The Bullpen Is Bad, But Help Is On The Way

Prepare yourselves for my controversial, hard-hitting analysis: The White Sox bullpen is bad and ineffective. Obviously, the past offseason they dealt heavily from this area of the roster, sending Addison Reed and Hector Santiago out to the West Coast for badly needed help in the form of position players. One of them has worked out beautifully - Adam Eaton has played good center field, provided another left-handed bat, and getting on base at a .371 clip heading into Friday night. Matt Davidson is struggling to stay above the Mendoza line in AAA. So it goes...

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Early Trends in Bullpen Usage

The 2014 White Sox bullpen has had a revolving door since the beginning of the season. Nate Jones, who came into this year considered to be one of the closer candidates, was the first casualty as he was added to the 60-day disabled list with a hip injury early in April. Lindstrom followed suit and was placed on the disabled list with an ankle injury that requires surgery.  He will be out at least three months.  As a result, Robin Ventura and his coaching staff have mixed and matched with the remaining relievers, including some pulled from the waiver wire and the minors.

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Pull up a chair for Frank Francisco

It sure would be fun if minor league teams were acting on their own accord and signing wayward former closers with sordid pasts to fill out their roster, without any approval from the big club. But this is actually an addition of relief depth by the White Sox, who have apparently met the "only if things go right to hell" criteria for when they would decide to sign Frank Francisco.

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