2 White Sox players finish atop American League leaderboard

Tim Anderson

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu for making White Sox history this season.

Anderson, who hit .240 during the 2018 season, pretty much shocked the baseball world by winning the 2019 American League batting title. He finished the year at .335, comfortably ahead of the New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu, who batted .327.

There are only two other players in Sox history who have won a batting title, Luke Appling (1936, 1943) and Frank Thomas (1997), so Anderson is joining select company.

Abreu, meanwhile, totaled a career-high 123 RBIs to lead the American League. Kansas City's Jorge Soler and Boston's Xander Bogaerts finished second with 117 RBIs each.

This marks the first time a Sox player has led the AL in RBIs since Dick Allen did it in 1972. In other words, it has happened in my lifetime (which spans 43 years).

I've heard some fans grump that they don't care about "these individual accomplishments," and while I agree that team success is more important, and while I agree that the losing on the South Side of Chicago has grown tiresome, I also have an appreciation for baseball history and White Sox history when I see it.

We don't see Sox hitters lead the league in significant categories too often, so I see no harm in extending congratulations to Anderson and Abreu for the seasons they had at the plate.

The last day at Guaranteed Rate Field

My White Sox family (from left): Brian , Doug , Jen , Tom and me.

Kudos to the White Sox for having a respectable last homestand of 2019. It was rain abbreviated -- the Sox only played 161 games this season because of bad weather Friday -- but they closed it out with a 4-2 week at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Sox took two of the three from the Cleveland Indians, basically knocking their AL Central rivals out of the playoffs with an 8-3 win Wednesday night and a 8-0 win Thursday night.

The Sox then won two of three games from the hapless Detroit Tigers over the weekend, which allowed them to finish 72-89 -- a 10-game improvement over 2018.

Despite that improvement, it was still a non-contending year for the Sox, and a difficult season for me to watch at times. As we sat at the ballpark Sunday, watching the South Siders beat Detroit, 5-3, I had mixed emotions.

The Sox are concluding the season with only two healthy starting pitchers, Reynaldo Lopez and Ivan Nova. Yes, I know the injuries to Lucas Giolito (strained lat) and Dylan Cease (strained hamstring) are not considered serious, but the bottom line is they aren't pitching.

The team has had no choice but to make seemingly every other game a "bullpen day." If there was a game Monday, who would be the starting pitcher for the Sox? I have no idea, because Lopez and Nova both pitched in Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

From that perspective, for everyone's health and sanity, it is good the season is ending now. The Sox are almost out of starting pitching, and they don't need anyone else getting hurt while being pushed beyond their limits.

That said, while I know the season needed to end, that doesn't make me happy that it has. I always miss baseball during the winter, and this year will be no different.

You see, the beauty of the game is that it is played every day. Win or lose, there's always another game tomorrow. Until you get to the last day, and then you have to wait 179 days before the next meaningful ballgame is played. That stinks.

But at least we got to enjoy one last day with our friends at the ballpark. Believe it or not, they still had food at ChiSox Bar & Grill. (This is an improvement over previous season finales, if you can believe it.) The weather wasn't great, but the company was, and the Sox won.

My final attendance record for 2019: 10-10. That's not too bad when cheering for a 72-89 team. Let's hope that by next September, the Sox will be playing games that mean something in the standings for the first time since 2012.

An important September series at Guaranteed Rate Field ... for Cleveland

Mike Clevinger

With one week remaining in the regular season, the closest playoff race is in the American League.

Three teams are fighting for the two wild card spots, with Oakland (94-62) holding a two-game lead for the first spot over Tampa Bay (92-64) and Cleveland (92-64), which are in a dead heat for the final playoff berth entering Monday's games.

I think the A's are going to secure home-field advantage in that wild card game this week. Their six remaining games are all on the road, but they are against the bottom two teams in the AL West. Oakland plays two against the Los Angeles Angels and four at Seattle. A 3-3 record this week should be good enough for the A's. They'll manage.

The battle between Tampa Bay and Cleveland is much more interesting. I think the Rays are the better team, but based on strength of schedule, the Indians have a slight edge in this race.

Mainly, that edge involves Cleveland getting a chance to play three games against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field from Tuesday through Thursday.

To be fair to the Sox, they have more than held their own against the Tribe this season. Chicago owns a 9-7 edge in the season series. However, the pitching matchups this week strongly favor Cleveland:

Tuesday: Mike Clevinger (12-3, 2.54 ERA) vs. Hector Santiago (0-1, 5.23 ERA)
Wednesday: Shane Bieber (15-7, 3.23 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (2-5, 6.98 ERA)
Thursday: Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.82 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (4-7, 5.79 ERA)

The first two games of the series, the Indians are throwing starting pitchers who will get Cy Young votes. The Sox are throwing starting pitchers who are lucky they are still in baseball. It will be Thursday before the Sox use a pitcher who could make the game interesting, and even then, the rookie Cease is no sure bet.

Meanwhile, the Rays are playing the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. They then will host the AL East champion New York Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday before an off day Thursday.

So, between now and Thursday, the Indians have a golden opportunity to seize the lead in this race.

Once we get to the weekend, the schedule tilts back in Tampa Bay's favor, as it will go on the road to face also-ran Toronto, while Cleveland travels to Washington. The Nationals still are fighting to secure home-field advantage in the NL wild card race, so they likely will have something to play for.

From the Sox perspective, it sure would be nice to play spoiler against the rival Indians, but if we're making an honest assessment of the situation, the Sox would be fortunate to take one out of three in this series.

Reynaldo Lopez's struggles prevent White Sox from sweeping Detroit Tigers

Reynaldo Lopez

When people speak about the projected 2020 White Sox pitching staff, it is assumed that the starting rotation will include Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez and a veteran free agent to be signed later.

Perhaps those people are correct, but that's not the way it should work.

Giolito is the only Sox pitcher who has performed well enough in 2019 to where it can be assumed that he's a member of the rotation to open next season. In fact, barring an unforeseen big-name free agent acquisition, I would expect to see Giolito on the mound when next season opens March 26 against the Kansas City Royals.

All others should have to compete for a spot, and that includes Lopez, who pitched poorly Sunday in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The loss prevented the Sox (68-87) from sweeping the hapless Tigers (46-109).

The Sox offense totaled 36 hits through the first two games of the series. They won 10-1 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday, and neither Cease (4-7) nor Ivan Nova (11-12) found it all that difficult on their way to wins against the weak Detroit offense.

But on Sunday, Lopez got torched for three home runs and five earned runs over four innings, and he also received two lectures from manager Rick Renteria -- one a stern discussion on the mound during the second inning, and then another lengthy dialogue during the top of the fourth inning in the dugout.

The loss drops Lopez to 9-15 on the season, with an ugly 5.57 ERA. The right-hander had one of the best starts of his career Sept. 5, a complete-game one-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. However, in three starts since then -- against the Royals, Minnesota Twins and Tigers -- Lopez has given up five or more earned runs in every outing.

He's 0-3 with a 10.29 ERA in that span, having allowed 16 earned runs on 27 hits -- including six home runs -- over 14 innings.

Does that sound like somebody we should be "penciling in" to the 2020 rotation? Not in my world.

I realize two full seasons have been invested in Lopez's development now, so it's hard to give up on him. And the Sox shouldn't give up on him. He has some of the best fastball velocity in the league -- he's consistently throwing 95-plus. However, that's not good enough. The fastball has to be located, and the secondary pitches have to be better. Lopez surrendered three homers on sliders Sunday.

So where do the Sox go from here? To me, this is simple. The Sox need to sign two veteran free agent pitchers this offseason, not just one. And, if they must bring back Nova, tell him he's going to be serving as a long reliever and spot starter -- and he should only be retained *in addition* to two other acquisitions from outside the organization.

Create a situation where you have Lopez, Cease, Kopech and three veterans vying for the four spots in the rotation behind Giolito. The four best of the six are starters, and the other two can go sit in the bullpen.

If Lopez cannot command his fastball, if he cannot maintain his focus from start to start, if he cannot execute his breaking pitches -- even against a Triple-A lineup such as Detroit's -- then he needs to be removed from the rotation.

You see, this season the Sox are so short on pitching that Lopez, Cease and Nova are guaranteed to retain their spots in the rotation, no matter how bad they pitch. Hell, even Dylan Covey has been allowed to make starts when he's healthy, because there is no depth to speak of whatsoever.

This should not be. Everybody should have a little bit of fear that they could lose their job if they don't perform. As it stands right now, no matter how many lectures Renteria delivers, Lopez is in the rotation regardless of results.

This is a situation that must change this offseason. Invest in the pitching staff, White Sox. Create internal competition. Don't accept mediocrity or worse. No more scholarships for anybody.

Here's me with the San Diego Chicken ...

All of these White Sox losses are wearing on me, so I'm going to take a break from complaining about them (for now).

So, all you're getting from me today is this photo of me with the San Diego Chicken.

Maybe I'll have something nice to say by Monday. Cheers!

On the bright side, Eloy Jimenez has been hitting

Eloy Jimenez

The White Sox are continuing their September death march, but this extended stretch of losing hasn't been void of good individual performances.

Take rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez as an example.

Jimenez, 22, was named the American League Player of the Week for Sept. 9-15. During that time, he went 10 for 23 with three home runs, a double, 11 RBIs, three walks, six runs scored, three multi-hit games and a 1.370 OPS.

The biggest highlight was his first career grand slam Sept. 10 against the Kansas City Royals.

Now, it is true that Jimenez had his big week against the Royals and the Seattle Mariners, two teams that reside below the Sox in the American League standings. Was Jimenez bumslaying? Yeah, probably.

However, his good performance has carried over into this week against the first-place Minnesota Twins, a team that needs to win each and every time it takes the field to wrap up the AL Central title.

As of this writing, Jimenez is 5 for 12 with a homer, a double and two RBIs in the series. The Sox lost the first two games, but that wasn't Jimenez's fault.

For the year, the rookie has 28 home runs in 114 games. He's got a week and a half to reach the 30-homer plateau, which would be a good accomplishment, especially considering Jimenez had two stints on the injured list.

Lucas Giolito out for rest of season with lat strain

September baseball has been painful to watch for White Sox fans, and it looks as though the final couple of weeks are going to be even more nauseating.

Lucas Giolito's season is done. He has been shut down with what the team termed a mild lat strain. There are no long-term concerns associated with this injury, but the Sox's best pitcher will not make his final three starts of the season.

Ross Detwiler was starting in Giolito's place Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins. What could go wrong?

However, this injury does not diminish the fine season Giolito had. He finishes 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 176.2 innings. Last season, he struck out only 125 in 173.1 innings, when he went 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA. Add in the fact that Giolito cut his walks from 90 to 57 in a similar number of innings, and you have to say this is one of the better one-season improvements we've ever seen from a Sox player.

Giolito is tied for first in the American League in complete games (3) and shutouts (2). He's tied for fourth in strikeouts (228), fourth in WHIP (1.06), fifth in bWAR (5.9), sixth in ERA (3.41), sixth in FIP (3.44), seventh in ERA+ (135) and seventh in wins (14) on an absolute garbage team.

Obviously, Giolito got the velocity back on his fastball with his new mechanics and shorter arm swing this season. He was consistently between 94 and 96 mph with his heat, and he could touch 97 at times. During 2018, I didn't see too many fastballs above 92 or 93.

He also learned to command his changeup, and it became a lethal weapon against left-handed hitters. The 2018 version of Giolito didn't have an offspeed pitch he could reliably throw for strikes, let along a swing-and-miss pitch like his changeup became.

The games in which Giolito could throw his slider for strikes in any count, those were the games he dominated. He isn't quite consistent with that breaking ball yet, and I think that's the final frontier for him in his development as a pitcher.

If he can refine his breaking pitch to the point where it's working more nights than not, he can be a perennial All-Star with the fastball and changeup he possesses. It will be interesting to see what he can do for an encore in 2020.