Opportunity Knocks

I’m a firm believer in injuries being opportunities; just ask Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig. I know a good medium. Of course, it’s only an opportunity for organizations that have the wherewithal to plug in the talent. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but the White Sox look to be reaching that stage, if David Sandlin’s debut in last night’s 15-2 Sox win is any indication. Two pitches in, and the 25-year old righthander was down 1-0, courtesy of yet another Byron Buxton homerun against the Sox (number 24, if you’re counting). But after Buxton, eighteen consecutive Twins went down without a hit or a walk. On the night, Sandlin needed just 61 pitches to get through six innings. Manager Vibes Venable did the right thing bringing in Brandon Eisert to start the seventh. Sandlin is a talent to develop, not waste. Chase Meidroth hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, with Munetaka Murakami going back-to-back four pitches later. Oh, and Sam Antonacci had himself a three-hit, three-RBI night. More, please.

Almost

The White Sox almost stole one from the Twins last night. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth, rookie Rikuu Nishida led off with a single. One out later, Munetaka Murakami tied the game with a moonshot to right. In the tenth, Nishida may have entered the record books in the tenth inning with a second straight game recording an out-at-the-plate assist. Murakami nearly singled in the winning run, only for first baseman Josh Bell turn a one-hop smash into an inning-ending double play. Twins 5 Sox 3 in eleven innings. The big concern, at least for me, is hitting, as in the lack thereof. Outside of Sam Antonacci and Chase Meidroth, none of the regulars is close to .250, except for centerfielder Tristan Peters at .248, and he shouldn’t be a regular. This team isn’t going anywhere if Colson Montgomery can’t hit better than .222 or Miguel Vargas .233. For this I have no answers other than to offer that the Sox needs to steal more games like they might have last night until the hitting comes around, if it comes around.

A Shot in the Arm

Yes, Anthony Kay pitched six innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 White Sox win over the Twins on a beautiful Memorial Day afternoon on the South Side. And, yes, Munetaka Murakami and Drew Romo both left the yard to power the offense. Oh, and Rikuu Nishida, a ball of nervous energy, if there ever was one. What a debut. The 5’6”, 25-year old rookie barely got the ball out of the infield in the fourth inning to record his first major-league hit, but, so what? Nishida, playing in the (very big, literally and figuratively) shadows of Harold Baines and Jermaine Dye, threw himself into the hearts of Sox fans by throwing a strike to nail Orlando Arcia at home as Arcia tried to score from second base on a two-out single by Alex Jackson. Wait, there’s more. Nishida recorded seven putouts on the day, the most ever by a Sox outfielder in his first game. Did I mention Nishida lost a shoe in making the throw or that he nearly made a great diving catch in the seventh inning? Or that Nishida wears number 51, in honor of Ichiro Suzuki? I didn’t find that out until listening to Nishida’s postgame comments. All game, I kept thinking of Terry Forster, shall we say a slightly larger number 51? Yesterday, it worked either way.

Monkey See

Erick Fedde put the White Sox in an early three-run hole Saturday; Noah Schultz put the Sox in an early three-run hole Sunday. The Sox came back to tie the game Saturday and chose to stick with Fedde, a show of faith that led to a Giant’s grand slam. The Sox came back to tie the game Sunday and chose to stick with Schultz, a show of faith that led to a Giants’ grand slam. San Francisco 8 Chicago 5. When Fedde leaves (sooner than later, unless GM Chris Getz is a complete masochist), it’ll be a DFA. If Schultz leaves (and I hope he can figure out things sooner than later), it’ll be a demotion to Triple-A Charlotte. So, there’s that. Speaking of DFAs and Charlotte, the Sox released outfielder Jarred Kelenic and promoted infielder Rikuu Nishida. The 25-year old lefthanded hitter can do two things, get on base and steal bases once he does. Nishida has a .410 career OBP with 110 stolen bases over three-plus seasons. Did I say infielder? Nishida, all 5’6” inches of him, will make his major-league debut today as a right fielder. Fingers crossed.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Erick Fedde is no longer a major-league pitcher, and signing him to a bargain-basement contract, like White Sox GM Chris Getz did this spring, more or less confirms that. So did Fedde’s performance yesterday against the Giants. San Francisco 10 Chicago 3. First, the 33-year old righthander put his team in a 3-0 hole. Then, after the Sox tied the game in the fifth inning, Fedde gave up a two-run homerun in the bottom of the frame. Wait, there’s more, namely two dropped popups by Miguel Vargas that translated into another four runs. The line for Fedde was 3.1 innings, eight runs on ten hits and two walks, but I’ll give him a pass on three of those runs. Still, does five runs in 3.1 innings sound that much better? Two points worth noting, starting with Vargas. He addressed the popups in postgame comments to the media. That could not have been easy, so a tip of the cap there. Oh, and Lucas Giolito won his second straight start for the Padres. That’s two starts and two wins for the ex-Sox, vs. an 0-5 record for Fedde (who technically didn‘t start yesterday, but came into the game in the second inning after “opener” Bryan Hudson). Just saying.

He Did What?

Last night in San Francisco, Sam Antonacci did something no other White Sox player has managed to in franchise history—he was hit by a pitch twice in the same inning. On top of that, Antonacci scored both times as the Sox put up a nine-spot in the fourth for a 9-4 win. What a weird, good game. Giants’ starter Trevor McDonald retired the first nine batters before losing it in the fourth; the Sox scored all their runs on just five hits, none of which left the ballpark; Sox hitters did not record another hit the rest of the game; and starter Davis Martin was at less than his best, though a few bounces didn’t go his way. Martin gave up four runs in 5.2 innings of work. Still, he picked up the win to go 7-1 on the season. Munetaka Murakami had a three-run double, one run better than Andrew Benintendi’s two-bagger. I’m starting to think the Sox will go as far as Murakami, Benintendi and Antonacci can carry them, along with Martin. Everyone else on the roster is welcome to prove me wrong.

Odds and Ends

Ex-White Sox Jake Burger has as many RBIs (33) as Munetaka Murakami. Would I take Burger over Murakami? No, but I wish there were a way to have him on the team. Gavin Sheets, too, for that matter. Oh, well. Maybe Burger and Sheets—and Murakami, for that matter—can prove Leo Durocher wrong about nice guys finishing last. Right now, the Sox would be hard-pressed to finish last in the AL Central; the Tigers look intent on winning that honor. But if the South Siders want to be real contenders, they have to bounce back against the Giants after losing two out of three in Seattle. Davis Martin vs. Trevor McDonald. I may actually stay up late for this one. TIVO assist, of course.