Bobby Jenks pitched for the first time since June 29,
retiring the Royals three-up, three-down in the ninth Sunday and perhaps bringing hope that he can restore order to a bullpen that has been out of it for the past two series.
But first, the dust has to settle after a flurry of activity over the past 24 hours,
starting with a Jose Contreras DL stint:
The White Sox placed Jose Contreras on
the 15-day disabled list Sunday with what is described as right "elbow
tendonitis," but they insist they don't believe the injury is cause for
concern.
"It's not serious," Contreras said. "I feel better now [after
treatment]. It's better to take some days now and then I might be able
to pitch later."
Ozzie Guillen called himself "disappointed" because Contreras didn't report the injury earlier. Nobody definitively stated when Contreras began feeling pain, but the results indicate that it could've started as early as June 10. Over
his last seven starts, he's allowed 78 baserunners over 37 2/3 innings, with an ERA of 8.60.
The Sox recalled D.J. Carrasco in his place, and it appeared that he might have the inside track on Contreras' start until he was called into action in relief of an ineffective John Danks. Aside from showing retaliation skills that could best be classified as "Sean Traceyesque," he threw three easy innings and has allowed just one run over eight innings thus far.
Still, that left the Sox short a starter, which has apparently forced
the promotion of Clayton Richard (hat tip to
South Side Sox). Though that part hasn't officially been confirmed, it is certain
Adam Russell is Charlotte-bound.
(In case you missed it:
Here's video from a Richard start a couple weeks ago.)
And that just covers the guys who are coming and going. There's plenty of drama and strife for those who haven't moved, too.
Nick Masset: Has Nick Magic run its course? He'd been sporting a high WHIP all season, and his ERA is finally starting to catch up.
Over his last seven games spanning 7 2/3 innings, he's allowed 16 hits, nine runs (seven earned) and four walks, with as many wild pitches as strikeouts (two). Masset did throw two perfect innings against the Rangers when nobody else had success, and that's the only point in his favor as of late.
Boone Logan: He's faced 12 batters over his last four outings, and
has only been able to retire five of them. Lefties are now hitting .230 off him, up from .197 just 10 days ago.
Matt Thornton: Thorndog's problems are miniscule by comparison, but he looked ragged coming out of the bullpen Sunday, and has allowed three of his last four inherited runners to score. And last but not least ...
Scott Linebrink: Linebrink did warm in the bullpen today, which was a positive sight for a guy who hasn't provided plenty of encouraging signs lately. Aside from being scored upon in his last four outings, his problems have been described as "fatigue," "soreness" and
"tendinitis creeping up in there." And then there was
this nugget:
Because of the success of the needles, Linebrink also began Gua Sha
treatments, where shoulder skin is scraped to take away stagnant blood
and replace it with fresh blood.
"It's not very comfortable and … my back is black and blue," he
said. "It looks terrible. The first time I came home my wife said,
'What in the world happened to you. It looks like you got flogged."
Delicious. The weird thing about Linebrink's fatigue is that the claims of his heavy workload are sort of strange considering Octavio Dotel has appeared in six more games and thrown six more innings this season. He threw some smoke Sunday, but unfortunately wasn't allowed to finish what he started. I wonder how many people would've put money down on Dotel to be the healthiest of the right-handed triumvirate in the bullpen.
And I also hope that isn't some sort of omen.
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Here's some good health news: The plunking of Jermaine Dye for the second consecutive day
only left a bruise on his kneecap.
"I don't expect him to play tomorrow," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
"He got hit pretty good. He might [have to] take a couple days."
They shouldn't rush him back, because the difference between Dye being 90 percent and 100 percent is highly noticeable in his defense.
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The Sox unveiled Harold Baines' statue behind center field
in a pregame ceremony. Baines was kind enough to stick around for the entire game, although he was described as "aloof," "unresponsive," and wouldn't let go of the bat.
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Around the tubes:
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Minor league roundup:- Louisville 9, Charlotte 4
- Chris Getz had a perfect game, going 3-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.
- Josh Fields went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
- Lance Broadway struggled: 5 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR.
- Ehren Wassermann played the role of arsonist, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in an inning.
- Montgomery 6, Birmingham 4
- Lucas Harrell struggled, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks in three innings.
- Javier Castillo went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI.
- Miguel Negron, Ricardo Nanita and C.J. Lang each had two hits.
- Esteban Loaiza and Fernando Hernandez pitched two scoreless innings apiece.
- Savannah 8, Kannapolis 6
- Jim Gallagher hit his eighth homer, a two-run shot.
- Mark Fleisher had a pair of doubles, and Eduardo Escobar went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
- Johnnie Lowe gave up 10 hits and six runs over four innings.
- Santo Luis and Tyson Corley combined for three scoreless innings.
- Kingsport 3, Bristol 1
- Po-Yu Lin struck out six over five innings, allowing two runs (one earned).
- Jordan Kendall had two of Bristol's five hits.
- Ogden 5, Great Falls 0
- Jordan Cheatham went 3-for-4.
- Kent Gerst tripled and singled; Tyler Kuhn also had two hits.
- Winston-Salem OFF