The Chicago White Sox are without their number one leader, shortstop Tim Anderson for a little while thanks to a groin injury. Without him in the lineup, this team has and will struggle and continues to lose games with an ineffective offense.
It doesn’t appear that anyone but a handful of players are playing well. Guys like Danny Mendick, Jose Abreu, and Luis Robert (despite the fact he’s been on the Covid-19 list for a bit), among just a few others, are doing well. Everyone else seems to be ineffective in this lineup.
There needs to be someone that steps up and not only plays well but takes this team and leads them through the games that Anderson is out. There are a couple of names that come to mind, Abreu is one.
But Robert would be the ideal player to step up and lead. He’s young and his ability to hit the ball can back up any talk he does as a leader. So ideally, if Robert could step up and be a leader, this would be a huge help to the White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox needs the best version of Luis Robert every single day.
Robert has had a decent start to the season minus a couple of stints on the bench thanks to an injury and Covid-19. He’s hitting the ball rather well slashing .290/.322/.441 in 35 games with 145 at-bats. That’s not terrible by any means.
But numbers aren’t the only thing that determines if someone is a leader or not. Sure, playing well can be an inspiration for others but it’s what you do as a leader in the clubhouse and in the dugout that matters even more.
Robert needs to let his play on the field do the talking while rallying the troops in the clubhouse to give them the inspiration to play better. Right now, it appears as if the White Sox are falling flat game in and game out, especially with the ones they have had without Anderson in the lineup.
Having someone like Robert come in, take charge, and get everyone moving must happen. The White Sox aren’t going to win a lot of games if that doesn’t take place.
Robert is fully capable of being a leader. He has the tools he just needs to have the “want to” to step up and become “that guy” for the White Sox. If he can do that then this team should be able to step up as a whole and win additional games.
And Robert doesn’t need to let just his bat do the talking. He’s well adept at stealing bases and stealing a base at a critical time can act as a catalyst to get a team moving and get them motivated.
Expect Robert to step up and lead the White Sox forward while Anderson is out. Hopefully, this moves the team in a positive direction and allows them to score more runs thus winning more games.