Guillen went on one of his patented rants about what he thought of the opinions of skeptics, sarcastically adding that the decision not to promote Viciedo sooner should quell suggestions that he favors Latin players.
?I get paid to manage a team," Guillen said. "In the time they want that kid here, I don?t have any place for him. We have to make a trade or release somebody. I wasn?t in the position to say, ?bring him up.? I couldn?t play with 26 players. And they don?t think I want the kid here?"
Before the game, Guillen reiterated that he had Cora called Viciedo twice while he playing for Charlotte to let him know that Guillen liked Viciedo and that there simply wasn't a spot for him on the 25-man roster. Guillen's main theme was that if Viciedo, 22, was to get promoted, he would have to play every day or else his development would be stunted.
The first target was left field Juan Pierre, who was batting .242 with only six stolen bases and five errors on May 18. But Pierre has since raised his batting average to .286, didn't commit an error from May 6 until last Tuesday, and is tied for fourth with Adam Dunn with 40 RBIs. The Sox also didn't have a bonafide leadoff replacement in their system for Pierre.
The Sox would have needed permission from Alex Rios or Adam Dunn to be sent to the minors because of their lengthy major league service time, and any thought of going on the disabled list due to a mysterious injury would have brought a grievance from their representative and/or the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Since Brent Lillibridge was carving his niche as the Sox's best defensive outfielder, that left Omar Vizquel as the Sox's lone backup shortstop to Alexei Ramirez.
The Sox held discussions with several teams regarding right fielder Carlos Quentin before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. That would have paved the way for Viciedo while getting value for Quentin, who was coming off an American League all-star selection and will get a healthy raise next winter in his final year of salary arbitration before becoming a free agent.
Philadelphia was one of teams the Sox had spoken to, according to a Phillies source. But Philadelphia elected to acquire outfielder Hunter Pence from Houston.
"I don?t think the time was the right time to bring this kid up," Guillen said of Viciedo. "Now it is. Now we play him.?
mgonzales@tribune.com
Twitter @MDGonzales
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