I've gone back and forth about the fluidity of the DH situation several times, I went from thinking it's a horrible idea, to thinking it's not so bad, but Sox are kinda married to it now, unless Williams can grab someone off the waiver wire.

A little research into what teams are trotting out at DH this year:

Baltimore: Luke Scott/ Nolan Reimold
Boston: David Ortiz
New York: Nick Johnson
Tampa: Pat Burrell
Toronto: Adam Lind
Cleveland: Travis Hafner
Kansas City: Jose Guillen
Detroit: Johnny Damon/Carlos Guillen
Minnesota:Jason Kubel/Jim Thome
Anaheim: Hideki Matsui
Seattle: Ken Griffey Jr./Milton Bradley
Oakland: Jack Cust
Texas: Vladimir Guerrero

Now on paper, you can't really expect Jones and Kotsay and whoever else to outperform any of these except maybe Hafner (juicer, broken down). Burrell (can't hit AL East pitchers?), the garbage that Seattle is throwing out there (I think a broken Mike Sweeney might even be in the mix there) Jose Guillen (great arm, terrible hitter) or Nick Johnson (really overrated IMO, but not relied on in that lineup).

I'm thinking that Williams needs to watch the waiver wire all year if the club is in contention, and they won't be too far out because of the division. I still think they are leaving runs on the table by not addressing this, but we'll see..

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I cannot imagine I will ever fully trust the current DH situation but so far so good.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Last I checked, Dye was still out there... offer him $1m to come in and DH 4 days a week. It's enough to keep his head in the game. Then, when his swing deteriorates in August, rotate the other guys in there to keep guys fresh.

I never thought I'd say this, but the way Andruw has played in the spring, he should be used in the field. I mean he's an old 34, but he still plays the outfield better than any of the starters except maybe Rios.

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I think Jones/Kotsay will be fine to start the season. The pitching staff will keep them in contention until June/July when Kenny is able to add the bat this team needs down the stretch.

I think any outfield that has Andruw Jones in it and Juan Pierre not in it, is a better outfield.

I'd rather see Jones in the field against left handers and Pierre moving to the DH role. Then against right handers, trot Pierre out to left and let Kotsay DH.

At this point, you roll dice on this experiment and if it doesn't work and you're in contention for a WS - you sell your soul for free agent to be Adam Dunn at the trade deadline.

I forgot about Dunn.

I just question what kind of hitters are even gonna be sitting around somewhere around the deadline. Branyan went to Cleveland, and I think Tampa picked up Blalock as insurance against potential DH meltdowns. Garko, who should excite nobody, was released today as he couldn't beat out the 800 year old Griffey/Sweeney combo in Seattle. I wonder what Boston is going to do with Mike Lowell. I'm pretty sure they would pay most of his salary to launch him, he's not going to take too many at bats from Youkilis, Beltre or Papi.

The other issue is that with 12 pitchers, on occasions that Jones is tied up in the DH spot, Ozzie has basically no bench to make any kind of in game adjustments. I can picture Nix or someone out in left field late in the year blowing an important fly ball.

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That's a pretty lucky fly ball.

There are always teams looking to trade players at the deadline. Adrian Gonzalez, Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Derrick Lee, Carl Crawford, Dan Uggla are all players who could be available at the deadline.

Nick Johnson's batting 2nd for the Yankees, last I heard. Kinda weird, kinda cool.

I really hate the Kotsay half of the DH plan, and I'm hoping Jones' spring workup can translate into a successful season (one in which Kotsay sees less than 150 AB.)

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A's just DFA'd Jack Cust. Not sure if i like him or not. He would probably swat 30 HRs in the Cell and walk a ton, but he whiffs at a ridiculous rate.... still he would be more productive than Kotsay...

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Jack Cust sucks.

I hope the Sox sign him.

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Hank Blalock is available as well. At this point, you trust your decision for at least 1-2 months.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Blalock is on the Rays. They signed him as insurance against Pat Burrell sucking.

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I read he did not make the team and was considering whether to become a free agent or take an assignment to the minor leagues.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Hmm, it seems you are correct, however it appears he has accepted his assignment to the minors.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100404&content_id=9073320&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

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Pass. They'll be fine until Kenny is able to make an impact move.

Agreed.

Honestly, I think a DH will be brought in at some point, just depends on when.

Andruw looked pretty good last night. Oh wait.... he was the left fielder...

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The way the offense has played so far, if you hit, you should stay in the lineup. Hopefully, Ozzie doesn't tinker with what worked yesterday.

Andruw Jones went 3-for-4 with 2 HR's & 4 RBI's as the White Sox left fielder last night in Toronto. Given the fact the Blue Jays are starting lefty Ricky Romero tonight, I wouldn't be shocked if Andruw's name is on Ozzie Guillen's lineup card, likely as the DH with Juan Pierre back in left. However, neither Jones nor third baseman Mark Teahen have a hit off Romero. They're the only guys who've ever faced him, and if recent Sox history means anything, it could be a long, frustrating night North of the Border...

Hey but Ozzie knows what he's doing. Hopefully he will start Kotsay tomorrow.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Not so sure about that, GD. The Blue Jays are starting another lefty in the wrap-up at Rogers Centre this eve. His name is Dana Eveland, the third such lefty in this series. Hope to have a lineup for you later today.

Although Carlos Quentin claims he didn't like DH-ing when he was that last night, he was very productive in that role. A 2-for-5 night with a grand slam, 6 RBI's and 2 runs scored was pretty good...

From early in Spring Training, Andruw Jones has shown he should be playing (at least DH'ing) every game. His performance so far this season has just continued to reiterate that.

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If Jones is in the lineup, there is no reason why he shouldn't be in the outfield. Pierre's lollipop throw yesterday was a good reminder of that.

I don't have it yet, but the White Sox will use Donny Lucy behind the plate tonight batting 8th and Jayson Nix at third base batting 9th for the wrapup of their 4 game set in Toronto.

Donny Lucy had a nice double last night. Hitting .667 on the year! Screw AJ!

You might be seeing more of #55 in White Sox silver & black than anyone bargained for, Mel. Ramon Castro suffered a setback last week in trying to recover from a heel injury at the end of Spring Training. It's unclear how much longer Castro will be sidelined, while Ozzie seems to like how Lucy has adjusted to these pitchers so far.

Teahan is actually finally starting to hit, so bench him now instead of last week Friday or Saturday when he was 0fer.

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Teahen is not in tonight's lineup, Frank. We have a Jayson Nix sighting in tonight's order.

Interesting, perhaps.. but here is Nix's and Teahen's career SLG% and OPS vs LHP:

Nix .432 .733

Teahen .395 .707

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