Tuesday was a demoralizing and angering day to be a White Sox fan

Yermin Mercedes

People often wonder why I'm not enthusiastic about the 2021 White Sox. Yes, they are in first place. And they probably should win their division, even with all the injuries they have.

But I have no confidence in the organization whatsoever. Days like Tuesday are why.

The day started with manager Tony La Russa calling Yermin Mercedes "clueless" and generally ripping the rookie designated hitter to shreds in public.

Why? Because Mercedes committed the "big mistake" of hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch in the ninth inning of a 15-4 game Monday night -- off a 47-mph eephus pitch from Minnesota utilityman Willians Astudillo.

The only one clueless here is La Russa, who belongs in a retirement home. If you look around the baseball world, most people are supporting Mercedes, who provided a fun moment in a game that was out of hand and generally uninteresting otherwise.

In what alternate baseball universe are we living in where hitting a home run is a "big mistake"?

The only people offended seemed to be the biased observers in the Minnesota TV booth and, well, La Russa, who for some reason is worried about "respecting" the Twins.

I don't care about the Twins and their feelings. The Sox won Monday's game 16-4. My only regret is they didn't win 26-4.

Nobody associated with the Sox should care about the Twins or their feelings. Sadly, La Russa is putting his regard for the Twins ahead of his own team. He needs to knock that off immediately. You support your players in the media, even if you disagree with something they've done. 

If he wants to have a private conversation about this with Mercedes, fine, but you don't call someone who has been a key contributor to your team for the first quarter of the season "clueless" in a public setting.

To make matters worse, the Sox had a 4-0 lead after three innings Tuesday night with Lance Lynn on the mound. They blew the whole thing and lost, 5-4.

They gave up three home runs to Miguel Sano, who came into this game with a .141 batting average. Sano's third home run of the night, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth that tied the game at 4 off Aaron Bummer, didn't need to happen. First base was open. The situation called for an intentional walk, or at least a pitch-around. 

"Clueless" La Russa apparently didn't think of that.

Bummer gave up a leadoff hit to Andrelton Simmons in the bottom of the ninth. As the inning progressed, Liam Hendriks lost the game by grooving a fastball right down the middle to Jorge Polanco, who doubled off the wall to score Simmons with the winning run.

And let's not forget the wonderful Sox lineup, which failed to score a single run the last five innings of the game against the reeling Minnesota bullpen.

Yes, the Sox are 25-16. Yes, the Twins are 14-26. But this was the archetypal White Sox choke job in Minnesota, and coming on the heels of the manager's asinine comments earlier in the day, it was just a demoralizing, infuriating day for me as a Sox fan.

The organization just cannot get out of its own way. Even when they have a good thing going, they invent ways to screw it up.

AL Central update: Josh Donaldson, Ivan Nova and ... Andrew Romine

Josh Donaldson

The Minnesota Twins struck out in their attempts to fortify their starting rotation with a big-name pitcher this offseason, so they did the next best thing: They made an already good lineup stronger by signing third baseman Josh Donaldson to a four-year, $92 million contract.

After two injury-plagued seasons in 2017-18, Donaldson signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Atlanta Braves last offseason. Then he went out and proved it, playing 155 games and posting a .259/.379/.521 slash line with 37 home runs, 33 doubles and 94 RBIs. The Braves won 97 games and won the National League East.

Back on the open market this winter, Donaldson has cashed in with a big contract entering his age-34 season. He'll add to a lineup that mashed 307 home runs last season, and his glove at third base is still above average -- so that will help Minnesota's suspect pitching staff. Miguel Sano will move from third base to first base, where he will be less of a defensive liability.

And, bad news for the White Sox, because Donaldson owns them. He's a lifetime .333/.435/.686 hitter with 15 home runs in 44 games against the South Siders. The Sox will have to deal with him 18 games a year now, instead of the six or seven games a year when Donaldson was with the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics.

Donaldson did strike out a career-high 155 times in 2019, so maybe that's a sign that his bat has slowed a little bit. The Sox will have to hope the aging curve begins to take its toll on Donaldson -- and Minnesota's seemingly ageless designated hitter Nelson Cruz.

Nova signs with Detroit

Former Sox right-hander Ivan Nova has a new address in the AL Central. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Detroit Tigers. He can earn an additional $500,000 in incentives.

Nova, 33, made 34 starts for the Sox in 2019, going 11-12 with a 4.72 ERA. Hopefully, he's no longer good enough to make the inside knowledge he has of the Sox work for him.

Sox add utilityman Romine

Andrew Romine hasn't played in the majors since 2018, and hopefully, he won't play in the majors for the Sox either.

But the veteran utility infielder is in the Sox organization after signing a minor-league contract. He will earn $900,000 if he makes it to the big leagues this season.

Romine, 34, is a switch-hitter who has played in 581 career games for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. His career slash line is .235/.291/.301 with 10 home runs in 1,323 plate appearances.

Hey, somebody has to play second base in Triple-A Charlotte once Nick Madrigal gets called to the majors, right?

AL wild card game: Everyone is picking the Yankees to beat the Twins

Ervin Santana

Postseason baseball begins Tuesday night with the AL wild card game pitting the New York Yankees (91-71) against the Minnesota Twins (85-77).

As far as I can tell, there isn't a person alive who thinks the Twins are going to win this game. Consider the following facts:

• The Yankees come in red-hot, winners of 20 of their past 28 games, while the Twins were 14-14 in their past 28 games.
• The Yankees' season run differential is +198, while Minnesota's was only +27.
• New York won four out of six in the season series, including a three-game sweep in the Bronx in September.
• Minnesota starting pitcher Ervin Santana had a fine season (16-8, 3.28 ERA), but he's 6-10 lifetime against the Yankees -- and 0-5 in six starts in the current Yankee Stadium. 
• New York starting pitcher Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98) has had a breakout season, having struck out 230 in 193.1 innings this year. He's probably the third-best pitcher in the AL, behind only Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Boston's Chris Sale.
• The Twins will be without their most dangerous hitter in third baseman Miguel Sano (28 homers, 77 RBIs), who has appeared in only three games since Aug. 19 because of a left shin injury.
• The Yankees have a deep bullpen featuring no fewer than three relievers who can close in Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson.
• The Twins traded their closer, Brandon Kintzler, to the Washington Nationals at the end of July, mistakenly believing they were out of the pennant race. Minnesota has 37-year-old journeyman Matt Belisle closing games, and its best reliever is .....  ummmmm, Taylor Rogers, I guess.

Everything points to New York winning this game and advancing to the ALDS to face the Cleveland Indians. So why even watch?

Well, it's baseball, and this is a one-game playoff, not a seven-game series. Could the Twins somehow sneak a win out of the Bronx tonight? I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible.