Not much new to report on the Dustin Hermanson situation. Though you can rest assured that Kenny Williams is working his butt off trying to find a viable replacement.
In spring training action, Jim Thome is starting to round into form. Initially, his bat speed appeared to be a touch off, but he still had his stellar batting eye. He's still yet to go yard, but he's also making more contact than he usually does, walking 7 times compared to just 1 strikeout this spring. I didn't see the game today (no TV in Chicago) so I don't know how he collected his 4 hits, but a majority of his other hits this spring have gone to left and center field. It seems to me that Thome is concetrating more on making contact right now. He should start to show power in the last week or so of ST.
Charlie Haeger got the start today, getting pounded while featuring poor control. Haeger's a nice story -- quitting baseball for a year, then adding a knuckleball and putting himself on the prospect map -- but his performance this spring has demonstrated why I don't want a knuckleballer on my team. The knuckleball is just too unpredictable. I'd rather have a pitcher who I can count on to be mediocre than one who flashes moments of brilliance with lots of ineptitude.
The good news for Haeger is that he's both young (22) and has only been throwing the knuckleball for a couple of years. Knuckleballers take years to hone their craft.
Boone Logan also pitched in todays scrap with the A's, fairing much better than Haeger. While Coop, Ozzie, and the beat writers are telling you that Logan has a shot at making the team, I'm here to tell you that all Logan has done is put himself on the radar. He's on track to be added to the 40-man roster by the end of the year. But that's it. Filling the '07 LOOGY role would be a meteoric rise through the Sox system. -- Why is the phrase "meteoric rise?" Don't meteors fall? I think we should change the vernacular to "Saturn V rise."
Update [2006-3-14 0:2:39 by The Cheat]: Guillen is throwing even more praise Logan's way after his solid outing today.
[...]
"You can come from wherever it is. I don't care. If you impress me, you will make the team," added Guillen, when asked about taking a pitcher from Great Falls to the Majors. "I'm not going to give hope and then there's nothing there. I won't lie to my players, and I never did."
[...]
Guillen sat down and made out his 25-man roster Sunday night, with the players he envisioned at that particular time, and said Monday that there were a few surprises. He would not elaborate any further.
http://www.progressiveboink.com/dugout/archive/dugout3-12-06.htm