Sox Drawer
The White Sox went 3-3 this week against the two worst teams in baseball which sounds about right at this point of the season. They started off the week by extending their losing streak to 7 games thanks to the Kansas City Royals, including an extra inning walk off loss caused by an overthrow to 3rd base. Rebuild, amirite???… The team snuck out an extra inning win in the third game of the series on a 12th inning home run by Tim Anderson then took down the Orioles in the Friday and Saturday matchups for a much needed 3 game win streak. The Sox dropped Sunday’s finale in Baltimore to cap off another underwhelming week as they moved to 4-10 in September and 59-90 for the season. The Kopech injury was a gut punch right when it looked like the good guys were turning a corner and it seems to be having a lingering effect. I don’t believe there is anything to gain or salvage over the last two weeks, so let’s just try to not lose 100 games and head south for the winter.
Dirty Laundry
I’m serious, can we please not lose 100 games this season? I know it’s a lot to ask this team to win 4 out of their last 13 games especially given how they’ve played this month, but the White Sox have only lost more than 100 games 3 times in their 118 year history and not since 1970. Our rebuild gets compared to the Astros and Cubs’, so it’s only appropriate to measure the success of our rebuild by how much of losers we are during the tough times. The Astros had 3 straight 100 loss seasons including 111 in 2013 and the Cubs lost 101 in 2012. So far, so good, if you ask me. Plus, I’m betting on an improved 2019 season, so if we can survive the rest of this season we will be smooth sailing into WhiteSox2020.
Fresh Pair
Ryan Cordall joined the team when rosters expanded earlier this month after coming over in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers last season. A career minor leaguer, Cordall had his first big league hit Saturday against the Orioles which just so happened to be a home run. He is now the fifth White Sox rookie to hit their first career home run this season joining Matt Skole, Jose Rondon, Daniel Palka, & Ryan LaMarre. These are the type of stats that you get in a rebuild. A series of AAAA players getting their shots at the big league. None of these players have staying power outside of maybe Palka, but it’s good to know this is what our team would have been going forward without the rebuild. Chris Sale could win 20 games every year and we still would finish with less than 70 – based on this type of talent.
Another rookie to highlight is pitcher Ian Hamilton. Since making his debut on August 31st, Hamilton has pitched 5.2 innings and owns a 1.59 ERA while holding batters to a .158 batting average. He only has 6 appearances, but was the 2nd ranked reliever in our system and has shown why. His fastball consistently hovers in the mid to upper 90s and he compliments that with a filthy slider sitting around 89-90 MPH. Hamilton is the perfect example of a middle of the pack prospect that needs to pan out for the #FutureSox to have the dynasty we all expect. The big names will do what big names do, but there are 25 roster spots on the team and we need to have our role players contributing at a high level.
Hurt Socker
Avisail Garcia sat out on Sunday as he nursed a sore knee and will most likely see limited action for the remainder of the season. Avi has been hampered all season and never really had the chance to get back into the groove he was in to begin the season. Overall, it has been a disappointing follow up to his 2017 All Star campaign and makes you wonder if GM Rick Hahn should have traded him this past offseason. I’m sure the plunder won’t be nearly as good this winter, but the Sox need to seriously consider making a move. Our outfield is stacked in the minors and Garcia isn’t hitting well enough to justify a 4th OF/part time DH role. I trust Hahn to get the best deals out there, so don’t be surprised if he nabs us some team’s top 10 prospect.