May 8, 200520 yr QUOTE(YASNY @ May 8, 2005 -> 05:16 PM) I can usually sit back and figure out why the team makes certain moves, but calling up Walker has me stumped. Is it because Tampa Bay and Baltimore are loaded with lefties? That's the only thing I can come up with as a possible reason. We are six days into a string of sixteen consecutive games without a day off. That may play into it. Agreed.
May 8, 200520 yr For everyone saying that we need another lefty in the pen, we have one and his name is Luis Vizcaino. Last year he limited LHB to a sub .200 average, and while he has had his struggles against lefties this year (attributed mostly to the Cleveland game), he's better than Kevin Walker who should be pitching BP somewhere.
May 8, 200520 yr Walker doesn't have a great track record of getting lefties out though. It seems that we'd want a lefty specialist who opposing lefty batters hit less than .270 against in the last three years.
May 8, 200520 yr QUOTE(sircaffey @ May 8, 2005 -> 06:41 PM) Maybe that is Walker's role...Come in for one lefty, make the opposing manager pinch hit w/ a RH, and then Ozzie goes to Luis...See, Walker will serve some purpose! QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 8, 2005 -> 06:41 PM) EXACTLY! That makes the most sense out of anything I've read.
May 8, 200520 yr I think something may be wrong with Marte. When they showed him warming up in the bullpen, he kept shaking his arm. Hopefully, its nothing but trying to get loose.
May 8, 200520 yr I think something may be wrong with Marte. When they showed him warming up in the bullpen, he kept shaking his arm. Hopefully, its nothing but trying to get loose. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Marte always dangles his arm before throwing a pitch. Or did you mean he was shaking his arm in a different way?
May 9, 200520 yr Walker won't pitch unless we are getting drilled or beating another team by 10 or more runs (similar to the Billy Koch rule.) Sure Bajenaru deserved the call more than Walker, there's no doubt about that. Mark my words, Kevin Walker won't have any impact on this team whatsoever and if he does its Ozzie's fault for letting him ever get on the field. Hell maybe they needed a lefty for BP.
May 9, 200520 yr I like the idea of bringing up Walker for the Tampa series. They have a few dangerous lefty hitters, and we can use Walker to get one out hopefully.
May 9, 200520 yr QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 8, 2005 -> 05:59 PM) Marte always dangles his arm before throwing a pitch. Or did you mean he was shaking his arm in a different way? When he was warming up in the bullpen, after he threw a pitch he would shake his left arm pretty hard. Either he does that to loosen up, or he has some pain he is trying to shake off. I'm sure if its the latter, the team doesn't think its serious enough to hold him out of the game, so its probably nothing.
May 9, 200520 yr As long as this doesn't turn into the "Jose Paniagua Experience Part 2", I don't have a problem with the move.
May 9, 200520 yr Why do we need another lefty? Cotts? Marte? Vizcaino (yes, he's not lefty, but I thought Kenny/Ozzie were confident in his ability to get out lefties)? So what he didn't do good in the show last year. Eight f***ing innings... you wanna judge a guy off of eight f'n innings... What more does Baj have to do at Charlotte? He's dominated. It's time to get him up here, and see what he can do. There's absolutely no point in leaving him there... See if he's got what it takes to pitch at this level. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Guys ... once again there is probably more to this than meets the eye. Re: Walker, he pitched a scoreless inning today and his ERA is 5.54, not 6.00. But it's only 12 innings he's thrown. Hitters are hitting just over .200 off of him, so he's been effective in most situations. He had one really bad outing down there but I don't know how consistent he's been. It's possible somebody else in the bullpen has some small nagging injury, not enough to DL. Ozzie obviously wants Cotts as his long(er) guy and not use him as a specialist. We saw how he used Marte today ... he wants Marte to close from time to time. So, Ozzie wanted a situational lefty and they brought this guy in over the winter, nothing wrong with giving him a shot. If he's awful, they'll launch him. Meanwhile Burke is designated for assignment again. I presume Burke has the choice to accept or reject the AAA assignment and the Sox have 10 days to do something with him, so this is a wait-and-see. My hunch is they keep him in the organization and Burke accepts.
May 9, 200520 yr http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws Roster moves: The White Sox made a pair of roster moves following Sunday's victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Infielder Willie Harris was activated off the bereavement list, and left-handed pitcher Kevin Walker was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. To make room, the White Sox optioned infielder Pedro Lopez to Charlotte and designated catcher/infielder Jamie Burke for assignment. Walker is 0-1 with one save and an ERA of 6.00 in 13 games with Charlotte this season. He's allowed nine hits, including four homers, in 12 innings of work. Harris, 26, was batting .310 (9-for-29) with one RBI in 13 games before being placed on the bereavement last last Tuesday. Burke, who joined the Sox in place of Harris, went 0-for-1 in his only appearance. Lopez played in only two games for Chicago, going 2-for-7 with two RBIs.
May 9, 200520 yr Interesting move to say the least, but I think I see the logic behind it. Too bad too, was starting to like watching Lopez play. He'll be back.
May 9, 200520 yr I have no problem whatsoever with this move. They have 20 games in a row without an off day, that's a tough stretch. They'll need the bullpen arms. If Walker can help get a few LH hitters out and save Marte for the 8th and 9th, it's worth it. This is Ozzie's call, he wanted the 3rd lefty and he's got one. We knew Lopez would get sent down. This was excellent experience for him and they know he can contribute defensively if needed. As for Bajenaru, it sounds cold but that's just part of baseball.
May 9, 200520 yr I better earn my stripes here...so some homework: Kevin Walker 05 AAA Game Log: *bad* April 8: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs / 2 bb / 1 k April 9: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 bb / 1 k / 1 hr *good* April 11: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 bb / 2 ks April 14: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 bb / 0 ks April 17: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 0 runs / 0 bb / 1 k April 19: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 1 bb / 1 k April 21: 2.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 bb / 3 ks April 24: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 1 bb / 0 ks April 25: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 bb / 1 k *bad* April 28: 1.0 IP / 3 hits / 3 runs / 0 bb / 2 ks / 2 hrs April 30: 0.2 IP / 0 hits / 1 run / 1 bb / 1 k May 3: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 1 bb / 2 ks / 1 hr *good* May 5: 0.1 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 1 bb / 1 k May 8: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 1 bb / 1 k He started off the year pitching very bad. This infalted his ERA to start out with. After that he pitched 7 scoreless innings, followed by three poor outings. Finally, as of late, he has been pitching well. It appears he will be either lights out when he comes in, or give up the long ball. Basically, he fits the description of an average reliever. I don't have much of a problem calling him up, especially the way that Ozzie uses his bullpen. Edited May 9, 200520 yr by SHAFTR
May 9, 200520 yr It seems to me that Cotts is the long man in the pen. The Sox plan is to use Walker to get one LH hitter out, with Marte saved for late in games. What is confusing is Arnie Munoz had out pitched Walker.
May 9, 200520 yr 17 K's in 13 IP? That's nice. Hopefully, he will be able to strikeout a few lefties for us.
May 9, 200520 yr QUOTE(JDsDirtySox @ May 8, 2005 -> 11:19 PM) You guys aren't seeing the whole field here. At this point... Walker is really the only move that makes sense. This doesn't mean he is better than Baj, this is just a move to fill a hole. Baj will get more use out of pitching every couple of days in AAA, rather than being the 5th righty out of the pen for the Sox. Walker will only pitch to one or two batters per game when he does pitch. Jaimie Burke is rotting away on the bench and will be better served back in AAA. Plus: With Walker coming up for a brief stint... It could put pressure on Neal Cotts to step it up. Lets hope so. Neal Cotts of the 3.something-something ERA? That Neal Cotts? I'm mad 'cause it's a waste of money. There's no point in bringing up Walker over Baj, when Walker can't even gets lefties out.
May 9, 200520 yr Neal Cotts of the 3.something-something ERA? That Neal Cotts? I'm mad 'cause it's a waste of money. There's no point in bringing up Walker over Baj, when Walker can't even gets lefties out. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Also, Neal "Leadoff Walk" Cotts of 9 K's and 7 BB's in 9.0 IP on the season. Edited May 9, 200520 yr by Jabroni
May 9, 200520 yr QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 9, 2005 -> 11:00 AM) Also, Neal "Leadoff Walk" Cotts of 9 K's and 7 BB's in 9.0 IP on the season. Who hasn't given up a ER in his last 5 outings. I don't think anyone's going to take the bait.
May 9, 200520 yr QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 9, 2005 -> 01:00 AM) Also, Neal "Leadoff Walk" Cotts of 9 K's and 7 BB's in 9.0 IP on the season. Well, the walks aren't too pretty, but it's better than a 5.50+ ERA at Charlotte.
May 9, 200520 yr Who hasn't given up a ER in his last 5 outings. I don't think anyone's going to take the bait. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> What bait is there to take? The guy issues too many walks and they are usually in the leadoff variety. Am I wrong?
May 9, 200520 yr QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 9, 2005 -> 01:02 AM) What bait is there to take? The guy issues too many walks and they are usually in the leadoff variety. Am I wrong? Still doing a helluva lot better than the guy you wanted up with the Sox... in Walker, of course.
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