the league in sac flies last year, so he appears to be picking up where he's left off. Also good news: He
isn't saying anything about wanting to stay in Chicago yet.
Andy Sisco: Joe Cowley got to the bottom of
Ed Farmer's crossword puzzle story (way to go, Aardsma!), and also confirms that Sisco is no longer a starter. He is
using a more compact delivery, for what it's worth, and pitched a scoreless inning during the interleague game.
On a related note, the
St. Petersburg Times' John Romano wrote about Jeff Niemann,
the 6-foot-9-inch Rays pitching prospect who's had problems getting his
delivery down. He thinks that taller pitchers are invariably late
bloomers, which isn't a bad theory on its face.
Alexei Ramirez: The guy hasn't played in anything close to a real major-league game yet, but when even Greg Walker says
his swing is long, then there has to be a problem with it. Still, he's getting rave endorsements:
- Scott Merkin: I really believe Ramirez is going to emerge from camp with the starting job at second base.
- Ozzie Guillen: I like what I see. You see this kid take ground
balls. To impress me taking ground balls takes a lot. I see this kid
taking ground balls next to Orlando Cabrera and that impressed me.
He also nearly took Gavin Floyd deep, but a lot of people almost take Gavin Floyd deep -- when they don't, in fact, take him deep. I still don't see him making the team out of spring training, but if Danny Richar doesn't show up soon, the path is a little easier for him.
And considering the way the Sox liked the way Floyd threw in bullpen sessions, it's kind of strange that nobody has said anything about how he threw in the game.