SB Nation - Brent Lillibridge

Why Is Eric Bruntlett a Phillie?

David S. Cohen — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:19:21 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Eric Bruntlett has a really thick beard. . . . and that's about all I can say that isn't entirely negative about Eric Bruntlett this year.

It's hard to overstate how utterly worthless Bruntlett has been for the Phillies this year. Three numbers really put things in perspective:

425, 4, and -10.4

425: This is Bruntlett's rank in BA, OBP, and OPS out of 425 MLB hitters with 75 or more plate appearances. His batting average is .129. His OBP is .198. His OPS is .398. No, those aren't typos. To put .398 in perspective, ten current members of the Phillies have an individual component of OPS (SLG or OBP) higher than Brutnlett's OPS. In terms of rankings, Bruntlett is just slightly better than 420th in SLG. His .200 SLG is good for 423rd, beating out Brent Lillibridge and Greg Norton.

4: This is Bruntlett's OPS+. He's never been a stellar hitter, of course, but his OPS+ was 55 last year, which is incredible in comparison. 4? Did you know the stat could go that low for someone who earns a paycheck from a major league team?

-10.4: This is Bruntlett's VORP. This is actually good for 416th our of 425 players with 75 or more plate appearances. But, what makes Bruntlett's VORP particularly atrocious is that he posted this -10.4 VORP in only 98 plate appearances. Everyone in the majors who has posted a worse VORP has done so with many more plate appearances. Basically, Bruntlett doesn't play much, but when he does he really makes the Phillies worse. To put Bruntlett's VORP in perspective, Brad Lidge has a -11.0 VORP and we all know what he's done to hurt this team.

So why is Bruntlett a Phillie? Because he plays middle infield, so he's the only player on their active roster who can sub for Jimmy Rollins or Chase Utley. But there is no possible way that ~~Pablo Ozuna or~~ Miguel Cairo would be any worse than Bruntlett in that role. They're both righties just like Bruntlett, but they're both hitting to the tune of a .730+ OPS for the IronPigs. Neither is going to do anything special at the plate for the Phillies, but both are more worthy of filling the 25th roster spot than Bruntlett currently is. And I can't imagine there isn't someone who has cleared waivers in the past few weeks who wouldn't help this team.

I know that who gets an additional 30 plate appearances for the Phillies between now and the end of the season is not the most pressing issue of the day for the Phillies. But, right now Charlie Manuel is working with a 24 man team. Shouldn't he have 25 players at his disposal like every other manager?

White Sox and Leadoff or "Why Podsednik Seems So Good"

shaftr — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:19:05 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Finding a leadoff man is difficult. It's not a position, but it is a spot in the lineup that requires a certain set of skills. The ability to get on base and run are the two most important skills of a leadoff man. The 2009 Chicago White Sox have had an interesting group of guys try their hand at lead off.

Dewayne Wise

Origins: Before he was the man behind preserving a perfect game, Wise was the Opening Day leadoff hitter for the White Sox. That experiment lasted two games. Coming in to the season Wise was a 31 year old journeyman outfielder who played pretty well late last year for the White Sox. He didn't exactly earn the lead off position, but as you will see, there weren't that many other options.

Stats: .193 BA .235 OBP .312 SLUG 40 OPS+

Currently: Defensive replacement for White Sox.

Chris Getz

Origins: Getz won the starting 2nd baseman job out of Spring Training. He profiled as a light hitting 2nd baseman with a good eye. He primarily hit lead off for Chicago during April & May, but eventually was replaced by Scott Podsednik.

Stats: .266 BA .323 OBP .369 SLUG 79 OPS+

Currently:He lost his spot on top of the lineup, but has continued starting at 2nd as a Rookie.

Brent Lillibridge

Origins: Lillibridge joined the White Sox as part of the Javier Vazquez trade to Atlanta. He is a former top prospect that hasn't panned out due to his lack of hitting ability.

Stats: .162 BA .260 OBP .191 SLUG 20 OPS+

Currently: He was just called up to Chicago after Alexei Ramirez was hurt and the Peavy trade opened up a Roster spot. I don't believe he left the airport, since he was sent right back down before appearing in a game.

Jerry Owens

Origins: Jerry Owens was a former football player who has one skill: speed. The problem is you can't steal first base and he wasn't able to find other ways to get to first. He only lead off once.

Stats: .083 BA .267 OBP .083 SLUG -3 OPS+

Currently: He was out of Options so after being sent down, he was claimed by the Mariners. He is currently stealing bases in AAA.

Brian Anderson

Origins: Anderson is a former top prospect who has never lived up to his potential. He wasn't able to win the job in Spring Training over Dewayne Wise and wasn't able to produce after Wise lost the job in the regular season. He only hit lead off once, the game after the Owens attempt.

Stats: .238 BA .322 OBP .319 SLUG 67 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Boston Red Sox Organization on their AAA affiliate. He asked to be traded after he was sent down, so the White Sox traded him for Mark Kotsay.

Jayson Nix

Origins: The White Sox signed Nix in the Offseason. He was previously a former first round draft pick for Colorado. He's only lead off 5 times, in various spot starts during the season. He was in a competition with Getz for 2nd during Spring Training, but now he is a super-sub.

Stats: .225 BA .294 OBP .442 SLUG 87 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Infield during off days for the starters and has been a nice bench player. He has brought a solid glove and some good pop to the White Sox.

Scott Podsednik

Origins: A former World Series hero for the White Sox, Podsednik wasn't with an organization when the Season started. After trying out the above, Chicago signed him and he eventually became their leadoff man.

Stats: .298 BA .354 OBP .387 SLUG 92 OPS+

Currently: He continues to be productive in the leadoff spot for Chicago. He can still get infield hits, but he is a liability in the field.

Mark Kotsay

Origins: Former solid regular for the Oakland As, Kotsay bounced around to Atlanta and Boston. He started the season as a reserve for Boston but was demoted. He was acquired by Chicago for Brian Anderson.

Stats: .221 BA .253 OBP .279 SLUG 36 OPS+

Currently: He was just acquired but has started leadoff one time already. He'll likely be a bat off the bench and even though he doesn't have a hit for the White Sox yet, he has been making good contact.

That is quite a group of players listed above. If you gave me that list before the season started, I would have assumed Chicago was at the bottom of the AL Central. Podsednik's 92 OPS+ isn't amazing, but it is a lot better than any of the above could provide. It's also surprising of all the players listed above, it was a washed out veteran off the street that would be the most productive. If Chicago makes the playoffs this year, Podsednik might be more of a hero then he was in 2005.

This is a repost from rmlumley.com. Follow shaftr on Twitter @rmlumley.

This Week in White Sox Minor League Baseball

larry — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:42:57 -0000

Jared Mitchell

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This week:

The big news, of course, was the amateur draft, the primary vehicle by which teams replenish their minor league systems. With a plethora of early picks on day one, the White Sox made good on their rumored preference for a toolsy outfielder by picking Jared Mitchell out of LSU with their first pick. The lefty is considered to still be pretty raw, in large part because of his two-sport background in college. Strikeouts are the major flaw in his game and his defense is also questioned. However, he has superb speed and he's shown improvement in all categories over his college career. This pick is certainly not out of the Kyle McCulloch playbook as the risk is high but the potential reward is a five tool athlete in centerfield. You can watch him tonight on ESPN at 6pm, as LSU takes on Virginia in the CWS.
With their next pick, the Sox took Josh Phegley, a righty catcher out of Indiana University. While Phegley certainly has a nice bat, this pick has been viewed as a bit of an overdraft considering there is serious question regarding whether he has the defensive chops to stick at catcher. He supposedly called his own game at Indiana, but both his receiving skills and arm are considered subpar. However, Doug Laumann asserted that he will be a "fine defensive catcher."
With their second round pick, the Sox returned to high upside with Trayce Thompson, a high schooler out of California. There were some rumors that the UCLA-commit would be a difficult sign; however, the Sox don't usually take such risks this early and confirmation of his readiness to go pro came from his father. Thompson is very toolsy with projection galore. A centerfielder currently, the righty probably will end up in a corner spot.
The Sox wrapped up their OC compensation with David Holmberg, a lefty pitcher out of Florida high school. He's committed to Florida but is not expected to be a difficult sign. He has either an okay fastball in the upper 80s or a 93 MPH fastball; I suppose we'll find out. There seems to be no debate, however, that he has a plus curve. Like all lefties, he'll need to work on acquiring a good changeup. Scouts like his pitchability and clean delivery.
And the Sox wrapped up day one by taking Bryan Morgado with their third round pick. Morgado is a power lefty out of the University of Tennessee, featuring a fastball that reaches the mid 90s and a solid curve. Like Holmberg, development of a change will determine his role. Morgado had a very nice strikeout rate this season (75 in 52.1IP) but walked a whole lot of batters (36), resulting in an ERA well over 6 and relegation to the bullpen. Both BP's Bryan Smith and I had the same thought: a Dexter Carter-esque pick in which the Sox think they can make an adjustment to get him some control.
Overall, the Sox' 52 picks broke down like this: 41 from college and 11 from high school, 29 pitchers (18 right-handers and 11 lefties), 11 outfielders, 10 infielders and two catchers.
Getting back to upside currently in the minors, Dayan Viciedo continues to adjust: .282/.304/.372.
Wilson Betemit cleared waivers and was outrighted to Charlotte. Javier Castillo was traded to the Mets to make room at third base.
In other demoted player news, Brent Lillibridge can't make contact in AAA, either: .192/.232/.308 with a 29.5% K rate.
Charlie Shirek was promoted to Birmingham to take Poreda's spot and had a nice debut: 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. While he certainly doesn't project as a starter - the K rate from his debut isn't that anomalous - he's got nice sinking action on his pitches and he looks the type who will make a solid groundball inducing middle reliever in a couple years.
What's left of the Birmingham crew: Flowers, .276/.429/.500; Danks: .314/.383/.449; Allen: .289/.371/.458.

Corky Miller Is Slightly More Useful Than a Pitchback

The Cheat — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:52:19 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The Corky Miller is an elusive species. Seen here in his natural environment, this is one of the few known photos of Miller in action.

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The White Sox reached a couple of milestone seconds (as in not firsts) with their victory over the Indians Tuesday night.

They won a game in which they allowed more than three runs for just the second time this year, and Corky Miller, the non-Thome/bullpen hero of the game, recorded the Sox' second caught stealing of the year.

Miller pegged Grady Sizemore, who appeared to get a good jump, with a quick, accurate throw to the second base side of the bag. I didn't get to see a definitive replay to know if Chris Getz was able to get the tag on Sizemore; Miller might have gotten the benefit of doubt by getting the ball to Getz well ahead of Sizemore. At this point I'll take the outs any way the Sox can get 'em.

Minutes later, it looked like the Sox were going to waste an opportunity to put some easy insurance runs on the board when Josh Fields struck out with the bases juiced. But Miller (surprisingly) ripped a 2-RBI single through the hole to give the Sox some cushion.

It probably says a lot about how bad the Sox back-up backstops have been the last three seasons that we -- I'm assuming it's not just me -- get excited when a catcher comes off the bench to make two seemingly simple plays.

In addition to Miller's efforts, Jayson Nix is proving to be a capable bench player (and maybe more). He jacked his second homer Tuesday night, and has played solid defense everywhere he's been asked to play. As soon as Brian Anderson, who heads out on a rehab assignment Wednesday, comes back Brent Lillibridgeis surely gone.

Nix would seemingly make Wilson Betemit expendable as well. The only skills that Betemit brings to the table that Nix doesn't is the laughable ability to play first base and hit left-handed.

* * * * *

Clayton Richard gave the Sox exactly what they should have expected from him in his first turn in the 5th starters spot. He had to deal with a bizarre, inconsistent strike zone, and didn't figure to deep enough to be eligible for a win even in the most optimistic circumstances.

I don't know if he'll ever be able to survive the third trip through a major league lineup, so the Sox are going to have to have DJ Carrasco ready as his caddy every 5th day until they find a better option. Carrasco provided 2 innings of excellent relief to bridge to the high-leverage end of the bullpen tonight, which means Mark Buehrle better use his extra day of rest to work deep into tomorrow's game or it'll be a Turkey on Broadway kind of day.

* * * * *

I haven't really addressed the elephant in the room that is Jim Thome yet this year. I've thought it fruitless to complain about his lack of production when all the Sox other options are downright embarrassing. All we can do is hope that he starts to heat up, take some walks and MASH TATERS like we know can.

I'd say that his two homers Tuesday were a sign that he's back on track, but he was really struggling to get around the bases on Paul Konerko's gap-splitting double. I fear that his heel injury could be a lingering issue much like Konerko's thumb last year.

White Sox Should Opt for Center Field-less Lineup

The Cheat — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:21:45 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

When Brent Lillibridge hits puberty he might be able to make that play

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A majority of this post was written while watching the Texas Finale Sunday night

So I'm not exactly able to recap Sunday's game in a timely manner. But as I'm sitting here watching John Danks struggle with his location and lamenting a lineup full of 2007-esque roster-fodder, I wonder if trying something crazy might be the Sox best option in center field. And by crazy I mean Jayson Nix.

First let me say I wouldn't even bring up such a crazy suggestion if the Sox hadn't already backed themselves in the first place. I'm sure you're already aware of the circumstances, but allow me to review (I'm bored):

They entered spring training with three players who should have been competing for bench spots in a 3-way race for the starting center field position.
They traded away 4 center fielders – or 4 players much more capable of playing a major league CF than their spring training options – in the last 4 off-seasons.
When spring was over, they waived Jerry Owens, handed the incomprehensibly-linked CF/Leadoff duties to Dewayne Wise, who posted a sub-.300 OBP in his breakout '08 season, and went with Brian Andersonas the primary backup at all 3 outfield positions.
They carried Brent Lillibridge, who, despite drawing an inexplicable number of walks in his first 20 at-bats, is woefully unprepared to hit major league pitching. Lillibridge, who played CF at the University of Washington was their de facto 5th outfielder.
They failed to stash a journeyman AAAA Cfer (or much of anything else) at AAA Charlotte.
Jerry Owens, gone for good. Scott Podsednik, back for more of the same, which, and I'm sure you're aware, isn't good.

So that's how we got into this unpleasant situation. There were other factors as well. It's not like the Sox front office didn't realize they were thin at CF. The economic climate and the significant talent/opportunity cost of a trade had the Sox hoping rather than believing that one of their in-house candidates would step up his game to become a below-average major league player.

But Jayson Nix in CF? He's never played a single professional game at the position. Note: I wrote that Sunday night. Monday night he saw his first ever action in the outfield as a professional.

I'm not denying that it sounds like a bad idea. But that's kind of the point, the Sox only have bad options at CF. Why not give Nix an opportunity to prove he's a worse option than the ones we already know are bad, namely Scott Podsednik and Brent Lillibridge?

Obviously, I would prefer a seasoned outfielder in center field, but without spending talent and or money there just isn't a palatable in-house option.

Now if you remember the first week of spring training, I carried a not-so-subtle anti-Nix bias. I felt like I had to provide a counter-opinion to the beat writers who were ready to hand Nix the starting 2B job after 2 games. And as I touched on at the time and in the Statisctical Prospect series, Getz had the best minor league track record of the 2B candidates.

But a funny thing happened after I got to see Nix play a couple of games. I actually liked his approach at the plate. I couldn't be sure that what I was seeing wasn't just a hot streak, but I was impressed by his swing. Injuries shortened his spring and stopped me from making a full-throated endorsement, unless you count my more pointed criticisms of Lillibridge as an endorsement. But I'll say it now, after ~~one~~ two major league game(s) in a Sox uniform and maybe 3 or 4 spring training contests; Jayson Nix can play some baseball. Nix can be that below average center fielder the White Sox so desperately need right now, maybe more.

Why not move Alexei or Getz?

Nix is not a permanent solution, and might not even be an upgrade on the bad options the Sox are already running out to CF. So for the two weeks, or one month, or whatever time the Sox are without their replacement-level options I'd put Nix out there instead.

Alexei Ramirez was the opening day center fielder for the '08 Sox, why not move him? The truth is I might. I'd certainly think about it. He's made some great plays at SS, but he once again seems to be a little deficient on rangy plays to his right.

More than his defensive abilities, however, his contract status and my confidence in Gordon Beckham (in the long term) and Nix (in the short term) at SS should determine the decision. I've never heard any confirmation or denial on whether Ramirez would become a free agent at the end of his 4-year deal. If he is a free agent in just 3 years, I'm moving him to CF. If not, I'm more reluctant. I might move Getz instead.

In simpler terms, if Alexei's not sticking around too long, open up the SS position to be filled when Gordon Beckham is ready. If he is sticking around for a while, move the lower-upside yet still productive Chris Getz and clear 2B for your top prospect.

I know all of this sounds as if it's predicated on a group of rather inexperienced middle-infielders can step right in and play a major league center field. But I don't expect any of them to actually be a plus defender in CF. When the current options are Podsednik and Lillibridge, it's not like the Sox have much to lose by giving Nix a shot.

Carlos Quentin Powers Same Ol' Sox to Victory

The Cheat — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:05:13 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Carlos Quentin is powerful

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The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The White Sox rebounded from a pair of series losses and a lackluster doubleheader by returning to what they do best, hit homers.

AJ Pierzynski got things started with a solo-shot in the second to put the Sox up 1-0. That's were things stayed until the 5th.

Gavin Floyd wasn't particularly sharp. He couldn't throw his curveball for strikes. But he found his slider and was good enough to keep the Sox in what was a pitching duel for the first 4 innings. In the 5th inning, however, things got away from him.

Ichiro led off the inning with a routine groundball down the first base line. Paul Konerko had a bead on it, but it hit the top of the first base bag and bounced over his head. Konerko made a strong effort on the play, but he has the vertical leap of banana slug. With Ichiro, one the game's most efficient base-stealers, sitting on first in a 1-run game, Floyd became a bit preoccupied with the runner and forgot to focus on just getting outs.

The slide-stepping Floyd allowed a single to Jose Lopez on what we've come to know as a routine play with Joe Crede at third. But Wilson Betemit was manning the hot corner on this day. A still-distracted Floyd then gave up a deep fly double to General Soreness before finally reverting to his long windup and retiring the next three batters.

Floyd's stuff just isn't the same from the slide-step. In close games his best course of action might be showing a few different moves to first, varying his set time in the stretch, and going to the slide step sparingly; focus mainly on the guy in the batter's box.

The M's only stole one bag off Floyd, but they always seemed to be in his head; and perhaps the rest of the Sox. Brian Anderson and Alexei Ramirez teamed up for the one of the most frustrating innings in recent memory. They reached base consecutively, Anderson with a walk and Ramirez with a single. But both decided to make feeble steal attempts and be thrown out easily. Anderson's effort was particularly frustrating not just because of his small lead and poor jump, but because Alexei's seeing-eye-single through the right side could have put runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Instead, no Sox runner got more than 85 feet past first base in the inning.

The Sox offense that started to get to get to Erik Bedard in the 5th but couldn't push across a run, finally broke through in the 6th. Wilson Betemit had his first meaningful hit of the season with an RBI double and Alexei added to his good day at the plate (2-2, BB, SF) with a sac fly to pull the Sox even.

That's when the Sox offense of old took hold. Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye teamed up to go back-to-back in the 7th. Quentin added an RBI single in the 8th to give Bobby Jenks a 3-run cushion and an easy save opportunity.

Roster in Flux

The Sox seem to have weathered an early injury bug with Jim Thome and Chris Getz on the bench, with both hopefully avoiding the DL. Thome is due to test his heel Thursday when the Sox will make a decision his status, and Getz should back in the lineup this weekend. But as those two come back, the Sox could be getting even thinner at the weakest position, center field.

Brian Anderson apparently tweaked his right oblique in his second at-bat, and was pulled from the game after fouling off a pitch in the 7th inning. Anderson was said to have been in "obvious discomfort" after the game, leaving the Sox with a series of poor options in center.

Jerry Owens would have figured to have been one of those options, but Owens seemed to make a special effort to shake his teammates hands as he was leaving the clubhouse with his bags in tow. The Sox will not make an official announcement about any roster moves until sometime on Friday, which should give the beat guys ample time to write their Scotty Pods profiles.

But Jayson Nix' return from the DL seems like a much more obvious option to me. Nix would seemingly allow the Sox to further hide Brent Lillibridge's not-ready-for-prime-time bat by shifting him to defensive replacement duties on the middle infield and replacing Owens as the 4th outfielder option in the outfield; all of which depends on a healthy Anderson. So unless you like the thought of a Lillibridge/Podsednik platoon, root for Anderson and the magical healing powers of Herm Schneider.

The USCF Pitch F/X speeds were inflated by a few MPH for the entire M's series.

Three-Sub Saturday: White Sox' Secret Weapon

The Cheat — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:20:42 -0000

I was idly browsing through the White Sox splits last night when I noticed that the #9 spot (.412/.492/.471 entering Saturday's game) has been the most productive spot in the order. Maybe Ozzie Guillen noticed too.

Because before the game, Ozzie penciled in the slow-starting Alexei Ramirez at the very bottom of the Sox lineup.

Then Ozzie might have remembered that the Sox were 2-0 on the previous 2 Three-Sub Saturdays. So Chris Getz would be a late scratch, something about a finger, with Brent Lillibridge, Corky Miller, and Jerry Owens filling the 3-sub requirements. Ramirez would move back to his usual 8th spot, but hit like the Sox usual #9 hitter.

Ramirez hit his 5th career grand slam, his first homer of the year, when Shawn Camp hung a 3-2 slider in the Sox 6-run 5th inning. There were lots of virtual Alexei's Back! high-fives in the gamethread, but that was a brutal pitch by Camp. As Stone said in the first series, if you can't hit that pitch you're selling cars somewhere. Credit Ramirez for hitting a pitch he probably wouldn't have last week, but it's a ball we should expect him to crush.

Things didn't start out well for the Sox. It appeared to be more of the same from Friday night's shellacking, as the Blue Jays sprayed hits to all fields in the first two innings. But Mark Buehrle seemed to pick up on the Fastball In The Zone Equals Line Drive phenomenon, and worked his secondary stuff over the plate with his fastball out of the zone to pick up his 3rd victory in 4 starts. He was pulled after just 92 pitches thanks to an 8-run cushion and a well-rested high-leverage end of bullpen.

Corky Miller and the Three-Sub Saturday lineup are now averaging nearly 8 runs a game.

White Sox Walk All Over Kazmir, Rays

The Cheat — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:04:44 -0000

Twice Ozzie Guillen has penciled Brent Lillibridge atop the lineup against a lefty, and twice Lillibridge has drawn a 4-pitch leadoff walk. Amazingly, after posting a dismal 24-1 K/BB mark this spring and poor K/BB marks above A-ball, Lillibridge now has 6 walks against 4 strikeouts. Of course, he only has one hit so far this season, which comes to an .068 average. But if he's going to continue to be a modern day Eddie Gaedel, I'll take it.

Alexei Ramirez had another 0-for, but at least he was trying to swinging at ball in the same zip code as the strike zone. Ozzie Guillen and Greg Walker talk about Ramirez' need to adjust.

"He's a decent bad-ball hitter," said Walker of Ramirez. "Nobody is a good terrible ball pitcher, and he's swinging at some terrible pitches right now. He has to make adjustments and get the ball in the strike zone or at least close." "This is the big leagues. This isn't Equador or Costa Rica you're facing," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Right now, he's trying to do too much. He's trying to get out of his slump with one at-bat. You got to take one at-bat at a time. Take your best at-bat and give yourself a chance."

Colon is Grand, Sox Bullpen Not-So-Much

The Cheat — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:31:17 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

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It's not often that a game turns against a team immediately after they make a fine defensive play, but that's exactly what happened to the White Sox Friday night.

Bartolo Colon was well on his way to giving the Sox his second quality start when things started to fall apart. With two outs in the 6th inning and the Sox up 3, Pat Burrell grounded a ball in the hole between first and second. Chris Getz ranged far to his left on the outfield grass and made a great play to get to the ball. But when he quickly got to his feet, he looked towards third instead of coming up firing to first to get the stone-footed Burrell.

It was the second time this season Getz has made such a play. In the opening series against the Royals he fired home to hold a runner at third. On that occasion, it was hailed as a good play because that run didn't score. Today he wasn't so lucky.

Colon would go on to walk the next man, and get pulled for Matt Thornton. If Getz makes the play on Burrell, Colon probably starts the 7th with the Sox up 3 or more. Instead Thornton comes on to face a pinch-hiting Ben Zobrist, and in three pitches the Sox were behind.

I don't mean to pick on Getz, who had his second straight good game and has the Sox only legitimate run-scoring hit w/ RISP this series, because cleary (in the non-ironic sense) the bullpen, which needed 3 men to get one out in the 6th, was the goat of this game. It's just frustrating to think that he might have been able to make that play and prevent the 6th inning meltdown. I still haven't seen an angle that allows me to make a judgement on whether Getz would have been able to get Burrell at first base. It's an entirely different game if he makes that throw.

The loss echoes the losses of last May/June when Thornton and Scott Linebrink gave up walk-offs to these same Rays. Coincidentally, Thornton was walked-off by Gabe Gross, who was the scheduled batter tonight only to by pulled for Ben Zobrist.

* * * * *

Colon has given the Sox every reason to be optimistic about their prospects to compete for the AL Central crown with fine outings in his firs two trips to the mound. Well, maybe as many reasons as possible while throwing only one pitch. Seriously, Colon threw all but one pitch Friday between 87 and 92 MPH.

He's a one-pitch pitcher, with a minuscule room for error. But in his first two outings, his control has been impeccable. I don't think the Sox can count on him to have that kind of control every time he takes the mound, but as long as he's healthy he should give the Sox a chance to win; which is probably the most they could have asked for when they signed him.

* * * * *

I expected Alexei Ramirez to struggle at times this season, but I never would have predicted he would have me thinking that Brent Lillibridge might be a better option at the plate. I'm sure most of you know I'm no fan of Lillibridge as a major league batter, but Alexei has taken some of the ugliest cuts and undisciplined swings this season; the thought is not completely out of line, though it says more about what I think about Alexei's approach than Lillibridge's major league viability.

* * * * *

Ozzie Guillen told Mark Gonzales that he's making a conscious effort to limit his starters' workload in the early season, which is something we took notice of last year.

"Early in the season, it doesn't matter who is on the mound," Guillen said before Friday night's game. "I'm not going to overuse them. You see Danks threw the ball well, but [101] pitches and he was out. We have to build those guys a little to make sure we keep them strong all summer."

Also from that notes column, Bobby Jenks says he's "saving" his curveball for later. After seeing what Bobby pulled out in the late season last year, it's not hard to believe.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not a terrible idea to stick with a mostly-fastball approach in lower-leverage saves. But Bobby, please, for the sake of our sanity, it's perfectly OK to bust out the curve if it's a 1-run game.

White Sox Early Season Offensive Struggles and Taxes

The Cheat — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:11:32 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

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It was a sign of things to come when Josh Fields hit a triple in the first inning, only to watch Carlos Quentin strike out meekly and have Jim Thome follow suit on just 3 pitches.

Or when Brian Anderson led off the 3rd with a 5-pitch walk -- Seriously Detroit, how do walk Anderson in three straight plate appearances? On a total of 13 pitches? -- only to get thrown out by about 5 feet.

Or when Paul Konerko and AJ Pierzynski led off the 5th with back-to-back singles, with Konerko unable to advance to third on a ball roped at his feet into right field, only to have Alexei Ramirez bunting ahead of Anderson and Brent Lillibridge. Ramirez failed to get the bunt down, but the result of his at-bat was just the same, putting runners on second and third for two replacement-level talents at the plate. Needless to say Anderson and Lillibridge didn't come up with the big hit.

The White Sox were never in the game again.

Jose Contreras was locked in a pitcher's duel with Armando Galarraga in the 5th inning, but worked himself into a jam he couldn't get himself out of -- as tends to happen when you walk Josh Anderson and Ramon Santiago. Seriously, why can't the Sox get that guy out this year? Over the next 4 innings, Contreras and the back end of the Sox pen took to making the game such a laugher that I'll probably have this entry posted before the end of the game. And there might be a Jerry Owens sighting.

Where's Jose's Forkball?

At the tail end of Contreras' outing, Hawk and Steve Stone were talking about how encouraging his first two trips to the mound have been. Stone made a comment something like "his forkball is there," which was the exact opposite of what I think I've observed in the early going.

So I headed over to brooks baseball, which uses MLB's woefully inaccurate pitch recognition algorithm, mis-labelling just about everything Count throws. But Contreras' forkball is easy enough to spot simply based on velocity. He doesn't throw a curveball, and his rarely thrown changeup averages about 80 MPH, so anything between 68 and 77 MPH is definitely a forkball.

Going through his first two starts, Contreras has thrown 13 forkballs in two games, spanning 182 pitches. That works out to about 7% of his pitches thrown. According to Fangraphs, which uses a much more accurate pitch recognition model, he has thrown forkballs for about 22% of his pitches on his career, and almost 25% last season.

Now to be fair, for about 75 pitches Contreras did have better control of his fastball today, and genuinely looked like he was getting closer to being back at 100%. But I don't think Count is long for the big leagues as a fastball/slider/changeup pitcher. He needs to get back to being a fastball/forkball/slider guy.