On the whitesox home page

 

personally i'm happy. I didnt like benard. I think they're giving Valenzuela a good eye...

Damn that's big news there. Yeah big chance for Valenzuela absolutely, but could sumthin bigger be in the works with Borchard or Reed, and Maggs possibly bein moved?

borch i could handle, reed and maggs.... HELL NO :fyou

If Benard made the team, it would have just been trouble with his steroid problem and all. It is a suprising move though.

Ozzies quote from yesterday's herald -- The writing was on the wall.

 

Benard is not on my team,'' Guillen said. "He's not on my team because I haven't seen him play. Right now, I have to make a decision leaning to the other kids because I haven't seen him play. It's nobody's fault, but he not on my team.''

From Yahoo News:

 

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox released outfielder Marvin Benard from his minor league contract Wednesday, deciding they couldn't wait for his injured calf to heal.

 

Benard had not played in any exhibition games because of the injury.

 

``He's not on my team,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said before the roster move was announced. ``I haven't seen him play. You've got to get healthy to play. I don't know how healthy he is. I'm not taking anyone because they were a good player before.''

 

The White Sox also released right-hander Carlos Castillo and reassigned right-hander Ryan Kohlmeier to their minor league camp.

 

Benard, 34, is a career .271 hitter in nine seasons with San Francisco. But he strained his left calf early in camp and recently was told that Saturday was the earliest he could begin running.

 

``I'm trying to make the team, but if I can't play then it's tough for them to evaluate me,'' Benard said before he was released. ``Their job is to put a team out there. I understand that. They can't just sit back and wait for me.

 

``It would be one thing if I was a longtime player on this team. But I'm the new guy in town. I have to prove to them that I can play, but I can't do that if I'm injured.''

 

With Benard gone, the reserve role could fall to Jamie Burke or Ross Gload. Gload went 2-for-3 with a run scored in a loss to Colorado on Tuesday. He also made two nifty plays at first base.

 

``I love the kid, Gload,'' Guillen said. ``The kid can play first base, he can swing the bat, he's a left-handed hitter. I love the way Gload works.''

The release of Castillo surprises me, mainly because there was a lovey-dovey article on chisox.com about him. Oh well.

I feel bad for poor Carlos Castillo. I always liked him, maybe because he was fat like me. Not saying he should have made the team though. What about Kohlmeier? I remember him closing for the O's with a little success a few seasons ago, and he looked decent enough when I saw him in spring training last year. Is this guy ever going to pan out into anything?

With Benard gone, the reserve role could fall to Jamie Burke or Ross Gload. Gload went 2-for-3 with a run scored in a loss to Colorado on Tuesday. He also made two nifty plays at first base.

 

He's really praising Gload and I don't blame him. The guy has nothing but impress. I'm glad were giving some of our minor leaguers a chance to earn a spot on the team. Hopefully this guy Kohlmeier can open some eyes.

wasn't Castillo the one that had a REALLY bad game a couple days ago?

wasn't Castillo the one that had a REALLY bad game a couple days ago?

That would be him. He helped AZ make that comeback. The Bernard release doesn't surprise me at all.

Something tells me the steroid allegation had something to do with this release. It doesn't make sense just based on the fact he's been out with a minor injury. With his history as a player, you'd think he'd be worth a look. Even a look in late spring training.

I'm suprised the Benard release took this long... Last year the Sox wanted to boycott the steroid tests so they all got reported as fails. This would have pushed the percentage up so testing would have become mandatory in MLB. The union pressured them out of this though. So once Benard's name came up in the BALCO report I figured he wouldn't be long for the team.

 

I think this probably bodes well for Borchard or Reed.... I hope it's Borchard, he's a switch hitter with some pop, and I hope he grabs this opportunity!

With Benard gone, the reserve role could fall to Jamie Burke or Ross Gload. Gload went 2-for-3 with a run scored in a loss to Colorado on Tuesday. He also made two nifty plays at first base.

 

Or both, right now I'd say that the bench would be Gload, Burke, Uribe, and Alomar.

 

Dransfeldt has had a good bat but has been brutal with the glove, any time they want to end the Bobby Smith era is fine with me, and Joe B. needs to get out on the field to get back into contention.

Borchard and Gload deserve to make the team this time. Burke is a good back up, but I think Borchard, who is a switch hitter, and Gload, who bats lefty are more in line with what the team needs going into the season. When people talk versatality and bring up Burke as being able to play 3B and the OF don't forget that Jose played there and did fairly well and he can switch over to 3 B, if a move was made in the game with Joe Crede. Uribe can play there also and is the utility man.

why would the Sox want to keep 3 catchers? Wouldnt they want a 4th or 5th OF?

 

I would also think they would want someone to platoon in CF if Rowand needs a breather. (And no.. Willie Harris isn't allowed to play CF)

why would the Sox want to keep 3 catchers? Wouldnt they want a 4th or 5th OF?

 

I would also think they would want someone to platoon in CF if Rowand needs a breather. (And no.. Willie Harris isn't allowed to play CF)

Should they go that route, Gload is your 4th OF and yes, Willie would be a fill-in CF. If Willie got injured they would just call Borchard or Reed up from AAA. Gload has also played a little CF in ST, so we'll have to see how that is going.