Never Too Early

My daughter and fellow White Sox fan called last night to ask, “Is Chris Sale done?” No, I answered. He’s still coming back from Tommy John surgery. The onetime ace of the Chicago Sox was tagged with the loss against the Astros in game five of the ALCS. Speaking of arm surgery, I see that Sox reliever Evan Marshall is slated for a Tommy John procedure come next month; so, count him out for 2022. As for catcher Yasmani Grandal, I wonder. Clare later texted me that Grandal has already undergone some sort of knee procedure since the Sox were eliminated by Houston last week. Nothing like bad knees on a catcher. I always say the next season starts as soon as the World Series ends. (December or January, right?) Maybe I should amend that to, the next seasons starts for any team the moment the current one ends. Either way, the Sox will need more help in the bullpen and definitely at catcher. Grandal hit .240, which also happens to be his average over the course of a ten-year career. He rates as a plus hitter in the clutch, which is nice, and a below-average defender behind the plate, which is not. Hello, Adam Hackenberg. Adam Who? That’s “Hackenberg,” as in a catcher out of Clemson taken by the Sox in the eighteenth round this June. Sox prospects aren’t exactly known for their ability to hit the ground running. Hackenberg, though, went to Low-A Kannapolis, where he hit .320 with a homerun and thirteen RBIs in just 100 at-bats. Oh, and he threw out fourteen of 32 runners trying to steal. That’s nearly 44 percent, vs. nineteen percent this season for Grandal. Guess whose progress I’ll be checking on regularly come next spring.