It is when you consider that nobody else on the roster can play SS for more than an emergency fill-in role... which means it's going to be all Izturis all the time. Bingo. Izturis has been outplaying Theriot. As the starting SS, Theriot has been abysmal. There's a negligible difference defensively, and Theriot is a better bet to produce offensively going forward, despite what he's done in an small sample at SS. I think that thier difference in offense will be fairly negligible as well. If I had to choose between sending down Theriot and DFAing Izturis, I would send down Theriot. This is because Izturis may yet have some trade value in a GM's eyes due to his fluke 2004 where he hit .288 (.711 OPS) and won the Gold Glove. Since we have to pay his salary anyway, I could see Hendry holding on to him until the deadline in an attempt to get something for him. Meanwhile Theriot goes down to get playing time (maybe some innings in the OF) so he's ready for his role as the 25th man. In this scenario I would like to see Cedeno start at SS in Chicago for the majority of the time.