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.