The same three-word phrase keeps popping into my head during every White Sox game: “hard to watch.”
It’s gotten to the point where something has to change.
Now I’m not talking about a small change, like releasing Mark Kotsay IMMEDIATELY.
A change like that would be welcomed, but it wouldn’t be enough to jump-start this team.
The change I’m talking about is trading one or two veterans right now and infusing younger talent into the lineup.
Candidate No. 1 to be dealt is A.J. Pierzynski. A.J. has struggled mightily thus far. Going into today’s game, he sports a .198 average with two home runs and 11 RBI.
Now, I know he’s a “leader” on this team. However, my question is, what is he leading? The lineup isn’t hitting, so he’s clearly not leading them, and the Sox’s veteran pitching staff doesn’t need a veteran catcher to help them through the season.
It’s clear A.J. is expendable, and with Tyler Flowers waiting in AAA, now is the time to move A.J. while he still has some value to another club.
Moreover, what better time to bring up Flowers to take over at catcher than now, when the pressure isn’t on him to produce since the lineup as a whole already isn’t producing? Another benefit would be that he’d be able to learn and develop a rapport with veteran starters like Mark Buehrle and Jake Peavy that would carry over into next season.
Trading Pierzynski and bringing up Flowers makes too much sense for it not to happen sooner or later. With A.J. gaining five and 10 rights on June 14, it looks like it might be happening soon.
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