Viciedo here, now what?
White Sox fans seemed to be waiting all season for touted prospect Dayan Viciedo to be called up from Triple A Charlotte.
So when Viciedo finally joined the team on Saturday in Seattle, manager Ozzie Guillen figured one more day of waiting would do no harm.
Viciedo was not in the lineup when the Sox beat the Mariners 3-0. Starting pitcher John Danks (6-9) practically coasted through the complete-game victory, allowing just 3 hits while striking out ten. Alejandro De Aza homered for the Sox.
Viciedo was in Durham, N.C. when he got the call to join the big league club and was able to leave town before Hurricane Irene forced the postponement of Friday's minor-league contest.
“I talked to him. He said the flight feels like a 10-hour flight,” Guillen told reporters in Seattle before Saturday's game. “You land at 1 o'clock, and all of a sudden you arrive to the hotel at 1:30 and come here at 3 o'clock to play and face (Mariners starter Michael) Pineda, I don't think it was fair. One day, won't kill him. He will be in the lineup (Sunday).”
Viciedo, 22, will likely fill in for right fielder Carlos Quentin, who went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to last Sunday, due to a shoulder sprain. Quentin suffered the injury while making a diving catch against Texas on Aug. 20.
During a 38-game stint with the White Sox last season, Viciedo played mostly third base. This year, he was primarily in right field for Charlotte. He also played a few games at first base.
Viciedo, who defected from Cuba in 2008, hit .297 with 28 doubles, 20 home runs and 78 RBI this season in Charlotte. Last year in 104 at bats with the Sox, he batted .308 with 5 home runs.
“Wherever Ozzie wants to put me,” Viciedo said with the help of a translator. “Actually, (being with the team last year) helps because I have the experience, so I know what to expect. And pretty much with the training I've done to this point, it's just an added bonus. I'm ready to go.”
Whether or not to promote Viciedo has been a topic of conversation for much of the season and Guillen joked about the hype Friday when he announced the transaction, then added sarcastically, “Now we're in the pennant race.”
Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams didn't want to bring Viciedo to the majors unless he could play every day. Sox management decided to stick with left fielder Juan Pierre and he responded by playing better in recent weeks.
Now Quentin's injury opens a spot in the lineup and it should carry into September when Viciedo figured to be called up anyway.
“It made me feel good,” Viciedo said of the fan support. “But by the same token, it's the team that makes the decision on personnel, so I just go about doing what they asked me to do in Triple A. When it's time to come up, then I would be ready.”
Quentin told reporters in Seattle he's been feeling better every day since the injury happened, but he's still not ready to swing a bat effectively.