Just when it looked like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Juan Pierre grounded into two double plays for just the second time in his career Sunday.
He actually did have a hit in four at-bats against the A’s. But he was promptly picked off first base afterwards.
Pierre is currently sitting at .242/.314/.268 for the season. He hasn’t even attempted a steal in 12 days after opening the season by getting caught on eight of his first 14 attempts. His play in left field has also drawn some criticism, though it certainly has more to do with him having the worst arm of any major league outfielder than with any lack of effort.
In spite of it all, manager Ozzie Guillen is standing by his man. As he told the Chicago Tribune:
“He’ll be there batting first again. I don’t worry about him because he’s a professional. He will battle. That’s not the first time he’s been through it. He’ll find a way.”
The White Sox do have alternatives, as I wrote in the Strike Zone on Saturday:
Jordan Danks, John’s younger brother, has been showing big-time power at Triple-A Charlotte and is up to .245/.341/.557 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 106 at-bats. Dayan Viciedo is playing left field for Charlotte most days and is hitting .304/.345/.486 in 138 at-bats. According to reports, Viciedo, who signed with the White Sox as a third baseman, hasn’t displayed much range in left field, so he’d be a clear downgrade from Pierre defensively. Danks would probably be an upgrade there, but he does have big issues making contact (33 strikeouts in 31 games) and I don’t think he’d hit for average in the majors. It still wouldn’t be a bad idea for the White Sox to give Danks a try, but they’ll probably give Pierre a couple of more weeks first.
Guillen certainly won’t be quick to make a switch. But if the White Sox can get better and younger at the same time, they really need to go for it.
