Happy Fourth of July from The Baseball Kid

 

Let's do some White Sox player comparisons ...

Let's do some White Sox player comparisons. I'll give you three stat lines, none of which will be good. Then, you name the player. See the comments for the answer key.

Player A: .200/.276/.262

Player B: .210/.233/.267

Player C: .230/.270/.272

White Sox continue to have weakness in right field

Before Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, the White Sox made a swap of bench players. They optioned infielder Jose Rodriguez to Double-A Birmingham and recalled outfielder Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte.

The Rodriguez move makes sense. The 22-year-old was called up June 19, but he only appeared in one game -- as a pinch runner. Given that manager Pedro Grifol apparently had no intention of using him, Rodriguez is better off getting regular at-bats in Birmingham and continuing his development.

But why recall Haseley? The 27-year-old appeared in 26 games with the Sox earlier this season and slashed .222/.282/.278. His numbers in Charlotte are fine -- a .796 OPS in 35 games -- but that reflects exactly what Haseley is: a Quad-A outfielder.

He's another guy the Sox can toss into their right field mix, but there's no rational reason to believe Haseley can move the needle at a position that has been a perpetual weakness for years.

Right now, Gavin Sheets and Clint Frazier are forming a platoon in right field, with the lefty Sheets playing against right-handed pitching, and the righty Frazier playing against lefties. If the Sox have a lead late on days when Sheets is playing, Frazier comes in because he is the superior defensive player.

But the main problem is neither man has been hitting:

Sheets in the month of June: .195/.298/.317 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and only 2 doubles in 17 games

Frazier in the month of June: .147/.275/.177 with only 1 double and 1 RBI in 18 games

As a matter of fact, Frazier has more walks (6) than hits (5) this month, and he is without a homer on the season. Right field is supposed to be a power position. The Sox are getting nothing of the sort.

Remember what happened in the offseason? The Sox did not address right field, believing rookie Oscar Colas was ready to man the position. It didn't work out early, as Colas batted .211/.265/.276 with only one homer and seven RBIs in 25 games before being optioned.

Colas has an .823 OPS in 43 games in Triple-A Charlotte. That's good, not great. BUT ... since June 13, he's posted a slash line of .295/.354/.613. He's homered three times in the past two days. He went 8 for 19 on the Knights' most recent homestand.

There's still plenty of upside in the 24-year-old Colas. Why not give him another shot in right field while he's hot? Wouldn't that be a more inspired use of a roster spot than the journeyman Haseley?

Luis Robert Jr. looks like favorite to represent White Sox in All-Star Game

About an hour before game time Sunday, in Suite 250.

Luis Robert Jr. went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs on Sunday, lifting the White Sox to a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in the rubber match of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Robert Jr.'s first homer was in the fourth inning, a high fly to right-center field that just cleared the fence. The two-run shot gave the Sox their first lead of the game at 2-1.

Andrew Benintendi's RBI double scored Gavin Sheets, who had walked, in the fifth inning to make it 3-1. Robert Jr. then capped the scoring in the sixth with a screaming liner to left field that cleared the Sox bullpen.

On the pitching side, it was a bullpen game for the Sox. Tanner Banks started and gave up the lone Boston run over 2.2 innings pitched. Jesse Scholtens (1-2) went four scoreless innings to pick up the first win of his career, and Keynan Middleton worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the season.

Robert Jr. now has 21 home runs this season, to go along with 20 doubles.

Here is a list of Sox players to clear 20 home runs and 20 doubles before the All-Star break:

• Frank Thomas, 1993
• Frank Thomas, 1994
• Magglio Ordonez, 2000
• Frank Thomas, 2003
• Jermaine Dye, 2008
• Jose Abreu, 2014
• Jose Abreu, 2019
• Luis Robert Jr., 2023

It's exclusive list. Robert Jr.'s slash line is now .269/.326/.559. Even with his high strikeout totals (91 in 315 plate appearances), his extra-base power and premium defense in center field easily make Robert Jr. the most effective player on the Sox this season.

It's hard to see a scenario where he isn't the guy to represent the Sox during the MLB All-Star Game next month in Seattle.

Worst-case scenario playing out on South Side?

The White Sox have once again lost four consecutive series, dropping their season record to 32-44. 

Through 76 games, the question is, is the worst-case scenario playing out on the South Side of Chicago? The Sox are without a doubt a poor team, but thanks to the rotten American League Central Division, they remain in the pennant race.

Somehow, the Sox are only six games out of first place heading into a weekend home series against the Boston Red Sox. The Minnesota Twins lead the AL Central, with a 38-38 record. 

There are no winning teams in this division.

Could the poor division convince Sox brass to stay the course the rest of the season, in an attempt to grab a cheap playoff berth? 

The guess here is that if they try that, they will fall short. Given the bottom-third offense that we've highlighted in the past, it's difficult to see this team going on any sort of sustained run.

However, if the Sox remain close, or somewhat close, headed into the July 31 trade deadline, it's not hard to see management "going for it." The worst-case scenario would be going for it with no changes, falling short, accomplishing nothing and the year is lost with no accountability for any of the people in charge. 

I hope that doesn't happen, but doesn't it feel like we might be headed in that direction?

Suddenly, I'm being transported back to 2017-18

I remember the darkest days of the White Sox rebuild -- in 2017 and 2018. 

I used to check the pitching matchup in the morning and say to myself, "Good grief, the Sox have no chance to win today." And they would inevitably lose, and you'd just live with it (but not like it) because expectations are so low.

On Tuesday morning, I found myself in that position again. White Sox at Dodgers. Lance Lynn (6.75 ERA) on the mound for the Sox. Tony Gonsolin (1.93 ERA) on the mound for Los Angeles.

A helpless feeling. The Sox have no chance. They are beat before they even step on the field.

Lynn gave up two two-run homers in the first inning. It was 4-0 Dodgers by the top of the second inning. Gonsolin threw six innings of shutout ball. He allowed only two hits.

The Dodgers beat the Sox, 5-1. Five or six years ago, we all shrugged off the Sox being overmatched by an elite team like Los Angeles. 

Now, it's more irritating because we were promised an elite team. Instead, we have a losing team. All you can do is shake your head.

Bullpen isn't biggest problem for White Sox

The White Sox lost two out of three games to the Miami Marlins this past weekend, with all three games being decided in the ninth inning.

Luis Robert Jr.'s walk-off single lifted the Sox to a 2-1 victory on Friday night, but the other two games were losses characterized by bullpen meltdowns.

Joe Kelly gave up five runs (two earned) in the top of the ninth Saturday, turning a 1-0 lead into a 5-1 loss. He was not helped by Tim Anderson's error.

On Sunday, the Sox took a 5-1 lead into the eighth inning, but they lost 6-5. Keynan Middleton, who hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up two solo home runs in the eighth. Kendall Graveman, who also hadn't allowed a run since April, gave up three runs in the ninth and took the loss. He was not helped by a catcher's interference call against Seby Zavala.

That said, I don't feel like the bullpen is the biggest problem for the Sox. Far from it. Before Saturday, the relievers were receiving praise for a lights-out performance. Through the first seven games of June, the Sox bullpen posted 0.78 ERA with a .117 batting average against. 

The Sox won six of those seven games, with relievers earning the win in five of those contests. What happened over the weekend is inevitable regression.

Here's something that is not regression: The Sox offense stinks. Despite being 6-3 in June, this team is batting .202/.274/.343 this month. The Sox need more from hitters up and down the lineup, as we detailed last week.

Nothing has changed. The Sox are 29-38.