New lefty in the pen?

[Jerry_Manuel]

From the Trib:
In the wings: There's nothing the White Sox do better than help pitchers make the most of their talent. They hope they can spring another surprise next spring with 29-year-old left-hander Mike Porzio, who is having a delightful winter in Venezuela.

"He has enough stuff to pitch in the big leagues. He needs a game plan, needs to be consistent," Sox minor-league pitching coordinator Don Cooper said.

Porzio throws in the high 80s with good movement on his fastball. Both his breaking ball and changeup are plus pitches. He is currently 7-0 with a 2.22 ERA with the Lara Cardenales, who are managed by Nick Leyva, the Sox's Triple-A manager.

Porzio spent most of last season with Leyva's team at Charlotte, where he went 6-6 with a 4.35 ERA. He didn't get a look in the big leagues yet still decided to re-sign with the Sox as a minor-league free agent. He will compete with Kelly Wunsch and Onan Masaoka for a spot in the bullpen unless he shocks everyone and wins the fifth starter's job.

"A lot of times lefties come late," Cooper said.

[OfficerKarkovice]

Onan Masaoka? He is fighting for a job? Oh billy...we have to have somebody better than him unless I am terribly mistaken.

[duke of dorwood]

Wont be hard to replace Embree and Pulsipher. Sounds like he could get an early jump start in camp too. Thats when first impressions are made.

[Jerry_Manuel]

Originally posted by OfficerKarkovice
Onan Masaoka? He is fighting for a job? Oh billy...we have to have somebody better than him unless I am terribly mistaken.

Yeah Kelly Wunsch, and we can't forget Ken Vining.

[Daver]

Originally posted by Jerry_Manuel


Yeah Kelly Wunsch, and we can't forget Ken Vining.

Vining will probably be in the Sox pen next season,I have little confidence in Kelly Wunsch,he sucks against right handed hitters.

[kermittheefrog]

Porzio seems interesting, I believe he threw a minor league no hitter sometime in the last couple years. What's wrong with Masoaka? He's the guy we got from the Dodgers in the Baldwin deal, he throws hard and he's lefthanded, those are good things. He might actually earn a spot in the pen rather than guys ilke Pulsipher and Embree who were there just ebcause they are lefties.

[Daver]

Originally posted by kermittheefrog
He might actually earn a spot in the pen rather than guys ilke Pulsipher and Embree who were there just ebcause they are lefties.

Might be why both of them are gone too.

But then again what the hell do I know? ©

[czalgosz]

Originally posted by kermittheefrog
Porzio seems interesting, I believe he threw a minor league no hitter sometime in the last couple years. What's wrong with Masoaka? He's the guy we got from the Dodgers in the Baldwin deal, he throws hard and he's lefthanded, those are good things. He might actually earn a spot in the pen rather than guys ilke Pulsipher and Embree who were there just ebcause they are lefties.

I like Masaoka too; he's done well in his stints at the big-league level. He's a strikeout pitcher, and I wondered why they didn't give him a chance when Pulsipher and Embree were getting torched last season.

And Yes, Porzio threw a no-hitter for Birmingham last season (actually I think it was 7 innings of one, with the bullpen finishing it off).

[Tragg]

89 mph fastball? Kind of weak, isn't it?

[czalgosz]

Originally posted by Tragg
89 mph fastball? Kind of weak, isn't it?

Well, it depends. An 89 MPH fastball that's straight as a string is very weak. An 89 MPH fastball with good movement, or with a 75 MPH changeup to back it up, as a pretty good pitch. I don't know anything really about Porzio, but if he really does mix his pitches well and has good movement on his fastball the way the article says, he'll be fine.