Good-Bye, Will Ohman

In the world of bullpen usage, Will Ohman would theoretically have a single task: get lefties out. A LOOGy, as men of his craft are often referred. Got a tough left-handed hitter coming up? Play the numbers game, bring in a left-handed pitcher to face him. There are guys that specialize in it. It was for this reason that the Sox acquired Will Ohman in the first place. It didn’t work out that way for Will, unfortunately. He was regularly used in a variety of situations facing batters from both sides of the plate, and the aggregate results were not pretty. Now he faces a possible end to his season as the White Sox have designated him for assignment. He will be officially placed on waivers and if no other team elects to claim him the White Sox will be responsible for the remainder of his salary, about $1.25M.

I suppose there is some debate about whether or not misuse is the culprit for Ohman’s performance and subsequent departure. A case could be made that if he was used exclusively against lefties he’d be a bit better, but that might also be because he would be playing less. If you need to take up a roster spot (something required of those intending to play), you need to be able to get guys out, regardless of what angle they are looking at you from.

A replacement for Ohman’s spot is yet to be announced. I like the idea of it being Brian Omogrosso for no reason beyond it being kind of cool that “Oh, man” would be followed by “OMG, Gross”.