He Gone; Marte's Sox Career Likely Over

It is beginning to look as if Damaso Marte might have pitched in his last game for the Chicago White Sox. After showing up to the ballpark 3 hours late on Sunday he was sent home by Ozzie Guillen for not requesting permission to be tardy. Now comes word that Sox management is furious over the fact that Marte has scheduled doctor's appointments with two independent physicians to examine his sore trapezius muscle. This comes after he hit the only two batters he faced in his last outing against KC last Wednesday, which I was there to see. A decision will be made on Wednesday to decide whether or not to place him on the DL. He did not join the team on their trip to Kansas City.
Damaso has not been the same pitcher this season, as I pointed out in a post a month ago. Left-handed batters whom he dominated in years past are hitting at a .272 clip against him this season. He has also issued 30 free passes in just 42 IP. Personally, I like Damaso. I would be happy if he made amends with the Sox and was able to return to his old form. The Sox have him signed through next season at $2.25 million and also have a $3 million option on him in '07, so his return would not be out of the question. If he were to pitch for the Sox again this season, I hope it would be in lower-leverage, early relief inning situations, at least until he can regain his command. If not, there will be 30 other ball clubs this off-season who could use a left-handed reliever with his stuff. Too bad the Sox are diminishing his trade value by handling this situation the way that they have.