Hector Santiago Action Plan

[Jake]

It's not clear what we're going to do with this poor kid. He may have had the stuff to close, but he's made things pretty obvious at this point: he doesn't have the command or wherewithal to pitch in a moderate to high leverage situation. He has been a starter most of his career and seemed serviceable in his brief time starting last year.

 

So what to do?

-Do what seems to be the CWS choice right now, use him as a middle relief guy. Must be some latent belief that he's tipping pitches or otherwise not being "himself" and that can be remedied somehow

 

-Start stretching him out to go back to his niche as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues where he can have more flexibility to use all of his pitches, etc.

 

-Send him down to the minors as a reliever to refine his identity as a future big league reliever

 

-Put that motherf***er in to get more saves!

 

-Take Ohman's place as a lefty specialist (note his splits against lefthanders)

 

At this point I'd like to see him just go back to what he's always been doing - starting. Maybe you could get contributions from him by the end of the year in a best case scenario. I have to wonder if they're dragging him along on the big league roster because they have doubts about how long Sale will last - only problem is that Hector doesn't seem to be very effective against lefties.

[Reddy]

he should be starting, and learning not to tip his screwball. if he does that, he'll be fine.

[caulfield12]

Starting in AA/AAA, April 6th.

 

 

[Dick Allen]

he should be starting, and learning not to tip his screwball. if he does that, he'll be fine.

He should be working on his screwball trying to get it to do something, or scrap it all together. It is not tipping the screwball, its what the ball is actually doing and that is nothing except getting hit hard.

[Reddy]

He should be working on his screwball trying to get it to do something, or scrap it all together. It is not tipping the screwball, its what the ball is actually doing and that is nothing except getting hit hard.

lol it wasn't doing that in spring training. it moved like a beast back then.

[Kyyle23]

My action plan for Hector would involve him finding his testicles and re-inserting them. I am sure ptatc can explain to us the intricacies of such a procedure

[Balta1701]

My action plan for Hector would involve him finding his testicles and re-inserting them. I am sure ptatc can explain to us the intricacies of such a procedure

[caulfield12]

Can't accept the logic that the screwball actually gets better action in Arizona dry, desert weather?

 

Different baseballs used in ST compared to the regular season? That whole "seams aren't raised quite as high" theory for getting a proper grip on the pitch? Maybe he has a smaller hand for gripping it than most pitchers?

[Jake]

Can't accept the logic that the screwball actually gets better action in Arizona dry, desert weather?

 

Different baseballs used in ST compared to the regular season? That whole "seams aren't raised quite as high" theory for getting a proper grip on the pitch? Maybe he has a smaller hand for gripping it than most pitchers?

 

I think it's probably an experience issue. It worked for quite a while, but the pitch is hardly a year old for his arsenal. Much more susceptible to coming and going. Again, have to wonder if the spontaneous, short warm-up that he's not used to is to blame. In ST, you could warm up all day because you knew which inning you were pitching.

 

This is a situation when the White Sox need to see every single side session, etc. to see if he's got his stuff. You can't just keep throwing a rookie out there in hopes that he figured it out while your back was turned.

[Kyyle23]

Can't accept the logic that the screwball actually gets better action in Arizona dry, desert weather?

 

Different baseballs used in ST compared to the regular season? That whole "seams aren't raised quite as high" theory for getting a proper grip on the pitch? Maybe he has a smaller hand for gripping it than most pitchers?

 

Was he in Arizona all through last year when his screwball was tearing up the minors?

[caulfield12]

Like Gavin's curveball, Humber's curveball, you'd have to also think getting the right feel for the screwball is something that would be easier to develop over the course of a 2 hour start rather than 10-12 warm-up pitches and then, BOOM, you're in a make or break situation where every single pitch means the difference between a win or loss.

 

Not exactly the greatest idea in the world to throw someone into the fire and out of the frying pan in such a confidence-shattering way when it's not even necessary at this point to keep bruising his psyche. (Yeah, yeah, he should be stronger, he's a professional athlete, I get that, but when he's given up a lot more homers in less than 10 innings than most relievers give up in entire seasons or two, you probably take take an alternative corrective course of action).

[Jake]

Like Gavin's curveball, Humber's curveball, you'd have to also think getting the right feel for the screwball is something that would be easier to develop over the course of a 2 hour start rather than 10-12 warm-up pitches and then, BOOM, you're in a make or break situation where every single pitch means the difference between a win or loss.

 

Not exactly the greatest idea in the world to throw someone into the fire and out of the frying pan in such a confidence-shattering way when it's not even necessary at this point to keep bruising his psyche. (Yeah, yeah, he should be stronger, he's a professional athlete, I get that, but when he's given up a lot more homers in less than 10 innings than most relievers give up in entire seasons or two, you probably take take an alternative corrective course of action).

 

Lots of guys have no problems going to the bullpen (see Sale, Chris) so the theory of Santiago as reliever doesn't seem bad. He just clearly wasn't ready for it and it was probably for more than one reason.

[caulfield12]

Was he in Arizona all through last year when his screwball was tearing up the minors?

 

 

That's kind of my point, the only thing we can really say with any amount certainty is that almost all of his success with the offspeed stuff came when he could establish a rhythm as a starter in 2011.

 

I'm not so sure how he was used in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 2010-2011, that would also be interesting to look at to see if we can develop a theory of what's going wrong now.

 

Someone mentioned Boone Logan and his being rushed and skipped over so many levels and how it took him a long time after that to get his feet underneath him. Then you had Scott Radinsky who jumped from South Bend to the majors and was a Marte/Thornton type of performer with no hiccups.

[Balta1701]

When I watch Santiago pitch, it seems to me that all he does is throw one fastball after another. You see the speed on TV -- 94, 95, 94, 95 mph, etc. Why aren't they letting him throw his other pitches with more timely frequency -- especially the screwball? It just seems that the hitters are lining him up with the steady diet of fastballs. -- Cary, Grayslake

 

Hector's location hasn't been the greatest, and that's what's hurt him the most (as evidenced by his hits, homers and walks allowed in 10 innings). He's got the stuff to be a closer, but I think his best long-term role is as a starter because he has four pitches. He's going to be an interesting study in the next few weeks with Sale moving to closer and a logjam of relievers -- particularly from the left side.

Not sure how well Hector can hold his velocity, but Sale moving to the bullpen does seem to give a real argument for sending Hector back to Charlotte and putting him in the rotation there.

[Dick Allen]

lol it wasn't doing that in spring training. it moved like a beast back then.

The only movement its been getting since the games started counting is its moving into the bleachers.

[hogan873]

The only movement its been getting since the games started counting is its moving into the bleachers.

And that movement is very fast.

[elrockinMT]

I readPhil Rogers today where he repeats the question already being asked and that is how Sale adnb Thornton can co-exist in the pen for an extended period of time. I add Santiago in that mix. My thought in you can never have enough quality lefties and maybe they need to look at sending Santiago to AAA. That is in no way an admission of failure but simply an acknowledgment that this inexperienced rookie needs to work out some kinks and gain some confidence in his pitches again. I know the trade of Thornton is a big possibility but what happens if Sale ends up on the DL because of that elbow issue?

[Jake]

I readPhil Rogers today where he repeats the question already being asked and that is how Sale adnb Thornton can co-exist in the pen for an extended period of time. I add Santiago in that mix. My thought in you can never have enough quality lefties and maybe they need to look at sending Santiago to AAA. That is in no way an admission of failure but simply an acknowledgment that this inexperienced rookie needs to work out some kinks and gain some confidence in his pitches again. I know the trade of Thornton is a big possibility but what happens if Sale ends up on the DL because of that elbow issue?

 

The real question is this -- does it matter what hand Hector throws with if he gets shelled by both left and right handed hitters? I think the handedness of the pitcher only matters if he can get some type of hitter out.

[elrockinMT]

The real question is this -- does it matter what hand Hector throws with if he gets shelled by both left and right handed hitters? I think the handedness of the pitcher only matters if he can get some type of hitter out.

 

 

I agree and really that was my point also. He has to get folks out in the closer role and he hasn't. I like Thornton in the dominatig role he can play as the set up guy. I just think Reed, or I giess as it appears to be happening, Sale can close

[fathom]

With how bad our attendance has been, you have a great opportunity to catch a ball in the outfield stands if Santiago is on the mound. The Sox should market that, and maybe attendance would rise! In all honesty, he should be sent down to the minors to see if he can work on some of his secondary pitches. Call him back up when rosters expand and put him in the bullpen again.

Edited May 7, 2012 by fathom