This is Progress?

Ask, and ye shall receive. Not really, but the White Sox did call up Sam Antonacci yesterday, and he responded by going 1-for-3 in his major-league debut, with a run scored in an otherwise dreadful 8-3 Sox loss to the Rays. Dreadful why? Because that one hit meant Antonacci ended up with a higher batting average in the lineup than Andrew Benintendi (.178); Munetaka Murakami (.179); Miguel Vargas (.155); and Colson Montgomery (.175). It’s hard to say which of this group looks worst, but Montgomery’s four strikeouts does stand out. Vargas at least makes contact. Did I mention Luisangel Acuna and his .170 BA? My bad, and Chris Getz’s for thinking Acuna is a major-league hitter. Nope. And neither is Tristan Peters, while we’re at it. But these guys continue to see playing time. Why? Speaking of head-scratching moves, Getz sent down Brandon Eisert and replaced him with fellow lefty Tyler Gilbert. Nothing says, “Thank you, Jesus, for this chance,” more than giving up four earned runs in 1.2 innings of work. Just kidding, about the Jesus part. But this team sure could use some divine intervention.

So-so

It could’ve been worse, it could’ve been better. In his big-league debut last night, lefthanded giant Noah Schultz went 4.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on just three hits to the Rays in a losing effort. All four of the walks, though, scored as Tampa Bay coasted to an 8-5 win. Down 1-0 with runners on second and third and one out, Schultz fielded a bunt from Ben Williamson on an attempted suicide squeeze. At 6’10”, Schultz got to the ball in plenty of time for the out at home, only to throw it away. Take away the two runs that scored, and who knows? The good news is that Schultz won’t be going anywhere, as in back to Charlotte. He’ll see if he can steady his nerves in his second start, against the A’s or D-backs. The bad news is GM Chris Getz insists on staffing his bullpen with retreads; last night, Lucas Sims and Brandon Eisert let in four runs over 2.2 innings. Meanwhile, any number of promising pitchers await in Triple-A. Go figure. In another bit of Getz-second-guessing, I see he didn’t see fit to promote Sam Antonacci, a move that paid off in the short term. Instead of bringing up Antonacci, Getz activated Everson Pereira from the IL, and Pereira repaid the move by hitting a three-run homerun that put the Sox to within a run at 4-3 (see bad bullpen, above). Antonacci got two hits in his game, by the way.

Stuff

There’s stuff going on with the White Sox right now, but it’s tough to get a good read on the extent. What I do know is #2 prospect Noah Schultz, all 6’10” of him, will be making his major-league debut tonight against the Rays. That in itself is news. No waiting to make sure the 22-year old lefty is absolutely, 100-percent ready. Instead, both a leap of faith and an expression of confidence by the front office; how unlike the Sox. Rumor also has it that Sam Antonacci, all 5’11” of him, will be joining Schultz from Charlotte. Only this is where the new Sox are being just like the old Sox. No official word until around two hours before game time. With nothing better to do, I might as well dream, that Schulz will dazzle and Antonacci come through in the clutch. Perchance…

Back to the Future

By rallying yesterday to beat the Royals 6-5 on a wild pitch, the White Sox “improved” to 6-10 on the (thankfully, still young) season. Hmm, 6-10, sounds familiar. Back in 2023, then rookie manager Mickey Mouse posted the very same record. A year later, with Mouse working his magic, the Sox fell to 2-14 before Mouse was shown the door in August. His successor, Vibes Venable (Note: I will be using this moniker until Venable gets the team to ten games over .500), had a 4-12 record after sixteen games last season. You could say that progress is in the eyes of the beholder here. I’ll leave it to my daughter Clare to assess that progress. “At least they’re doing things,” she said yesterday. “It’s not like before, when they’d lost 80 games by July, and then said, ‘Ooh, what happened?’ Now, they’re doing stuff.” More on that “stuff” tomorrow.

No Change

Chase Meidroth, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery went a collective 0-for-11 in yesterday’s 2-0 White Sox loss in Kansas City. But, hey, the guys grinded away and actually doubled their hit total, from two on Friday to four. Even better was this nugget of wisdom offered by manager New-Mickey Venable. “As tough as it has been offensively, these guys remain positive,” Venable told reporters. “The vibe is good.” [today’s Tribune] And here I didn’t know teams make the postseason based on their vibe.

Help!

Davis Martin threw seven innings of two-run ball last night in Kansas City and still lost 2-0. Why? Because his team can’t hit. The “projects” went a collective 1-for-9 while everyone else managed 1-for-20 plus a walk. Not one batter in the Sox lineup is hitting better than Chase Meidroth’s .224, and I’m not convinced Meidroth is a major-league hitter, as evidenced by his three strikeouts last night in the leadoff spot. Speaking of strikeouts, take Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery (please); Murakami went down flailing three times against KC pitching while Montgomery did it twice. Murakami is 8-for-45 with nineteen strikeouts vs. 9-for-48 with another nineteen strikeouts for Montgomery. If these guys don’t hit, who will? Meidroth? The Sox rank 29 out of 30 with a team BA of .196 and 29th in runs scored (43). The Astros lead the majors in runs with 85, by the way. I wouldn’t panic, but I would be concerned, very concerned.

One and Counting

The White Sox did something last night in Kansas City they haven’t done since April 4, 2024. Yup, beat the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. A shutout, no less. Sox 2 Royals 0. If nothing else, 5-8 tops 4-9. But how bad must the Royals be if an opponent with only six hitters in the lineup—again—beats them? Those six hitters generated all of five hits, two by catcher Edgar Quero and a run-scoring double off the bat of Colson Montgomery. As for the three, let’s call them “projects,” a single from Dustin Harris and a sacrifice fly from Luisangel Acuna, who now has two RBIs in 39 at-bats. Right now, the pitching both stinks and looks promising. Last night, Anthony Kay went 5.2 innings giving up three hits and two walks against six strikeouts, all good enough for Kay’s first win since June of 2021. (Not a good idea to hit two batters, though.) Manager New-Mickey Venable actually used Grant Taylor out of the pen for a change, and Taylor went 1.1 innings before yielding to Jordan Leasure, who did no damage over an inning, while Seranthony Dominguez managed not to blow the save despite a leadoff walk in the ninth. Did I mention Noah Schultz is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA for Triple-A Charlotte, or that he has nineteen strikeouts in fourteen innings? Some stats are worth repeating.