White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said last week that position battles are more often lost by a bad performance than won by one of the competitors. Jason Grilli may have made a prophet out of Guillen on Sunday.
The young right-hander, competing with Dan Wright for the job as No. 5 starter, was annihilated by the Seattle Mariners in a game expected to weigh heavily in Guillen’s decision.
“Right now Wright has thrown the ball the best,” Guillen said. “It’s between Grilli and him. [Grilli] had only one real bad outing and that was [Sunday]. But you have to wait for Wright to throw the ball next week, and that’s when we’ll make the decision.”
Grilli appears to have virtually assured himself a spot on the roster, but chances of that spot being in the starting rotation are slipping.
“He’s on the team right now,” Guillen said. “It might hurt [his chances] to be the fifth starter, but the way Wright has thrown the ball real well and continues to throw the ball the way he has, he might be the man in the fifth spot.”
Grilli was not as sharp in his last outing but impressed Guillen with his grit and ability to find ways out of trouble. Sunday he felt he was sharper but couldn’t prove it with the results.
Five of the first six Mariners reached base in the first inning and the first nine batters got hits against Grilli and Jim Bullard in the fourth.
“I threw good pitches, [but] I could have thrown the kitchen sink up there and they would have hit it,” Grilli said. “This time doesn’t count; next time it will, so hopefully you learn from it.”
Grilli talked with catcher Miguel Olivo during and after the game, looking for insight. All Olivo could offer was that Grilli was around the plate but that the Mariners were just hitting him.
Coming back from nearly two years of lost time due to injury, Grilli has a sense of perspective on the situation.
“I’ve come through the worst of times,” Grilli said. “Two years on the shelf, that’s the worst it gets. Do that and learn the hard way. I’m not using that as a crutch by any means, but I’m going out and giving them my best every time.
“Sometimes your best isn’t good enough. That happens to the best of guys. I’m focusing on the positives and staying positive. I’m not going to lose sleep over it, just come out the next time.”
Testing
Veteran Mike Jackson pitched for the second straight day Sunday and Guillen intends to have him repeat the back-to-back outings again this spring as a test. “That’s going to be his job and we want to see how he handles it,” he said.
White Sox recap
SCORE: Seattle 12 White Sox 2.
SPRING RECORD: 8-10.
AT THE PLATE: A total of four hits, only one (Aaron Rowand) by the top six hitters in the lineup and one for extra bases, a double by Miguel Olivo. Sox couldn’t figure out 41-year-old Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer, who struck out six. Backup catcher Mike Rivera homered in the seventh.
ON THE MOUND: Six Sox pitchers gave up 21 hits in eight innings. Jason Grilli may have pitched his way out of contention for the No. 5 starting job, getting rocked for 14 hits and nine runs in less than four innings. Mike Jackson pitched a shutout inning.
IN THE FIELD: Juan Uribe was flawless as the pivot man on a pair of double plays, but bobbled away a third on a routine grounder in the fifth.
NEXT UP: Vs. Milwaukee at 2:05 p.m. in Phoenix. Esteban Loaiza faces Doug Davis.
