Why the White Sox shouldn't trade Alex Colome or James McCann

Alex Colome

We're about a month away from trade talks heating up, and no doubt, some people are going to be calling for the White Sox to trade useful veterans such as closer Alex Colome or catcher James McCann.

I would be opposed to such trades. Colome and McCann are what I like to call "young veterans." Colome is 30 years old. McCann is 29. Neither is a kid, but neither is closed to washed up. They are in that window that you might call a player's prime -- ages 27 to 32.

They have value, but they aren't stars. You can get young players in a deal for them, but probably not premium prospects, and that's why the Sox should hold. Trading players similar to Colome and McCann has not been a strength for the Sox during this rebuild.

Let's forget about the deals of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Adam Eaton. Those guys are high-end players. The "next tier" type of trades are what we're talking about, and here are some past midseason Sox deals with guys who would fall in the category of young veterans:

• Traded David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle for Blake Rutherford, Tito Polo and Ian Clarkin.
• Traded Dan Jennings for Casey Gillaspie
• Traded Anthony Swarzak for Ryan Cordell
• Traded Melky Cabrera for A.J. Puckett and Andre Davis
• Traded Miguel Gonzalez for TiQuan Forbes
• Traded Joakim Soria for Kodi Medeiros and Wilber Perez
• Traded Luis Avilan for Felix Paulino
• Traded Xavier Cedeno for Bryan Connell and Johan Dominguez

There's eight trades on this list. The Sox acquired 13 players and only Cordell has made the majors. And I don't think any of us see Cordell as a long-term piece of the puzzle.

So, why would the Sox want to trade Colome and McCann for more "lottery tickets" such as the assorted busts on this list?

You look at where the Sox are right now: They have Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez in the lineup -- hopefully for good. Michael Kopech is coming back next season. Lucas Giolito is emerging. Reynaldo Lopez is going to be around. Dylan Cease and Luis Robert are on the way.

There's your young core, but you have to fill in around them. Not every roster spot can be filled by a prospect.

If you want to win in 2020 or 2021, you need a closer. Neither Ian Hamilton nor Zack Burdi have fulfilled that promise. Would you trust either of them to emerge? I would not. So keep Colome, who can do the job.

If you want to win in 2020 or 2021, you need a catcher. Do you trust either Zack Collins or Seby Zavala to handle a pitching staff on a contending club? Well, maybe you can have one of them on the roster, but it would be beneficial to have a veteran. I choose McCann over Welington Castillo.

At some point, you have to emerge from the "accumulating talent" stage and move to the "let's improve at the major league level" stage. I think the Sox are at that point. You can't just keep trading useful players for crap in perpetuity.

White Sox complete sweep of Royals in another wild game

Tim Anderson

There was a lot happening in the White Sox's 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Royals again hit Tim Anderson with a pitch -- in the head -- with an 86 mph changeup, so presumably that wasn't intentional. Kansas City pitcher Glenn Sparkman was ejected for throwing that pitch in the second inning, and the Sox made the Royals pay with a five-run rally -- capped off by Jose Abreu's 3-run homer -- to take an early 7-1 lead.

The Sox blew that whole thing thanks to some poor pitching and some questionable decision-making from the dugout. The Royals scored four runs in the sixth inning and two in the eighth to tie it.

Then Anderson put the Sox ahead to stay with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hopefully, he didn't look at anybody funny while he was rounding first base, or else the Royals will be throwing at him again next time the two teams play.

After the game, Anderson said he doesn't like the Royals and was happy the Sox swept the three-game series. Can't blame him. Changeup or no, nobody likes to see a pitch coming at their head.

A few other takes from this eventful game:

1. The ejection of Sparkman wasn't fair to him, but it was probably the right thing for the umpire to do to maintain control of the game -- and future games between these two teams. That ejection establishes that even the appearance of a beanball is going to be dealt with harshly. If Sparkman isn't ejected there, who is to say the Sox don't retaliate? After all, Anderson has been hit twice -- at least once intentionally -- and no Royals have been hit intentionally at all. It's best to get ahead of the whole thing and put a stop to anymore vigilante justice.
2. Why was Reynaldo Lopez allowed to throw 118 pitches in this game? He gave up a two-run homer to Jorge Soler in the sixth, walked a guy and was fortunate to get a double play. Then he gives up a single, a triple and another single while running on fumes. All of a sudden, it was 7-5, and Lopez didn't make it through the sixth after all. You would think with all pitchers injured in the Sox organization, they would be a little more cautious with starters who are supposedly part of the present and future. What are the manager and the pitching coach doing?
3. Man, Kelvin Herrera is having a bad May. He had a 2.51 ERA on May 1. His ERA is now 7.48. That will happen when your ERA is 17.18 over your past nine outings. And Herrera gave up two runs in the eighth in the stupidest way possible Wednesday. He walked a light-hitting catcher, mishandled a bunt, didn't bother to check two speedy runners and gave up a double steal, and then gave up a two-run single with the infield drawn in. It might be time to stop using Herrera in high-leverage spots. He's been ineffective for a full month.
4. As bad as Herrera has been, that's how good Alex Colome has been. He had one win and two saves in this series, pitching three scoreless innings in a span of about 29 hours. Colome is 11 for 11 in save opportunities. He is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA for the season, and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced in this series.

James McCann and Lucas Giolito: Winning combination for White Sox

James McCann

When the White Sox signed catcher James McCann this offseason, I did not like the move. And why would anyone?

McCann was a below-average catcher in 2018. He batted .220/.267/.314 with only eight home runs, 16 doubles and 39 RBIs in 118 games for the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers were one of the worst teams in the league -- only two wins better than the Sox at 64-98 -- and they chose not to offer McCann a contract.

Signing this player looked like the usual dumpster diving by the Sox front office. But for once, it appears Sox brass was right and I was wrong.

At the one-third mark of the season, McCann is hitting .350/.385/.528 with four home runs, 10 doubles and 12 RBIs. He's even got three stolen bases. Maybe his power numbers are so-so, but there's no arguing with that batting average and on-base percentage. He's been swinging the bat well since the season began.

And the Sox have been winning consistently when he starts behind the plate. Keep in mind this team is 25-29 overall. Here is the Sox's record with each starting catcher:

McCann: 18-12 (.600)
Welington Castillo: 7-16 (.304)
Seby Zavala: 0-1 (.000)
Total: 25-29 (.463)

Let's add one caveat here: McCann has caught all of Lucas Giolito's starts. The right-hander is 7-1 after his 4-3 win over the Royals on Tuesday night. In fact, Giolito has won each of his past five starts.

But isn't it interesting that Giolito's ERA has gone from 6.13 to 2.85 this season, and he's been quick to credit McCann for helping him make in-game adjustments during this career-best streak. Giolito has to make the pitches, yes, but his catcher is clearly helping him along.

McCann went 3 for 4 and scored the go-ahead run in Tuesday's win, so his bat is helping Giolito and other Sox pitchers as much as his game-calling.

No way is McCann going to hit .350 all year. His career slash line is .248/.295/.378. But even when the inevitable regression happens, McCann's numbers might be good enough to get an all-star nod in the American League this year.

The way he and Giolito are working together, they both might end up making the AL roster in mid-July.

Finally, Ivan Nova pitches well at Guaranteed Rate Field

Ivan Nova

White Sox starting pitcher Ivan Nova has three wins this season. He's managed to beat Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman and Gerrit Cole -- three pitchers you wouldn't expect him to outpitch. But outpitch them he did.

The other thing that stands out about Nova: All three of those wins have come on the road. Check out his home-and-road splits coming into Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals:

Home: 0-2, 16.36 ERA in three starts, 11 IP, 24 H, 20 ER, 8 Ks, 7 BBs, 5 HRs allowed
Road: 3-2, 4.57 ERA in seven starts, 43.1 IP, 55 H, 22 ERs, 27 Ks, 10 BBs, 6 HRs allowed

Honestly, that line in road games is probably what the Sox had hoped Nova's overall numbers would look like. It's his home numbers that have ruined everything, so his performance against the Royals on Monday was at least a step forward -- even though it came against a last-place team.

Nova pitched five innings, allowing one earned run on six hits. He struck out two, walked nobody and kept the ball in the yard for a change. The rains came in the bottom of the fifth inning, suspending the game until Tuesday and ending Nova's start early.

The Sox won, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon on a single by Yolmer Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Nova's next start also will be at home, and again, he'll be pitching against a weaker lineup -- the Cleveland Indians. We'll see if he can get some traction and give the Sox at least one other reasonable starting pitcher besides Lucas Giolito.

May 27: Memorial Day 2019

Lucas Giolito throws shutout in White Sox win over Astros

Did you ever think you would see a day when White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito would throw 82 of his 107 pitches for strikes in a game?

Consider this about Giolito's outing Thursday against the Houston Astros: In the second inning, he threw 11 pitches -- all of them strikes. In the fifth inning, he threw nine pitches -- all of them strikes. In the seventh inning, he threw six pitches -- all of them strikes.

Three separate times, Giolito retired the side without throwing a single pitch out of the zone, against the No. 2 offense in the American League.

Is this the same guy who led the AL with 90 walks and 118 earned runs allowed in 187 innings in 2018?

Sure doesn't seem like it, and thank goodness.

Giolito fired a complete-game, four-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory over Houston. He struck out nine, walked only one, and none of the four hits went for extra bases. With the win, the Sox rally to split the four-game series with the Astros, after they dropped the first two games.

Sure, Houston was without George Springer and Jose Altuve. But that lineup still features Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa -- three damn good hitters -- and Giolito dominated.

This time, his slider was his best offspeed pitch. He threw it 20 times and got seven swinging strikes. He threw his change 24 times, as well, but the slider seemed to be the out pitch. He still had it working in the ninth inning, too, when he struck out Correa with a nasty one for the second out.

One big key for this turnaround for Giolito: His fastball velocity has returned. Remember, last year he was throwing 91 to 93 mph. Now with his shorter arm action and more compact delivery, his fastball averaged 94.8 mph Thursday and topped out at 97.3 mph.

He still had the heat in the ninth inning, too. I saw a fastball register at 97 in the aforementioned at-bat with Correa.

Giolito's record is now 6-1 with a 2.77 ERA. The traditional pitching numbers are good, as are some of the other numbers people like to look at. His WHIP is 1.058. He's allowed only three home runs in 52 innings pitched. His strikeouts per nine innings sit at 10.2, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 3.11. His FIP is 2.78.

Obviously, we need to see it for a whole season to say that Giolito has truly turned a corner and established himself as a legitimate piece of the starting rotation. However, this early-season performance sure is encouraging, and it's sorely needed.

And with this win over the Astros, he's got a victory over one of the league's elite to his name.

(And, oh yeah, Eloy Jimenez homered for the third time in the series against Houston in Thursday's game. We like to sneak Eloy's name in here whenever we get the chance -- his presence drives up the web numbers. Hey, at least we're not being phony about that mattering.)

White Sox beat Astros for first time since September 2017

A triple play turned, four double plays turned, four home runs hit, including a grand slam ... yes, the White Sox looked like a good team Wednesday night against the Houston Astros.

It seemed as though the Sox would have to do everything right to win a game against the AL West-leading Astros, and they pretty much did just that in a 9-4 win.

Sox starter Ivan Nova (3-4) was in trouble in the bottom of the third inning, clinging to a 1-0 lead with Houston runners at first and second and nobody out. Then Jake Marisnick hit a grounder that took Yoan Moncada right to the third-base bag, and Moncada started a 5-4-3, around-the-horn triple play to get Nova out of trouble.

It was the first triple play the Sox have turned since 2016, when they had three of them the first half of the season.

But that triple play might not have been the most shocking play of the game. The other stunner came in the top of the sixth inning with the Sox leading, 4-3. The bases were loaded with two outs when Charlie Tilson, of all people, connected for a grand slam off a 98-mph fastball from Josh James to make it 8-3.

It was Tilson's first home run in 164 career plate appearances. In case you were wondering how many times a Sox player has hit a grand slam for his first career homer, here's a list:

Tilson, May 22, 2019
Danny Richar, Aug. 17, 2007
Norberto Martin, June 4, 1994
Kevin Bell, June 22, 1976
Vince Castino, July 23, 1943
Tom Turner, June 24, 1942
Spence Harris, July 28, 1925
Happy Felsch, June 18, 1915

It's only happened three times in my lifetime.

And only four times in the past 40 years has a team turned a triple play and hit a grand slam in the same game. The Sox had never done it before.

Did I mention Eloy Jimenez hit two homers Wednesday night?

Yes, it was a good night for the Sox. They snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Astros, and hey, they won't get swept in this four-game series. It was the South Siders' first win against Houston since Sept. 21, 2017.