White Sox Today, March 19, 2006

Dustin Hermanson’s ongoing back pain is so extreme that he is undergoing weekly epidurals.  “Last year I got them, and it lasted only four to five days,” Hermanson said of the epidural injections. “If that’s the case here … I don’t know what I can do. I know the next thing [involves] risks to be taken.” According to Scott Merkin of mlb.com, the Sox longtime trainer Herm Schneider expected Hermanson’s continued back troubles.  “Did you think it was just going to go away?” said Schneider.... I just wasn’t sure when it was going to surface, and it surfaced early. I knew I would have to deal with it sooner or later.  I can nurse him through it all year,” said Schneider, who dealt with Hermanson’s back pain “every day last year, “but he’ll have to want to go through it.” “I can’t keep pitching with the pain I had last year and these last couple of outings,” Hermanson said.  “I’m really hoping for the best. I don’t want to face anything else, to make any decisions, whether to have surgery or to rip my jersey from my back.” After Hermanson’s 42-pitch bullpen session on Friday, pitching coach Don Cooper is optimistic. “I was pleasantly surprised at what he did the other day. If we can climb from there and get him in the game and he does well, it’s looking like everything is going to be OK.” The back injury has not allowed Hermanson to finish his delivery, causing his pitches to stay up in the hitting zone.  “You leave the ball up in the zone and it’s like taping it to your forehead and running it in there for the guy to hit,” Hermanson said. “That’s not being fair to myself or the team.” Or your forehead. 

Sidelined since Tuesday with a “contractor” injury, Jose Contreras reported no pain in his elbow after his long-toss session on Saturday.  Schneider called the injury, which irritated Contreras when his arm flexed and the tricep extended over the traction spur, “a little concerning” originally, but expected that it would remedy itself “nicely.” Contreras’s next scheduled start is on Saturday, March 25 against the Giants.  “I go in optimistically,” Cooper said. “If it doesn’t work out, we do what we have to do and figure it out.”

Having now undergone two MRIs, Scott Podsednik’s sore throwing shoulder continues to resist treatment.  Podsednik received a cortisone (steroid) shot.  Podsednik is does not believe that the shoulder problem could become chronic. “I think it’s a one-time thing,” he said.  “I could feel where Herm [Schneider] helped me strengthen the shoulder, and this should close the door.” The pain has made it hard for Podsednik to swing and impossible for him to hit the ball up the middle or the other way.

Hermanson’s injury and the inconsistency of the group fighting for the final bullpen spot have led the Sox to consider recent-addition Hideo Nomo, 37, in the bullpen.  Nomo is slated for AAA Charlotte and unlikely to make the big club.  “We are looking for relievers and right now, they all [stink],” said Guillen harshly.  “The opportunity is there and nobody wants to grab it.  They throw pretty good, but I need more consistency,” Guillen said. “They go out and pitch pretty good one day and then two days later, they stunk. I want more consistency from them to make this thing interesting. I’ve never seen it before. They know there’s a job open for a couple of guys, but they keep failing and failing and failing and then we keep sending people down.” LOOGY candidate Paulino Reynoso was the latest casualty of the bullpen battle; he was sent down on Friday. 

Improbably and probably unwisely, outfielder Ryan Sweeney remains in the competition with Ross Gload and Joe Borchard for the final roster spot. “I’m not afraid to take this kid,” Guillen said. “I think he’s going to be a heck of a player.” One player who will not be in the mix to start the year is outfielder Jerry Owens who was optioned to AAA Charlotte on Friday.  Guillen wants Owens to get more at bats than can be provided for him at the major league camp. 

DH Jim Thome tweaked his left hamstring while running out a double on Saturday.  He is day-to-day. 

Brandon McCarthy’s rough outing on Tuesday, in which he gave up four runs over 3 2/3 innings, was his final scheduled spring start. “We are going to start [using McCarthy in relief] because that’s his role,” Guillen said.  “It’s not necessarily where your arm is at,” McCarthy explained. “My arm can get loose in five minutes. It’s me being comfortable throwing 10 times and then going out to the mound and facing big league hitters.” He was perfect with two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings versus the Cubs on Saturday.  “That’s probably the most nervous I’ve been on a baseball field. My knees were knocking a little bit getting out there,” McCarthy said. “I had no idea what I was doing out there.  Throwing from the stretch, everything was different. But I felt good and I felt like I settled in. It was easier to focus for some reason on what I had to do mechanically. I got enough time in the bullpen to warm up and my arm responded pretty quickly.” Concerns about a Contreras’s injury will give McCarthy another start on Monday, but he will treat it like a relief appearance, pitching from the stretch from the beginning of the game. 

The new White Sox new darling, Boone Logan pitched another perfect inning on Saturday, inching himself ever-closer to making the team out of spring training.  A left-hander with a sidearm, slinging delivery reminiscent of former Sox reliever Scott Radinsky, Logan has not allowed a run this spring.  “His velocity was up, and he was around the plate,” said Guillen of Logan. “It’s too early to say if he’s in or out, but I like what I see.” Logan generally throws around 88-90 miles per hour and features a solid curveball and change up.  He has spent the last three seasons playing for Great Falls in rookie ball.  “I know I can handle [pitching in the big leagues]. That’s no question,” Logan said. “The way you’re seeing me pitch right now, that’s what you’re going to be seeing most of the time. I know I can handle the role.”

The White Sox are unconcerned about their spring offensive woes. “The only guy I worry about right now is Iguchi (batting .074),” Guillen said. “Everybody else is doing pretty good. [Iguchi] is starting to panic, getting too anxious to get it done. He forgot this is spring training. This weekend and next week he will take a lot of at-bats in the minor-league camp to make sure he gets his timing back.”

Freddy Garcia, Alex Cintron, Javier Vazquez and Ruben Rivera treasured their experiences at the World Baseball Classic.  “It was definitely more exciting than I even thought it would be,” said Garcia of his time with Team Valenzuela.  “It’s fun to be around all those guys, and playing with that kind of talent was great.” [T]to be there in the same clubhouse, with one purpose, to win for your country, that’s pretty special,” said Vazquez of the Puerto Rican National Team.  “I just have great things to say about it.”

Merkin looks the first Cubs-Sox matchup of the year, which the Sox won 9-3.  “Some times it hurts your feelings a little bit, to hear about the Cubs and other stuff,” Widger added. “They are the high-profile team, the team that plays at Wrigley Field, where everyone loves to go. We are the White Sox and play on the South Side. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it’s always going to be.” “It’s still a Cubs town,” Guillen echoed who has been part of the rivalry since 1985.  “Right now there’s White Sox fever because we won the World Series, but everyone knows deep, deep down it’s still a Cubs town.” The Cubs-Sox rivalry is “ultimately about us playing for our organization, our people, the people in our clubhouse,” Widger noted. “It’s about our loyal fans that are there day in and day out. That’s all we can worry about.” And with that Chris Widger guaranteed himself a job with the White Sox organization for the rest of his days.

Merkin profiled Jon Garland on Thursday. “My one major key definitely was my walks. I cut down on my walks by half,” Garland said. “When you don’t have the extra guys on base, if you do give up the home run or do give up that double, then nobody is scoring on it. Otherwise, I didn’t change one pitch or how I threw any of them.” On his “laid-back” attitude: “I’m not big on all that rah-rah stuff,” Garland said. “You go out and do your job, get guys out. It’s what you are supposed to do.  Just be professional and do things the right way. That’s what I try to do.” “I feel I am [established] now,” Garland told the Tribune’s Dave Van Dyck. “Hopefully my teammates and coaches do too. That’s what’s important, respect from my teammates.”

Battle of Semantics:  Merkin tried to make some hay by defending Bobby Jenks from the slings and arrows of the Rocky Mountain News’ Tracy Ringolsby. On Friday, Ringolsby reported that Jenks has lost up to 10 mph on his fast ball and that scouts had said that he wasn’t throwing free and easy thus far this spring [emphasis added].  Jenks’s defense?  “I’m not sure where that claim came from because I was at 95 to 97 [mph] during my first outing out,” said Jenks with a smile. “My arm feels great. I’m starting to play much more long toss, and it’s starting to build up a little more. . . . I don’t know what to say to that one,” added Jenks. “It’s not even close.” But isn’t it possible that Ringolsby was right?  Hasn’t Jenks velocity been in the low-90s at times this spring and isn’t it very possible that scouts don’t like how he was throwing, especially while he was giving up two hits, three walks and three runs against the Rockies that week? As always, Guillen put the situation in proper perspective.  “When you’re big and perform, you’re a strong man. But when you’re big and don’t perform, you’re fat. That’s the way it is. I’m going to stay with the kid. We need him.”

Mlb.com’s Jonathan Mayo profiles former Detroit-area prep star Casey Rogowski.  “Getting here, to be able to be here, is great,” Rogowski said about big league camp. “You realize you’re not as far away as you think you are. You’re up here possibly fighting for a job, maybe being up here at some point during the season. Being in Triple-A, you’re one situation away from being in the big leagues. It’s amazing.” Rogowski might have foretold the USA’s fate in the WBC if you had asked him.  “Culture-wise, [the Dominican Winter League is] different. They take baseball to another level. It’s life for them. A lot of guys over here, it gets to be a job for some of these guys. . . . I love playing baseball, but then I went over there and saw the way they love to play baseball and it reinstilled the love for me to play the game and be excited . . . There’s so much worry over here about moving up. There, they just play, have a good time and play hard. The fans, they love just watching the game. It’s awesome. They may not have much down there, but the way they love baseball, you can’t even explain it.” Rogowski was optioned to Charlotte earlier this week.