Some final thoughts on Team USA's loss in WBC

Some questionable lineup and managerial decisions. Underperformance by some highly decorated players.

That's the story for Team USA, which had to settle for silver in the World Baseball Classic after losing 3-2 to Venezuela in Tuesday's championship game in Miami.

The U.S. bats were kept quiet until the bottom of the eighth, when Bryce Harper delivered a two-out, two-run, 432-foot home run to center field to tie the score at 2.

It could have been an iconic home run in baseball history, but it will mostly be forgotten because Venezuela answered quickly with a run in the top of the ninth and made that lead stick.

Reliever Garrett Whitlock walked Luis Arraez to start the ninth, and Eugenio Suarez followed with an RBI double that provided the Venezuelans the winning run.

Honestly, it was silly to not throw strikes to Arraez, a contact hitter without much power. If you throw Arraez a strike, the worst thing that will likely happen is he will hit it for a single. You can't just give him a base. You have to make it earn it.

Suarez is a completely different type of hitter -- big power, but a lot of swing-and-miss. If you lay one in to him, he can hurt you, and he most definitely hurt Whitlock and Team USA.

Why did they pitch Arraez like a slugger and then challenge Suarez in the middle of the plate? No idea.

A better question: Why was Whitlock out there anyway? Mason Miller is Team USA's best reliever, but apparently he was only available for a "save situation." 

That's weird. Can you pitch an inning or can you not? What difference does it make whether it's a save situation? 

When asked after the game why Miller wasn't used, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said he wanted to "honor the Padres" by only using Miller if there was an opportunity for a save.

The San Diego Padres, of course, are Miller's MLB team. But what's the priority here? "Honoring the Padres" or winning a game for your country?

That's why this tournament, as much as I enjoy it, still doesn't carry a lot of weight with people. 

DeRosa's taking a lot of heat for the U.S. loss and rightfully so. Gunnar Henderson had been the hottest American hitter in the tournament. He did not start in the championship game, so Alex Bregman, who is ice-cold, could go 0 for 3. Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last season, didn't leave the bench in this final game.

In fairness, Raleigh was hitless in the tournament, and he wasn't the only big name who was quiet for the U.S. Aaron Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the title game. Even with his big homer, Harper hit only .214 for the tournament. Will Smith, who was catching instead of Raleigh, was hitless Tuesday night. Bregman batted .143 in the WBC.

Not great. A lot of blame to go around, for both the manager and the players. 

Kyle Teel out 4 to 6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain

White Sox catcher Kyle Teel is expected to miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, general manager Chris Getz announced on Wednesday.

Teel, who was playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, was injured Tuesday running from first base to second after doubling in Italy's 8-6 win over the United States.

Earlier in Tuesday's game, Teel homered to give his team the lead. Italy was a surprise winner in Pool B of the WBC, as it completed a 4-0 run through pool play with a 9-1 win over Mexico on Wednesday night.

With two weeks to go until the regular season begins, it is certain that Teel will begin the season on the injured list. The best-case scenario involves a return around mid-April, which would likely require a rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte. 

Most likely, Teel will not play for the Sox until late April or early May.

Fortunately, the Sox have depth at catcher. There's been an offseason debate over who will be the team's long-term answer at the position, Teel or Edgar Quero?

With Teel out, Quero will get the chance to catch the overwhelming majority of the games this first month. Despite plenty of trade speculation, the Sox also have Korey Lee on their roster. The pitchers like throwing to Lee, who is a respectable defensive player. You wouldn't want Lee to be your starting catcher because he doesn't hit enough, but he's fine as a backup who plays once or twice a week.

Injuries are inevitable in sports, and despite all the crying from Sox fans on social media, Teel's pulled hamstring does not change the trajectory of the season. It shouldn't be a long-term injury, and the Sox have other players who are capable of filling in.  

The White Sox in 1-run games ... not good

I haven't written much about spring training games because I put no stock in the results or the statistics.

The White Sox are 7-6 through their first 13 Cactus League games, which is fine. It's better than being 3-10 like we've seen in previous years.

But one thing I've noticed, the Sox are 0-5 in one-run games this spring. The latest such loss happened Tuesday, 4-3 to the San Diego Padres.

Of course, it's minor league players in there at the end of games, but my eyebrows are raised a little bit because the Sox have been almost comically terrible in one-run games the past two years.

In 2024, they went 13-29 in such games. Last season, they were 15-36. That makes them 28-65 over the past two seasons in games decided by one run. 

I can almost hear Chuck Garfien's voice in my head right now: "There's no way they're going to lose that many one-run games again this season! If they had won even two of those one-run losses they have this spring, they'd be 9-4 right now!"

Just something to keep an eye on once the games start to matter. Winners find a way. So do losers. 

CHSN: Why not air more spring training games?

If you want to watch the White Sox spring training opener against the Cubs on Friday, you'll have to turn on Marquee Network. 

You might want to mute the TV to avoid that extra helping of Cubbie glee. 

Given that it's the first game of spring, and given that the opponent is the other Chicago team, you'd think Chicago Sports Network would be on the air with Sox-centric coverage.

But you'd be wrong. You'll have to wait until Saturday to see the first Sox broadcast of the spring. Here's the list of spring games appearing on the network this year:

• Saturday, Feb. 21 vs. Athletics, 2:05 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 22 vs. Brewers, 2:05 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 28 vs. Guardians, 2:05 p.m.
• Saturday, March 7 vs. Mariners, 2:10 p.m.
• Friday, March 13 vs. Cubs, 3:05 p.m.
• Saturday, March 14 vs. Dodgers, 3:05 p.m.
• Thursday, March 19 vs. Padres, 8:10 p.m.
• Saturday, March 21 vs. Dodgers, 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday, March 22 vs. Mariners, 2:05 p.m.

Only nine games. You'd think they'd show more. What else does Chicago Sports Network have to show on February and March afternoons? The World Series of Poker? Outdoors Today? The Chuck Garfien White Sox podcast? 

Wouldn't it be better to just show the games? 

Of course, that would cost money. It would require sponsorships. It would require Sox announcers to actually want to show up.

That's not really how things work around here. 

One White Sox fan's hope for 2026: Relevance in May

Spring training has arrived, and optimism is flowing to the point of nausea in both Arizona and Florida. Every player is in "the best shape of his life," and 162-0 is still mathematically possible for everyone.

For the White Sox, you hear fan and media discussion of what win total is possible in 2026. The consensus is that they "should improve" upon last season's 60-102 record. You'd like to think so, but I'm having a little trouble buying some of the more optimistic projections of close-to-a-.500 season. There's been some talk of 80 wins.

Call me jaded, but after 324 losses over the past three seasons, I'm not that excited. The Sox are going to have to show me something once the games begin for real on March 26.

How about we set a more modest goal for the team? How about still being relevant in the AL Central in May?

Doesn't seem like a tall task, does it? But consider the Sox's records entering May over the past three seasons:

• 2025: 7-23
• 2024: 6-24
• 2023: 8-21 

That's three brutal Aprils in a row. That's three years of all hope being extinguished by the 30-game mark.

Barring a postponement or two, the Sox will have 31 games played on May 1 this year. Would a record like 14-17 be too much to ask? Maybe they could at least get into double-digit wins by the end of April for a change.

Baby steps. Let's start with that. 

Tigers add Justin Verlander, look like AL Central favorite

Justin Verlander is going back to where his Hall of Fame career started.

The soon-to-be-43-year-old agreed to terms on a one-year, $13 million contract with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

Detroit, of course, is where Verlander pitched the first 13 seasons of his 20-year career in the big leagues. It is where he collected 183 of his 266 career wins, and it is where he won the first of his three Cy Young awards -- in addition to his 2011 American League MVP award.

Does he have anything left? Well, I would say he's still a serviceable mid-rotation starter. He pitched in hard luck with the San Francisco Giants last season, going 4-11, but with a respectable 3.85 ERA.

And really, all the Tigers need is for Verlander to be a serviceable mid-rotation starter.

Last week, Detroit signed former Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million contract. Valdez slots in as the No. 2 starter behind reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal.

The Tigers also have Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize in their rotation, so if Verlander throws like a No. 3 or No. 4 pitcher, that's fine.

I don't know if I'd say Detroit has the best starting rotation in the American League, but you could make the case. And there's really no question the Tigers are the favorites in the Central Division now. 

Erick Fedde returns to White Sox on 1-year deal

Veteran right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde has agreed to a one-year contract with the White Sox, sources say.

This will be Fedde's second stint with the Sox, as he made 21 starts with the team in 2024 before being traded in July of that season.

The 33-year-old has spent parts of eight seasons in the majors, going a combined 34-55 with a 4.94 ERA with the Washington Nationals, White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers.

Fedde enjoyed his best success with the 2024 Sox. Here's a breakdown of that season:

• 2024 with White Sox: 7-4, 3.11 ERA, 1.142 WHIP in 121.2 innings pitched
• 2024 with Cardinals: 2-5, 3.72 ERA, 1.204 WHIP in 55.2 innings pitched
• 2024 totals: 9-9, 3.30 ERA, 1.162 WHIP in 177.1 innings pitched

Those are very respectable totals, and Fedde actually started the 2025 season well in St. Louis. He had a 3.54 ERA over his first 13 starts, but then the wheels completely fell off. Fedde pitched with three different teams before the season was over, and he ended the year in Milwaukee's bullpen. Here's a breakdown of that season:

• 2025 with Cardinals: 3-10, 5.22 ERA, 1.505 WHIP in 101.2 innings pitched
• 2025 with Braves: 1-2, 8.10 ERA, 1.843 WHIP in 23.1 innings pitched
• 2025 with Brewers: 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.125 WHIP in 16 innings pitched
• 2025 totals: 4-13, 5.49 ERA, 1.518 WHIP in 141 innings pitched

Fedde seemed to regain his form a bit in the small sample size of relief work with the Brewers, but that season was pretty brutal overall for him.

The Sox are apparently hoping he'll regain his 2024 form in a city where he's comfortable, and where he had his best MLB production.

The best guess here is Fedde slots into the No. 4 spot in the Sox rotation, behind Shane Smith, Davis Martin and Anthony Kay. As camp opens, expect the No. 5 spot to be an open competition among Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, Tanner McDougal and David Sandlin.

As is our custom when players return for a second tour in Chicago, let's welcome Fedde back with the traditional video: