5 takeaways: White Sox beat Astros in wild card series

The White Sox have won a playoff series for the first time since 2005, and they have advanced to the American League Division Series for the first time since 2021.

The South Siders swept their best-of-three wild card series with the Houston Astros this week, winning Game 1, 6-3, on Tuesday and then prevailing 7-3 in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Here are five takeaways from this series:

1. Fast starts pay off. The Sox became the first team in baseball history to lead at the end of every inning in a multi-game postseason series. In Game 1, they scored one run in the first inning and two more in the second to take an early 3-0 lead. They eventually built a 5-0 lead they would never relinquish. In Game 2, the Sox scored four runs in the first, and while the Astros cut it to 4-3 at one point, they could never tie it.

It's a funny thing: I'm more nervous watching the Sox when they are ahead than when they are behind. I'm always thinking, "Please don't blow it." But despite the tension I personally feel, for the team itself, it is a better to play with a lead 100% of the time. We all know that comebacks can and do happen, but it's hard when you're trailing all the time. In this series, the Astros were constantly fighting uphill, and they could never get to the top of that hill.

2. Chase Meidroth delivers the biggest hit. In my last blog, I noted that Meidroth's step forward to legitimate everyday second baseman was one of the biggest positive developments for the Sox this season. On Wednesday, he delivered the biggest hit of his career thus far and -- in my estimation -- the biggest home run in Sox history since Jim Thome won the AL Central title for the Sox on Sept. 30, 2008.

This home run occurred 18 years later to the day. The Astros had cut the Sox lead from four runs to one when Meidroth stepped to the plate with two men on in the top of the sixth. Houston brought in its best right-handed reliever, Bryan Abreu, to face Meidroth. But Abreu fell behind in the count 3-1, and he left a slider in the middle of home plate. Meidroth capitalized with a 3-run blast to left-center that restored a four-run lead for the Sox. It would turn out to be the last run-scoring hit of the series -- a fatal blow to the Astros' hopes.

3. Jordan Hicks steps up. One of the questions I had going into the series was, could another right-handed reliever other than Grant Taylor step forward to help the Sox? The answer was yes, and Hicks was that guy. Hicks was a middle-tier reliever for the Sox this season, going 3-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 53 appearances. Respectable, but nothing earth-shattering.

But in this series, Hicks appeared in both games and was effective both times. He totaled 3.1 innings over those two appearances, retiring all 10 batters he faced, four of them by strikeout. He earned the win in Game 1, but his ability to cover two innings in Game 2 while pitching in back-to-back games was most impressive. Hicks has always had good velocity. He was firing 100-101 mph in Houston, and he was consistently in the zone. Astros hitters had no answers.

4. Miguel Vargas struggles at the plate rendered moot. The Sox won this series with minimal contributions from their best offensive player. Vargas went 0 for 9 with three strikeouts, one walk and one run scored. It didn't matter because the Sox got something from almost everyone else in a team offensive performance.

Meidroth was the biggest bat, going 4 for 7. But several players had multiple hits in the series -- Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, Randal Grichuk, Tristan Peters, Braden Montgomery. Heck, Colson Montgomery even got in on the fun a little. The slumping shortstop had only one hit, but at least it was a solo home run in Game 1. Obviously, the Sox will need Vargas in the next round, but they papered over his lack of production in this round nicely.

5. Sweep gives the pitching staff a break. Next up for the Sox is the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, who received a bye through the first round. The Guardians have had a week off, and they'll be able to set up their pitching as they wish. The Sox do not have that luxury, at least not entirely, but finishing this Houston series in two games is beneficial. With no game Thursday or Friday, every pitcher will have at least two days of rest before Game 1 on Saturday in Cleveland.

Davis Martin, Noah Schultz and Bryan Hudson did not pitch at all in Houston. And while Taylor threw a season-high 54 pitches to record the final seven outs and secure the Game 1 victory, he did not need to pitch in Game 2, and he will have three days of rest before Cleveland. Ditto Hagen Smith, who tossed 38 pitches in three innings of work in the Game 1 win. Taylor and Smith are the most dynamic arms the Sox have, and both should be available for multiple innings of work Saturday, if needed.

Here's the schedule for the ALDS:

Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3 at Cleveland, noon

Game 2: Monday, Oct. 5 at Cleveland, 4 p.m.

Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Chicago, 3 p.m.

*Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 8 at Chicago, 4 p.m.

*Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 at Cleveland, 4 p.m.

*if necessary

I'll be at the ballpark Wednesday. If you're going, see you there. Go Sox!

White Sox are wild card-bound; what went right, what went wrong

The last time I blogged, the White Sox had 19 games remaining in the season. They went 9-10. Not great, but not bad either.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Guardians went 12-5, good enough to finish 85-77 -- one game ahead of the Sox, who finished 84-78.

The good news for the Sox: They are still going to the playoffs as the last wild card team in the American League. It's their first playoff berth since they won the AL Central in 2021. And it's a 24-win improvement over last season, when they finished 60-102.

Also, the wild card series is a winnable one. The Sox will take on the Houston Astros, who won the AL West with an 81-81 record.

This series could go either way, but it's definitely a fair fight. Now that the regular season is over, let's reflect back on five things that went right for the Sox this year:

1. Miguel Vargas breakout. Vargas batted .250/.363/.474 with 33 homers, 93 RBIs, 31 doubles, 22 stolen bases, 106 runs scored and 101 walks. He's the first player in Sox history to have 30-plus homers, 30-plus doubles, 20-plus steals and 100-plus runs scored in the same season. He's been the best player on this team, the most consistent player, from start to finish. And since the Sox are in the playoffs, he deserves some down-ballot votes for AL MVP.

2. Tristan Peters solidifies the outfield. Peters appeared in 156 of the 162 games this season, most of them in center field. Let me say that again: 156 games. It takes Luis Robert Jr. about three seasons to be available for that many games. Before this season, Peters was 0 for 12 in four games in MLB. This season, he batted .265/.337/.437 with 12 homers, 31 doubles and 56 RBIs. More importantly, he played above-average defense at a middle-of-the-diamond position. He even made the All-Star team.

3. Grichuk/Benintendi DH platoon. Randal Grichuk hit his 15th homer of the season in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. Andrew Benintendi also had 15 homers this season, so essentially, the Sox used two players to get 30 homers and 124 RBIs out of a DH platoon. Benintendi totaled 78 RBIs as the left-handed part of that platoon, while Grichuk produced 44 RBIs. 

4. Murakami's power. There were some ups and downs for Munetaka Murakami in his rookie season. He was good the first two months, good enough to make the All-Star team, and then he missed six weeks with a hamstring injury. Then he struggled for a good chunk of the second half, although he has come on the last 10 days of the season. He has four homers and 11 RBIs in his past 10 games, during which the Sox went 7-3. Yes, the strikeout totals are high at 196 for the year. But is anyone complaining about a team-high 35 homers, a .347 OBP and a .478 slugging percentage? I think you take that from your first baseman.

5. Chase Meidroth's improvement. The Sox haven't had the same Opening Day starter at second base two years in a row since Tadahito Iguchi. Meidroth appears poised to end that streak next season, as he posted a 4.5 bWAR season, second on the team only to Vargas. Meidroth finishes the season at .276/.350/.415 with 16 homers, 63 RBIs, 31 doubles, 90 runs scored and a chance to be a finalist for a Gold Glove at second base. For the third player acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade with Boston, this is a pleasant development.

When you finish one game out of the division lead, there's always a few things you wish could have gone a little bit better. After all, the Sox were one win away from getting a bye into the AL Division Series. Here are five of those things:

1. Shane Smith's fall into oblivion. Remember the Sox Opening Day starter? Smith was the feel-good story of the 2025 season, the former Rule 5 draft pick who established himself as a rotation stalwart. Or so we thought. Smith got lit up by the Milwaukee Brewers in that first game. He made three starts, losing two, and posting a 10.80 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Between injury and poor performance, he never made it back to Chicago in 2026 after those first three terrible starts.

2. Catching situation becomes a mess. The Sox felt so confident in their catching situation that they made a bobblehead out of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. Alas, Teel got hurt in the World Baseball Classic, and two separate stints on the injured list limited him to 39 games and a .697 OPS. Quero was healthy, but his struggles kept him shuttling between Chicago and Charlotte throughout the year. He batted just .203 with a .540 OPS in 69 games. Drew Romo ended up catching 61 games for the Sox, during which he batted .144. Yuck. Reese McGuire, Joey Bart and Jake Rogers also spent time on this roster. None were very good. Fortunately, Teel is healthy for the playoffs.

3. Costly September losing streak. From Sept. 2 to Sept. 16, the Sox lost 10 out of 14 games. The stretch included a ghastly sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and losing two out of three to the also-ran St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, a ninth-inning homer by Grichuk -- with two outs and two strikes -- was the only thing that saved the Sox from being swept in St. Louis. That stretch of bad ball concluded with the Sox losing two out of three at Cleveland, and well, when you lose a division by one game, that series looms large. In the second game of that series, the Sox led 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. They were one strike from victory. They lost 7-6. Ultimately, that two-game swing flipped the division.

4. Colson Montgomery's late-season fade. Remember early in the season? We were talking about Montgomery being one of the best shortstops in the league, along with Bobby Witt. We were talking about him being the clear best shortstop in Chicago, ahead of the North Side's Dansby Swanson. That all turned to dust the second half of the season. Montgomery totaled 31 homers and 87 RBIs, yes, and that's good for a middle infielder. But he also set a MLB record for strikeouts in a season with 227. And in September? Montgomery went 8 for 81 with 42 strikeouts. Good grief.

5. Rough trade deadline. The Sox have a host of first- and second-year players on the roster, and they definitely could have used some veteran midseason reinforcements. They didn't really get them, although Huascar Brazoban and Brenton Doyle are making a late push to try to salvage the situation. After being initially ineffective and missing nearly a month with a lat strain, Brazoban is unscored upon in his past four relief appearances since coming off the injured list. Doyle is 12 for 35 with three homers in his past 11 games. Like Grichuk, he homered in Sunday's season finale. The other two trade deadline acquisitions, Bart and Luis Castillo, the less said the better. Bart got hit by a pitch the first week he was with the Sox and hasn't played since. Castillo is 1-2 with an 8.42 ERA in nine appearances since joining the team. He's now on the injured list, so his "playoff experience" has been worthless.

Next stop, Houston. The wild card series is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, with all three games at 4 p.m. Games will be televised on NBC Sports Network and Peacock. If you are a Comcast subscriber in the Chicago area, NBC Sports Network is on Channel 1211.

Lopsided loss to Yankees slows down White Sox good vibes

By any objective measure, the White Sox just completed their most impressive homestand of the season -- and maybe their most impressive homestand in several years.

They won both games of a rain-shortened series against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, and they took two out of three from the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

That's a 4-1 record against perhaps the two best teams in baseball. The Sox are 20-4 in their last 24 home games. They've beaten good teams, bad teams and mediocre teams during that stretch. The vibes are good at Rate Field.

Too bad the good vibes aren't traveling with the Sox, who had a rough start to a six-game road trip Tuesday night. The New York Yankees, who have the best record in the American League, stomped the Sox, 12-2 in the Bronx.

The Sox are 24-12 at home, which pencils out to an outstanding .667 winning percentage. But after this latest loss, they are 14-21 on the road -- a .400 winning percentage. Not great. 

What's the difference? Run prevention.

At home, the Sox have a team ERA of 3.41. On the road, they entered Tuesday's play with a 5.30 ERA. After this debacle with the Yankees, that figure is up to 5.49, if my math is correct.

The defense isn't helping. Tuesday's third inning was a case in point. The game was tied at 1 through two innings, and there were no signs that the Sox were in any sort of trouble. But it spiraled very quickly after back-to-back misplays.

It all started when New York catcher J.C. Escarra beat a shifted defense with a check-swing roller into left field. Escarra stretched the single into a double, but he should have been out at second base. Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci got the ball to second base in time, but Chase Meidroth missed the tag.

Anthony Volpe followed with what looked like a routine grounder to Meidroth, but for some reason, Sox first baseman Jacob Gonzalez forgot to the cover the bag. It was ruled an "infield single."

There should have been two outs and nobody on. Instead, the Yankees had runners on first and third with nobody out. By the time that inning was over, Sox pitcher Davis Martin (9-3) had thrown 40 pitches, and the Yankees led 5-1.

New York tacked on six more runs in the fourth inning against a tiring and flustered Martin and reliever Chris Murphy, and the rout was on.

By no means is Martin without blame in this situation. He had given up three home runs in 13 starts and 78.1 innings prior to Tuesday's game. In this start, he gave up three homers in 3.1 innings. His ERA swelled from 2.41 to 3.31. It was brutal, and a poor outing on the big stage in the Bronx (perhaps wrongfully) weakens his case to make the All-Star team.

But it all started with bad defense. On the road, against good offenses, in tough environments, you can't afford to give an opponent five outs in an inning. The Sox have done that a fair amount away from home this season, and it's contributing to the bad road record.

That said, the Sox are 38-33, and they remain percentage points ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race. They are weathering this difficult stretch of schedule against elite teams nicely. You just hope to see a crisper performance Wednesday night. 

White Sox pitcher David Sandlin dominates Twins in MLB debut

David Sandlin's first major league start probably couldn't have started much worse. The second pitch of his career got knocked out the park by Minnesota's Byron Buxton.

After that? Sandlin probably couldn't have done much better. He was outstanding, retiring the next 18 batters he faced to earn his first career victory as the White Sox throttled the Twins, 15-2, on Wednesday at Rate Field.

Yesterday, I said Sandlin would probably go five innings or 75 pitches, whichever came first. Ha! Shows what I know.

The 25-year-old right-hander needed only 61 pitches to get through six innings. He struck out four, walked nobody and threw 41 of those 61 pitches for strikes. He got seven swing-and-misses, and his fastball topped out at 99 mph. When Sandlin walked off the mound after the top of the sixth, he left with a comfortable 9-1 lead.

There are few Sox debuts this successful. Even a cynical fan like me thought this performance was awesome.

The Sox offense had a great game, too, as they pummeled Minnesota pitching for 15 runs on 18 hits. They had two five-run innings, one in the fifth and one in the seventh.

The seventh inning featured back-to-back home runs by Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami. For Meidroth, it was his fifth homer of the season and first career grand slam. For Murakami, the solo shot was his 20th homer of the season. That leads the American League, and it's the most home runs by a rookie before June in MLB history.

Murakami has homered in all three games of this Minnesota series. On Wednesday, he was 2 for 4 with three runs scored. There's really no question that his addition has completely changed the complexion of the Sox lineup.

Sam Antonacci went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, including a two-run single in the second inning that erased the early 1-0 Minnesota lead and put the Sox ahead to stay. Randal Grichuk was 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

Meidroth, Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters also had two-hit games for the Sox, who improve to 28-27, maintain second place and stay 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.

Game 4 of this series is Thursday afternoon, with the Sox hoping for a series win, and the Twins looking to salvage a split. 

White Sox call up David Sandlin; Noah Schultz hits the IL

The White Sox have called up right-handed pitching prospect David Sandlin, and he will make the start Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field.

Sandlin, 25, was acquired along with Jordan Hicks in an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox. He dealt with a sore forearm in spring training, and he has been ramping up in the minor leagues after recovering from the early-season injury.

He has a 0.75 ERA across four outings with Triple-A Charlotte, the last of which lasted four innings. We should not expect Sandlin to pitch deep into the ballgame Wednesday night. It will probably be 75 pitches or five innings, whichever comes first.

Sandlin takes the roster spot of Noah Schultz, who has been placed on the injured list with right knee patella tendinitis. This is the same injury the 22-year-old lefty dealt with in 2025, when he was limited to 17 games and 73 innings.

Schultz has struggled as of late. He's 0-3 with a 9.87 ERA over his past four starts. Worse, he's walked 10 batters in 17.1 innings over that same span. Schultz had the reputation of a strike-thrower during his time in the minor leagues, so the mounting walks have been a head-scratcher.

Perhaps he was pitching at less than 100%, and if so, he shouldn't be pitching. We'll see if Sandlin, who has a high-90s fastball, can fill the gap in the short run.

Twins 5, White Sox 3 (11 innings)

Brooks Lee's 3-run double in the top of the 11th inning off Tyler Davis (2-2) allowed the Twins to take the second game of the four-game series Tuesday at Rate Field.

After getting ahead 0-2 in the count with two fastballs with the bases loaded and one out, Davis tried to trick Lee with splitter, and it did not work. 

The Sox were fortunate to get the game into extra innings. They managed only three hits off Minnesota starter Joe Ryan through the first seven innings. However, with the Twins leading 2-0, Rikuu Nishida singled to open the eighth inning, and one out later, Munetaka Murakami hit his 19th home run of the season to even the score at 2.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Sox had their chance. They had runners on first and third with one out for Murakami, but he hit a one-hopper right at Minnesota first baseman Josh Bell that resulted in an inning-ending double play.

That set the stage for Lee to deliver the decisive hit that made the score 5-2. In the bottom of the 11th, the Sox got their ghost runner home on an RBI single by Chase Meidroth, but that was as close as they could get.

The Sox are 27-27, 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.

White Sox position players: A way-too-early projection

Last week around this time, I offered some thoughts on how the White Sox pitching staff stacks up as the calendar turns to 2026. 

There is still ample offseason remaining, and there are plenty of free agents still available. So, we're a long way from knowing who the Sox will put on the field on Opening Day. But here's a best guess on who the position players would be as we sit here the second week of January:

C: Kyle Teel. You often hear Teel's name mentioned in the same breath as Edgar Quero, but for this exercise, we need to pick one starting catcher. We'll go with Teel on the basis of his better bat -- a 121 OPS+ last season -- and the fact that he was the centerpiece of the trade return in the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. That alone makes the organization heavily invested in Teel's success.

1B: Munetaka Murakami: You probably won't see a bigger free agent outlay from the Sox this offseason, after they gave a two-year, $34 million contract to the Japanese slugger. A 25-year-old left-handed batter, Murakami once slugged 56 homers in a season, and he has 246 career home runs over eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Sure, the swing-and-miss rates are high on this player, but the Sox need power, and this was a worthwhile gamble. At least they did something!

2B: Chase Meidroth: The 24-year-old batted .253/.329/.320 in his rookie season. There isn't much power there, and Meidroth will need to improve upon the 84 OPS+ he posted last year to stick as an everyday player. He's competent at both middle infield positions, which helps his cause, although his arm is more suited to second base.

SS: Colson Montgomery: Just when I was ready to write this guy off as a prospect, he comes to the majors and slugs 21 home runs in 71 games. A .529 slugging percentage will play, but is it sustainable? Montgomery struck out 83 times in 284 plate appearances. You can live with some swing-and-miss with that kind of power, but I would like to see a little more contact this season. The good thing is Montgomery proved to me that he can play shortstop. Unlike Meidroth, he absolutely has the arm strength to play on the left side of the infield.

3B: Miguel Vargas: The acquisition of Murakami moves Vargas across the diamond to third base. The 2025 season was an up-and-down one for Vargas, but after a disastrous Sox debut in 2024, a 1.9 bWAR last year wasn't the worst possible outcome. Vargas batted .234/.316/.401 with 16 homers. You'd like to see him put the ball over the fence a little more, but he did contribute a team-high 32 doubles.

LF: Andrew Benintendi: It feels like the declining veteran has been here forever, but he's only been with the Sox three seasons. He has two years left on his contract, which feels as unmovable as ever. This is the gift from the Rick Hahn era that keeps on giving. Benintendi batted .240/.307/.431 with 20 homers last year. He's essentially a league-average offensive player. But a chronic Achilles' injury has sapped all his defensive value, and the Sox have said he might be slated for more time at DH this season.

CF: Luis Robert Jr.: He's still here! The Sox continue to value Robert Jr. as a premium trade piece, but other teams do not see him in that light. Therefore, I remain skeptical that there's any deal to be made, despite rampant trade rumors. Injuries limited Robert Jr. to 110 games last year. What else is new? He finished the year at .223/.297/.364 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs. He was playing well late in the season until a hamstring injury ended his year Aug. 26. Typical.

RF: Brooks Baldwin: I don't know what the Sox are going to do in right field. Mike Tauchman was non-tendered this offseason, and while there have been a few minor acquisitions in the outfield, none of them scream "starting right fielder" to me. We figure Baldwin will make the team and play somewhere, so let's put him in right field for now. Baldwin improved with the bat in the second half last season, hitting seven of his 11 homers and posting a .769 OPS after the All-Star break.

DH: Lenyn Sosa: What to do with Sosa? We can't ignore the fact that he led the Sox with 22 homers and 75 RBIs last season. But we also can't ignore that it only resulted in a 101 OPS+, because Sosa struck out 127 times and drew only 18 walks. We also can't ignore that Sosa doesn't play any position well. He can stand at first base or second, but he'll hurt your defense at either spot. Can they just put him at DH and hope for another 20 to 25 homers? A lot of Sox podcasters think a Sosa trade is coming, but rival GMs are aware of his shortcomings, too.

Bench

C: Quero: The 22-year-old didn't have a lot of power in his offensive profile, but you can do worse than .268/.338/.392 as a rookie. Quero has a good sense of the strike zone for a young hitter, and while his receiving behind the plate still needs work, he's pretty good at picking guys off third base. He'll at least get a couple of starts a week behind the plate, and we'll see how the Sox handle the DH spot this year. Will both Teel and Quero be in the lineup at the same time? 

INF: Curtis Mead: The 25-year-old infielder came over in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay last year, but he didn't do much with the opportunities he got in 41 games. He didn't hit a single homer in a Sox uniform -- a red flag for a corner infielder -- and batted just .240/.280/.304. Supposedly, much like Vargas the prior year, the Sox had some "offseason adjustments" they wanted Mead to make. He's out of options, so his time could be running out. But I think he's on the roster for now.

OF: Derek Hill: Somebody has got to play center field when Robert Jr. is ouchie, right? I figure that's the reason the Sox tendered the journeyman Hill a contract. The 29-year-old is on his sixth organization because he's a lifetime .229 hitter. He's not going to give you much with the bat, but hey, he can play the outfield. That's a skill. Michael A. Taylor has retired, so Hill seems to be penciled into that role for now. 

C: Korey Lee: I don't know what to do with the final bench spot, so I'll give it to the most competent guy on the 40-man roster who I haven't mentioned. That's Lee, who has a good throwing arm behind the plate and seems to work with pitchers well. Unlike other catchers, he has some base running ability, so he can be used as a pinch runner late in the game for the slow-footed Quero. And hey, if you want to DH either Teel or Quero, it's probably not a bad idea to have Lee around on the bench for catching emergencies. This probably isn't a great case for keeping Lee, but I'm not impressed with the other options.

Speaking of other options, they include outfielders Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters, and infielder Bryan Ramos. The Sox also inked post-hype prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal, so he'll be another name to watch in spring for the outfield mix.

But anyway, I'm hoping the Sox add another outfielder to the roster at some point, and then Baldwin can shift back into the utility role that best suits him. Only 76 days until the season begins. What will change between now and then? 

SoxFest boycott to continue in 2026

When the last weekend in January comes, I'll once again have the feeling that I ought to be doing something. Alas, we will once again be boycotting SoxFest on the grounds that team management is giving us a cheapened experience.

In years past, we were regulars at SoxFest. It used to be a three-day event at a downtown Chicago hotel. It was at the Hyatt. Then it was at the Palmer House. Then it was at the Hilton. In 2020, it was at McCormick Place, and we stayed at one of the adjacent hotels.

Somewhere along the line, it got reduced from three days to two, because "people want to watch the NFL." I'd rather poke my eyes out than watch an NFL game, but SoxFest was still a fun event even when it was two days.

Even if the team was expected to suck (which most of the time it did), you got to spend a weekend in January in the city, mingling with other baseball people and talking baseball with your friends. It was good for the soul.

And I'll be honest: Even though I'm no longer a season ticket holder, and even though I think the 2026 White Sox are going to be bad, if they had an old-school SoxFest like back in the day, I'd buy a weekend pass in a second.

But that's not what they're doing, and they haven't done it for a while. From 2021-23, the Sox canceled the event, hiding behind the COVID-19 excuse for two years longer than they should have.

In 2024, the Sox conducted a lame meet-and-greet for season ticket holders at the Chicago Field Museum. I mean, who wouldn't want to rub elbows with Pedro Grifol and the members of a team that was destined to go 41-121? I wasn't welcome because I had canceled my tickets, and frankly, I didn't want to go anyway.

Then last year, they gave fans a "reimagined SoxFest Live" at the "historic Ramova Theatre" in Bridgeport. That's the format this year, too, with the event scheduled for Jan. 30-31. Only season ticket holders are welcome on Friday, and apparently, the program is the exact same thing on both days.

I heard that last year, fans weren't allowed to ask their own questions of the GM and manager. Only "preapproved" questions were allowed, and broadcaster Len Kasper did all the asking.

No thanks, if I'm going to pay money for this, I want to ask my own questions -- not listen to Kasper ask Will Venable how he uses analytics. That's the equivalent of an interview you can hear on the pregame show every day during the season. This is supposed to be a fan event, so let the fans speak.

Right now, the list of players scheduled to appear is unimpressive. For what it's worth, quite a few of the guys who matter on the 2026 roster will be there: Davis Martin, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Luis Robert Jr., Shane Smith, Grant Taylor, Kyle Teel and Miguel Vargas. Also on the list are prospects Tanner McDougal and Sam Antonacci.

But no former players? Forgive me, but us older guys like it when the players of the past come back. They have the best stories, and no longer being in the league, they tend to be more candid and less guarded than the athletes of today. 

Honestly, what's the appeal here? You want me to spend money to hang out for three hours in a small, renovated theater with no parking to hear guys respond to canned questions and recite cliches about how they hope to improve upon last year's 60-102 record?

I'll pass. Bring back the old SoxFest, and I'll come back. I promise. 

Fraser Ellard, Bryan Ramos join White Sox as September callups

Major League Baseball rosters expanded to 28 on Monday, with each team being allowed to add one pitcher and one position player for September.

No matter what the White Sox did, it probably wasn't going to be all that inspirational. They chose two players we've seen before: left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard and infielder Bryan Ramos.

The 27-year-old Ellard has been struggling all season. He made the Sox out of spring training, but he didn't do much with the opportunity. He appeared in eight games, going 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA. Then he got hurt. Twice. 

Ellard has since made 23 appearances at Triple-A Charlotte, where he is 2-1 with a 6.84 ERA. 

It's not great, but that didn't stop the Sox from throwing Ellard right into the fire Monday. He was used as the opener in a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ellard got five outs and would have completed two innings if not for an error on third baseman Curtis Mead. He was charged with an unearned run, as he walked three batters despite not allowing a hit. That said, the Sox were leading 3-0 when he walked off the mound with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning. It could have been worse.

Ramos batted .202/.252/.333 in 32 games with the wretched 2024 Sox, but we hadn't seen him in Chicago this season until Monday.

His season started with an elbow injury, and when he came off the injured list in April, he slumped badly in Triple-A Charlotte. But, he has shown signs of life in the second half, and he's already on the 40-man roster, so perhaps that's why he's getting an opportunity.

Ramos is batting .218/.317/.391 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs in Charlotte this season. Not impressive, right? However, it's only fair to look at what's been happening recently:

• First half: .194/.305/.358
• Second half: .254/.336/.440 

That second half isn't anything great, but hey, it's palatable. Ramos appeared as a pinch runner in the eighth inning Monday, replacing Chase Meidroth, who had twisted an ankle earlier in the game.

Ramos ended up scoring the game-tying run on a double by Brooks Baldwin. Moments later, Mike Tauchman doubled home Baldwin as part of a two-run eighth that turned a 5-4 Sox deficit into a 6-5 win.

Some other highlights from Monday:

• Colson Montgomery hit his 16th homer of the season. He has homered in each of the four games he's played against Minnesota.
• Meidroth hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast off a hanging slider from Minnesota starter Bailey Ober in the second inning.
• Jordan Leasure retired all four batters he faced for his team-leading fifth save. Yes, five saves is enough to lead the Sox bullpen.

The Sox are 50-88, and they have evened the season series with the Twins at 5-5. 

White Sox trounce Royals in series opener

Maybe a different venue is all it takes? Consider these numbers:

• White Sox record vs. Royals at Kansas City: 0-7
• White Sox record vs. Royals at Rate Field: 3-1
• White Sox runs scored vs. Royals in three games Aug. 15-17: 5
• White Sox runs scored vs. Royals in the first four innings Monday: 6

The Sox were ready for Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron (7-6) on Monday night at Rate Field, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth. The early offense led to an easy 7-0 victory.

After Chase Meidroth started the bottom of the first with a single, the Sox stacked up three run-scoring doubles by Edgar Quero, Lenyn Sosa and Curtis Mead to take a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Sox hit back-to-back homers. Korey Lee's two-run shot made it 5-0. Brooks Baldwin followed with a solo blast.

But perhaps the story of this game was starting pitcher Shane Smith (4-7), who needed only 80 pitches to complete seven innings of shutout ball. Smith struck out three, walked one and allowed just one hit. He threw 54 of his 80 pitches for strikes. 

After a midseason malaise, the rookie right-hander looks rejuvenated since coming off the injured list on Aug. 1. In five starts this month, Smith is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA. He's got 24 strikeouts against 11 walks across 27.1 innings pitched. He's allowed only 16 hits, which means he's only allowing one batter to reach base per inning over that span. 

That's what you're looking for from a starting pitcher.

Tyler Gilbert pitched two innings of scoreless relief to finish off a combined two-hitter in Monday's game.

The Sox are 48-83. 

Garrett Crochet trade return: Too soon to celebrate it?

The White Sox reached the halfway point of the season Wednesday with a 7-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Their record stands at 26-55, which means they are on pace for 52 wins this season. That would be an 11-game improvement over last year's 41-121 disaster.

You might say an 11-game improvement feels a little better when you go from, say, 83 wins to 94, as opposed to 41 wins to 52. Even if that's what ends up happening here, you won't catch me celebrating it.

Speaking of celebrating, I've seen some fans on Twitter celebrating the offseason trade of Garrett Crochet, now that three of the four players the Sox acquired from the Boston Red Sox are in the major leagues.

Crochet, of course, is pitching exceptionally well in Boston. That comes as no surprise. He's 7-4 with a 2.06 ERA in 17 starts, and he leads American League pitchers in strikeouts (135), innings pitched (109.1) and bWAR (3.8).

The Red Sox are a mediocre team, but hey, it isn't Crochet's fault. He's an All-Star, and everyone knows it. The question is, did Chicago do well with the players it acquired in its signature offseason move? Let's evaluate:

Kyle Teel, C: Teel put up an .886 OPS in 50 games in Triple-A Charlotte and made his MLB debut on June 6 against the Royals. In 14 games since he joined Chicago, he's batting .282/.408/.359. He's yet to hit a home run, and he didn't have an extra-base hit until this past week. That's the bad news.

But the good news is he's 5 for 14 with three doubles in his past five games, raising his OPS from .615 to .767. When the sample size is small, a player can go from below average to a 120 OPS+ pretty quickly, and that's what Teel has done this week.

The 23-year-old, left-handed hitter has looked competent defensively, and his framing has been better than fellow young catcher Edgar Quero, which has allowed him to get the majority of the starts behind the plate.

One interesting story to follow the second half: How do the Sox dole out the playing time for these two young catchers? I see a lot of fans upset when whichever guy isn't catching doesn't start at DH. Me personally, I'm not a fan of using the second catcher as a DH -- especially when neither catcher is an elite hitter.  

Teel has the kind of athleticism that suggests he could move to the outfield or first base seamlessly. The problem with that is he's a better catcher than Quero right now, and that makes me reluctant to call for that. Of course, Quero is only 22 years old himself, and he most certainly can improve. 

It could be that Quero becomes the everyday catcher long term, and Teel makes a position change. Or maybe Teel is the catcher, and Quero becomes trade fodder. The competition between the two and the team's handling of it should be fascinating to follow. Having two potential solutions at the position is a good problem to have. You rarely state that about the Sox.

Braden Montgomery, OF: This is the first season in pro ball for the 22-year-old, who is currently at High-A Winston Salem.

Montgomery started the season in Low-A Kannapolis, and he tore the Carolina League apart in 18 games to earn a quick promotion, hitting .304/.393/.493 with 19 RBIs. His numbers at Winston have been good. Not spectacular, but good. 

He's batting .271/.345/.475 with with seven homers, 12 doubles, two triples and 30 RBIs in 48 games. Montgomery is probably the highest-upside hitter in the organization, but it's too early to say whether he will one day become a stalwart in Chicago. 

Right now, the plan is probably to finish the year in High-A. Maybe there's another promotion to Double-A Birmingham coming later this year if his numbers go from good to dominant.

Chase Meidroth, SS/2B: I don't think we expected Meidroth to be the everyday shortstop in Chicago this season, but that's how it has worked out. When the season started, we heard a lot of Colson Montgomery hype, but with Montgomery still flailing at Triple-A, Meidroth has made the most of his opportunity.

After posting a 1.050 OPS in nine game at Triple-A Charlotte to start the season, Meidroth got a quick call-up to Chicago, and he's been a surprisingly good defensive shortstop. Scouts have said his long-term future is at second base, and maybe they are right. That said, I don't feel nervous when the opposition hits the ball to Meidroth at short. He's handled most everything that he's supposed to handle.

At the plate, he got off to a good start, but he's cooled significantly as of late. He's currently batting .264/.347/.317. His OPS+ is 90, which means he's 10% below league average at the position.

Over his past 12 games, Meidroth has slumped to a .163/.222/.163 slash line in 54 plate appearances. It's ugly, but it's also not a huge sample. An overall on-base percentage near .350 with good defense will play, if Meidroth can right the ship and maintain that over the course of a whole season.

I've seen some fans touting Meidroth as a member of the future core of the next good Sox team. Let's pump the brakes on that. The 23-year-old has earned the right to continue to play every day. That is fact. However, we still need to see whether his offense will hold up over the long haul.

Wikelman Gonzalez, RHP: The 23-year-old began the season by making four starts at Double-A Birmingham, but then he was converted to a reliever and promoted to Triple-A Charlotte, where he had a 2.75 ERA across 12 appearances and 16.1 innings.

That was good enough to earn a promotion to Chicago. Gonzalez made his MLB debut on June 20 against Toronto. He's made two appearances thus far, both lasting two innings. He allowed one run in both. He struck out five in four innings. That's good. He's walked four in four innings. That's bad.

But the stuff looks pretty good when Gonzalez throws it in the zone. Once again, it's too early to say whether this guy is a future bullpen stalwart, but he's shown enough so far to get some more opportunity.

Right now, it's just too early to do any victory lap about the Crochet trade. Every player the Sox acquired in this deal has had encouraging moments. It's a good sign that none of the three who have been called to the majors have fallen flat on their face. 

We've seen so much incompetence as a fan base that sometimes when we see competence in rookies, we get a little out over our skis and anoint them as the next big thing a little too soon. My final verdict: Be hopeful for these guys, but understand there is still a long way to go before they can be called established players. 

Shane Smith leads White Sox to rare home win vs. Tigers

It had been almost two years to the day since the White Sox last defeated the Detroit Tigers in Chicago.

Coming into Tuesday's game at Rate Field, the Tigers had won the past 11 games they had played on the South Side. The last win for Chicago? It came on June 4, 2023, when Jake Burger hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 6-2 victory. 

Any Sox fan can be forgiven for not feeling optimistic about this four-game series against Detroit, especially after the first-place Tigers beat the snot out of the Sox in the opening game Monday.

However, in a pleasant surprise, the Sox bounced back with an 8-1 victory Tuesday night. 

The Chicago offense kicked into gear late in the game, scoring seven runs from the sixth inning on. Credit starting pitcher Shane Smith (2-3) with keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard until the bats woke up.

Smith tossed 5.1 scoreless innings to earn his second big league win. He allowed just three hits, all singles, while striking out six and walking two. His season ERA falls to a rotation-best 2.45.

Michael A. Taylor worked a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead, and that's where the score stood when Smith finished his outing.

The Sox broke it open in the sixth, when Taylor hit his third home run of the season, a 3-run shot with two outs that increased the Sox lead to 4-0.

After Detroit got one in the seventh, the Sox added two more in the bottom of the inning on a two-out, two-run double by Austin Slater that made it 6-1.

Chicago scored six of its eight runs with two outs, which was nice to see. 

RBI singles by Mike Tauchman and Chase Meidroth increased the Sox lead to 8-1 in the eighth. That set the stage for a stress-free top of the ninth, as Chicago reliever Dan Altavilla retired the Tigers in order.

The Sox improve to 19-42. Hey, they are only 20.5 games back of the Tigers now! 

Bad pitching will always beat bad hitting (apparently)

The Baltimore Orioles have a 5.29 team ERA, which ranks 14th in the American League and 28th overall in Major League Baseball.

Only the Athletics and the Colorado Rockies are worse. 

In other words, on average, the Orioles give up more than five earned runs every time they take the field. But that didn't stop the White Sox from posting a grand total of five runs (only four of which were earned) in a three-game series at Baltimore over the weekend.

The Orioles (22-36) swept the series, beating the Sox 2-1 on Friday, 4-2 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.

It was a truly spectacular failure by the South Siders, who piled up 29 strikeouts in the three defeats. 

There are two players we will excuse from blame. Mike Tauchman went 6 for 12 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs in the series. Andrew Benintendi went 4 for 11 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.

No other Sox player had an RBI. There was one run scored Sunday on an error, hence no RBI credit was given.

Let's take a look at some of the horrible stat lines we saw from other Sox batters this weekend, in order of terribleness:

• Luis Robert Jr., 0 for 10, seven strikeouts
• Miguel Vargas, 1 for 12, two strikeouts
• Joshua Palacios, 1 for 10, three strikeouts 
• Edgar Quero, 1 for 7, four strikeouts
• Josh Rojas, 2 for 10, three strikeouts
• Chase Meidroth, 2 for 9, one strikeout
• Lenyn Sosa, 3 for 10, three strikeouts

OK, maybe we can forgive Sosa. There was no production associated with his 3 for 10, but that's a .300 batting average, and Sosa looks like Babe Ruth in comparison to Robert Jr.

Baltimore has a pitching staff that opposing teams have been padding their numbers against, but the only thing the Sox padded this weekend is their strikeout totals.

The Sox are 18-41, and it's getting a little frustrating to still hear people claim that the team is "making progress," or "turning a corner," or "showing signs of improvement."

Let's be real here: The Sox are on pace to go 49-113. Yes, that's better than the 2024 Sox, who went 41-121. Yes, they are better than the aforementioned Rockies, who are 9-50 and on pace to obliterate previous records of futility. That's nice, but so what?

The fact is the 2025 season will ultimately result in the second-worst Sox team in my lifetime, ahead of only last year. I turn 49 years old next month. I'm not new here. 

We are once again witnessing historical ineptitude, no matter what way you try to spin it. 

Has Kansas City replaced Oakland as the White Sox house of horrors?

For years and years, the White Sox seemingly couldn't win a game in Oakland to save their lives. Now that the Athletics have moved to Sacramento, the Oakland Coliseum is no longer a place for teams to visit.

But it seems to me that Kansas City has replaced Oakland as the house of horrors for the Sox. During the Pedro Grifol era (2023-24), the Sox went 2-11 at Kauffman Stadium -- including 0-7 in 2024.

During those seven games, the White Sox scored eight runs. Total. Averaging just over one run per game generally gets you beat. Then on Monday night, the Sox got shut out, 3-0, in their first game of 2025 in Kansas City.

The continuation of a trend.

Believe it or not, the Sox scored three runs on Tuesday night. Their cup runneth over! And they took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. But then this sequence of events happened:

1. Relief pitcher Cam Booser walked pinch-hitter Mark Canha on five pitches.
2. Drew Waters hit a routine infield fly. Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth missed the ball, and it clanged off his face into right field. Canha held at first, understandably believing the ball would be caught. Sox right fielder Michael A. Taylor had a chance to force Canha at second, but his throw airmailed Sox shortstop Jacob Amaya, and everyone was safe. You read that right: The ball hit Meidroth right in the face.
3. Freddy Fermin attempted to give the Sox an out with a sacrifice bunt. But Booser was slow to cover the bunt up the third-base line. By the time he retrieved the ball, the Sox had no play anywhere. Bases loaded, no outs.
4. Kyle Isbel popped up to third baseman Josh Rojas. The ball did not hit him in the face. He caught it. Even if he hadn't, the infield fly rule was called. One out.
5. With the infield at double-play depth, Jonathan India grounded one back up the middle. Amaya ranged to his left and dove to glove the ball. From the seat of his pants, he made a toss to second to try to get the force, but it was errant. Everyone was safe. Tying run scores. Bases still loaded.
6. Kansas City's all-world shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a deep fly ball to center field. Luis Robert Jr. let it drop for a walk-off single. Even if he had made the catch, it would have been a game-winning sacrifice fly.

4-3 Royals. The Sox are 10-26. There are 126 games left to play. 

White Sox drop 3 out of 4 in Boston

It isn't even May, but the White Sox have already suffered through an eight-game losing streak and a six-game losing streak this season.

But at least they won't go 0-81 on the road this season, right? The Sox are now 1-9 away from home after dropping three out of four to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. 

Here's a look back at the wraparound series from Easter weekend:

Friday, April 18

Red Sox 10, White Sox 3: What was your favorite memory of the Martin Perez era? It probably wasn't this game, as Perez gave up four runs in the first three innings before departing after 52 pitches with a left forearm injury.

Perez (1-1) has since been placed on the 60-day injured list, so we won't be seeing him in a Sox uniform again soon, if ever.

Boston's Trevor Story went 3 for 4 with two 3-run homers in this game, including one in the first inning off Perez and another off Tyler Gilbert in the seventh inning.

The Sox were limited to six hits, with Andrew Benintendi's third home run of the season being one of the few offensive highlights. Edgar Quero doubled during ninth inning garbage time for his first major league hit. 

Saturday, April 19

Red Sox 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings): The Sox were in rough shape after six innings in this one, trailing 3-0 against Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who fanned seven and allowed only four hits.

But the Red Sox went to the bullpen in the seventh inning, and Chicago capitalized with a three-run rally to tie the game. Chase Meidroth singled to make it 3-1, and Luis Robert Jr.'s second homer of the season -- a two-run shot -- evened the score.

But as I always say when the Sox tie a game late on the road, "Ehh, they'll just get walked off anyway." They did, indeed, get walked off. Triston Casas singled off Mike Vasil (0-1) with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to win the game for Boston. 

It was a three-hit game for Meidroth and a two-hit game for Quero, but those are the last hits we'll be seeing from Meidroth for at least a couple of weeks. He's now on the 10-day injured list with right thumb inflammation.

Sunday, April 20

White Sox 8, Red Sox 4: The Sox were 0-79 in 2024 when trailing after six innings. But this game ensures they will not put together a similar dubious record in that department this season. Chicago scored three in the seventh, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to erase a 4-2 deficit and snap a six-game losing streak.

Quero delivered the biggest hit, a two-run single that capped the three-run inning in the seventh and put the Sox ahead to stay. Former Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks took the mound in relief for Boston in the eighth, but Andrew Vaughn hit his third home run of the season -- a two-run blast -- to extend the Chicago lead. Matt Thaiss also had a two-run homer for the Sox, and he added an RBI in the ninth on a bases-loaded HBP.

That made a winner out of lefty Brandon Eisert (1-0) who got five outs in the middle of the game in relief of starter Sean Burke.

Monday, April 21

Red Sox 4, White Sox 2: The one day of winning was fun while it lasted, as Chicago's bats went silent again in the series finale.

Boston starter Walker Buehler struck out nine over seven innings of one-run ball. The Sox were limited to five hits and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Benintendi's fourth homer of the season in the eighth inning -- off Boston lefty Aroldis Chapman -- was one of the few good at-bats of the game for Chicago. Benintendi had two of the team's five hits.

Sox starter Jonathan Cannon (0-3) struggled early, giving four runs in the first three innings. To his credit, at least he pitched six innings, saving the bullpen for the next series. 

The Sox are now 5-17 and will head to Minnesota for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night.

Triple-A Charlotte: Is there anyone else for the White Sox to call up?

Chase Meidroth got called up from Triple-A Charlotte last Thursday, and his first three games as a member of the White Sox went well.

In 10 plate appearances against the Boston Red Sox, Meidroth went 3 for 7 with three singles, three walks and three runs scored. He played both second base and shortstop, and while I think he's better served at second base, Meidroth played mistake-free defense at both positions over the weekend.

It was a positive first impression, and that leads to this question: Is there anyone else in Charlotte who can help the White Sox now? Here are some notable names and how they are faring:

Edgar Quero, C: Quero has perhaps the most impressive stats of any of the Knights regulars. He's batting .326/.448/.418. That's 15 for 46 with 14 strikeouts and 11 walks. The only downside is Quero has only one double, one homer and four RBIs. Thirteen of his 15 hits are singles. There hasn't been much slugging in his game, but he's been getting on base. One thing we can't tell from the statistics is how Quero is doing defensively, and that's always a thing with catchers. It's the most important defensive position on the field, and it's more than offense that dictates when a catcher gets his chance.

Kyle Teel, C: Speaking of catchers, Teel is perhaps the most promising position player prospect in Chicago's system. He was the key player acquired in the deal where the White Sox sent ace lefty Garrett Crochet to Boston over the offseason. Teel's first three games of 2025 could not have gone any better. He started 6 for 12 with two homers and nine RBIs. But since then, he's fallen on hard times. He's in the midst of a 4-for-40 skid. He hasn't had a home run or an RBI since those first three games. His current slash line? .192/.323/.385. It's nothing to worry about this early in the season, but Teel is not a candidate for Chicago at this time because he's struggling. I believe in calling guys up when they are swinging the bat well.

Tim Elko, 1B: If there's one guy who probably should get a shot now, it's the 26-year-old Elko, who has hit at every level and has little to prove in the minor leagues. He's batting .365/.435/.448 with a homer, two doubles and seven RBIs through 12 games. Elko hasn't displayed much home run power yet this season, but we know it's in there. He had 28 homers in 2023 and 18 last season. The Sox are in need of a power bat in their lineup. They recently endured an 0-6 road trip during which they did not hit a single home run. The concern with Elko is always his high strikeout rate. He has 16 Ks in 46 plate appearances this season. But we are reaching a point where the Sox should find out whether Elko has anything to offer. 

Colson Montgomery, SS: Remember when Montgomery was considered Plan A at shortstop for the Sox this season? That idea went down in flames when Montgomery had a back injury and an unproductive spring training. The woes have continued through this opening stretch of the regular season. Montgomery is just 6 for 49, and he's already struck out a whopping 26 times. His batting line is .122/.204/.245. Apparently, Montgomery was 2 for 4 with his second home run of the season on Sunday, so I guess that's something. However, there's no indication that we'll see Montgomery anytime soon. In fact, he's struggled so mightily that I wonder why the front office was so bullish on him coming into the year.

Corey Julks, OF: The Sox are decimated by outfield injuries, with Mike Tauchman, Andrew Benintendi and Austin Slater on the IL. So, I was looking to see if there was anyone playing well in Charlotte who can stand at a corner outfield spot. The only guy I see is the erstwhile Julks, who appeared in 66 games with the Sox last season and batted only .214. But hey, he's batting .370/.452/.519 in 10 games with the Knights this year! Yes, he's a classic Quad-A player, but I wanted to put five guys on this list, so there you have it.

White Sox take 2 of 3 from Red Sox

The Boston broadcasting booth might have given the White Sox some bulletin board material before the start of this weekend's three-game series at Rate Field.

During a Thursday game between the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, play-by-play man Dave O'Brien stated, "The White Sox invent ways to lose games." Color commentator Will Middlebrooks added, "The trip to Chicago could be coming at a perfect time." 

Now we all get to laugh and point at Boston because the White Sox surprised most observers by taking two out of three games. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, April 11

White Sox 11, Red Sox 1: We're used to Chicago prospects coming up and looking terrible in their major league debuts, so it was refreshing to see Chase Meidroth make a positive first impression.

The rookie middle infielder went 1 for 1 with a single, three walks and two runs scored. It's pretty cool to make four plate appearances in your first game and come out with a 1.000 on-base percentage. Meidroth became the first White Sox player to walk three times in his MLB debut since Ray Morehart on Aug. 9, 1924. 

They should give free admission to anyone who saw Morehart play, but I digress.

Boston committed five errors in this game, leading to six unearned runs for the White Sox. Michael A. Taylor went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, and Lenyn Sosa had two hits and two RBIs to lead the South Siders' offense.

The 12-hit attack made life easy for starting pitcher Davis Martin (1-1), who worked six-plus innings and allowed just one run to pick up the victory. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.

Saturday, April 12

White Sox 3, Red Sox 2: Boston starting pitcher Richard Fitts was sailing along with a 2-0 lead through five innings, but the White Sox caught a break when Fitts departed in the sixth after experiencing pain in his pitching shoulder.

Reliever Zack Kelly walked Miguel Vargas, and one out later, Luis Robert Jr. connected for his first home run of the season to tie the score at 2.

It remained even until the bottom of the ninth, when Robert Jr. worked a leadoff walk against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. Robert Jr. eventually stole second and scored the winning run on a pinch-hit single by Brooks Baldwin.

Four Sox relievers combined to work 4.1 innings of scoreless ball. Most of the credit goes to Mike Vasil, who pitched two innings, and Jordan Leasure who got five outs across the eighth and ninth innings. Tyler Gilbert (1-0) was awarded the victory after he recorded the final out in the top of the ninth.

Sunday, April 13

Red Sox 3, White Sox 1: Former Chicago lefty Garrett Crochet got his revenge, taking a no-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning in the series finale.

In an interesting twist, Meidroth singled with one out in the eighth to break up the no-no. Most fans will recall that Meidroth was one of four players the White Sox acquired from Boston in the Crochet trade this past winter.

Meidroth eventually scored when Matt Thaiss singled off reliever Garrett Whitlock to slash the Boston lead to 2-1. In fact, the White Sox had runners on second and third with only one out, but they could not tie or take the lead. Pinch hitter Joshua Palacios struck out, and Vargas flew out to left to end the threat.

Trevor Story homered in the top of the ninth to restore the Red Sox lead to two runs, and Chapman got three outs in the bottom of the inning to pick up the save. Crochet struck out 11 and allowed only one hit and one walk in 7.1 innings pitched.

It was a tough-luck loss for Shane Smith (0-1), who allowed two runs over six strong innings. Smith's ERA is a respectable 2.04 through his first three MLB starts. Unfortunately, run support has mostly eluded him to this point in the season.

The White Sox are now 4-11. They'll take Monday off before hosting a three-game series against the Sacramento Athletics. I'm not sure we're supposed to call the A's that, but hey, they play their home games in Sacramento, so there's that.