Mission Accomplished

Last week, the White Sox were hovering around .500, and skipper Rick Renteria didn’t want his players to lose their focus on the task at hand, which is a rebuild.  If the team were to break .500, how could the front office maintain the fiction that it was too early for moves to get into the postseason?  Well, mission accomplished.

 

Right now, the Sox are five under and have a good shot at nine under by the end of the weekend; that should be enough cold water to put things back in order.  Only one problem, though.  Bad things have a way of happening when you mix in mediocre—and I’m being charitable here—pitching with your position prospects.  Yes, it’s what I call the Shields Effect for how Charlie Tilson got injured chasing down balls hit against then-Sox starter James Shields.

 

This year, Eloy Jimenez injured himself banging into a fence trying to catch crap thrown by Carlos Rodon.  Now, you can add shortstop Tim Anderson to the list.  Last night, the White Sox decided to go with starter-by-committee, a sure sign that there isn’t much pitching talent in the minors, Dylan Cease excepted, and we all know he’s busy checking his boxes.  How fun it must be for Anderson, Jimenez, Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada to watch the likes of Juan Minaya and Jose Ruiz turn a lead into a deficit at Fenway.  Or not.

 

Anyway, Ruiz had just given up a double and two-run homer in the fifth inning when J.D. Martinez hit a ball in the hole that Anderson reached and got to first with an off-balance throw.  But wet infield dirt made for treacherous footing and led to an ankle sprain.  Maybe it was inevitable.  Or maybe if Ruiz was the power pitcher general manager Rick Hahn thinks he is, he would have retired the side on two punchouts and a popup.  We’ll never know.

 

Theoretically, injuries can turn into opportunities, and the White Sox could call up a prospect like Danny Mendick or Nick Madrigal.  Then again, they may not be done checking their boxes.