If the White Sox only win the AL Central, does that qualify as a good season?

Tim Anderson

The White Sox's performance in Tampa Bay over the weekend didn't exactly convince me that this team is bound for October glory.

Admittedly, winning one out of three on the road against the team with the best record in the American League is hardly a disaster. In fact, it was probably an expected result.

However, watching these three games, I just didn't like *how* the results unfolded in this three-game series.

The Sox made it difficult on themselves in the one game they won -- a 7-5 victory in 11 innings Friday night. They got seven quality innings from Lucas Giolito and took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

That's when the super bullpen that is supposed to help carry the Sox in the playoffs is supposed to appear, right? 

Nope. Not this time. Craig Kimbrel and Aaron Bummer combined to give up three runs and send the Sox into the ninth inning facing a 5-4 deficit.

That's when Tim Anderson put on his Superman cape. He homered in the top of the ninth to tie it. Then he singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th and scored an insurance run to make it 7-5.

Anderson went 3 for 6 with four runs scored and basically won the game for the Sox. Great for him, but I would have preferred to see the bullpen lock up a nice, clean 4-2 win.

On Saturday, Dallas Keuchel made a start in his personal house of horrors. Lifetime at Tropicana Field, he's 0-5 with a 6.44 ERA in six starts. In this game, he gave up six runs on nine hits over five innings. He dug the Sox a 6-1 hole in an eventual 8-4 loss that was only somewhat competitive.

Keuchel's approach of throwing sinkers to induce ground balls just doesn't work on the turf in Tampa Bay. Those grounders were shooting past the Sox infielders all afternoon.

But if you thought Saturday was noncompetitive, you should have seen Sunday, when the Sox lost 9-0. Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer left after two innings with a hip injury, but four Rays relievers covered the last seven innings with astonishingly little difficulty. It took the Sox until the sixth inning to get a runner to second base.

Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez was mediocre -- he allowed three runs over four innings -- but he would have had to give up negative runs to have any chance of winning this game. It was ugly in all facets.

So, where does this series loss leave the Sox? Well, they are 72-53, still 9.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Barring a historic collapse in the final 37 games of the season, the Sox will win their division and go to the playoffs. And if they do, the achievement is not insignificant -- the Sox haven't won their division since 2008.

The question is, if the Sox win the AL Central, then make a quick exit in the AL Division Series, does that still qualify as a good season? 

It seems as though that's the most likely outcome. The Sox are certainly better than the Cleveland Indians or anyone else in their division, but they would be clear underdogs in a five-game playoff series against Tampa Bay, the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees.

I mean, two or three years ago, every Sox fan would have killed for the opportunity to win the division and go to the playoffs. So, if you're happy about the way the season is going, you have every right to that joy.

But is that enough for this team? I'm going to say no. I'm not going to be happy if this team fails to win a playoff round, and it's because of the comments we've heard coming from the White Sox themselves, and others affiliated with the team.

The players, the front office, the broadcasters, they have all basically indicated that anything less than the World Series would be a disappointment. Hell, the GM said as much on the first day of spring training.

The Sox didn't hire Tony La Russa as manager to bow out in the first round of the playoffs, nor did they make a major move to acquire Kimbrel at the trade deadline to make a quick October exit.

This team expects to compete for a championship, and you cannot blame fans who hold them to that standard.

Unfortunately, the Sox are 7-15 on the road against winning teams this season, and this latest series against Tampa Bay was a kick-to-the-groin reminder that we're still waiting for the Sox to make that step forward from being a nice little team to being a legitimate title contender.

Will Todd Frazier get his batting average above the Mendoza Line?

Todd Frazier (right) with Daryl Boston

There was an unintentionally humorous moment in the second inning of the White Sox game Tuesday night. Broadcaster Ken Harrelson was talking about how Todd Frazier had put on quite a display of home run power during batting practice, and how that was evidence that Frazier was feeling pretty good about his swing.

Naturally, on the next pitch from Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer, Frazier was totally fooled, made an excuse-me swing and hit a slow roller to first base for an easy out. It was an embarrassing result, and it went counter to what Harrelson had just said.

But give Hawk credit. He quickly recovered to note that Frazier "won't feel good about that swing."

That said, Frazier did make a good swing in the ninth inning, when he blasted a 430-foot solo home run to center field off Tampa Bay reliever Ryan Garton. That provided the final run in a 4-2 Sox victory that snapped a five-game losing streak.

The 1-for-4 night raised Frazier's batting average to a still unsightly .196. The Sox third baseman got off to a terrible start this year. He didn't get his first hit until the fourth game of the season, and the high-water mark for his batting average this year is .200.

He's reached that plateau twice, once May 2 and again May 20. Alas, both times Frazier couldn't sustain anything resembling a hot streak, and his average plummeted back into the .170s on both occasions.

I can't say Harrelson is wrong with his comments. Frazier has five hits in his past three games, and he has homered in two games in a row. In the ideal world, the Sox would trade Frazier in July and take an extended look at Matt Davidson at third base the second half of the season. But for that to happen, Frazier needs to sustain some sort of competence with the bat over the next six weeks.

There isn't a big market for a player who hit .225 last season and is off to a slow start this year. But, you take a look at the American League East, and you see a tight race developing that could involve three or four teams. And you see the two teams at the top, New York and Boston, having question marks at third base.

Might those two clubs see Frazier as an upgrade over Chase Headley or Pablo Sandoval, respectively? Could the Sox create somewhat of a bidding war among the two AL East powers? Possibly. All Frazier really needs to do is hit .240 with power, and he's better than those two guys.

The question is, can he still hit .240? He hasn't done it yet since he's been with the Sox, and he needs to do it soon if there's going to be any demand for him in July. If he isn't traded, he becomes a candidate for reduced playing time the second half of the year, as the Sox will need to look at younger players during a rebuilding season.

Jose Quintana: Still with the White Sox, but hasn't been named Opening Day starter

Jose Quintana

CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes tweeted Wednesday that the White Sox still have not made a decision on their Opening Day starting pitcher. Manager Rick Renteria wants folks to "give him a few more days."

This is unusual, because if you take a look at the Sox's roster, there is no debate about who should be starting the home opener. Jose Quintana is a proven All-Star left-hander, easily one of the top 20 pitchers in the game, and probably top 15. Then, the Sox have four other guys in the rotation. There is substantial drop-off from Quintana to Carlos Rodon and Miguel Gonzalez, and then another drop-off to James Shields and Derek Holland.

So what's the delay in naming Quintana the starter for the first game? There must be something blowing in the wind on the trade market. The only reason for Renteria to start any other pitcher besides Quintana on April 3 would be because Quintana is no longer on the team.

Jeff Passan, Yahoo's MLB columnist, weighed in on Quintana's situation Wednesday, but there's nothing more to his report than the same things we've been reading from the Sox beat reporters all spring: "White Sox scouts are everywhere. They are willing to deal Quintana, but only for the right price, etc., etc. etc."

The teams mentioned as possible suitors are ones that we've been hearing all along -- the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Passan correctly notes the market for front-end pitching is bleak beyond Quintana. He says sources tell him that Milwaukee's Junior Guerra, who enjoyed a breakout season as a 31-year-old rookie (!) in 2016, is the next-best starting pitcher who might be available after Quintana.

And, the market might not be much stronger when we get to the middle of the season. Perhaps Oakland's Sonny Gray gets healthy and rebuilds his value. Perhaps not. Perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays fall out of the race and become more willing to deal Chris Archer. Perhaps not. Even if the Toronto Blue Jays falter, Quintana still would be a more attractive options for a contender than Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano.

The Sox are biding their time, hoping to get the deal they want, and gambling a little bit that Quintana will remain both healthy and effective until they make a move. The club's inability to commit to Quintana as the Opening Day starter makes it clear to me that there's something going on, but somewhat amazingly in this day and age, whatever is going on has been kept under the radar -- even from well-connected national baseball reporters such as Passan.

Do you suppose the Cubs wish they still had Chris Archer? Or Josh Donaldson?

As a matter of philsophy, I usually agree with the idea of trading prospects for proven veterans. After all, you generally know what you're going to get from a veteran player, and as a percentage, the overwhelming majority of prospects are busts.

If you take a look at what the White Sox have done over the last 10 or 15 years, most of former GM Ken Williams' trades have involved dealing future prospects to acquire help for the here and now. When I look at all the young players Williams traded, the only one I wish the Sox still had is Gio Gonzalez.

Strangely enough, the Sox traded him twice. In 2005, they sent him and Aaron Rowand to Philadelphia for Jim Thome (good trade). They reacquired him, along with Gavin Floyd, for Freddy Garcia in 2006 (also a decent trade). Then, they sent him to Oakland in 2008 with Ryan Sweeney and Fautino De Los Santos for Nick Swisher (terrible trade).

The rest of the players Williams traded, I can't say I miss.

Here are two guys the former GM of the Cubs (Jim Hendry) traded that I'll bet the current GM (Jed Hoyer) wishes he still had: Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer and Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson.

Archer, a 24-year-old right-hander, is having a breakout season for the Rays. He's 8-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts. He's allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of those outings. Pretty impressive for a kid who just joined the rotation on June 1 and is pitching in the rugged AL East. 

The Cubs acquired Archer from Cleveland in the Mark DeRosa deal in 2008, but in 2011, they flipped him to Tampa Bay in an eight-player deal that brought Matt Garza to the North Side of Chicago. Over 2 1/2 seasons, Garza went 21-18 in 60 starts for the Cubs. He, of course, is no longer on the team, having been traded to the Texas Rangers earlier this summer.

Meanwhile, the Rays have a potential ace on their roster. The Cubs are still looking for that guy. Some people in Chicago seem to believe Jeff Samardzija is an ace. I disagree. A 28-year-old with a 4.13 ERA who is blowing 5-0 leads against the woeful Philadelphia Phillies is not an ace. He's a mid-rotation starter on a contender. The Cubs should consider trading him this offseason. He's not going to get any better than he is right now.

Donaldson, a 27-year-old third baseman, is a bit of a forgotten man. Most people haven't noticed his .296 average, 19 home runs and 77 RBIs this season because he plays for Oakland. Most people have probably also forgotten the Cubs selected him 48th overall in the 2007 draft.

In July of 2008, Donaldson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson were traded to Oakland for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin. At the time, Donaldson was the least talked about player of the four the Cubs gave up. Right now, he looks like the best player in that deal. He plays third base, too, and it seems like about half the teams in baseball are looking for someone to fill that position. It took five years, but that acquisition is paying dividends for the A's, who certainly do not miss Harden or Gaudin.

With both Chicago teams out of the pennant race this year, both clubs have traded some veterans for future considerations this summer. A couple years down the line, maybe they'll strike gold in some of these deals. Only time will tell. Most of the time, the team acquiring the veteran wins the trade. But every now and then, you seen a trade like the Archer deal or the Donaldson deal where the team acquiring the prospects prevails.