Jose Contreras Banished To The Bullpen
Usually, I can’t stand anything that comes out of Ozzie Guillen’s mouth. Bashing just about every team and every ballpark who has ever given his team trouble, usually anything he has to say is not worth listening to.
But I was struck by something he said the other day. In the downturn of a season for pitcher Jose Contreras, Guillen finally rid him of his starting position and banished him to the bullpen. In Contreras’ last outing he lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowed six earned runs. He was 1-5 in his last eight starts and allowed 26 earned runs in that time span. So, Ozzie finally got real that if he wanted to turn his team’s season around, major changes would have to be made.
“You keep pushing and hoping for him, and nothing works. We are not in position right now where we can use guys and hope they get it done. I think enough is enough,” he said Monday after a 12-8 loss to the Red Sox.
“I feel for him, but our job is to win games.”
I love this quote from Ozzie because it means he is finally facing the music that he is going to have to rely on someone new other than Contreras. He loves the guy and wanted him to get the job done, but he couldn’t, and he is moving on.
Contreras is a veteran of the team who the Sox were hoping to get a few more good seasons out of before the end of his career. In Contreras’ absence, the team is hoping that means Jake Peavy can enter the lineup and give a much needed spark to the pitching staff. Under producing vets? Sounds familiar. Oh yea, the train wreck that has been Alfonso Soriano.
As much as I hate to admit it, Lou Pinella could learn something from Ozzie.
Soriano returned to the lineup Wednesday after being sidelined with a sore knee since Friday. And he returns to the lineup in the middle of a .162, homerless four RBI and a .183 on-base percentage August.
And he is a veteran who Lou has continued to work with and be patient with this season. As of lately, he has been quoted as saying his patience only goes so far. “Invariably, you have to start hitting at some point.”
But on Aug. 24, Lou continued to say the thing I hate to hear him say. “I said that I was going to have to play my veteran players,” Piniella was quoted as saying in the Chicago Tribune. “They’re going to have to get it done. I’ll get [the kids] in as much as I can, but I’m going to lean as much as I can on our veteran players here and see what they can do and how far we can go.”
They’re going to have to get it done? But they aren’t, so what now? What is the point of putting Sori back in the lineup, with a nagging injury and all? Whats more, that means benching Jake Fox and high-flying outfielder Sam Fuld and who have been stellar in his absense.
On Sunday, Jake Fox was in the lineup for Soriano and went 4-for-4 with a HR and two RBI. And Fuld has been an all-star in the outfield in almost all of his outings and has made catches to keep his team close that Soriano never could have caught. He keeps his team in the game and is great on the basepaths.
Now I know people are not sold Fuld can get it done at the plate as he has yet to produce an RBI, but enough is enough, and how much longer can you wait to see if the veterans will start playing if you are hanging on to playoff hopes? With 30-something games left in the season, the time is NOW to make some changes to the lineup. Why not mix it up and play the young guys, because it’s not like we have that much to lose. Pinella said he is going to “see how far they can go” riding on their vets, but its not looking too good.
I know the Cubs have got $16 million riding on Soriano’s season, but if we want to win, were just going to have to face the music that we signed him for that much in the first place and bench the money.
Lou, take a hint from Ozzie that its time to go in a new direction, and bench these so called valued veterans. You have to admit, these new guys provide a spark for the team. This is the thing out of Ozzie’s mouth I’d like to see Lou follow.
