Timo odd man out?

[YASNY]

It’s going to be a difficult decision, and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is already dreading the thought of making it.

 

When Frank Thomas completes his rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Charlotte — he’ll probably be activated June 13 — somebody will have to go.

 

The easiest choice would be shipping left-handed reliever Kevin Walker to Charlotte. But the Sox are leery about overworking their starting rotation, and they’re probably going to stick with a 12-man pitching staff for a while.

 

Assuming the White Sox decide to prune a position player when it’s time to make room for Thomas, Willie Harris is an obvious candidate to be removed from the roster.

 

Harris primarily plays second base and center field, but those are positions being capably manned by Tadahito Iguchi and Aaron Rowand, respectively. Harris has also added shortstop to his résumé, but Juan Uribe is the regular starter there with Pablo Ozuna serving as a quality replacement.

 

Add it all up, and it doesn’t look good for Harris.

 

But my guess is that Timo Perez will be the odd man out.

 

After coming over in a trade from the New York Mets in the spring of 2004, Perez proved to be a nice addition.

 

In 103 games last season, Perez batted .246 with 5 home runs and 40 RBI while playing all three outfield spots.

 

This year, the 30-year-old backup is hitting just .188, and his baserunning blunders are difficult to overlook.

 

Thomas’ return will move Carl Everett to the outfield, so Perez’s playing time would be even more limited.

 

Of course, Perez’s $1 million salary will come into play, but the Sox have already shown a willingness to eat a contract for the good of the team.

 

In spring training, they decided to keep Chris Widger as the backup catcher, which means they’re paying Ben Davis $1 million to play at Charlotte.

 

Perez probably wouldn’t accept an assignment to the minor leagues, and he’d likely catch on with another major-league team.

 

It’s a loss the White Sox could easily absorb.

 

Is Perez really as bad as he has been this season? Probably not. But a tough decision has to be made, and the White Sox have to go with their best 25 players as they make a strong push toward the postseason.

 

If that means saying so long to Perez, so be it.

 

Resume the rivalry: I’m right with manager Ozzie Guillen on the working conditions at Wrigley Field. They stink.

 

Other than that, the White Sox-Cubs interleague rivalry is pretty sweet, and it’s an event to look forward to.

 

The schedule makers finally got it right this season. Last year, the city-series rivals played a three-game series on consecutive weekends, which was way too much.

 

This year, the Sox and Cubs play three at Wrigley this weekend and three at U.S. Cellular Field in late June. That’s the best way to spread it out.

 

[Jabroni]

I didn't agree with Timo being the guy to cut earlier in the season but man, he has been brutal. Crappy bat, bad baserunning, and shoddy defense. It's probably the right move considering Everett, Ozuna, and even Gload and Willie can play the outfield. I guess Kenny and Jerry aren't messing around. They are definately not making moves based on money. They paid Ben Davis $1 million to play for Charlotte, paid $425,000 to bring up Kevin Walker, and soon may be paying out the rest of Timo's $1 million salary just to cut him.

Edited May 19, 2005 by Jabroni

[beck72]

I could see it. With Ozuna able to play LF and Willie CF, with Carl probably seeing some time in LF or RF, Timo could be replaced. POds, Aaron and Dye could get some rest w/o Timo being around. The only thing keeping him on this roster is his defense. Yet with the Sox regulars not needing a defensive replacement, Timo's excess baggage

[Jabroni]

I could see it. With Ozuna able to play LF and Willie CF, with Carl probably seeing some time in LF or RF, Timo could be replaced. POds, Aaron and Dye could get some rest w/o Timo being around. The only thing keeping him on this roster is his defense. Yet with the Sox regulars not needing a defensive replacement, Timo's excess baggage

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, most people here said that it would come down to either Timo or Willie. I guess we were right.

[beck72]

Well, most people here said that it would come down to either Timo or Willie.  I guess we were right.

 

And Willie has performed off the bench when he's had opportunities. Unless Timo has some dirt on Ozzie or KW, he's gawn

[Jabroni]

And Willie has performed off the bench when he's had opportunities. Unless Timo has some dirt on Ozzie or KW, he's gawn

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So my guess is that the Sox would try to send Timo down to Charlotte a la Ben Davis. He would have to accept or decline the assigment. If Timo declines the assigment, which the writer assumes he will, he would become a free agent and the Sox would not be responsible for the rest of his $1 million contract. Instead, his salary would be prorated. Sounds like a good deal to me if it happens that way.

Edited May 19, 2005 by Jabroni

[EvilJester99]

Can we get that lucky to have it be Timo?? I would guess it would have to be him or Gload. I would much rather it be Timo.

[YASNY]

I have to agree. It is looking more and more like Timo will not have a place on this team very much longer. I've not been a Timo basher, nor a Timo fan. I've accepted him for what he is, a reasonable backup outfielder. Hopefully, we can find someone in need of a veteran backup outfielder and trade him without having to eat his salary by cutting him.

[tonyho7476]

Bye bye Timo. It was nice knowing ye.

[southsider2k5]

I'd love to see Timo gone, but I am not holding my breath.

[Hatchetman]

I'd love to see Timo gone, but I am not holding my breath.

 

ditto.

[bjm676]

It'll most likely be Timo. I think the organization is too high on Gload. Plus, he's a quality backup at 1B. Plus, Gload, Willie & Carl are both LH off the bench. With that, buy some luggage Timo.

[Soxfest]

Timo is major toast

[nitetrain8601]

Worried about overworking their pitching staff? If Kevin Walker sucks, there's no reason to have him up here. It's not like he's going to help us preserve leads or anything. He couldn't even do anything in AAA. Bring up Bobby Jenks before you bring up this fool.