What exactly are the White Sox doing anyway?

Tony La Russa

Is it just me, or do the White Sox find themselves in the national spotlight for embarrassing things more often than other teams?

Manager Tony La Russa was unaware of an extra-inning rule that would have allowed him to avoid using closer Liam Hendriks as a base runner during the 10th inning of Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. I don't really feel like rehashing the whole scenario, so click the first link in the sentence above to read Bruce Levine's report on what happened.

This ended with The Athletic's James Fegan reading the rule aloud during La Russa's postgame press conference. Apparently, nobody on the Sox coaching staff knew the rule either, or if they did, they failed to speak up -- which is probably worse.

The $54 million closer is running the bases unnecessarily in the top of the 10th inning, when he should be preparing to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning. Then, he loses the game when the first two batters get hits off him. Did that happen because he had spent the previous 15 minutes running the bases? Maybe.

And you've got Leury Garcia getting thrown out trying to steal second as the trail runner in the top of the 10th. And you've got Billy Hamilton, he of the career 67 OPS+, being allowed to hit for himself with the go-ahead run on third base, when there are better options available on the bench. Anyone surprised that Hamilton struck out? Me neither.

These late-inning strategical gaffes are becoming a once-a-week occurrence. It's great that the Sox are 16-13 and in a three-way tie for first, but it's hard not to feel as though they should be 18-11 or 19-10.

Just what exactly are the Sox doing anyway in these close games? Good grief.

White Sox to sign outfielder Brian Goodwin

Brian Goodwin

With Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Adam Engel all on the injured list, the White Sox have added some outfield help by signing Brian Goodwin to a minor league contract, according to multiple reports.

Goodwin had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he exercised Monday. If the Sox add him to the 40-man roster, his salary will be $1 million. I would expect that to happen.

Two years ago, the 30-year-old Goodwin had the best season of his career, when he batted .262/.326/.470 with 17 home runs, 29 doubles, 47 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 136 games for the Los Angeles Angels.

Last season, Goodwin was decent in 30 games for the Angels. He batted .242/.330/.463 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. The Cincinnati Reds acquired him in a midseason deal, and that didn't work out so well. 

Goodwin slumped to a .163 batting average in 20 games with the Reds, and that's how you end up on a minor league deal with the Pirates.

But the standard is not high for the Sox right now. They need some help with all these injuries, and they're hoping Goodwin and his left-handed bat can recapture what we saw in 2019. This is a career .250/.317/.455 batter, and that's at least better offense than you'll get from Leury Garcia or Billy Hamilton.

Is Goodwin a long-term solution to anything? No. Is this the big move Sox fans are clamoring for? Absolutely not.

But you have to be realistic here. The trade market doesn't heat up this early in the season, and there aren't a lot of impact players out there that you can acquire right now.

Not to mention, opposing GMs know the Sox are desperate for outfield help, and if Sox GM Rick Hahn calls, they are going to ask a high price. I'm not sure there's a fair trade Hahn can make right now, and I would caution against any panic moves -- the Sox are 16-12 and tied for first place after Tuesday's 9-0 win over the Reds, and nobody in the AL Central looks primed to run away.

Around Chicago, you hear some people calling for the Sox to acquire Kris Bryant from the Cubs. That suggestion literally makes me laugh out loud.

If Hahn calls the Cubs, you know who Jed Hoyer is going to ask for? Probably Michael Kopech. Maybe a package of Andrew Vaughn and Dylan Cease.

Sox fans, are you willing to make that move? Because that's what it's going to take. My answer is a resounding no.

Normally, I'm the first in line with the pitchforks and torches at Hahn's doorstep. But I think a minor acquisition such as Goodwin is fine for now. Try to stem the tide until we get to midseason, some teams fall out of it, and GMs become more willing to deal.

If anyone wants to criticize Hahn for not signing adequate depth in the offseason, I will join that chorus.

If anyone wants to criticize the Sox's draft-and-development arm for failing to provide adequate depth to plug these holes from within, I will join that chorus as well.

Remember when there was a so-called glut of talented minor league outfielders in the Sox system? Welp, none of Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez or Luis Alexander Basabe panned out. 

So now the Sox are in a fix. Cross your fingers that Goodwin can become the 2 WAR player he was in 2019.

White Sox 2B Nick Madrigal is outslugging some people he shouldn't be outslugging

Nick Madrigal

Let's play a game of name that White Sox player:

Player A: .313/.364/.413

Player B: .264/.370/.396

Player C: .202/.302/.374

Player D: .127/.333/.273

You may have noticed that Player A has the highest slugging percentage, while Player D has the lowest slugging percentage. I intentionally arranged the players in that order.

Would you believe noted singles hitter and king of the two-strike base hit Nick Madrigal is Player A? Good for Madrigal that he's off to a good start with the bat this season, and he is to be commended for that. 

But it's not good news for the Sox that Madrigal is outslugging Yoan Moncada (Player B), defending league MVP Jose Abreu (Player C), and the team's highest-paid player, Yasmani Grandal (Player D).

With Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert both out of the lineup with injuries until at least August,mMoncada, Abreu and Grandal better start producing more runs. It's time for them to hit some balls off the wall and over the wall, or this season in which the Sox have very high expectations is going to end in disappointment. 

It's great and all that Yermin Mercedes won AL Rookie of the Month, but it's preposterous to think a 28-year-old rookie is going to carry the middle of the lineup all season.

Luis Robert out 12 to 16 weeks ... Now what?

Luis Robert

Get ready to see a lot of Leury Garcia and Billy Hamilton in center field over the next month ... at least.

The White Sox had a successful 6-3 homestand, but I don't think anyone is celebrating. That's because center fielder Luis Robert crumbled in a heap while beating out an infield single in the first inning of Sunday's 5-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. 

Robert was in tremendous pain, holding the area in front of his right hip while writhing around on the ground in shallow right field. After he was helped to his feet, he couldn't put any weight on his right leg and had to be carried into the dugout. 

Bad news was expected, and bad news was made official Monday, with the announcement that Robert will be out 12 to 16 with a hip flexor tear. It is not known yet whether Robert will undergo surgery, or if rest and rehabilitation will be enough. The timeline for return to baseball activities is expected to be the same, regardless of the treatment path chosen. 

This is a terrible break for Robert, who was off to a fine start this season. He was batting .316/.359/.463, and he was showing much improved plate discipline. Robert has had a weakness for breaking balls down and out of the zone in the past, but he's made significant strides in fixing that problem. Namely, he seems to be recognizing pitches better, and not swinging at as many pitches that are out of the zone. 

The injury is also a substantial blow to the Sox's playoff aspirations. They are already without left fielder Eloy Jimenez until at least August, and it doesn't sound as though Adam Engel will be returning anytime soon. 

Engel suffered a pulled hamstring the third week of March and hasn't played yet this season. The latest report indicates Engel is "back at square one" after a setback, and he will not return to baseball activities for three more weeks. 

This means three of the top four outfielders on the Sox roster are unavailable because of injury, and the other guy -- Adam Eaton -- is hobbling around right field on a sore knee. Eaton is in a terrible slump that has seen his slash line dip to .217/.301/.380. That being said, no matter how bad it gets for Eaton, if he can physically get out there, he has to play. The Sox don't have a lot of alternatives. 

In left field, Andrew Vaughn has gone 7 for his last 19 to pull his slash line up to .275/.373/.373, but he is still without a home run and has only one RBI. But despite his expected rookie struggles, he has to play. 

And that leaves Leury Garcia and Billy Hamilton to share center field until Engel gets healthy. 

Garcia: .200/.224/.246 

Hamilton: .176/.263/.176 

Gulp. Yeah, it's hard not to be discouraged knowing these players are going to get more playing time than they should in the weeks and months ahead. 

Back in the offseason, I thought the Sox needed to sign two outfielders to bolster their depth. They signed only Eaton, and now that weakness is coming home to roost.

My first trip to Guaranteed Rate Field in 575 days

For the first time since Sept. 27, 2019, I was at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday night. It was nice to unite with friends. It was great to see live baseball, and much to my pleasant surprise, the White Sox aren't making a big stink out of the COVID-19 protocols.

I had visions of ushers crapping on fans all night about masking and social distancing and whatnot, but fortunately, ballpark security is leaving people alone to enjoy a ballgame. And enjoy it we did, as the Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 2-1, as part of a three-game weekend sweep.

The Sox are finally over .500 now at 12-9, and they'll take a four-game winning streak into Monday's off day. The Detroit Tigers come to town Tuesday to start a three-game series.

A few thoughts on each game this weekend:

Friday, April 23

White Sox 9, Rangers 7: Yermin Mercedes went 4 for 4 with three RBIs to lead a 16-hit attack. The Sox led 5-0 after three innings, and 6-2 after four, only to see the Rangers rally to tie. Mercedes delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh that put the South Siders ahead to stay.

That said, my biggest takeaway from this game is that the Sox need more from starting pitcher Dylan Cease, who lasted only 3.1 innings. He was fortunate to escape a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, and he needed 80 pitches to get the 10 outs he recorded.

The Sox ended up using five relief pitchers, and Liam Hendriks was needed to record a five-out save. This game was a little more dicey than you might like after having a big lead in the early innings.

Saturday, April 24

White Sox 2, Rangers 1: This was a tight pitching battle between Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel and Texas right-hander Kyle Gibson. The Sox got on the board first when Yoan Moncada scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning.

That 1-0 lead held up until the top of the ninth when Hendriks gave up a solo home run to Willie Calhoun. Again, Hendriks was leaned on heavily Friday night, but there is a legitimate concern that the highly paid closer has given up four homers in 8.2 innings this season. 

But let's give some credit to Calhoun on this one. He got on top of a fastball that was up and out of the zone and hit it deep to right-center field. You don't see left-handed batters hit pitches that high too often. Calhoun must have been looking there, and it was good hitting on his part.

As for Hendriks, he doesn't have the feel for his slider than I remember him having when he was dominating in Oakland. His fastball is still good, and he can get by with just that some of the time, but not all of the time. If major-league hitters can just sit on the fastball, eventually they'll catch up to it. I look for Hendriks to be more effective once he can start throwing his breaking ball for strikes.

Despite the blown save, the Sox won on a two-out, RBI double by Nick Madrigal in the bottom of the ninth. The hit scored Luis Robert, who had singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Yasmani Grandal. After an intentional walk to Mercedes and a strikeout of Billy Hamilton, Madrigal delivered.

Sunday, April 25

White Sox 8, Rangers 4: So, are we excited about Michael Kopech yet? Yeah, I think it's fair to be happy about what we're seeing from the rookie right-hander.

Lucas Giolito has a cut on the middle finger of his throwing hand, so Kopech made a spot start Sunday in his place. He was dazzling, striking out 10 with no walks over five innings of one-run ball. Those 10 strikeouts occurred over his first four innings, too. Kopech might have tired a bit in the fifth, but he got through the inning to earn a well-deserved win.

Crazy thing is, Kopech really didn't need his secondary pitches. His fastball command was impeccable, and even when he did miss with the fastball, it was a "good" miss, in a place where the Texas batters couldn't hurt him. The only run he allowed was on a hanging slider, which David Dahl hit out of the park in the second inning.

Kopech threw 87 pitches, 60 of them for strikes. Fifty-five of the 87 pitches were fastballs, 11 swings and misses, 14 called strikes and 13 foul balls. The Texas batters could not square him up at all.

The Sox scored eight runs in the first three innings, highlighted by Jose Abreu's fifth home run of the season, a two-run triple by Madrigal and an RBI triple by Adam Eaton.

Jonathan Stiever made his season debut for the Sox in the sixth, and it was a bad one. He gave up four straight hits and did not retire a batter. He ended up being charged with three runs. Garrett Crochet had two inherited runners score on his watch, but he settled down to provide three scoreless innings of relief. Jose Ruiz worked a scoreless ninth, giving the back of the Sox bullpen a needed rest.

 

Postponement comes at good time for White Sox; road trip ends with 3-2 record

The game between the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians was postponed Wednesday night because of snow. 

The inclement weather showed up at just the right time for the Sox, who would have been underdogs in this Wednesday matchup. The Indians were planning to start Aaron Civale, who is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA. The Cleveland right-hander just shut down the Sox in his last outing a week ago.

The Sox, meanwhile, were short on pitching and planned to have a bullpen day. The South Siders had a successful road trip overall. They split four games in Boston and won Tuesday's game in Cleveland, and thus they will conclude the trip with a 3-2 record.

But Sunday's doubleheader sweep in Boston, Lucas Giolito's short start Monday, and Lance Lynn's trip to the 10-day injured list left the Sox without a starting pitcher available to work on regular rest for Wednesday.

Manager Tony La Russa said after Tuesday's game that the Sox would likely recall Jonathan Stiever from the alternate site to help them get through Wednesday's game. Other candidates to pitch included journeyman Alex McRae, who is currently in the roster spot vacated by Lynn, and Matt Foster.

Not the best setup for a game against a division rival. But thanks to the snow, the Sox avoid playing a game that they were likely to lose, and they never added Stiever, so the roster remains the same as it was Tuesday.

Now, they get a day off Thursday, and that pretty much allows the pitching staff to reset. The Sox host the Texas Rangers in a three-game series starting Friday, and every pitcher on the roster should be available -- except for Carlos Rodon, who started and won Tuesday's ballgame.

When the Sox get back on the field Friday, there will be two story lines. First, former Sox right-hander Dane Dunning, who was traded for Lynn, is the scheduled starter for Texas. Second, the Sox will attempt to get over the .500 mark for the first time in eight tries.

So far this season, the Sox have been 0-0, 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8 and now 9-9. Each time they've reached breakeven, they've lost their next game.

On one hand, the Sox haven't been able to get anything going with any consistency so far this season. But on the other hand, they've managed to tread water while they've struggled.

As frustrating as the team has been to watch, it's not as if they are 6-12 or something. They haven't dug a hole that will take them two weeks of good play to recover from or anything like that.

The next nine games are at home. If they can put together a halfway decent homestand against Texas, Detroit and Cleveland, they can push to the top of the AL Central.

Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal all slumping at the same time

Jose Abreu

A lot of the talk about the White Sox offense has centered around early-season injuries to Eloy Jimenez and Tim Anderson. Those hurt, no question, although Anderson returned to the lineup for Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Even more talk has centered around the usage of fringe players such as Nick Williams, Leury Garcia and Jake Lamb. Yes, it was a little odd to have Williams batting fifth and Lamb batting seventh on Tuesday night when the Sox were facing the best pitcher in the American League, Cleveland's Shane Bieber.

Williams was designated for assignment to make room for Anderson on the roster Thursday. In two days, he went from batting in the middle of the order to off the team. And Williams was the logical guy to go, so it's a fair question as to why he was given much responsibility while he was here.

And that said, the Sox's real problem offensively is slumps from key guys:

Jose Abreu is batting .184 with a .643 OPS. He is 9 for 49 on the season with 21 strikeouts. Twenty-one strikeouts in 13 games for the reigning AL MVP! And while he's got two home runs and nine RBIs, almost all of that production is tied up in the two grand slams he's hit already this season. 

Yoan Moncada is batting .191 with a .573 OPS. He is 9 for 47 on the season with 17 strikeouts. He has one home run and four RBIs, while batting in the cleanup spot. That's not enough production. 

Yasmani Grandal is batting .133 with a .600 OPS. He is 4 for 30, with one home run and six RBIs. Thank goodness he's taken nine walks to boost his OPS, but that's not enough hits for a guy who is batting No. 6 in the order.

The Sox are 6-7 after Thursday's loss. That's not too bad, considering they've gotten little from the Nos. 3, 4 and 6 batters in their lineup.

Let's see if any of these guys wake up this weekend as the Sox open a four-game series in Boston on Friday night.