Ready or Not

Erick Fedde; Miguel Vargas; Munetaka Murakami; Colson Montgomery; and Sam Antonacci all came ready to play last night in the White Sox 9-5 loss to the Guardians. Alas, Hagen Smith; Jordan Hicks; Anthony Kay; Grant Taylor; Randal Grichuk; and Braden Montgomery didn’t. Compounding matters, Sox manager Vibes Venable made any number of bonehead moves that helped guarantee a game five of the ALDS in Cleveland tomorrow night. Smith started and lasted only .2 innings before getting lifted for Fedde. Why? Because the rookie lefthander walked the bases loaded, that’s why. Of the 27 pitches he threw, only thirteen were strikes. There are three possible reasons for the lack of performance here—fatigue from the day before; fear; and the failure of the coaching staff to note fatigue and/or address said fear in their opener. Fedde relieved Smith in the first and pitched until out in the fifth. Technically, he gave up two runs in 3.2 innings of work, but one of those run came home courtesy of a gopher ball Jordan Hicks served up to Jose Ramirez. A packed house of nearly 40,000 crazed Sox fans—Clare and me included—broke into chants of “Fedde! Fedde!” throughout one of the gutsiest performance I’ve seen by a Sox pitcher. The Sox led 4-3 going into the sixth inning, when the wheels fell off the wagon. Anthony Kay hit a batter with one out and then gave up a line drive to Travis Bazzana that bounced off the glove of a diving Braden Montogomery in right field; it was a tough but by no means impossible play. I have to wonder if the rookie didn’t take out his batting woes to the field with him. Montgomery ended the fifth striking out with the bases loaded, part of an 0-for-5 night. Taylor replaced Kay with one out, a runner on second and the score tied at four. The 24-year old righthander proceeded to give up four runs of his own and the inherited runner from Kay on four hits and two walks without recording an out. Where to begin? Let’s start with an absolutely asinine postgame comment by Venable that, “You’ve got to credit the Guardians. I think they had a really good approach against [Taylor] all year.” [quote from online story in today’s Trib] Then, why use him, and, if you are going to use him, what countermove(s) are you going to employ? Speaking of asinine, consider the Sox lineup that started the game, with Tommy Pham penciled in as dh and Grichuk playing left field. With lefthander Parker Messick starting, Antonacci watched from the bench. When he did come into the game as a pinch-hitter for Pham in the third, what did the South Side pepper-pot do? Oh, he hit a sacrifice fly. Then, in the fifth he drove in another run on a hit-by-pitch (like I said, pepper-pot). Antonacci also singled in an attempted ninth-inning rally that, obviously, fell short. The question here is, why didn’t Venable start Antonacci, lefty-lefty matchup be damned? And why isn’t he the permanent leadoff batter with Meidroth second? Apparently, Venable is too busy praising the opposition to offer a valid reason. With two on and nobody out in the third, Grichuk struck out on a ball shoulder-high. Murakami followed with a walk that set up Antonacci’s sacrifice fly. Some players came ready to play, others didn’t.

Cluck

This is not how you reward a packed house of raucous fans, by laying a big, fat, ugly egg, but that’s exactly what the White Sox did yesterday in their 9-3 loss to the Guardians. Sox pitchers walked ten; Sox batters struck out nineteen—let me repeat, nineteen—times; and manager Vibes Venable provided his share of head-scratching moments. As for the hitting and pitching coaches, I have a question. Per “the plan,” Venable went with an opener, and Sean Newcomb pitched lights-out for two innings, retiring all six Guardians he faced, thanks to a double play, on just 22 pitches. Why not let the onetime starter go another inning or two? Why? Because of “the plan,” per Venable’s postgame comments. Well, Skipper, good leaders adjust their plans as condition warrant. Just because you wanted Bryan Hudson to follow Newcomb, that doesn’t mean you had to stick with him for the four batters you did. Hudson walked his first batter, Travis Bazzanna, on five pitches before going to a full count on Patrick Bailey, who lined out to short. Next up, Brayan Rocchio, who singled on a 1-2 count. That’s two on, one out, fourteen pitches thrown. How much more do you need to see that Hudson didn’t have it? Apparently, not until the run-scoring single by Steven Kwan. While I’m at it, let me ask a question about the lineup composition. Both Sam Antonacci and Randal Grichuk played, with Antonacci the dh. Say what? Antonacci is the better fielder and would’ve had a far better chance at catching Jose Ramirez’s two-run, opposite-field triple with two out in the eighth inning. A 5-3 game suddenly turned into a four-run deficit as Grichuk started his dive for the ball a good half-step too soon. Now, a question for both pitching Zach Bove and hitting coach Derek Shomon—how do you stop a bad tendency from turning a close game into a sure loss? Bove challenged his pitchers to throw strikes, yes? After the first inning, when the Sox left runners on second and third with one out and a run in, Shomon addressed the two strikeouts, by Chase Meidroth and Tristan Peters, that ended the inning, right? And, again, after Peters doubled in a run with nobody out and Braden Montgomery failed to advance him, swinging and missing three pitches high and inside? That one hurt because Randal Grichuk’s subsequent flyball would’ve meant another run. Kyle Teel said after the game, “Today is over with. All that matters is tomorrow now, so throw this one out and get ready to go.” [quote from story today on team website] From Teel’s lips to God’s ears.

Dodging Bullets

The White Sox spent all of yesterday dodging bullets in Cleveland as they rallied to beat the Guardians 4-3 and take a 2-0 lead in the ALDS. I only wish those bullets hadn’t been the result of friendly fire. Starting with the choice of Anthony Kay as opener. The only thing the veteran righthander looked capable of opening was a big inning for the opposition with a single, a walk and a groundout that moved runners up. Kay departed after three batters for whizzing bullet #2, Sean Newcomb. The lefty reliever issued an intentional walk to set up a potential inning-ending double play. Lefthanded-hitting Nathaniel Lowe obliged, sort of, chopping a ball off the plate that Newcomb fielded. There was no way to turn two, but Newcomb still had the out at first. Well, he would have but for throwing the ball into a zip code not inhabited by first baseman Munetaka Murakami. That put Cleveland ahead by two. Good thing for the Sox that the Guardians managed to shoot themselves in the foot during the three-run sixth inning. Kudos to Braden Montgomery for his two-out, two-run, opposite-field double that put the Sox ahead 3-2 and brought Chase Meidtroh to the plate. Meidroth delivered with an RBI single. Here’s the thing. Anyone who’s been paying attention this season—which, apparently, the Guardians’ advance scouts failed to do—knows Meidroth likes to hit outside pitches to the opposite field, which is exactly what he did in this instance. It didn’t matter that the pitch was a 97 mph fastball out of the zone or that reliever Hunter Gaddis had a righty-righty advantage. Meidroth delivered. Now for bullet #3 fired out of the Sox dugout, in the form of manager Vibe Venable’s decision to lift Sean Burke with two out in the eighth and a runner on first. In came Grant Taylor, and out went a first-pitch triple by Jo Adell (say that a few time to get the full affect). First, Burke had retired thirteen straight Guardians before a single by Chase DeLauter. Second, Burke had struck out Adell twice in two previous at-bats. Third, Taylor and the Sox were lucky Adell’s ball didn’t leave the park. But luck plays a big part in postseason baseball. And the lucky Sox have a chance to clinch at home tomorrow, friendly fire notwithstanding.

Waiting

I could keep on talking about the 1937 White Sox, but that gets old after a while, if you’ll pardon the pun. As I stare at the clock, it’s four hours and fifteen minutes before the start of game two of the ALDS between the Sox and Guardians. Best just to wait it out. With righthander Gavin Williams going for Cleveland, the Sox in all likelihood will counter with their lefty-dominant lineup. That means Sam Antonacci at the top of the lineup looking to get on base any way he can (hit, walk, hit-by-pitch, whatever), with Andrew Benintendi in the middle of the order to drive Antonacci in and Braden Montgomery switch-hitting (and getting on base). If Tristan Peters can repeat the eighteen-pitch walk against Williams, which started a six-run inning, fine by me. And anything Colson Montgomery provides will be icing on the cake. Pardon the cliché.

Bonura, Stratton Et Al.

The ball autographed by the 1937 White Sox arrived around the same time Colson Montgomery cued a ball past Jose Ramirez down the third-base line for a run-scoring double in the seventh inning. Kyle Teel scoring from first with two out? Words fail. But the 3-0 win over the Guardians still counts. So, the ball must’ve been with the mail carrier in her truck when Munetaka Murakami absolutely demolished a non-sinking sinker from Parker Messick in the fourth for a 2-0 Sox lead; the ball went an estimated 440 feet to the stands in deep right field. I’d like to think Zeke Bonura would’ve approved at such a display of raw power. Letting slip a little awe would’ve been understandable. As for Jimmy Dykes, he probably would’ve envied the success of all the moves made by his 21st century counterpart, Vibes Venable. With the bases loaded and two out in the third, Venable called on Bryan Hudson to relieve opener Hagen Smith. Hudson ran the count full before retiring Chase DeLauter on an opposite-field lineout to Randal Grichuk in left. Wait, there’s more. With two out and a runner on first in the fourth, Venable summoned Anthony Kay out of the pen. Let’s just say Kay was more lucky than good. The veteran lefty gave up a double and a walk before inducing Brayan Rocchio to line out to right. Wait, there’s more. After Kay pitched a one-two-three fifth inning (pinch me), Venable called on de facto closer Grant Taylor for the sixth inning, and the seventh, and the eighth, and, yes, the ninth. Taylor needed 42 pitches to get the job done. After the game, I took a closer look at the autographed ball. I’d forgotten Dixie Walker was on the team (think players’ revolt, Jackie Robinson) and Jackie Hayes, whose career was cut short by an eye infection that led to blindness. Let it, and a ball like this will tell all sorts of stories. Along with the autographs was a date: July 31, 1937. My guess is that the autographs were collected on that Saturday. If so, it was in Philadelphia, where the Sox shut out the A’s 2-0 behind a complete game by Monty Stratton. And now a ball carrying his autographs and those of his teammates sits on a cigar cabinet in our dining room. Any connection with this Sox team is purely coincidental. Or not.

Meanwhile, Over in the NL…

Yes, Virginia, there’s life after having played for the losingest team in MLB history. Just look at ex-White Sox players Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn. Sheets has become something of a fan favorite in San Diego since he signed with the Padres last year, so much so he merits chants of “Holy Sheets!” whenever he comes to bat. I heard the chants Wednesday night as Sheets walked to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning in the Padres’ wildcard series against the Cubs. Ironically, Sheets was pinch-hitting for another ex-Sox player (though you might’ve missed him if you blinked), Austin Hays. Sheets turned around a 100.8 mph fastball from the Cubs’ Daniel Palencia, sending out a 107.5-mph exit-velocity two-run homer that effectively ended the Cubs’ postseason. Way to go, Gavin. Sheets will be meeting up against Andrew Vaughn, his old teammate on the Sox back in 2024, as the Padres face the Brewers in the NLDS. What an interesting season-and-a-half it’s been for the third pick in the 2019 draft. The righthand-hitting Vaughn just couldn’t reach the next level with the Sox; he was good but not nearly the player his college stats foretold. After 4-1/2 seasons on the South Side, GM Chris Getz shipped Vaughn to Milwaukee, where he became a platoon player. And how has that gone? Well, the 28-year old Vaughn hit .308 with 46 RBIs in his new role last season and .306 with 43 RBIs this year. How interesting if the Sox face either of them down the road in the postseason.

Calm Before the Storm

I’m waiting, for the White Sox-Guardians’ game tomorrow and the mail today. There could be a good-luck charm coming. It’s in the form of a team-autographed ball, the 1937 White Sox, to be precise. They were a few games better than the 2026 squad, at 86-68, good enough for third place, sixteen games behind the Yankees in a 154-game season. It was the best team Jimmy Dykes would have in thirteen years of managing on the South Side. Two names you’d expect to see are there, Ted Lyons and Luke Appling (hey, I met him once!), but that’s not why I bought it. There were two other names, starting with Monty Stratton, a 25-year old righthander who went 15-5 with a 2.40 ERA in his second full season with the Sox. Stratton would match that win total in 1938 and then never pitch again in the major leagues after an off-season hunting accident led to the amputation of his right leg. Jimmy Stewart played him in the move, and I have a photo of a smiling Stratton in his Sox uniform on the wall opposite my work desk. The other autograph I made sure was on the ball belongs to Zeke Bonura, a hitting enigma if there ever was one. The righthand-hitting first baseman didn’t make the majors until he was 25 and played only seven seasons. You’d think anyone who totaled 704 career RBIs in such a relatively short span would’ve had a longer career, but he didn’t. (Baseball) age and WWII got in the way. In our house, there’s a direct connection between Bonura and another Sox enigma, Daniel Palka. When Palka hit 27 homeruns his first and only full season in the majors in 2018, I knew he equaled Bonura’s number for a rookie. My daughter was dumbfounded. There was some other Bonura trivia I aced that brought the pride of New Orleans back to life one summer nine years ago. Stratton, Bonura, Palka—good names deserving of good results in Cleveland starting tomorrow.