The Crosstown Classic kicked off today—albeit, in the month of February and 1,500 miles away—with the Cubs downing the White Sox 13-0 in front of a sellout crowd in Mesa, Ariz. Don’t be fooled by the score, though—there were a couple of positives for the White Sox in this game.
Jeff Marquez made his debut in a White Sox uniform, striking out two while walking one and allowing no hits over 2.0 innings. Granted, it’s still February, but it’s good to see that Marquez picked up a pair of strikeouts. One of the biggest concerns with Marquez is that he doesn’t miss many bats (3.68 K/9 with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in 2008), and if he expects to make the White Sox out of spring training, that’s something he will have to improve upon.
Jhonny Nunez, who, like Marquez, was acquired from the Yankees in the Nick Swisher trade last November, struck out the side in his one inning of work. Nunez entered the White Sox organization very much as an unknown commodity, as he struggled as a starter in stints in the Nationals’ and Dodgers’ farm system but saw success as a reliever in limited action in the Yankees’ system. With a good spring, Nunez could end up beginning the 2009 season with Triple-A Charlotte.
Dewayne Wise had a good day at the plate, going 2/4 with a double as the team’s No. 9 hitter. Wise is now 5/10 on the spring. If Jerry Owens struggles/gets injured this March, there’s a chance that Wise could be the team’s leadoff hitter on opening day.
Of course, in a 13-0 game, there were a ton of negatives.
Octavio Dotel was lit up for two runs on three hits, a walk, and a wild pitch in his one inning of work, his second poor performance of the spring. Of course, Dotel has over a month to get his act together and his early struggles could have something to do with him tinkering with a changeup, so it’s not worth freaking out over Dotel’s poor pitching out of the gate.
Adam Russell did himself no good by giving up eight runs (six earned) on five hits and a walk while failing to record an out. Russell has a shot at making the White Sox bullpen to begin the year, but he’ll have to avoid outings like the one he had today if he wants to beat out Marquez, Clayton Richard, or Aaron Poreda.
Brent Lillibridge had the worst day of all, however. The speedy infielder picked up from Atlanta as part of the Javier Vazquez trade went 0/4 with a Jonathan Toews-esque hat trick (of strikeouts) while committing an error that led to a pair of unearned runs scoring. If Lillibridge wants to overtake Chris Getz as the favorite for the second base job, he has to prove that his .294 OBP with Triple-A Richmond was a mirage. Going 0-4 and seemingly being overmatched in the process certainly won’t help his cause.
Tomorrow’s White Sox/Dodgers game will be televised by Comcast SportsNet at 2:05 pm.
Topics: Adam Russell, Brent Lillibridge, Dewayne Wise, Jeff Marquez, Jhonny Nunez, Octavio Dotel
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