The White Sox announced Friday afternoon that it was indeed right-hander Adam Russell that got the call-up from Class AAA Charlotte, as infielder/outfielder Alexei Ramirez was placed on the restricted list because of visa problems that made travel in and out of Canada impossible.
"It's just because we had (reliever Nick) Masset start (Wednesday's) game, so we (don't) have any long man in case something happens," manager Ozzie Guillen explained. "Then all of a sudden, we would have to use everybody again out of the bullpen and I don't want to take that chance. Just in case something happens, we have this kid to cover the innings and that was what was going through my mind. If we didn't use Masset, we would have made another decision." Russell was 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in nine appearances for the Knights, and said he was thrilled to be making his major league debut, even if it was for nothing more than a long weekend.
"If they need to rent a guy, I'll be here," Russell joked.
Meanwhile, Ramirez was back in Chicago, getting work on his four-day paid vacation.
"We have a couple of guys working out with him in the morning," Guillen said. "The problem was I thought we could send him somewhere (in the minors) and they told me, 'No, you can't.' So we have a few guys throwing batting practice to him."
Even with the lost time, as well as a dismal .121 batting average, Guillen said that Ramirez is still in their plans when they return to Chicago. That's not good news for outfielder Jerry Owens, who is still awaiting a call-up from Charlotte.
"Every time we play this kid, it's either really cold or a nasty pitcher," Guillen said of Ramirez's poor start. "We have to try and figure out how to use him so that he can catch a break, then we'll see how we can use him."
BLUE JAYS 2, WHITE SOX 0: Sox starter Mark Buehrle threw the complete game in front of 21,057 at the Rogers Centre, with four of his five hits allowed coming from the duo of Vernon Wells and Shannon Stewart. The two runs he did allow were unearned, courtesy of a Joe Crede errant throw in the first inning. Wells then doubled and Stewart made him pay with the two-run single.
That was all Toronto starter Shaun Marcum needed (3-2), as he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing the two hits, walking three and fanning nine. "Their guy didn't make a mistake," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said of Marcum. "It was amazing."
The bigger picture? Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was left trying to sell, not only to the South Side, but to all of baseball, that his first-place team is a legitimate contender. It's hard to see right now, no matter what the standings say. "I guarantee you that if we are in first place in September, no one will believe it," Guillen said. "We can be 20 games up and 10 games to go and they'll still think we won't make the playoffs. Why? They have their reasons."
