Eloy Jimenez to injured list; White Sox top Giants

Eloy Jimenez

Remember 15 or 20 years ago when White Sox fans would (rightfully) mock Cubs fans, who started every season by saying, "If Prior and Wood are healthy ..."?

Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were never healthy, and as a result, the Cubs of that era never lived up to the massive amount of hype they received in the local press.

Well, Sox fans, I hate to tell you this, but we are exactly like the Cubs fans of the Prior-Wood time frame right now. All we do is talk about how awesome our team would be if "they could just stay healthy," when the fact of the matter is the Sox are never healthy.

They haven't been healthy in three years, and there's no reason to believe players who are always getting hurt will stop getting hurt. 

Eloy Jimenez is the first core player to be sidelined this year. The 26-year-old designated hitter was injured running the bases during the seventh inning of Monday's loss to the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to be out 2-3 weeks with a hamstring strain, but with Jimenez's injury history, you have to be concerned that this will linger for longer than that.

Injuries limited Jimenez to only 55 games in 2021, and 84 games in 2022. The guy is a prodigious offensive talent, but sad to say, you can't trust him to be ready to play. He's made of glass. Always injured. 

The Sox recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte to take Jimenez's place on the roster. I would expect Burger to form the right-handed half of a designated hitter platoon while Jimenez is on the shelf. I would expect Gavin Sheets to be the left-handed half of the platoon.

Speaking of which, Sheets got the start at DH on Wednesday, and he went 2 for 4 with two singles and three RBIs to help the Sox to a 7-3 win over the Giants.

Dylan Cease (1-0) struggled with his command, walking five over five innings pitched. But he also struck out eight and limited the Giants to one hit -- a solo home run by J.D. Davis.

Luis Robert Jr. also had a good game for the Sox, going 3 for 4 with an RBI double, two singles and two runs scored.

The Sox are 3-3. After last season's 81-81 campaign, that's pretty much on brand, right?

White Sox injuries continue to mount: Chris Sale to the DL

I cringed Thursday night when the White Sox allowed ace left-hander Chris Sale to throw 127 pitches on a cold night in a start against the Boston Red Sox. Now, I'm cringing even more because, four days later, Sale has been placed on the disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his pitching arm.

I used to rip on former Cubs manager Dusty Baker for his overuse of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior back in the day, so I'm staying consistent with my argument. Allowing top-of-the-rotation pitchers to throw damn near 130 pitches is stupid. I know that's how it was done back in the old days, but the old days are over now. Pitchers aren't used to being stretched out like that in today's game, so don't ask them to do something they aren't used doing.

In the case of Baker, Prior and Wood, at least they were pushing to try to win the 2003 National League pennant. White Sox manager Robin Ventura was apparently pushing to try to win an April game against Boston, which he lost anyway even with Sale's effort.

I realize Ventura's bullpen has been a bit taxed lately, but here's the thing: If I'm gonna protect anyone on this White Sox pitching staff, it's Sale. If you're gonna push a pitcher who has a tired arm, push one of the mediocre or less-than-mediocre veterans in the bullpen. Don't screw around with Sale. He's the present and the future of the franchise. No April game is worth his prized left arm.

Even though the White Sox won a game against the Detroit Tigers tonight, I'm extremely disappointed as a fan right now. Avisail Garcia is already out for the season, and now Sale is on the DL, too. The mounting injuries cast a pall over what has actually been a pretty respectable 10-10 start to the season.