Ventura won’t move Viciedo to third base
Who said manager Robin Ventura wields no power with the White Sox?
Earlier this week, Sox general manager Kenny Williams said he threw out an idea: moving Dayan Viciedo from left field to third base.
It was just a thought in an informal setting, but Williams said he was “shot down.”
Guess who did the shooting? Ventura.
When asked about Viciedo playing third base before Friday night’s game against the Brewers, Ventura shot down the thought again.
“No,” Ventura said. “He’ll play left.”
What about next season?
“He’s going to play left,” Ventura said. “I would like him to play left. That’s where I would like him. I think he’s made tremendous strides in learning how to play left field. He looks very comfortable out there and has done well. We’ll get somebody to play third.”
For now, Orlando Hudson is still that somebody.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted Friday night that a handful of teams are in trade talks with the Red Sox for Kevin Youkilis and “one official involved believes that White Sox might be best positioned for a deal.”
With another disappointing crowd (22,798) at the Cell on Friday night, you have to wonder if chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would be willing to take on more payroll.
Youkilis is still owed roughly $6.5 million for the rest of the season and has a $13 million club option for 2013 with a $1 million buyout.
Fukudome released:The White Sox returned outfielder Kosuke Fukudome from the 15-day disabled list Friday and promptly designated him for assignment.Fukudome, who signed a one-year deal for $500,000 with a $500,00 buyout for next season, played in 24 games with the Sox and batted .171 with no home runs and 4 RBI.He was on the DL with a right oblique strain.Releasing Fukudome is good news for Jordan Danks, who came up from Class AAA Charlotte to replace the veteran outfielder.#147;He does a lot of different things,#148; manager Robin Ventura said of Danks. #147;He can play all three outfield positions. He can run. He did enough with the bat. Just different things, I think. It#146;s good to give Fuk a chance to go somewhere else and get playing time.#148;Young guns:First baseman Keon Barnum, a sandwich pick (No. 49 overall) for the Sox in this year#146;s draft, was 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI for Advanced Rookie Bristol on Friday night.Barnum has 3 home runs in his last three games.First-round pick Courtney Hawkins (No. 13 overall) picked up his first professional hit Friday, a single. He is 1-for-7 overall with Bristol.