Will Venable to be named White Sox manager

Say this for White Sox general manager Chris Getz: He said he was going to hire a manager from outside the organization. He said he was going to hire someone who was in uniform for another team.

Getz did exactly that. 

Will Venable, who is currently the associate manager of the Texas Rangers, is expected to be named the 44th manager in Sox history in the coming days.

Venable, 42, played nine seasons in the majors from 2008-16. All but the last of those years were spent with the San Diego Padres. 

After his playing days ended, Venable joined the Cubs in 2017, where he served as a special assistant to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. Later, he coached first base during his three years on the North Side. From 2020-22, Venable served as the Boston Red Sox bench coach. He joined the Rangers in 2023, where he won a World Series as a member of Bruce Bochy's coaching staff.

It remains to be seen whether Venable is the right man to fix the White Sox mess, but at least it appears that the process was legitimate. Getz was allowed to conduct an outside search and name his guy.

The Sox resisted the temptation to make the internal hire (Grady Sizemore), and they did not hire someone who is "Tony La Russa's guy." (Phil Nevin)

Perhaps I'm guilty of setting the bar a little low here, but the Sox have cleared the low bar I've set for them.

Venable comes to the Sox with no previous managerial experience, which of course has prompted some comparisons to Pedro Grifol, who was an unqualified disaster as Sox manager.

Let's be fair to Venable: He comes to the Sox with stronger credentials than Grifol did. He's a former player, which should give him more credibility in the locker room, and he's worked for some organizations that have had more success than, say, the Kansas City Royals, where Grifol toiled for years in relative obscurity.

Also notable: Even if Venable does everything right, he could still fail in Chicago. The Sox have bad ownership and an inexperienced GM. That's like stepping into the batter's box with two strikes already on you. And, of course, the roster is at rock bottom.

If you're a Sox fan right now, the mindset has to be, "Give the man a chance and hope for the best." What else can you do?

Jim Leyland elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Jim Leyland

Our congratulations go out to former White Sox third-base coach Jim Leyland, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee.

The committee examines the Hall cases of managers, umpires and executives whose greatest contributions to the sport came after 1980.

Leyland appeared on 15 of 16 ballots. One needs 12 votes in order to be elected to the Hall. Former manager Lou Piniella (11 votes) and former executive Bill White (10 votes) fell just short of the threshold.

Also considered were former managers Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson, umpires Ed Montague and Joe West, and executive Hank Peters.

Leyland, of course, was the third-base coach for manager Tony La Russa when the Sox won the 1983 American League West Division championship. However, that is not the reason Leyland was elected to the Hall of Fame.

He went on to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-96), Florida Marlins (1997-98), Colorado Rockies (1999) and Detroit Tigers (2006-13) over a period of 22 seasons. His final career record stands at 1,769 wins and 1,728 losses.

Leyland guided Pittsburgh to three straight National League East Division championships between 1990 and 1992. The Pirates won 95 games or more in each of those seasons, but they could never break through and get to the World Series, losing in the NLCS three years in a row.

In 1997, Leyland moved to Florida and guided the Marlins to the World Series championship in his first season there. Florida made the NL playoffs as a 92-win wild card. They swept the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS, won a six-game NLCS from the Atlanta Braves, then defeated the Cleveland Indians with a memorable comeback in Game 7 of the World Series.

Marlins ownership broke the team apart in a series of cost-cutting moves the following offseason, and Leyland endured the worst year of his managerial career in 1998, going 54-108.

After another losing season with Colorado in 1999, Leyland was out of the game until he resurfaced with Detroit in 2006. He had the most sustained success of his career with the Tigers, guiding them to AL pennants in 2006 and 2012. Detroit won AL Central championships in each of Leyland's final three years as manager, from 2011-13.

In eight years with the Tigers, Leyland went 700-597, good for a .540 winning percentage. He retired after the 2013 season.

Leyland, 78, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Can't the White Sox celebrate 1983 from a different angle?

The White Sox excessively celebrate the 1983 AL West Division championship, don't they?

On Sunday, the team marked the 40th anniversary of the division-clinching game. Social media accounts featured a picture of manager Tony La Russa and outfielders Daryl Boston, Harold Baines and Ron Kittle.

You might be asking yourself why Boston was in the photo. Good question. He didn't make his debut with the Sox until 1984. At least La Russa and Baines are in the Hall of Fame, and in case you haven't heard (LOL), Kittle won AL Rookie of the Year in 1983. Boston just doesn't fit here.

On the Sox Machine podcast this week, they asked why the 1983 team is celebrated for every anniversary, while the 1993 AL West Division champion Sox are mostly lost to history.

Great question. I don't have a good answer. 

Me personally, I loved the 1983 team. I was 7 years old at the time, and that was the team that helped spark my love of baseball and the White Sox. That being said, I agree that the nostalgia for that team has gotten excessive. Do we really need to see those 1983 uniforms for every Sunday home game? Not in my world.

But, if we must continue to celebrate the 1983 team, couldn't we at least hear from some different players?

Kittle doesn't have a story to tell that I haven't already heard. He won Rookie of the Year and hit homers onto the roof at Comiskey Park. Yeah, we know.

And Baines is well-known as a quiet man, despite being an exceptional player during his day. He just doesn't have much to say.

I realize some of the players from the 1983 squad have passed now -- LaMarr Hoyt, Julio Cruz and Dick Tidrow come to mind as some guys who are no longer with us. 

But you know who's still alive? Greg Luzinski. And Rudy Law. And Richard Dotson. And Vance Law. And Jerry Dybzinski. And Jerry Hairston. And Tom Paciorek. And Floyd Bannister. Heck, Jerry Koosman turns 81 in December, but he's still around! I could go on.

Why not bring back some of these former players? We haven't heard much from any of them over the years. That would be more interesting than hearing Kittle talk about that season for the 1,000th time.

White Sox fire Ken Williams, Rick Hahn

The announcement came during the dinner hour Tuesday night, and I almost spit out my pasta from the shock: The White Sox fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn. You can read the report from MLB.com's Scott Merkin here.

On the one hand, this needed to happen. I'm as pleased as I am surprised. That said, it's not a good sign when the highlight of your entire baseball season is seeing executives get fired, even though both Williams and Hahn have earned their dismissals.

The Sox were 49-76 going into Tuesday's play, and as Williams said in Merkin's story, "We have underachieved. This is what happens."

Thing is, this was the easy part for chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. The hard part is finding the right people to fix all the problems with the Sox. It's difficult not to be skeptical of this 87-year-old owner, who hasn't hired a baseball executive from outside of the organization in decades. 

How will he conduct the search? And who will help him with the search? Hopefully, it's someone other than his buddy Tony La Russa.

On the whole, this was a good day for Sox fans. The organization is crying out for new leadership. That, it will get. The question is whether it will get good leadership. That is the important part, and it remains to be seen.

Jose Abreu strikes nerve with recent comments on White Sox dysfunction

Jose Abreu

Let's talk about what former White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu said in a recent Sun-Times interview.

Abreu, the 36-year-old longtime leader of the Sox, signed a three-year, $58.5 million contract with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros this past offseason.

When asked about his departure from the South Side, Abreu said this:

“Sometimes, when you’re at a place where maybe you’re not being respected to the point where you think you should be, you just have to go somewhere else." 

The Sox obviously made the decision to go with a younger, cheaper player at first base for 2023 -- 24-year-old Andrew Vaughn.

But Abreu's comments went beyond his belief that he was disrespected. He added some thoughts on the 2022 season:

“The best way I can put it is just that we weren’t a real family,” Abreu told the Sun-Times. “And I’m hoping that maybe [the Sox] can get to a situation where a lot of the guys there that do deserve to be in a good situation, they can have it there and be able to win. But I don’t really have too much more to say about that.”

With that, Abreu joins a long line of former Sox players who criticized management and the team culture on the way out the door. 

Indeed, even in a down season, Abreu was the team's healthiest and most consistent position player in 2022, yet it's unclear whether he was ever offered a fair contract. So, it's understandable to me if he felt disrespected.

As for these comments about the team not being "a real family," that's no fooling, right? The atmosphere around last year's club seemed toxic, as preseason expectations of competing for a championship crumbled and the team limped to an 81-81 finish.

During the 2020 season -- and for most of the 2021 season -- Sox players seemed to be having a good time playing together. That didn't feel like it was the case last year, whether it was the result of Tony La Russa's management of the team, or some other factor.

Much to my surprise, I read a lot of online outrage about these comments, most of them directed toward Abreu. Some even went so far as to call him a traitor. 

I think I'll take a pass on joining that chorus. Abreu did his job throughout his nine seasons in a Sox uniform. He was a good soldier during that time, during which he often played on bad teams. I take no offense to his comments, especially knowing that his remarks are most likely fair and correct.

Carlton Fisk, now age 75, was the rare great White Sox free agent signing

It's been almost 30 years since Carlton Fisk was unceremoniously let go by the White Sox in the summer of 1993, and he was age 45 at the time. 

So, I shouldn't be surprised that a player I grew up watching is now 75 years old -- Fisk's birthday was Dec. 26. When I read Fisk's age the other day, my first thought was, "Geez, he's almost as old as Tony La Russa!" 

My second thought: Fisk has to be on the short list of rare great Sox free agent signings. After Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn bought the team, they were looking to make some headlines, so they signed Fisk on March 18, 1981.

At the time Fisk came to the South Side, he was 11 years into a Hall of Fame career, with all of those seasons being spent with the Boston Red Sox. And he had been named to the All-Star team in seven of those 11 seasons. 

The signing paid immediate dividends on Opening Day -- April 10, 1981 -- when Fisk hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning in an eventual 5-3 Sox victory.

Fittingly, the home run came at Fenway Park against Boston. Harry Caray's call is now immortalized as part of the introduction to Chuck Garfien's White Sox Talk podcast:

For you kiddos out there, yes, Caray was once a Sox broadcaster.

This home run was the first of 214 Fisk hit over his 13 seasons with the White Sox. He made four more All-Star appearances with the South Siders (for a career total of 11) and was third in AL MVP voting in 1983, which is the first season of Sox baseball that I can remember. 

That season, Fisk hit .289/.355/.518 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs. In 1985, Fisk hit 37 homers and 107 RBIs, both career highs. As late as 1991, at age 43, he made the All-Star team.

Sometimes it pays to sign a premium free agent, doesn't it? 

Believe it or not, it's been almost 23 years since Fisk was inducted into Hall of Fame. He was elected in 2000. Time flies.

White Sox announce 2023 coaching staff

Daryl Boston

The White Sox have announced the complete list of coaches who will work for new manager Pedro Grifol. And here they are:

• Bench coach: Charlie Montoyo
• Pitching coach: Ethan Katz
• Bullpen coach: Curt Hasler
• Hitting coach: José Castro
• Assistant hitting coach: Chris Johnson
• First-base coach: Daryl Boston
• Third-base coach: Eddie Rodríguez
• Major League field coordinator: Mike Tosar
• Senior director of sports performance: Geoff Head

There are names both familiar and unfamiliar to Sox fans on this list. Montoyo, of course, started last season as the Toronto Blue Jays manager before being fired midseason. At the time of Grifol's hiring, it was mentioned that Montoyo would be coming aboard as bench coach. Katz and Hasler are holdovers from the Tony La Russa regime.

Castro comes to the Sox from the Atlanta Braves. He was their assistant hitting coach for the past eight years. Based on that, I think fans can be optimistic about this hire. The Braves are a successful organization; they are just 13 months removed from winning the 2021 World Series championship, and they were a division winner again in 2022. Johnson, a former MLB infielder, earns a promotion to the big-league level after earnings good reviews as the hitting coach at Triple-A Charlotte last season.

Rodriguez is a baseball lifer. He's 63 years old, and he's been coaching for 40 years. Like Grifol, he comes from the Kansas City organization, where he was a minor-league field coordinator. He's known for being a good infield coach, which the Sox could surely use. Basically, he's a replacement for Joe McEwing, who left on La Russa's coattails.

Tosar also comes from the Kansas City, where he served as a hitting coach. I'm not entirely sure how we define the role of Major League field coordinator, but I'm assuming it's a promotion for Tosar. Otherwise, the Royals might not have let him out of his contract.

Head spent the last three seasons as the senior director of health and performance with the Cincinnati Reds. Perhaps most notably, he owns three World Series rings from his tenure with the San Francisco Giants, which spanned from 2008-19. He had three different titles there -- strength and conditioning coordinator, Major League sports scientist, and assistant director of player development/director of sports medicine.

And then ... we get to Daryl Boston. The Sox just can't quit him. Grifol will be the fourth manager for whom Boston has worked. Under La Russa, Boston was in charge of baserunning and outfield defense. As all Sox fans are aware, the team has been absolutely terrible in those two areas.

I'm not sure why Boston was retained, but the folks on Twitter seem to believe he excels as a spy for Ken Williams. I have no evidence of that, but I wish I could laugh it off as being ridiculous. Alas, given the dysfunction in the Sox organization, anything seems plausible.

If the Sox fail in 2023 and start yet another rebuild, you can count on two things: Leury Garcia will still be on the 26-man roster, and Daryl Boston will still be on the coaching staff. They are immovable objects.

3 things I don't want in a White Sox manager

Me with Ozzie Guillen in 2019

Who will be the next manager of the White Sox? Rumors were flying this weekend, and as you might expect, the situation is clear as mud.

There are reports out there that the Sox are poised to name Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada their next manager. It's also been reported that Espada is a candidate to manage the Miami Marlins.

Then, of course, there's the gossip about Ozzie Guillen allegedly getting an interview. Depending on who you ask, Guillen has either a) already been interviewed, b) will be interviewed this week, or c) would be a candidate for the job only over Ken Williams' dead body.

I've been amazed by how many Sox fans want Guillen to return to the manager's office. That 2005 nostalgia runs deep for every South Side baseball fan, but we can't allow that to get in the way of our better judgment. The World Series title was 17 years ago. Guillen has been out of baseball since 2012, and let's not forget how his previous tenure with the Sox ended in 2011.

I'd rather not rehash the 2011 season, in fact, so I won't unless Guillen somehow gets the job.

I'll be honest and say none of the managerial candidates I've heard tied to the Sox thrill me. I'm more in the "Rick Hahn screwed this up" camp than the "Tony La Russa screwed this up" camp. Don't get me wrong: I'm glad La Russa is no longer the Sox manager, but I don't think any manager could have covered all the flaws in Hahn's roster construction.

So, I'm not sure what I'm looking for in a Sox manager. I just know these are the three things I do not want:

1. someone promoted from within (sorry, Miguel Cairo)
2. a recycling of an old guy who wore out his welcome somewhere else (sorry, Joe Maddon)
3. someone who is a friend of Jerry Reinsdorf (sorry, Ozzie)

There are lot of things getting in the way of Espada taking the job. First of all, he might want to manage in Miami. Second of all, if the Astros win the World Series, Dusty Baker could retire. That could put Espada in line for a promotion with his current club. Third, Espada used to work in the New York Yankees organization, and he could be a managerial candidate there if the Yankees decide to move on from Aaron Boone.

It's also possible that Espada is Hahn's guy, but Reinsdorf is going to intervene in the process and name Guillen manager.

Hey, that's happened before, right? In the past managerial search, Hahn wanted to hire A.J. Hinch. Then Reinsdorf intervened and appointed La Russa. 

It's the White Sox, so expect something weird to happen, until they prove otherwise.

3 good changes Miguel Cairo has made to the White Sox lineup

Miguel Cairo

The White Sox are 13-6 since Miguel Cairo took over as acting manager on Aug. 30. Tony La Russa remains sidelined while dealing with a heart problem, and while I wish La Russa all the best with his health, there's no getting around the fact that the Sox have played much better baseball under Cairo's direction.

That said, the Sox remain in dire straits in the AL Central Division race. Their hot streak has coincided with a hot streak by the Cleveland Guardians, who have won 12 of their past 15 games.

The Guardians (80-67) come to Chicago for a three-game series that starts Tuesday night, and they own a four-game division lead over the Sox (76-71) with 15 games left in the season. 

Yes, it feels like a must-sweep for the Sox, especially since the Guardians own a 9-7 edge in the season series, and they will secure the division tiebreaker with just one more win over Chicago.

That means any Sox loss to Cleveland, in effect, is like losing two games in the standings.

As Sox fans, the only comfort we can take is that team is playing as well as it's played all season right now, and focusing on some positives, here are three things Cairo has done with the batting order that have really helped:

1. He made Eloy Jimenez the full-time DH. Jimenez remains a prodigious offensive talent, and he's a destructive force in the middle of the lineup when he's healthy. The problem is he's rarely healthy, and many of his injuries have occurred during his misadventures in left field.

What's the answer to this problem? Get Jimenez the hell out of left field, where he's a hazard to himself and everyone out there. Yes, birds too. Cairo has done just that. Jimenez has started 18 games at DH and zero games in the outfield since Cairo took over the team.

In those games, Jimenez is batting .348 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. That is excellent production. Jimenez's job is to hit, and he's getting it done right now.

There's always the chance Jimenez will hurt one of his balky hamstrings when running the bases, but keeping him out of the outfield maximizes his chances of staying in the lineup. When he's in the lineup, he hits.

2. Yasmani Grandal does not DH anymore. Putting Jimenez in the lineup as the DH means that Grandal cannot DH anymore. ... Praise Jesus!

We've heard Sox GM Rick Hahn talk a lot this year about expecting players to "play to the back of the baseball card" over a 162-game schedule. Well, anyone who is watching Grandal's at-bats knows that he's not going to finish anywhere near his career norms this season.

He's batting .202/.305/.274 with only five homers and 26 RBIs. Inexplicably, La Russa started him as the DH 24 times this season, even though those offensive statistics are terrible.

Sure, Grandal was a dangerous hitter the second half of 2021 -- he hit 23 home runs last season, which is terrific production for a catcher. However, injuries have taken their toll on Grandal in his age-33 season. His swing has been all upper body all season. His legs aren't helping him, and his power is gone. In other words, his bat is a minus, and if he's not catching, he's not helping.

As a matter of fact, Grandal's defense has suffered this season, too. He's a -1.2 WAR player, and Seby Zavala, an average defensive catcher, is arguably a better option behind the plate at this point. But kudos to Cairo for not trying to force-fit Grandal's struggling bat into the lineup at the expense of the team.

3. Leury Garcia is stapled to the bench. It truly boggles the mind that La Russa found a way to pencil Garcia into the starting lineup 71 times in the first 128 games of the season.

Under Cairo, Garcia has started only five times in 19 games, and he's started only once since Sept. 4. In other words, Garcia has been picking splinters out of his ass ever since Yoan Moncada came off the injured list.

You might say, "But Garcia had to play because of all the injuries!" To which I reply, "You know damn well that Garcia would be playing second base right now if La Russa were managing the team."

Cairo has wisely alternated between Josh Harrison and Romy Gonzalez at second base -- both of those two players have simply outperformed Garcia, who is batting .211/.234/.268 for the season and is a -1.0 WAR player. Garcia's OPS+ is 42, which means he is performing 58% below league average.

Garcia is another one who simply isn't going to perform to "the back of his baseball card" this year. He's rightfully taken a seat as the Sox fight to stay relevant in the AL Central.

Michael Kopech throws six no-hit innings in Sox win

For the first time all season, the White Sox have won three straight home games. That's hard to believe given that it's Aug. 12, isn't it?

The Sox offense wasn't exactly crackling Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, but they managed a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers behind a great start from Michael Kopech and solid relief pitching from three guys.

Kopech, in fact, had one of the most dominant starts of his career. He worked six innings and did not give up a hit. He struck out 11, walked three and got 22 swinging strikes out of the 85 pitches he threw. Fifty-six of those 85 pitches were strikes.

Alas, he did not get the win, because the Sox did not score while he was in the game. Somehow, left-handed Daniel Norris -- who was released by the Cubs last month and had an ERA near 7 for the season -- threw 4.2 innings of scoreless ball for the Tigers.

Removing Kopech after 85 pitches was a controversial decision, and an unpopular one with fans, who criticized manager Tony La Russa on social media and booed the move at the ballpark.

But, we know Kopech is on an undetermined innings limit for this season, and his services are needed again five days from now when the AL-best Houston Astros are in town. From that perspective, the decision is understandable.

It's just weird how La Russa leaves starters in too long as a habit, and sometimes forces players to gut it out through injury (Leury Garcia in last Tuesday's doubleheader, for example), and other times, he pulls out the "abundance of caution" card.

In any case, Reynaldo Lopez relieved in the seventh inning and worked around a leadoff single by Javier Baez. Lopez (5-2) got the win after the Sox plated two in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single by Andrew Vaughn with the bases loaded.

Kendall Graveman and Liam Hendriks each worked a scoreless inning, with Hendriks picking up his 24th save.

There was more bad injury news for the Sox, as Luis Robert left Friday's game with a sprained left wrist. He is day to day.

The Sox are 57-56, and they remain 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians, who won their sixth straight Friday with an 8-0 skunking of the Toronto Blue Jays.

I wasn't overly impressed with the way the Sox swung the bats in this game against a lousy Detroit pitching staff. The Sox had eight hits, with AJ Pollock's double being the only one that went for extra bases.

If guys don't start hitting for power, this team will continue to spin its wheels. 

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson out six weeks with hand injury

Tim Anderson

Has anyone heard of a sagittal band before? 

Before today, that term was foreign to me. But White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has a sagittal band tear on the middle finger of his left hand. He will undergo surgery Thursday, and the Sox placed him on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. He will be out for six weeks.

This could be the death blow for whatever hopes the Sox have of winning the American League Central Division, but then again, Anderson has been poor lately.

In the 39 games since he returned from his last injury -- a groin strain suffered Memorial Day weekend against the Cubs -- Anderson has hit .249/.287/.290 with just one home run. That's pretty much replacement-level performance.

By way of comparison, Leury Garcia has the exact same slugging percentage over his past 39 games (coming into Tuesday's doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals). Garcia's slash line over that time period: .237/.273/.290.

Yeah, it's pretty bleak.

The best we can hope for is that, somehow, Sox manager Tony La Russa decides to give rookie Lenyn Sosa a shot to play shortstop on a regular basis during Anderson's absence, and that Sosa makes a quick adjustment to a new level.

To be honest, the bar isn't hard to clear. All he has to do is slug .300, right?

Sosa hit his first career home run Tuesday night, giving the Sox an early lead in an eventual 3-2 victory over the Royals in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Kansas City won Game 1, 4-2, so in true Sox fashion, the South Siders played .500 baseball for the day.

For the season, the Sox are 56-54. Through the first 14 games of this 19-game stretch against losing teams, the Sox are 8-6. That's decent, but not the big run the optimists were hoping for. The Sox are still 2.0 games back of the Minnesota Twins, pending Minnesota's late result against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I was thinking the Sox really needed to go 12-7 or 13-6 during this stretch. That is still mathematically possible, but not likely. The Sox have two games remaining in Kansas City, before a three-game weekend series at home against the Detroit Tigers.

On the current road trip through Texas and Kansas City, the Sox are 3-3. (.500 again!) And in those six games, they've scored only 17 runs. 

Yes, offense is still the problem. The Sox needed GM Rick Hahn to acquire two bats at the trade deadline. Instead, he got none, and with Anderson out, it's fair to say the Sox are playing three bats short.

Even in a weak division, good luck with that.

Luis Robert, Andrew Vaughn have both played a full season worth of games

Luis Robert played his 162nd career game for the White Sox on Sunday in a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. For Andrew Vaughn, it was his 163rd career game.

Both of these 24-year-old players have now played a full season's worth of games. In Robert's case, it's a little hard to believe it took him this long, because this is his third season with the Sox.

Robert played in 56 games in the 60-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Injuries limited him to 58 games last year, and he's appeared in 38 games this season after recently coming off the COVID-19 list.

Vaughn's path has been a little more conventional. He played in 127 games as a rookie in 2021. He spent some time on the injured list this season with a bruised wrist after being hit by a pitch, but he has appeared in 36 games this year.

So, how have the two players fared to this point? It looks pretty good. Here are the career numbers for both:

Robert: .294/.341/.494, 35 doubles, 1 triple, 30 home runs, 97 runs scored, 94 RBIs, 22 stolen bases

Vaughn: .250/.317/.420, 30 doubles, 21 home runs, 71 runs scored, 71 RBIs, 1 stolen base

Lately, manager Tony La Russa has been hitting Vaughn second in the lineup, and Robert third. And why not? Vaughn is hitting .298 with .839 OPS. Robert is hitting .296 with a .766 OPS. 

With Tim Anderson on the IL with a groin strain, Robert and Vaughn are the two best hitters on the team. And with both of them being 24 years old, I'm starting to believe they will be the centerpieces in the middle of the Sox lineup for the next few years.

For some time, we thought Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada would be those players. Alas, Jimenez can't stay on the field because of injuries, and Moncada has been a combination of injured and bad all season. It's hard to say what's in Moncada's heart, but his body language is as bad as his .135 batting average.

Fortunately, Vaughn has made steps forward during his second season, and Robert, while inconsistent, looks like he will become the game-breaking player the Sox hoped he would be.

White Sox bring back Leury Garcia on 3-year contract

Leury Garcia

The White Sox just can't quit Leury Garcia, can they? 

Garcia, a 30-year-old utility player who has been with the Sox since 2013, has agreed to a three-year deal to return to the South Side of Chicago, according to multiple reports.

The Sox signed relief pitcher Kendall Graveman to a three-year, $24 million contract, but they've yet to address their glaring holes at second base or in right field.

Bringing back Garcia is not a bad move, per se, as he plays multiple positions somewhat competently and can fill in all over the diamond in the event of an injury to a starting player. He also switch-hits, which is a nice bonus.

The problem is, the Sox seem to see him as more than that. He played in 126 games in 2021 and took 474 at-bats, finishing with a .267/.335/.376 slash line with five home runs and 54 RBIs. Basically, the team treats Garcia like a starting player, and manager Tony La Russa has said as much.

Garcia, of course, should be a bench player on a team with championship aspirations. He shouldn't be starting in the playoffs at second base, or in right field, but that's exactly what he was doing in the 2021 playoffs. 

I wouldn't mind it if the Sox had brought Garcia back on a one-year deal. But the three-year deal makes me believe the team intends to make him the starting second baseman. That's especially true given that some of the other viable options at the position are off the board:

• Marcus Semien signed with the Texas Rangers.
• Eduardo Escobar signed with the New York Mets.
• Adam Frazier was traded to the Seattle Mariners
• If the Sox wanted to reunite with Cesar Hernandez for less money, no sale. He signed with Washington.

The terms of the Garcia deal have not yet been disclosed. It will be interesting to see whether he got starter money. Then that calls into question whether the Sox are allocating resources properly. There is still time, of course, for the Sox to adequately address holes. But this start to the offseason has that here-we-go-again feeling.

White Sox make flurry of roster moves

Craig Kimbrel

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn finally met the media Friday for his season-ending press conference, and I'll have some reactions and takeaways from that before the weekend is over.

But first, let's go over the roster moves that were announced:

Pitchers Evan Marshall, Jimmy Cordero and Jace Fry were outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. All three become free agents.

Marshall hasn't pitched since June 29 and will need Tommy John surgery in the offseason. There's some chance the Sox will bring him back on a one-year deal with a club option, if they think he can help them in 2023. The veteran right-hander faces an uncertain future.

Cordero missed all of 2021 after having Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing reliever was famously overused by former manager Rick Renteria during the 2020 season, and no one was surprised when he ended up injured. It wouldn't be a shock to see the Sox sign him to a minor league deal and take a look at him in spring training.

Fry has never been able to throw enough strikes to stick in the major leagues. I would not expect him back with the Sox in 2022 under any circumstance.

Left-hander Anderson Severino, 27, was added to the 40-man roster before he became a minor league free agent. Severino split his 2021 season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He struck out 53 batters over 45.2 innings combined at the two levels. In effect, he replaces Fry as the left-handed reliever who could get called up from Charlotte in the event of a bullpen injury.

Outfielder Brian Goodwin was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. He is a free agent. He batted .221/.319/.374 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 72 games for the 2021 Sox. Goodwin's production dried up the second half of the season, and a back injury kept him off the playoff roster. He likely does not figure in the 2022 plans.

In an expected move, the Sox declined the $6 million contract option on second baseman Cesar Hernandez. After being acquired in a midseason trade with the Cleveland Indians, Hernandez struggled both with the bat and with the glove. In 53 games with the Sox, he batted .232/.309/.299 with three home runs and 15 RBIs.

Hernandez fell out of favor with manager Tony La Russa to the point that he did not start either of the first two games of the playoffs. That was a clear indicator that he would not be asked back for 2022.

Finally, the first part of the Craig Kimbrel debate is over. His $16 million contract option has been exercised for 2022. The veteran reliever, who was acquired midseason in a deal with the crosstown Cubs, was a huge disappointment with the Sox.

He had a 5.09 ERA in 24 regular-season games on the South Side, and a 9.00 ERA in his three playoff appearances. The poor performance came after Kimbrel posted a dominant first half of the season on the North Side, where he had a 0.49 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 39 games and 36.2 innings.

Does that mean Kimbrel is part of the 2022 Sox bullpen? Don't count on it. He's likely to be shopped in the offseason, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels among the teams who could be interested.

This series of moves leaves the Sox's 40-man roster at 33 players.

Here's how I would align the White Sox rotation for the playoffs

Lucas Giolito

Carlos Rodon will start for the White Sox on Wednesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. Of the four games remaining in the regular season, this is probably the most important one for the Sox -- because it should give us some clue about whether Rodon will be healthy enough to contribute in the playoffs.

His velocity on both his fastball and his slider have been noticeably down, even with nine or 10 days in between starts, as he deals with shoulder fatigue. He hasn't pitched since Sept. 20, so once again, nine days of rest. We'll see what he has.

The Sox (90-68) beat the Reds, 7-1, Tuesday night behind two home runs from Luis Robert and six innings of one-run ball from Reynaldo Lopez (4-3). This marks the first time the Sox have reached 90 wins since 2006, and it's certainly nice to win. But right now, most of the discussion is looking ahead toward the first round of the playoffs.

How will manager Tony La Russa set up his starting rotation, knowing that Rodon likely isn't going to be fully operational?

Well, here's one man's suggestion, that man being me:

Game 1: Lucas Giolito

Game 2: Lance Lynn

Game 3: Dylan Cease

Game 4: Rodon, if healthy, otherwise start Michael Kopech. Regardless of who starts, send Giolito to the bullpen, and have him ready to work in relief on three days' rest.

Game 5: Lynn

The off days in this series are as such that the Game 2 starter could work on regular rest in Game 5, should the series take that long. 

Why am I choosing Giolito for Game 1 starter? It's actually nothing against Lynn. I trust Giolito and Lynn equally. It's just that we know Lynn is dealing with a balky right knee, and he's admitted that he won't be 100% for the rest of this season.

Giolito is the younger and healthier of the two pitchers, so I'm more inclined to give him the short-rest, Game 4 relief assignment.

Give Lynn his usual increment of rest, and you'll likely get more out of him.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping Rodon can go. He's pitched very well against the Houston Astros this season. The Astros will be the Sox's AL Division Series opponent. 

In fact, Rodon's start on July 18 vs. Houston was one of the best pitching performances we've seen from a Sox pitcher in 2021. In two games against the Astros, Rodon has worked 14 innings, and allowed only one run on four hits -- with 18 strikeouts. Of course, he was healthy then.

Dallas Keuchel and Lopez are the other guys in consideration to make a start if Rodon can't go. But Keuchel, for me, just hasn't pitched well enough, despite his veteran experience. His season ERA is 5.13. I can't trust him. 

I'd actually trust Lopez over Keuchel, but Kopech is the better option to get you through a lineup one time, or maybe twice. 

My plan for Game 4 would be to use Giolito as the first man out of the bullpen, behind either Rodon or Kopech, and you hope that gets you through the sixth inning. Then you go to your usual complement of high-leverage relievers from the seventh inning on.

The White Sox are AL Central champs for the first time since 2008

Tim Anderson

The White Sox are American League Central Division champions for the first time since 2008. Even though they have been in first place since May 7, and even though this outcome has been looked upon as an inevitability for weeks, it's not something we should take for granted.

I turned 45 years old this summer. I attended my first Sox game at old Comiskey Park in August 1981, just over 40 years ago. I've been a Sox fan for a long time, and this is only the sixth season in my lifetime in which the Sox have won their division.

It's never happened two years in a row. It hasn't happened in 13 years, and you should never assume it will happen again next year, or the year after that -- despite the general optimism around the team and the talk of "competing for multiple championships."

Tomorrow is not promised, so enjoy the accomplishments of today.

The Sox clinched the division with a 7-2 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader Thursday against the second-place Cleveland Indians.

Give Tim Anderson a lot of credit. He hit a solo home run three pitches into the game to give the Sox a lead, and he added a 3-run homer in the second inning that turned a 3-0 Sox lead into a 6-0 advantage.

Anderson, along with Jose Abreu, is the leader of this team, and he pretty much decided that the division race would end today. Anderson's second home run of the afternoon was part of a six-run outburst in the second inning that also included homers from Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez.

Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez had a 7-0 lead to work with by the time he took the mound in the second inning. He gave up a solo home run in the third, and another in the fourth, so manager Tony La Russa gave him a quick hook after 3.1 innings of work.

This was a seven-inning game, of course, and La Russa obviously sensed an opportunity to knock the Indians out. Even with a five-run lead, he used his high-leverage relievers -- Garrett Crochet, Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks -- and Cleveland managed only two hits over the final 3.2 innings and didn't score another run. 

I like the way La Russa managed the game. He wasn't going to let this one get away. He wasn't going to let clinching wait for another day.

The Sox lost the second game of the doubleheader, 5-3, as the lineup was full of bench players. Michael Kopech got the start and looked sharp through two scoreless innings. The Indians scored their five runs off the lesser relievers in the Sox bullpen -- Mike Wright, Matt Foster and Jose Ruiz.

No doubt, if the game had meant something, it probably would have been managed differently. But for once, the Sox and their fans can afford to not care about a loss.

The Sox are 86-67. The marathon is over. The playoff sprint will begin soon enough.

Carlos Rodon not looking good for the White Sox

Carlos Rodon

White Sox starter Carlos Rodon pitched only three innings Monday night against the Detroit Tigers. He didn't look good, allowing three runs in a 4-3 Sox loss.

He did strike out six, but he threw only 69 pitches, and his last pitch of the game was an 89 mph fastball. We know that's not Rodon. When he's right, he's throwing 95 or 96 mph, and he can ramp it up to 98 or 99 mph when he needs it.

We haven't seen that type of velocity from him at all in the past month, and it's concerning, because Rodon had nine days off in between starts. Even with extra rest, he can't seem to get right, and the playoffs are only two weeks away.

This is a problem, because starting pitching is the one advantage the Sox have over their American League rivals. Sure, the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays are better teams overall than the Sox, but with Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Rodon, they have a puncher's chance in a short series against any opponent.

Take away Rodon, and that starting pitching doesn't look so formidable.

After Monday's game, manager Tony La Russa said he thinks it's doubtful that Rodon will pitch next week against the Cincinnati Reds, as originally thought. La Russa said that Rodon "wasn't right" after the third inning and added that he was "concerned."

In his postgame remarks, Rodon described his issues as "normal soreness" and "nothing crazy." I wish I could believe that, but the quality of his stuff tells me otherwise. He just doesn't pass the eye test right now.

Another topic of concern is reliever Craig Kimbrel, who entered in a 3-3 tie the bottom of the eighth inning and coughed up a run on a HBP, a wild pitch and a single. That cost the Sox this game, and Kimbrel's poor performance is an ongoing problem.

But that might a topic to revisit another time. The story tonight is Rodon's health, and it's an ominous sign that this very important starting pitcher looks incapable of helping the Sox with the playoffs looming on the horizon.

The Sox are 85-65. Their magic number is 2. No worries about the AL Central race. The ability of this team to do anything in the playoffs, however, is a big question.

Bummer: White Sox waste good starting pitching in Toronto

Lucas Giolito

Through the first three games of their four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the White Sox have received excellent starting pitching.

Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease and Lucas Giolito have combined to pitch 20 innings, allowing only three runs. That should lead to a 3-0 record, or 2-1 at the very least. Instead, the Sox are 1-2 because they can't hit, and their allegedly lights-out bullpen stinks.

Giolito tossed six innings of one-run ball Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and beat the Sox, 3-1.

The bullpen management by Tony La Russa was curious, to say the least. Ryan Tepera worked a scoreless seventh, and that part was fine. But it was baffling that lefty Aaron Bummer got the call in the eighth to pitch against the right-hand-dominant middle of the Toronto batting order.

It almost worked, in spite of the faulty logic. Bummer struck out Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to start the inning. But the three right-handed hitters that followed -- Teoscar Hernandez, Breyvic Valera and Alejandro Kirk -- delivered three straight singles, the last of which produced a 2-1 Toronto lead.

Finally, La Russa gave Bummer the hook, and he goes to ... Jose Ruiz. To be fair to Ruiz, his defense failed him. Yoan Moncada kicked a grounder by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to load the bases. The inning should have been over. But Ruiz walked Randal Grichuk on four pitches to force in Toronto's third and final run of the night, and that's hard to accept.

Ruiz has proven time and again he doesn't belong in high-leverage spots. I guess if he was going to be the guy to come in, might as well have stuck with Bummer, huh?

Regardless, the Sox can't hit right now. They managed only six hits, all singles, and struck out 16 times in this loss. For this team, it doesn't end well when the home run power isn't there.

The Sox are 73-55. The AL Central lead is nine games, after Cleveland beat Texas on Wednesday.

If the White Sox only win the AL Central, does that qualify as a good season?

Tim Anderson

The White Sox's performance in Tampa Bay over the weekend didn't exactly convince me that this team is bound for October glory.

Admittedly, winning one out of three on the road against the team with the best record in the American League is hardly a disaster. In fact, it was probably an expected result.

However, watching these three games, I just didn't like *how* the results unfolded in this three-game series.

The Sox made it difficult on themselves in the one game they won -- a 7-5 victory in 11 innings Friday night. They got seven quality innings from Lucas Giolito and took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

That's when the super bullpen that is supposed to help carry the Sox in the playoffs is supposed to appear, right? 

Nope. Not this time. Craig Kimbrel and Aaron Bummer combined to give up three runs and send the Sox into the ninth inning facing a 5-4 deficit.

That's when Tim Anderson put on his Superman cape. He homered in the top of the ninth to tie it. Then he singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th and scored an insurance run to make it 7-5.

Anderson went 3 for 6 with four runs scored and basically won the game for the Sox. Great for him, but I would have preferred to see the bullpen lock up a nice, clean 4-2 win.

On Saturday, Dallas Keuchel made a start in his personal house of horrors. Lifetime at Tropicana Field, he's 0-5 with a 6.44 ERA in six starts. In this game, he gave up six runs on nine hits over five innings. He dug the Sox a 6-1 hole in an eventual 8-4 loss that was only somewhat competitive.

Keuchel's approach of throwing sinkers to induce ground balls just doesn't work on the turf in Tampa Bay. Those grounders were shooting past the Sox infielders all afternoon.

But if you thought Saturday was noncompetitive, you should have seen Sunday, when the Sox lost 9-0. Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer left after two innings with a hip injury, but four Rays relievers covered the last seven innings with astonishingly little difficulty. It took the Sox until the sixth inning to get a runner to second base.

Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez was mediocre -- he allowed three runs over four innings -- but he would have had to give up negative runs to have any chance of winning this game. It was ugly in all facets.

So, where does this series loss leave the Sox? Well, they are 72-53, still 9.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Barring a historic collapse in the final 37 games of the season, the Sox will win their division and go to the playoffs. And if they do, the achievement is not insignificant -- the Sox haven't won their division since 2008.

The question is, if the Sox win the AL Central, then make a quick exit in the AL Division Series, does that still qualify as a good season? 

It seems as though that's the most likely outcome. The Sox are certainly better than the Cleveland Indians or anyone else in their division, but they would be clear underdogs in a five-game playoff series against Tampa Bay, the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees.

I mean, two or three years ago, every Sox fan would have killed for the opportunity to win the division and go to the playoffs. So, if you're happy about the way the season is going, you have every right to that joy.

But is that enough for this team? I'm going to say no. I'm not going to be happy if this team fails to win a playoff round, and it's because of the comments we've heard coming from the White Sox themselves, and others affiliated with the team.

The players, the front office, the broadcasters, they have all basically indicated that anything less than the World Series would be a disappointment. Hell, the GM said as much on the first day of spring training.

The Sox didn't hire Tony La Russa as manager to bow out in the first round of the playoffs, nor did they make a major move to acquire Kimbrel at the trade deadline to make a quick October exit.

This team expects to compete for a championship, and you cannot blame fans who hold them to that standard.

Unfortunately, the Sox are 7-15 on the road against winning teams this season, and this latest series against Tampa Bay was a kick-to-the-groin reminder that we're still waiting for the Sox to make that step forward from being a nice little team to being a legitimate title contender.

Lucas Giolito beats former high school teammate Jack Flaherty in high-profile pitching matchup

Lucas Giolito

Sometimes marquee pitching matchups don't live up to the hype, do they? Tuesday's game between the White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals featured a pair of aces who are former high school teammates -- Lucas Giolito for the Sox and Jack Flaherty for the Cardinals.

Flaherty entered the game with an 8-0 record, but he didn't make it out of the fourth inning in this one, as the Sox secured a series victory with an 8-3 win.

Giolito (4-4), who has been off to a slow start this season, got back to .500 by pitching six innings of two-run ball. Only one of the runs was earned. He struck out five and walked none, while allowing six hits.

The St. Louis defense committed three errors behind Flaherty, and in fact, the Sox scored two runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. They added three more runs in the second inning on just two hits.

Jose Abreu hit his 10th home run of the season off Flaherty in the bottom of the fourth. It was a two-run shot to make the score 7-2, and it was part of a four-RBI night for the Sox first baseman.

Final line on Flaherty: 3.2 IP, seven runs, only three earned, on six hits. He struck out three and walked two.

The Sox took their 8-3 lead into the ninth inning, but of course, the leaky bullpen made it interesting. Garrett Crochet gave up a leadoff double to Yadier Molina and walked two batters to load the bases with nobody out.

That forced Tony La Russa to bring Liam Hendriks into a save situation. The Sox closer struck out all three batters he faced to strand the three runners and earn his 10th save of the season.

The Sox go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon with Carlos Rodon on the mount. John Gant will pitch for St. Louis.