White Sox pitchers keep on walking people

Joakim Soria

The White Sox walked the leadoff hitter with a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday night and got away with it.

Undeterred, they walked the leadoff hitter with a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, too, and that time the Houston Astros made them pay, rallying for a 4-3 victory.

It capped a night full of walks by Sox pitchers. Carlos Rodon walked six over six innings, and somehow he managed to allow only two runs. Reliever Juan Minaya issued the aforementioned leadoff walk in the eighth, and closer Joakim Soria (0-3) walked two in the ninth and ended up taking the loss.

Walking opposing hitters has become a big part of the Sox's identity, and it's gotten beyond the point of frustration.

Sox pitchers lead the American League with 371 walks as a staff this season, and it's not close. Baltimore ranks a distant second with 308 walks.

This isn't a new problem either: The Sox led the American League with 632 walks issued during the 2017 season -- once again easily outdistancing the Orioles, who issued 579 walks.

Even in 2016, with Chris Sale and Jose Quintana anchoring the top of the rotation, the Sox's walk rate was too high. They were third in the league with 521 walks.

Handing out free baserunners to the opposition is not a recipe for success, especially because the Sox will never be confused with having a good defensive team. Between the walks and errors, self-inflicted wounds have contributed to most of the Sox's 57 losses this season (entering Friday's play).

I'm told that Don Cooper is one of the best pitching coaches in the game. I'm not sure I believe that bit of propaganda at this point, but if Cooper is so great, I call upon him to get the Sox pitching staff back in the strike zone with more frequency.

At the very least, the Sox need to make the opposition earn it more often.

White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey has turned back into a pumpkin

Remember that brief stretch of glory when people thought White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey was turning the corner as a major league pitcher?

In a period of five starts from May 23 to June 13, Covey went 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He beat Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox, 1-0, on June 8 at Fenway Park. He backed that up with a 3-2 victory over Trevor Bauer and the Cleveland Indians on June 13 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

There was a glimmer of hope, but it looks as though those days are gone.

Covey has gotten shelled over his past four starts. He's 0-3 with a 13.20 ERA. He's allowed 23 runs (22 earned) on 21 hits over 15 innings. He's walked 13 men and struck out only four over that ugly stretch.

The latest Covey implosion occurred Wednesday night. He retired the first nine men he faced against the Cincinnati Reds and took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning. But, it all went astray the second time through the batting order, as seven of the first eight Reds hitters reached base in the fourth inning.

By the time all was said and done, Covey was removed from the game without finishing the inning, and the Sox trailed, 6-3. They went out to lose, 7-4, and dropped two out of three against the NL Central-worst Reds.

Under normal circumstances, Covey's spot in the starting rotation would be in jeopardy after a horrible stretch such as this. However, with no obvious choice to replace him, chances are he remains in the mix for now.

In the meantime, let's get the notion out of our heads that Covey is going to be some sort of long-term fixture as a starting pitcher. I started to hear that from some Sox fans when Covey was pitching well, and I never bought it.

We need to call Covey what he is: roster filler. He's here until the Sox minor league system produces somebody better. Nothing more, nothing less.

Avisail Garcia swinging the bat well on current White Sox road trip

Avisail Garcia

We can't say Avisail Garcia wasn't one of the players to blame for the White Sox's miserable start to the 2018 season.

Garcia went on the disabled list April 24 with a hamstring strain, and the Sox were 5-14 at that point. During those first 19 games, Garcia hit .233/.250/.315 with only one home run and four RBIs. Not good.

The former All-Star right fielder returned to the lineup June 22 and didn't produce much his first few games back. However, since June 26, we're seeing a different hitter.

Over his past eight games, Garcia is 16 for 39 (.410 batting average) with six home runs, two triples, two doubles, 11 runs scored and eight RBIs. He even drew his first walk of the season in 129 plate appearances Tuesday in the 12th inning of a 12-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

It was a victory Garcia played a major role in -- he homered twice, the second of which tied the game in the top of the ninth inning against Cincinnati closer Raisel Iglesias. Throughout his career, Garcia has struggled to drive good major league fastballs to his pull side, but he had no such trouble against Iglesias, blistering a 96 mph fastball into the second deck in left field.

In Monday's game, a 5-3 loss to the Reds, Garcia homered to right field. It's a promising development to see him using the whole field, and if he can continue to swing the bat well, perhaps he will revive the debate over whether he is the right fielder of the future, in addition to the right fielder of the present.

Grinder Bash 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field -- let's visit the home clubhouse

Grinder Bash, the White Sox's annual party for season-ticket holders, was sparsely attended Saturday, perhaps because this rebuilding team doesn't have many season-ticket holders anymore.

That's fine. More room for us, and for the first time (at least in the years I've attended this event), fans had access to the home clubhouse.

You can see Yoan Moncada's locker right behind me, near the front of the clubhouse. Not surprisingly, Moncada's locker is between those of Hector Santiago and Jose Abreu, whose locker is just out of frame to the right. The Sox obviously want Moncada hanging around a couple of the veteran Latino players who have been there and done that. Let's hope for the sake of the Sox's rebuild that young Yoan gets it going soon. His batting average is down to .221 entering Monday's play; his on-base percentage is down to .289.

Danny Farquhar's locker remain full and intact, even though he hasn't been around the team as much since suffering a life-threatening brain aneurysm during a game April 20 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Notably, Farquhar has a signed Frank Thomas jersey hanging in his locker. That's a pretty cool piece of memorabilia to have. I think the entire baseball community, not just the White Sox organization and its fans, wishes Farquhar well as he continues to recover from one of the scariest situations I've seen happen at a major league ballpark.

I probably found this funnier than it really is, but I got a kick out of seeing a suitcase in Juan Minaya's locker. This guy has been up and down between the Sox and Triple-A Charlotte all season, and I can't help but wonder if that suitcase is there just in case he gets another tap on the shoulder and another plane ticket to North Carolina. Well, actually, with the way Bruce Rondon has been pitching lately, perhaps Minaya's roster spot is safer than it's been at other points during the season.

Off in the corner, here is James Shields' locker. He has nobody to his left, and nobody to his right. Has he really earned all that personal space? Yeah, he's a veteran and all, but his record is 3-9. In the past, perhaps this roomy part of the clubhouse might have belonged to an accomplished Sox player such as, say, Paul Konerko. It seems as though Shields is the guy who currently gets the royal treatment, deserving or not. Or, perhaps they just make him sit in the corner for not being very good at pitching at this stage of his career.

Here's the view from behind home plate. If you ever want to feel small, go down on the field at a major league stadium on a non-game day when the ballpark is empty. You never realize just how big a place it is until you're down at field level.

One other interesting little note: On the wall in the Sox bullpen, the relief corps keeps track of the number of calls received from the dugout. During the 2017 season, there were 888 calls made to the bullpen during the 81 home games. It looks as though the Sox are on pace to exceed that total this season. So far, 502 calls have been made to the bullpen through 43 home games. That's an average of about 11.6 a game. That puts the Sox on pace for 945.6 calls over an 81-game period. Yes, these are rough days. By way of comparison, the calls during the 2013 season only numbered in the 400s. The 2013 Sox were a bad club -- 99 losses -- but starting pitching was the strength: Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Jake Peavy, the pre-injury Santiago, etc. These days, starting pitching is a weakness, and the bullpen is busy.

The other great thing about Grinder Bash: Free food and drinks, including beer, for those who choose to partake. As I said, the season-ticket base for the Sox is fewer in number than it has ever been, and those of us who have chosen to stick it out through this rebuild have earned a perk such as this.

When all is said and done, it might be one of the more enjoyable days at the ballpark in 2018. After all, we weren't walking back to our cars after a White Sox loss, which has so often been the case during this most trying of seasons.

White Sox salvage split with Oakland with Sunday blowout

Carlos Rodon

Carlos Rodon went eight innings and got the win Sunday. Yoan Moncada had six RBIs as the White Sox trounced the Oakland Athletics, 10-3.

It was cathartic, wasn't it?

The Sox recently have been through another really rough stretch of baseball, but you take the positives where you can, and Sunday's rout to salvage a split of a four-game set with Oakland was one of those days where it was OK to smile.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, June 22
Athletics 11, White Sox 2 (Game 1): The Sox entered this series off a 12-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, and the "clownish" play continued in the opener of a doubleheader.

Sox starter James Shields (2-9) allowed eight runs over 4.2 innings, but only two were earned as the South Siders totaled three errors -- two by Moncada.

Oakland scored four runs in the second inning and four more in the fifth to take an 8-0 lead, so this was one over early and ugly throughout.

White Sox 6, Athletics 4 (Game 2): This probably was the best outing we've seen from Lucas Giolito (5-7) all season, as his fastball was sitting at 95 mph for much of the game, unlike the 91-92 we've become accustomed to in several of his previous starts.

Giolito's line doesn't look all that great: four earned runs allowed in seven plus innings, but he walked off the mound with a 5-2 lead in the eighth. A couple of inherited runners scored that were added to his line.

Give left-handed reliever Xavier Cedeno some credit -- he entered the game with runners on first and third and no outs in the top of the eighth with the Sox clinging to a 5-4 lead. Cedeno pitched out of it, and Tim Anderson added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run.

Anderson went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and three runs scored.

Saturday, June 23
Athletics 7, White Sox 6: Anderson continued his hot hitting with a three-run homer in the first inning Saturday that staked the Sox to an early 5-0 lead.

Alas, Oakland rallied for the win. Dylan Covey exited in the fifth inning with a groin strain -- the Sox were leading 5-2 at the time -- and the wheels came off from there. Chris Volstad allowed two inherited runners to score, and gave up two earned runs of his own.

Juan Minaya (0-2) took the loss by allowing a run in the eighth, but some poor defense was played behind him. Minaya struck out the first two hitters, and got a routine fly to right off the bat of Stephen Piscotty. OK, maybe it wasn't routine, because Avisail Garcia lost the ball in the sun. It fell for a "double."

Piscotty then scored on a two-out RBI single by Nick Martini that put the A's up, 7-6.

Oakland committed two infield errors in the bottom of the ninth. Despite its efforts to give the game back to the Sox, the South Siders could not take advantage. Matt Davidson grounded into a game-ending double play with two runners on.

Sunday, June 24
White Sox 10, Athletics 3: The turning point came in the top of the fifth inning. Oakland led, 2-0, and had runners on second and third with nobody out.

Rodon was on the ropes, but he punched his way out of it, inducing a weak grounder to third, getting a strikeout, and then a weak popout to second base.

The Sox scored five in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Moncada's two-out, three run double. The second baseman added three more RBIs with a home run in the bottom of the sixth, as the Sox added five more runs.

Given a 10-2 lead, Rodon cruised through the eighth inning. He only struck out three, but he did not walk a batter -- note to all Sox pitchers, everything works better when you throw strikes.

Sox relievers walked three men in the top of the ninth, and Oakland scored a run, but the Sox effectively ended any doubt about the outcome when Moncada homered in the sixth.

White Sox activate Avisail Garcia, Leury Garcia from disabled list

Avisail Garcia

The White Sox on Friday activated outfielder Avisail Garcia and utility player Leury Garcia from the 10-day disabled list.

To make room on the roster, outfielder Trayce Thompson was designated for assignment and infielder Jose Rondon was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.

Avisail Garcia, who was placed on the disabled list April 24 with a strained right hamstring, was hitting .360 with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in seven games during his rehab assignment with Charlotte.

With wet conditions expected in Chicago for Friday's doubleheader with the Oakland A's, it wouldn't be surprising to see Avisail Garcia in the DH spot. He'll likely return to right field once the weather -- and the outfield grass -- dry out.

Leury Garcia, who was placed on the disabled list May 24 with a sprained left knee, was 6 for 14 with three doubles and an RBI in four games on his rehab assignment.

It's possible Leury Garcia will see a little more time in the infield. With Rondon optioned, he's the fifth infielder, in addition to being the fourth outfielder. Leury Garcia was 9 for 9 in stolen bases before getting injured, so if his legs are healthy, he should provide a good pinch-running option late in games.

These roster moves likely end Thompson's tenure with the Sox, and if so, it will be merciful. The outfielder is 3 for 60 in day games this season, and in 130 plate appearances with the Sox, he posted a slash line of .116/.163/.215.

Thompson cannot say he did not get a fair opportunity -- he has started 13 of the Sox's 21 games in June. He's gotten fairly regular at-bats, but he ended up setting team records for lowest batting average and on-base percentage for a non-pitcher who received more than 100 at-bats in a season.

Yes, indeed, it was time to designate Thompson for assignment. His performance at the plate was making Adam Dunn's 2011 season seem competent by comparison.

Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease among White Sox prospects to receive promotions

Eloy Jimenez

The second half of the season begins Thursday for three of the White Sox's minor-league affiliates -- Double-A Birmingham, Class-A Winston-Salem and Class-A Kannapolis -- and it has been no secret that several Sox prospects were going to receive promotions.

I trust James Fegan of The Athletic as much as anyone as a Sox source, so here are the moves that he has tweeted out Thursday afternoon.

Top prospect Eloy Jimenez, catcher Seby Zavala and relief pitcher Ian Hamilton have been promoted from Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte.

After contributing to Winston-Salem's first-half division title in the Carolina League, starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Bernardo Flores, relievers Matt Foster and Zach Thompson and outfielders Luis Alexander Basabe, Alex Call and Joel Booker have been promoted to Birmingham.

Outfielders Luis Robert and Luis Gonzalez, shortstop Laz Rivera, starting pitchers Lincoln Henzman and Blake Battenfield and relief pitcher Tyler Johnson have been promoted from Kannapolis to Winston-Salem.

The White Sox also released veteran outfielder Michael Saunders from the organization.

And, hey, some other good news: The Sox can't lose Thursday. Thursday's game with the Oakland Athletics has been postponed because of the horrible, wet weather we are experiencing in and near Chicago.

The two clubs will play a straight doubleheader at 3:10 p.m. Friday.