The White Sox would love to move Jose Contreras in a deal in the coming weeks because he makes a lot of cash and he just isn’t that good anymore.  He’s 5-10 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP so far this season.  The lefties in the bullpen (Matt Thornton and Boone Logan) have both been pretty bad this season.  Thornton had a breakthrough season in 2006 but he’s been pretty bad this season.  Thornton is 2-3 with a save, a 5.22 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP this season.  Logan has also been pretty bad as he is 1-0 with 5.63 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP this season.  Mike MacDougal was expected to be the set up man for the White Sox but he’s been awful this season as he is 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP.  Nick Masset has also been pretty bad for the White Sox this year as he is 2-3 with a 7.34 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.  Look for the White Sox to try to improve the bullpen in their impending firesale.

The White Sox had to shake up their bullpen because the set-up crew was getting ripped this season.  So the Sox sent Mike MacDougal and David Aardsma to AAA and recalled Ryan Bukvich and Bret Prinz from the minors to replace them.  MacDougal was very wild and that hurt him this season.   In 27 games this year, MacDougal was 1-3 with a 7.13 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP.  MacDougal walked an amazing 17 batters in 17.2 innings and it was driving Ozzie Guillen crazy so at least with him in AAA Ozzie should get some sleep at night.  David Aardsma’s problem was that he was trying to strike everyone out and that doesn’t work to often in the major leagues.  Instead of pitching he just kept trying to throw the ball harder and the one thing that almost all major league hitters can handle is a fastball.  In 22 games for the Pale Hose, Aardsma was 2-1 with a 6.18 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.  He did whiff 32 batters for the White Sox in 27.2 innings so he has good stuff he just needs to go down to AAA and relearn how to pitch.

Ryan Bukvich and Bret Prinz both have major league experience and could fit in nicely in the White Sox bullpen.  29 year old righty Ryan Bukvich was the closer at AAA for the Sox.  In 23 games there, he was 1-3 with 9 saves, a 2.89 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  He also exhibited good control in the minors as he whiffed 32 batters while only walking 9 in 28 innings.  Bret Prinz is also a 29-year old righty.  He pitched in 15 AAA games for the Sox and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 0.56 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Look for Guillen to throw both of these guys right into the fire soon to see if they can handle the heat.

The White Sox have demoted Andrew Sisco to the minor leagues and he deserved it based on how he pitched.  In 19 games this season, Sisco is 0-1 with a 8.36 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP.  In 14 innings with the Pale Hose, Sisco allowed 19 hits, walked 11 batters and whiffed 13.  Hopefully Sisco will work on his control in the minors because he has great stuff but it won’t matter if he can’t throw strikes.

Mike MacDougal has been awful so far this season for the White Sox.  The White Sox are not allowing MacDougal to be their steup man anymore as they’ve demoted him to earlier work in the bullpen.  In 23 games this season, MacDougal is 1-1 with a 6.19 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP so far.  He has been wild so far this season as he’s walked 12 batters and allowed 18 hits in only 16 innings!  He still has nasty stuff as he has already whiffed 17 batters this season, so he just needs to throw more strikes to be successful.

John Danks hasn’t pitched quite as bad as his record suggests.  He has started 5 games this season and he’s 0-4 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP!  Danks big problem has been keeping the baseball in the field of play as he has allowed 6 homers already in only 28.2 innings for the Sox.  Danks needs to get ahead in the count and keep the ball down to be effective.  He has the stuff, he just needs to learn how to pitch.