August 17, 2020

After a third of the season, the White Sox (11-11) are a major disappointment. With both the Twins and Indians in their division, the Sox most likely will have to compete for a wild card spot. Injuries have hurt, but they are not the root of the problem.

The much ballyhooed offense is having trouble scoring more than three runs per game. There have been multiple times they have had a runner on third with less than two outs and not scored. The problem is the heart of the line-up. I always thought the reason Jose Abreu had slow starts was because of inclement weather. This year that can’t be an excuse.  The acquisitions that were supposed to make this a dynamic offense have been abysmal. Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion and Nomar Mazara have a combined .162 batting average, 3 home runs and 14 RBI. The other major problem was the team went into a collective slump. Rookie Luis Robert went from well over .300 to .278. He has the same rookie issues that Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez had. He has struck out 29 times in 88 at bats. Not to worry, he’ll become an excellent offensive player and I haven’t seen a better defensive center-fielder. Moncada was well over .300 and inexplicably is now at .260. Jimenez went 0 for 22 and his average plummeted to.249. However, he has rebounded nicely and leads the team with 7 home runs and 17 RBI.    

What to do? I never thought I would pine for Adam Engel in right field. Engel has progressed as a hitter and no longer is an automatic out. He would also be a major upgrade defensively. Power hitter Encarnacion has only two home runs and is a ground ball, strike out machine. The DH should be James McCann. In their last game, the Sox hit 4 home runs in a row and won 7-2. This could be the spark they need to get going. What worries me is 8 of the last 10 runs have come via the home run.

Dallas Keuchel has been the only consistently good starter. After getting pounded in the opener, Lucas Giolito had three excellent starts before giving up 5 runs in the first inning against St. Louis. He has to regain last year’s form for the Sox to be competitive. Dylan Cease has been just okay. He could be really good if he had a better command of his pitches. Reynaldo Lopez got two outs and then allowed 4 runs and left in the first inning with an injury. He was relieved by Gio Gonzalez who gave 5 runs. That earned him a place as a starter. He hasn’t lasted 5 innings. Carlos Rodon coming off surgery was projected to be ready by the end of August. With Michael Kopech opting out, they rushed him into the rotation. Rodon had two horrible starts. He reinjured his arm and joined Reynolds on the IL.

The bullpen has been very good. They will get better when left-hander Aaron Bummer returns from injury. Ross Detwiler, 20^th round draft pick Matt Foster and Alex Colome have not allowed a run all year. I don’t know what happened to the struggling Steve Cishek. He was never this lousy as a Cub.

Many times this year the Sox seem to come out flat. This reflects on Manager Ricky Renteria. His mellow laid back demeanor does not fit with this team. He also has made many bad moves. There are too many to list, so we’ll just go back to game two of the doubleheader against St. Louis. With the Sox clinging to a one run lead, the Cardinals have a runner on third with two outs. Paul Goldschmidt is up. He is one of the majors and the Cardinal’s best hitter. The proper move is to walk him and take your chances with the next hitter. Renteria decides to pitch to him and he promptly singles to tie the game.  In the bottom of the seventh, the Sox need two men on base to have the tying run at the plate. The Sox get a man on base and would like to get another runner to bring up Encarnacion as the tying run. Two outs later with still only one man on, they decide to pinch hit with Encarnacion. Even in the unlikely event he homers, they are still a run down. No matter, he does what he does best and strikes out.