While Ozzie Guillen opened his season with some big early changes
through the first 40 games, most of his work since then has been on the margins, mainly due to
a solid run of health. Aside from the ineffective Paul Konerko and Juan Uribe hitting -- har -- the DL and Bobby Jenks making a visit there as well, not much has forced his hand.
Accordingly, he hasn't changed his style much. He has
occasionally flirted with smallball, but he's letting the big bats swing away, by and large
At any rate, let's update where he stands:
BIG CHANGESNo. 1: Alexei Ramirez at second. At one point this season, the move from Juan Uribe to Ramirez was actually considered a recognizable downgrade. Uribe was hitting a lousy .198/.262/.328 when he left
the May 15 game early with a bad hamstring, but his replacement, Ramirez, owned a line of .146/.167/195.
It appeared
Uribe would regain the starting job upon his return, but Ramirez hit .300 in Uribe's absence, and Ozzie stuck with him. Ramirez remains the starter to this day, with an average hovering around .300 despite swinging at everything he sees.
No. 2: Batting order. Guillen moved Nick Swisher out of the leadoff spot 30 games in, but dropped him further as his struggles continued, hitting as low as eighth. He since has moved up to seventh, with brief stints in the fifth and sixth slots.
Of the moves that began in Guillen's second quarter, Carlos Quentin in the third slot was the most significant. In fact, since starting the 40th game there, he has not hit anywhere else. A.J. Pierzynski has hit in the second spot, aside from brief interludes from Brian Anderson of all people.
Jermaine Dye has also claimed the cleanup spot after Guillen flip-flopped him with Konerko.
No. 3: Five outfielders, one backup infielder. Dewayne Wise first appeared when Uribe went on the DL, then cleared waivers and went back to Charlotte. Guillen assured that he'd get another shot in the majors if another injury occured, and lo and behold, he returned to Chicago when Konerko strained his rib cage.
Wise, despite having a few misadventures in the outfield and on the basepaths, did everything in his power to stick around, hitting .350/.372/.600 with five steals in five attempts. He was rewarded with his efforts, as Pablo Ozuna was DFA'd when Konerko returned, to the dismay of a pair of JCs (Jose Contreras and Joe Cowley).
It appeared Uribe may not have been long for the team as Ozuna got the call to play third whenever Joe Crede needed a break, but Guillen recognized that he could handle the infield better at every position save first.
No. 4: Back end of the bullpen. Ehren Wassermann begat Esteban Loaiza, who begat Adam Russell, who picked up three wins in his first seven appearances. D.J. Carrasco also received the call and a spot on the 40-man roster when Jenks went down, and he made a smashing debut with 5 1/3 bullpen-saving innings of one-run ball. The need for seven relievers confuses me, but he's not going to change it in the near future.
CONTROVERSIESGuillen made headlines when
he said he'd make changes if Kenny Williams didn't after a disappointing loss to the Tampa Rays, although the only real problem was that it exposed Sox fans to plenty of uninformed bluster about Guillen getting fired for the 84th time. It took Greg Walker longer to get over it in comparison to Williams, but it's all smooth sailing now.
He was also
none too happy with Jose Contreras, who reportedly sulked after Guillen dubbed Ozuna the one to be designated for free agency, and offered anybody to take Ozuna's place for a plane heading to Charlotte.
On the other hand,
he seemed more pleased that Jermaine Dye and Orlando Cabrera went at it in the dugout.
Guillen finished the first half with a flourish by
allegedly taunting Texas Rangers closer C.J. Wilson as he nearly blew a four-run lead. Overall, it's par for the course.
CONCERNS AHEADNo. 1: Joe Crede. The first-time All-Star
finished his first half with a .503 OPS over his last 107 plate appearances, and underachieving with the glove to boot. Guillen finally dropped him to eighth after inexplicably slotting him ahead of a streaking Swisher for a couple weeks, but greater changes may be required if Crede continues to pop out to second.
No. 2: Closer by comitttee? Jenks is currently working his way through a rehab stint, but if he
continues to give up hits at an alarming rate, the ninth inning may not be automatic. Guillen chose wisely by avoiding Scott Linebrink after he faltered in late-game situations due to the complete lack of an out pitch, and it'll be interesting to see how he deploys Octavio Dotel and Matt Thornton, both of whom struggled against Texas.
No. 3: Paul Konerko. Guillen seems to finally have a handle on Anderson as a ballplayer and a personality, and smartly used him in a platoon with Wise to positive results. That alone would give him ample reasons to bench Konerko if he never progresses toward the mean, but it'd be a bold move to take the Captain out of play.
No. 4: Shorter hooks? Take your pick to characterize my one beef with Guillen's handling of his pitching staff -- he's either carrying one too many relievers, or he's not using his long relievers enough. He's left Contreras in past the point of rebounding numerous times, and Gavin Floyd and Javier Vazquez needed quicker hooks recently, too.
Making earlier changes is something Guillen can and should do now that he has three guys in his bullpen who can work three innings and can't be trusted in high-leverage situations.
While many are drawing parallels to the 2005 season by virtue of the Sox finishing the first half in first place, there are lessons to be drawn from 2006 as well. In the second half that season, he didn't make any changes to a rotation that saw two members -- Contreras and Mark Buehrle -- get pounded start after start. Thome and Crede cooled off considerably without much help, and Scott Podsednik and his .296 OBP after the All-Star break stayed rooted in the leadoff spot.
Guillen has already shown more imagination with the offense this year than in the previous two seasons combined, but he is reluctant to uproot his starters. He's right in standing pat most of the time, because there's a reason why the rotation leads the league in innings pitched, but he missed out on his chance to successfully integrate a sixth starter the last time. If Contreras can't figure out his forkball, Guillen will have no choice but to try somebody else, despite the fact that nobody aside from
the Olympic-bound Clayton Richard is begging for an opportunity.
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Two other notes:*********************
Minor league roundup:
- Montgomery 7, Birmingham 5
- Bobby Jenks struck out the side in a perfect inning of work.
- Kyle McCulloch struggled, allowing five runs on eight hits and four walks in five innings, striking out three.
- Ricardo Nanita went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI.
- Javier Colina hit a solo homer.
- Charleston 2, Kannapolis 0
- Jim Gallagher had two of Kanny's three hits, including a double.
- Levi Maxwell was the hard-luck loser, allowing two runs over six innings.
- Hector Santiago struck out four over two perfect innings.
- Bristol 3, Danville 2
- Kenneth Gilbert went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
- Joucer Martinez allowed two runs on five hits over six innings.
- Juan Moreno struck out four over two scoreless innings.
- Great Falls 7, Orem 6 (10 innings)
- Dexter Carter struck out eight over five innings of two-run ball.
- Kyle Shelton went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
- Lee Fischer drove in two on a 2-for-3 day.
- Charlotte OFF
- Winston-Salem OFF