Kids Growing Up

Maybe Colson Montgomery peaked ever so quickly at his batting average after last night’s 6-5 White Sox win over the Royals. I would, if I’d just gotten three hits, including the difference-making homerun. Allow me to point out to young Mr. Montgomery how hits turn into runs (he had two for the game) and RBIs. But I don’t want to sound like a cranky, old fan longing for the old days, when youngsters dreamed of winning batting titles and triple crowns. Check that. I do long for those days. And the day when Noah Schultz figures out how to throw strikes on a consistent basis. The rookie lefthander had a 3-0 lead going into the fourth inning and promptly loaded the bases on walks; Schultz had five walks on the evening, three or which scored. Exactly half of the 76 pitches he threw were strikes. This will not do. Especially if the Sox want to get beyond .500, where they find themselves for the first times since starting last season at 2-2. You can’t win without pitching, and the Sox won’t win without Schultz. Waiting on you, my man.

If Just For One Day

It seems like the White Sox have a thousand outfielders, which is to say they don’t have three solid regulars. Sam Antonacci has come out of nowhere—or the infield—to stake his claim to left, where he’s made himself at home while batting .280 with thirteen runs scored and a .382 OBP. After Antonacci, though, it’s dicey. Austin Hays was signed to play left, but Antonacci’s out there because Hays can’t stay healthy. Luisangel Acuna played himself out of center field because he can’t hit, and Tristan Peters, his replacement, can’t hit for power. Right field belonged to Everson Pereira, but he can’t stay healthy, either. That led to a chance for Jarred Kelenic, who pretty much hits like a dead man walking. At some point in the season, Braden Montgomery will get called up from Charlotte, and somebody not named Antonacci will have to go. It could even be Derek Hill, who pinch-hit a homerun in the bottom of the eighth last night to put the White Sox ahead and proved to be the deciding run in a 6-5 Sox win over the Royals. Wait, there’s more. Hill went in to play right field for Kelenic in the ninth inning and proceeded to rob Bobby Witt Jr. of extra bases with a diving-to-the-line catch for the first out. Then, in a postgame interview, Hill came off as humble and articulate, as well as the consummate teammate; if praise were money, Hill was making everyone in a Sox uniform rich. The 30-year old journeyman, now on his sixth team, was a hero, if just for one day. And, who knows, maybe a little longer.

No. Take a Peek

The White Sox haven’t been this good since they went bad under Tony LaRussa in 2022 Success is relative to a point, I guess. With the exception of Davis Martin, nobody from then is n the roster now; different players definitely generate different results. Coaching helps, to a point. Now, consider Colson Montgomery. Starting with 2022, here are his predecessors at shortstop: Tim Anderson; Elvis Andrus; Paul DeJong; and Chase Meidroth/Jacob Amaya. Anderson, Andrus and DeJong were all on the decline while Meidroth was just holding Montgomery’s spot for him while he got ready. As for Amaya, I never understood why he was on the team, and we’ll leave it at that. Right now, Montgomery rates as a cornerstone of the current rebuild, surprisingly good in the field and with plenty of left-handed power. He hits in the clutch but so far hasn’t hit for average (.221 BA this season, .233 over a two-season career). Cause for concern? Depends who you ask. Montgomery told the Sun-Times today, “I don’t look at my average.” Instead, he checks “production, on-base percentage, OPS [on-base plus slugging percentage], things like that.” OK, let’s do that. The 28 RBIs in 145 at-bats would come out to 112 in just under 600 at-bats, so that’s good. But Montgomery also projects to score 64 runs, which isn’t. Long story short, batting average matters. If you don’t get on base, the next guy(s) can’t bat you in. Somebody needs to explain that to Montgomery, and soon. The Sox have a whole bunch of promising middle infielders in their system along with the number-one pick in the upcoming draft, which could turn out to be a shortstop. Players needs good numbers all along the board. To me, OPS is overrated because slugging is a statistic that can be distorted from a lot of solo-shot homers. The other part of OPS comes from on-base percentage, and guess what that depends on? Hits as well as walks. Thirty-two hits and fifteen walks times four in a season won’t cut it, Colson. Either start hitting, or start looking over your shoulder.

The Long and Short of It

I taped yesterday’s White Sox game for something to watch while riding the exercycle. Given that the Sox managed but one hit over seven innings, I was all caught up by the time I showered and dressed for a Mother’s Day dinner with Michele’s mom. What a difference ten or fifteen minutes make. First, the much-maligned—by yours truly—Randal Grichuk left off the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit homerun that tied the score at one. Drew Romo followed with a longish ball of his own, a double to the corner in right. But teams do not win by the long ball alone. Which is another way of saying Sam Antonacci laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Romo to third, the better to score on a very short fly to left. Let’s just say Randy Arozarena’s arm will never be confused with Carl Yasztremski’s. Sox take the rubber game against the Mariners, 2-1, this against Seattle reliever Eduardo Bastardo, who entered the game with a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 innings, and this despite closer Seranthony Dominguez loading the bases with one out in the ninth. It’s been a while since the Sox have pulled off wins like this. That said, they’re still two games under .500, at 19-21. The Royals come to town Tuesday, followed by the Cubs. Talk about two teams I’d love to beat to get over the hump, it’s them.

Lessons

We had a Saturday evening of babysitting at Clare’s so she could go out with Chris for a Mother’s Day dinner. Cue the chasing and puzzle-assembling. Eventually, my grandson ran out of gas, to the point he actually sat next to me on the couch; naturally, the White Sox game was on TV. A tip of the cap to Miguel Vargas for his two homeruns in a 6-1 Sox win over the Mariners. This allowed me to do my hitting-coach thing. “Do you see how he hit just like you did today?” I asked Leo, referencing a ball he launched a few hours earlier off a tee into the outfield. Then I said what grandson and ballplayer both did, they “saw the ball and made sure to hit it,” after which I started talking about the strike zone; like souls, we all have them. “You have one, your mom has one, your dad and even me.” Next, I talked about knees-to-armpits, along with an imaginary plate that follows everyone around. “You don’t want to swing at anything too high or too low or way outside.” Walks, I said, are good. At 4-3/4 years old, does he know four balls equal a walk? Well, you have to start sometime. Lessons on Sam Antonacci hustle to follow.

Cranky

Games like last night’s 12-8 White Sox loss to the Mariners make me cranky. You do not hit two batters in an inning, the second forcing in a run, or give up a two-out grand slam on an 0-2 pitch, all after getting the first two outs in an inning. I’m looking at you, Sean Burke. And you don’t let the number-seven batter drive in seven runs, guys. I was admittedly cranky going into the game after reading a smart-ass remark by Jayson Stark in The Athletic yesterday, that Munetaka Murakami “may not be the next [Harmon] Killebrew, [Hank] Aaron or Bambino [Babe Ruth]. But he might be at least the next Adam Dunn. And we are all in on that.” What the hell does that mean? All I know is, if Dunn exhibited half the personality that Murakami has shown so far this season, he would’ve had a longer career; better stats; and more friends in the dugout. If Murakami resembles anyone recent, it’s Kyle Schwarber, and right now I’ll take Murakami. On a brighter note, the Osvaldo Bido era ended on the South Side yesterday. Bido was DFA’d to make room for someone under the age of 30, Tyler Schweitzer. That almost makes up for the Sox sending down Joran Leasure after acquiring 32-year old Trevor Richards, who made his Sox debut yesterday by giving up a three-run homerun to Josh Naylor. Now, I’m cranky again.

Uncarted Waters

Michael Reinsdorf apologizing to Bulls’ fans for the state of the franchise? The new team executive vice president of basketball operations admitting to reporters that he cried when Reinsdorf gave him the job? That’s what happened at the Wednesday press conference where Bryson Graham made his Chicago debut. “We’re going to pull our sleeves up,” Graham told the media. “We’re going to get to work, and we’re going to get out of the mud. I’m not afraid of the work. It’s going to take time. This is something that is not going to be rushed. We’re not in a place that we’re going to be adding players and competing for a championship in the ’26-’27 season.” [quote from story on team website] Wow, shades of Winston Churchill. Granted, ex-vp Arturas Karnisovas leaves a pretty low bar, but, still. Graham came off as sincere and willing to engage reporters the way that Chicago baseball GMs do, whether they want to or not. Let the blood, sweat and tears begin.