With Peavy Return Imminent, is Change Necessary?
By Editorial Staff
After his seven-inning outing Thursday, Jake Peavy is ready to return to the White Sox 25-man roster in hopes of helping the team salvage what has been a miserable season so far.
But Peavy’s replacement, Phil Humber (2-3), has been anything but the problem, leading Sox starters in earned run average (3.06) and WHIP (0.96), accomplishing exactly what the team asked of him – fill in and give the team a chance to win.
It’s still unknown what move will be made to accommodate Peavy’s roster spot. Humber has done absolutely nothing to warrant a demotion, but he’s the obvious choice to be pulled from the rotation, unless White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets an idea in his head about a six-man rotation.
If Humber were to stay on the roster, let’s take a look at who else could be sent packing.
Gray was called up April 7 when Lastings Milledge was designated for assignment. The low man on the bullpen totem pole, he could be the one to go. Humber would fit nice as a long-relief man, taking over Tony Pena‘s role. Pena has pitched more than two innings twice so far this season, but sports a 9.64 ERA in 9 1/3 IP. Nice segue…
Tony Pena
It’s still unclear to me the hold this guy has on the organization. He’s allowed a run in five of nine appearances and has allowed two or more runs four times. I don’t think the Sox would miss him.
The starting gig at third base lasted about a month. On paper, Morel’s bat wasn’t necessary…then the team started not scoring runs, forcing Guillen to look elsewhere for offense, namely in Mark Teahen‘s corner. So Teahen has been getting some looks at third while Morel’s average and on-base percentage are both hanging below .200. Maybe a trip back to Triple-A is in order while Teahen and Omar Vizquel handle the hot corner.
There’s a good chance Sox Nation will take my head for this one, but can we be honest with ourselves for a moment? Gordon Beckham is not Jeff Kent. I’m not saying he won’t be a productive second baseman someday, but when you’ve got as many hits in your last 22 games (11) as you did in your first 7, something is wrong. Down to .208 going into Friday, Beckham is due for a hot streak, but I’ve been telling myself that for three weeks (lost faith and dropped him from my fantasy team a week ago). If this slump lasts another week, Gordo should get a reality check and Brent Lillibridge, who has been a nice early surprise, could get a shot. The front office would never let it happen, I’m just sayin’…
…cause harm to my fantasy team and I will not hesitate to call for your head. Unless you’re John Danks or John Axford.
Gray is the most likely to go, Morel not far behind. Lillibridge has carved himself a very nice reputation – he is in no danger of losing his spot on the team.