It was only a matter of time before National League rules would pose a problem for Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox, and of course it had to happen under the spotlight of the crosstown series
Friday afternoon.
John Danks had completed six innings in under 90 pitches for the first time since
April 26 and was growing stronger as the game went on, which is an oddity so far in his young career. Unfortunately, he had the misfortune of batting first in the seventh, and Guillen chose to pinch-hit for him and rely on his bullpen to carry the weight the rest of the way.
The decision wasn't wrong, because Juan Uribe delivered a leadoff single in his place. And the idea of bringing in Octavio Dotel to face lefty-crushing Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez seemed pretty solid. I certainly wouldn't have bet on them both homering to tie the game before Dotel recorded an out.
Alas, that's the rub with the National League. If the game had been played in U.S. Cellular Field, Danks would've come out for the seventh for the first time
in more than a month with Ozzie ready to go to the bullpen at the first -- or maybe second -- sign of trouble. Ozzie's standard practice of handling starters doesn't work as well in the National League, and he was forced to make up his mind earlier than he probably would have liked.
Danks
wasn't exactly happy with the decision, though he couldn't overargue it:
"Obviously, Juan Uribe's a better fit to hit than I am. It was warm. I
felt like I was pretty efficient, but at the same time I totally
understood. To a certain degree, I agreed with Ozzie's move.''
Under different circumstances, this would've been the perfect time to let Danks try wearing the big boy pants. His next start will take place under the American League rulebook, so he should expect to be rewarded for an efficient outing if he can start stringing them together.
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Two thoughts about the bullpen, which I will deftly tie together:
No. 1: Matt Thornton has been really, really, really good. The posturepedic lefty has more strikeouts (35) than innings pitched (28), and more innings pitched than baserunners (26). Opponents are batting .135 off him.
No. 2: Dotel seems ... off. I can't quite put my finger on it with numbers, because there's nothing in his line drive, strikeout or walk rates that would indicate trouble. Maybe it's because it's been three weeks since he pitched a drama-free outing, but it seems like he's just not as sharp with his locations. Maybe I'm wrong, and feel free to offer a counterargument.
Even if Dotel is fine, it's worth noting that he's already pitched more innings this year (34 1/3) than he did in all of 2007 (30), and he's coming close to topping his total of his previous two seasons combined. Another way to put it is that this is the most he's worked since 2004, and we're not even at the halfway point in the season.
It might be a good time to start giving Thornton some full seventh innings in an effort to even the workload.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 8, Lehigh Valley 2
- Jason Bourgeois went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored from the leadoff spot, and is now hitting an even .400 in June (30-for-75).
- Brad Eldred was Captain Three True Outcomes -- he hit a three-run homer, walked and struck out twice in four plate appearances.
- Danny Richar went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
- Wes Whisler allowed two runs over six innings, allowing seven hits and no walks while striking out two.
- Scott Sauerbeck, Ehren Wassermann and Mike MacDougal each tossed a scoreless inning.
- Birmingham 2, Jacksonville 1 (10 innings)
- Aaron Poreda struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk.
- John Lujan allowed a solo homer over three innings of relief, and Jon Link picked up the win with a perfect inning.
- Victor Mercedes hit a solo homer, and Stefan Gartrell went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Winston-Salem 7, Wilmington 6
- Brett Bonvechio, who I'd never heard of before (26-year-old first baseman), doubled twice and drove in two.
- Francisco Hernandez drove in two runs; John Shelby went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Ricky Brooks picked up the win with a perfect inning, in which he struck out the side.
- Kannapolis 5, West Virginia 2
- Jim Gallagher hit his sixth homer, a three-run shot.
- Anderson Gomes had two hits and two RBI.
- Miguel Socolovich allowed two runs over six innings; Tyson Corley and Henry Mabee combined for three scoreless innings.
- Bristol 7, Burlington 6
- Andrew Garcia homered and drove in four runs.
- Juan Silverio and Jedon Matthews each had two hits.
- Brent DeFoor struck out four over two shutout innings of relief.
- Billings 4, Great Falls 1
- Cody Allen took the loss, allowing two runs over five innings, striking out five.
- Great Falls was held to three hits.