I suppose if I had put forth any effort with my recap of the games on Thursday or Saturday, I could have copy-and-pasted my way through this one. Instead, I'll go another route and skip it altogether.
You saw it. The Sox sucked. Again.
- No offense after the third.
- Hidden Double No-No pitched by opposing relievers. I'm actually disappointed they're not sitting on 0-for-64 right now. They'd only be a hair over 5 innings away from a third.
- Predictable meltdown by our arsonists.
- Lose 1-run game in which they failed to get run home from 3rd with less than 2 outs, TWICE.
- Lose 1-run game in which the fleet-footed catcher was thrown out at second, only to have the next pitch land over the fence for the first HR by the offense in 34 innings.
I've seen speculation that, as of tomorrow, Mike MacDougal and David Aardsma will be in AAA. There is a snag to that, however. I'm almost positive that MacDougal has no options remaining. He's been shuffled back and forth to the minors so many times with so many injuries that it's tough for me to say with absolute certainty, but I remain sure that, in order to be sent to the minors, he would have to be put on the DL -- which wouldn't be out of the question since we've heard Cooper say that he's nursing a groin injury (lack of balls, perhaps). Aardsma, I feel, is as good as gone, with one option remaining.
The other offender, Nick Masset, has seemed to escape the wrath of most Sox fans turning a blind eye to his minor league record, peripherals (major and minor league), and overall crappy numbers, thanks to two respectable outings in long-relief.
- Charlie Haeger -- Haeger caught lightning in a bottle for 15 innings last September with the White Sox. He was lit up like a Christmas tree in the International League during the second half last year, and has only gotten worse this season. Pass.
- Gavin Floyd -- I once called Floyd the Joe Borchard of pitching prospects. You wouldn't want to bring Borchard up to fix your offensive woes, and you don't want Floyd called up to fix the bullpen. His completely uninspiring numbers in Charlotte are almost exactly the same as they were last year in the International League, a league in which he has pitched for the last 4 seasons.
- Ryan Bukvich -- Bukvich has spent a total of 46.2 innings at the major leagues, accumulating an ERA of 6.94 with the Royals and Rangers. Hey, he'd fit right in. He has posted some good strikeout numbers in Charlotte this season, but nothing compared to that of '06 Boone Logan or even '05 Jeff Bajenaru. I wouldn't count on him fixing anything.
- Brett Prinz -- Prinz pitched 41 effective innings for the 2001 Diamondbacks (championship experience, YES!), but has pitched in only 52 major league games since, posting a Masset-like line with a 6.61 ERA. His ERA in Charlotte is a microscopic 0.56, but 9 walks in 16 International League innings doesn't translate well to the majors.
- Lance Broadway -- Broadway is a control pitcher who, thanks to the addition of a 2-seam fastball, no longer has impeccable control. I'll wait until the end of the season, hopefully seeing a decline in walks, before I make a prognosis about his long-term future, but I can't imagine a guy who doesn't have overpowering stuff and who is still learning a new pitch having any success at the majors right now. And just to pile it on Floyd, Broadway, who isn't known for being tough to hit, has given up fewer hits in more innings than has Floyd.
- Jack Egbert -- I (nearly) left him off my top ten prospects list this off-season, and I'm about to campaign for his addition to the major league roster. Egbert does one thing exceptionally well; he keeps the ball in the park. He has given up 2 HR in his last 230 innings. There are three things you can control as a pitcher, HR, BB and K. Egbert is exceptional at limiting the HR, has been great at limiting the BB this season (an improving skill), and has K'ed 80 batters in 87 AA innings. I don't think I'd be comfortable throwing him into a tight spot against the Yankees this week, but there is no one on the minor league level in whom I would have more confidence to fill the long-man/6th starter role that Masset has shown up for twice in two months.
- Gio Gonzalez -- Gonzalez is second in the minor leagues in strikeouts and is the Sox top pitching prospect. As such, I'd rather see him continue his development with a promotion to the AAA rotation.
- Ehren Wasserman -- Wasserman's overall numbers and minor league track record aren't much to behold, but he possesses a funky right-handed delivery that has held righties to a .113 average this season in Charlotte and a .566 and .551 OPS the two previous seasons in Birmingham. He could be a very effective ROOGY, which most teams don't carry because of bullpen size. Since Ozzie has no problem carrying 7 relievers this year, I think Wasserman would be my second pick for the reinforcements. (He had a terrible outing on Friday with Kenny Williams present, so don't count on him being called upon.)
- Adam Russell --- Russell made most fans' radar (including mine) with some impressive performances in spring training. It was clear, however, that he needed more seasoning, and 2 months in Birmingham hasn't changed that. He got BOMBED in 3.2 inning Sunday to the tune of 8 Earnies. I envision a major league bullpen in his future, but not this year, and maybe not next year.
If I was making the decisions, I would send down Masset for sure, calling up Egbert to take over his innings and hopefully (if successful) more. MacDougal's destination would be determined by health, which is a bit of mystery to us lowly bloggers/fans, with Wasserman called up to be a ROOGY if he was sent down. Aardsma, I think, I would give some more time with Cooper, though he'd obviously be behind even Dewon Day on the depth chart right now. Another option would be to comb the waiver wires as Jay Witasick (meh, could be a non-disasterous 6th man in the pen) and Joe Table (We only need 3 more 90's Indians to complete the whole set) were just let go.