Thome Injury Forces Anderson to Step Up or Shut Up
I doubt that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen got a whole lot of sleep last night. And, if he did fall asleep, he was no doubt muttering potential lineups to himself as he drifted off.
The ribcage injury to Jim Thome complicates things for the Sox manager and not because of the loss of Thome's thunder stick in the middle of the Sox lineup. In fact, that's the least of Ozzie's worries. Assuming Thome will be spending time on the disabled list (retroactive to Friday, since he did have an at bat) the issue is going to be who will be the DH on a team were there are so many interchangeable parts, you'd think the manager was Eli Whitney.
For example, tie Pablo Ozuna up as the DH and you are losing a guy who can play at least four positions on defense. The same with Alex Cintron. The same with Rob Mackowiak. Brian Anderson is basically a one position player, but he's pretty good at that one position. So, what will Ozzie do?
My suggestion, which I'm pretty sure Ozzie will ignore, is to DH Erstad and play Anderson in center. Or, DH Konerko, play Erstad at first and play Anderson in center. When Thome's stint on the DL is over, evaluate Anderson's performance and to decide once and for all if the kid stays with the big club or heads off to Charlotte.
This would be the perfect opportunity to play Anderson on a fairly regular basis. Ozuna and Cintron are much too valuable and flexible defensively to be tied up as DH. Konerko would be a perfect DH as he can only play first. Alternating between him and Erstad is a good idea because should Konerko become injured, it gives Erstad the opportunity to get some innings in at first base. Plus, then Ozzie can still have Erstad's bat in the lineup and save some wear and tear of Erstad's cranky and brittle body.
If the Sox want to make the best use of this time, they should use it to accomplish one of two goals: Either showcase Anderson for perspective trade partners or get him some ABs so he doesn't continue to look lost at the plate. It's time for Anderson to step up and it's time for Ozzie to give him the opportunity.
The Sox and Angels resume their series tonight at the house that greed built. Nationally, you can enjoy it on WGN.
Lightning Round:
at all, I'm sure that he was muttering potential outfield combinations to himself as he went under.
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