Guillen far from blameless, but not to blame

In the top of the eighth inning during the White Sox’s 8-3 loss to the Yankees, the YES Network broadcast showed Bobby Jenks warming up in the bullpen.
Ozzie Guillen didn’t think Jenks was a viable option in the 10-inning game two days before, instead using Scott Linebrink and Randy Williams while preserving Jenks for a save situation that never materialized — even though Joe Girardi used Mariano Rivera for game-preservation purposes right in front of his eyes.
Now, with a six-run deficit in the second of two disheartening blowouts, Guillen decided Jenks needed some work.
“Oh you (expletive)!” I said to Guillen. From my apartment. With nobody else around.
As most of you know by now, I’m not prone to anger or frustration when watching the Sox. It’d be pointless to spend that much time watching the Sox if it raised the blood pressure. Usually I roll my eyes and move on — or, in the case of the three-run homer served up by Scott Linebrink, laugh rather hard.
This particular move put a bee in my bonnet, however, and I think it’s because bullpen management has been Guillen’s only real weakness this season. And one day after he ripped everybody in the clubhouse (himself included), he went on and made the same brain farts that have plagued his players.
Brain Fart No. 1: Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandy!
Entering the weekend, Randy Williams had roughly 40 innings of major-league baseball under his belt. That wouldn’t be particularly noteworthy if his professional career hadn’t started in 1998.
He’s a journeyman for a reason, yet it’s almost like Guillen considers him to be some sort of relief ace — at least based on the way Guillen handled him this series.
Friday: Williams throws eight consecutive pitches out of the strike zone before serving up Robinson Cano’s game-winning homer. It wasn’t that Guillen didn’t pull him, but neither he nor Don Cooper even made a mound visit for a head check.
Sunday: Williams botches a matchup by falling behind 3-0 on Eric Hinske before walking him on five pitches. Guillen leaves him in there to face Melky Cabrera — who hits lefties better than righties — and he promptly smashes a laser into the left-field corner.
I don’t particularly care that Guillen doesn’t like LOOGYs. Mike Scioscia shares the same mindset, and that hasn’t hampered his ability to handle relievers. He makes it simple for himself by not having any on the roster.
Guillen, meanwhile, makes a big deal about having a second lefty in the bullpen — and then he uses said second lefty against righties. Before Williams, it was Jimmy Gobble. Before Gobble, it was Horacio Ramirez, and Boone Logan, and Mike Myers, etc.
It’s a shame Neal Cotts couldn’t maintain his peak. A combination of Cotts and Matt Thornton would’ve been an ideal 1-2 punch for Guillen. A combination of Thornton and Garden Variety Two-Pitch Lefty, on the other hand, is toxic.
Brain Fart No. 2: Scott Linebrink.

I’ve suggested a new entry song for Scott Linebrink to the right. I don’t know about you, but when Linebrink escapes an inning unscored upon, I almost feel disappointed.
It would be a lot easier to justify these emotions if Guillen used Linebrink for the low-leverage work he deserves. Instead, Guillen keeps giving Linebrink chances to redeem himself in important situations, and he’s failing more often than not.
It’s basically Worthington’s Law come to life:

The weird thing is that this isn’t indicative of an overall approach by Guillen. Alex Rios is on Rocco Baldelli’s schedule despite a lack of mitochondrial issues, even though he earns 20-30 times the amount that Scott Podsednik does. It’s just a blind spot.
Talking to my dad, he likened Linebrink’s problems to the ones that eventually buried Cliff Politte — he had shoulder problems, lost the life on his fastball, needed to be perfect to compensate and never could be that fine with his location. It’s somewhat fitting, because Politte ended up being one of Guillen’s big problems in 2006.
And 2006 was probably the worst of Guillen’s career.
Sure, the Sox won 90 games that year, but Guillen got in his team’s way on multiple fronts:

• His leash on Politte and Cotts wasn’t short enough, and the Brandon McCarthy situation was perpetually awkward.
• He chewed out Sean Tracey, a moment his reputation still hasn’t shaken.
• He used Rob Mackowiak and Ross Gload in the worst way possible.
• He didn’t see eye-to-eye with Brian Anderson, which led to Mackowiak in center.
• He let the leadoff spot go to rot between Scott Podsednik and Pablo Ozuna.

Guillen also had a share of problems he couldn’t control — Buehrle’s bad second half, Jim Thome and Joe Crede’s bad backs, etc. — but bad strategy robbed him of any leeway he might’ve had.
This year, there aren’t many other areas in which Guillen has cost the Sox games. His biggest task — integrating young players — was a major weakness entering the season, and I think he’s done what was necessary:

• He showed enough faith in Chris Getz to promote him to the leadoff spot when Getz’s play deserved it.
• He moved Josh Fields to the second spot in a similar fashion, and gave him enough rope to hang himself.
• He gave Clayton Richard multiple shots at redemeption, and Richard rewarded him.
• He received Gordon Beckham against his will, but he let Beckham play through early struggles.

(You might even say he’s been too patient with Beckham, considering he seemingly hasn’t hit a line drive in weeks. He’s re-developed a little loop in his swing that gives him the same problems Fields expriences with “high” stuff. But I digress.)
On the other side of the coin, he showed no allegiance to Wilson Betemit (despite his veteran status) and Brent Lillibridge (despite his speed).
The other shortcomings are mostly out of his hands. It might be frustrating to watch Rios sit every other day, but he hasn’t exactly warranted a long look at this point with one walk and 14 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. Guillen’s hands are tied with a lack of serviceable pitchers in Triple-A, and Jake Peavy probably won’t help any time soon. The Sox are 6-for-71 in pinch-hitting — no matter who he’s called off the bench, they won’t come through. Plainly put, most of his team’s problems stem from the personnel, not from the deployment.
Any other problems might stem from things like failing to motivate, players tuning him out, losing the clubhouse, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. The Sox run a tight ship, but their problems often aren’t quiet ones.
Ultimately, Guillen’s not doing a bad job, and he’s shown the history of shaking off bad years by making some changes in his style — even if it’s with great reluctance.
He just picked the wrong day to underachieve, following up a weekend full of bad decisions (including two by Jayson Nix in the same day) by repeating one of his own. He had to call out the team for killing itself, but the least he could do is make sure he didn’t do the same thing one game later.
*****************************
As the death march continues to the Metrodome, some fine examples of gallows humor:

• Carl Skanberg illustrates the problem perfectly.
• Sing the Sox’ issues to the tune of “American Pie.”

*****************************
Minor league roundup:

• Charlotte 8, Norfolk 6
  • Wes Whisler did Wes Whisler things, allowing three runs despite 10 hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.
  • Jhonny Nunez recorded a four-out save, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out one.
  • Sergio Santos struck out four over two innings in his Triple-A debut, allowing a run on a walk and two hits.
  • Stefan Gartrell went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
  • Wilson Betemit doubled three times and drove in three.
  • Mike Restovich doubled and homered.
• Winston-Salem 7, Lynchburg 4
  • Justin Edwards still can’t strike anybody out: 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
  • Tyson Corley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the save, walking one and striking out one.
  • Brent Morel went 1-for-4; Justin Greene went 1-for-3 with a walk and his eighth steal.
• Greensboro 5, Kannapolis 4
  • Jon Gilmore went 1-for-4 with his fifth homer, a walk and three RBI. He also committed his 39th error.
  • Josh Phegley went 2-for-4 with a double; Brandon Short had three hits.
  • Stephen Sauer allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out four with no walks.
  • Dan Remenowsky allowed his first run in several weeks, but struck out four over two innings in the process. He now has 104 K’s over 59 1/3 innings.
• Elizabethton 15, Bristol 2
  • After a 1-2-3 first, Steven Upchurch unraveled in the second inning, giving up 10 runs on seven hits and three walks, including a homer. He left with two outs, and failing to retire any of the last six he faced.
  • Miguel Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double, his 14th.

Take a second to support Sox Machine on Patreon