Kinda a random thought...

[Spiegle]

Okay, So Hernandez has now officially hit the DL for the second time this season, BMAC gets a second try up here in the bigs. And in an underscore on the sox official site it said "McCarthy pitching for possible spot in the starting rotation"

 

Now that quote right there made me decide to actually post these thoughts I was having early today at work to pass the time.

 

I was thinking.. "Now what if BMac comes up and preforms like spring training, gets a couple great starts up here"

 

Okay, well the reason that could cause an interesting situation is with Viz struggling out of the pen, and Hernandez having trouble staying healthy. I was thinking maybe it could be worth looking into throwing Hernandez in Viz's spot, and trade Viz for some prospects, or in a deal for whatever... I dont really want to mess with much at this point, we are doing so well.

 

So what do you guys think? Would Hernandez make a good pen guy? Would it even be on the sox radar of things to think about? Would the sox trust a rookie in the SR in the heat of a pennant race? I think Hernandez could replace Vizciano quite well, and improve our bullpen to be one of the best in the league. And an added bonus, if we run into closer trouble (hopefully we wont), he would be the first person I would want in those 9th innings in the playoffs.

 

Of course this would all depend on BMac doing well,

 

 

Anyways, tell me what you think. I may just have been having a crazy day-dream.

[Rowand44]

Good post Spiegle. I believe this is what Kenny is looking at, if Brandon pitches well it seems that he will take over The Duke's spot and Orlando will end up in a bullpen. Also if there was ever a rookie to rely on in a pennant race it would be Brandon because of his maturity level.

[KevHead0881]

Don't know how long it will last, but Viscaino has actually been throwing well as of late.

[aboz56]

I would rather see Cotts shifted into a setup role, with McCarthy staying in the rotation (if successful) leaving El Duque for a mopup role/long relief. Vizcaino, in my view, has been much better recently. If he can command his fastball, he can be very effective with his slider. As of now, hitters are waiting for the slider because he can't throw the heater for a strike.

 

This would leave Shingo as the odd man out, shifting him to Charlotte until September, when he could rejoin the team as rosters expand. For now he would stay on the roster until El Duque is ready to return.

 

Bottom line is, as I discussed with Jason this past weekend, Shingo just isn't going to get any better pitching once a week. He needs regular work in the minors.

[Rowand44]

I would rather see Cotts shifted into a setup role, with McCarthy staying in the rotation (if successful) leaving El Duque for a mopup role/long relief.  Vizcaino, in my view, has been much better recently.  If he can command his fastball, he can be very effective with his slider.  As of now, hitters are waiting for the slider because he can't throw the heater for a strike.

 

This would leave Shingo as the odd man out, shifting him to Charlotte until September, when he could rejoin the team as rosters expand.  For now he would stay on the roster until El Duque is ready to return.

 

Bottom line is, as I discussed with Jason this past weekend, Shingo just isn't going to get any better pitching once a week.  He needs regular work in the minors.

Very true, shingo is basically useless at this point. Last Tuesday he looked absolutely fantastic against the Dbacks it was the first time all year I saw him consistantly get his junk over for strikes. Putting Shingo in Charlotte would be the best possible thing for him and maybe he could find his release point and regain some confidence.

[Balta1701]

Right now I think the biggest weakness on this team is long relief - there's no one who can come out of the bullpen and pitch 4 or 5 quality innings if a starter not named Mark Buehrle ends up only going three or 4. We end up blowing our entire bullpen in 1 day if someone has a bad start, and that probably will hurt us eventually. Ditto if we hit a long extra innings game.

 

If BMac can cut it...I give him that spot in the rotation, and give El Duque a couple months to sit around in long relief. I'd slap him back in the rotation in August or any time BMac struggles, but that would be by far the best thing that could happen to the team.

[Punch and Judy Garland]

GOod post, I think that even though Hernandez is on the 15 day DL he will only be back in that time if the B-Mac who got hammered in Texas shows up. Otherwise, I think they'll just target for after the AS break so that decision will be delayed along with the Ross GLoad one for a little bit

[ChWRoCk2]

GOod post, I think that even though Hernandez is on the 15 day DL he will only be back in that time if the B-Mac who got hammered in Texas shows up. Otherwise, I think they'll just target for after the AS break so that decision will be delayed along with the Ross GLoad one for a little bit

they are probably best off waiting till the allstar break, give him some rest, if anything let him start the last game before the break, just to see what hes got

[LosMediasBlancas]

B-Mac is not ready, I'm praying Duque gets well......soon.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Don't know how long it will last, but Viscaino has actually been throwing well as of late.

 

Not long... :banghead

[YASNY]

Well, last night's game pretty threw all those scenarios right on the trash heap.

[DBAHO]

I still think in the best interests both short - term and long - term for the Sox, these moves need to happen;

 

Send B-Mac down to the minors as soon as El Duque is back healthy to work on throwing his change consistently for strikes, and to get the ball down in the zone more.

 

Keep El Duque as a starter. Yes he hasn't been good lately. But he's a 2nd half pitcher, a proven playoff performer, and he's won 7 games thus far.

 

Send Shingo or Luis Vizcaino down to AAA and promote Jeff Bajenaru to perform as the mop-up righty guy, who could potentially move into a 7th inning position.

 

Potentially give either Munoz or Diaz a shot. It's likely we're going to be acquiring some bullpen help next month anyways, but these 2 guys are probably our next 2 options. I don't want to see Jenks up yet. It's his 1st year back from elbow surgery, and bringing him up too early could mess with his head. He could be our future closer, so lets not ruin the process.

 

Yes Munoz and Diaz both have ERA's of around 4 at Charlotte, not good, but not bad either especially considering Charlotte is a hitters park. And yes they both sucked as starters last season. But in September last year look how they peformed;

 

Diaz - 1-1, 2.16 ERA, 11 K's, 5 BB's.

Munoz - 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 8 BB's, 8 K's, .176 BA.

 

Munoz and Diaz aren't going to make it as starters for us, not while we've got B-Mac, Gonzalez, Broadway, Lumsden, Liotta etc. down in the minors. They could turn into valuable setup men however like Neal Cotts has done. The process may be a little painful at first, but the rewards are there for everyone to see, good, young, cheap, bullpen guys, exactly what the Twins are trying to do.