per Scot Gregor

 

What a shot to the gut as far as expectations. What he had before just wasnt there this year(thus far)

 

Scot Gregor ‏@scotgregor 1m

#WhiteSox option starter Erik Johnson (1-1, 6.46 ERA) to AAA Charlotte. Ventura: "He just needs to go and get his stuff back"

Edited April 27, 201411 yr by Jose Paniagua

I would have suspected DL before AAA. Big surprise, not sure what's going on with that. Robin even said it - he's not throwing hard, he's not throwing the curve he used to. Seems like injury to me

Ya I'm pretty surprised by this too.

I would have suspected DL before AAA. Big surprise, not sure what's going on with that. Robin even said it - he's not throwing hard, he's not throwing the curve he used to. Seems like injury to me

 

Scary thought that he could be hurt. This is one of those years we could use some hacks like Guthrie, Chen, the good version of Humber (not the abysmal one), Colon, Freddy Garcia. Some bodies that could actually complement Sale, Danks and Q.

The thing that kind of boggles my mind here is that we still will need to call someone up to pitch. It's an odd time to Johnson to AAA - right as we dumped another starter, lost our ace to injury, and had a fill-in fall completely flat and get sent down. We almost have to call up Axe now.

We have, for the next turn in the rotation:

 

Q-Danks-Rienzo-Carroll

 

Options for spot 5:

Axelrod

Surkamp

Noesi?

Webb?

Petricka?

 

FWIW, Chris Beck has been dreadful in AA and is almost definitely not an option

We have, for the next turn in the rotation:

 

Q-Danks-Rienzo-Carroll

 

Options for spot 5:

Axelrod

Surkamp

Noesi?

Webb?

Petricka?

 

FWIW, Chris Beck has been dreadful in AA and is almost definitely not an option

 

Damn, our pitching turned to promising to s*** in 28 days.

It could be Hanson next.

 

 

I am surprised posters aren't up in arms over this move. Carroll is a non prospect and people here have been saying the White Sox are using this as a throwaway season. If that is the case, don't you leave a guy like Johnson in the rotation and let him take his lumps?

 

I guess the biggest problem with that is the trickle down. The bullpen gets worn.

 

 

It does prove one thing. The White Sox didn't have too many starters. No team ever does.

wtf happened to Johnson? Very disappointing.

 

We have, for the next turn in the rotation:

 

Q-Danks-Rienzo-Carroll

 

Options for spot 5:

Axelrod

Surkamp

Noesi?

Webb?

Petricka?

 

FWIW, Chris Beck has been dreadful in AA and is almost definitely not an option

Surkamp has given 42 hits in 24 innings. He shouldn't be an option.

We have, for the next turn in the rotation:

 

Q-Danks-Rienzo-Carroll

 

Options for spot 5:

Axelrod

Surkamp

Noesi?

Webb?

Petricka?

 

FWIW, Chris Beck has been dreadful in AA and is almost definitely not an option

I assume it's Sale or else Johnson would have stayed up? That said I don't see any of the guys you listed as realistic as t this point. It's probably Tommy Hanson if his arm strength is fine and his next start goes all right.

wtf happened to Johnson? Very disappointing.

 

He seems very tentative and his fastball velocity is down. I'm wondering what the hell happened as well.

For me, the mystery of Erik Johnson's "stuff" has been the great unanswered question of this young season.

 

From his first pitch in his first 2014 regular season game, you could see that he had just a shadow of last season's stuff. I had expected BETTER stuff than late last year because all reports had been that he was already running on fumes when he had his late season call-up and we could expect more from him. The guy has alway been regarded as a guy with "plus" overall stuff -- not devastating, but certainly "plus" -- featured in an overall repertoire that included a heavy 93-95 FB, a sharp slider, and, at times, a hammer curve. All that combined, and factoring in a workhorse frame, the near unanimous consensus was that we had a like #3-#4 on our hands, with some thinking he could turn out to be a #2.

 

Instead, what we've seen all year this year (even in his one better results start where he flashed marginally better stuff, but still a lot of smoke and mirrors) wasn't a guy with "plus" stuff, but instead a guy with closer to (gasp) Axelrod stuff, who had to get by on pin-point location and competitive drive. Axelrod in that rare game or two has a chance of surviving with that, but it's difficult for a guy like Johnson to be a bulldog when it's clear his confidence in what he brings is gutted.

 

Until Robin's comments that indicated the Sox are also wondering where that "stuff" went, the Sox and all the covering writers had been completely silent on this pretty obvious problem.

 

Sure, I'm also worried that we may be dealing with an injured arm here. But I'm somewhat comforted to learn he hasn't been sitting 88-90 because the Sox wanted him in that range for better movement (or whatever).

 

Come back, Erik Johnson's stuff!

Edited April 27, 201411 yr by CyAcosta41

Everryone seems to be leaning towards an injury. He may just be in that rut as a rooke where he got banged around and lost his confidence. Hope that's the case and now Carroll is up to let us see what he has got. Should be an interesting game Sunday

 

It could be Hanson next.

 

 

I am surprised posters aren't up in arms over this move. Carroll is a non prospect and people here have been saying the White Sox are using this as a throwaway season. If that is the case, don't you leave a guy like Johnson in the rotation and let him take his lumps?

 

I guess the biggest problem with that is the trickle down. The bullpen gets worn.

 

 

It does prove one thing. The White Sox didn't have too many starters. No team ever does.

 

We've seen over the years with the Sox the stress having no 5th starter has in a rotation with 4 decent-to-good pitchers which is why I was shocked they expected Paulino to fill the 5th spot with the question marks of Danks and Johnson. Hopefully, that stress did not cause a serious arm issue for Sale.

 

If the Sox thought Johnson was hurt they would send him to a doctor not Charlotte.

he needs to grow a pair, start throwing strikes and stop moping on the mound. I like this move a lot. Bet he comes back with his head right.

I don't want him sent down if it's for Axelrod.

Damn, our pitching turned to promising to s*** in 28 days.

Our starting pitching has been razor thin since the first day of spring. We were counting on a rookie and a Coop reclamation project for 40% of the rotation. There was always a reasonable chance this could happen.

I still like all the trades.

5.70 BB/9 and a .356 BABIP ouch! Come on back, though. Abreu will hit a couple grand slams and cover your ass.