Following last night’s 12-5 defeat against the Cleveland
Indians, the Chicago White Sox have now lost their last three games to fall to
a 14-16 record. The White Sox are currently in third place in the American
League Central Division, four games behind the Detroit Tigers. For a team that
was supposed to be in a rebuilding year, the White Sox have been competitive,
but they are still far from being a playoff team. There are plenty of issues
with this team (mainly pitching), so expecting them to more than a .500 team is
unrealistic at this point. The good news is that newcomers like Jose Abreu and
Adam Eaton have shown what they care capable of and youngsters like Marcus
Semien and Daniel Webb have flashed their potential.
Injury Report
Adam Eaton strained his right hamstring while trying to beat
out double play ball and left the game after the inning. With Eaton’s left knee
also still slightly bothering him, the White Sox placed him on the 15-day
disabled list this afternoon. Even if Eaton is ready to go in 4 or 5 days, it is
wise to force him to sit for a couple weeks to prevent a more serious injury
from occurring. As good as Eaton can be, the one knock on him is his health.
Eaton has had trouble staying on the field during his brief career, and his hard-nosed
playing style doesn’t help matters. But, you would hate to see a player like
Eaton “tone-down” his approach to the game because that’s part of what makes
him an effective player. Unfortunately, this is something you just have to deal
with and hope that it doesn’t occur too often.
Chris Sale won’t come off the disabled list this weekend,
but he will throw a bullpen session on Monday. If everything goes well, Sale
should either go on a rehab assignment later next week or be activated for a
start next weekend. Obviously, the White Sox are desperately awaiting his
return.
Jeff Keppinger (Double-A) and Felipe Paulino (Triple-A) are
both set to being rehab assignments. As for Keppinger, I’m not really sure
where he would fit on the roster, but I don’t think the White Sox will have to
make a decision any time soon. Keppinger is probably going to need a few weeks
worth or at-bats before he is ready to be activated. Felipe Paulino will start
tonight in Charlotte, and will likely need several starts to not only show that
he is healthy, but that he can be effective as well.
Nate Jones was transferred to the 60-day disabled list this
afternoon. He last pitched on April 4th, so he likely will not be
back until mid-June at the earliest. This is another unfortunately blow to
Jones and the White Sox who expected the righty to close games this season.
There is still a chance for that to happen in the second half of the year, but
he’ll have a lot of work to do whenever he is fully healthy.
Bullpen Improves
Prior to last night’s contest, the White Sox bullpen has
pitched quite well during the past two weeks.
“After they
posted a 6.12 ERA in their first 18 games, White Sox relievers have a 1.79 mark
over the past 11 contests. The 1.79 ERA over that span is the lowest in the
American League and helped to drop the team’s season mark to 4.83.” (courtesy
of Comcast SportsNet’s Dan Hayes).
Of course, the bullpen starts to settle down
now that the starting rotation is a major issue, but it is encouraging. Once
the White Sox get Chris Sale back pitching every five days, the pitching staff
should at least be closer to being league average.
Danks Gets Roughed Up Again
John Danks had a rough outing last night, highlighted by a
5-run first inning. The lefty finished the night with 5 innings pitched, 10
hits, 8 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. As I stated last week, the final two
numbers of Danks’ stat line are the most troubling. Danks has now walked 20
batters while recording just 21 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. Pitchers are
simply not going to be successful when they are walking guys at a high rate and
not missing bats. Danks needs to correct this issue soon, and he will have a
chance to do that during his next start when he faces a Chicago Cubs team that
struggles to score runs.
-Eric Tichelbaut
Twitter @etichel07
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