Coming Soon: Chris Sale

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I initially saw the headline that Sale had struck out eleven batters in his first rehab start since being sent to the DL on April 22. A little more information makes that figure even more impressive - Sale struck out eleven batters in only four innings. Other pieces of context: This was against a AAA team, not your classic High A rehab game where all Sale would have to do is throw a slider anywhere close to the zone and he would annihilate people. On the other hand, this is a AAA team that sent Ray Olmedo of all people to the plate to lead off, so this wasn't exactly the AL All Star team either. What does this mean for Sale and the White Sox going forward?

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Jeff Keppinger and Getting Mad for the Right Reasons

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Unable to have him just get on-base and do little else for the Birmingham Barons forever, the White Sox bit the bullet and designated Jeff Keppinger for assignment Wednesday. It was the kind of definitive cancellation of a bad signing usually reserved for that one sports league with non-guaranteed contracts.

It's a fun move for us fans and bloggers, because it's a departure from the normal fate of having to tolerate a struggling player for the sake of a rich owner's financial concerns, and because it forces GM Rick Hahn to be very honest about the direction of the franchise.

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Roster crunches Danks, not Semien

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Jordan Danks has a low ceiling and has played well under it all year. His umpteenth trip back to Charlotte is not some measure of rotten luck or callous management. Yet it's a rough statement on his future with the team when they react to the possibility of offering him regular playing time by giving a shot to Moises Sierra.

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Eaton to the DL along with a spate of odd roster moves

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Along with their announcement of their 2013-heavy Saturday lineup, the White Sox pushed across a slate of roster moves that varied between sad, odd, necessary or all three combined. The centerpiece being centerfielder Adam Eaton going to the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury.

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White Sox rotation in shambles

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It feels wrong to even discuss something about the White Sox that isn't Jose Abreu. The man has hit 10 home runs. 10 in a month! In April! The worst month! He's on pace to hit 62 home runs, not that he'll do it, but it's fun to see the number '62.' I want RBI's to matter again so that Abreu being on pace for 193 could hold the excitement it would have 20 years ago.

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Chris Sale is going to the disabled list. Repent.

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Identifying a specific cause-and-effect for arm injuries is at best unfair and probably dishonest, since the proliferation of injuries only continues on without any steadfast predictors emerging, and if anyone has come even close to centering on what the right practice is, it's been the White Sox. But the "nothing to see here" claims are particularly hollow at the moment, even if they are comfortingly inspired. I would like to believe the brass, but there's no point in getting worked up if they have to change their story again.

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Pull up a chair for Frank Francisco

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It sure would be fun if minor league teams were acting on their own accord and signing wayward former closers with sordid pasts to fill out their roster, without any approval from the big club. But this is actually an addition of relief depth by the White Sox, who have apparently met the "only if things go right to hell" criteria for when they would decide to sign Frank Francisco.

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Gordon Beckham is staying out of the way

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Gordon Beckham is staying out of the way

Jeff Keppinger's injury always offer the potential to walk down the cynical path where everyone became quietly satisfied with his absence once they stopped considering the pain involved. But it's becoming easy to forget about the trade potential Beckham offered now the Sox already get to bask in the developmental opportunity moving him would have provided. 

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What won Matt Lindstrom the closer role?

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What won Matt Lindstrom the closer role?

Hey, here's a Rick Hahn quote from Scott Merkin's piece on Matt Lindstrom getting the closer role.

"Upstairs, we can worry about guys' trade value or how they fit going forward," Hahn said. "We really tend not to have those types of conversations.

At this point there is the same amount of evidence that Rick Hahn does not allow front office concerns to infiltrate immediate personnel decisions as there is that he simply never admits when they do.

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White Sox Outright Javy Guerra to Charlotte

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When the White Sox claimed Javy Guerra off of waivers from the Dodgers it seemed clear that he would be among those making the trip to Chicago when spring training ran its course.  Today it’s evident that’s not the case, Guerra has been outrighted to Charlotte. Contributing to the assumption of his destiny with the big squad was his lack of minor league options, which means that he’ll have to clear waivers before reporting. He may be claimed by another team but the Sox brass making this decision so soon after their own claim leads me to believe they find that an unlikely turn of events.

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In a smaller surprise, Marcus Semien is a major leaguer

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The number of reigning Southern League MVPs who have opened the next season in the major league is likely not especially small. The number of reigning Southern League MVPs who have opened the next season in the majors after the incumbent in front of them was injured...is probably small since this is now a rare set of simultaneous circumstances but the point is, for all the accolades and accomplishments Semien has racked up while flying through the minor leagues, he puts the White Sox in what has become a rare position recently.

They have an injured starter (in this case Gordon Beckham, who will be out all of a handful of days) and they have a minor leaguer who is ostensibly qualified to serve as a replacement. Being unable to provide a minor league replacement has a brought the Chicago baseball world Orlando Hudson, Ray Olmedo, and it is probably going to bring it Hector Gimenez again at some point this year.

Opening week will allow the White Sox a brief respite from having to decide between Semien as a superior utility and third base platoon option to Leury Garcia, and Semien working full-time in Triple-A to become a permanent replacement.

A decision is probably necessary, since Jeff Keppinger has no scheduled return date and the Sox actually playing well could make this issue quite nuanced.

 

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The Other Guys: What To Expect Out Of White Sox Incumbents

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The Other Guys: What To Expect Out Of White Sox Incumbents

Much of the excitement leading up to the 2014 season has been built around anticipation for the young building blocks Rick Hahn acquired over the past six months.

In Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia and pretty soon Matt Davidson, the White Sox have players fans can get excited to watch develop over the course of the next season and beyond.

The development of those four, as well as the likes of Erik Johnson and Marcus Semien, will be a major factor in whether 2014 is viewed as a success or failure. But while how those guys fare is key in shaping the team for success in 2015, 2016 and beyond, the team's success or failure in 2014 will largely be shaped by the performances of the incumbents.

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