Chicago White Sox Morning BP: Old ways have returned
Sadly the past five games have shown the true look of the 2015 Chicago White Sox, and the consistent winning isn’t coming this season.
Since returning from the All-Star break, the White Sox are 1-4, losing three of four to the Kansas City Royals over the weekend, plus being handed an 8-5 loss by the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night.
ALSO ON SOUTHSIDE SHOWDOWN: White Sox prospect bypassed once again
Oh, by the way, all five games have been played at U.S. Cellular Field. The one win came from the pitching of John Danks, but the run support still isn’t there for the most part when it comes to the “Good Guys,” and it won’t come with the way things are currently going, or have gone most of this season.
The White Sox begin today with a 42-49 overall record, 13.5 games back of the AL Central leader on July 22. Being behind that many games of the Royals, it is safe to say this ball club will not be celebrating a Central division championship this season.
Even being 5-5 in their past 10 games isn’t going to help the Sox much in the AL Wild Card race, as they are still 7.0 games back of the second Wild Card spot which is held by Central foe, the Minnesota Twins. Even the Detroit Tigers are ahead of the White Sox in the Wild Card race, and they are being rumored to be in a “sell mode,” sooner rather than later.
The only teams the White Sox are in front of in this race for the final Wild Card spot are the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox. The White Sox are just 1.5 games away from being in last in the Wild Card race.
One positive since returning from the All-Star break is the emergence and call-up of third baseman Tyler Saladino. In his first eight games with the “Good Guys,” Saladino has totaled 11 hits, scored four runs, hit a triple and crushed two home runs. He is batting .355 in his eight MLB games with a .355 on-base percentage and a .968 OPS.
Against the Cardinals on Tuesday he was 3-for-5 with one home run and two RBIs. It is a good start for the rookie, and getting at-bats this season can only help make the third baseman/shortstop that much of a better player in ’16, which should be the goal for the remainder of this season.
Maybe the White Sox can bring some others up from the minors in preparation for the ’16 campaign. I still want to see what Matt Davidson can so in the MLB level.
Once all of the potential trades and such works itself out, then we’ll see what this franchise wants to do for the rest of ’15. Preparation for the ’16 season is all there is left to look forward to for the rest of this season, at least that is the feeling I have.
Today’s pitching matchup will be White Sox: Danks (5-8, 4.98 ERA) vs. Cardinals: Lance Lynn (7-5, 2.79 ERA). Game time is set for 7:10 p.m. CT.
WHITE SOX HEADLINES
• Rodon struggles to escape jams vs. Cardinals: by Greg Garno of MLB.com
• Cardinals explain what makes White Sox ace Chris Sale so good: by JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago.
• North: Taking issue with some White Sox decisions: by Mike North of the Daily Herald.
• White Sox notes: Deadline angst, Ventura, Saladino: by Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.