Ryan Sweeney's six-game hitting streak is a model of efficiency. The Sox rookie only has seven hits over those six games, but they've resulted in six runs, either via Sweeney crossing the plate himself or driving somebody else in. Considering the Sox have had a save situation in five of those six games, it's safe to say each one has counted.
His line itself -- .269/.321/.385 -- won't scare anybody, but it tells only part of the story. Those numbers don't say the he's only struck out two times over his first 29 plate appearances. Nor do they take into account the way he busts ass down the first-base line in what seems a good two steps faster than Scott Podsednik, nor the picture-perfect slide
that beat Michael Cuddyer's throw today. He's also caught everything his way in left and center, called off Juan Uribe on a pop-up (easier said than done) and hasn't missed a cutoff man.
The only thing missing from his game right now is power, but when Darin Erstad is leading off everyday, Alex Cintron is the primary backup infielder and Pablo Ozuna leads the bench in at-bats, it's hard to say Sweeney doesn't fit in.
That's why
the allegedly difficult decision facing Ozzie Guillen when Jim Thome is ready to return doesn't seem all that hard. It's true that Sweeney needs to play every day, but there's no reason why he can't do that with the White Sox right now.
Who deserves it more? Rob Mackowiak and his sub-.600 OPS? Pablo Ozuna, who's still getting used to an outfielder's mitt? Luis Terrero, who is lucky to be on a 25-man roster anywhere?
What's funny is that Terrero has the best argument to stick because he's right-handed and can play all three outfield positions, and Kenny Williams should start to shop Mackowiak. Mack is far better player than Terrero, a far more useful player and I like what he brings to a ballclub, but to Ozzie Guillen, he's a square peg for a round hole.
That's hard to believe, because Mackowiak came to Chicago as the equivalent of Play-Doh -- press hard enough, and he'll fit in any gap. Ozzie has narrowed his skill set considerably over the past two years, however. He joined the White Sox having averaged 45 games or so in the infield a year -- with Chicago, he played third six times, and that's it.
In a better situation, Mack would be the primary backup to Joe Crede and Tadahito Iguchi while serving as the fifth outfielder. But with Pablo Ozuna taking all his infield at-bats and some in the outfield (and he's under contract next year), Mack's role is superfluous. He's another left-handed outfielder on a team with three others, and the third backup infield option on a team with four solid starters.
If I write any more about this, I'll start getting redundant,
since I wrote about it last year and the situation hasn't changed. In fact, the Sox's roster landscape pushes him further towards irrelevancy if Sweeney doesn't crash and Darin Erstad stays healthy. Brian Anderson, stinging the ball in Triple-A with regular at-bats, would be the next option anyhow, in order to preserve the right-left balance, and I doubt Williams could find a buyer for Scott Podsednik, who's on the verge of having no tools to speak of.
There has to be a National League team that could use Mackowiak optimally, and with the Sox having a few paper-thin areas in the organization, even a B-prospect would be a good haul.
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Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 12, Richmond 1
- Wiki Gonzalez had his second straight five-RBI game, this time hitting a grand slam. He's now slugging .520.
- Brian Anderson went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored; Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI.
- Andy Gonzalez was the only hitless Knight, and is mired in a 2-for-21 slump
- Shaun Babula struck out five over a four-inning start, allowing the only run; Dwayne Pollok, Carlos Vazquez and Corwin Malone threw five scoreless innings of relief.
- Jacksonville 12, Birmingham 11
- Jack Egbert hit his first wall of the season -- he gave up as many earned runs in 4 1/3 innings today (6) as he had all year. Making matters worse, the Barons committed five errors.
- Chris Getz had three hits and a walk; Sean Smith, Donny Lucy, Ricardo Nanita and Jeremy Frost had two hits; Thomas Collaro hit a three-run homer.
- Winston-Salem 8, Salem 6
- The Warthogs jumped on local (to me) kid Chris Salamida, who threw eight innings of one-hit ball his last game. He gave up eight hits in only 3 2/3 innings. Micah Schnurstein hit his ninth homer, Dave Cook hit his seventh, and Daron Roberts went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
- Aaron Cunningham went 0-for-4, but he did walk and steal his 11th base.
- John Lujan pitched a perfect inning for his third save, and has thrown six straight scoreless relief outings.
- Kannapolis 8, Greenville 4
- Jacob Rasner, hit hard in four of his last five outings, gave up only one earned run in five innings, walking none and striking out seven.
- Chris Carter went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBI -- he's hitting .326.
- Scott Madsen, Maurice Gartrell, Carter, Brandon Allen and Lee Cruz went 11-for-25 from the first five spots in the lineup with four doubles, two triples and six RBI.