Before you flub a sardonic gasp and run to the message board while venom pools at the keyboard, realize that what I am about to tell you is cast through a lens of expected failure.
Like everyone else, I knew this was a discarded season for the White Sox before the first pitch was thrown. But the hashtags on twitter and japes about proud failures have run amuck and become rallying cries for ill-begotten ends.
Yet, there were reasons to cheer this season, but they are dwindling with the summer skies. So, here are a few causes to celebrate the final two weeks of the season.
The Offense
The offense was offensive (see what I did there?) most of the season. Avisail Garcia and Jose Abreu have buoyed an anemic performance from a tattered lineup with myriad iterations. Abreu will reach a milestone this week that only two other major-league players have matched. He will collect 100 runs batted in while belting 25 or more home runs in each of his first four seasons – Joe DiMaggio and Albert Pujols are the only other players to match this feat.
Garcia has posted an unthinkable .333 batting average this season while cynics kept waiting for the inevitable decline that never came. Even after a brief stint on the D.L., Garcia returned and kept pace.
And while the majority of the lineup has been patched together with young players and rookies, believe it or not, the White Sox have had a better than average offensive season. They rank 13th in Major League Baseball with a collective .259 batting average, four points higher than the league average and three points higher than the Cubs – yes, white sox fans, you can gloat.
Joining Abreu and Garcia are Tim Anderson and Matt Davidson with strong performances. Anderson is batting .458 with two home runs and 13 runs scored in the last 13 games. He has posted nine multi-hit games over that span and boasts a .340 average the past 30 days.
Davidson, meanwhile, has blasted 25 home runs in his rookie campaign, good enough for second among American League rookies. Though, Rookie of the Year seems out of reach for Davidson since Aaron Judge is certain to run away with the award.
Starting Rotation
The rotation suffered an overabundance of setbacks throughout the season, none unexpected. Carlos Rodon began the season on the D.L., Jose Quintana forgot to pack his quality starts after the World Baseball Classic and Derek Holland was as expected, terrible.
With Chris Sale’s departure and the promise of Quintana’s parting, there was still hope for a solid starting crew. Rodon was supposed to continue his success while James Shields and Holland might regain their early-career touch. And with the wave of prospects forcing themselves into the big-league conversation, there was lavish optimism huddled around the pitching staff. Yet, here we are at the end of a season that was expected to be sour, but not quite this tart.
Miguel Gonzalez held down the rotation as the most consistent and durable starter in the rotation while Shields continued his plummet into major league obscurity. After Quintana was jettisoned the wheels started to come off. The White Sox early success in April rapidly eroded into an embarrassing finish at the bottom of the league.
The rotation could post the least amount of wins lost (9) and losses saved (11) in 2017. What this amounts to is the ghastly reality that the South Siders were hardly ever in a position to win when their starter exited and their offense never bailed them out. Compounding the pain, the White Sox are last in wins (34) for the starting rotation while posting the second highest total losses this season (69).
Most concerning is that after Gonzalez and Holland were freed, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito joined the carousel. And while they have had success the staff’s ERA is still 4.96 in Sept. with expanded rosters. And yes, I know Mike Pelfrey, Dylan Covey, Chris Volstad and David Holmberg are somewhere in that starting recipe.
Carson Fulmer imploded in his first start since being called up for good but has found a wellspring of success lately. His latest and most urgent test will be on Thursday when he faces the Houston Astros and Dallas Keuchel.
Engel in the Outfield
White Sox brass only protected three players from the Rule 5 draft last winter, Jacob May, Brad Goldberg and Adam Engel. May broke camp with the White Sox and learned a hasty lesson on big-league pitching. After May was sent down and a host of pesky injuries and trades, Engel joined the squad and stunned the world.
From leaping grabs to diving swipes and everything in between, Engel followed through on his promise and skill. Although he is batting below the Mendoza line (.185) his defensive value has been off the charts.
Engel has been worth 12 outs above replacement ranking sixth in Major League Baseball behind stiff competition. Byron Buxton and Ender Inciarte lead this category but Engel’s catch percentage is a mere two points shy of Buxton. If nothing else, Engel has played himself into the long-term conversation in centerfield.
And consider the following as well. Nicky Delmonico was unprotected from the Rule 5 draft and was one of the glossy narratives of an Ill-begotten season.
