Club expects to open with 11 pitchers

[SSH2005]

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

Notes: Hermanson still building velocity

Club expects to open with 11 pitchers; Iguchi hitless

 

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

 

TEMPE, Ariz. -- A drop in velocity from the previous season, through just three Cactus League appearances, has never been a concern for Dustin Hermanson during prior Spring Trainings. He's not changing his philosophy this year, despite many of his 24 pitches during Wednesday's effort against the Angels falling in the mid-80s.

 

But it was enough of an issue for the White Sox that general manager Ken Williams, manager Ozzie Guillen and pitching coach Don Cooper briefly asked Hermanson about the drop off during a meeting Tuesday.

 

"We asked him yesterday, 'Is this where you are or are you building?'" said Williams of the talk with Hermanson. "We are comfortable right now that he's building, and he will let us know in the next few weeks whether or not he still doesn't feel that confident in his building and we will go from there."

 

Hermanson, 33, actually started Wednesday's contest against the Angels at Diablo Stadium, something the right-hander has done 180 times during his 11-year career. The start worked out perfectly for Hermanson, who had the chance to go through a normal preparatory routine.

 

In his last outing, Hermanson was scheduled to pitch in the fourth but came in during the third instead, when starter Mark Buehrle reached his pitch count early. Hermanson wasn't exactly ready for the early entrance.

 

Despite allowing Chone Figgins' leadoff home run and two other hits, Hermanson feels as if he made positive strides in his one inning of work. Just as the velocity issue doesn't concern Hermanson, neither do the runs allowed.

 

"I've been around too long to raise red flags right now," said an upbeat Hermanson, who will have two days off and pitch two innings Saturday against San Diego. "I'm just trying to improve every outing -- whether it's improvement or not, just feel better every outing.

 

"I did feel more in rhythm. I did feel better. I felt more under control and I'm going at hitters. As long as every outing feels better than the last one, I think that's important. That's the one positive you have to look at, whether you are getting results or not."

 

As for the slight dip in velocity, Hermanson said that it's only an issue if his stuff isn't there at the end of Spring Training. The back is not a concern for Hermanson, who said he would let reporters know if anything health-wise came up.

 

But the White Sox will keep an eye on Hermanson's building process as March progresses.

 

"He might have to take a lesser role to start out the season, if he doesn't continue to build," said Williams. "But it's all premature to talk about any of that."

 

"I'm not too concerned with it because every outing has felt better than the last one, even though the results haven't been there," Hermanson added. "We don't ask now about the gun readings. We just try to get all the bad things out of the way in Spring Training."

 

A call to arms: Williams officially stated Wednesday that the White Sox will leave Arizona with 11 pitchers, adding one asterisk to his commentary.

 

"The only caveat is if someone is hurting in the bullpen in the end and not hurting enough to be put on the disabled list," said Williams of a possible cause for a move from 11 to 12 pitchers. "Then, you are forced to carry the extra guy."

 

Three pitchers are legitimately in contention for the final relief opening, as left-hander Arnie Munoz was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte before Wednesday's game. Javier Lopez appears to have the edge over fellow left-hander Armando Almanza and right-hander Tim Redding, after Lopez hurled 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Angels.

 

Lopez relieved Redding in the fifth, after Redding allowed one run on two hits in one-third of an inning. The lefty extended his stretch of scoreless spring appearances to four.

 

"Every time we put this kid there, he makes it tough for us," said Guillen of Lopez. "He has a good chance. We are going to continue to send him out there. He's the best lefty right now. He throws the ball over the plate and gets people out."

 

Swinging for success: Brian Anderson hasn't exactly had the best of success offensively through the first nine Cactus League contests, with an 0-for-3 effort Wednesday dropping his average to .188. But Anderson is more than satisfied with his mechanics.

 

"Even in the beginning, my swing felt good," Anderson said. "My only downfall was expanding my zone, swinging out of the zone. That tends to happen during your early at-bats in the spring.

 

"But I'm excited. My swing feels better than ever. It feels short, and I'm driving the good pitches I'm getting to hit."

 

All-Star request: Guillen asked Angels manager Mike Scioscia to serve as one of his coaches for the 2006 All-Star game in Pittsburgh, but Scioscia respectfully declined. Guillen plans to ask Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire and Kansas City manager Buddy Bell to join his American League coaching staff.

 

Stars of tomorrow: It's not often players wearing jerseys with Nos. 87 and 88 on their back get a mention from the big-league manager. But Guillen liked what he saw from left-hander Boone Logan (No. 87) and catcher Francisco Hernandez during Wednesday's 5-2 loss.

 

Logan gained notice during a "B" game on Sunday, striking out Rob Mackowiak and Jim Thome over 1 1/3 innings. He struck out one and allowed one hit over one scoreless inning against the Angels.

 

"I say in the meeting I want to take a look at guys in the Minors," Guillen said. "It's a good opportunity to have them, since we don't have as many pitchers with us."

 

Third to first: Mackowiak turned in the defensive inning of the spring during the third Wednesday. Mackowiak leaped over the left-field fence at Diablo Stadium to take away Tim Salmon's three-run home run and then made two slick running catches in the gap. ... Tadahito Iguchi is now 0-for-15 this spring, with two hitless at-bats Wednesday. ... Javier Vazquez allowed one run over three innings during Team Puerto Rico's victory over Panama on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic.

Edited March 9, 2006 by SSH2005

[Jordan4life_2007]

Like Kenny states in the article, it's best to wait until the end of spring to see where Hermy is at. Dustin sounds pretty confident that he'll be where he needs to be in a few weeks.