For the White Sox, July 23 is a famous date made infamous.
In 2009, Mark Buehrle threw his perfect game to bolster his legacy with the franchise. And in 2016, 10 years ago, Chris Sale cemented his own lore by slashing the throwback jerseys the White Sox were supposed to wear because he hated them.
It's easy to remember where I was when both events occurred, but the latter's unfolding was far more chaotic. For Buehrle's perfect game, my boss -- a novelist on the side, so he was supportive of my writing endeavors -- let me head home on my lunch break to watch the final two innings and take whatever time to recap it if necessary.
For Sale, I was at the downtown Troy Ace Hardware getting supplies for a couple of home projects when my phone started exploding with notifications of Sale being scratched from his start. The most logical hypothesis was that Sale had been traded, so I put everything back, walked to a restaurant (Muddaddy Flats, no longer exists) to order takeout, and then kept swiping to update Twitter in search of where Sale was headed, and for whom.
This post from South Side Sox chronicled the evolving nature of the story, which ended up defying all logic over the course of 90 minutes. Everybody involved should have been fired right then and there, but somehow Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn got another seven years until one last organizational meltdown finally broke the camel's surprisingly strong back.
Back in March, we had a similar nod to the 10-year anniversary of L'affaire LaRoche, except at that time, it was still unclear whether Chris Getz had made real strides toward building a roster that was respectable enough to survive a stress test for organizational deficiencies and chemistry issues. Four months later, it seems that we can state with some certainty that the White Sox are truly in a healthier place.
Spare Parts
Another example of how much things have changed for the White Sox:
- They merit inclusion with Jay Jaffe's annual assessment of underwater positions for each hopeful.
- They only have two positions in the red.
- One of them might actually be settled (Braden Montgomery in right field).
The other one is catcher, and we discussed that with Erik Kratz in this morning's Sox Machine Podcast.
Speaking of catchers who could be added at the deadline, Salvador Perez on Wednesday tied George Brett for the Kansas City all-time home run record with his 317th. It was only three summers ago that Bob Nightengale said the White Sox earnestly tried to acquire Perez, and this time it wouldn't be in an vain attempt to prop up a manager who's drowning.
Speaking of annual FanGraphs midseason features, the White Sox have also returned to the trade value list. With one installment to go, the White Sox have Colson Montgomery at No. 26, and Davis Martin, Miguel Vargas and Sam Antonacci as honorable mentions.
For fans of a good three-team deal, this is a good story about how they come together, on the rare times they're actually seen all the way through.
They've been overshadowed by Boston's recent 15-game winning streak, but the Orioles handed the Red Sox that loss as the latest installment of their own pretty good ball. We've talked about the Orioles' role at this deadline, and whether they're going to add to the pitching supply, but Kyle Bradish is off the table after signing the largest pitching contract in Baltimore history (five years, $70 million).
Garrett Crochet's shoulder issue looks like it's going to alter the terms the six-year, $170 million contract he signed with the Red Sox. If he spends at least 120 consecutive days on the injured list, his opt-out after 2030 is voided, and the Red Sox get a $15 million club option for 2032.
- Mets receiving interest in Luis Robert Jr. -- MLB Trade Rumors
- What we're hearing about the Tigers' likely asking price for Tarik Skubal and more trade deadline intel -- The Athletic
Luis Robert Jr. has returned from disc inflammation in his back just in time to return to his other natural state: being the subject of trade rumors. Piggybacking off a report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, Anthony Franco of MLBTR fleshes out Robert's potential value amid an uninspiring crop of center field solutions.
The White Sox are mentioned in the Athletic's survey of the landscape, but it merely confirms priors:
An all-in approach for the Chicago White Sox features adding a top-of-the-rotation starter and closer, with adding a right-handed batting center fielder as a lesser possibility.
A more realistic approach includes adding a mid-rotation starter and high-leverage reliever.
