2008 V3 - Sox move disgruntled Cullison

[kestu]

The Black Sox today moved veteran second baseman Robert Cullison to the Greenville Moonshiners for relief pitcher Juan Mazariegos. Cullison has been unhappy with his role for the Black Sox for the past year and a half, while Mazariegos has struggled since moving to Greenville during the 2007 season. A change of scenery should help both parties.

Mazariegos showed solid potential while in Carolina posting a 3.19 ERA while allowing only two home runs in his age-26 season back in 2006. He has struggled since that point, but still has a solid skill set that Chicago managment is hopeful can translate to more production with a solid defense behind him. At the very least, he will contribute as a lefty specialist - a role the Chicago bullpen is currently lacking.

Cullison has seen sporadic playing time with the Sox and has underperformed offensively, while being average defensively. "I'd like to thank Robert for his contributions to the team over the course of the season," said manager Vincente Lopez. "I mean, I really would like to, since it would be the right thing to do, but I simply can't. He was a whiny bitch and I had enough."

When pressed on the issue, Lopez responded, "He was constantly in my office complaining about playing time. He's 36 years old, has a grand total of zero playoff appearances and even while playing on a first place team, he's focused on himself. He was a cancer - good riddance. Some players don't make it to the playoffs for a reason."

As a result of the deal, second base prospect Alonso Rodriguez (currently #1 overall per the BNN) will be promoted to the big club. Rodriguez has hit .303/.349/.478 in AAA this season while playing great defense at SS. He is expected to make a smooth transition to 2B in Chicago and will hit at the bottom of the order.

[jpoppe0219]

yeah Mr. Biceps Rodriguez could sure use some development into that serious potential.