Tyler Flowers made his first start of the season on Wednesday afternoon, and while he didn't make the most of it, he didn't hurt himself.
You can throw a couple "buts" into his performance. He went 0-for-3, but he went to center and right field, and his deep fly set up an RBI single. He struck out once, but it was on a legitimately tough down-and-in curve he went too far on. His batting average is .000, but he threw out one of two attempted basestealers.
(Scouts have been down on his defense this year, but I'm still skeptical. I think it's odd that his defense suddenly improved when his offensive stock went up last year, and then suddenly regressed when his bat did. Given that catcher defense is tough to quantify, that's just a little too tidy of a narrative for me. Flowers showed a quicker release than Pierzynski, although it all looks a little rushed. He's a big boy, and parts gotta move.)
Ozzie Guillen said that Flowers will get a few more looks:
“I think right now we’re going to see him play,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “That’s why I’m giving him the opportunity now to see how he’ll do with it. Maybe I’ll start him two or three more times, that’s what I would like to do. Unless [GM] Kenny [Williams] comes down and says, ‘Listen, I need to see this kid.’ In the meanwhile, I have A.J. to finish up the season and I have [Ramon] Castro to finish up the season. If Kenny comes to me and says he wants to see [Flowers] more, well then I will do that.”
That sounds fair -- even fairer if Flowers can start at DH once, too. I don't think he'll get enough of an opportunity to start planning on him, but they still have to keep him as a big part of the picture. One bad season shouldn't sink a guy like Flowers, especially at such a tough position.
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It's also nice seeing Brent Morel getting positive feedback from his boss:
"I love the way Morel plays, I really do," Guillen said. "I believe indefense, and that guy has a good chance to play in the big leagues.That's another thing, I don't know if it will be next year or this year,but I like the way he plays."
Morel's slowed down offensively, going hitless in his last two starts with three strikeouts. He seems to be struggling with pitch recognition low in the zone, but this is typical of his progression. The beginnings of his Double-A and Triple-A careers started slowly with an abnormally high amount of strikeouts, but eventually he came around.
The Sox probably shouldn't count on Morel starting the year at third, but if they had a similar stopgap situation as they did this year -- maybe Omar Vizquel and Mark Teahen (after repeated floggings at Camp Cora), they could give Morel a month or so to get acclimated. But that's a bridge to cross later, because Morel could make it moot with a hot spring.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*HISTORY! Well, not the kind Hawk Harrelson would be happy about:
The starting rotation did a lot of good things this season, just not lately. In going seven innings and allowing three runs (two earned) in a no-decision, Edwin Jackson continued a record winless streak by the starters.
The starting rotation is 0-10 with a 6.78 ERA in its last 17 games.
The 17 games without a victory by the starters is an ongoing franchise record. The previous record of 15 was set in 1985.
What a weird season.
*Paul Konerko found a way to bring out the Eeyore act, saying he'd have no problem calling it a career if he didn't get an offer he liked. That seems highly unlikely and overdramatic, especially by his standards.
*J.J. notes that Andruw Jones has the fourth-highest WAR on the team among position players.
*Mike lists the number of unimpressive September performances by the Sox in recent years.
