Usually teams call up a pitcher for the extra man during a doubleheader, but when the second consecutive postponement of a White Sox-Guardians game this week forced a twin bill today, the White Sox called for Adam Haseley instead.
A position player isn’t nearly as odd on a team that 1) already has 15 pitchers and 2) had the last two days off due to weather, but Haseley still seemed like an unusual choice, given that he hadn’t started the season off with a noteworthy performance (.211/.302/.237 over 43 PAs in Charlotte, although with four walks to just three strikeouts). He’s a left-handed bat for use against a Cleveland team with stout right-handed pitching, but that’s about it.
The Haseley decision made a little more sense when Tony La Russa said that Eloy Jiménez was still dealing with ankle soreness stemming from drilling a foul ball into it a week ago.
Jiménez sat the next game but played all three games of the Tampa Bay series, going 2-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts. Five of his six batted balls stayed on the ground, with the lone fly ball going the opposite way.
At least the White Sox have experience in this area should Jiménez’s ankle nag him for even longer. It gives Andrew Vaughn a clean pathway to playing time, even if there isn’t a lefty starter on the horizon. (Then when AJ Pollock returns to the lineup on Friday, the Sox can bury Vaughn again.)
But there’s more injury news, and it’s not all bad. Jimmy Lambert is still expected to take the ball as part of a Johnny Wholestaff effort in Game 2, but his time as a rotation patch has an end date in sight, as Lucas Giolito is setting up to pitch Sunday in Minnesota.
That’s a day after Johnny Cueto is expected to make his White Sox organizational debut for Charlotte, so while this week’s outlook remains dicey, next week could have a considerably different feeling, at least on the pitching front.
In the meantime, the Sox have a doubleheader to survive, and if Game 1 doesn’t go well, Game 2 might not line up in a promising fashion.
Consider this post today’s First Pitch.
Jeepers on that potential game 2 lineup: here’s hoping for a win in game 1. Yikes.
Three weeks ago: Wow, what an offense. Good luck, AL Central foes.
*White Sox announce plan to start Mendick, Haseley, McGuire, Harrison, and García against division rivals*
Today: Wow, what an offense. “Good luck,” – AL Central foes.
I don’t love the idea of basically throwing the second game, if I’m being perfectly honest
Here’s betting that Cleveland plays the long game as well and runs out their own proverbial Sunday lineup. Two games in one day when the game time temp is below 50, the wind is picking up, and there’s another game tomorrow after a short spring where no one is in their mid-season routine doesn’t seem like a great time to run folks into the ground. We have 28-man rosters for a reason and it seems silly not to use them especially when so many guys have already bent dinged and dented.
TLR doesn’t seem to mind it. Perhaps they will surprise us, one can only hope.
I’m fine resting guys. I get it. But if you’re going to punt a game, why not pick the game Bieber is pitching?
While typing this, Jose Ramirez just hit a grand slam. So, new question: why not do a mass substitution right now and run your starters out in game two?
You make a sound, intelligent argument. Punt the Bieber game. No-brainer. But keep in mind that the manager of the Sox is alcohol and also logic impaired.
And he somehow will win the Bieber game because…baseball.
They just had two off days. With Eloy out, do they really need to rest TA, Robert, Abreu, all 3 of them? No. And it cost them game 2.
Sox don’t need to win as many games as possible, or to have home field in the playoffs. They can give away games with plenty to spare.
over/under on Sox wins today?
.5
I am thankful that no matter how badly the Sox play this first game can only count as one loss.
well Dallas is getting soft contact!
Sox defense has not exactly been holding up its end of the deal
Dallas did his job. I mean, nobody did their job in the 2nd, but Dallas did his job in the first.
Defense is on slow-mode today. yeesh.
getting strong “swept in doubleheader” vibes so far
Jesus Christ, what is wrong with the defense? These are routine grounders being muffed
The entire infield looks totally checked out.
Gavin needs to share his coffee with the rest of the team.
Ugh, this start. Why was I missing baseball so much the last two days again?
And this was written before the grand slam. I hope TLR just puts the planned game 2 guys in now and restarts the regulars for game 2.
Lmao okay time to turn it off, they’re not winning either game today
The fact that this is a game Leury isn’t playing in makes it ten times more hilarious.
This ball game is ovahhhh
geezus , defense is asleep and of course ramirez gets to beat you with the sacks packed
Bit annoying this could easily now be a DH sweep given the game 2 lineup, our pen is gonna be destroyed today…. and we added a game to july which is something to keep an eye on because the sox look to play 31 games in 31 days (1 off day, 1 DH) from june 17 to july 17…. man up cause its gonna be rough to get thru that stretch
Yeah that is uh, not the guy you want batting with the bags juiced lol.
I can’t decide if the Vince Lombardi, “What the hell is going on out here?” or the “We gotta review what’s working for us.” from “Necessary Roughness” is the more appropriate gif here.
This feels like that Giolito start in Boston, except for the entire team. Hey, silver lining, maybe Bieber will be in the dugout so long they don’t want to send him out again!
Five errors in two innings sounds high. Is that too many?
For a week maybe.
The scorer apparently thought so because Abreu’s error has been changed to a hit so it’s now only 4 errors. I think the scorer might have done it out of pity.
Tony’s strategy is working perfectly: let them embarrass our SP so badly that they assume they already have the game in the bag, and then once they’re relaxed and overconfident, we pounce!
Ugh. Pathetic display. Apparently the White Sox didn’t get the memo they’re supposed to play today? Must’ve thought “inclement weather” gave them an even larger reprieve then the 2 days they already had off? Beyond frustrating.
whats the rule on Vaughns single not being ruled a double… didnt he technically hit 2nd base safely and on the slide thru get tagged out… isnt that a double not a single???
I suspect single is the right call. There’s got to be something about safely… conquering? (that’s obviously not the right word) the base. For example: I don’t think it counts as a stolen base + pickoff whenever a runner slides over the base on a SB attempt.
Alright, let me settle in for some baseball!
….
Welp, nevermind.
Finished a long work related call this, and check the game status.
*pukes*
Obviously Dallas got killed, but 3 errors before he even gets an out in the 2nd inning is going to set the tone for a bad game for a lot of pitchers. It’s going to be really, really hard for a team with near league worst defense to win a title.
As good a hitter as he is, TA7 is just never going to be a plus SS, which sucks. Surprised that he only made 10 errors all of 2021, that’s hard to believe since he made almost 1/3 of that today.
Vaughn with the second and third highest exit velos on the team today. Too bad he can’t hit right handers.
Seems like if Banks gets sent down after this game because he’s “used up” for a couple days, they should consider putting him in the Charlotte rotation. Might be a better injury replacement than Lambert or even Velasquez.
Jim tweeted the other night that Velasquez was going to get Banks sent down. On one hand it looks like Kuechel did it for him. On the other, does this performance make him the new swing man? I stopped watching so I don’t know how much of it is good pitching vs. Guardians hitters just playing out the string with a 10-run lead, but the box score will look impressive.
How can they send Banks down now? I know today was garbage time but still. 9 innings and four outings with no earned runs makes it pretty hard to want to get rid of him.
No matter wants to get rid of him. The question is how much they need a fresh arm. A lot will depend on what happens in Game 2, I imagine. I don’t know what the option situation looks like in the bullpen, but Banks is probably the one of the most flexibility contractually.
Giolito to start Sunday. Cueto ready hopefully soon. Hopefully we won’t see much more of VV or Lambert. But Keuchel today was not encouraging.
I hope Lynn comes back truly healthy, and that Cueto performs. That at least would mean they have options other than Keuchel in case today was a sign of bad things from him. But man has this team been hit by injuries the past 2 years, geez.
Well, Dallas’ option might no vest after all if he is gonna pitch 1 inning per game.
Silver linings!
I was hoping he would be decent enough to vest, and be worth it. He looked pretty good in the first inning actually, I mean he’s out of the inning facing 3 batters if guys behind him can f-ing field. 2nd inning, not so much! Ugly ass game all around.
Harshing my mellow.
I turned off the game. Why did they lose the DH? Did Vaughn get hurt?
Good thing the Sox have the division sewed up.
That game 2 lineup is disgusting. Leury hitting 3rd?
Yeah, I don’t get shoving Vaughn and Sheets down in the lineup when they’re one of about 4 solid bats playing.
This is so dumb. It’s one thing to play a bunch of the bench players, because you think everybody needs to play part of the double header (which I also don’t like). It’s another to not put together the best lineup possible from that combination of players. Haseley batting 2nd while Engel is batting 8th is another highlight.
Yeah, top 4 should be some combo of Grandal, Vaughn, Sheets, and Engel. Can even alternate R-L
They’ll probably score 10 runs tonight.
Yep, and Harrison, Haseley, Leury at the top will go 8 for 11, because baseball.
Wow, a great AB by Leury!
José Ramírez hit a grounder with an EV of 97.6 mph that hit off Bummer’s glove right to Mendick who easily threw Ramírez out. It’s rare to see the ball bounce Bummer’s way.