Gordan Beckham Called Up

Hitting machine Gordon Beckham was called up from AAA Charlotte earlier this morning. He went 0-3 in this afternoon's game, starting at 3rd base. Never mind that for now, because his call-up means so much to this franchise right now - both good and bad.

First off, let me say I agree with Ozzie Guillen when he has said that if Beckham were called up at this point, it would mean the Sox are in trouble. That is the truth. The reason Beckham is here is that Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge, Jayson Nix, Wilson Betemit (who was designated for assignment to make room for Gordon), and Alexei Ramirez aren't doing their jobs. Lillibridge already was sent down due to ineffectiveness. Fields has struggled despite a bit of a streak lately, Ramirez too has come on lately, but not nearly enough, and Getz and Nix platoon second with limited offensive results. Nix is probably the better of the two. Wilson Betemit had been poor, to say the least.

All of these combined struggles have impacted the White Sox and contributed to their 25-27 start, and their horrendous offense. Sure, the offense found itself a bit in the recent 10 of 13 run, but that was halted with back-to-back shutouts. The inconsistency required that Beckham be called up.

Beckham has been on fire all year. He dominated in Spring Training, and he didn't make the team because he simply wasn't supposed to. Not yet, not now. I can agree with that, too, as young players should spend some time in the minors. Then, he tore up AA in Birmingham before recently being called up to AAA, where hit in the .400s. Put it all together, and here he is on the South Side.

In order for Beckham to have any sort of impact on the big club, he'll have to play every day, and I wonder if Guillen wants to commit to him right now. The good thing is that by playing him, it's not a sign of surrender for this season. But it's doubtful he will change anything, since the problems with the Sox's offense run much deeper than one player, but his arrival might signal more changes ahead.

No matter what, though, the future is now for the White Sox.