Facelift

Well, if the White Sox looked ugly one day, they sure went out and got a facelift the next. A little before yesterday’s trade deadline, the Sox sent reliever Codi Heuer and infielder Nick Madrigal to the Cubs (!) for closer Craig Kimbrel. Discuss. Heuer definitely has talent, though it’s marred by a tendency to give up homeruns, seven so far in 62.1 career innings. As for Madrigal, recovering from surgery on a torn hamstring, I’m not that broken up over losing him. He has what you might call a high-impact approach to the game, which is definitely fun to watch; the next grounder to short or second he doesn’t run out will be the first, in MLB or anywhere he’s played since the age of six, I think. However, therein may lie the problem. Maximum effort on each and every ball hit is bound to lead to extra wear and tear on the body. Last offseason there was surgery on his left shoulder for a baserunning injury to go with surgery on his right hamstring this year. This is a dangerous habit to get into, you might say. Madrigal will be 25 next year. He can’t afford to keep landing on the IL. But that’s not my problem anymore. What this means is the Sox are serious about going deep into the postseason, so we’ll see just how good a manager Tony La Russa is as 76. Kimbrel should help right away, although I do admit it’s hard to embrace an ex-Cub; but Sox fans do what they must in the interest of their team. Cesar Hernandez looks competent, even though I’d rather have Yolmer Sanchez out there. Hernandez will probably stay around through 2022, after which my guess is the Sox will dip into their minor-league system for a young middle infielder. This is their one area of strength. But 2023 is a long way from now. Bring on the dog days.

Ugly

For all intents and purposes, yesterday’s White Sox game in Kansas City ended with one out in the bottom of the first inning, when Salvador Perez launched a two-run homer off Sox starter Carlos Rodon. The Royals went on to win 5-0 and take three out of four games. Rodon has been reverting to his old self the last few games, a mix of plenty of pitches along with lots of runs and strikeouts over short outings. Me no like. This bears watching. So does manager Tony La Russa’s lineups. Andrew Vaughn at first base? Really? If I were given to conspiracies, I’d say La Russa was setting Vaughn up for a monster slump, putting him in right field one game, left the next and second base the one after. Again, me no like. Presumably, the acquisition of infielder Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland—along with reliever Ryan Tepera from the Cubs—will fix everything. If not, the Chicago sports’ media is gearing up to go all Bears, all the time. Baseball could be out of sight, out of mind by next weekend.

A Problem or Two

Including last night in Kansas City, White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has five blown saves on the season, all of them the result of gopher balls. The Sox have come back to win three of those games, but not last night, bowing 3-2 in ten innings and wasting Lucas Giolito’s second consecutive start of one run in six innings. This is where pitching coach Ethan Katz earns his money. Either he helps fix Hendriks, or we on the South Side better get used to heartbreak in September and/or October. Speaking of problems, hitting coach Frank Menechino might want to have a heart-to-heart with Yoan Mondada. Some games at the plate, Moncada looks lost, other times bored. In his last thirty games, Moncada is hitting .241; .236 in his last fifteen; and an anemic .148 in his last seven games. What gives? All I know is what I see in Moncada’s body language, which is pretty much reflected in his stats. Come Sunday, the calendar turns to August, when the marathon switches over to the sprint phase of the season. Right now, the Sox look more than a little gassed. That has to change, or else.

Better Late than Never

It took Eloy Jimenez until his second game back to deliver, as in a three-run, eighth-inning homer to give the White Sox a 5-3 win against the Royals in Kansas City. Eloy also made two nice catches in left field and threw a runner out at the plate. And a tip of the cap to Royals’ manager Mike Matheny for deciding to walk a slumping Jose Abreu (one for his last sixteen, according to The Athletic’s James Fegan) to get to Jimenez. Not a move I would’ve made. The fact, pure and simple as well as for better or worse, is that Eloy is a star around whom other players orbit. Just ask Andrew Vaughn, who was moved over to right field so Eloy could play left; Vaughn made his first outfield error that resulted in a run. But allowances have to be made for a player who can hit a clutch, 459-foot homer. I also wonder what Yermin Mercedes makes of the Eloy Show, given how alike the two are in some ways. They are both intensely emotional players who love playing to the fan base. The difference is that, so far, Eloy has shown he can hit throughout the course of a season. I hope Mercedes is studying how Eloy does it. The two of them hitting back-to-back in September—wouldn’t that be something?

Waiting

My daughter’s waiting for her baby to debut, I’m waiting for the White Sox to jell. Smart money’s on Clare. In a week or so we all assume new roles in what will be an expanded-extended family. Becoming a grandfather makes me think of my own father, who had to wait until he was 78 to welcome his one and only grandchild into the world. I know she never disappointed him and he always loved her. One summer afternoon Clare and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa; we brought along a wiffle ball and bat, just in case. Clare had to be five, my dad 83. I pitched, Clare hit and Grandpa caught as best he could. The wiffle ball tore through Grandma’s Black-eyed Susans more than once that afternoon. No one complained. So, I have certain responsibilities to live up to. Until that day arrives, I pass the time watching to see if the Sox can figure things out to avoid the ignominy of going one series and done in the playoffs. Last night in Kansas City, Dallas Keuchel didn’t exactly ally my soon-to-be grandfatherly worries. Keuchel felt the need to feed his gopher not once, not twice but three times in a 4-3 loss to the Royals. I don’t care if they were all solo shots. Keuchel still lost, which is to say his team lost, too. Eloy Jimenez went 0-for-4 in his season’s debut. I would’ve preferred 3-for-4, at the least, but I can wait. A game, that is, or maybe two. After that, Grandpa might break out into a sweat.

Take a Walk

You endure Chicago in winter because you get Chicago in summer. Forget the humidity. The lakefront makes every bead of sweat worth it. Yesterday, Michele and I took DuSable Lake Shore Drive up to Addison. Somehow, the price gougers forgot the lot there, and we were able to park for three hours for the grand total of $1.62. By way of comparison, the Chicago Park District was charging a flat rate of $30 on the Fourth of July for nearby sections of Lincoln Park and may have been doing the same for where we parked, for all I know. According to Michele’s Fitbit, we did ten miles, which ain’t bad, especially if you throw in an order of nachos con pollo at the halfway point. Usually, I complain about having to share the lakefront bike path with pedestrians, so it was good to get another perspective on matters. The world looks a little different on foot than it does on a Schwinn. The afternoon was reward enough in itself, but the White Sox were considerate enough to give me another treat with their 3-1 win in Milwaukee. Thank God they pitched the honorary South Sider, Lance Lynn. For absolutely no good reason I can think of, the man reminds me of Early Wynn. Maybe it’s the rhyming last names. Anyway, Lynn gave up all of one run in six innings. Of course, Lucas Giolito did the same on Friday, only to be tagged with the loss. The difference was in the pitcher hitting. Giolito went 0-for-2 while Lynn drove in two runs with a single in the second inning. It was his first hit in nearly four years. Tonight, Eloy Jimenez makes his 2021 debut for the Sox in Kansas City. Everyone is ecstatic, which is understandable. Jimenez is sort of like Lynn, but with a bat. (Then again, if Lynn keeps hitting, the analogy doesn’t work nearly as well.) What no one is talking about yet is who goes down to make room for Eloy. The game is a business about a game.

Forget the Lining

You know a great way to kill a rally with the bases loaded and no outs? Have the runner on third miss the plate running home on an infield single, that’s how. Just ask Yoan Moncada. Moncada’s gaffe in the top of the fifth coupled with Tim Anderson’s inability to do anything later on in the inning with one in and one out pretty much said all you need to know in Saturday’s 6-1 loss to the Brewers. Oh, and Sox manager Tony La Russa refused to criticize Moncada. And the more I see Zach Collins play, the more I miss Yasmani Grandal. Hurry back, Yasmani, I’m begging you. Oh, and Andrew Vaughn got another two hits. All that boy needed was me ragging on him. Now if everyone else could just considered themselves ragged, we’d be good to go.

Silver Lining(s)

Well, Lucas Giolito gave up just one run over six innings last night in Milwaukee while Tony La Russa proved that a 76-year old manager can in fact get ejected from a ballgame. And Andrew Vaughn continued his hot hitting with three more hits. Really, I should’ve called him out in the middle of May. Ah, but the relief pitching and lack of clutch hitting, those are areas of concern. Aaron Bummer and Ryan Burr inherited a one-run game in the seventh inning and proceeded to turn it into a seven-run deficit. Championship teams don’t allow that to happen. And leaders lead. With the Sox down by a run in the top of the seventh inning and runners on the corners with one out, Tim Anderson hit into a fielder’s choice, the lead runner out at home. Championship teams come through in the clutch. But it’s only one game. Right, guys?

Mind Your Manners

The White Sox will be playing up the road in Milwaukee this weekend. All I ask is for Sox fans to mind their manners. From personal experience, I know Detroit and Minnesota fans can be real boors. Notice I use the proper, South Side terminology. This whole notion of invading enemy territory to root like hell for your team is beyond me. Yes, I hope one day to see a game at Fenway Park, and I’ve been thinking recently of visiting Wrigley Field; the more the Cubs lose, the cheaper the seats will be. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to get all Foghorn Leghorn in declaring my allegiances. Discretion is the better part of valor. I’m nothing if not South Side proper.

Unhappy Ending?

I hate eating at a sports’ bar with the wrong game on, everywhere you look, like last night. You could say that watching Dylan Cease pitch definitely ruined my cheeseburger. The White Sox both lost a game to the Twins and maybe a player in their organization. Yermin Mercedes announced his retirement last night after being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning of a game for the Charlotte Knights. Now, though, I see he’s reported back in uniform with his team. So, we’ll see. Playing major-league baseball is anything but easy, especially if so much of it takes place in another language and as part of a culture you weren’t born into. I can’t imagine how hard it was for Mercedes to accept his demotion from the Sox at the start of the month after being the toast of all baseball in April. Not that the White Sox were in any way responsible. That would be like saying the Sox took advantage of Nicky Delmonico or Daniel Palka when they were hot and then dropped them when it suited their purpose. I mean, who needs those two when you’ve got Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert to promote? Mercedes is just finding out what Delmonico and Palka already have, that you’re only as good as your slash line, if that.

A Genius He is Not, Maybe

White Sox manager Tony La Russa is nothing if not weird when filling out his lineup cards. Last night, for example, he penciled in both his catchers, Zack Collins at DH and Seby Zavala behind the plate. Let me note here the Sox carry only two catchers. The problem is, Zavala can’t hit, or at least he hasn’t shown he can so far, with a .167 BA in eighteen at-bats and a career .256 BA in the minors. What happens when Zavala comes up with the bases loaded? Well, last night in the sixth inning against the Twins, he grounded out to end the inning. A similar situation unfolded in the bottom of the eighth with the Sox down 5-4, two runners on and one out. This time, La Russa pinch-hit for Zavala with Andrew Vaughn, who singled in the tying run. Yea, only now Collins has to go in and catch, which means the Sox lose the DH for the rest of the game. Good thing Billy Hamilton (!) singled in the go-ahead run and Jose Abreu followed with a three-run bomb to make it all academic, if you will. But, still, both catchers? Am I missing something, unable to see a genius at work here? I doubt it. But enough of my troubles with Tony La Russa. How ‘bout those Twins, with two back-to-back soul-crushing losses? To which I can only say, would you like to make it three in a row? I did a quick check and, according to mcubed.net, for every decade since the 1960s through the 2010s, the Sox came out ahead of Minnesota all of one time. Turnaround is fair play, I say, especially when you can do it against Josh Donaldson and company.

Pedal, Think Sheets, Pedal

I happened to pick a 90-degree day to take my first bike ride in about month today. Let’s just say it was a challenging 44 miles on the 606 Trail. A good deal of the time I spent thinking about White Sox rookie Gavin Sheets and his three-run walk-off homerun against Sox killer Jose Berrios, now 12-4 on his career against the South Siders. The Twins were up 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, when Berrios gave up a single and a hit-by-pitch before the blast. If I’m Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli, Berrios is out of the game after the single, definitely after the hbp. Yes, Berrios is a very good right-hander and Sheets a rookie, but still a left-handed hitter. To me, in that situation, it’s advantage, Sheets. So, thank you, Mr. Baldelli. Everything about the homerun looked and sounded perfect. (Yes, you could hear Sheets making contact.) All I can say is that, in the old days, that ball would’ve gone into the upper deck at Comiskey Park; but it’ll do. Now, the question is, what happens when Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, just cleared for a minor-league rehab assignment, return? Who goes? Sheets is hitting .245 with five homers and 14 RBIs in just 49 at-bats. Those are numbers belonging to someone you’d want to keep around, yes? Tony? Rick?

Ask, and Ye Shall Receive

I wanted a series win against the Astros, and I got a series win against the Astros, thanks to Carlos Rodon’s seven shutout innings part of a 4-0 taming of Houston. The Astros managed all of one run and five hits in their two losses on the South Side. Danny Mendick singled in a run and scored a run. Tim Anderson has regained his swagger, collecting six hits in the series, including his eighth homerun of the season yesterday. Adam Engel had two hits, and Yoan Moncada homered from the right side. The nagging White Sox fan in me wonders if the Sox will sign Rodon in the offseason. Right now, he’s 8-3 with a 2.14 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 96.2 innings and Scott Boras for an agent. I won’t hold my breath, and I’ll look up the Serenity Prayer for its exact wording. I was a very young Sox fan a lifetime ago in 1970. That team won its 56th and final game of the season on September 25th. This Sox team won its 56th game on July 19th. That means they’d have to go on a 2-1/2 month long losing streak to match the 1970 won-loss record. I’m hoping and guessing they won’t do that. Heck, I’m almost confident they won’t.

Winning Pretty

Now, that’s more like it, last night’s 10-1 thumping of the Astros at Guaranteed Rate Whatever. Five homeruns by White Sox hitters plus a complete-game three hitter by Lucas Giolito is just what the doctor ordered. Alas, Sox fan that I am, I found something to complain about in manager Tony La Russa’s decision to pinch-hit for rookie right fielder Gavin Sheets in the seventh inning. Sheets was 2-for-3 with a double and two-run homer. Why not let him get another at-bat against a right-hander? The score was 9-0 at the time, and Sheets has a far bigger offensive upside than pinch-hitter Billy Hamilton, who was batting right-handed against right-handed reliver Austin Pruitt, by the way. Sheets gets on (Hamilton popped out), and Jake Burger follows with a two-run dinger rather than the solo shot he hit for his first major-league homerun. The ways of the La Russa are not for us mere mortals to question, or so his patron Jerry Reinsdorf would have it. In that case, make it two out of three against the Astros with a win today, OK?

Losing Ugly

Note to the White Sox: If 34,000-plus fans show up to the ballpark, it would be nice if you did, too. Losing 7-1 to the Astros does not constitute showing up. Dylan Cease took the loss, with healthy assists from Leury Garcia (the second baseman is supposed to cover second base on a force-out, who knew?); Aaron Bummer (a lefty reliever is supposed to retire left-handed batters, who knew?); and Tony La Russa (Jose Ruiz is a go-to reliever with the bases loaded, who kenw?). Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada led off the bottom of the first with extra-base hits, and not one Sox player got another hit until the ninth inning. Jose Abreu looked befuddled at the plate all night, and that’s being charitable. And La Russa had nary a negative thing to say about his team’s performance. In the upside-down, Baltimore is Houston, and that’s who we’ll face in the playoffs. In this world, the Astros are 5-0 against the Sox, and counting.

Sitting on a Dock of the Bay

With two days off from worrying about the White Sox (as opposed to the slow countdown to grandparenthood), I’ve considered the question, Would the Sox be where they are—first place in the AL Central with the best winning percentage in the league—without Tony La Russa? Fairness requires me to answer, Yeah, I think so. If you’ll pardon the pun, yes, the injuries to Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert hurt, but I’d bet Rick Renteria would have his players all in just as much as La Russa has. And Renteria probably would’ve avoided the Yermin Mercedes contretemps. Maybe the same goes for Bruce Bochy and A.J. Hinch. We’ll never know. Rather than ponder the unanswerable, I prefer to look at the minor leagues. Daniel Palka is hitting a point under .300 (!) for Rochester (Nationals) while Matt Davidson is cranking out homeruns for Oklahoma City (Dodgers); Yolmer Sanchez is scuffling at Gwinnet (Braves). May any or all of them find their way back to the show, and soon.

While the Rest of the World Watches Breathlessly...

MLB and ESPN need to get on the same wavelength, at least if they both want to grow their ratings. Because the two sure looked to be going in opposite directions during the All-Star game. MLB is interested in all things Shoehi Ohtani, no doubt seeing the Japanese player as a means to expanding the game’s international footprint, though it would be nice if someone in authority bothered to ask Ohtani his thoughts on the matter. So, we get Ohtani in Homerun Derby, Ohtani as the AL’s starting pitcher, Ohtani staying around to DH. Say this, if nothing else for Commissioner Rob Manfred and company—it’s a plan. At the same time, ESPN was running commercials between innings of the All-Star Game touting the upcoming Red Sox/Yankees’ series, starting tonight in the Bronx. Guess who’s broadcasting two of the games? Yup, the same folks who gave us those “fans” of each team talking G-rated trash to one another. (I’m also betting FOX carries the Saturday Boston-New York game. We’ll see.) As a guy with a Ph.D., I always said American urban history is what happened in New York; everywhere else—Chicago, St. Louis, Denver—was local history of no great significance, except for Al Capone, who exists for the periodic shaming of the Second City. Funny how you rarely hear that Capone was a transplanted Brooklynite. Anyway, back to baseball. The ESPN ads conjure up a lot of old stereotypes that maybe resonate in the shadows of Fenway Park and Yankee, but I doubt anywhere else. If the ESPN depiction of baseball fans in fact exists (and I’m always ready to think ill of the Big Apple, if not the Hub), I doubt they much care about a Japanese player excelling in MLB. As for those fans who do care, I doubt what happens in the Bronx this weekend will matter much to them. Count me in their corner.

An Embarrassment of Riches

Well, the forces of good, aka the AL, won their eighth straight All-Star game last night in Denver, beating the NL by a score of 5-2. That’s fifteen out of eighteen for the junior circuit. Lance Lynn of the White Sox followed Shoehi Ohtani on the mound and pitched a scoreless second inning. Sox closer Liam Hendriks picked up the save. Tim Anderson didn’t get off the bench until the eighth inning, and starter Carlos Rodon never saw the field. Not that I would ever question the decisions of Tampa/AL manager Kevin Cash, but, if I’m Anderson or Rodon, that’s a definite snub and something to motivate me when the Sox visit the Rays in August. It sure is nice when your team has seven All-Stars picked; if only they were all still on the Sox. Once upon a time, we had All-Stars Chirs Bassitt, Omar Narvaez and Marcus Semien to go with the above four. Trading Bassitt and Semien in a package deal for Jeff Samardzija was dumb, sort of like shipping Narvaez to Seattle for Alex Colome. I guess you could say the Sox know talent when they see it. They just see no reason to hold onto it.

Derby Night

Last night being the Monday before the All-Star Game, MLB held its annual Homerun Derby, which meant pizza and conversation in our house. I don’t much care for ballplayers going through glorified batting practice, but Clare can’t get enough of it, or, as she put it, “As soon I signed [with a team, and I only wish that had happened], I’d ask, ‘Where do I sign up [for the contest], and how often can I enter?’” This is the child I raised, a winner of two homerun-hitting contests at travel-ball nationals in her teens. It's not so much Clare’s size as her tenacity. We traded, yet again, stories about coaches and football players who said she’d make a great middle linebacker; oddly enough, the person in question thought she’d make a good safety. Again, this is the soon-to-be parent of my soon-to-be grandson. Lady linebacker was pulling for the Mets’ Pete Alonso to repeat, and he did. Clare likes Alonso for the same reason I do—he says he models his approach to hitting after Paul Konerko, Mr. Cerebral. Not that Alonso was overly serious last night. He danced outside the batter’s box to warm up, and he definitely played to the crowd the whole night. Too bad the White Sox either didn’t know or care about Alonso’s Konerko connection. We could’ve picked him in the second round of the 2016 draft but instead took pitcher Alec Hansen, who has yet to reach the majors. You win some, you lose some, in the draft and Homerun Derby. Always good pizza and talk, though.

What I Say

When we last checked in on White Sox reliever Jose Ruiz, his inability to record outs with a six-run lead in the eighth inning Saturday in Baltimore led Sox manager Tony La Russa to summon closer Liam Hendriks. In all likelihood, if Ruiz does his job Hendriks doesn’t throw eighteen pitches to get four outs in 83-degree Baltimore heat and humidity. Now, fast-forward to yesterday afternoon, the White Sox ahead of the Orioles 4-2, two out in the bottom of the ninth, a runner on first and pinch-hitter Trey Mancini facing Hendriks. Boom; score tied. Then, the Sox score three in the tenth courtesy of Adam Engel going deep. Enter Ruiz, who gave up a hit, a walk and a run in one-third of an inning. Lucky for La Russa he found Matt Foster and Foster had just enough to keep the ball in the park to record the last two outs. Here's hoping La Russa and the front office figure out middle relief in the second half of the season. For what it’s worth, I’ve added my two cents. If it works as well as it seems to with Andrew Vaughn, the Sox will be fine. Otherwise, prepare for heartbreak, Sox fans. Speaking of Vaughn, he hit two homers yesterday and drove in four. Over the last fifteen games, he’s gone yard four times, driven in nine runs and batted .360. That’s what everyone was hoping for from a player picked third in the 2019 draft. As for Engel, I doubt anyone was expecting that much from a 19th round pick in 2013. A tip of the cap to Adam for willing himself to where he is now, which is someone the Sox are a lot better off playing than sitting on the bench. Engel doesn’t have a pretty swing, especially when compared to Vaughn, but he’s strong and runs like the wind. In this, his fifth year with the Sox, Engel looks the best he ever has at the plate; five homers and eleven RBIs in 42 at-bats ain’t too shabby. Did I mention his glove? If there ever comes a day when the Sox start an outfield of Billy Hamilton, Engel and Luis Robert, check the highlight reel. I doubt you’d be disappointed.

The Good, the Bad, the Halfway Point

As you might expect, the good part of yesterday’s White Sox-Orioles’ game was the hitting. Brian Goodwin went 4-for-5 with four RBIs while Leury Garcia and Jake Burger had two hits apiece in an 8-3 Sox win. But the pitching left something to be desired, at least for me. Starter Lucas Giolito couldn’t get through six innings against a team that ranks 16h in MLB for batting average; 25th for on-base percentage; and 26th in runs scored. Giolito needed 106 pitches to make it to one out in the sixth. “I was happy with how my pitches were working through the bulk of the game,” he was quoted on the team website afterwards. To which I say, he’s too easily impressed. As for reliever Ryan Burr, he might consider hiding in the bullpen, not because he’s bad but because manager Tony La Russa seems intent on burning him out. Burr has appeared nine times since June 22nd, including five times during the first ten days of July. When it comes to relievers, the good ones, use with care, I always say. Is Jose Ruiz a good one? Well, he’s a better pitcher than he was a minor-league catcher, so there’s that. But Ruiz—and his manager for that matter—confuse velocity with effectiveness; Ruiz is all over the place, and not necessarily in a good way. Yesterday, he entered in the eighth inning for what should’ve been mop-up duty in an 8-2 game, only to give up a hit and three walks. Liam Hendriks recorded the last four outs to get a save that never should’ve been there for the taking. I’m your typical White Sox fan—never satisfied, always worried. The All-Star break comes as a blessing, assuming none of our All-Stars gets injured during the Mid-Summer Classic.

Put Me In, Coach

These three games against the Orioles in Baltimore leading up to the All-Star break may be more important than people think. Sweep three against a very bad team, and you go into the second half of the season with some momentum. Take last night’s 12-1 win, for example. Andrew Vaughn has three hits and Adam Engel four RBIs while Gavin Sheets hits a homerun with his family in the stands. It doesn’t get much better than fifteen hits in a game, unless it’s the chance to do it two more times over the weekend. With a 5.57 team ERA, the Orioles have the worst pitching in baseball. Ah, but Sox manager Tony La Russa is always thinking two steps ahead, or so we mere mortals are led to believe. La Russa intends to have rookie Seby Zavala catch two games in the series so he and Sox pitchers can get used to one another. With Baltimore throwing righties yesterday and today, I would’ve used left-handed hitting Zack Collins instead. See above for what can cure anemic batting averages. Collins is hitting .236, well above the Mario Mendoza definition of anemic. Still, you want Collins to get into a groove. Or at least I do. If only I had a World Series ring or two to show I know what I’m talking about. Maybe next life.

Eloy and Sugar Plums

This must be what visions of sugar plums dancing in your head are like. The White Sox announced yesterday that Eloy Jimenez will begin a rehab assignment tonight with high-A Winston-Salem. The Sox say Jimenez could be back on the South Side by the end of the month. I’m betting by July 23rd. I keep reading how the signing of Adam Eaton was a mistake. As opposed to who, George Springer and his six-year, $150 million contract? Springer has ten RBIs the last time I checked, compared to 28 for the DFA’d Eaton. Springer has been so injured this season he has all of 61 at-bats. But the Blue Jays have themselves one big contract. Right now, the Sox have themselves a nice roster tending to the young side; Jimenez and Luis Robert returning will make it younger yet depending on the fates of Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets. They hit, they stay while some combination of Brian Goodwin, Billy Hamilton and Jake Lamb joins Eaton out the door. As I’ve been saying for the past week or so, baseball’s a business, one where youth will be served. And, if you think this is fun or interesting, just wait for the offseason. Burger, Sheets, Andrew Vaughn. Who goes, who stays, who gets packaged in a deal? Throw in the likes of Eloy and Dylan Cease, and my head spins. It must be the sugar plums.

Taking Care of Business

Clare called yesterday morning to tell me, “I have good news and interesting news. Which do you want first?” Good. “OK. The White Sox reinstated Adam Engel from the IL and DFA’d Adam Eaton.” Now in his fifth season with the Sox, Engel finally seems to have figured out how to hit, as evidenced by his two doubles in yesterday’s 6-1 win over the Twins. And the man can play centerfield. Then again, so can Billy Hamilton. Which brings us to Eaton, who was batting just .201 at the time of his release. Somehow, Hamilton has managed to hit .235 so far on the season, six points below his career average. You probably want the best Eaton over the best Hamilton, but that’s not where either player is in his career today. Two years younger than Eaton, Hamilton looks to have a good deal more left in the proverbial tank. He showed it in the ninth inning Tuesday night, robbing the Twins’ Max Kepler of extra bases on what can only be called an Engel-esque catch. Shading the left-handed hitting Kepler to pull, Hamilton raced over to deep left-center field, leaped and caught the ball, then slid along the rain-soaked grass onto the warning track before his head just touched the base of the wall. A for effort and A for execution. Hamilton brings a discernible energy to the team. If he gets on base, he flies. In the outfield, he flies. He has the perfect skills for a role player. Quite simply, Eaton didn’t. The moves both point to the business of baseball. One veteran goes, another stays. Two rookies, Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger (who had an RBI double yesterday), stay and gain experience. It isn’t pretty, it may not seem fair, but it is baseball.

All in Good Time

Catchers are weird. Clare says pitchers are weird, but that’s the hitter in her talking. What makes catchers different from a development perspective is that they make up the one baseball position allowed to develop slowly. Name me a middle-infielder who doesn’t establish himself until he’s 28. You can’t. Now consider Carlos Ruiz, who spent most of his 12-year career with the Phils but didn’t become a starter until the age of 28. Or Paul Lo Duca, who caught eleven years in the big leagues and was a four-time All-Star but didn’t crack the Dodgers’ starting lineup until he turned 29. Or Erik Kratz, just retired at age 40; Kratz didn’t make it to the majors until he was 30. Call that eleven years the hard way. Or anyone named Butera, as in Sal or Drew. Sal made it to the Twins at age 27 and spent nine years proving he couldn’t catch (career .227 BA). Son Drew was 26 when the Twins called him up in 2010, and he’s still playing despite a lifetime .196 BA. But catchers who can catch don’t need to hit, not always. Which brings us to Zack Collins of the White Sox, the de facto number-one catcher now that Yasmani Grandal is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn tendon in his left knee. Collins was the tenth player taken in the 2016 draft. Everyone thought he could hit. It was his catching people wondered about. In the minors, Collins walked a lot and struck out a lot. His first year up with the Sox in 2019 he hit a modest .186 in 86 at-bats, considerably better than the .063 he posted in 16 at-bats last year. Compared against those numbers, Collins is having a breakout season, batting .236 in 123 at-bats with three homeruns and 21 RBIs, including two last night in a 4-1 win over the Twins. Collins’ second-inning single that drove in two baserunners who’d walked was the only hit Minnesota starter Jose Berrios yielded in seven innings of work. His double to lead off the eighth led to an insurance run. So, maybe it’s Zack Collins’ time. For what it’s worth, Sox pitchers seem to prefer him behind the plate to Grandal. Well, they’ve got him. Now, we’ll see just how good he is.

Treading Water

Among my many baseball theories—or unwritten rules, if you like—is that mediocre teams will give up at least half of the games they win on a streak. The White Sox had won five in a row. Now, they’ve lost three in a row, including 8-5 last night in Minnesota. Yes, part of it has to do with injuries, which seem to strike every game. Yasmani Grandal aggravated a calf strain batting yesterday and had to be helped off the field in the sixth inning. Zack Collins came in to replace Grandal and looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. Those three wild pitches didn’t look so wild to me. On the positive side, Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson are starting to hit again, and Gavin Sheets had himself a double last night, so that’s nice. Pitching is another story. Lucas Giolito is Dylan Cease is Dallas Keuchel while Michael Kopech is nowhere to be seen in a close game. What gives? Remember, little grasshopper, the season is a marathon, not a sprint. The season is a marathon, not…

A Daily Dose of Gibber

You like White Sox manager Tony La Russa and, boy, does he like you back. Lucas Giolito must really like Tony La Russa. This is La Russa after Giolito gave up ten hits and six earned runs in five innings of a 6-5 loss to the Tigers yesterday. “Our concern is Lucas is such a warrior, he doesn’t take [it] well when he doesn’t hold the other squad down,” La Russa was quoted on the team website. “So, our support for him is 100 percent.” How nice. Me, my pitcher gives up ten hits in five innings, five of them with two strikes on the hitter (three on 0-2 counts), I’m ticked. I’m also curious. Giolito has been slow to sign an extension with the Sox, no doubt wanting to maximize his value. Only he may be too smart by half. You keep losing to a team like the Tigers, you won’t get the big bucks. Back to you, Lucas.

Hand to Head, Scratch Vigorously

Going into yesterday’s game at Detroit, Gavin Sheets had all of four games in the major leagues. So, why not bat the left-handed hitting rookie second against lefty Tarik Skubal? To me, it’s a dumb move, but who am I? Sheets went 0-for-3 with a walk, by the way. Dallas Keuchel coughed up a two-run lead in the fourth, then was given a two-run lead going into the bottom of the fifth. Keuchel proceeded to put five straight batters on, four via singles and one on a walk; two of the singles were on the first pitch, two on 1-0 counts, by the way. Goodbye, two-run lead, goodbye, five-game winning streak. Why the White Sox carry fifty or so pitchers is beyond me. Why have a bullpen if you’re not going to use it when necessary? Keuchel giving up one hit after another in the fifth would be a good sign to change pitchers, or would’ve been to me. But who am I?

The Heartwarming Business of Baseball

Rookie third baseman and former first-round draft pick Jake Burger made his major-league debut for the White Sox last night in Detroit, and you could say things went pretty well for someone who’s torn his left Achilles twice. Burger had two hits and a run scored. Fellow rookie Gavin Sheets added a ninth inning, three-run homer in an 8-2 Sox win. After the game, Burger could barely speak for holding back tears. Given the injuries (including a bruised heel after the two torn Achilles), doubt set in, to the point that Burger on occasion literally cried himself to sleep. Any professional athlete who admits that publicly is more than OK in my book. With Burger and Sheets coming out of nowhere—alright, Triple-A Charlotte—to produce, it’s easy to forget what this means for other players. Right now, if I’m Adam Eaton, I wouldn’t expect to be back on the South Side next year. Throw in rehabbing Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, and Eaton looks to be a goner. Zach Burdi, another first-round pick who happened to play in the same high-school conference as Clare, finds himself in a similar situation. Since being drafted out of Louisville in 2016, Burdi has suffered through Tommy John surgery and other detours on his way to the major leagues. It’s at a point now where he needs to draw attention with his fastball or face becoming just another arm looking for work. Called up in late June, Burdi posted a 6.00 ERA in six games and nine innings of work. With Burger called up and Eaton reinstated from the IL, somebody had to go, and it was Burdi. ( Ryan Burr, another reliever caught between being a prospect and a suspect, was called up around the same time as Burdi, with this difference. Burr has a 0.00 ERA over ten games and thirteen innings. Like Burdi a recipient of Tommy John, the 27-year old Burr looks to have seized his opportunity.) Somebody else had to go to make room for Burger and Eaton, and the powers that be decided on Yermin Mercedes. You can’t help but wonder if this isn’t a carryover from manager Tony La Russa criticizing Mercedes for breaking an unwritten rule (swinging 3-0 in a blowout) back in May. Rick Hahn says with Yoan Moncada nursing a hand injury, Burger provided more flexibility than Mercedes. Maybe. But you have to wonder how a 28-year old who finally hit his way onto a major-league roster took the news. Burger at least had family and friends around him during his travails. Right now, Mercedes is a very long way from home in the Dominican Republic. How will he go to sleep at night? You wonder.

Dispatches from the Front

Clare and Chris went to the Sox-Twins’ game at Guaranteed Rate Whatever yesterday afternoon and sat in a pair of nice seats behind third base. My pregnant daughter admits to yelling at Josh Donaldson only once. Her husband suggests it may have been a few times more. Ever the scout, Clare was impressed by Gavin Sheets. “He’s big,” she said succinctly. (Update: Clare just called to tell me Jake Burger has been called up and Yermin Mercedes sent down. More as this situation develops.) I said Sheets’ size may actually have worked against him in the minors, with people thinking he should hit more homeruns than he has. We both agree he just needs to put the ball in play to be effective. Because this is the year of perpetual injuries, the Sox lost Yoan Moncada in the third inning when he slid head-first into third base on a single by Jose Abreu. The problem was that Moncada dove more than he slid, and ground tends to be less forgiving than water. Moncada rolled over his right hand, leaving it swollen and bruised. He may have to be replaced the next few games. (See above.) Along those lines, Sox manager Tony La Russa moved Andrew Vaughn in from left field to play third for four innings. According to Clare, “Vaughn was playing so deep, he could’ve stayed in left. He definitely did not want to be there.” But my daughter did, and she got to see an 8-5 Sox win as Michael Kopech picked up the win, pitching for the first time in more than a month. All is good in the world of South Siders.

Hammer-time!

Clare’s walkup music in college was MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” at least those lyrics including the prediction of “Hammer’time!” The White Sox did that six times last night at Guaranteed Rate Whatever against the Twins on their way to a 13-3 victory. I’ve always believed that injuries provide opportunities and that rookies who can step up in those situations bring an extra charge of energy with them. Consider Gavin Sheets, now 4-for-8 with a double and homeruns to go with four RBIs in the two games he’s played since being called up to replace the injured Jake Lamb. Also consider that, in the two games Sheets has played in, fellow rookie Andrew Vaughn has gone 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored. Energy. And a nice collective statement by the Sox against Twins’ third baseman Josh Donaldson, who’s put Lucas Giolito on the naughty list of pitchers using foreign substances to doctor the ball. For some reason, Donaldson included ex-Sox manager-turned-analyst Ozzie Guillen in his rants. Never a good idea because Ozzie is never at a loss for words, even when speaking in his second language. So, I’m gloating right now, more so with the Cubs blowing a 7-0 first-inning lead to lose going away by a score of 15-7. Cubs’ starter Jake Arrieta couldn’t hold the lead and now has himself a 5.57 ERA on the season. Who says bad things don’t happen to the right people? My only complaint is that Arrieta is doing a too-perfect imitation of ex-Sox starter James Shields. The terrible outings are bad enough, but getting teammates injured should qualify a player for immediate release. Charlie Tilson was never the same after getting injured trying to flag down all those Shields’ pitches that ended in the gap. Now, Arrieta hangs first baseman Patrick Wisdom out to dry with a terrible throw that led to a collision between Wisdom and Brewers’ baserunner Tyrone Taylor. If you can’t pitch and you can’t field, why play? Maybe Arrieta should retire and consider a run for the presidency or offer his services to the Centers for Disease Control. No, on second thought he should keep doing just what he’s doing. I’m enjoying it plenty.