In a very necessary move, manager Ozzie Guillen finally benched Mark Teahen and gave recent call-up Brent Morel the start at third in the finale of the 10 game road trip against the Tigers.
Teahen has struggled both offensively and defensively lately but committing two errors last night, essentially causing the White Sox to lose after the errors lead to 4 runs, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Morel is known for his amazing defense at third, so he should be a definite upgrade defensively. Offensively, Morel had a good year down in Charlotte. In 81 games, he posted a line of .320/.348/.503 with 24 doubles, 4 triples, and 8 home runs with 34 RBI. Even though it’s triple A and not the majors, that’s a better line that Teahen so there’s a good chance he could be a decent offensive upgrade at third as well. His .320 average was the highest on the team (aside from Teahen during his rehab assignment), his .348 OBS was third on the team (not including Teahen again) and his .503 SLG was highest on the team as well to go along with being ranked 2nd on the team in doubles and 1st on the team in triples.
I still don’t understand why it took this long to move Teahen but I think we should give this a try for a few games and if Morel can hit at this level then make him the permanent third baseman for the rest of the season. Ozzie always says defense comes first to him which makes me wonder why he or Kenny Williams even bothered to trade for Teahen in the place.
Regardless, the move has been made and the infield defense should be much better than it has been. Teahen just better hope the White Sox win the division, because if we don’t, the blame is going to go directly on him and the game he had last night.
Original Story:
http://www.whitesoxrant.com/2010/09/m...
