Ozzie Defends Pierre, Says There's No Room For Viciedo
By Adam Hoge-
CHICAGO (CBS) As the outcry for Dayan Viciedo to be called up from Triple-A Charlotte gets louder, the question quickly becomes: Who would he replace on the 25-man roster?
The only position players on the White Sox who could feasibly be sent down to the minors are Brent Lillibridge and Brent Morel. Lillibridge has been one of the few bright spots in a relatively dull season and sending Morel down would drastically hurt the defense, which is already suspect.
"I don't mind having Viciedo here, at all, but my problem is, where am I going to play him? Because he has to play everyday," Guillen said. "Then I am going to play with 26 guys? Somebody has to go. Vizquel? Teahen? Lillibridge? Somebody has to go. I can't play with 26 guys."
The White Sox really only have two options: dump Juan Pierre or lose a pitcher.
Pierre has been labled as a major problem by both fans and the media, but based on what manager Ozzie Guillen had to say Tuesday, it doesn't sound like he wants to see Pierre go anywhere.
"Look around, you think Juan is our problem? Juan has better numbers than a few people here," Guillen said. "Why Juan? Why does it have to be Juan? Why can't it be someone else? Juan has better numbers than a lot of people here."
The White Sox can't really afford to drop down to 11 pitchers either, because with Jake Peavy coming off the disabled list Wednesday, they will be going back to a six man rotation. A bullpen with only five pitchers would be hard to pull off.
Unless General Manager Kenny Williams pulls off a trade or outright releases a player, it appears Viciedo will remain in Charlotte for now.
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