Five things I'm looking forward to watching in the second half:
No. 1: A few good performances from Jose Contreras ... please? The White Sox definitely have a pitcher to trade -- the only question is whether it's Contreras, Jon Garland or Javier Vazquez.
A trade that includes one of the latter two would signal that the Sox don't plan to be competitive in 2008. That's not necessarily the worst thing in the world, because their return -- especially Vazquez's,
with 194 strikeouts over his last 193 innings combined with a 3.73 ERA -- should have value. It just wouldn't make for fun blogging.
Dealing Contreras, meanwhile, probably wouldn't affect the short- or long-term scope in any fashion, and even if they can only get a mid-grade prospect, I'd do it. Considering his age, health issues and general discomfort everybody gets from watching him, I fail to see how this would be a bad thing, as much as I appreciate what he meant to the team in 2005.
No. 2: The continued development of Josh Fields. My biggest fear regarding Fields' game was his strikeout rate, but if he can live with it, so can I. He generally swings at good pitches (the walks are climbing), and when he makes contact, it's solid contact. It's far better than the alternative -- Fields compromising his swing and 6-3ing up the place.
No. 3: Watching Mark Buehrle without impending sadness. At least for the next year and a half, I won't have to root for the Red Sox every five days.
No. 4: The evolution of the middle infield. For the first time in several years, the Sox may actually have options. Of course, they'll actually have to play Andy Gonzalez at short to know for sure. I don't think Gonzalez has the glove to stick there, but considering he has an above-average OBP in his first go at the major-league level, it'd be nice to give him a week to see if he doesn't go down in flames.
Danny Richar will be fun to watch come September, although I do think Tadahito Iguchi still has a future on this team for no longer than a two-year deal.
No. 5: Paul Konerko and Jim Thome. Konerko is slugging .656 since the start of June, and while it's too little, too late for this season, it could be worse. Paulie is still on the hook for $36 millon over the next three years, so the Sox couldn't afford a precipitous early decline in more ways than one.
Konerko and Thome can easily disappear due to slumps or health issues, but if they're in the lineup, they combine to make more of a middle of the order than the Sox had in 2005. If Kenny Williams can provide some guys to get on base around them -- Fields and Gonzalez are a start, though not a permanent solution -- the offense can be tolerable.
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Two more hitting coaches were fired: The Mets
pushed out Rick Down and brought in Rickey Henderson, and
Arizona replaced Kevin Seitzer with Rick Schu. Both teams are
in the bottom third of MLB offenses, but both teams are still hitting better than the White Sox.
What's interesting is that the former team is hiring somebody never known for helping others, and the latter is rehiring the hitting coach who led
the Diamondbacks' league-worst offense in 2004.
I really have no idea what this means, except that when you combine it with
Greg Walker's perpetual shrugging at the Sox's problems during the first three months of the season, it makes you wonder how hitting coaches are evaluated in the first place aside from results.
(Barely related note: Kevin Seitzer is still
the most accomplished baseball player born on my birthday. That saddens me more than it should.)
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The Sox's bullpen plague hasn't only affected players who have entered it this season -- even guys strongly considered for a major-league role in spring training are feeling the effects.
Take
Adam Russell, who was a golden boy towards the end of the spring. Since June, he's rocking a 1.89 WHIP and has only struck out 26 over 42 2/3 innings. Even today's start, in which he allowed only one earned run over five innings, he still gave up seven hits and three walks.
The Trib's Mark Gonzalez noted in a mailbag last week that
Russell's velocity had dipped into the low 90's. That makes him like every other Sox reliever, save Boone Logan. Good times.
Also from Birmingham: The Barons had more errors (4) than hits (3)
in a 4-0 loss to Jacksonville today.
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The rest of the round-up:- Myrtle Beach 4, Winston-Salem 3
- Derek Rodriguez pitched six solid innings, but John Lujan blew the save and took the loss when he allowed a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
- The Warthogs had two hits, and both of them left the yard. Daron Roberts hit a solo shot, and Javier Castillo hit a two-run bomb.
- Kannapolis 13, Greenville 3
- Chris Carter hit a three-run homer, his 19th of the year.
- Lee Cruz and Maurice Gartrell also went deep, and those two and Brandon Allen had three hits apiece.
- Matt Long threw a quality start, giving up three runs on nine hits over six, striking out six. Noe Rodriguez struck out five over his two innings of work.
- Charlotte OFF