Swag from my recent trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Yes, I left the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown with a shopping bag. I won't apologize for it, because I bought some stuff that I didn't think I could find closer to home.

For example, this Harold Baines Hall of Fame T-shirt:

In fact, the Hall gift shop had a section for each of the 2019 inductees, and I picked this shirt off the shelf dedicated to Baines.

I also thought this shirt was cool; it lists every member of the Hall of Fame affiliated with the White Sox;

And, of course, no trip to the Hall would be complete without the standard T-shirt and hat combination:

I also cleaned out the book shop of anything White Sox-related:

And, of course, the program and yearbook from the Hall induction ceremony:

I bought the yearbook; I won program playing a trivia game, but that's a blog entry for another day.

Recapping recent White Sox roster moves

Nate Jones

The White Sox followed up their 2-8 road trip with a 2-8 homestand. They are now 4-16 since the All-Star break after losing, 4-0, to the New York Mets on Thursday.

It's never a good sign when you get swept at home in a three-game series by the sub-.500 Mets, but that's where the Sox are right now.

Good job, good effort.

If the players were feeling any anxiety about the trade deadline, they don't need to anymore. July 31 came and went with the Sox making only one deal, and it was a minor one at that.

Reliever Nate Jones, who is out for the season with a forearm injury, was traded to the Texas Rangers along with international pool money and cash considerations. In return, the Sox received fringe prospect pitchers Ray Castro and Joseph Jarneski.

It's unclear whether we will ever mention Castro and Jarneski on this blog again. This was a money move. The Rangers were seeking international pool money, and the Sox were willing to send some their way on the condition that they take Jones' contract.

Jones is owed $1.5 million for the remainder of this season, and it will cost the Rangers $1.25 million to buy him out for 2020, which they most certainly will.

For the Sox, this is a cost savings of $2.75 million, should they ever decide to start investing money into the Major League team.

The most notable thing about the trade deadline? The Sox didn't trade either of the high-leverage arms in their bullpen, Alex Colome or Aaron Bummer. I'm taking that as a good sign -- the Sox decided they'd rather have those two men on the roster for 2020 than trade them for "lotto tickets" and assorted other Class-A garbage that will never see the light of day.

The past two years, the Sox have simply sold off any veteran with value to accumulate future assets. Right now, we're seeing a shift in strategy. They held onto a useful reliever in Colome, apparently believing he can be part of a winning team next season.

Now, will the Sox actually spend money to make that winning team happen? It remains to be seen, and given the team's 46-60 record, it's clear that there is a lot of work to do between now and next March.

But general manager Rick Hahn was quoted in James Fegan's article on The Athletic today as saying, "Heading into this offseason, based on the progress of some of these young players, based on the progress of other young players that will be joining this roster over the coming months, I think it’s very logical for us, you’re going to see a heightened level of aggressiveness come this offseason.”

A heightened level of aggressiveness? Good. I want to see it, and I intend to hold Hahn to this comment when I see him at SoxFest in January.

Moncada injured

In bad news, as soon as Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez came back from injury, Yoan Moncada suffered a hamstring strain in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Mets. The Sox are expected to be without their third baseman and best overall player for about two weeks.

Outfielder Ryan Cordell, who was just optioned to Triple-A Charlotte at the start of the week, was recalled to take Moncada's spot on the roster. It looks as though Ryan Goins is going to get the majority of starts at third base, with Leury Garcia possibly seeing some infield time when he's not playing somewhere in the outfield

Reed optioned 

A.J. Reed went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in Thursday's loss, and he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the game. Mercifully. This is one waiver claim that predictably isn't working out.

Reed went 6 for 44 with one home run during his three-week audition. That will pencil out to a robust .136 batting average. Almost makes you yearn for the return of Yonder Alonso, doesn't it?

The Sox will add a man to their roster before starting a three-game weekend series in Philadelphia against the Phillies. I'm hoping they give Zack Collins another shot. There are left-handed at-bats available at designated hitter, and I wouldn't mind seeing Collins behind the plate on days when James McCann is not playing. I don't need to see any more Welington Castillo, thank you very much.

Paul Konerko sticks up for 2005 White Sox

Paul Konerko

There have only been two teams in Major League history to go wire-to-wire in the regular season and sweep the World Series -- the 1927 New York Yankees and the 2005 White Sox.

But even though the 2005 Sox went 99-63 in the regular season and romped through the playoffs with an 11-1 record, you rarely hear that club mentioned when people talk about the best teams in baseball history.

Sure, the Sox were one-year wonders, but for a single season, it's tough to top what that team did.

In an article on The Athletic, written by Tim Britton, the first baseman on that 2005 Sox team made that point.

“I think playing in Chicago for the White Sox, individually speaking, it’s a great town to play in but let’s be honest: It’s a Cubs town. You’re kind of overshadowed a little bit by everything going on with the Cubs,” Paul Konerko said. “It never really bothered me, because I didn’t care about that stuff.

“But the one thing I would stand up for is, when you see a lot of recaps of the best postseason teams or the best teams in history, there’s never any mention of that team. There’s never any talk about that team. It’s almost like it didn’t even happen.

“We just went in and basically kicked everybody’s ass, you know? Anybody who knows me knows I don’t really play the game of trying to argue those types of things or take offense, but I’ve always stood up for that team because I think we deserve better in how people view that team.”

Konerko is right. They did kick everybody's ass. It probably needs to be said more often, so that the 2005 Sox actually get the respect they deserve.

White Sox activate Tim Anderson, recall Carson Fulmer

Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson was back in the lineup Tuesday, batting seventh and playing shortstop as the White Sox opened a three-game series against the New York Mets.

Anderson suffered a high ankle sprain June 25 in Boston and missed 26 games, during which the Sox went 10-16.

He is hitting .317/.342/.491 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 70 games this season.

Over the past week, Anderson went 8 for 23 with a home run and four RBIs in five rehab games with Triple-A Charlotte.

In addition to activating Anderson from the injured list, the Sox also optioned outfielder Ryan Cordell to Charlotte and recalled pitcher Carson Fulmer.

Fulmer, who is 1-1 with a 6.32 ERA in 13 games with the Sox this season, takes the roster spot of Dylan Covey, who was optioned after a disastrous start against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Anderson takes Cordell's roster spot.

I was thinking Anderson would simply take Covey's spot, and that Cordell would hang on until Saturday when the Sox next need a fifth starting pitcher. Instead, the Sox want an extra arm for this series against the Mets.

Not to mention, the July 31 trading deadline is Wednesday, and it just so happens the Sox player most likely to be sold off (Alex Colome) is a reliever, so perhaps the team wants Fulmer already in town in case that move happens.

Dylan Covey's fan murdering overshadows Eloy Jimenez's return to White Sox lineup

Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday night

Fourteen pitches. That's all it took for White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Covey to give up five runs to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Covey got knocked out without recording a single out, and the Twins went on to beat the Sox, 11-1. With the loss, the South Siders dropped three out of four in the series. They fell to 2-5 on the current 10-game homestand and are now 4-13 since the All-Star break.

If you were a fan at this game, God bless you, because you deserve a refund. It was bad enough for me watching on TV.

Here's how those first five Minnesota batters fared:

Max Kepler doubled to right field.
Jorge Polanco homered to center field.
Nelson Cruz singled to left field.
Luis Arraez singled to left field.
Miguel Sano homered to right field.

All five players hit the ball hard.

Thankfully, Covey was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the game. His season record is 1-7 with a 6.99 ERA, and his removal from the rotation is long overdue. It isn't just his poor performance this season. Covey has had three years to get it right, and he's arguably just as bad as ever:

2017: 0-7, 7.71 ERA, 18 games (12 starts)
2018: 5-14, 5.18 ERA, 27 games (21 starts)
2019: 1-7, 6.99 ERA, 14 games (10 starts)
Career: 6-28, 6.28 ERA, 59 games (43 starts)

That's enough opportunities to conclude Covey is not a starting pitcher, don't you think? This guy is the poster child for the Sox being slow to react to problems. It's time to move on, and hopefully, the embarrassment on Sunday is enough for the team to finally throw in the towel on this idea that Covey is a rotation piece.

Covey's terrible performance overshadowed Eloy Jimenez's return to the lineup. Jimenez, who bruised his elbow July 16 in Kansas City, came back sooner than the predicted two-week absence. He did not go on a minor league rehab assignment, so some rust is expected.

Despite going 0 for 3, I thought Jimenez looked good at the plate. He lined out to Kepler in deep right field in his first plate appearance. Jonathan Schoop made a good play on him on a hard grounder up the middle his second time up. In his third at-bat with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing, 9-1, he saw eight pitches and worked the count full.

Pitch nine was low and inside and should have been called ball four. Alas, Angel Hernandez is one of the worst umpires in the game, and he called Jimenez out. It should have been a bases-loaded walk, an RBI and a 9-2 game. Instead, Sox manager Rick Renteria got ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

Hernandez is not the reason the Sox lost -- Covey is -- but that was still a frustrating turn of events.

With Jimenez's return, the Sox designated utility infielder Jose Rondon for assignment before Sunday's game. Rondon is another guy who hung around longer than he probably should have. This season, he hit .197/.265/.282 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 55 games.

Sooner or later, the Sox needed to pare down the number of utility players they have on the 25-man roster. Rondon has been outplayed by both Leury Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez throughout the season, and he didn't merit more opportunities.

I'm on vacation ...

... and blogging will resume Monday, July 29.

Taking a baseball road trip that doesn't involve the crummy White Sox

The White Sox are 0-7 since the All-Star break after being swept in a four-game series at Kansas City this week.

Yes, the 36-62 Royals won four straight games against the Sox (42-51), who continue to find new lows in this interminable, hard-on-the-eyes rebuilding process.

But there is good news: I'm leaving town for a week, which means I won't have to watch or hear about this crappy baseball team for seven days. I'm taking a baseball trip that doesn't involve the Sox, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

My itinerary:

Sunday, July 20: Drive to Cleveland
Sunday, July 21: Royals vs. Indians at Progressive Field
Monday, July 22: Drive to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Tuesday, July 23: Visit National Baseball Hall of Fame
Wednesday, July 24: Drive to Pittsburgh
Thursday, July 25: Cardinals vs. Pirates at PNC Park
Friday, July 26: Drive home

I'm going to see a part of the country I haven't seen before, and visiting the Hall of Fame is a bucket list item. Can't wait.

Blogging will resume when I return home. Maybe the Sox will have won a game in the second half by then.