Another Painful Admission

As much as it pains me to admit (and trust me, it pains me a whole lot), new White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable is not an entirely hopeless case. He has a knack for the unexpected, like last night when he batted his two rookie catchers at the top of the order. How did that work out? Well, Edgar Quero went 3-for-5 DH’ing in the leadoff spot with a double and two runs scored while Kyle Teel followed with a 3-for-5 night of his own with four RBIs, three coming on a game-tying homerun in the seventh inning. Sox 11 Twins 8. The two rookies I’m most concerned about also chipped in, Colson Montgomery with a monster 454-foot shot good for two runs in the ninth and Chase Meidroth with four hits. Montgomery needs to make regular contact and Meidroth, contact that eludes the opposition. Montgomery can’t be hitting .227 this time next year or Meidroth .258. But you take the hopeful signs and see what happens in the offseason. Right now, I’d have to say there’s not much good Jonathan Cannon will be taking from this year. Called up to pitch as long as he could in the series finale, Cannon struggled to last 2.1 inning, yielding five earned runs on five hits and two walks. I think it’s a head thing with the 25-year old righthander. Either he figures things out, or one of those talented starters in the minors will take his spot in the rotation come spring. The Sox have now won five in a row, all come from behind. Who’ve thought it? And sweeping the Twins four games on the road. That, my friends, has never been done since Harmon Killebrew and company decamped from D.C. in 1961. So, if that feat is possible, why not a Friday-night win in Detroit? A guy can dream.

Painful to Admit

It pains me to admit that the White Sox won their fourth straight game last night, 4-3 over the Twins at Target Field, in large part due to the effort of two of my least favorite players, Michael A. Taylor and Jordan Leasure. But that’s what happened. With two on and two out in the top of the ninth, Brooks Baldwin blooped a broken-bat single to right, good for a run. That put runners on the corners, until Baldwin stole second with Taylor up. Twins’ reliever Justin Topa made Taylor look sad swinging at two straight sweepers that broke well out of the strike zone. Too bad for Topa he couldn’t do it a third time. Somehow, Taylor laid off the next two sweepers, both pretty much where the earlier two were. Then came sweeper #5, right over the plate. Taylor, who at that point was 0-for-3 on the night with two strikeouts, turned on the pitch, lining it down the left-field line, on the line in fact, a double plating two runs. Wait, there’s more. That was in the person of Leasure, who gave up a leadoff double to Byron Buxton followed by a walk to Trevor Larnach. Leasure induced the next two batters to hit shallow flyouts to left, requiring Andrew Benintendi to run in for the catch both times. That made it two out and two on for catcher Ryan Jeffers, 3-for-4 on the night with a run scored. Lo and behold, Jeffers grounded out to third. Sox win, Sox win. They hadn’t come back to win a game when trailing in the ninth since August 6, 2023, in Cleveland. That’s a span of 205 games. My problem with the two players who broke that streak is purely performance-related. Taylor is hitting .205 on the season and hadn‘t driven in a run since August 9. Leasure can either be very good or very bad out of the pen. Average it out, and he has a 4.08 ERA. At 34, Taylor may not be back for a second year with the Sox. He’s a plus-outfielder and a very good interview; I can still remember him from the 2019 postseason, when he helped the Nationals win their first and so far only World Series; Leasure is less articulate but just as sincere. So, hats off to both. Now, do it again.

Hitting on All Six

Hitting, pitching and defense, oh, my. White Sox 12 Twins 3 The last time he started, Martin Davis pitched scared, or so I thought. Last night, he did OK+, allowing three runs in six innings for the win, his sixth this season. Two more, please. If Martin keeps getting a 7-5 double play in support, it just may happen. As to hitting, where to start? Probably best to go with Andrew Benintendi, who hit two homeruns, collected four hits and drove in five. Youngsters Kyle Teel and Lenyn Sosa also homered, going back-to-back in the seventh inning. Now, for two other kids. With the Sox down 3-1 and two on nobody out in the fifth, Bryan Ramos doubled in both runners. Definitely more, please. In addition to Ramos delighting, Brooks Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a walk, run scored and RBI. That’s what I’m talking about, Brooks. Nothing says commitment like going 16-for-48 over your last fifteen games. Next, the near-impossible—three straight at Target Field.

When

One of the few intelligent comments ever spoken by “Hawk” Harrelson went along the lines of: It’s not only who you play but when you play ’em. From there it’s a short distance to: It’s not only what you hit but when you hit it. Take yesterday’s 6-5 White Sox win over the Twins. Colson Montgomery homered, again, so, Yea! But it was a solo shot in the second inning. With two on and two out in the seventh, Montgomery struck out. A three-run homer beats a solo job in my book. Montgomery is going to get the benefit of the doubt given his production so far and his standing as a, if not the, cornerstone in this latest Sox rebuild. And, yes, he deserves it. But also consider Brooks Baldwin, on the periphery of the rebuild unless and until he’s gets his batting average in the vicinity of .280. After his two doubles yesterday, Baldwin has 42 points to go. But consider that his leadoff double in the fifth led to a run and his two-out double in the eighth scored the tying run; Baldwin then scored the go-ahead run on Mike Tauchman’s double. The 25-year old utility player was at least a little bit clutch, I’d say. With Luis Robert Jr. on the IL and Michael A. Taylor batting a mere .204, Baldwin has a chance to make a case for himself in this last month of the season. That works for me.

The Two that Count

The White Sox managed five hits against the Yankees yesterday; the back-to-back doubles by Curtis Mead and Will Robertson qualify as unlikely-to-be-repeated flukes. And forget the first-inning single by Lenyn Sosa. What counted were the solo shots by Colson Montgomery in the sixth and Sosa in the eighth. White Sox 3 Yankees 2. Montgomery has fifteen homeruns to go with a .224 BA. All you can do is wonder and hope, that he stays healthy; that he learns plate discipline; that he can hit singles and doubles as well as homers. With Sosa , it’s more about wondering. Two years older than the 23-year old Montgomery, Sosa is a more mature hitter, which isn’t to say that his sixteen homers, 61 RBIs and .269 BA represent a ceiling. I can see 25 homers and a .275 BA within reach if he gets hot in September. Sosa could easily knock in 80 or more runs on a good team. Where does he play? First, second, third? Who does he play for, given the preponderance of middle infielders among top Sox prospects? Something to ponder come the offseason.

This is What Happens

What happens when a baseball team can‘t do any better than promote a retread like Will Robertson from its minor-league system and inserts him in the lineup against the Yankees? He goes 0-for-5, which puts him at 1-for-23 on the season, 0-for-13 with the White Sox. Oh, and the Sox lose for a third straight time to the Yankees, 5-3 in eleven innings. What happens when you bring in a retread like Tyler Alexander to pitch the eleventh inning? He gives up three runs to take the loss and put his record at 4-13 with a 4.88 ERA. But, hey, Alexander is 1-8 with a 3.88 ERA in 23 games for the Sox. What happens when you hire someone like New-Mickey Venable to manage a major-league team? He guides them to a 48-88 record after 136 games—hey, that’s seventeen games better than last season!—and says after the latest loss, “It’s a tough one, no doubt about it. These guys battle and put themselves in a really good spot to win that ballgame and just came up short.” As in going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. What happens when you hire someone like Venable? He looks at yet another example of offensive ineptitude and says something like, “We just have to make good swing decision and use the middle of the field. Each guy in different situations is going to attack differently. At the end of the day, you have to shorten up, put the ball in play and use the whole field.” [both quotes in today’s Tribune story online] Move over, Casey Stengel. There’s a new “perfessor” in town. With the reincarnation of those early Mets’ teams now playing on the South Side, nothing could be more fitting.

Look Away

There was no ballgame at the Rate last night, not in any real sense. But it definitely was an embarrassment, Yankees 10 Hapless Sox 2. How embarrassing? How about the nine walks issued by Sox pitchers, five of which scored, or a call of catcher’s interference, also which scored? Or the regression of rookies like Tim Elko (0-for-4 with two strikeouts subbing for an injured Miguel Vargas) and Grant Taylor (four batters faced; two walks; two singles; three runs allowed)? Or the continued inanity of a manager who praises the other team? I don’t care if the Yankees “make really good swing decisions.” [online story today on Tribune website] For some unknown reason, though, I do care about this team. And with each loss, it’s becoming painfully obvious the leader in the dugout this season is just as clueless as the leader in the dugout last season was.

When It Rains...

For reasons that escape me, the White Sox are enamored of infielder Curtis Mead, acquired in the trade for pitcher Adrian Houser. Mead is 14-for-56 with his new team, thirteen of those hits being singles. And yet he plays over the likes of Tim Elko and Bryan Ramos. In the fifth inning last night, Mead airmailed a throw from third base that took his first baseman into the path of runner Aaron Judge trying to beat out a grounder Mead’s way. The first baseman happened to be Miguel Vargas, who’d hit his first career grand slam in the second inning. Maybe Vargas doesn’t have a broken wrist or even a sprained one. And maybe Luis Robert Jr. will come back from his hamstring injury before the end of the season, and maybe Colson Montgomery’s aching left side will allow him to play tonight. And maybe the bullpen won’t give up six runs like it did last night in a 10-4 Yankees’ win. And maybe New-Mickey Venable will stop managing scared. But I have my doubts.

Stupid Is...

Pitching Aaron Civale, who fell apart in the fifth inning last night against the Royals, giving up five runs; Civale is now 2-7 with a 5.37 ERA in thirteen starts with the White Sox. Or then relieving Civale with Tyler Gilbert, who proceeded to give up six runs in .1 inning of work. Or then pitching Mike Vasil for two innings with the score 11-1 Kansas City. Talk about the return of Mickey Mouse. Sox manager New-Mickey Venable didn’t see fit to use Vasil—now with a 2.38 ERA—in the eighth inning Tuesday night with the Sox up 4-0 but wastes him the next night down by ten runs. And with the Yankees coming to down tonight, Venable should’ve gone with Vasil Tuesday and rested him yesterday. Stupid is as stupid does. Royals 12 Sox 1.

Crash and Burn

Last night, White Sox starter Martin Perez threw seven innings of one-hit shutout ball against the Royals; he left with a 4-0 lead the bullpen turned into a 5-4 loss. Somebody needs to teach manager New-Mickey Venable how to handle a pen. You know who Venable brought in to start the eighth, right? Good ol’ Jordan Leausre, who needed 26 pitches to record two outs. Unfortunately, Leasure also gave up two singles and a walk. Enter Grant Taylor. A two-run single by Maikel Garcia followed shortly thereafter. Back out for the ninth, Taylor loaded the bases on three singles, one out. Venable then switched to lefty Tyler Alexander, who promptly gave up a two-run single to lefthand-hitting Michael Massey. Wait, there’s more. Alexander then hit lefthand-hitting Adam Frazier to load the bases. Still more. Alexander then gave the go-ahead single to Kyle Isbel on a 1-2 count. So, Alexander failed to get out any of the three lefty hitters he faced. Way. To. Go. Colson Montgomery hit a homerun in his fourth consecutive game, and Kyle Teel collected three more hits. None of it mattered, though, because Venable didn’t know which pitcher to put in when.

As Simple as One, Two, Three

The White Sox won their third straight game last night, 7-0 against the visiting Royals. You guessed it, they followed that can’t-lose recipe of pitching, hitting and defense. Starter Shane Smith looked like the pitcher he was the first 2-1/2 months of the season, throwing seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit and a walk. Simply put, Smith attacked, with 21 first-pitch strikes against the 23 KC batters he faced. He also struck out three, which means his performance was double old-school. In other words, Smith induced weak contact his defense was able to handle for outs. I’ve been on the fence all year about Miguel Vargas, and still am. I’ll jump on the bandwagon if he can add fourteen points to his batting average and end the season at .250. But I will say this regardless—the man hustles out of the box. That mentality turned two singles into two doubles. More, please. What do you do with a problem like Lenyn Sosa? Enjoy him, if only in the short term. Last night, Sosa went 2-fpr-4 with two run-scoring singles, giving him 59 RBIs on the season. And to think that two years ago, he looked utterly lost at the plate. More recently, Brooks Baldwin did too, until the end of July, Since then, he’s added 21 points to his batting average, which is what going 17-for-56 in August will do. Last night, Baldwin followed Korey Lee’s two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot of his own. Wait, there’s more. Playing left field in the top of the fifth, Balwin raced into foul territory to retire Adam Frazier on a sliding, cleats-into-the-wall catch. More, please, even though you can never get enough of that kind of thing.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Holy-moly, the White Sox did it for two straight games, employing pitching, hitting and defense to take the rubber game against the Twins, 8-0. Kyle Teel had three singles and two RBIs as the DH while Edgar Quero did the catching, and some hitting of his own, with two singles and three RBIs. And then we have the curious/hopeful case of Colson Montgomery, who missed his chance at hitting grand slams in two consecutive games when he flied out to right field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first. Did I mentioned Montgomery hit a two-run homerun in the second? Luis Robert Jr. collected a single and run scored, which was OK, but his defense, oh my. Robert made two run-denying, diving catches. The one in the fifth inning was especially impressive, as he raced hard into left-center to make a backhand grab. Are you going to be able to replace this level of defense, Chris Getz? Think long and hard before you move this guy, who finally seems comfortable with the team around him. Starter Yoendrys Gomez also seemed comfortable, throwing 4.2 innings of shutout ball for what would’ve been his third win for the Sox, who picked up the 25-year old righthander on waivers from the Dodgers back in May. Other pitchers find success by switching from starting to relieving; Gomez is trying to go in the opposite direction. The Sox have won all three games he’s started. Why isn’t he 3-0 for his new team? No one knows because no one asked manager New-Mickey Venable on why he pulled Gomez, one out short of qualifying for the win. Gomez didn’t mention an injury in his postgame comments, and Venable didn’t say anything, either. God bless Ozzie Guillen for calling out the Sox beat writers for not asking Venable to explain. You gotta love the guy.

A Simple Formula

Pitching, hitting, defense—do that, and you win games. White Sox 7 Twins 3. Davis Martin had another pretty good start, pitching five innings of two-run ball. For once, the bullpen didn’t collapse, and the defense avoided making any errors while turning a double play. Davis aided his cause by scattering five hits and walking one Twin while striking out six. He also picked a runner off of first. More, please. Ditto the hitting, where Colson Montgomery went 2-for-4 with a grand slam. Miguel Vargas chipped in with a double, a run and an RBI on a 2-for-3 night, a performance slightly better than The Enigma’s. Luis Robert Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo shot and his 33rd stolen base of the year. Why can’t they play like this all the time? I guess that’s like asking, who wrote the book of love?

Better Late than Never

Well, the White Sox finally got around to DFAing Josh Rojas, he of the .180 BA in 189 at-bats. Maybe next, GM Chris Getz will clean house with the pitching staff. Nothing says “loss” like Aaron Civale walking two Twins before giving up a grand slam with two outs in the fourth inning to Royce Lewis or Brandon Eisert allowing two runs in an inning of “work.” Twins 9 Sox 7. The good news, I guess, is the hitting returned. Kyle Teel went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored while Lenyn Sosa had two hits and two RBIs, as did Colson Montgomery, who scored two runs on a double and two-run homer. So goes Montgomery, so goes the rebuild. That and the pitching.

Batting Practice

Another visit from my grandson, another session of batting practice in the backyard. “Grandpa, let’s play baseball,” followed by a poke in the stomach with a wiffle-ball bat. Charming child. Again, I can’t get over how different Leo is to his mom at the same age. With four-year old Clare, the higher the pitch the better, which explains why a parent in college offered to buy her a ladder for when she hit. With her four-year old son, nothing above the belt, please. The lower the pitch, the more contact he makes. The one thing son and mother have in common is the ability to pull inside pitches. The boy is half-Yogi Berra, half-Paul Konerko. Leo put a whole bunch of balls into the yard next door. He’s going to start t-ball in the spring. That should be interesting.

What Bad Teams Do

The White Sox found a different way to lose last night—Colson Montgomery mishandled a semi-tough groundball to let in a run. Final score: Braves 1 Sox 0. Lose. It’s what bad teams do. Gone was the hitting of the two nights previous. The Sox managed all of four singles, and only one from anyone close to a core player, Brooks Baldwin. It would’ve been nice had one of the other guys stepped up, but they didn’t. If only the bullpen could’ve tallieed 1.2 innings of scoreless work the on Tuesday like they did Wednesday. The real concern is Montgomery, and not because of the error; another scorer might’ve given Ozzie Albies a hit. It’s the hitting, or lack thereof, that concerns me. After going 0-for-3, Montgomery lowered his overall average to .215; .111 over his last seven games; and .170 over his last fifteen. He says he’s making adjustments, and I hope they work. Otherwise, this bad team will keep finding ways to lose.

Mission Accomplished

Monday night, the White Sox bullpen nearly blew a nine-run lead. Last night, they gave away a 10-4 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Braves 11 Sox 10. After the game, manager New-Mickey Venable blamed himself. “It’s my job to put these guys in position to succeed and just haven’t been able to do it the last two nights. So that’s on me,” Venable told reporters. “[I have to] Reflect on what we could have done better from my end.” [quote in today’s story on team website] Yeah, reflect as in, why am I saddled with these guys? Consider: Tyler Gilbert, .1 inning, two earned runs on two hits; Elvis Peguero, two earned runs on a hit and two walks; Tyler Alexander, .2 innings, two earned runs on two hits and two walks. Maybe pitching coach Ethan Katz could remind his charges there’s not defending a walk. Or GM Chris Getz might consider calling up some of those promising relievers he seems to be sitting on. I won’t hold my breath. On a positive note, Kyle Teel continued his tear, with a double and homerun to go with four RBIs while Miguel Vargas chipped in with two hits, a walk and three runs scored. Core-wise, Brooks Baldwin; Chase Meidroth; Edgar Quero; and Lenyn Sosa each had a hit and a run, with Sosa also tallying an RBI. The enigma known as Luis Robert Jr. had himself a bases-clearing double good for three RBIs. But what difference does it make if you’re content with a mediocre—or worse—bullpen? A loss is a loss.

Problems Good and Bad

The White Sox beat the Braves last night, 13-9. Yea. That said, there were all sorts of problems on display. Let’s start with the good ones. Lenyn Sosa homered for the third time in four games. He also had four RBIs, giving him 54 on the season. But where does he fit in long-term? Of the Sox top-30 prospects, sixteen are position players, ten of them infielders. Of that number, eight are listed as playing shortstop and/or second base. Is Sosa better than all of them? Should he be traded in the offseason? Or do you move him to first? I don’t know. Kyle Teel had four hits on the night, including his third homerun. Is he your #1 catcher, or Edgar Quero? Do you keep both, or trade one? If trading, which one? What would a trade of one of them plus Sosa bring back in return? Brooks Baldwin homered, scored two runs and walked three times, all at the bottom of the order. Baldwin is batting .318 (14-for-44 with three homers) over his last fourteen games. The 25-year old switch-hitter has played six positions so far this season, which right now qualifies him as a poor-man’s Ben Zobrist. Will GM Chris Getz and his manager see the value of that? Now, for the bad problems, as in starting and relief pitching. Sean Burke got sent down to Triple-A Charlotte, where he joins Jonathan Cannon, who’s been pretty mediocre in two starts there. All of a sudden, the rotation features Aaron Civale and Martin Perez. Nothing special there. Why not bring up people from Double-A Birmingham or Charlotte? I mean, other than Owen White? C’mon, four runs in .1 inning. Again, nothing special. It’s odd that an organization with a boatload of minor-league relievers having career years won’t bring any of them up. Now, for last problem, Colson Montgomery. Good news—he looks really good at shortstop and third base. Bad news—he’s hitting .148 over his last seven games, .167 over his last fifteen. Those are concerning numbers. The good news is the rookie doesn’t have a long swing or chase all that much, though he does have 42 strikeouts in 132 at-bats. He’s not chasing after pitches so much as he is swinging through them. Which is what Brooks Baldwin was doing until about seven weeks ago. Brooks, talk to Colson, tell him what adjustments you made to get back on track. That could take care of a big problem.

Anyone Home?

Maybe White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz was all tired out from guiding starter Travis Martin through six innings of one-hit, shutout ball, or maybe hitting coach Marcus Thames could only focus on Brooks Baldwin, who went 3-for-4 on a very hot afternoon in Kansas City. In which case, too bad. The Sox needed nine outs for a 2-0 win. Instead, they got a 6-2 loss, their fourteenth straight at Kauffman Stadium and eleventh loss in their last thirteen games overall. Steve Wilson surrendered a game-tying, two-run homerun with two outs in the seventh. Grant Taylor followed, giving up the go-ahead run with two outs in the eighth, followed by another. Jordan Leasure entered with one on and promptly served up a two-run shot. Damned if I could see any coaching or coach at work in all that. Ditto the hitting, which went 1-for-8 with RISP. Baldwin doubled with two outs and a runner on in the eighth, only Chase Meidroth found a way not to score. What do you say about that, Skipper? “Not sure if he scores there, but that’s really besides the point. In that situation, process-wise, we have to be in tune with the situation.” [quote from story today in the Tribune] Huh? If New-Mickey Venable spoke in plain English, he might say, “Meidroth screwed up there. We always want to force the issue with a chance to score the go-ahead run in late innings.” That’s what a real manager would say, no?

Two Clown Shows

The Savannah Bananas took the South Side by storm Friday and Saturday, drawing over 80,000 fans for two games at The Rate. Part Indianapolis Clowns, part Harlem Globetrotters and part whatever it is they are, the Bananas featured guest appearances from Mark Buehrle; Ozzie Guillen; Paul Konerko; and A.J. Pierzynski. Talk about smart marketing. Over in Kansas City, the White Sox put on their own clown show Saturday night, losing for the thirteenth straight time at Kauffman Stadium, 6-2. And by clown show I mean starter Sox starter Sean Burke fielding a comebacker for a potential double play and then throwing the ball into center field. Burke failed to get through the fourth inning, again. And by clown show I mean playing people like Tyler Alexander, Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor, who won’t or shouldn’t be around beyond this season. And by clown show I mean manager New-Mickey Venable putting a shine on things, as he always does. Wait till next year, or whenever.

A Waste

The White Sox lost to the Royals last night, 3-1, their twelfth straight loss at Kauffman Stadium. The visitors haven’t won there in close to two years. Here’s what I don’t get. Manager New-Mickey Venable used fourteen players on the night, yet only five of them could be considered part of the rebuild. That doesn’t include Luis Robert Jr., because the Sox have no idea what to do with him. Is Curtis Mead part of the rebuild? Mike Tauchman or Michael A. Taylor? Aaron Civale or Brandon Eisert or Steven Wilson? If not, then why did they play? Anybody with a heartbeat should be up from Charlotte. Beyond that, Double-A Birmingham is 68-44; the Barons’ pitching staff leads the Southern Association with a 2.78 ERA. Not Civale, Eisert and Wilson but Murphy (1.32 ERA); Palisch (1.68); McDougal (1.94); and Dalquist (2.09). Notice that I didn’t even mention Hagen Smith or Noah Schultz in this groups. But what do I know?

Won't Get Fooled Again

The signs looked good—the Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” the first song we heard on our way to our seats right behind the Sox dugout. Then a little bit of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” just enough to get me feeling like one of the Winchester boys on the hunt for demons. Or maybe Detroit Tigers. Another good sign—the last time Clare and I went to a White Sox-Tigers’ game at the ball-mall Daniel Palka and Matt Davidson hit ninth-inning homers to win it. Why couldn’t magic repeat? A 1-0 Detroit lead going into the bottom of the ninth. If one Sox batter reached base, Colson Montgomery would’ve batted. No such luck. A very sad comebacker, strikeout and flyout gave the visitors the series’ win. The Sox got all of two hits. Talk about lethargic, I don’t care how much praise Sox manager New Mickey Venable heaped on Tigers’ starter Troy Melton, and it was a lot. His team looked like it was going through the motions at the plate. I will say this about Montgomery, who went 0-for-3 on the day: The kid looks like he can play shortstop. Twice he made strong throws on grounders to get the runner, once from deep short. If he can hit .250 with the power he’s shown, I’ll be happy. Enough to go to another game? I don’t know. I’m at that point in life where the little stuff is starting to bother me big time—beef sandwich race on the scoreboard; challenging a fan to get the ball in cup more times than Lenyn Sosa could over the course of a minute that felt endless; t-shirts tossed into the crowd as if we’re a bunch of seals performing for fish. Just play winning baseball, for God’s sakes.

More Good than Bad

The final score should’ve been White Sox 9 Tigers 3, or 9-1, even, depending on Luis Robert Jr.’s ability to take away two homeruns. But I’ll settle for a final score of 9-6, my guys. Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero combined for five hits and four RBIs, definitely nice to see, along with a two-run single from Colson Montgomery on a 1-2 pitch from usual Sox-killer Jack Flaherty. Yoendrys Gomez came out of nowhere, or at least Charlotte, to pick up the win with five innings of one-run ball while Jordan Leasure picked up his fourth save. Words fail me there.

More of the Same

Another game, another homerun from Colson Montgomery, another loss for the White Sox, 2-1 to the visiting Tigers. This script needs tweaking. At least now I have a clue to Montgomery’s recent success. When he went Triple-A Charlotte to Arizona for his reset, he worked on “trying to keep the ball kind of low to the ground, line drives and things like that. Some of my cues in the cage, I’m trying to hit a low line drive to the shortstop. Keeps me tighter to the ball. Not really a normal home run swing.” Montgomery thinks this matters because “A lot of the hitters can tell you if they tried doing homerun swings, it’s probably not going to work.” Young Grasshopper added, “The biggest thing is not trying to do too much.” [quotes from today’s story on team website] My only question is, why didn’t the Sox try a similar approach with Tim Elko? I mean, the guy bootstrapped himself up through the minor-league system to dominate at Triple-A. He appears to be a plus defender at first and a good teammate. Am I missing something here, or does Chris Getz have access to a Paul Konerko clone ready to unveil next year? Curious minds want to know.

Poetry

In the bottom of the first inning in yesterday’s 6-4 White Sox win over the Guardians, rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery crushed a ball 452 feet back to the last row of seats in right field at the old ball-mall. Starting pitcher Davis Martin described what he saw as “beautiful, man, just beautiful. It's something about a lefty swing. Sitting on the bench, we were in the middle of our in-between meeting, and you just hear crack, and you just see everybody's head rip up and we're just like, 'Oh my God, that ball's destroyed.'” [quote from story today on team website] I second that emotion. This is one of the reasons I like Martin—he’s articulate and, in his own way, unfiltered, which means he comes from the Ozzie Guillen School of Speaking. If he can become as good a pitcher as Guillen was a player, so much the better. As for Montgomery, I wish to God someone would explain to me how this transformation has come to be. We’re talking about someone who hit .244 his one season in Double-A ball and .214 his one full season at Triple-A Charlotte, along with .218 this year. So far, the 23-year old lefthanded hitter is batting .238 in 105 at-bats. That comes with nine homeruns; fifteen runs scored; and 25 RBIs. It took Montgomery fifteen games to hit his first big-league homer; he’s hit eight in the sixteen games since. Those numbers suggest the ability to adjust. At least I hope they do. Lest I forget, Lenyn Sosa also homered and drove in three runs. What do you do with a problem like Lenyn? One way or another, we’ll find out.

Crash and Burn

So much for that surge coming out of the All Star Game. After falling to the Guardians 3-1 last night, the White Sox have themselves a six-game losing streak to go with a 42-75 record, which ties a season-worst 33 games under .500. Losing pitcher Sean Burke needed 88 pitches to go 3.1 innings. To call that unacceptable would be one of the great understatements of the year. Right now, a young pitching staff looks more green than promising. Jordan Leasure has been pretty good lately, getting his ERA close to under 4.00, but you have to wonder how long that will last. As for the young position players, ditto. Edgar Quero suddenly looks lost at the plate, and Kyle Teel hasn’t been much better. Shortstop Colson Montgomery stands 6’3”; the last thing you want to see is him expanding his strike zone, but that’s what he’s doing. Dog days, indeed.

Hold that Plane

Yesterday, the White Sox did something both simple and smart—making it doubly surprising—when they sent down starter Jonathan Cannon to Triple-A Charlotte in order for him to figure things out (or else). They may want to give Cannon a travelling companion after what Aaron Civale did last night against the Guardians. I’d call nine earned runs in 3.1 innings demotion-worthy, but, again, I’m a mere fan. However, long-ago injured Martin Perez had a rehab start last night in Double-A that wasn’t bad (four innings, one run), so at least there’s a chance of swapping one veteran pitcher for another. I mean, a guy can dream, right? After all, Brooks Baldwin homered in last night’s 9-5 loss, and he’s playing again tonight. That would suggest at least some dreams come true.

Spinning Wheels

Bryan Ramos made a brutal error yesterday in Seattle, throwing away a bunt attempt in the tenth inning that allowed the Mariners to tie the score before winning 4-3 in eleven innings. No, wait. Ramos is still exiled in Triple-A Charlotte. That was Josh Rojas who airmailed his throw to first. If we’re in a rebuild, I’d rather have the 23-year old making the error than the 31-year old. But what do I know?

Unflattering Imitation

Jonathan Cannon pitched last night just like Davis Martin did the night before, only worse. Cannon couldn’t make it out of the second inning, giving up seven runs, all earned, on four hits and three walks. Nothing like seeing those three walks all score. Final Score: Mariners 8 Sox 6. With the loss, Cannon’s record stands at 4-9 with a 5.34 ERA. The Sox actually have a lot of pitching talent coming up, and not all of it included on their top-30 list (e.g., Riley Gowens and Shane Murphy). If Cannon can’t turn it around, the rotation next year won’t lack for alternatives. Despite the hole Cannon dug, his teammates nearly came back, putting the tying runs on base with nobody out in the ninth against closer Andres Munoz, who’d already given up a long ball to Michael A. Taylor. Munoz came into the game with a 1.26 ERA. He departed with his 26th save and a 1.43 ERA. Oh, well. Two ripples of silver lining—Lenyn Sosa homered again, and Brooks Baldwin went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Baldwin also worked the count for a walk against Munoz, no small feat that. In a real stunner of a move, manager New-Mickey Venable has Baldwin penciled in again today. Wonders never cease.

Or Not

Maybe I gave Chris Getz too much credit for a growing interest in winning games this year as opposed to seasons down the line. In other words, Mariners 8 Sox 3. Sox starter Davis Martin has an irritating—and career threatening—habit of alternating unhittable pitches with godawful fat ones, oftentimes in the same at-bat. We are not amused. Then, there’s the case of Josh Rojas, the new Jacob Amaya. Rojas is hitting .174 in 184 at-bats. Last night, he went 0-for-2 (plus a walk) while making an error at second base that came around to score on a Josh Naylor—him, again—homerun. In what world does Rojas play ahead of Bryan Ramos? I’d like to see what Ramos could’ve done in a game like the one last night. Lenyn Sosa—him, again—hit a first-inning homer against winning pitcher Bryan Woo. Then, nothing happened until the ninth, when Luis Robert Jr. and Colson Montgomery went back-to-back for the other two runs. Ramos brings youth; energy; power; and a decent glove, not unlike Montgomery. You’d think a rebuilding team would want all the players it could get with those attributes. Yes, Chris?

Message Unspoken, Still Sent

The Chicago sports’ universe is all agog over the training-camp travails of Bears’ quarterback Caleb “Oops” Williams. The White Sox are lucky to get what coverage they do. So, nobody has really paid much if any attention to what happened, or didn’t, at the trade deadline last week—Luis Robert Jr. stayed put. Consider the implications. First, there’s someone in the outfield who can catch the ball. Nothing breaks the spirit of a pitcher, especially a young pitcher of which the Sox have a staff full, than watching balls that can be caught fall in for base hits. And nothing buoys a pitcher like seeing a centerfielder save one or multiple runs with a Gold Glove-worthy catch. Yes, the Sox could still move Robert in the offseason or decline his $20 million team option. But the first would be a studied, not a rushed, transaction while the latter appears increasingly unlikely. This is where the deep-pockets’ presence of investor-cum-future-owner Justin Ishbia comes into play. The Sox no longer need to cry poor—if they ever did need to—with Ishbia around. Something else worth noting here—by keeping Robert, GM Chris Getz signaled the rebuild has entered a new phase. The stockpiling of young players is no longer a major focus. Of course, the draft still matters, only now the team doesn’t need to lose to secure a good sport in the draft. Getz and company appear confident they can spot the talent, regardless draft position or round. Winning games is back on the agenda. Happy days are here again.

Still Bad, But--

Sorry. A good team doesn’t blow a 5-0 lead going into the sixth inning, only to lose on a three-run walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Angels 8 White Sox 5. Bye-bye, sweep. What makes it all so frustrating—and/or promising—is that Colson Montgomery drove in four of the Sox runs, three on a homer of his own in the first inning, followed by an RBI single in the third. The rookie did his mashing from the five-spot in the order, the highest he’s batted so far in his 25-game major-league career. Is it too early to let go of my concerns about Montgomery? Maybe, maybe not, though seven homers and 23 RBIs in 86 at-bats make it hard not to think the pride of Holland, Indiana, has figured things out. We’ll see, just like with second-year man Brooks Baldwin, who went 3-for-4 with two singles and a double yesterday. Too bad Baldwin was batting ahead of Josh Rojas. Who knows how many runs he might’ve scored otherwise. Baldwin is six for his last seven at-bats over three games, all of which suggests he’ll see more playing time with Miguel Vargas going on the IL with an oblique strain. The switch-hitting utility player has raised his average 26 points, to .239. Baldwin sought help in slowing the game down, and the results are plain to see. That’s the kind of stuff that keeps a Sox fan from going totally nuts, along with Montgomery driving in runs. More, please, guys.

The Twilight Zone

It’s official—with their 1-0 win over the Angels in Anaheim last night, the White Sox have entered that place known as the Twilight Zone. Let me be your host. Consider the case of one Aaron Civale, a journeyman pitcher hanging on with a pretty anonymous team. As recently as three weeks ago, Civale sported an ERA of 5.30, a number that suggests he should start looking for another line of work. Then Civale entered the Twilight Zone. The 30-year old righthander has two wins in his last three starts and has lowered his ERA to 3.99 in the process. Civale yielded one hit, an infield single, in 6.1 innings of work against the Angels and sure looked like he could’ve gone seven at least. The Twilight Zone had other ideas. Like following Civale with Brandon Eisert, a pitcher so anonymous as to verge on invisible. This Invisible Man went 1.2 hitless innings before giving way to…Jordan Leasure!!!! Blare the opening voiceover. Leasure pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save. No drama, as much as I expected a two-out walk followed by a walk-off homerun. Instead, a second-inning RBI single from Kyle Teel held up as the winning run. Sox go for the sweep this afternoon. Key closing credits.

Ugly, Lucky Scoreless Inning

It was one of the ugliest, luckiest scoreless innings I’ve ever seen a White Sox pitcher hurl (note the subtle pun). In his first appearance after suffering a sprained ankle at the All-Star Game, Shane Smith sandwiched a single around two walks to start the bottom of the first in Anaheim. There was ever so much more to come in a 6-3 Sox victory. Start with Sox catcher Edgar Quero, who picked off Zach Neto at third base; that’s two such pickoffs for the rookie, in case you’re counting. Not only that, Quero would’ve thrown out the trailer on a double-steal attempt that followed, only second baseman Lenyn Sosa dropped the ball. Somehow, Smith found the wherewithal to strike out Jo Adell for the second out. But wait, we’re not done here. Smith then proceeded to walk ex-Sox Yoan Moncada on five pitches to load the bases for a second time. On his 35th pitch of the inning, the 25-year old righthander induced a groundout from Angels’ catcher Logan O’Hoppe. Alleluia. In the top of the second inning, Sosa atoned for his fielding gaff by joining Andrew Benintendi to club back-to-back homeruns; Sosa also singled in a run. (What do you do with a problem…?) Colson Montgomery provided homerun #3 on the night, a 433-foot shot to dead center in the top of the sixth. Oh, and Josh Rojas (!!!) homered in the ninth. Jordan Leasure—see exclamation marks, above—struck out four in 1.2 innings of relief to pick up the win, made possible in part by a textbook-perfect relay in the seventh inning with Grant Taylor pitching. It went from right fielder Mike Tauchman to shortstop Montgomery to third baseman Rojas, who applied the tag on baserunner Gustavo Campero, who tried to advance from first with two outs on a single by Nolan Schanuel. Wait, there’s more. Rojas’ tag came before Angels’ baserunner Travis d’Arnaud crossed the plate; that run would’ve tied the game at four. Mercy. The Sox now have equaled their win total (41 games) from last season and have 52 games left to record #42. I’m hoping for as close to 70 as they can make it.

Surprise

Well, you could’ve fooled me. Yes, White Sox GM Chirs Getz traded starter Adrian Houser for three minor leaguers, but centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. stayed put. Hmm. From what I could tell, Getz was looking at Robert as a player with two more years of team control, via separate $20 million team options. But other GMs saw him as more of a rental. In other words, they didn’t see Robert doing enough over eight-plus weeks to justify picking up his option. Agree to disagree, I guess. Personally, I have no problem with this. Robert plays Gold-Glove quality defense, and his offense is whatever he wants it to be. Maybe now he wants it to be on a level with his defense. Average it out, and nobody the Sox could replace him with would be as good. Sorry, Michael A. Taylor. What really amazed me was the reaction of various Sox pundits. I read one who said failing to move Robert would cost Getz his job, exactly why I have no idea. And some talking-head guest on WGN TV said the Sox should’ve traded Robert because—wait for it—they could then “close the book” on the past. Huh? And that figurative act was somehow more important than actually having someone play the position? Right now, Getz has some young catching and infield talent to go with a bunch of young pitchers in various stages of development; he does not have outfield depth. He’ll either have to trade for it or sign a free agent while hoping that Braden Montgomery, the one outfield prospect in the organization, can make the jump from Double-A to the majors at some point next season. Let’s see how he does.

Wait and See

Adrian Houser was supposed to start for the White Sox yesterday but was held out pending a possible trade. Centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., who’s expected to be traded, started anyway. Houser got to watch his likely soon-to-be ex-teammates beat the Phillies 9-3, with likely soon-to-be ex-Sox Robert contributing three hits and two nice catches. But the really good news for the longsuffering faithful, of which I am but one of many, concerns four Sox players not likely to be traded anytime soon—Colson Montgomery; Edgar Quero; Kyle Teel; and Miguel Vargas all homered, solo shots for Montgomery and Teel, three-run jobs for Quero and Vargas. Oh, and that Broadway tune who goes by the name of Lenyn Sosa came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI. One other person I’d put on that “do not trade” list is reliever Mike Vasil, who threw four scoreless innings for the win. The 25-year old, Rule-Five pick sports a 1.55 ERA over 58 relief innings. With only three strikeouts over four innings, Vasil gets it done the old-fashioned way, through weak contact. Take that, saber-heads. One more win, and the Sox equal their total from last season. With two months to go in the season, the mind boggles over the possibilities.

The Curious Case of Andrew Vaughn

Not every young White Sox player traded away turns into a star. It only seems that way, going back to the disastrous winter of 1959-60 when Bill Veeck traded away Earl Battey; Johnny Callison; Norm Cash; Don Mincher; and John Romano. For Gene Freese, Minnie Minoso and Roy Sievers. Trades since haven’t been that bad, merely just as bad. Gio Gonzalez; Daniel Hudson; Aaron Rowand; Chris Young—all traded for quick fixes that failed. Did I mention Fernando Tatis Jr., traded for James Shields? If not, it’s because that one is too recent and hurts a little too much to talk about. All of which brings us to the most recent player on that list, Andrew Vaughn, who drove in six runs last night for his new team, the Brewers. At least he did it in a win over the Cubs. The 27-year old first baseman and former first-round draft pick batted .189 in 185 at-bats with five homeruns and nineteen RBIs for the Sox before the front office sent him to Triple-A Charlotte in May and then traded him to Milwaukee for pitcher Aaron Civale. Talk about a change of scenery. Vaughn is hitting .375 in 48 at-bats for the Brew Crew, with five homers and 21 RBIs. In other words, his production has skyrocketed in limited playing time. One more game like the one last night may turn Vaughn back into an everyday player. And, if he continues to produce, then what? Do GM Chris Getz and New-Mickey Venable shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, well, those things happen. Good guy though”? That’s not enough for me. I want to know if Vaughn’s development—along with Jake Burger’s and Gavin Sheets’—was affected by the circus that followed Rick Renteria’s firing after the 2020 season. Two years of Tony La Russa followed by 1.75 of Mickey Mouse is a great way to stunt players’ growth. Tell you what. If Vaughn continues to produce and Luis Robert Jr, too (assuming he’s traded), the problem lies not in which players the Sox draft but how and why they fail to develop them.

Hello. Goodbye?

Obviously, I’m just a fan. White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable doesn’t have to heed my advice, which he didn’t. Lenyn started at second base against the Phillies last night while Jordan Leasure pitched in a second straight game. Somehow, the Sox survived. In fact, they thrived, winning 6-2 behind a pretty good start from Davis Martin. And, truth be told, Sosa had a hand in it, going 3-for-3, with a walk; a run; and an RBI. So, I’ll hold my tongue here about the best way to address Sosa failing to pick up an infield-fly call by the ump on Sunday, resulting in a very embarrassing out at third base. But I am happy to report Venable had the good sense to put Josh Rojas in for defense in the ninth inning. As for Leasure, it was the same-old same-old. The 26-year old righthander needed 27 pitches to go 1.1 scoreless innings, which included a walk and two full counts. Be still, my pounding heart. Did I mention third baseman Colson Montgomery, who hit a two-run homerun off of Christopher Sanchez, a tough lefthander? Well, that’s what the lefty-hitting rookie did; he also drove in a third run with a single. More, please. I want to say the same about centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., who hit his own two-run homer and made a nice sliding catch to rob JT Realmuto of extra bases in the fourth inning. But Robert’s pretty much gone, if the Sox can get what they want for him. In other words, a team that needs outfield help wants to trade its best outfielder to a team in need of outfield help and willing to trade, oh, I don’t know, maybe minor-league outfielders it doesn’t trust to call up. Best to laugh to keep from crying.

Crashing the Garden Party

Something Jimmy Buffett said about keeping the “old man” at bay every day factored into our going on a garden walk yesterday. Forget that the dew point made it feel like 100+ degrees on the streets of Ravenswood Manor. We had phlox to check out, dammit! The backyards were stunning in every way, here a rose bush there a fire pit; one homeowner even put a TV out and switched on the White Sox-Cubs’ game. “What’s the score?” someone asked. “2-1, Cubs.” “Oh, not like Friday [12-5 South Siders]. That’s good” To which I said, “That’s a matter of opinion.” And North Siders beheld a Sox fan amongst them. Not that I liked the final score of 5-4, them. Lenyn Sosa helped lose the game with a bonehead play on the base paths. With two on and one out, Chase Meidroth popped out to Cubs’ second baseman Nico Horner. The ump called the infield fly rule, and Hoerner let the ball drop onto the infield grass in front of him. That should’ve made no difference. Meidroth was out regardless, the runners didn’t have to try to move up. But Sosa broke for third and was out from the Rate to Wrigley. Here's what’s truly amazing—Sox manager New-Mickey Venable sounded upset. He told reporters, “That’s a play we talk about a lot, and he just got stuck. A little bit of a mental error there where he didn’t see the call being made. That’s kind of an automatic one where you know that ball is out. He’s got to do a better job on that, and he knows that, and we discussed it.” The Sox also botched an eighth-inning rundown that allowed what proved to be the decisive run to score. Venable called out Sosa—remember, I said that as a second baseman he has a nice bat—and first baseman Miguel Vargas. Third baseman Colson Montgomery was called for obstruction on the play, which Venable said a team “obviously” can’t have. Oh, my goodness. [both quotes from story today on team website] The first-year manager even put the blame on himself and his coaching staff: “We have to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out a better way to coach that [the baserunning or rundown gaffe, take your pick]. Certainly, we’re going to readjust, and as we continue to make mistakes, it’s on us to figure out how to get it right.” [quote from story in today’s Sun-Times] Here's an easy way to see how serious Venable is—does Sosa play or sit tonight against the visiting Phillies? I say sit, but I’m not the one looking in the mirror.

Not a Good Idea

If it were up to me, the White Sox would be facing Jordan Leasure instead of Leasure facing Sox opponents. Putting Leasure out there with the game on the line just isn’t a good idea. But Sox manager New-Mickey Venable thought otherwise. After five shutout innings from starter Aaron Civale (!!) and one from Tyler Alexander, in came Leasure who needed all of two batters before he grooved a fat splitter to Ian Happ. That made the score 1-0 bad guys. But wait, there’s more. Leasure gave up a two-out single to Nico Hoerner, so Matt Shaw could get not one but two RBIs on his homer to left. Their balloon deflated ,the Sox went on to lose, 6-1. All I can do is hope Venable learned his lesson. Only Leasure’s six losses and four blown save opportunities suggest that lesson keeps getting repeated and repeated without the student learning anything from it.

From Top to Bottom

All of the paradox, contradiction and youthful talent your 2025 White Sox possess was in full view during last night’s 12-5 drubbing of the Cubs at the Rate/Mall. Twelve runs on eighteen hits, including four homeruns (as counted by my grandson while the Sox only had two at the time). More, please. The contrasting tough-love vs. handle-with-care approaches to rookies Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery, respectively, continued apace. Meidroth batted leadoff against Cubs’ ace Shota Imanaga in the bottom of the first inning and went deep on the second pitch. Batting ninth, Montgomery went deep on the third pitch he saw from Imanaga. Everybody in between pretty much did likewise against Imanaga and reliever Chris Flexen. Meidroth went 3-for-5, as did Miguel Vargas. Lenyn Sosa settled for two hits and three RBIs while Edgar Quero collected four hits, just like Kyle Teel did the game before, in Tampa. Somebody explain to me again why these two aren’t in the same lineup at the same time. The only possible down note here concerns Sox starter Adrian Houser. Oh, Houser did great in picking up the win, giving up three runs in 6.2 innings (and he shouldn’t have been around to give up a three-run homer to ex-Sox Reese McGuire). That’s the thing, though—the better Houser pitches, as in a 6-2 record and 2.10 ERA in eleven starts, the more likely it is he gets traded to a contender. Oh, well. Sometimes, you have to take the sad with the good.

Go With the Flow

So, whenever my grandson sees me, it’s “Grandpa, let’s play baseball,” which he wanted to do at my mother-in-law’s on Tuesday. But Great-Grandma doesn’t have a bat around; Mom didn’t pack one; and neither did I. Clare did, however, come with two gloves and a ball along with a soccer ball. I’ve been playing with Leo long enough to gauge his development; it’s what I would call “steady.” The kid can hit the ball a mile, when he’s serious, which is not all the time. With his mom, it was all “Pitch, dammit,” or whatever Clare said as a five-year old. As for throwing and catching, Leo pretty much rates as your typical (almost) four-year old. Here's what caught my attention Tuesday in Great-Grandma’s yard—the kid’s a natural with a soccer ball. No touching it with his hands or goofing around, just dexterous footwork that I certainly didn’t expect to see from someone so young. I mentioned this to Clare when she came out to check on us. “I know,” answered my daughter. “And the thing is, we really haven’t done anything with him about soccer.” No, it’s all baseball and football from Mom and Dad, with a little basketball mixed in. Should I be happy or sad? Do I put a wiffle ball in my grandson’s hands to keep the soccer ball out of action? The best thing, I think, is go with the flow. Leo will be what he’ll be. If his extended family, the White Sox and Rob Manfred can’t win him over to the national pastime, that’s on us. With luck, he’ll get this run-and-kick thing out of his system. If not, I’ll just have to learn the rules to a new game.

The Future?

The White Sox dug themselves a 4-0 hole in the first inning against the Ryas last night, then tied the game in the second only to go into the eighth facing a 7-5 deficit. Final score, Sox 11 Rays 9. What happened? Well, they scored six runs and held on, but that doesn’t begin to explain things. I mean, Luis Robert Jr., he of the 95 strikeouts in 286 at-bats, drew a key walk in the eighth. Kevin Kelly kept throwing breaking balls that, up until two weeks ago, Robert would’ve chased. Not this time. Not this time? Then, we have Colson Montgomery, batting one spot lower (seventh) and playing a different position (short instead of third) from the night before. Montgomery responded with a three run-homerun—his second homer in two games—and a two-run double. Add it up, and somebody who had trouble hitting Triple-A pitching not too long ago collected five RBIs on the night. And, lest we forget, Kyle Teel went 4-for-5, including his first big-league homer. Plus Chase Meidroth knocked in a run with a single. Add it up and you have three rookies contributing plus one veteran looking to make himself attractive to a contender. Now, we’ll see if manager New-Mickey Venable can keep it going with the Cubs coming to visit for the weekend. I would like to think this is the future. We’ll see.

Back to Earth

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but you’re never going to extend a four-game winning streak by walking the bases loaded and balking in a run. Rays 4 White Sox 3. That the Sox get any attention at all right now is miraculous. Why? It’s all things Bears, that’s why. “The Ben Johnson Show starts now at Bears camp. All eyes and ears are on him,” reads a headline in today’s The Athletic. “All” basically means each and every media outlet in and around Chicago. That leaves it to yours truly to do the work of a beat writer and/or columnist. What I find fascinating is how the Sox are handling Colson Montgomery, batting mostly down in the order and playing third base instead of shortstop. It feels like Montgomery is being handled differently than, say, fellow rookie Chase Meidroth. Is that a good thing? Yes, maybe. Meidroth has led off or batted second since his arrival back in April. The 24-year old—happy birthday, Chase—recently went through a brutal 6-for-50 stretch. The thing is, Meidroth wasn’t benched or moved down in the order, and now he’s on a 7-for-14 tear with four doubles. Compare that to Montgomery, who batted in the six spot last night and hit his major-league first homerun in the seventh inning. The big concern here is strikeouts—the 23-year old has fourteen in 46 at-bats. Anything more than 30 percent gets problematic. This probably explains why he’s batted sixth, seventh or eighth in the order; playing should also be easier than short, where Meidroth has performed surprisingly well. I’m sure GM Chris Getz and company want Montgomery batting third or fourth long-term. Exactly when is hard to say. I’m not a sportswriter.

What's Going On Here?

After beating the Rays 8-3 last night at what really looks like a minor-league ballpark (and how delicious that it’s named after George Steinbrenner), the White Sox have won four games in a row. Not only that, they’ve scored 35 runs in the process. What gives? Sox manager New-Mickey Venable says that, coming out of the All-Star break, the coaching staff has emphasized a better approach to hitting the fastball. Other than that, ir’a just blather about everybody pulling together, blah, blah, blah. But the reasons for this sudden change do matter. Because if a new approach fixed things, Venable should’ve called for it months ago while his hitters were flailing away at fastballs and just about every other pitch. If my least favorite hitting coach is the primary factor, what exactly is he doing? How is Marcus Thames getting through to players where he couldn’t before? And if it’s because of adjustments made after studying gizmo-derived data, what gizmos and what data? All I know right now is this team is hitting. What made last night so much fun is that the “right” people were getting hits, along with “will he or won’t he be traded?” Luis Robert Jr., who had two RBI singles. Robert is 12-for-33 for the month. Who lit a fire under him? With Brooks Baldwin, at least we know he sought help in slowing the game down. Maybe that explains his three-run homerun off of Rays’ starter Shane Baz in the second inning. Maybe rookie Chase Meidroth did likewise. Whatever, Meidroth went 4-for-5 with three doubles. Miguel Vargas, who may be a textbook case of the streaky hitter, added a two-run homer while Colson Montgomery chipped in with an RBI single. All I can do is Venable goes with another young-player lineup tonight, and the Sox win again. Then, maybe sports’ writers will get around to asking the same questions I have. As they say, hope springs eternal.

Baby Steps

By beating the Pirates 7-2 yesterday, the White Sox became the last ML team to sweep a sereis this season. Well, better late than never, I always say. Of course, parts of the result don’t matter. Mike Tauchman with his three RBIs is pretty much auditioning for a trade to a contender; ditto Aaron Civale with his six innings pitched with zero earned runs allowed. He gone, or should be. What mattered was Grant Taylor striking out three of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning. In truth, the rookie righthander struck out four Pirates that frame because home-plate umpire Jansen Visconti suffered from a serious case of floating strike zone. The less said here the better. But Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas do merit attention, both with two hits and a double, Vargas also with a three-run homerun in the first inning. And Colson Montgomery with an RBI single (while playing third base, like he is tonight in Tampa. Hmm.). Speaking of tonight, Lenyn Sosa gets the start at second and Brooks Baldwin in left. That’ll mean six rookies and young veterans in the lineup. I’d say that’s OK for now.

Nostradamus

Can I see the future or what? Just like I predicted, Colson Montgomery played a different position last night; Egar Quero sat; Kyle Teel caught; and Josh Rojas got a start at third base. White Sox 10 Pirates 4. Montgomery struck out twice; Teel got two hits; and Rojas somehow managed to double in a run and raise his BA to .177. As much as it pains me to, I have to give kudos to manager New-Mickey Venable for two decisions, starting with Montgomery. Rather than have the lefthanded rookie face lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson with two runners on, Venable went with righthanded Austin Slater to pinch hit, and Slater singled in the tying run. Montgomery was 0-for-2 on the night with two strikeouts. Risking three risked a setback in Montgomery’s still-shaky confidence at the plate. The second kudo comes from an old-school decision by Venable to call for a sacrifice bunt in the seventh with two runners on and nobody out; Brooks Baldwin delivered as asked, and Lenyn Sosa singled in both runners. Ah, Sosa. If Nancy Faust were still around on a regular basis, I wonder if she’d be tempted to play “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” as Sosa’s walkup song. If only the guy could field the way he hits. Last night, Sosa went 3-for-3 with three RBIs; two runs scored; and a walk. It helped, at least defensively, that he wasn’t playing the field. A DH can’t muff a ground ball. My suggestion would be to alternate the 25-year old between second base and DH for the rest of the season; that would minimize the damage from his defensive limitations. Did I mention the guy can hit? What I like about Sosa is he seems to understand he’s 5’11” and leaves launch angle/velo to the big folks. Rather, he puts the ball in play and takes his RBIs. That said, Sosa also has nine homeruns. I keep wondering if the Sox have any idea who Mike Heath was. For that matter, Daniel Murphy.

If Only

If only this were the Luis Robert Jr. who showed up for every game, like the one in Pittsburgh last night who went 2-for-2 (plus two walks!) with two runs scored and two runs batted in and who made a great play in the outfield. But that would be too much to ask. So, you take what you can get, the Robert who showed up yesterday and may or may not today. In the meantime, you savor that play he made, running to deep left-center field to make a diving, backhand catch of a ball off the bat of the Pirates’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the bottom of the third. And you also cross your fingers that these are the real Jonathan Cannon and Edgar Quero. Cannon needed just 86 pitches to throw seven innings of one-run ball in a 10-1 Sox win. The 25-year old righty didn’t walk anybody, which is great, while only striking out two, which probably leaves the analytics’ crowd flustered. Those are the people who put a premium on strikeouts, damn’ the likelihood of injury to the pitcher. Instead, Cannon went old school, and depended on his fielders. Along with Robert, Michael A. Taylor had a nice, sliding catch in left field in the second inning, when the Pirates had two on and one out and it was still a ballgame at 3-0. Old school works for me. As for Quero, he had a double and a homerun, along with two runs scored. Right now, Quero’s hitting (.274 BA, 21 RBIs in 190 at-bats) is ahead of his catching, but we’re talking about a 22-year old here. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the Sox should be playing both their catchers as much as possible. In the name of Mike Heath, you just don’t have to play one position if you’re a catcher. Odds are, manager New-Mickey Venable will sit Quero and start Kyle Teel; it seems he’s learned his lesson not to DH one of his catchers while playing the other behind the plate. Bad things can happen, like losing the DH when you pinch run for the catcher. Fellow rookie Colson Montgomery has a better chance than Quero to play again tonight. The only question is where? Venable put Montgomery at third with Chase Meidroth at short; it was Montgomery’s second start (and third appearance) at the hot corner vs. eight starts at short. Does the Sox “brain trust” see Montgomery as a possibility at third base? Instead of Josh Rojas? If only.

Treading Carefully

Everyone was over for Michele’s birthday yesterday, my grandson, of course, wanting to hit in the backyard. At one point, he was on the backporch, practicing his swing, Tiffany-inspired lampshade be damned. Nothing got smashed. I made sure to give Clare a story in the Tribune about Kim Ng and the new Athletes United Softball League. The story had two takeaways—Ng has spent most of her career in major-league front offices and an AUSL game drew 2000 fans, apparently an impressive number. The birthday girl cum grandma wanted pizza for dinner (along with chocolate cake from the Oak Park Bakery, talk about your recipe for a night of dreaming). This meant a trip to Carbone’s in Berwyn, by the Burlington Northern tracks. I had to wait a few minutes, which was just enough time to see what the bar had on the TV. As in a guy striking out against a softball pitcher. So, I’m guessing this was ESPN or the MLB Network, part of an effort to elevate softball to equal status with baseball. The baseball-player-striking-out-against-softball-pitching is a staple in women’s sports, dating to at least to 1961, when Joan Joyce struck out Ted Williams. Never mind Williams was just short of turning 43. Joyce was 20 at the time. What if Williams were, too? And how about some money on the line? Maybe the results would’ve been the same. Even if they were, questions remain. The most obvious one is this: If a great softball pitcher can strike out a great—or even a good—major-league hitter, why aren’t there women pitching in the bigs? What, they don’t want to? Do I think a woman can pitch in professional baseball? Yes, but not windmill style. To the best of my knowledge, Joyce wasn’t standing 60’6” when she faced Williams. Hand size and leg size would tend to work against a female pitcher, unless she could be another Tim Lincecum (5’11”). I could see that. Where I really think women could excel would be at the plate. Pick a guy 6’ or under, and a female hitter could do that. But baseball—and softball, for that matter—runs from the possibility. Better to establish a Negro Leagues 2.0 than look for the next Jackie Robinson. But if I make this point too strongly or for too long, someone I cherish gets upset. So, I tread carefully, pass along a story, make a simple point and ask for another piece of pizza.

Compare and Contrast

Milwaukee is what you might call a small-market city. By contrast, Chicago is a big market where the sports’ teams often go small. The White Sox are the Brewers, minus the track record. Right now, the Brewers are one game behind the Cubs—whose ownership pretends not to belong to a billionaire family—in the NL Central. The White Sox are in a slightly different position in the AL Central, trailing the first-place Tigers by 27 games. I’m not hopeful they can close the gap. The Brewers are smart, the Sox not. Milwaukee traded for Andrew Vaughn and then found a way for him to produce, as in ten RBIs in fourteen at-bats. In exchange, the Sox received pitcher Aaron Civale, who’s gone 0-4 with a 5.58 ERA in six starts. Good luck flipping him. Far be it from me to dump on Sox GM Chris Getz, at least not until I’m done fulminating over the reign of his predecessor, Rick Hahn. Back in 2022, Hahn selected pitcher Peyton Pallette in the second round; Pallette is 6-15 with a 4.35 ERA over three minor-league seasons. Hahn could’ve taken Jacob Misiorowski, which the Brewers did with the next pick. Need I say more?

Well, That Was Dumb

Baseball is nothing if not dumb at times, like last night’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. It’s hard for me to say which I disliked more, the automatic-balls-and-strikes system (ABS) or the tie-breaker format. The idea behind ABS is to get calls right. OK, but do you want a game decided by a pitch the system calls not so much “in” the strike zone as “on” the line? That’s pretty much what happened in the top of the ninth, after the American League had tied the game at six with two runs in and the go-ahead run at second base, two outs. Randy Arozarena took a called ball that the NL appealed and the ABS determined was a borderline strike. End of rally. The NL couldn’t do anything in the bottom of the ninth, so it was time for the tie-breaker, used for the first time ever in an All-Star Game. Each side picks three players, each of whom gets three soft-toss pitches to hit; team with the most homeruns wins. To which I can only say, where was Aaron Judge for the AL? Most likely showered and long gone from the park after being lifted for Arozarena in the bottom of the fifth. Lucky for the NL Kyle Schwarber was still around to jack three balls into the stands. Four homers for the NL, three for the AL. NL wins. The Yankees’ Aaron Boone managed the AL. Boone obviously didn’t consider the possibility of a tie or, if he did, wasn’t able to prevail on Judge or any of the other AL starting players to hang around. I can see why Yankees’ fans might not be in love with Boone as their manager.

Same Old Same Old

The White Sox took two high school players, a shortstop from California and an outfielder from nearby Nazareth Academy, with their first two picks in the MLB draft Sunday. You have to wonder why, given their recent track record with prep athletes. In 2019 and 2021, two out of their first three picks were high schoolers, and one in 2020, 2022 and 2024; only in the 2023 draft did the Sox go with three college players in the first three rounds. And that strategy resulted in what, exactly? Out of seven prep players drafted, only one, first-round selection Colson Montgomery class of ’21, has reached the major leagues, and to say that doubts linger about Montgomery’s bat would be an understatement. Otherwise, names like Matthew Thompson; Jared Kelley; and Wes Kath serve more as brainteasers than prospects for Sox fans. Wait, there’s more. Here are some of the college players the Sox drafted in the first three rounds during that same period: Andrew Vaughn; Garrett Crochet; Sean Burke; Jonathan Cannon; and Grant Taylor. High school or college? You be the judge.

Is It Me?

Is it me, or does White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable basically look clueless in the dugout? Put another way, what good is a bullpen if Venable doesn’t know how to use it? A team like the Guardians—a minimum of three switch-hitters and three lefthanded hitters in the lineup all four games—can pose a problem for any righthanded-leaning staff. The Sox presently have no lefty starters (the sooner Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith get here the better) and three lefty relievers. Maybe pitching coach Ethan Katz could introduce them to their manager. Friday’s game went ten innings; lefty relievers threw 1.1 innings. On Saturday, Venable replaced starter Sean Burke with righthanded Jordan Leasure, and you know what that meant, yes? Leasure coughed up a game-tying homerun to lefthanded-hitting Kyle Manzardo. Wait, there’s more. Yesterday, the Sox carried a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning with Aaron Civale pitching. With the bases loaded and one out, Civale didn’t think to cover first base on a double play that would’ve gotten him out of the inning. I’d be tempted to lift him just for that bonehead play. But, No, Venable let Civale pitch to Manzardo, righty-lefty, and the lefty hit a three-run homer in a game Cleveland won in ten innings. Things will go better in the second half. Right? Sure.

By the Numbers

Another game for the White Sox, another loss (6-2 to the Guardians), another pathetic display of hitting yesterday. Nothing says no-pop like six singles to go with eleven strikeouts. Part of the problem is talent. GM Chris Getz and manager New-Mickey Venable seem content to run out the likes of Josh Rojas (.176 BA in 159 at-bats) and Will Robertson. Who he? A pickup this week from the Bluejays. After going 1-for-10 for Toronto, the 27-year old (dare I say journeyman?) outfielder has fit right in on the South Side, going 0-for-5 in two games. But part of the problem is…you tell me. Chase Meidroth looked great for a while, but now he could pass for Jacob Amaya at the plate; the rookie second baseman is batting an anemic .159 over his last 30 games. Miguel Vargas is another guy who went from hot to cold, as in .182 over his last 30 games. And Luis Robert Jr., well, if only he ever got hot or lukewarm even. But a .189 BA on the season points to cold, cold, cold. Did I mention ex-Sox Andrew Vaughn, who needed 185 at-bats to manage 19 RBIs before he was sent down, and then traded to the Brewers? Since being recalled by Milwaukee this week, Vaughn has gone 6-for-14 with two homeruns and ten RBIs. Why is that?

Old School

The White Sox executed two sacrifice bunts—I repeat, two sacrifice bunts—in extra innings on their way to a 5-4, eleven-inning win over the Guardians to earn a doubleheader split last night. The big story here was reliever Mike Vasil, who threw three scoreless innings for the win. Talk about old school. Vasil pitched out of bases-loaded jams in both the tenth and eleventh innings. In other words, he pitched to contact and survived to tell the story. So far on the season, the 25-year old waiver-claim has a 4-3 record with a 1.59 ERA in 22 relief appearances over 51 innings. With only 44 strikeouts, Vasil is the kind of pitcher the analytics’ people love to hate. May he continue to get it done. Unlike, say, hitting coach Marcus Thames. The Sox totaled eight hits for two games. In a 4-2 loss in game one, they managed a homerun from Luis Robert Jr. and a single from Chase Meidroth. Both Meidroth and Kyle Teel have been struggling lately. If those two don’t hit, there goes your rebuild. Yes, Edgar Quero is hitting (.269 with 20 RBIs) and Lenyn Sosa (a two-homer game two), too. But why don’t I hear anything about how Thames has helped them? For that matter, Colson Montgomery walked three times last night, which gives him six in 28 plate appearances. That matters because there were concerns that Montgomery was swing-happy. So far, so very good. Is Thames responsible for this newly found plate discipline? Curious minds would sure like to know.

Laying the Foundation

Anytime my grandson comes over, we have to hit. Nest month, he turns four. Clare has been working on fundamentals: positioning the feet; holding the bat; seeing the ball. Considering the results, you wouldn’t know Leo’s four weeks short of turning four. But he is. Last week was the first time I’ve pitched with wiffle balls; the sooner Leo uses regulation-sized equipment, the better, I think. The wiffle-ball bat is longish, the ball just about the same size as a league. This way, what he does in the yard will seem just like what they do on TV. He’s been hitting the ball hard ever since late last summer. Until last week, the big problem has been focus. Kids get goofy, at least this one did after awhile. Swing for the fences; fall to the ground; and just lay there. That kind of thing. But last week was different. My grandson stood there, a smirk on his face. He got that from me, because that’s what I do when I’m pitching. It’s a simple way of communicating the disregard pitchers have for hitters. And the little punk was giving it back to me. And then hitting me, almost literally. Balls hit the fence and one of the Chihuly globes we have hanging in the yard; St. Franics, a woman and elephant, all in statue form, are other popular targets. Did I mention my forehead? This went on for a good twenty minutes, which isn’t bad for someone that old, or outrageously young. My grandson particularly enjoys going with me to retrieve the balls from our neighbor’s yard. We open the gate; make sure there are no cars racing down the alley; and proceed accordingly to the next gate. Then we reverse the process, until right before our gate. Then my grandson tries to lock the old man out. And we go back to hitting. Duck.

Staying and Going

Lo and behold, the White Sox snapped the Bluejays’ ten-game winning streak yesterday afternoon with a 2-1 pitching gem anchored by starter Adrian Houser. How I’m going to miss that guy. The 32-year old righty went seven innings, giving up just one run on seven hits and two walks. Nine baserunners suggests Houser got help somewhere, and he did. How many times is a first baseman involved in three double plays, starting two of them? Hello, Tim Elko, called up for an injured Brooks Baldwin, who, yes, hurt his back in the weight room. Houser now sports a 5-2 record with 1 1.56 ERA. How it pains me to say the Sox would be stupid not to shop him, but it’s true. Maybe we could get a good hitting coach in return. More on that later. Houser was followed by Grant Taylor and Jordan Leasure, both of whom worked a scoreless inning. Michele was sitting next to me on the couch, granddaughter Maeve on her lap, wondering why I was mumbling about Leasure coming in for the ninth. “Isn’t he a good pitcher?” asked my better half. “No,” I answered, “he isn’t.” But he was yesterday, picking up his second save in five attempts. Edgar Quero had two doubles and an RBI; I figure he’s sticking around. Will Lenyn Sosa? I don’t know, but he did fine at DH, singling in what proved to be the winning run in the fourth inning. As I’ve said more than once, the guy can hit. Now, back to Elko, who struck out all three times. He’s fouling off hittable pitches; chasing after balls out of the zone; and taking pitches down the heart of the plate. Yet, as soon as he goes back to Charlotte, he’s hitting the cover off the ball. Baldwin credited a visit to the team’s mental health coach for helping him slow down the game and get hot at the plate the past week or so. Elko might want to do the same. I see talent. What I don’t see is coaching that helps that talent succeed.

“Good”—No!

White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable has two bad habits, in addition to making head-scratching decisions from the dugout. Ask him a question, and he’ll always start his answer with “Yeah,” then go into spin mode. Just once, I wish a reporter would try to trip him up with, “You’re clueless out there, aren’t you?” But what really irritates me is his Old-Mickey way of praising the opposition. Last night, the Sox laid an egg against the Bluejays, losing 6-1. Thank heaven the heavens opened up and stopped the game after six innings. Otherwise, who knows what the final score would’ve been? After the game, Venable complimented Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (traded away long ago by Kenny Williams) for doing a “really good job down in the zone.” Why, “He can beat you in a lot of ways.” Especially if “you” are a bad ballclub with a bunch of retreads sprinkled in with rookies trying to figure it out. Help from the hitting coach optional. Maybe that’s how Bassitt “did a good job getting us on the ground.” Venable also said the Bluejays “do a good job of controlling the zone and doing damage on pitches in the zone.” Especially if the other team is throwing out a bargain-basement starter like Aaron Civale. Andrew Vaughn, with four RBIs in his first two games back in the bigs, for Civale why, again? But, hey, center fielder Luis Robert Jr. “feels really good.” [all quotes from today’s Trib story online]

Hansen/Montgomery

How old am I? Old enough to remember the White Sox trading away Luis Aparicio in a deal that brought Ron Hansen to the South Side. It wasn’t a bad trade, thanks to the haul of talent the Sox got—Hansen, Pete Ward, Dave Nicholson and Hoyt Wilhelm—for future HOFer Aparicio and Al Smith. Hansen was four years younger and a whole lot bigger than Aparicio, 6’3” to Aparicio’s 5’9”. Hansen was solid defensively and could hit for power, when he was healthy. But he had a bad back from the time he was nineteen. Hansen played as a regular until age 30 and hung on for another four years as a utility player. Like Hansen, Montgomery stands 6’3”, though he weighs 40 pounds more than Hansen did at 190. The 23-year old rookie also has suffered back issues, including this spring. Montgomery has been doing a lot of diving at shortstop (and looking good in the process) since he was brought up last week, and everything seems to be holding. The good news here is that treatment of the spine has improved a whole lot since the 1960s. Aparicio played until he was 39, outlasting Hansen by a year. It’s unreasonable to expect Montgomery to become another HOFer at short. I’d be happy if he could avoid the back problems and have a Ron Hansen-plus career, as in more than 1007 hits; 106 homeruns; and 501 RBIs. You could do worse.

Good and Bad

The bad first, another blah pitching performance from rookie Shane Smith, 4.1 innings and five earned runs in a 6-4 White Sox loss to the Rockies. Smith coughed up a two-run lead in the fifth, after which Sox bats pretty much reverted to (non-existent) form. Also bad, Miguel Vargas going 0-for-3 to push his BA down to .221. Smith—whose ERA climbed to 4.20—and Vargas: I wonder. Now, the good, starting with Colson Montgomery, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Like I said, it was smart to call up Montgomery to face the worst pitching staff in all of baseball. It gets real tonight, though, when the first-place Blue Jays come to town. Fingers crossed. All of which leads us to Mike Vasil, who pitched three innings of two-hit, scoreless relief. Vasil has pitched 59 innings in 24 games, three of them starts. He has a 1.69 ERA pitching 48 innings in relief. Talk about old school. Five of his nine recorded outs came from contact. Again, how old school. I’d be tempted to compliment GM Chris Getz and manager New-Mickey Venable here if not for one thing (OK, if not for a number of things)—the way they’re handling first base. Getz and Venable act as if Ryan Noda is the answer, his 3-for-34 and one RBI be damned. So, if Noda is better than Tim Elko, why did Venable pinch hit for him in the ninth inning yesterday, with rookie Kyle Teel, no less? I mean, Noda had the lefty-righty advantage over Rockies’ closer Seth Halvorsen. Maybe because Noda had struck out twice already? Venable obviously didn’t think he’d collect his second walk of the day. In which case, why play him?

Scouting

Periodically, a player will catch my eye, and I think, “Hey, he might be good.” The first time that happened was with Bill Melton. David Justice was another. More recently, I’ve been impressed with how Brooks Baldwin has worked his way up the minor-league ladder to reach the majors with the White Sox; you have to feel good anytime a 12th round draft choice does that, and you have to tip your cap to the scout who found him. The lower the draft choice who can make a difference, the better the organization. The switch-hitting infielder-outfielder started hitting once he reached High-A and earned a cup of coffee with the Sox late last season. What I saw was a nice, level swing and an ability to reach the gaps. Also, fast out of the box. This year, Baldwin made the team out of spring training and hit OK into the middle of May, when he was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte. Instead of moping, Baldwin hit .368 for the Knights with eleven homeruns. He got called up in the middle of June, only to strike out three times in three at-bats over three games against the Rangers. He kept swinging through pitches and chasing balls shoulder high. That meant to a quick trip back to Charlotte. The injury to Luis Robert Jr. led to another callup at the beginning of July, when it was another three strikeouts (plus a walk) in three at-bats in two games against the Dodgers. Then, maybe something clicked, because Baldwin has gone 5-for-11 in the three games since, with two doubles and a homer. Yesterday, he went 2-for-5 with a double; run; and RBI in the Sox 10-3 win over the Rockies. More, please. Baldwin credited team mental health coach Cristian Guzman for helping him figure out “how to slow the game back down and not trying to do too much.” Baldwin says the adjustment helped him “see the ball a little earlier and put good swings on it.” [quote in Saturday’s Tribune] OK, I’ll buy that. And whatever helped Colson Montgomery go 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. I can’t say I have a feel for Montgomery’s swing the way I do Baldwin’s, but all that matters here are results. And I will say Montgomery looks calm at the plate in his first two major-league games. Like Montgomery, Lenyn Sosa collected three hits last night, which makes it easier to forget his failing to get an out with runners on base and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. Reliever Jordan Leasure fielded a comebacker and threw to Sosa, who was nowhere near the bag and whose throw to first failed to beat Hunter Goodman running down the line. But this is the Rockies’ year to suffer, and Leasure worked out of it without a run scoring (!!). Sosa doubled and homered to go with four RBIs and two runs scored. Like I’ve said, the man can hit. Good idea that manager New-Mickey Venable has him DHing today with Chase Meidroth back at second. That’s how you win games.

Comings and Goings

The dawn of one era signals the end of another. Adieu, Vinny Capra. Greetings, Colson Montgomery. And thank you for that sensational play in the bottom of the second innings, when the Rockies’ Ryan Ritter flared a ball into short left field that looked destined for an RBI single. Nope. Montgomery made a diving, over-the-shoulder catch, unlike anything a Bears’ receiver has managed the last few seasons, no, since almost forever. Now, get your first MLB hit, Colson. Speaking of rookies, catcher Edgar Quero hit his first MLB homerun, a solo shot in the sixth inning that proved the difference in a 3-2 win. Quero is hitting .273 with a .347 OBP. Not bad, which leads me to wonder how will manager New-Mickey Venable find a way to play both Quero and fellow rookie catcher Kyle Teel? Curious minds want to know. Speaking of rookies, Grant Taylor rebounded from his LA meltdown to record the save, his third in four tries. Not bad. Now, how will Venable handle his bullpen should the Sox be leading late in the game tonight? Curious minds fear the worst.

What Satchel Paige Said

It doesn’t pay for the White Sox to look back, not after a sweep by the Dodgers (except maybe for the two hits, one a homerun, from Brooks Baldwin in last night’s 6-2 loss). Better to look ahead to the next series, with the Rockies. In what actually qualifies as a smart move, GM Chris Getz has called up shortstop Colson Montgomery, who should sport the nickname of Mr. Rollercoaster. The lefthand-hitting Montgomery arrives on a 10-for-18 tear for Triple-A Charlotte, with four homers, seven RBIs and ten runs scored. Here’s what I mean by rollercoaster—all that lifted Montgomery’s BA to .218. Hmm. At the risk of repeating myself until I turn blue in the face, Getz bring up Tim Elko while he’s at it. Why not jumpstart two careers instead of just one?

Late Night

I went to bed last night knowing the White Sox were beating the Dodgers 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. I woke up this morning to find that the Sox gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose, 5-4. After watching a replay of the ninth, all I can say is, hats off to manager New-Mickey Venable for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The ninth opened with Michael Conforto singling past second baseman Lenyn Sosa. If the idea is to win ball games, then Josh Rojas should’ve been at second, instead of third, and Miguel Vargas at third, instead of first. Why do we have Ryan Noda, if not to play first base? Grant Taylor was in his second inning of work. The Conforto hit seemed to upset Taylor, who threw eight straight balls for two walks. Why wasn’t he lifted after the first walk? Instead, the 23-year old faced Shohei Ohtani with the bases loaded and nobody out. Ohtani grounded to second. Sosa got the out at second, but Chase Meidroth couldn’t turn the double play. See above for best option in the ninth inning at second base. Venable then brought in Steven Wilson, who gave up a game-tying sacrifice fly, followed by a walk. That put runners on first and second, two out, Freddie Freeman up. Freeman had the lefty-righty advantage over Wilson and singled in the winning run on the first pitch he saw. Venable could’ve rolled the dice by walking Freeman to move the winning run to third while bringing up the righthanded-hitting Andy Pages. That’s what I would’ve done, but, hey, I was in bed asleep at the time. As opposed to Venable asleep in the dugout.

Upon Further Review

Shane Smith started out like gangbusters. The Rule 5 pickup from Milwaukee had a 2.37 ERA in his first thirteen starts for the White Sox. But Smith’s last three outings have qualified as nose-holding bad, as in seventeen earned runs over eleven innings. Hold the Rookie of the Year talk, at least for now. Like Smith, infielder Miguel Vargas had himself a nice run, shooting extra-base hits all over the place, but that seems ages ago. Vargas is 1-for-25 over his last seven games and 9-for-58 over his last fifteen. Hold the Steal of the Year talk, at least for now. Last night, Smith gave up four runs in the bottom of the first, after retiring the first two Dodgers he faced. The 25-year old righty also gave up a two-out run in the third and fourth innings. Dodgers 6 Sox 1. Vargas had nothing to do with the sole Sox run, going 0-for-4 on the night. Unlike Lenyn Sosa. Sosa went 2-for-3 with a two-out RBI double in the fourth inning, when there was at least a faint chance his team might come back. It’s nice when your second baseman is hitting .278 at the start of July. Too bad Sosa’s teammates combined for one other hit in the game, along with twelve strikeouts. Smith, Vargas, Sosa—who in this group is not like the others? I have an idea.

What If?

The White Sox are the kind of team that makes a person wonder, what if? What if Chuck Comiskey hadn’t lowballed his sister Dorothy, who out of spite and/or anger then sold her controlling interest in the team to Bill Veeck? What if Veeck had kept youngsters Earl Battey; Johnny Callison; Norm Cash; Don Mincher; and John Romano after the 1959 season instead of trading them for some veteran pop (Gene Freese, Minnie Minoso, Roy Sievers)? All that young hitting with all that pitching, oh, my. What if Veeck had sold to anybody but Jerry Reinsdorf? What if Reinsdorf didn’t hate overpaying for pitchers? Would Jack McDowell have pitched his entire career on the South Side? Or Chris Sale? Or Mark Buehrle? The team is unveiling a statue of Buehrle next week. Fans will be reminded of the two no-hitters (one a perfect game) the lefthander threw for the Sox among his 161 wins for the team that drafted him and should have paid to keep him from ever leaving. What if Reinsdorf used the unveiling ceremony to admit his mistake? That’s when we would know that pigs do indeed fly.

Dazed and Confused

White Sox GM Chris Getz and manager New-Mickey Venable are nothing if not confusing. Take yesterday. Before the game, Getz sent down rookie pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez, which meant that he kept Jordan Leasure. Sure enough, that move came back to bite Venable in the fifth inning when Leasure walked in the go-ahead run against the Giants. Luckily, there’s more, as in a Sox catcher saving the day for the second game in a row. Only it was Kyle Teel instead of Edgar Quero. Teel delivered a two-out, bases-loaded double in the seventh to put the Sox ahead in an eventual 5-2 win. Oh, and Mike Vasil picked up a five-out save, the second game in a row the Sox closer went over an inning for the save. Now, back to catching. This situation will have to be resolved one way or another, Quero or Teel. Right now, the sample size is too small to make anything close to an intelligent decision. Figure the two rookies continue to share time all season. After which, pick one and then decide to trade the other or move him to another position. Teel played in the outfield a handful of games in college and has appeared in left for the Sox one time. I say play him in left or at first on days he doesn’t catch; that way he could come in for Quero if necessary and Venable wouldn’t lose his DH. Or see what Quero can do in left and at first. Neither is a prototypical catcher, as in big and (kind of) slow. Teel is 6’, a trim 210 pounds while Quero is 5’10” and 205 pounds, and both look athletic. So, learning an extra position does not appear to be out of the question. Unless Ryan Noda, batting .111, is the long-term answer at first, in which case I am very confused.

What David Bowie Said

I love the unpredictability of baseball. You just don’t know what will happen when or how. Like yesterday’s White Sox -Giants’ game. The Sox managed all of one run, on a homerun by Andrew Benintendi in the bottom of the sixth. And that’s all they needed for a shutout made possible by a seven-inning start—let me repeat, seven innings—from starter Adrian Houser followed by a two-inning save—let me repeat, two innings—from Grant Taylor. Two pitchers for nine innings: Analytics be damned. As sweet as lefthanded Benintendi connecting off of lefty Robbie Ray plus the old-school efforts by Houser and Taylor, we’re probably talking about a 2-1 loss if not for catcher Edgar Quero. Consider that in the top of the sixth, the Giants had runners on second and third, nobody out, and Rafael Devers up. Oh, my. And what happened? First off, Houser struck out Devers swinging. Then, Edgar fired a throw to third baseman Josh Rojas, who tagged out baserunner Brett Wisely trying to get back to third. It’s the third time this season Quero has picked off a baserunner. For this kind of heads-up defense and a focus on putting the ball in play, Quero gets my vote as #1 catcher over Kyle Teel. And just for one day, Sox fans had four heroes to choose from.

As Professor Gump Would Say—

Stupid is as stupid does. Just look at the lineup White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable went with last night against the Giants and what he had to say about one player in particular. Venable thought it would be a good time to give Ryan Noda, who normally plays first base, his second career start in right field (as opposed to 136 at first). Noda is “kind of a sneaky athlete, good baserunner and a guy who moves, covers some ground more than I think I gave him credit for just looking at him and his overall profile,” Venable told reporters before the game. “That was part of the attractiveness of acquiring him, his defensive versatility and his ability to go to the outfield.” [quote in today’s Sun-Times] Noda did not exactly reward his skipper’s faith. With two on and one out in the sixth inning of a tied game, Noda dove for a ball that skipped past him for a triple. End of game, 3-1. Later, this is what Venable had to say: “Probably have to play that [ball] in front. Good aggressive play, you like the thought.” [quote in today’s Tribune story online] No, I don’t. And for this we got rid of Gavin Sheets?

Crossing Lines

The White Sox and major league baseball indefinitely banned a Sox fan from attending MLB games after an incident Tuesday in which the 22-year old allegedly made remarks to Diamondbacks’ second baseman Ketel Marte concerning Marte’s mother, who died from injuries suffered in an auto accident in 2017. To which I say, Yes, but. No doubt, a line was crossed, but what about the Dodgers Sym-Phony? A difference of kind or degree? Or is it OK because it’s in the past? And what about any and all Philadelphia fans? I doubt the Phillies make much of an effort to curb their fans’ “enthusiasm” at the start of a big series Fans cheer, they boo, they heckle. I have a distinct memory from 1990, of letting Ron Hassey have it after the A’s catcher muffed a foul ball. I didn’t mention anyone in Hassey’s family. I just pointed out the error, if at the top of my lungs. The point is, a modicum of behavior is to be expected and enforced. A line crossed demands a quick response. But professional sports should stop pretending it doesn’t look away every once in a while.

Do the Math

Miracle of miracles, the White Sox beat the Diamondbacks yesterday afternoon by a score of 7-3. Starter Sean Burke looked good, second baseman Lenyn looked even better. Burke threw five innings for the win, giving up two unearned runs. Sosa and rookie catcher Kyle Teel provided the offense, collecting three hits and two runs apiece. But the nod goes to Sosa, who hit two homeruns, both with two strikes. Sosa also hit an 0-2 pitch for a run-scoring single and had four RBIs on the day. Like I’ve said, he’s a bat-first kind of player. Oh, and rookie Grant Taylor pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run. The Sox used fifteen players total on the day. Of that number, six—Burke; Teel; Sosa; Taylor; Chase Meidroth; and Miguel Vargas—are worth keeping into next season. Add pitchers Jonathan Cannon; Wikelman Gonzalez; Davis Martin; Shane Smith; and Mike Vasil along with catcher Edgar Quero and you’ve got your 2026 keepers. That comes out to twelve players, which leaves fourteen spots being kept warm and nothing more. There are a handful of people in the minors who may or may not be ready next year; ditto for starter Drew Thorpe, who’ll be coming back from Tommy John surgery. That still leaves a whole lot of holes, especially on the positions’ side. Here’s a thought. Josh Naylor, who hit a two-run homer in the first (his tenth against the Sox to go with 40 RBIs and a career BA just shy of .350), will be a free agent at the end of the year. How about going after him?

Yeah, Right

When White Sox GM Chris Getz addressed the media Monday, he did a lot of smoke blowing in regards Luis Robert Jr., including the assertion the team could hold onto their non-hitting center fielder well past the July 31st trade deadline “That’s a real possibility,” Getz said with what I presume was a straight face. Robert would be gone if only he could hit in the same way Andrew Benintendi would be gone if only he could hit a little more and some contender had a gaping hole in the outfield. But Robert can’t hit, and Benintendi runs the other way every time his BA approaches .250. So, here we are. Last night, Robert hit a homerun for the Sox’s only tally in a 4-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. By going 1-for-4, Robert actually upped his average a point to .185. He also has 88 strikeouts in 249 at-bats for a strikeout rate of 35 percent. Yum. Meanwhile, Benintendi went 0-for-3, lowering his BA to .235. Like I said, yum. Manager New-Mickey Venable keeps using openers. Some days, it’s due to an injury to the scheduled starter, other days as a way to manage the workload of a young staff. I’m not sure the reason for opening with Jordan Leasure last night. Whatever, the idea still uses up pitchers, four last night. The team keeps losing while sending out the same lineup while people in charge keep singing the same happy tune. This is somewhere between insanity and hell.

Cost vs. Benefit

Last night, we saw minor-league talent at major-league prices as the host White rolled over for the visiting Diamondbacks, 10-0. The game basically ended in the first inning after Josh Naylor’s double off Shane Smith with one out brought in the first two runs. Lucky for us we didn’t have to pay for the luxury-suite tickets and parking. I figure we would have been out a cool grand, give or take. Instead, we were guests; it pays to know people who can afford this kind of thing. It was the first time we’d ever seen a game in airconditioned comfort, other than that time with Clare at the Astrodome. I mean, who knew you could take an elevator to your seats? The hallway leading to the various suites was pure AMC Theatres, with gray walls and gray-black carpeting. The suite itself was a combination of white, black and gray. Michele and I had a hot dog each; she went with a can of Diet Coke, I gulped down two Barq’s Root Beers. When the dessert cart came around, I went with a slice of carrot cake, plus a chocolate-chip something for Michele. According to the box score, there were 12,579 fans in attendance. If so, a good half of them was rooting for Arizona, and they weren’t disappointed, unless the back-to-back homeruns from Ketel Marte and Pavin Smith in the fourth inning is some kind of desert-downer. Talk about the home team being flat. And talk about the home team: According to GM Chris Getz, there’s cause for optimism. “Overall, I feel pretty good about things,” Getz offered, according to the story on the team’s website today. Getz held court with reporters before the game. He also said, “Going into the year, the focus wasn’t just primarily on the record because we knew that there are so many things that go into improving this organization long term.” [second quote from today’s Tribune] Last year at this point, the Sox were 21-58 under manager Mickey Mouse. This year, they’re 25-54 under New-Mickey Venable. Improvement is in the eyes of the beholder, I guess. What I do know is that if Vinny Capra pitches in a home game, like he did last night [two unearned runs in an inning of work], fans should get their money back. Our hosts yesterday certainly deserved better.