The White Sox offense is nothing if not consistent.
Or maybe it's more accurate to say it's nothing, and it's consistent.
Regardless of who's healthy and who's injured, or who's hot and who's cold, White Sox hitters as a group have practically turned in the same offensive performance in each of the first four months of the season:
- April: .236/.296/.379, 6.9% BB, 22.9% K
- May: .248/.301/.408, 6.4% BB, 21.8% K
- June: .228/.290/.400, 6.7% BB, 25.1% K
- July: .241/.298/.370, 6.9% BB, 24.1% K
Its inability to rise to a challenge made them extremely susceptible to things like strength of schedule. Sure enough, their monthly records reflect the difficulty of the competition:
- April: 8-21, -65 run differential
- May: 15-14, +10
- June: 13-13, -3
- July: 7-16, -25
The White Sox entered the month just 5½ games out of first place in the AL Central despite all their problems, so Rick Hahn had to entertain the possibility of adding, but not without proof. "You want to have reason to believe that this thing's going to get right between now and Aug. 1," he said.
By July 26, he was tearing the team down again.
WHITE SOX TEAM PERFORMANCE
- Record: 7-16
- Run differential: 98 RS, 123 RA
- Standings: Fourth, 11 GB
- Longest winning streak: Two, July 15-16 and 28-29
- Longest losing streak: Six, July 21-27
- Largest margin of victory: 7, July 16
- Largest margin of defeat: 9, July 14
HITTING LEADERS
- Batting average: .354, Eloy Jiménez
- On-base percentage: .385, Jiménez
- Slugging percentage: .557, Jake Burger
- wRC+: 178, Jiménez
- Home runs: 8, Burger
- RBI: 15, Burger
- Walks: 11, Burger
- Strikeouts: 30, Luis Robert Jr.
- Stolen bases: 6, Robert
- fWAR: 0.8, Robert
PITCHING LEADERS
- Wins: 1, Dylan Cease, Touki Toussaint, Lance Lynn, Michael Kopech, Aaron Bummer, Keynan Middleton, Mike Clevinger
- Losses: 3, Kopech
- ERA: 3.46, Toussaint
- Innings: 28, Cease
- Strikeouts: 33, Cease
- Appearances: 10, Gregory Santos
- Relief innings: 10⅔, Tanner Banks
- fWAR: 0.9, Cease
COMING AND GOING
- White Sox debuts: Bryan Shaw, Declan Cronin, Edgar Navarro
- White Sox departures: Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Kendall Graveman
- Going up: Shaw, Oscar Colás, Nick Padilla, Jimmy Lambert, Sammy Peralta, Cronin, Navarro
- Going down: Shaw, Carlos Pérez, Lambert, Padilla
#SOXMORGUE
- Michael Kopech: Right shoulder inflammation
- Joe Kelly: Right elbow inflammation
Awards
Most Valuable Player: Jake Burger
It's not surprising that Burger led the team in homers in July. It's shocking that Burger led the team in walks. The guy who drew only 11 walks over the first three months drew another 11 in July alone. He hit just .203, but the patience gave him a .308 OBP to go along with that .557 slugging, so he started to understand how his power inside the zone made pitchers a little more cautious around him. Throw in some non-disastrous appearances at second base, and I don't think his final form is quite settled yet. The Marlins will be the ones who get to figure out what that looks like.
Least Valuable Player: Andrew Vaughn
Vaughn perked up a bit by the end of the month, but he still hit just .222/.246/.286 with one walk against 17 strikeouts over 65 plate appearances. That's basically the same OPS that José Abreu posted over his first two months with the Astros, when everybody feared that he was toast.
Most Valuable Pitcher: Touki Toussaint
Toussaint did a lot of dirty work in emergency situations over the course of July. He turned a bullpen game into a conventional start by throwing five innings against the Cardinals, delivered 5⅓ innings of relief after Michael Kopech bombed out of the first game of the second half, closed out a game against the Cubs, then started and threw five shutout innings two days later. The numbers aren't scintillating: a 3.46 ERA and 17 free bases (14 BB, 3 HBP) against 21 strikeouts over 26 innings -- but as the White Sox began preparing to dismantle the pitching staff, Toussaint kept taking the ball and doing it well enough.
Least Valuable Pitcher: Michael Kopech
Considering Kopech started his month on the 14th and threw just 14 of 38 pitches for strikes over two-thirds of an inning, it could've been worse. But even "better" was shaky. Over his subsequent 15⅔ innings, he walked 10 batters against 12 strikeouts and gave up six homers. Good job by him limiting the damage to nine runs (eight earned), but none of it inspired confidence.
Fire Man: Reynaldo López
Another guy who ended his White Sox career -- or who knows, this chapter of his White Sox career -- on a high note by striking out 11 over eight scoreless innings. He threw two perfect frames in his last appearance before the trade to set up Kendall Graveman, who promptly blew the save.
Gas Can: Joe Kelly
If you chose Keynan Middleton (scored upon in six of nine appearances) or Bryan Shaw (human white flag), I wouldn't blame you, but I went with Kelly's ruthless efficiency. He made only four appearances around a bout of elbow inflammation, and he blew the lead in three of them,. In his final appearance, he entered with a two-run lead, gave up a stolen base before a dropped third strike, gave up another stolen base, hit a batter, then walked two with the bases loaded to tie the game.
Bench Player: NObody
Zach Remillard fared the best of anybody by hitting .232/.307/.339, but he also made a costly error in right field when his defensive utility was stretched beyond its breaking point.
Stench Player: Gavin Sheets
He hit .138/.219/.138 over 32 plate appearances. He still did a good job of putting a bat on the ball -- just seven strikeouts -- but Yasmani Grandal ended up taking starts from him at first base, and Grandal wasn't that good himself.
Gold Glove: Oscar Colás
Is it weird to give this honor to a player who can't be trusted to pick a ball up cleanly? Perhaps, but there isn't a Gold Arm, and that's what we're really doing with Colás here. He came back from his lengthy stint in the minors with better reads and a lot more confidence in throwing the ball. He racked up three outfield assists, and that's the most positive defensive development of the month.
For what it's worth, Statcast agrees, saying that Colás finished July with a 3 OAA, with Robert and Tim Anderson the only other ones with positive scores.
Hands of stone: Elvis Andrus
If you go by Statcast, Andrus finished break-even in OAA, whereas Andrew Vaughn finished -4. Far be it from me to defend Vaughn's defense -- for instance, what is this play -- but Andrus had a cluster of issues with his hands at second base. He dropped one ball and fumbled another to double the value of Minnesota homers on July 21, but his month-opening error in Oakland better characterizes the kinds of plays he should be making but isn't.
Speaking of which...
Timeline
An ominous start: Tim Anderson's first homer -- a grand slam that gave the White Sox a 10-4 lead over Oakland -- is overturned by replay, and the White Sox end up losing 7-6 with Dylan Cease and their five best relievers pitching, partially because of that awful game-ending Andrus error. (July 1)
Still ominous: The White Sox avoid a sweep in the Coliseum, although they barely hold on to a five-run lead over the last two innings. Clint Frazier, who broke the wrong way to start the mess in the ninth inning, ends it with an awkward falling catch. (July 2)
One worthy All-Star: The White Sox only send one representative to the Midsummer Classic in Seattle, but at least Luis Robert Jr. deserved it, and it's not some sort of Pity Reliever. (July 3)
No-decision is an improvement: Lance Lynn, who took the loss while tying the franchise single-game record for strikeouts earlier in the season, throws seven innings of one-run ball, but the White Sox still have to use five relievers in the first game of a doubleheader, which they lose 6-2 in 11. (July 6)
Putting the "0" in Toronto: The White Sox go winless in six games against the Blue Jays after getting swept in the twin bill. The Jays outscored them 35-11. (July 6)
The NL White Sox: The White Sox snap their losing streak by roaring back from a 5-0 deficit against the Cardinals, who summarized why their season has been just as miserable as that of their South Side counterparts. (July 7)
The slowest-setting concrete: Pedro Grifol says "the foundation is being set" before the White Sox lose the last game of the first half to drop to a season-worst 16 games below .500. (July 9)
A distraction: The White Sox select Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft. (July 9)
Quality over quantity: Luis Robert Jr. finishes with the fourth-highest total in the Home Run Derby, but he hit six of the seven longest homers in the competition. (July 10)
But of course: Robert misses the actual All-Star Game because he tweaked his calf during the Home Run Derby. (July 11)
An ominous restart: Michael Kopech opens the second half by allowing a grand slam four batters into the first inning against the Braves in what turns out to be a 9-0 loss. (July 14)
You can't predict baseball: The White Sox then somehow snap the Braves' 11-game home winning streak and hand Spencer Strider his first loss since May, then route Atlanta 8-1 to win the series. (July 15 and July 16)
Fellow sellers: Just like the Cardinals, the Mets show White Sox fans what all the angst is about by nearly blowing an 11-4 lead, settling for an 11-10 squeaker at Citi Field. (July 18)
The slowest hook: After Zach Remillard makes a rookie mistake in right field to keep the seventh inning alive, Grifol leaves in Lynn two batters too long, and Lynn becomes the first pitcher since 2018 to give up nine runs over at least 6⅔ innings. (July 21)
The saddest must-win: Grifol defends his decision to keep an ailing Eloy Jiménez in the lineup despite his struggles running at full speed because "We've got to win that ballgame tomorrow." They do not win the ballgame. (July 23 and July 24)
Another slam denied: The White Sox miss a grand slam by mere feet for the third time this month when Seiya Suzuki robs Yoán Moncada for a dramatic sac fly. Anderson had the slam overturned by review, and Jake Burger also boomed a drive off the top of the wall. There'd be a metaphor here if the Sox came up just short, instead of miles short. (July 25)
The fire sale begins: While Lance Lynn is the subject of the hottest rumors, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López are the first pitchers dealt by the White Sox, who send them to Anaheim. (July 26)
The fire sale continues: The White Sox continue to break down the pitching staff by trading Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers. (July 28)
And continues: The White Sox make their second trade of the day by dealing Kendall Graveman back to the Houston Astros. (July 28)
At long last, a long ball: Tim Anderson finally hits his first homer of the season, a 429-foot no-doubter off Logan Allen to snap a drought that dated back to July 16, 2022. (July 29)
