I don't have time to put together recap tonight. Let's just say that if the Sox managed to lose that game on the back of another poor bullpen performance, I would have gone off on the bullpen construction. Because if Ozzie doesn't have enough confidence in his non-Linebrink/Jenks right handers to pitch them in a tight game, we need Ehren Wasserman here now.

I'll save the persuasive argument for another night, because it appears that Wassermann is on his way. 670 The Score reported that Mike MacDougal has been optioned to Charlotte "with a corresponding move coming Sunday." I can't say for sure that it's Wassermann being called up, as the Sox will probably need a 6th starter for the Twins series. So it's either Wasserman, with Nick Masset taking the spot start, or Lance Broadway with Wasserman in tow behind him.

So even though the Sox continued to look very ordinary on their way to a split with the Orioles--not a good team, despite their record--Saturday was a good day. Wassermann appears to be on his way.

Not much went right for the White Sox and John Danks on Wednesday night. Danks was pulled with 1 out in the third when he forced Ozzie's second trip to the mound of the inning by walking in a run ushering in Masset time.

Danks failed to make it through the lineup twice, facing only 16 batters in his outing. Of those 16, he walked 3 and struck out two. Simple math tells us that 11 balls were but into play, with 7 of them finding a soft spot in the defense. All 7 hits Danks allowed were singles.

Rounding up Danks outing is a simple one. He was falling behind hitters, and paying for it. When he wasn't falling behind hitters, he was unable to put them away. The Twins didn't really hit him hard, but he was visibly out of sorts with the number of piranhas circling the bases.

Nick Masset came on in "relief" and quickly turned a bad situation worse, clearing the the bases of inherited runners and allowing the games first extra-base hit. After limiting damage for a few innings, allowing the Sox to briefly make a game of it with solo homers by Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, and Joe Crede, Masset blew up in his fourth inning of work. He walked Delmon Young -- No easy task. Delmon entered the day without a walk in his last 97 trips to the plate -- after being ahead 0-2, then gave up a grand slam to Jason Kubel on the next pitch.

The Twins had scored just 23 runs in their first 8 games (2.75 R/G), yet managed to score 5 runs in an inning twice Wednesday. Not surprisingly, Masset was involved in both innings.

Trivially, the Sox have yet to have a lead after the 3rd or 4th inning this season.

* * * * *

Ozzie Guillen has remained true to his word. He's got it turned up to 11, continuing to call out umpire and Sopranos reject Phil Cuzzi.

"I don't like that guy behind the plate, and I'm going to let him know," said Guillen, during his pregame meeting with the media. "It's one reason if you don't like me as a man and what I do, I respect that. But if you don't like me, and all of a sudden you're going to take it out on my players, you're wrong.

"That's unprofessional, and I just let him know I didn't like him the first day I saw him, and I think he feels the same way about me. Every time he's behind the plate, we might have a problem. We might. We have. I think the last couple times behind the plate, we have a problem."

Ozzie must have known the Sox were gonna stink up the joint Wednesday, so he decided to take the heat off his players. That Ozzie, he's sly like a, well, like a something.

* * * * *

Andy Sisco, obtained from the Royals before the '07 season in exchange for Ross Gload, will undergo Tommy John surgery. Of all the moves Kenny Williams made last off-season, the Sisco deal was on the one I liked best. I thought acquiring a high-upside arm in exchange for a perennnially underutilized career back-up was a great move. Of course, I was basing that assumption off Sisco, who lacked in minor-league seasoning, spending all of 2007 in the Charlotte rotation. The Sox put him on the 2007 opening day roster over Boone Logan, and he never settled into a role.

Sisco was always a bit of a long-shot to succeed, but the Sox, like the Royals before them, never seemed to be focused on the long-term with Sisco. With the injury, Sisco is probably done with the Sox, and maybe done with baseball altogether. He'll be out of options next year, so if the Sox elect to keep him (doubtful) he'll have to go straight from the DL to the bigs with only a rehab assignment to get things straightened out.

In short, adios Andy.

• Mark Buehrle is quite ordinary against good teams -- Bull Pain pointed it out in the gamethread; Buehrle has markedly worse numbers both last year and in his career against "good" teams. This is obviously true of all pitchers in general, but it seems more pronounced with respect to Buehrle.

  Buehrle didn't look bad at all until the runs started coming. But when he starts to look bad, you almost have to wonder how he gets guys out at all.

  A common refrain around these parts in the second half of '06 was that Buehrle really needed to slow down when he started getting hit around. It's almost as if one of his greatest assets, his quick to the plate style, starts to work against him as he pounds the zone with hittable pitch after hittable pitch. I'd like to see him take a walk around the mound a little bit during one of these blowups. If nothing else just to try something new, when nothing else seems to be working

• Orlando Cabrera will find many different ways to cost the Sox runs -- Cabrera drew a walk and scored on Jim Thome's HR in the first, but it was all down hill after that. He got a slow read on a groundball back up the middle to start Buehrle's implosion, then failed to even pick up a routine double play ball by the next hitter. Buehrle induced another near double play from the next batter, recording one out, before the wheels came off.

  Cabrera didn't just cost the Sox runs with his glove. He had a pair of gaffes in the 8th to help the Indians get out of a bases loaded, nobody out situation. I was not aware of it until I saw CSN display the stats, but Cabrera has a terrible record with the bases loaded (.209/.233/.278 entering the game). That's not something you expect from someone who is described as "a gamer" or an "adept handler of the bat."

  Cabrera's grounder to short, which allowed Jhonny Peralta to throw out a clearly safe Joe Crede at home, would have been bad enough, but Cabrera immediately followed it up with another mistake that cost the Sox. His overzealous takeout slide at second resulted in a double play that erased the Sox threat in the 8th. It was a debatable call, one that I initially called brutal, but it was probably the right one, or at least it's defensible. Those two calls in the 8th might have decided the game, and certainly should have elicited more of a reaction out of Ozzie Guillen.

• Guillen is too kind, too gentle -- Guillen vowed to be more fiery this season, but given two golden opportunities to lay into an umpire in the 8th inning, he chose to have a civil conversation instead. I know Guillen's fiery reputation is a bit undeserved, but sometimes I think he takes special care to avoid falling into the stereotype, even if the situation calls for it.

• Jim Thome can hit lefties -- Sometime this off-season I honestly thought about suggesting Thome leadoff against lefthanders. It was only after I took a better look at the numbers (.209/.325/.344, 14 HR since 2005) that I realized he didn't even get on base enough in those situations to justify the unorthodox move.

  It was a pleasant surprise to see Thome go deep twice off of a pitcher as tough as Sabathia, but I still feel like it will be the exception to the rule. It took him until July 2nd last season for him to hit his second HR of the year off a lefty.

• Nick Masset is major league pitcher. Against Cleveland. In the first two weeks of the season -- Masset began last season with 9.2 innings of solid work against the Indians before he faced another club. He then posted an ERA over 8 in his next 29 innings before closing out his major league tour with another scoreless outing against the Indians. It's almost as if the Indians are making him look good when they have these big leads just to ensure that Masset is on the roster for the rest of the season.

  In all seriousness, Masset pitched well today, allowing just 2 baserunners in 4+ innings. He helped make what could have been a disaster of a game into an exciting game with a terrible outcome.

• Alexei Ramirez is not ready for prime time -- Ramirez was the lone Sox hitter who failed to record a hit on Monday, and struck out 3 times. Two of those strikeouts were on just three pitches. Alexei also had an interesting day in the field, bumping into Jermaine Dye on a pretty routine ball in the gap to start the bottom of the first, and making a diving play on a misread of a shallow fly ball to center later in the game.

  It would be hypocritical of me to suggest that one game is enough evidence against to call for Ramirez' demotion after doing almost exactly the opposite in the previous two bullet points. But it does indeed look like Ramirez will have a significant adjustment period at the big leagues. Thankfully, if his final plate appearance against Sabathia is any indication, he does appear to be a quick study.

• You guys really have a lot to say -- We had something like 800 comments during the game even though things really got shaky after 6th inning. I know our tech team is working hard on the performance issues, and we'll be running like a well oiled machine soon. For the most part, however, the new features have made the gamethreads a whole lot better.

Nick Masset didn't know he made the White Sox active roster as their seventh reliever until he was informed by a couple of reporters following Saturday's Civil Rights Game with the Mets.

The manner in which the news was delivered didn't lessen the excitement for the right-hander.

"All right," said Masset with a smile. "Yes, I'm pumped. I had no idea."

Ozzie Guillen had announced the team's final move after the Mets' 3-2 victory, with Masset getting the nod over Ehren Wassermann for the honor of 25th man. Masset had a 7.06 ERA over 21 2/3 innings this spring, compared to Wassermann's 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.

Wasserman was the second-most effective reliever for the White Sox in 2007 behind closer Bobby Jenks, while Masset did not even earn a September callup. But Masset can serve as the team's long reliever, or as a sixth starter if necessary, and he also is out of options.

If the White Sox selected Wasserman, there was a good chance they would lose Masset.

"We couldn't take the chance and gamble that way," Guillen said. "We have to look at the long shot, 162 games, even though Wassermann outperformed him. We know what [Masset] has, just in case something happens.

"I'm not afraid to bring Wassermann back. I know what we can get. He performed well, and that's a tough one for me. He did so great, but he was caught up in the same situation like [Josh] Fields.

"It is what it is," Guillen added. "He did everything in his power to be here, and it was another tough decision."

Only a call from Governor Kenny can save Masset

Two paragraphs into writing a post trying to explain why the White Sox haven't yet cut bait with Nick Masset, I may have stumbled onto something. I wrote the following passage: Ehren Wassermann is a major league pitcher. He would make the roster of any major league club willing to carry twelve pitchers.

It was as I wrote those words it dawned on me; it must be Wassermann the Sox are shopping, not Masset. Truthfully, I don't believe that, but it's really the only logical explanation why the Sox opening day roster hasn't been finalized.

There's should be no debate about who is the better pitcher, regardless of role. One has a unique deliverly and skill set which may limit his effectiveness against a certain subset of hitters; the other has the ability to pitch ineffectively for multiple innings at a time against all subsets of hitters. Like I said, a no-brainer. Who needs effective pitching when you can have the flexibility of true mop-up man?

Mark Gonzales didn't run a single positive quote on Masset from Sox coaches in his article Friday, presumably because there was none to be had. This tells me one thing; Masset is only around because Kenny Williams still likes him, because Kenny still thinks he has a future, because Kenny wants the Danks-McCarhty trade to look like a solid win.

Lone Star Ball makes a point of which we were previously unaware. Because Masset has already been outrighted -- during the 2005 season, when the Sox claimed Ryan Wing from the Rangers, but not Masset -- he can declare himself a free agent when the Sox put him through waivers this time. Because of this, there's virtually no chance of Masset remaining in the organization unless he does so on the major league roster.

Think about that last line for a second. Masset will (most likely) no longer be in the organization if he doesn't make the club. If Kenny still thinks Masset has a future despite the massive amount of evidence to the contrary, he may actually force Ozzie's hand. If Masset makes the club, it's wasn't a decision about who is the best pitcher, about who made the club better; it was about the unrealized potential of Masset's fabled 98 MPH fastball.

It would be easy to say that Gavin Floyd got rocked in his final spring training start of the year. I don't know what my reaction would have been had I been able to watch the game in a form other than MLB's Gameday. But I can say this for certain, if Gavin Floyd is going to have a successful season, he'll need a selective memory to forget the poor results of a day like Wednesday. Because, judging completely on box score alone -- a dangerous proposition, I know -- Floyd had the right approach against the Brewers; he threw strikes (0 BB), missed some bats (7 K), but found himself getting hit around as well (9 hits, 2HR).

I'd rather see a game in which Floyd gives up 6 runs while pounding the zone, than one in which he gives up the same 6 runs but does so by by falling behind, nibbling, and walking guys. I know there's no way the latter version has a chance to succeed for long at the major league level, while the former at least stands a puncher's chance.

* * * * *

As spring training opened, I wrote a piece entitled The 5 things I'm looking forward to this spring training. Looking back on that piece, it was a disappointing spring on a personal level. Of the 5 things I mentioned, two of them, the Joe Crede trade and "the 6th starter battle," were complete non-starters, while two others were mildly disappointing.

The Crede non-trade was the biggest cock tease of the spring. I went from calling it the most obvious trade ever to a sort of resigned apathy about him being on the roster over Josh Fields. The best thing I can say about it is that it at least we've been able to see the non-move coming. Jack Egbert's sore elbow to start the spring and Lance Broadway's general ineffectiveness made the 6th starter competition nonexistent unless you count Nick Masset who gets the start Thursday and inexplicably has yet to be put out to pasture.

I no longer even remember the first televised game of the spring, even though I listed that at #1. I was starved for baseball. But spring baseball, when everything is distorted and nothing counts, quickly became mundane. Carlos Quentin, who entered spring competing for the LF job, at least in my mind, nursed his sore shoulder for first couple of weeks, all but handing the job to Jerry Owens. While it's now Owens headed to the DL and Quentin has performed well since being proclaimed healthy, it still appears like he's behind at least one of Brian Anderson and Alexei Ramirez. I should be happy that he's going to be on the roster. But for a player who I once called the key to the Sox season, being on the roster just isn't enough.

The saving grace of the spring has been Ramirez, who took Ben Sheets deep for a grand slam and his second homer of the spring. However, Sheets was not exactly having a good day, also surrendering two homers to Jim Thome and another to AJ Pierzynski. And I'm still not sure that I would go north with Ramirez were I making the decisions.

Poll

Our Community Projection ERA for Gavin Floyd was 4.98. After Spring Training, revise your projection: over or under 4.98?

• Over
• Under

  293 votes | Results

The White Sox opening day roster became much clearer thanks to series developments on Tuesday, which made for an interesting day and a good demonstration of our new FanShot feature.

• Following the extended morning meetings to discuss the roster, Toby Hall was called in for at least one meeting, if not two. It initially appeared like Hall was on his way off the opening day roster, but at the end of the day, He and A.J. Pierzynski were the only catchers left on the spring roster.
• Josh Fields was officially optioned to Charlotte, making Joe Crede the starter with Pablo Ozuna and Juan Uribe as his back-ups. Doesn't that sound familiar?
• Juan Uribe has won the second base job, but Ozzie warned that he'll have a quick hook.

  "If Uribe doesn't do what we think he can do, he will be replaced. I'm not going to put pressure on him. He knows he has people around him who can play that position.

  "But the way he played in spring training, and the way he went about his business, I think he earned that spot."

• Finally, Jerry Owens went in for an MRI which reveal he has a slight tear of an abductor. He will be put on the DL retroactive to Monday, and will be eligible to be back for the home opener April 7th. That's the same injury Scott Podsednik has had each of the last two seasons. In fact, Pods battled it last spring, but made the opening day roster before re-injuring the groin and missing the next 2 months.

I'm going to be honest. Sending Fields to AAA doesn't bug me that much, or at least not as much as many of you. I want the Sox to put the best team on the field, and Fields hasn't yet convinced me that his 2008 skill set is greater than that of 2008 Joe Crede. Obviously, that argument would be a whole lot easier to make if Crede were having a more productive spring.

Ultimately, I don't think there is enough evidence on either player's side to get too worked up over the third base situation. There are valid arguments on both side of the ledger, and I'm not convinced that there is an obvious, hard and fast right answer. Fields is obviously the long term choice, and as such, he would have received my vote, but I just can't muster the ire to get worked up over this one.

Were I making the decisions, things would be different. I'd find a way to get Fields on the roster, probably platooning with Thome at DH and occasionally at 3B as many of you have suggested. And truthfully, I would have parted with Crede for whatever meager returns I could have obtained in the last two weeks.

* * * * *

Jerry Owens' trip to the DL is good news for Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin, who will both open the season on the roster. Anderson, in particular, has the opportunity to earn himself some major playing time in Owens' absence. He'll share center field duties with Alexei Ramirez in the first week of the season, during which the Sox are scheduled to face a number of lefthanders. In addition to C.C. Sabathia on opening day, the Sox should face Detroit's Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis before Owens is eligble to come off the DL.

* * * * *

Maybe the worst news of the day was that there was no resolution (or at least no reported news) to what should be a no-brainer in the battle for the final bullpen spot. I can only hope that we haven't heard anything because they don't want to remove the minute amount of trade value that Nick Masset may have by declaring Ehren Wasserman the winner of the final bullpen slot.

Well, now that we've got a solid 23 hours into the new platform -- We've had about 160 relatively painless sign-ups in the since going live late last night. We've uncovered a bug or two, but for the most part things have been pretty smooth. -- It's time to sit back and actually talk about the White Sox.

For the third consecutive year, the Sox have hit an extended mid-spring funk. They've won twice in the last 14 days, none in the last 9. Business as usual for the Sox, who I seem to recall having the same type of streak in each of the last two season, but I don't know where to go to check spring training records. I'm actually glad I don't know where to go, if I did, it might be a sign I need more clinical help than I'm currently receiving.

Part of the problem is that the Sox have been facing an inordinate amount of left-handed pitching lately. This sinister issue needs to be resolved if they hope to be anything more than mediocre this year. The addition of Josh Fields and Nick Swisher to the lineup would have been a step in the right direction, but Fields looks like he'll end up in Charlotte, and it's unclear how Ozzie will utilize Swisher. One thing is certain, Pablo Ozuna will continue to start and leadoff against most lefties.

Supposedly, the decision-making staff will have an extended meeting on Tuesday to discuss the final roster. Among the discussion topics:

• What will Alexei Ramirez' role be?
• Can Juan Uribe be traded to make room for Alexei?
• Who is the 4th outfielder behind, ugh, Jerry Owens?
• Can (or should) Brian Anderson be traded to make that decision an easy one?
• Will Nick Masset clear waivers?
• If no, are they prepared to let him go for nothing in order to put the best team on the field in the form of Ehren Wasserman?
• What is the medium term-plan at 3B?
• How long do they stick with Crede at 3B if he continues his lackluster play of the spring?

And I'm sure there are a host of others.

I'd probably send Ramirez to Charlotte, even though he's impressed me this spring. He's still got some work to do, and I'm not sure that playing sporadically and mostly against lefties is the best way to develop his talents. I just have this gut feeling like we've been seeing Alexei play a bit over his head, and the results are clouding our view of what he'll do when the lights come on for real.