Looking for a little bit of a bright spot during
an awful, awful game in which Jose Contreras threw his glove into the stands and Ozzie Guillen threw David Aardsma back to Charlotte for the second time this year, let's talk about Rob Mackowiak.
Mackowiak's three-run homer was only his second hit of the month in 10 at-bats. However, the other hit was a triple, and he also has three walks in July. In other words, he could be laying down the foundation for an impressive monthly OPS. That would be huge, because while the Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye situations have overshadowed everybody else, Mackowiak could be one of the most tradeable commodities the Sox have if he gets on a hot streak.
(Not to mention that he entered tonight's game as a replacement for Paul Konerko, the first time in Mack's Sox tenure that he has played first base. Hey, National League teams, he's more than just an outfielder!)
If the Sox don't deal him at the deadline, they could either exercise a $3.25 million option or a $300,000 buyout. But I'm looking at next year and Ozzie Guillen's usage patterns over the last year and a half, and I don't see any reason to spend either amount of money. It's a shame, because a properly-utilized Mackowiak could've solved a few problems, but somewhere along the line it'd been decided that Pablo Ozuna and Alex Cintron were more worthy of developing into "utility" men.
At any rate, the Sox have up to four left-handed outfield options next year. Ryan Sweeney will probably get the first crack at an open outfield spot, Jerry Owens could get another look if he stops disgusting Ozzie Guillen, and Brittle Brothers Darin Erstad and Scott Podsednik could -- not should,
could -- be back as well.
Pablo Ozuna is guaranteed $1.25 million for next season (not one of Kenny Williams' better decisions), so he'll be backing up Josh Fields or Joe Crede at third, with Andy Gonzalez another option on the hot corner. And with left-handed Danny Richar emerging as a possible starting second base candidate, Mackowiak is no longer necessary.
There's only one way Mackowiak might be worth the money -- put Josh Fields in left, give Mackowiak third base every day and see what happens -- but that would completely clash with everything we know so far. Otherwise, while I've always liked Mackowiak's ability to draw a walk and his above-average speed and arm, those tools aren't worth $3.25 million on this team. If he's still on this team past July 31, I would be surprised, and maybe a little perturbed.
**************************
The infatuation with Nick Masset continues -- Ozzie has him pegged
as a starter during Friday's doubleheader if the Sox don't need to use him Thursday, even though Masset has 1) more walks than strikeouts, 2) more hits than innings pitched, and 3) a 6.95 ERA. That's one reason why I'm not looking forward to seeing a starter dealt -- it's a significant possibility that Masset would get several more chances to fail.
Not only does Floyd deserve an extended shot, but
Charlie Haeger has dusted himself off after an awful start to post five consecutive encouraging outings, including his six-inning, two-run start tonight. He's allowed only seven earned runs over that stretch, good for a 1.93 ERA, and his peripherals match -- 35 strikeouts over those 32 2/3 innings, with only 13 walks.
I'm not sold on putting a knuckleballer in the rotation, but when Jose Contreras is just as erratic every fifth day and receiving a salary 20 times higher than Haeger's, it's hard to call trying Haeger a
bad idea.
**************************
Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 7, Durham 3
- Richar hit a two-run homer and drew a walk for the second straight game, and Brian Anderson went deep and also walked twice. Earl Snyder homered twice.
- Backing up Haeger's fine start, Dewon Day is 3-for-3 in scoreless outings for the Knights. He walked one and struck out two in his frame, and could be the one called up to replace Aardsma.
- Birmingham 7, West Tenn 2
- Adam Russell pitched a strong six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out five.
- Victor Mercedes homered during his second straight three-hit game.
- Cory Aldridge and Chris Kelly had two-hit games, and Ricardo Nanita added a pair of RBI.
- Winston-Salem 13, Frederick 2
- After a June in which he posted a 2.32 ERA over 31 innings, Derek Rodriguez started July off by allowing one earned run over seven innings.
- Micah Schnurstein went 4-for-5 with three RBI, and Cole Armstrong had his third consecutive multi-hit game.
- Javier Castillo and David Cook each went deep.
- Kannapolis PPD