Any White Sox fan can tell with their own two eyes that Tony La Russa's outfit has played an ugly brand of baseball through the first month, but in case you want numbers to quantify the ghastliness of play, Sports Info Solution posted the first installment of team defensive standings, broken down by position.
And some positions are indeed broken down. The White Sox are tied with the Washington Nationals for the second-worst team performance in baseball at -13 defensive runs saved, with only the Cincinnati Reds edging out either of them at -14. Those Reds are 3-19 this season, so it's indeed worth noting the company they're keeping.
The White Sox are in the red across most of the board, including bottom-three performances in left field (-6) and shortstop (-4), which should be no surprise given the cluster of errors Tim Anderson committed last week.
Those positions might find it difficult to dig out of their holes, but other positions should stabilize, like center field (-2) once Luis Robert takes back control of the playing time, and third base (-1) if and when Yoán Moncada returns.
The White Sox would be in the worst shape of any team were it not for the performance of their pitchers, who are among a whole host of teams tied for third place with 2 DRS. Dallas Keuchel clicked to share this post, but accidentally closed the window.
Spare Parts
Back on April 24, Angel Hernandez's terrible strike zone set off a brief, explosive tirade by Kyle Schwarber. According to the public strike-zone scorecard posted by Twitter account @UmpScorecards, Schwarber had his reasons, as Hernandez whiffed on 16 calls, good for a rate of 88 percent.
However, Jeff Passan said MLB's internal system graded Hernandez at 96 percent. While the public systems are binary, the league's private evaluation bakes in uncertainty on the corners with a third grade between "correct" and "incorrect" called "acceptable." While such a nuanced system could protect bad umpires, these arguments may be short-lived as automated balls and strikes creep up the ladder toward the big leagues.
I didn't realize until James Fegan's story that Vince Velasquez had five different pitching coaches during six years in Philadelphia. Theoretically, a stint in San Diego at the end of 2021 and Ethan Katz this year gives him seven in seven, which is the kind of instability that might make it hard for a pitcher like Velasquez to work through problems.
The White Sox have played 22 games, and Reese McGuire has started behind the plate for 11 of them. While it's been a pleasure to watch his defense (dropped Aaron Bummer pitch aside), he's also hitting .135/.175/.162, which doesn't help the Sox's issues on the other side of the ball.
(Meanwhile, Zack Collins is hitting .256/.304/.512 over 12 games, but he's 3-for-23 with 12 strikeouts over his last six starts, which is more in line with his Chicago results, hitch or no hitch.)
Sarah Langs digs into Andrew Vaughn's hot start and sees sustainable developments, particularly in his choices swinging and taking. Now he just needs to bounce back from the pitch to the wrist.
Going back to the Reds, I can't help but gawk at all their misfortune during their 3-19 start, mostly because they were 2-2 before Cincinnati Reds president Phil Castellini detonated their home opener by saying fans who were critical of the team's ownership might as well can it because they have nowhere else to go. Now things like this are a regular occurrence.
