White Sox Need Help

After last night's loss to the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox are starting to slowly fade down the stretch and find themselves now a half game behind the Minnesota Twins. But the game isn't the only thing that they lost as they lost starter Jose Contreras for the season with a torn achiles tendon. The injury will also probably keep him sidelined for a good chunk of next season also, but that's the least of their concerns.

Right now, the White Sox are in need of someone to step up and take the spot that Contreras leaves behind. When Contreras was last on the DL, the White Sox called up Clayton Richard and he was very unspectacular in holding down the spot for 3 weeks, so chances are he's not going to be the one. D.J. Carasco has been a starter in the minors and pitched well in relief last night after Contreras left. But he's pitched well in the bullpen and taking him from that role with also leave a hole there. The could call up one of their top pitching prospects in Lance Broadway, but he hasn't exactly been lighting up AAA this season, with a 4.68 ERA in 138+ innings. And then after that, the pickings are slim. They can call up another of their top prospects from AA, Aaron Poreda. But I'm not sure if the answer would be to call up someone who has never pitched above AA and is only in his second professional season in the middle of pennant race.

The White Sox did make a trade after the game last night, adding lefty reliever Horacio Ramirez from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a A OF named Paulo Orlando. And the White Sox could plan on using him as a starter, which he has done in the past, however this season, he has spent it in the bullpen and last season, he finished the year with more walks than strikeouts (42/40) and a WHIP of 1.85. Not to mention an ERA of 7.16. So, not exactly someone who strikes fear in the hearts of batters everywhere. Other than that, not many pitchers are left out there. A few pitchers have supposedly cleared waivers and could be available for a trade, but don't seem like an option at this point. Hopefully the White Sox can do something to right the ship, otherwise they might be looking to book their winter vacations instead of where they might be swinging the bats into the middle of October.

In other small news, Ozzie Guillen has decided to pencil in Juan Uribe and his .234 batting average the starting third sacker until Joe Crede comes back and if you're a White Sox fan, you should be hoping that Crede come back and fast. While Uribe's batting average is better than both Paul Konerko and Nick Swisher, at least those guys can boast an on-base percentage of 100 points higher. I guess you can't pay him 4.5 million to sit on the bench all season.