After five games, the White Sox have achieved the title of the worst team in the MLB. Yesterday’s doubleheader loss is amplified by the length of this season. Losing streaks cannot happen if they want any chance of making the playoffs.
The White Sox had a chance to step it up after the disappointing first series against the Twins. Instead, they blew both games against Cleveland. The starting pitching for the White Sox has been the biggest issue. Dallas Keuchel is the only starting pitcher to make it through the 4th inning and the only win for the White Sox so far. The bullpen, which had looked less than stellar in the Twins series, was flat out amazing on Tuesday (10IP 4H 0ER 4BB 10K). They kept the White Sox in both games and provided the offense a chance to win the game.
The offense equally had a chance to give the White Sox these two much-needed victories. Despite the absence of Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada, which were felt in the lineup, and players who normally would not be playing were put into significant roles, there were several occasions where players were left on the plate. However, they never mustered up the big hit to get them over the hill. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Tim Anderson came out of his mini-slump to go (4-9 3R 1RBI 1HR) in both games.
White Sox manager, Rick Renteria, who would have missed Monday’s game before it was rained out, was cleared by medical staff and managed the team on Tuesday for the doubleheader. Looking at the lineup, I would like to say Renteria may have still been feeling the effects of his illness; however, as a White Sox fan, I have been seeing Renteria’s mind-boggling lineup cards for years.
Renteria vowed at Sox Fest that his days of tinkering with the lineup were over. But this was old Renteria coming through, lineup experimentation the White Sox cannot afford this season. This is not the type of season to wait and see if a player will act on their potential. He needs to stick with a lineup that always gets his best hitters the most ABs. If people are hitting, they need to be higher in the lineups. It does not matter how long they been in the league or what they have done in seasons past.
Luis Robert batting 7th in both lineups of the doubleheader was a big miss. Robert has had a hit in every game this season and is batting .400 to start the year. I understand not wanting to put pressure on the Robert as a rookie, but his production has surpassed every expectation the White Sox had when they signed him to multi-year contract. Robert should never be lower than 5th in this lineup.
The lineup that gives the White Sox the best chance to score the most runs and win some games is: 1. Anderson, 2. Moncada, 3. Robert, 4. Eloy, 5. Abreu, 6. Grandal, 7. Encarnacion, 8.Garcia, and 9. Madrigal. But putting players like Nicky Delmonico, who batted fourth in the second game of the doubleheader, will only feed to the thought that Renteria may not be the right guy to take this team to the World Series. It is not to say that as manager, Renteria is not faced with tough decisions, but at this point it is time to get rolling and no looking back.
Another tweak that would work to the advantage of the White Sox is to calling up Nick Madrigal, who seems to hit just about anything, and would solidify the infield defense at 2B. Luery Garcia, who currently plays 2B, should be moved to a super utility role. Since his offensive explosion on Saturday (3-4 2R 4RBI 2HR),Garcia has gone 0-11 in the last three games. The White Sox, as a team, still need Garcia’s versatility however he should focus on playing OF where his defense is not as much of a liability.
The White Sox come into another must-win situation on Wednesday. Lucas Giolito gave an awful performance opening day (3.2IP 6H 7ER 3BB 3K 1L) and needs to bounce back and show the heir of resilience for the whole staff get behind.
The White Sox cannot afford to lose five games to divisional opponents; that would be a death sentence for the White Sox. The offense needs to make sure to get the big hits today. The offense must put runs on the scoreboard. It is early in the season, and yes, the White Sox team has all the talent to be one of the best teams in baseball; but if they don’t start winning games, it won’t matter.