Youth Movement

Rookie lefthander Hagen Smith opened for the White Sox in Houston yesterday, throwing three shutout innings. Then, it was veterans Jordan Hicks and Sean Newcomb (2.1 innings, two runs); and rookie David Sandlin (1.1 innings, no runs), leading to second-year closer Grant Taylor, who went 2.1 innings, giving up one unearned run in a 6-3 Sox win. Left fielder Sam Antonacci was, well, Sam Antonacci. He led off the game with a walk and scored on a Munetaka Murakami sacrifice fly. In the third, Antonacci singled in two runs. The 23-year old converted infielder also walked and managed to get hit by a pitch. Fellow rookies Murakami scored two runs while Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth both had two hits and a run scored; Tristan Peters chipped in with a nice sacrifice bunt. Plus, Kyle Teel looked good swinging the bat. Last but not least, the fog at the plate cleared, if only momentarily, for sophomore Colson Montgomery, who hit a homerun to dead centerfield in the fourth, on an 0-2 pitch no less. Oh, more, please. Can the Sox win again today, even as they face Hunter Brown, who had their number with a 2-0 record and 1.38 ERA in two starts against them in the regular season? Well, you can’t say the visitors lack playoff experience anymore, so, that’s a start to build on.

Mum's the Word

Two recent injuries to Chicago-team athletes highlight the difference between baseball and football. One sport allow the flow of information while the other would control it with a nod to the Kremlin. Back on September 20, Alex Bregman was hit in the face by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle during a game against the Reds. Within hours, Bregman had posted a picture of his face, his right eye swollen shut; news that Bregman had suffered several facial fractures came the next day. At no time did it appear that the Cubs tried to control the release of news or keep Bregman from talking to the media. Now, compare that to the injury the Bears’ Caleb Williams suffered a week ago Sunday against the Vikings. The way Williams went down without contact and then grabbed his thigh, it looked to be a fairly serious hamstring injury. Only the next day Coach Ben Johnson refused to rule out his quarterback for last night’s game against the Eagles. Johnson said Williams was “week-to-week.” Then, on Sunday, ESPN reported Williams had a Grade-2 hamstring strain and was expected to miss three-four weeks. Either Johnson and the Bears’ medical staff don’t know how to communicate with one another, or Johnson was blowing smoke at an always-gullible Chicago media and the Eagles. I’m going with door number two. Go on the Bears’ website and search for an injury update, and you won’t find anything official. Look for Williams addressing the injury the way Bregman did his, and you won’t find anything. At least, I didn’t. Not to worry, though. Third-string quarterback Case Keenum guided his team to a 27-7 win over Philadelphia, and all is right in Bears Nation. Except for the part about being upfront about player injuries. That’s so baseball.

Clichés Abound

The White Sox beat the Rockies 4-2 in the last regular game of the season. Now, it’s on to Houston for three games against the Astros. The team with four fewer wins earned home-field advantage after winning the AL West. And they say we’re in a weak division. I keep looking for the right cliché to describe the situation. The Sox need to play smart, but being dumb enough to think they can take the wild-card’s not a bad idea, either. They should strike first, yet be able to take a punch, and leave everything on the field. Push the envelope, but don’t do anything stupid. The Pope’s a South Sider and a Sox fan. I have no problem with a little divine intervention.

Nope

In his biggest start of the year, Davis Martin went one-third of an inning, putting the White Sox in a 3-0 hole they never managed to climb out of. Rockies 9 Sox 6 and AL Central crown to the Guardians. Joining Martin in failing to seize the moment was Colson Montgomery. With two out and two on and the score 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Montgomery struck out on four pitches. Two innings later with runners on the corners, one out and the score still 5-3, Montgomery hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Colorado broke the game open with four runs in the ninth. To me, you want to end the regular season on a high note. And that means winning. Owning up to bad performance(s) after the game is no substitute.

So Close

The White Sox showed no serious signs of a collective hangover from clinching a playoff spot Thursday when they beat the Rockies 6-1 last night before a packed house at The Rate. Almost everyone you wanted to contribute did. Sean Burke gave up a run in a 5.1-inning start and looked sharp. Same for Hagen Smith, Grant Taylor and Bryan Hudson out of the bullpen. On the offensive side, Sam Antonacci collected three hits while Braden Montgomery added two. And then there was Munetaka Murakami with three hits, two of which left the yard, and three RBIs. Of some concern are Tristan Peters, 4-for-39 over his last fifteen game, and Colson Montgomery, who now holds the MLB record for strikeouts by a player in a single season plus a sub-.200 BA. Pick which of these two will snap out of it first. I know my choice. Now, if the Guardians would just lose in Kansas City…

Nice, But—

The White Sox made some baseball history yesterday when they beat the Royals yesterday, 9-1. No other team has ever made the playoffs after two or more seasons of 100-plus losses. The Sox did that three years running. So, it was nice to see David Sandlin pitch like he had a clue, with six innings of one-run ball. The rookie righthander yielded five hits while recording seven strikeouts and not a walk. Please, please, more of that. Speaking of rookies, Sam Antonacci scored three runs and Tristan Peters picked up two RBIs. Braden Montgomery also looks to be coming out of his funk. In his last five games, Montgomery has gone 9-for-20 with four runs scored. See, please, above. Which brings us to the Doug-downer part. Right now, the White Sox have clinched the third AL wild-card spot and are still a game back of the Guardians for first place in the AL Central, with three games to go. Cleveland, which managed two victories against the Red Sox while scoring a total of three runs in three games, now finishes out the season on the road against the Royals while the Sox go home for three against the Rockies. We need to sweep, the Guardians have to lose a game. And while all of that is going on, manager Vibes Venable has to figure out what to do with Colson Montgomery, who has his BA down to .200 and his season-strikeout total up to 223. One more and Montgomery breaks the major-league record. If he plays, he’s going to strike out at least once over the course of three games. If he sits, he misses out on the opportunity to figure things out. But there’s no fixing Montgomery without risking a bit of notoriety. Like the 2024 White Sox, now a team growing ever smaller in the rear-view mirror.

Of Openers and Word Salad

The Royals scored four runs against the White Sox in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and they scored four in the first last night on their way to a 5-4 win. That’s what I meant about momentum. Opener Bryan Hudson didn’t have it, pure and simple, getting tagged for four runs (three earned) on four hits in .1 inning of work. And what did Sox manager Vibes Venable have to say about Hudson’s outing? He told reporters after the game, “Credit the Royals for putting the ball in play, finding the holes and we weren’t able to stop them really that first inning.” [all quotes from today’s Trib story online] I have eyes, Skipper. Tell me why your team, your opener, couldn’t stop the Royals in that first inning. Otherwise, stop insulting my intelligence. The way you did in discussing the play that cost you the game in the seventh inning. With a runner on second, two out, the score tied at four and Hagen Smith on the mound, you decided to have Smith pitch to Maikel Garcia, who already had two hits and two RBIs. Garcia made it three across the board with a run-scoring double. Why give the righthanded Garcia the righty-left advantage against Smith? Why not walk him and have Smith face lefty Vinnie Pasquantino? Get ready for the jibber-est of jibber answers, folks. “We talked about it,” Venable said. “It was just below the threshold as far as the gap between them that we typically do it.” Say what? “In hindsight, you wish that maybe you would [have walked Garcia]. But the process was good. [!!##$%!] That’s just one of those [times] in which the threshold on that matchup was below what we typically do to walk someone.” Words fail me. Venable, too, it would seem.

Almost a Great Game

The White Sox were ahead of the Royals 14-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning in Kansas City last night. Seven late runs later, the Sox had themselves a 14-11 win to remain one game back of the Guardians with five to go. Always lead with the good stuff in a win. The Sox cranked out four homeruns, Chase Meidroth; Brenton Doyle; Randal Grichuk; and Munetaka Murakami doing the honors. Meidroth collected a career-high five RBIs while Grichuk went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits, falling a triple short of the cycle. And, hey, Tommy Pham scored twice on two walks. Now, for the not good, as in, will Colson Montgomery ever snap out of it? Last night, Montgomery went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, inching him closer to the major-league record of 223. Montgomery has 219 and counting. If the second-year shortstop’s offensive numbers are going down, Anthony Kay’s ERA is heading up, also in the wrong direction. The veteran lefthander struggled through four-plus innings last night, giving up four runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. A suddenly with-it Noah Schultz picked up the win with two scoreless innings. In three relief appearances spanning 5.2 innings since his return from Triple-A Charlotte, the maybe-next Randy Johnson has yet to allow a run. The two pitchers who followed Schultz out of the pen, Trevor Richards and Luis Castillo, weren’t nearly as good. Richards gave up three earned runs in an inning of work, Castillo four runs. Ick. That’s the kind of bad mop-up work that can give the other side unwanted momentum. But I’m in good-news’ mode here. Schultz pitched well, and the other A-team relievers got an extra day of rest. Their availability should cancel any bad-guy momentum. I think.

Goin' to Kansas City (Again)

With six games left in the regular season, the White Sox are going to Kansas City for three against the last-place Royals. A very long time ago, the Sox had five games left in the season, with a doubleheader in Kansas City against the last-place A’s. Things did not go well. This Sox team is one game out of first. That 1967 Sox team was 1-1/2 games out. The ‘’67 Sox dropped the first game 5-2 against an A’s lineup that included Rick Monday; Joe Rudi; Sal Bando; and Dave Duncan. Future Oakland A’s Chuck Dobson started and won with Paul Lindblad recording the save. The second game was pretty much a repeat of the first, worse in that the Sox were shut out 4-0. Catfish Hunter picked up a complete game for what would be the last game ever for the Kansas City A’s; the team was on its way to Oakland. And, in what has to be the cruelest of all fates, White Sox great Luke Appling was managing against his old team. These would be the last two wins in Appling’s managerial career (10-30 lifetime), such as it was. Ol’ Aches and Pains was serving as interim manager after the firing of Al Dark. I don’t want history repeating, or rhyming. What I want is the tables turned, ghosts laid to rest.

Now What?

The White Sox showed more resilience yesterday than I thought they had left in them with a soggy, 8-1 drubbing of the Tigers. Now what? Well, with the Guardians one game ahead of them in first place, they have to keep winning. There are six games left in the regular season, three in Kansas City and three at home against the Rockies. One game at a time with the focus on winning all six. It’s entirely within reach if they use yesterday as a template. Sam Antonacci had a two-run double and made a nice catch in left field, both happening when the game was still in doubt. Chase Meidroth hit his fifteenth homerun of the season to put some icing on the cake while Braden Montgomery actually got two hits, including a double that scored the first run of the game. But there can’t be any letting up, starting with Anthony Kay, who goes tomorrowr. Kay hasn’t been anything special over his last fifteen games, going 3-7 with a 4.58 ERA. If he wants to show the baseball establishment it was wrong to let him go and pitch in Japan for two seasons, now would be a good time. A very good time.

One or the Other

The White Sox showed resilience yesterday, that, or a dead-cat bounce. Either way, they defeated the Tigers 3-1 in front of nearly 31,000 fans who didn’t mind rearranging their Saturday plans when the game time was switched from evening to afternoon in order to beat the approaching rain. Sean Burke pitched six effective innings of one-run ball. Noah Schultz (!) and Grant Taylor provided three shutout innings to seal the victory. Miguel Vargas was the offense. Vargas drew a two-out walk in the first, stole second base and scored the first run of the game on a duck snort to left by Munetaka Murakami. Vargas’ 33rd homerun of the season led off the sixth inning, giving the Sox a two-run lead after Sam Antonacci’s sacrifice fly in the fifth. Did I mention Vargas also made at least one run-saving play at third reminiscent of Robin Ventura and Joe Crede? Unless something changes drastically and suddenly, the Sox will sink or swim (or bounce) depending what Vargas does over the next seven games. Murakami along with Braden and Colson Montgomery are just too far gone right now to be of much help. Whatever Antonacci, Andrew Benintendi and Chase Meidroth can bring to the plate would be greatly appreciated. I’d include Tristan Peters to the list, if it weren’t for Peters crashing into the fence Friday night chasing down Kevin McGonigle’s triple. Day to day, as they say. If only the Sox had the luxury of time. They don’t.

Collapse

The White Sox blew an 8-2 lead to the Tigers last night, losing 11-8, which puts them a full game behind the Guardians for first place in the AL Central and leaves them just one game ahead of the Rangers for the final playoff spot. So, what did Sox manager Vibes Venable do? Compliment the Tigers, of course. Oh, and he also went into his talking-box-score routine, stating the obvious to anyone who can read or see what happened. It’s the “why” behind a loss that trips Venable up. Why did rookie starter David Sandlin lose it all at once in the fifth? No answer. Why did Sean Newcomb and Bryan Hudson give up a combined five runs in the eighth? No answer, though I have one. It’s called “overwork.” Newcomb and Hudson have pitched a combined 151.1 innings so far this season. Live by the opener, and, eventually, you die by the bullpen. Oh, and why did the final fourteen Sox hitters go down in a row? Because happy talk is no substitute for leadership.

A Pulse

Munetaka Murakami and the White Sox both showed a pulse last night at the Rate, beating Detroit 3-1 on a Murakami three-run homer in the first inning, after which pitching and defense dominated. Starter Erick Fedde did the Houdini thing through 4.2 innings. Fedde gave up one run on four hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch, stranding six Tigers’ baserunners along the way. Smoke, mirrors, guile, Fedde is doing something right. Last night, so did the defense. Left fielder Randal Grichuk saved Fedde a run in the fifth by barehanding a ball off the fence to keep Gleyber Torres to a single; Dillon Dingler followed with what would’ve been a run-scoring double. Grichuk also threw out Spencer Torkelson in the sixth when Torkelson tried to take an extra base on a single. The best play of the night, though, may have belonged to Murakami. With a runner on first and two out in the eighth, Mark Clark hit an infield single, beating the throw from third baseman Miguel Vargas. Brett Callahan, the lead runner, kept going and was called safe at third despite a strong throw across the diamond by Murakami. Sox manager Vibes Venable challenged the call, which was overturned upon review. I should also mention here Murakami collected his first MLB triple in the eighth. Which leads us to the bad news, such as it was. The Sox failed on two chances to score that insurance run. And Grant Taylor was scary. Yes, he went 2.1 innings for the save, but he put the tying runs on in the ninth. Lucky for Taylor that Vargas managed a 5-3 double play, with a tag of the runner going to third coupled with a strong throw to first. Now to see if Murakami can continue hitting—and if Braden Montgomery can break out of his slump. Montgomery went 0-for-3 batting ninth last night. The rookie has got to hit for his team to advance.

Sowing and Reaping

The White Sox were hanging on to a 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Guardians in their rubber match yesterday afternoon. That’s when Sox manager Vibes Venable brought in Sean Newcomb in relief of Hagen Smith, two on and two out. Newcomb served up a three-run homerun to rookie Petey Halpin, who came into the game batting .210. So much for the lefty-lefty advantage that should’ve broken Newcomb’s way. Wait, there’s more. Newcomb walked the next two batters before giving up a run-scoring double to Jose Ramirez. The line on Newcomb read four batters faced; two walks; two extra-base hits; two inherited runners scoring; and two runs allowed. What happened? Newcomb said after the game, “I haven’t been myself. Just not being super crisp, hitters being more in tune with what I’m doing.” [today’s Sun-Times] Gosh, do you think Newcomb is a little gassed from pitching 10.2 innings in six appearances as an opener? Perish the thought. Damn’ the torpedoes, full closers ahead! It seems Hagen Smith was gassed, too, trying to go two innings again. Maybe instead of pulling Anthony Kay after four, Venable should’ve seen how long his starter could go. If Chase Meidroth hadn’t committed an error trying to make a tag in the third, Kay would’ve gone four scoreless innings. If Venable was going to roll the dice on Smith (he allowed the move was “debatable”), it should’ve been back on Sunday, against Alec Burleson in St. Louis. But what do I know? I think dropping two of three in Cleveland makes it hard, if not impossible, to win the division. Not Venable, who told reporters after the game, “We knew that this series wasn’t going to define the rest of the year for us. Giving up the division lead, everybody will feel how they feel about it. But I’m proud of the guys and I think we’re in a good spot moving forward.” [from today’s story on team website] Proud of a team that lost a crucial, even defining, series? Not my bowl of word salad.

Maybe, Maybe Not

Maybe the White Sox were fated to lose 7-6 last night on an opposite-field, two-out, two-run, walk-off double on a 0-2 pitch from Grant Taylor to Brayan Rocchio. Or maybe not. I wonder because three moves by Sox manager Vibes Venable put his team in a bad spot to win, starting with his choice of opener. That would be Chris Murphy, who, in his previous appearance, gave up a bases-clearing double that sent the Sox down to defeat in St. Louis on Sunday. Murphy was no better in Cleveland, giving up two homeruns to the Guardians in the first. The Sox were down 3-0 by the time Murphy exited with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. But you have to give credit where credit is due; the Sox climbed back to take a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning. Davis Martin pitched well, giving up one earned run in 5.1 innings of work, while the usual heroes came through to provide the lead. I’m talking about you in particular, Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas. And I could be talking about Sam Antonacci and Tristan Peters, too. But not Jake Rogers. Venable had Rogers start behind the plate for the right-lefty advantage against Guardians’ starter Foster Griffin. Rogers responded with an 0-for-2 effort, putting his White Sox BA at a microscopic .111 (4-for-36). Thankfully, Kyle Teel replaced Rogers and walked twice, the first walk coming around to score in the sixth inning. Venable also continued his unfathomable loyalty to Munetaka Murakami, who struck out four times batting cleanup. In his last four games, Murakami has struck out eleven times. He’s batting .094 over his last fifteen games and .110 over his last 30. This can’t go on. Unless not making the postseason is part of GM Chris Getz’s plan.

See Ball, Feel Ball

It was the single most important at-bat for the White Sox this season to date. Centerfielder Tristan Peters fouled off twelve pitches from Guardians’ starter Gavin Williams before managing an eighteen-pitch walk with nobody out and Andrew Benintendi on second base in the top of the sixth inning last night in a scoreless ballgame. Wait, there’s more. The next batter, Colson Montgomery, grounded a ball to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who threw to second for a potential 3-6-3 double play. Only Lowe hit Peters in the back of the head. The ball bounced off Peters’ helmet into centerfield, allowing Benintendi to score and Peters to move to third base, the start of a six-run inning in a 7-3 Sox win that extends their lead over the Guardians’ to 1-1/2 games. Kudos to Kyle Teel for his two-run double and Miguel Vargas for a two-run homerun. Ditto Sean Newcomb; Sean Burke; Hagen Smith; and Trevor Richards for not allowing an earned run all night. Now, for the brickbats. Munetaka Murakami struck out three times, along with Colson and Braden Montgomery. Colson Montgomery allowed a run to score in the sixth on his second error in two games while a throwing error by Vargas in the ninth made possible a homer by David Fry that shouldn’t have happened. Sloppy defense does not win games. As Tristan Peters knows, heady play does. That, and a good eye.

Why

The White Sox lost 3-1 to the Cardinals yesterday because Luis Castillo pitched on Saturday. Here’s why. Saturday, Sox manager Vibes Venable went the opener route, figuring the odds were Castillo wasn’t going to give him much. That meant 1.1 innings for opener Sean Newcomb before Castillo labored through 2.2 innings. Hagen Smith followed with two innings; then Grant Taylor with 1.2 innings; Jordan Hicks, .1 inning; and Bryan Hudson, one inning. In other words, Venable needed five good relievers in various roles to get the win, blessed be the name of Randal Grichuk. Yesterday, rookie David Sandlin did everything that GM Chris Getz thought he’d be getting from Castillo when he acquired the veteran righty at the trade deadline, and then some. Sandlin set down the first sixteen St. Louis batters he faced before giving up two one-out singles in the sixth inning. Rather than panic, Sandlin struck out Bryan Torres. That made it two on, two out for a righty-right matchup against Ivan Herrera. Sandlin did his job, inducing a hard groundball to shortstop Colson Montgomery, who booted it. (Not to worry. Venable covered for Montgomery in the postgame, baserunner Nathan Church apparently screening Montgomery just long enough to cause the miscue.) That brought up lefthanded-hitting Alec Burleson, at the time sitting on 106 RBIs. Venable chose to lift his starter. But who do you bring in? All the best lefty relievers pitched not even 24 hours earlier. Smith, with 29 strikeouts in 20 innings, would have been the best option if he hadn’t already gone two innings. And maybe he was the best option, if only to get one out. Venable opted for lefty Chris Murphy. Not quite lions vs. Christians, but Burleson still cleared the bases with a double to right. Montgomery had a chance to redeem himself with two out in the top of the ninth and the bases loaded, but he flied out to shallow centerfield. It shouldn’t have come to that. Because of Luis Castillo, it did.

Jaws

The White Sox snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in the ninth inning last night against the Cardinals with a two-out, two-strike go-ahead homerun that turned a 5-4 deficit into an eventual 6-5 win. Thank you, Randal Grichuk. Yes, that’s the same Randal Grichuk I was complaining about the game before. Given another chance to provide veteran leadership, Grichuk came through, hitting a 1-2, 95.6 mph sinker from Cardinals’ closer Riley O’Brien down the right-field line and over the fence, just out of the reach of a leaping Victor Scott II. Mercy. Now, for an extra bit of good news, and I don’t mean both the Guardians and Astros losing—manager Vibes Venable went with a lineup that reflected reality than rather wishes. Kyel Teel batted second, the Montgomerys eighth and ninth, Colson and Braden, respectively. Both Teel and Colson walked twice, and one of the walks mattered for each of them, an RBI for Colson in the fourth and a second run for Girchuk to bat in with his homer. Now, for the bad news—Luis Castillo pitched, which is to say Castillo gave up a boatload of hits and runs. The veteran righthander labored through 2.2 innings, allowing the Cardinals to score three runs on four hits and three walks. Sean Newcomb opened, going 1.1 innings. He was lifted after a one-out single. Castillo allowed that runner to score, too. Not good to the point that Chris Getz’s big trade-deadline acquisition should grab some bench for the foreseeable future. What to do? Well, maybe Getz is finally realizing he has options at Triple-A. David Sandlin is scheduled to start today’s rubber game. That, plus Venable going with another reality-based lineup could help right things. We’ll see.

Circling the Drain

The White Sox lost their fourth straight last night (and nine out of their last twelve), 7-3 to the Cardinals. Same old same old. Starting with Sox manager Vibes Venable going with Jake Rogers at catcher. Rogers had two walks, which led to nothing, while dropping a throw at the plate that would’ve nailed a runner in what was then a tie game in the second inning. But you have to love his veteran’s presence behind the plate, I guess. Anthony Kay did his usual, too, which in this case means a fourth straight start without getting through the fifth. The veteran righthander, who is starting to look like the journeyman he was before going to Japan, struggled through four innings, giving up three runs on five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch (which scored). In the fifth, Venable did the same old by demonstrating his misplaced faith in Trevor Richards, who proceeded to turn a one-run game into a 6-2 St. Louis lead. Game over. After the game, Venable displayed some anger, sort of, if blaming yourself ahead of your players counts. Venable put it this way: “Just an ugly one all the way around. Starting with me. None of the moves I made tonight worked. [see above] Offensively, we were fine. [No, they weren’t. See below].” In what has to count as blistering criticism, Venable noted “ Kay was behind in the count really the whole day, kind of piled up on him there.” [all quotes from today’s Trib story online] Venable also made some allusions to bad baserunning, as in Brenton Doyle getting picked off of first base, and defense, as in Rogers dropping the ball. How the offense qualified as “fine” is beyond me. What’s “fine” about going a collective 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position or stranding twelve runners? Consider these two examples of how bad things are. In the top of the sixth, with a chance to answer the Cardinals, Randal Grichuk batted with one out, the bases loaded; he struck out on three pitches. The first one he took, right down the center of the plate; the two way down out of the strike zone he swung at. That is not a veteran leading by example. Which brings us to another three strikeouts by Colson Montgomery, who now has 205 on the season. The record is 223, in case you’re wondering. Starting with June, Mongomery hasn’t had a month where he’s batted higher than .221. And, in ten games this month, he’s hitting an anemic .132. Hope springs eternal, boxers do get off the canvas to win. But here? I’m just not feeling it.

While Rome Burns

At least when the White Sox were losing 100-plus games a season, they were consistent. Now, it’s a matter of two steps forward, one back. Or is it 1-1/2? And on what days? I take no particular joy in saying the Sox manager bears much of the responsibility for the state of things. Why, for example, does he play catcher Jake Rogers? In last night’s 2-0 loss to the Pirates, Rogers went 0-for-3 trying to throw out runners on steal attempts. The last one really mattered because it set up an insurance run in the eighth inning. Did I mention Rogers went 0-for-2 at the plate or that he’s now hitting .118—4-for-34—since being picked up from the Red Sox? While I’m at it, let me also point out that Sox batters have basically stopped hitting. Last night, they managed all of two hits, the first coming with two out in the seventh, and two walks while whiffing eleven times. Me, I can’t believe they got swept at home by Pittsburgh. With the manager, it’s full steam ahead on the Titanic. Naturally, after the game he had all sorts of praise for the other side in his postgame remarks: “It was a tough day obviously. You’ve got to give some credit to these arms that they have over there, which are really good. We saw some really good fastballs this series.” [all quotes from today’s online Trib story] Oh, God, there’s more. The manager also told reporters he thinks “our clubhouse and our vibe inside there is in a really good spot.” News flash, Skipper: It’s the wins that count, not the vibe. If you don‘t know that by now, the vibe will disappear soon enough.

Pitch Count

One of my jobs as team statistician for Clare’s varsity high-school softball team was to keep a pitch count for our pitchers. If I could do that as a volunteer, why couldn’t the White Sox do the same in last night’s 4-2 loss to the Pirates? Either Sox manager Vibes Venable or bench coach Walker McKinven or pitching coach Zach Bove alone or in some combination couldn’t figure out to do that. (Hint: Just keep tab of every pitch thrown.) If they had, the Pirates might never have scored three runs in the seventh inning. Reliever Sean Newcomb had already struggled a bit in the sixth, needing a double play to keep his pitch count at seventeen. A six-pitch walk to open the seventh put it at 23. Then came a single on the first pitch followed by a single on the third pitch. By my count, that’s a 2-0 score, nobody out and Newcomb at 27 pitches. Now throw in a seven-pitch fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners, one out and Newcomb at 34 pitches. Did Venable elect to go to the pen? Nope. Konnor Griffin capped off a six-pitch at-bat with a two-run single. For those of you out there keeping count, that’s 40 pitches for Newcomb, who needed another eight to record the final two outs in the inning. So, don’t expect to see Newcomb anytime soon. And don’t expect Venable to explain why he kept his reliever in despite a growing pitch count. Oh, and don’t expect the Sox to win many games that way.

Unacceptable

White Sox manager Vibes Venable called a bullpen game Sunday to give Sean Burke an extra day of rest. And how did Burke respond last night against the visiting Pirates? The first seven (!) batters did this in the top of the first: double; walk; double; double; double; single; single. And, just like that, it was 5-0. Wait, there’s more. Here’s Burke in the second inning: single; double; strikeout; walk; hook. In all, the righthander went 1.1 innings while getting smacked around for seven runs on eight hits—half of them doubles—and two walks. How do you say, unacceptable? Make sure you include Munetaka Murakami along the way. The now-in-freefall first baseman went 0-for-4 with, you guessed it, four strikeouts. Colson Montgomery’s 0-for-4 looked stellar in comparison, with just one strikeout and an RBI. And this is how the Sox expect to make the postseason? Good luck, given how the starters have been and way too much of the lineup. Andrew Benintendi had two doubles, and Kyle Teel added two hits, including his second homerun in as many games. But they can’t do it alone. Maybe if the manager stopped holding everyone’s hand and actually challenged his players things would come around. It certainly couldn’t hurt to try.

Time Flies

It was the Sunday before Labor Day, 2006. Michele and I were watching our high school freshman trying to impress the coaches of her new travel team. There was a party somewhere after practice, as I recall. Knowing Clare, she hustled through every drill. Probably like me, she also wondered why Coach took it upon himself at one point to climb up a pole, but that was Harry. He liked Clare, and that was all I could ask for the next two seasons. Don’t ask about what, or who, came next. Thursday, we pick up Leo from kindergarten because Clare will be busy working on the North Shore, part of the never-ending hunt for donations from well-heeled alumni of a certain school. Knowing Leo, he’ll want me to pitch to him when we get home. But I won’t climb any poles.

Ebb and Flow

Sam Antonacci and Tristan Peters hit, the Montgomerys didn’t. But the hits—twelve, including two homeruns along with three doubles from Antonacci—far outweighed the outs in a 10-1 White Sox win over the Twins in a Sunday almost-night game scheduled to accommodate the television overlords. The two doubles by Peters gives him 30 on the year. I like that, along with Kyle Teel cranking a three-run homer to dead center in the eighth inning. In his previous at-bat, Teel took a called third strike with two runners on. The TV cameras caught his emotion bubbling up in the dugout afterwards. So, redemption achieved, if just for one game. I wonder what would happen if the entire lineup got hot at the same time. Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas providing their 30-homerun-plus pop with Antonacci, Peters and Chase Meidroth providing runners to drive in; Braden Montgomery, Teel and the dh duo of Andrew Benintendi and Randal Grichuk, who hit his twelfth homer leading off the eighth, would also be welcome to join in. A fan can dream, right?

Captain Obvious

The White Sox staked Anthony Kay to a 3-0 lead in the first inning against the Twins last night on homeruns by Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery. Kay gave it all back and then some by the time he was pulled in the fifth inning. Twins 6 Sox 4. After the game, Sox manager Will Venable went into Captain Obvious mode, when he told reporters Kay was “[r]eally sharp there up front in the first few innings and then just got in some trouble. Wasn’t able to work out of it, just left some pitches over the plate.” [from today’s Trib story online] Gosh, thanks for the profound insight, Skipper. Oh, and this: “Obviously, [Ryan] Jeffer’s [three-run] homer was killer.” [Trib online] Ya think? Here’s what Venable failed to address. Kay was done by the fourth inning, when he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Why did he even come out for the fifth? The first two Minnesota batters reached base in the fifth, and Venable kept Kay in. Why? After Kay managed to retire Kaelen Culpepper on a forceout, Venable kept the lefty in to face the righthanded-hitting Jeffers. Why in God’s name do that? I’d Twins’ manager Derek Shelton had no intention of pinch-hitting for Jeffers, unless he thought switch-hitting Victory Caratini with his .222 BA could come through. Venable should have forced Shelton to decide by bringing in righty reliever Trevor Richards to face Jeffers, not wait another two batters. Did I mention the Tigers beat the Guardians, 6-0? The Sox could now be four ahead of Cleveland in the loss column instead of three. Oh, well. With Captain Obvious at the helm, what could possibly go wrong?

What He Got Right

Rebuilds depend on a front office making more right decisions than wrong. Just ask Rick Hahn. Chirs Getz, Hahn’s successor as White Sox GM, looks to be racking up considerably more debits than credits. It showed last night in the White Sox’s 4-1 win over the Twins. Miguel Vargas, Braden Montgomery and Colson Montgomery all homered. Getz traded for Vargas and Braden Montgomery while he’s exhibited extreme patience with Hahn’s first-round pick back in 2021. Did I mention Erick Fedde? The veteran righthander pitched five shutout innings to even his record at 8-8. I may not be a fan of Fedde’s Houdini act on the mound (absent yesterday in an 83-pitch performance), but he’s done everything asked of him, start, relieve or open. In my humble opinion, he’s best at starting, at least for this season. It’s also worth noting Getz traded Fedde as part of a three-way deal with the Cardinals and Dodgers that netted Vargas and two prospects. Does anyone miss Michael Kopech, also part of that deal? Nobody’s perfect, no GM gets it right every time. Getz whiffed on Seranthony Dominguez and probably with Luis Castillo. Munetaka Murakami? Only the end of the regular season will tell.

Word Salad, With a Side of Gibber

Luis Castillo started for the White Sox yesterday, which is to say the Sox lost to the Astros, 6-2. GM Chris Getz’s most questionable acquisition this season gave up all six runs in four innings. But, hey, he’s trying, according to Sox manager Vibes Venable. Castillo received his very own participation trophy during Venable’s postgame comments with reporters: “Luis’s been doing a really good job of trying to make adjustments, just haven’t found the right one yet. He’s going to continue to work and have a good few days before his next start and hopefully find some better results.” [quote from story in today’s Tribune] Wait, there’s more. Venable also said Castillo is “here to help us and ultimately his job is not to go out there and throw six scoreless innings. He needs to give us a chance to win. And there's been a couple in which we haven't been able to get there.” [quote from story today on team website] What in God’s name does Venable mean by this word salad? Effort alone doesn’t count for anything in baseball; results do. And Castillo is 1-2 with a 7.52 ERA in six starts for the Sox. And who’s this “we” Venable mentioned? Castillo? The offense? The coaching staff? Everybody? God help me, there’s more. Munetaka Murakami is batting .125 over his last seven games, which is actually up over his last fifteen games, during which he’s hit .091. During his last 30 games, Murakami is batting .136 with eight RBIs. But Venable neither sits him nor moves him from his two-spot in the order. Professor Gump would know what to call this kind of decision-making.

A Whole Lot of Dumb

White Sox centerfielder Tristan Peters opened the eighth inning of a scoreless tie last night in Houston with a triple to deep right-centerfield. Catcher Drew Romo followed with a walk, at which point a whole lot of dumb stuff commenced. It started with Romo staying in the game. Why? Because “he’s catching a shutout,” Sox manager Vibes Venable told reporters after the game. [quote from today’s Trib story online] Then, why even keep Luisangel Acuna, whose one asset is his speed? Sam Antonacci proceeded to hit a grounder right at Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena with the infield drawn in. Peters hesitated an instant, then broke for the plate. Bad decision by him, and third base coach Justin Jirschele if he told Peters to go. Yup, out by a mile and defended by Venable in the postgame. With one out and runners on first and second (as opposed to second and third if Peters had stayed put and Pena took the out at first base), Munetaka Murakami singled sharply to right field. Maybe if Romo didn’t look back to check on the ball he scores. And a heck of a greater chance with Acuna running. But, hey, Romo was catching a shutout, right? After Miguel Vargas grounded into an around-the-horn double play (what, no safety squeeze? Oh, right, Romo was on third), Venable elected to stay with Sean Newcomb in a bases-loaded, two-out situation, righthanded-hitting Nelson Velazquez batting. What, no Grant Taylor? Velazquez singled to center. Astros 2 Sox 0. What could be worse than the above? Having Luis Castillo start today, that’s what.

Better

White Sox starter Sean Burke walked the first two Astros he saw last night, prompting a visit from pitching coach Zach Bove, who, according to what Burke told reporters after the game, said, “Look, let’s not go down this road again.” [quote from story today on team website] Bove was referencing the eight walks the 26-year old gave up in his previous start. Lo and behold, the tough love worked, and Burke pitched 5.2 innings of shutout ball. Sox 5 Astros 1. This Burke going back to good Burke is crucial to the Sox making the postseason. Ditto Colson Montgomery staying hot. Last night, Montgomery went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Gotta like that. If only Munetaka Murakami could join in. Instead, it was another three strikeouts for the Sox first baseman. Murakami could use a night off, like the one Braden Montgomery received (Randal Grichuk driving in two in his place). Let’s see if the rest cure pays off tonight.

Unacceptable

Ten walks should lead to more than three runs in a game, but not for the White Sox last night in Houston. Going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position may have had something to do with it, along with leaving fourteen runners on base. Astros 6 Sox 3. Of course, manager Vibes Venable was all unicorns and rainbows after the game, with shoutouts to Munetaka Murakami (three walks vs. one strikeout) and Colson Montgomery (two walks, a double and a homerun vs. one strikeout). OK, but what about Braden Montgomery, Skipper? The rookie went 0-for-5, lowering his BA to a concerning .224, and he seems to be losing focus in the field. He caught a ball over the weekend and apparently thought there were three outs, not two, which allowed a Twins’ runner to move up a base. And last night he made an ill-advised dive on a line drive by Cam Smith that went for a triple. That seemed to throw starter Anthony Kay off his game. Kay proceeded to give Nelson Velazquez, hitting .186, a pitch he could deposit over the wall in left field. The pitch was on Kay, just like the play before belonged to Braden Montgomery. Maybe I’m being too negative here. It is possible Colson Montgomery is getting his swing back; I hope so. It’s also possible that Tommy Pham will be a September catalyst for the Sox. But I doubt it.