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.