White Sox v. Mariners – June 3rd – Beckham Returns
There are a few developments with the lineup tonight. Gordon Beckham returns from his rehab starts in Charlotte, and given that there is a lefty in Joe Saunders on the mound he will be displacing Conor Gillaspie. Adam Dunn will also slide down the lineup, which some would argue is long overdue, particularly against a southpaw. Given how mightily the team is struggling to score runs, I would be tempted to go even further and plug Casper Wells in at DH in Adam Dunn’s stead.
Paul Konerko makes his return, only having missed yesterday’s game and a few at bats on Saturday with a tweaked neck.
Gordon Beckham returns for the first time in many weeks. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)
Having been shut out twice in the last three games and in the middle of an extremely depressing losing streak, some of this lineup shuffling feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but then again it’s not like Ventura put this roster together.
1. Alejandro de Aza (CF)
2. Alexei Ramirez (SS)
3. Alex Rios (RF)
4. Paul Konerko (1B)
5. Dayan Viciedo (LF)
6. Adam Dunn (DH)
7. Jeff Keppinger (3B)
8. Tyler Flowers (C)
9. Gordon Beckham (2B)
The Mariners, having tried to fix their dreadful offense by carpet bombing it with ancient DH-es, have scored the 2nd-fewest runs in the AL this year with 206. Sadly the White Sox have scored the fewest with a truly pitiful 186 runs. The Mariners are actually going some semi-interesting flux in their roster, as the triumvirate of busted prospects (Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero, and Dustin Ackley) have all been exiled. Nick Franklin brings to the table all of the baggage of your standard prospect that is overrated due to hitting in the PCL, and it is exasperated by the institutional Mariners Prospect Hype. Jason Bay is having something of a revival season, with an OPS of .796. Tonight the Mariners will be deploying the following lineup:
1. Endy Chavez (RF)
2. Jason Bay (LF)
3. Kyle Seager (3B)
4. Kendrys Morales (1B)
5. Raul Ibanez (DH)
6. Nick Franklin (2B)
7. Michael Saunders (CF)
8. Jesus Sucre (C)
9. Brendan Ryan (SS)
John Danks gets the ball again as he tries to soldier back from shoulder surgery, and so far he has been ineffective in the majors and in the minors.