Paul Konerko sticks up for 2005 White Sox

Paul Konerko

There have only been two teams in Major League history to go wire-to-wire in the regular season and sweep the World Series -- the 1927 New York Yankees and the 2005 White Sox.

But even though the 2005 Sox went 99-63 in the regular season and romped through the playoffs with an 11-1 record, you rarely hear that club mentioned when people talk about the best teams in baseball history.

Sure, the Sox were one-year wonders, but for a single season, it's tough to top what that team did.

In an article on The Athletic, written by Tim Britton, the first baseman on that 2005 Sox team made that point.

“I think playing in Chicago for the White Sox, individually speaking, it’s a great town to play in but let’s be honest: It’s a Cubs town. You’re kind of overshadowed a little bit by everything going on with the Cubs,” Paul Konerko said. “It never really bothered me, because I didn’t care about that stuff.

“But the one thing I would stand up for is, when you see a lot of recaps of the best postseason teams or the best teams in history, there’s never any mention of that team. There’s never any talk about that team. It’s almost like it didn’t even happen.

“We just went in and basically kicked everybody’s ass, you know? Anybody who knows me knows I don’t really play the game of trying to argue those types of things or take offense, but I’ve always stood up for that team because I think we deserve better in how people view that team.”

Konerko is right. They did kick everybody's ass. It probably needs to be said more often, so that the 2005 Sox actually get the respect they deserve.

White Sox activate Tim Anderson, recall Carson Fulmer

Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson was back in the lineup Tuesday, batting seventh and playing shortstop as the White Sox opened a three-game series against the New York Mets.

Anderson suffered a high ankle sprain June 25 in Boston and missed 26 games, during which the Sox went 10-16.

He is hitting .317/.342/.491 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 70 games this season.

Over the past week, Anderson went 8 for 23 with a home run and four RBIs in five rehab games with Triple-A Charlotte.

In addition to activating Anderson from the injured list, the Sox also optioned outfielder Ryan Cordell to Charlotte and recalled pitcher Carson Fulmer.

Fulmer, who is 1-1 with a 6.32 ERA in 13 games with the Sox this season, takes the roster spot of Dylan Covey, who was optioned after a disastrous start against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Anderson takes Cordell's roster spot.

I was thinking Anderson would simply take Covey's spot, and that Cordell would hang on until Saturday when the Sox next need a fifth starting pitcher. Instead, the Sox want an extra arm for this series against the Mets.

Not to mention, the July 31 trading deadline is Wednesday, and it just so happens the Sox player most likely to be sold off (Alex Colome) is a reliever, so perhaps the team wants Fulmer already in town in case that move happens.

Dylan Covey's fan murdering overshadows Eloy Jimenez's return to White Sox lineup

Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday night

Fourteen pitches. That's all it took for White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Covey to give up five runs to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Covey got knocked out without recording a single out, and the Twins went on to beat the Sox, 11-1. With the loss, the South Siders dropped three out of four in the series. They fell to 2-5 on the current 10-game homestand and are now 4-13 since the All-Star break.

If you were a fan at this game, God bless you, because you deserve a refund. It was bad enough for me watching on TV.

Here's how those first five Minnesota batters fared:

Max Kepler doubled to right field.
Jorge Polanco homered to center field.
Nelson Cruz singled to left field.
Luis Arraez singled to left field.
Miguel Sano homered to right field.

All five players hit the ball hard.

Thankfully, Covey was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the game. His season record is 1-7 with a 6.99 ERA, and his removal from the rotation is long overdue. It isn't just his poor performance this season. Covey has had three years to get it right, and he's arguably just as bad as ever:

2017: 0-7, 7.71 ERA, 18 games (12 starts)
2018: 5-14, 5.18 ERA, 27 games (21 starts)
2019: 1-7, 6.99 ERA, 14 games (10 starts)
Career: 6-28, 6.28 ERA, 59 games (43 starts)

That's enough opportunities to conclude Covey is not a starting pitcher, don't you think? This guy is the poster child for the Sox being slow to react to problems. It's time to move on, and hopefully, the embarrassment on Sunday is enough for the team to finally throw in the towel on this idea that Covey is a rotation piece.

Covey's terrible performance overshadowed Eloy Jimenez's return to the lineup. Jimenez, who bruised his elbow July 16 in Kansas City, came back sooner than the predicted two-week absence. He did not go on a minor league rehab assignment, so some rust is expected.

Despite going 0 for 3, I thought Jimenez looked good at the plate. He lined out to Kepler in deep right field in his first plate appearance. Jonathan Schoop made a good play on him on a hard grounder up the middle his second time up. In his third at-bat with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing, 9-1, he saw eight pitches and worked the count full.

Pitch nine was low and inside and should have been called ball four. Alas, Angel Hernandez is one of the worst umpires in the game, and he called Jimenez out. It should have been a bases-loaded walk, an RBI and a 9-2 game. Instead, Sox manager Rick Renteria got ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

Hernandez is not the reason the Sox lost -- Covey is -- but that was still a frustrating turn of events.

With Jimenez's return, the Sox designated utility infielder Jose Rondon for assignment before Sunday's game. Rondon is another guy who hung around longer than he probably should have. This season, he hit .197/.265/.282 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 55 games.

Sooner or later, the Sox needed to pare down the number of utility players they have on the 25-man roster. Rondon has been outplayed by both Leury Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez throughout the season, and he didn't merit more opportunities.

I'm on vacation ...

... and blogging will resume Monday, July 29.

Taking a baseball road trip that doesn't involve the crummy White Sox

The White Sox are 0-7 since the All-Star break after being swept in a four-game series at Kansas City this week.

Yes, the 36-62 Royals won four straight games against the Sox (42-51), who continue to find new lows in this interminable, hard-on-the-eyes rebuilding process.

But there is good news: I'm leaving town for a week, which means I won't have to watch or hear about this crappy baseball team for seven days. I'm taking a baseball trip that doesn't involve the Sox, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

My itinerary:

Sunday, July 20: Drive to Cleveland
Sunday, July 21: Royals vs. Indians at Progressive Field
Monday, July 22: Drive to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Tuesday, July 23: Visit National Baseball Hall of Fame
Wednesday, July 24: Drive to Pittsburgh
Thursday, July 25: Cardinals vs. Pirates at PNC Park
Friday, July 26: Drive home

I'm going to see a part of the country I haven't seen before, and visiting the Hall of Fame is a bucket list item. Can't wait.

Blogging will resume when I return home. Maybe the Sox will have won a game in the second half by then.

Let us never speak of this Oakland series again, OK?

Ivan Nova

The White Sox opened the second half of the season by playing their worst series in quite some time. They were swept in three games in Oakland. They were outscored, 21-5, and were limited to only two extra-base hits the entire series -- both of which came Sunday.

Dating back to 2017, the Sox have lost their past eight games in Oakland. That stadium has been a house of horrors for the South Siders seemingly for the past 25 years.

I was noticing that Kansas City traded starting pitcher Homer Bailey to Oakland over the weekend. And I thought, hey, if the Royals can trade a mediocre, washed-up pitcher such as Bailey, does that mean the Sox can trade Ivan Nova?

Nova was up to his old tricks Friday night, giving up three home runs in a 5-1 loss. The right-hander is now 4-8 with a 5.60 ERA this season, and his failure to pitch like a reasonable stopgap veteran continues to be one of the disappointments on this team.

I'd say trade Nova for a bag of balls, but if he does depart, that may prolong Dylan Covey's stay in the starting rotation. Covey did not make it out of the first inning in Saturday's 13-2 loss. He is 1-5 with a 5.92 ERA this season, and he is 6-26 with 6.07 ERA for his career.

How much longer are the Sox going to insult us with the idea that Covey is a viable solution in the rotation? There's been a lot of talk about the rebuild "turning a corner" this season, as the Sox still qualify as overachieving with their 42-47 record.

However, this team will not truly "turn a corner" until they are putting a credible starting pitcher on the mound more days than not. Right now, charitably speaking, there are 2.5 holes in the rotation. Some may say there are four holes.

Hey, at least Reynaldo Lopez pitched well Sunday. He allowed only one unearned run over six innings, but the Sox still lost, 3-2. Lopez's ERA is finally below six at 5.97.

It's going to be a long second half with the Sox pitching staff continuing to be in a state of disrepair. They've done a decent job of covering up the holes over half a season, but the warts always show over a 162-game schedule.

White Sox option Daniel Palka to Charlotte, claim AJ Reed off waivers

AJ Reed

Catching up on some roster comings and goings before the White Sox return from the All-Star break:

After Sunday's 3-1 victory over the Cubs, the Sox optioned outfielder Daniel Palka to Triple-A Charlotte. Palka, 27, made 10 plate appearances in his latest stint on the South Side and went 0 for 10.

His line for the season is ugly. He's 1 for 45 in 52 plate appearances with 18 strikeouts. His slash line now stands at .022/.154/.022.

It's hard to believe Palka was the feel-good story of the 2018 season, when he led the Sox with 27 home runs. This season, he's not going to get 27 hits at the big-league level, let alone 27 home runs, even if he gets recalled when rosters expand in September.

And at this point, it's fair to ask whether that will happen. We may have seen the last of Palka in a Sox uniform.

At the time of Palka's demotion, the Sox said they would make a corresponding roster move before Friday night's game against the Oakland Athletics. With injured veteran catcher Welington Castillo on a rehab assignment, I was assuming he would be the one added to the 25-man roster.

Turns out, the Sox claimed left-handed hitting first baseman AJ Reed off waivers from the Houston Astros. He is expected to be on the roster Friday night.

Reed, 26, once was ranked among the top 15 prospects in the game, but he's never been able to hit major league pitching. Over parts of three seasons with the Astros, he's hitting .153/.253/.244 with three home runs, three doubles, eight RBIs and 50 strikeouts in 150 career plate appearances.

He had a decent season at the Triple-A level last year, where he made the All-Star game and hit .255/.374/.540 with 28 home runs and 108 RBIs in 123 games.

However, Reed has fallen on hard times this season -- he's hitting only .224 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs in 56 games at Triple-A Round Rock. Numbers such as those can cause you to fall off a 40-man roster. Now the Sox are taking a flyer on Reed, and this may be his last kick at the can to stick in the major leagues.

This probably means the DH at-bats against right-handed pitching will belong to Reed, not Zack Collins. This guess here is Collins goes back to Triple-A Charlotte, maybe as soon as this weekend, whenever Castillo is activated.

Collins has had limited at-bats since the Sox called him up, but he's done little with those opportunities. He walked in his first plate appearance and hit a 3-run homer in his second, but he is now hitless in his 25 plate appearances since -- although he has drawn five walks.

Still, the .045/.222/.182 slash line is hard to excuse, and it seems reasonable to say Collins could use some more time in Charlotte. He'll likely be headed there soon.

White Sox representatives help American League win All-Star Game

White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito entered Tuesday's All-Star Game in the fourth inning and immediately walked Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman on four pitches.

None of the four pitches were anywhere close to being a strike, and Giolito's 3-0 pitch was so high it almost sailed over catcher Gary Sanchez's head.

I nervously shifted a little bit in my seat as I watched on TV. The American League was clinging to a 1-0 lead at the time, and as a fan, I never want a Sox pitcher to be the reason the AL loses the game.

Fortunately, Giolito made a nice recovery. He struck out Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Cody Bellinger, who is the best player in the National League this season, on a 2-2 changeup for the first out. Four pitches later, Giolito was out of the inning.

He induced a grounder to third base off the bat of Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the second out. Pittsburgh first baseman Josh Bell then grounded out to second, stranding Freeman at second base.

Giolito threw only 13 pitches. He preserved the 1-0 lead, and the AL went on to beat the National League, 4-3, for its seventh straight victory in the midsummer classic. The AL has won 19 of the past 23 games -- a string of dominance reminiscent of what the NL did when I was a kid.

Sox catcher James McCann also contributed to the victory, singling in his only at-bat in the seventh inning. The hit to right-center moved Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman, who had walked, from first to third with nobody out. Chapman eventually scored when Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play. That was part of a two-run inning that gave the AL a 4-1 edge.

The NL got two in the eighth on a two-out, two-run single by the New York Mets' Pete Alonso, but New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth to wrap up the AL win.

What about Jose Abreu, you ask? Well, he grounded into a double play in his only at-bat in the bottom of the eighth, but at least he hit it hard (103 mph exit velocity) -- right at NL shortstop Paul DeJong.

So, it wasn't a perfect night for Sox representatives, but it was a good night. Giolito and McCann contributed, and the AL won. I'll take it.

Crosstown series ends in 2-2 season split

Since the start of interleague play, the White Sox have played the Cubs 122 times. The South Siders enjoy a 62-60 all-time series edge after Sunday's 3-1 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The series is historically equal. The team with the worse record often holds its own, so it isn't a surprise that the Sox (42-44) earned a 2-2 season series split with the Cubs (47-43), whose mediocre record probably should be described as underachieving.

What is somewhat surprising is how the Sox got those two victories. The South Siders' best pitcher, Lucas Giolito, is 11-3 this season. However, two of his losses have come to the Cubs. He was knocked out in the fifth inning Saturday night in a 6-3 victory by the North Siders.

Giolito's final line Saturday: 4+ innings, six runs, all earned, four hits, five strikeouts and five walks, including three consecutive to start the fateful fifth inning in which the Cubs scored five of their six runs.

Giolito vs. the Cubs: 0-2 with a 12.96 ERA
Giolito vs. everyone else: 11-1 with a 2.26 ERA

Sometimes, a particular club has your number. Go figure.

Speaking of which, Sox right-hander Ivan Nova has the Cubs' number. Nova (4-7) has been a disappointment this season, but he didn't allow a run Sunday to pick up the victory. He went 5.2 innings, allowing five hits while striking out four and walking only one.

Nova left the mound with a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. The Sox's bullpen needed to record 10 outs before the Cubs scored three runs. Jace Fry, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome combined to do just that.

This marked the second good performance for Nova against the Cubs this season. He did not earn the win June 18, but he was the starting pitcher in the other South Side victory in the crosstown series this year.

Nova vs. the Cubs: 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA
Nova vs. everyone else: 3-7 with a 6.15 ERA.

Go figure.

If I were devious, I would suggest the Sox trade Nova to a NL Central contender just so he would have the opportunity to torment the Cubs more often.

Happy July 4th from The Baseball Kid

Yoan Moncada's June was the best month of his professional career

Yoan Moncada

The White Sox have three players headed to Cleveland for the All-Star Game on July 9: Lucas Giolito, James McCann and Jose Abreu.

That's a pretty good haul for a team with a 39-42 record at the season's midpoint. Giolito is the Sox's best pitcher, and he's more than deserving. McCann has been the Sox's best position player, and he's also deserving.

Abreu might have been chosen based upon name recognition. Yes, his 19 home runs and 60 RBIs put him on a very nice pace for the season. However, his .268/.309/.508 slash line puts him below his career norms in all three categories. This is just an OK season for Abreu, not really an All-Star-caliber one.

If a third player from the Sox is deserving, wouldn't it have to be Yoan Moncada? The 24-year-old has changed positions this season, moving from second base to third base. Frankly, he's a better third baseman than he was a second baseman.

But a third baseman needs to hit for more power, you say? I'd say Moncada's doing a pretty good job at the plate. His slash line for the season is .304/.357/.528. He's got 33 extra-base hits -- 16 doubles, 14 home runs and three triples -- to go along with 44 RBIs. His strikeout total at the halfway point of the season sits at 87, so he likely will not strike out 217 times again -- as he did in 2018.

Remember, Moncada's slash line last season was .235/.315/.400. If it weren't for Giolito, we'd be talking about him being the most improved player on the roster.

And here's Moncada's June: .381/.435/.667 with five doubles, four home runs, a triple and 15 RBIs in 18 games.

Let's hope Moncada's second half is every bit as good as his first.

White Sox take two out of three from first-place Twins

Ross Detwiler got a win for the Sox? Believe it!

The White Sox spent the past two weeks playing some of the best teams in baseball, and much to my surprise, they held their ground.

Fifteen games against the New York Yankees, Cubs, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins resulted in a 7-8 record, which for a rebuilding team is respectable.

The Sox capped this difficult stretch off this weekend by taking two of three games at home against the AL Central-leading Twins. Granted, Minnesota was without Eddie Rosario, its leading RBI man, but the Sox were without one of their best overall players in Tim Anderson, so this qualifies as a nice series win.

Here's a look back at the weekend:

Friday, June 28
White Sox 6, Twins 4: It was not a good pitching matchup on paper for the Sox. Ross Detwiler, who had been signed out of the Independent League earlier this season, was called up to make a start against Minnesota ace Jose Berrios.

Detwiler (1-0) surprised by tossing five innings of two-run ball, while the Sox scored six runs (only three earned) off Berrios (8-4). James McCann and Eloy Jimenez each hit two-run homers off Berrios, with Jimenez's blast in the eighth inning turning out to be the deciding blow.

In fairness to Berrios, he probably should not have been pitching in the eighth inning. The Twins lost in 18 innings Thursday, and clearly, they were trying to get one more inning out of Berrios to save their tired bullpen. Jimenez took advantage, extending the Sox's lead to 6-2 with his 13th homer of the season.

Those two runs came in handy because Kelvin Herrera gave up a single and a home run to Miguel Sano in the top of the ninth. With the score 6-4, Alex Colome was summoned, and he got the last three outs to record his 17th save of the season.

Saturday, June 29
Twins 10, White Sox 3: Minnesota is leading the league in home runs, and it pounded out five of them in this game -- two by Nelson Cruz, two by Max Kepler and one by Sano.

Ivan Nova (3-7) took the loss for the Sox, allowing four runs over six innings. The low-leverage relieves in the Sox bullpen could not keep this one close. Minnesota scored six runs from the seventh inning on, including two each off Josh Osich, Carson Fulmer and Jose Ruiz.

Jimenez hit his 14th home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth for one of the few highlights for the South Siders, who were soundly beaten in this one.

Sunday, June 30
White Sox 4, Twins 3: It looks as though Lucas Giolito is back on track after a couple of shaky outings. The Sox's best starter improved to 11-2 by tossing five innings of shutout ball.

Giolito allowed only one hit, struck out four and did not issue any walks. He certainly could have continued for a few innings more, but Mother Nature intervened in the top of the sixth inning with the Sox leading, 2-0. A torrential downpour followed by some steady rain delayed the game for two hours, 54 minutes, ending the day for both Giolito and Minnesota starter Lewis Thorpe (0-1).

When the game resumed, the Sox increased their lead to 4-0 in the sixth on four consecutive singles by Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, McCann and Jon Jay. It was a good day for Moncada, who went 3 for 4 and hit his 14th home run of the season in the third inning.

The Twins fought back with three in the seventh off the combination of Evan Marshall and Aaron Bummer, but Bummer rallied to fan both C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop with two men on base to escape the jam.

Bummer recorded the first two outs in the eighth before Colome relieved to get the last four outs for his 18th save of the season. The Twins placed a runner on second base with no outs in the top of the ninth after an error on Sox shortstop Leury Garcia and a wild pitch by Colome. However, the closer was able to retire the last three Minnesota batters without more trouble.

The Sox (39-42) will now host the Detroit Tigers (27-52) for a four-game series spanning three days, starting Tuesday night. The series highlight will be Dylan Cease's first major league start. He will pitch for the Sox in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader. The series concludes with a day game on the Fourth of July.