White Sox to Use Closer-by-Committee

Despite winning the last two games versus the Toronto Blue Jays, the current 11-game road trip for the Chicago White Sox has been one to forget. Most notably, the White Sox have found ways to blow late leads that has resulted in a change at the back of the bullpen. Ronald Belisario’s near blown save on Friday night finally forced manager Robin Ventura to make a change. I know many fans, myself included, have been clamoring for this to happen for a while, but unfortunately there are not many options to choose from on the current roster. As a result, Ventura has stated that the club will be using a closer-by-committee approach for the time being.

Since there are no obvious candidates to fill the role permanently, this decision makes the most sense. Jake Petricka bailed out Belisario on Friday night and Zach Putnam got the first crack this afternoon, but I imagine others will get a shot as well depending on matchups. Ideally, you would hope that someone emerges and takes over as the primary closer within a few weeks. If that does not happen, then the committee will be in place until Nate Jones returns from the disabled list. Currently, there is no timetable for Jones’ return, but he is reportedly progressing well from back surgery. If I had to guess, I would say that he should be back shortly after the All-star break. Since Jones was the most likely candidate to take over as closer following the departure of Addison Reed, it would be nice to have him healthy for the final two months to prove whether or not he has what it takes to pitch in the ninth inning.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Twitter: @etichel07

Danks Tries to Avoid Sweep

The Chicago White Sox have lost the first three games of a four game set with the Minnesota Twins, and have now dropped 10 of their last 14 contests overall. The White Sox’ recent struggles are a humble reminder that they are not ready to win right now. Despite having some success and showing vast improvements from last year, this year’s team still has too many holes and has been too inconsistent to be considered serious contenders.

Danks Continues to Shine

The White Sox will send John Danks to the mound this afternoon while hoping to avoid a sweep. The left-hander has been outstanding recently after overcoming a dreadful outing in Houston on May 18^th where he allowed seven earned runs on ten hits in 4.2 innings pitched. Since then, Danks has been on quite a roll with five straight quality starts and three straight victories. During that stretch, Danks has hurled 35.2 innings while surrendering just six earned runs on 24 hits, 9 walks, and 21 strikeouts. The current hot streak has lowered Danks’ ERA from 5.64 to 3.97, and it appears that he is finally back to being the pitcher that he was from 2008 to 2011 before his shoulder problems.

Flowers in a Funk

Tyler Flowers’ hot start seems like a distant memory now that the catcher has reverted back to his 2013 form. Flowers’ batting average was at .312 on May 25th, but as I noted previously, his success was due in large part to an unsustainable BABIP. Since then, Flowers has collected just four hits in 62 at-bats with a whopping 30 strikeouts and only five walks. Just as Flowers’ torrid start wasn’t going to last very long, neither will this horrific slump. However, I think it is safe to say that Flowers will never be the hitter the White Sox hoped he would become after posting a .275 average across six seasons in the minors.

Davidson Still Struggling

When the White Sox acquired Matt Davidson during the offseason, I firmly believed that he would be the starting third baseman by this point in the season.  However, after a horrible first half of the season at Triple-A Charlotte, Davidson is nowhere near ready to supplant Conor Gillaspie as the team’s starting third baseman. Davidson is hitting a mere .191, with 11 home runs and 24 RBI and the lack of contact (87 Ks in 241 Abs) is very worrisome. I still think it is far too early to label Davidson as a bust because he could turn things around in the second half of the season, but it does not look too good right now.

Rodon Remains Unsigned

Top-pick Carlos Rodon has yet to sign with the White Sox, but that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise considering that he is a Scott Boras client. The White Sox have stressed that it would be beneficial to Rodon’s career to sign sooner rather than later, but Boras and Rodon are trying to get as much guaranteed money as possible. When Rodon was drafted, there was talk about him possibly being on a ‘Chris Sale’ type path to the majors and pitching out of the bullpen this season, but I don’t think that is reasonable at this point. Unless the White Sox get on a serious roll, they won’t be contenders in September and there would be no reason to rush Rodon to the majors. More realistically, it would be nice to see Rodon sign quickly so that he can start his career in the minors and position himself to make his debut as a starting pitcher with the White Sox at some point in 2015. With rotation issues after Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and John Danks, White Sox fans can’t wait for that day to happen.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Twitter: @etichel07

No Issues with Sale's Usage

After winning two out of three games versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago White Sox were swept away by the Los Angeles Angels to conclude the California road trip. The White Sox now sit 4.5 games back of division leading Detroit as the Tigers come to U.S. Cellular Field tonight to begin a big four-game set.

No Issues with Sale’s Usage

Probably the biggest story to come out of Anaheim this weekend was whether or not Chris Sale should have came out to pitch the eighth inning with a 5-0 lead Saturday night. Manger Robin Ventura decided to let Sale start the eighth inning after breezing through the first seven innings while throwing just 90 pitches. As a result, Sale ended up loading the bases and giving up a game-tying grand slam to Mike Trout on a 3-2 changeup. Sale then departed the game after throwing 115 pitches, leading to many fans angrily questioning the usage of Chris Sale. Despite losing the lead, I have no issues with how Sale was used. Chris Sale is the ace of this pitching staff and arguably one of the top five starting pitchers in baseball, and I see no reason why he should have been pulled after seven innings. I understand that the White Sox had a five run lead, but keeping Sale on the mound gave the White Sox the best chance at holding onto the lead. The Angels have a potent lineup, and we have all seen the White Sox’ bullpen blow substantial leads this season. If Ventura had opted to go to the bullpen and they blow Sale’s lead, the same fans would have been clamoring to leave Sale in the game. You can’t have it both ways.

The other reason many fans were upset with sending Sale out for the eighth inning is his health. This was Sale’s fourth start since returning from the disabled list and some feel he shouldn’t be overused. I completely agree, but sending your ace out for another inning after only throwing 90 pitches is harmless. The White Sox would not have activated Sale from the disabled list three weeks ago if he was not fully healthy. Given that, there should be no restraints once his pitched count is built back up. Considering it was Sale’s fourth start, I have no problem with having him pitch 110-120 pitches every fifth day. Maybe I’m old school, but I think every starting pitcher should and could pitch 110-120 pitches every fifth day if their arm and body is conditioned to do so. If not, then they should not be in the major leagues, and they are definitely not an “ace”. I applaud Chris Sale and the White Sox for not surrendering to the fallacy of pitch counts and babying pitchers.

Semien Playing Some Outfield

Infielder Marcus Semien has started to see some time in the outfield at Triple-A Charlotte over the last few days. The White Sox would like Semien to learn left and center field to increase his versatility to the organization. This seems like a great idea to find ways to get Semien on the field whenever he makes his return to the White Sox.

Flowers and Viciedo Regress

About a month ago I examined the hot starts of Tyler Flowers, Dayan Viciedo, and Alexei Ramirez and determined that all three players would likely regress due to inflated BABIPs. Since then, Flowers has seen his average fall from .354 to .267, while Viciedo’s has dropped from .337 to .260. Alexei Ramirez is still producing at a very high level, but even his average has dipped 40 points from .356 to .316. Even though Flowers and Viciedo have come back to earth, they are both still having quality seasons. On the other hand, Ramirez looks like he is on his way to having a career year and he will likely be rewarded with a trip to the All-Star game this summer.

White Sox Draft Carlos Rodon

With the third overall selection in last Thursday’s MLB Draft, the White Sox selected starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. The left-hander is a junior at North Carolina State, and he was widely considered the best college pitching prospect in the draft. With high school standouts Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek going first and second respectively, the White Sox had a pretty easy choice with Rodon. Rodon figures to move quickly through the White Sox farm system, and he could be in the rotation as soon as mid-2015. In addition, it would not surprise me if Rodon reaches the majors this year and pitches out of the bullpen much like how Chris Sale made his debut the year he was drafted. Obviously, draft picks are never guaranteed to pan out, but the White Sox have to be happy with the possibility of having Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Carlos Rodon as the anchors to their pitching staff for the future.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Twitter: @etichel07

Sale Dominates; Abreu Set to Return

Chris Sale was dominant once again during yesterday’s series finale victory over the San Diego Padres. Sale surrendered just one earned run and struck out nine batters during his complete game gem. The victory brought the White Sox back to .500 at 29-29, just 4.5 games behind the division leading Detroit Tigers. While it is still very early to be scoreboard watching, it is refreshing to see that the White Sox appear ready to remain competitive throughout the summer. It’ll be interesting to see where the White Sox stand in late-July as the trade deadline approaches, but I hope management does not decide to trade away the few good prospects that they have in the farm system. Even though this year’s team is vastly improved over last year’s, they still need several pieces to be legitimate contenders and I don’t think they can fill all those holes through mid-season trades. Hopefully, general manager Rick Hahn and company will stay true to the plan of reshaping this team for long-term success.

Abreu Set to Return

The White Sox hit the road tonight for six games against the two Los Angeles baseball teams. Jose Quintana gets the ball tonight versus Clayton Kershaw and Dodgers in what figures to be an entertaining pitcher’s duel. Although the mound matchup is worth watching, the real story is the return of slugger Jose Abreu. The first baseman has been activated from the disabled list prior to tonight’s game, and will reclaim his spot in the heart of the batting order. I’m excited to see the big man back on the field, and I will surely have my eyes glued to the TV set every time he steps into the box.  I would love nothing more than the see Abreu sit on Kershaw’s fastball and send the first one he sees into the seats.  Starting with tonight, Abreu’s return to the lineup could allow this offense to really take off now that the Opening Day lineup (other than Avisail Garcia) is finally healthy at the same time.

Semien Sent Down

Jose Abreu’s activation meant that somebody had to be sent down, and that person was Marcus Semien. Semien did a tremendous job filling in for Gordon Beckham and Conor Gillaspie for their respective stints on the disabled list, but unfortunately there isn’t a spot in the lineup for him. At this time, it is best for both Semien and the White Sox that he receives everyday at-bats to continue developing as a player. I am certain that this will not be the last we see of Semien, and he could regain a starting role if there is an injury or trade later this summer. Semien proved what he is capable of during the first six weeks of the season, so I’m confident he will be in the White Sox long term plans.

Danks Stays Sharp

For the better part of the season, I have been critical of John Danks’ increased walk rate and poor strikeout-to-walk ratio.  However, the lefty has turned the corner in those two departments since his start on May 7^th versus the Chicago Cubs. Since then, Danks owns a 4:1 K/BB ratio with 28 strikeouts and just seven walks in his last 31.2 innings pitched. The improved ratio has resulted in quality starts in four of his last five outings. This is exactly what I wanted to see from Danks going forward and hopefully it will continue for the rest of the season. Last year Danks only walked 27 batters in 138.1 innings pitched, so there is no reason to believe that it shouldn’t continue from here on out.

MLB Draft

In case you weren’t aware, the MLB First-Year Player Draft will begin on June 5^th and the White Sox have the third overall selection. I have heard several analysts state that the White Sox might be in the best position in this draft given their needs and spot in the draft order. The White Sox are expected to draft a pitcher at No. 3 overall, and many scouts believe they will take the best pitcher that is left between Carlos Rodon (LHP/NC State), Brady Aiken (LHP/HS), and Tyler Kolek (RHP/HS). All three prospects have been labeled as being the potential top pick in the draft at one point or another, so it does indeed look like the White Sox are in great shape. General manager Rick Hahn has publicly stated that he will not draft based on need, but that the top five players on his draft board are pitchers. Personally, I’d be shocked if the White Sox don’t take one from that trio of pitchers.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Twitter: @etichel07