''What [Nick Swisher's] versatility allows us to do is give Owens a chance to come
back and show he's ready to be that spark plug like [Scott] Podsednik
was a couple of years ago,' Williams said.
Kenny Williams should
watch his words, because "a couple of years ago" is actually 2006. Unfortunately, Jerry Owens has that year's Scott Podsednik's act down pat -- after battling it for four weeks,
Owens will start the season on the DL due to a small tear in his right adductor muscle.
Said Owens:
"My groin isn't where we want it to be."
Tell me about it. My groin is never where I want it to be, either.
*golf swing*
This move has a little bit of a trickle down effect:
No. 1: Both Carlos Quentin and Brian Anderson are looking good for the Opening Day roster.We know Anderson has mashed all spring long, but Quentin has made up considerable ground over the past couple weeks. He started off spring on shaky footing, falling into some bad habits according to Ozzie Guillen as he tested his repaired non-throwing shoulder in game action for the first time early on.
Here's where the two stand today:
- Anderson: .355/.452/.661, 10 XBH, 11 BB in 74 PA
- Quentin: .324/.351/..559, 6 XBH, 1 BB in 37 PA
And while we can knock Anderson for always hitting well in spring training because he played high school and college ball in Tucson, Quentin can be tagged with a similar caveat. The brightest spot on his resume is
his stellar Triple-A numbers, and guess where he played half his games in Triple-A? And unlike Anderson, Quentin actually played in Tucson Electric Park.
I still think Quentin's a better bet to produce since Anderson is walking at an unprecedented rate, but Anderson should be manning center if the aim is to limit the liability that is Jermaine Dye in right field.
No. 2: Who will bat leadoff?Pablo Ozuna is penciled in that spot against C.C. Sabathia Opening Day, but the picture clouds up from then on.
To me,
the obvious choice is still Nick Swisher, now more than ever before. Here are the career OBPs of the four hitters preceding Thome:
- Lineup X: .279, .295, .361, .321
- Lineup Y: .328, .279, .322, .321
Lineup Y might be a little prettier because three of the four OBPs begin with a "3," but Lineup X is the only plausible scenario in which the Sox would have an above-average chance of getting somebody on base before the heart of the order comes to the plate. Otherwise, it's almost like the Sox would be batting Jim Thome leadoff, except they'd only get eight innings at the plate instead of nine.
The only drawback is that Orlando Cabrera is still batting second, and he's grounded into 10 or more double plays in each of the last three seasons despite the presence of some pretty speedy runners ahead of him in Chone Figgins and Reggie Willits. But there's no use in fighting that battle, because Cabrera is the quintessential No. 2 hitter, dadgummit.
No. 3: Will this alter the course at second base?
Ozzie Guillen named Juan Uribe the starter at second, but if ¡Profundo! leaves his hot bat in Arizona, I wonder if Ozzie might feel pressured to overplay Ozuna or stick Alexei Ramirez in the leadoff spot instead. It's nothing to expound upon at this point, but it's certainly real enough to mention in passing.
I'm not going to cheer Owens' injury, because he has the longest track record of getting on base compared to Quentin and Anderson. However, we know what Owens is going to do. He's going to slap the ball, he's going to rack up mostly singles, earn the occasional walk. He'll be lucky to top a .350 OBP. He'll steal a good number of bases, play a good center field but won't throw anybody out.
Anderson and Quentin can do so much more. They can also do less, as they've shown, but a roster with both of them on it gives Sox fans more of a reason to watch. That's a little counterintuitive, now that I think about it, since the excitement Owens creates on the basepaths is his main drawing card.
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Before we leave the subject of the outfield, look at this line after an 0-for-4, three-strikeout day:
.183/.234/.350, 11/60, 3 BB, 18 K
Is anybody concerned about Jermaine Dye besides me?