Alex Fernandez is in the bullpen, and Greg Hibbard is back to following Charlie Hough.
With an off day coming up and two of his starters slightly off their games, White Sox manager Jeff Torborg made a couple of adjustments Sunday.
The Fernandez move is temporary, Torborg said, though he will miss a start. The right-hander, who made a scoreless relief appearance earlier, didn`t question the decision.
”First of all, we need another guy down there right now,” Fernandez said. ”And I`ll be working with different things in terms of locating the ball. That`s my main problem.”
Hibbard, who went 5 1/3 innings in a loss Saturday, will start Wednesday on short rest. That he again follows fellow non-blazer Hough-something Torborg, as an experiment, managed to avoid last time-is just the way it fell. ”We`ll see if maybe it helps his sinker,” Torborg said of bringing Hibbard back quickly. ”Last year, he pitched on short rest and pitched real well.”
”I do what I`m told,” Hibbard said.
Now what? The Cory Snyder-Mike Huff deal is done. Ron Kittle hit his third homer in two games Saturday night for Triple-A Vancouver. Expect more juggling in a day or three.
There it goes: The Sox, led by Hibbard`s 17, are tied with Oakland for the American League high in home runs allowed with 83.
”If we led the league in solo homers, that wouldn`t bother me a bit,”
said pitching coach Sammy Ellis. ”Right now, we`re probably leading the league in three-run homers, and that`s what concerns me.”
All in all, it`s not that big a deal. The club`s earned-run average is fourth-best in the league, and opponents are batting .238 against the staff, second only to Toronto (.226) and well ahead of the pack.
Whatever works: When Dan Pasqua was rushed to first base May 8, he used a ratty old glove borrowed from Mike Maziarka, the club`s computer whiz. Since then, his mitt maker has supplied multiple first baseman`s gloves. He`s still using Maziarka`s.
