With a long rebuilding year ahead, we’re pressing fast forward and taking a look at the White Sox prospect pipeline for 2019. To make it easier for you, here’s a quick recap of the season. Sox beat projections and finish 75-87. Michael Kopech arrives in early June and finishes second in ROY voting behind Shohei Ohtani. Yoan Moncada’s WAR is 1.5 higher than Rafael Devers‘, permanently silencing the critics. Eloy Jimenez debuts in early August to great fanfare and just barely loses his rookie eligibility. Lucas Giolito wins the AL CY Yo… Sorry. That went too far.

With that out of the way let’s take a look at the 2019 White Sox prospect pipeline. BP South Side’s Editor Emeritus James Fegan of The Athletic, put together a spectacularly deep and insightful review of the 2018 farm system, and, if you haven’t already subscribed, you’re missing out. Now, let’s look into the crystal ball and project the Sox 2019 system. As acknowledged above, Kopech and Jimenez both lose rookie eligibility in 2018 meaning we have a new face at the top of the list.

1. Luis Robert (Baseball Prospectus 101: #4)

Luis arrives in early June and absolutely torches both levels of A ball before earning a promotion to Birmingham for a handful of games in August. The players above him on the prospect list have MLB parents.

2. Alec Hansen (Baseball Prospectus 101: #12)

2017’s strikeout king doesn’t miss a beat in Birmingham. Hansen locks in his delivery, and his 6-foot-9 frame becomes a monstrous weapon instead of a hindrance. His BB/9 rate drops to 2.5 and analysts wonder whether Kopech or Hansen will be the staff ace. Alec gets a cup of coffee with the major league club but still maintains 2019 rookie eligibility.

3. Dylan Cease (Baseball Prospectus 101: 20)

Cease turns in an (almost entirely) healthy season, racking up 115 innings and finishes the season in Triple-A. His fastball/curve combination helps him carry a K/9 rate of 11.3 across the season. The emergence of a changeup solidifies Cease’s case as a frontline starter.

4. Dane Dunning (Baseball Prospectus 101: 58)

A solid, if unspectacular, year between High-A and Double-A helps move Dunning up prospect lists, but, in an organization flush with pitching talent, he is mainly overlooked by the public.

5. Shane McClanahan (Baseball Prospectus 101: 74)

The Sox can’t resist using the fourth pick of the 2018 draft on a player who gets occasional Chris Sale comps. Scouts worry about the long-term repeatability of his mechanics. Rick Hahn and Nick Hostetler do not.

6. Zack Collins (Baseball Prospectus 101: 96)

Collins’ hit tool improves enough where he can manage a .250 batting average, which, coupled with his power and patience, secures a .840 OPS across a season mainly at Birmingham. Splitting time with Seby Zevala, Collins proves the better receiver and sneaks his way back onto the BP 101.

7. Micker Adolfo (Baseball Prospectus 101: 98)

The perpetual prospect sleeper finally has a coming out party in 2018 despite the fact that he’s unable to take the field for the first half of the season. His developing power helps him to an .860 OPS for the year, and he closes the season with a month in Birmingham.

8. Ian Clarkin (Baseball Prospectus 101: NR)

Clarkin fulfills the primary task set out for him: staying healthy. He throws 80 innings at High-A before taking the Alec Hansen’s vacated spot in Birmingham where he closes out the season with a combined ERA of 3.45.

9. Jake Burger (Baseball Prospectus 101: NR)

A lost season and concerns about his mobility after surgery drop Burger off the prospect lists. His hit and power tools still warrant excitement in the organization, but he’ll need to prove he’s capable in 2019.

10. Courtney Hawkins (Baseball Prospectus 101: NR)

Just kidding. He retires in June.

Candidates for the tenth spot:

Spencer Adams: He throws a lot of strikes in 2018. Many of them get hit hard.

Blake Rutherford: Bounces back from a horrendous short stint in Kannapolis but much of the prospect shine has worn off. There’s still time to develop into an everyday starter but he doesn’t make it past High-A in 2018.

Seby Zevala: The kid can hit! Unfortunately, he’s less kid and more 25 year old future DH in Double-A.

Evan Skoug: The kid can also hit! Unfortunately, he’s a future first baseman in High-A.

Lead Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

All of this to say, a successful 2018 campaign will be less about wins and losses and more about an oft repeated term: progress. You may remember our own Collin Whitchurch writing as much this time last year. In this piece we’ll take a look at what progress means to one very important member of the organization: Rick Hahn.

For a general manager coming off a 67 win season and an eleven year run of declining attendance, Hahn has not shied away from acknowledging a dreary outlook for the major league squad in 2018. In his own words, losing makes him and the front office unhappy. So, in a season that will surely involve a good deal of unhappiness, what might bring a smile to the GM’s face at the end of this season? Look no further than the following checklist:

1) Player progress (duh)

2) Health!

3) Fan base enthusiasm

Most obvious here is that the White Sox 2018 campaign will be judged by how the youth movement continues to progress. For the opening day squad the areas of necessary improvement are plentiful. Just to name a few:

• Will Yoan Moncada hit and power tools progress and allow him to reach his .280 average and 30/30 potential?
• Will Lucas Giolito’s improved curveball and velocity stick, returning him to the front-line starter conversation of 2015?
• Will Reynaldo Lopez find the plate with enough frequency to prove he can stick in the rotation?
• Is Avisail Garcia actually good? (Please let him be good.)
• Can Tim Anderson rebound from a dreadful 2017 and become a .280, 20/20 player?
• Will Carlos Rodon return to the mound in June and build on the potential he’s flashed his entire career?
• Will anyone emerge from the bullpen quagmire as 2018’s Kahnle/Swarzak trade chips?
• Can Nicky Delmonico stick as a major league regular and win 2018’s Most Handsome Player?

On the minor league side, the opportunities and potential are even better documented. I imagine Hahn will be watching the affiliates’ progress as closely as the major league club to answer any of the following.

• How much longer will Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech’s inevitable marches to stardom be paused in Birmingham and Charlotte?
• Can Alec Hansen‘s and Dylan Cease’s electric stuff help them continue to rocket up the affiliate charts?
• Will Zack Collins be able to improve his hit tool to go along with his solid plate discipline, and stay behind the plate defensively?
• What is a Luis Robert?
• Will Dane Dunning lock up that sweet Rec Specs sponsorship?

Realistically, not every player is going to take the necessary steps forward this year. The volatility of prospects is certain to break a few hearts, and Sox fans have seen too many seasons of Gordon Beckham or Dayan Viciedo to assume promising players are destined to reach potential. This Spring Training’s injury bug has already secured setbacks for Robert and Jake Burger, which leads us of an essential component to a successful season: organizational health.

For a long stretch Herm Schneider’s voodoo magic kept White Sox players on the field at an unprecedented rate.  In 2017 that magic ran its course. The season began with 60-day DL placements for Carlos Rodon and Charlie Tilson and the injury demon progressed to consume Nate Jones, Zack Putnam, and Geovany Soto. Now spring training has been marred by high profile injuries that will slow the progression of Burger and Robert. Hansen seems to have avoided catastrophic injury, but all of this serves to remind us how delicate the elbow of a flame-throwing 23-year-old can be. If the club can avoid any more major injuries and the impressive stable of young pitchers are able to turn in complete seasons, Hahn will certainly be a happy man.

While the performances on the field are the most visible metrics of success, another factor is a little less tangible: fan enthusiasm. By the clearest statistic, attendance, the past decade has not been kind to the Sox. Aside from a small bump following the spending spree of 2015, attendance has been down every year since 2006. Last year, the turnstiles of Guaranteed Rate Field registered just over 20,000 fans per game. Only three clubs averaged fewer fans and those clubs play in either a nightclub-aquarium, a football stadium, or St. Petersburg, Fla. Not quite the company you’re hoping for. Despite the exceptionally lackluster showing at the park, one could argue that team enthusiasm is at a high not seen in years. The front office is banking on the infusion of young talent to drive fan interest and, if a sold out SoxFest is an indication, it’s working. Giolito starts have the potential to become must-watches, and the continuing progress of Moncada should have every fan tuning in. But arguably the most marketable draws will begin the season in the minors. While their play will ultimately dictate their promotion schedule, don’t be surprised to hear early fan clamors for the arrival of Kopech and Jimenez.

Balancing player progression against fan interest will be Hahn’s most delicate task in 2018. If Sox attendance drops below 20,000 per game, James Shields/Hector Santiago/Carson Fulmer continue to get shellacked, and Kopech continues his development as a cross between Nolan Ryan and Hansel, Hahn will have a difficult time justifying keeping the blue-chipper in Charlotte. Need a sellout and a good marketing gimmick? Then flip open your Sox schedule and put a big circle around July 30 for Kopech’s debut with the Red Sox making their way to Chicago. How about Hansen on the mound for a few starts in September? A decent performance from the veterans would alleviate a lot of this pressure, but the emergence of the next wave of stars is certain to put butts in otherwise empty seats. If the Sox marketable prospects can lead to an uptick in ticket sales in September, look for Hahn to use it to try to pry open Jerry Reinsdorf’s pocketbook next offseason.

And on the topic of fan enthusiasm, we already know Nolan Arenado looks good in pinstripes…

Lead Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

• Adam Eaton took the second pitch of the day just over the right field fence to put the Sox up early. Considering Sale’s string of dominance, one couldn’t help but wonder if that would be enough. It was not. The Phillies struck back with with three runs in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a single, HBP, a misplayed line drive directly at Melky Cabrera, and a ground ball that squeaked between Todd Frazier and the foul line. They would add on a pair more in the third of a HBP and a 3-iron homerun off the bat of Tommy Joseph. A sixth run in the fourth in would eventually spell the end of Sale’s frustrating night.

• Trailing 8-1 in the seventh, Frazier and Alex Avila went back-to-back off Eickhoff to bring the game to a five run difference. That was plenty for the Phillies, and a man who spells his name wrong ended up notching his 11 win of the season. Frazier now has 38 dingers on the season and improved his chances to break the elusive 40 barrier.

• Coming into the game, the official BP Southside betting moderator (aka Nick Schaefer) put the over/under on number of Sox relievers used at 1.5. Most took the under. Most were dead wrong. Sale didn’t have his best stuff or command and it showed in his final line. 4IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 K, 3 HBP. Facing an underwhelming Phillies lineup, Sale plunked 3 batters and allowed hard contact all night. The four inning appearance marked Sale’s shortest start since getting hammered by the Indians on May 24th , and almost certainly puts the nail in the coffin for his outside bid at a Cy Young.

• Things got scary in the sixth when Chris Beck plunked Tyler Goeddel in the back of the helmet. After laying on the ground for a moment, Goeddel was able to walk off the field under his own power. All-in-all, Sox pitchers hit four batters during the game.

• Adam Eaton led the modest charge with a three-for-four day including his 14th home run, which ties his total from 2015. His .795 OPS would be a career high, and his defensive improvements have been well documented. In a season of disappointments, it’s nice to know that not all is terrible, depressing sadness. Just most of it.

Team Record: 72-80

Next game is Friday at Cleveland at 6:10pm CT.

Lead Image Credit: Rick Osentoski // USA Today Sports Images

• Things looked rosy early as Justin Morneau’s booming double was promptly followed up by a Todd Frazier miracle (aka, ground ball base hit) to open the scoring. Frazier, surprised at being on base, was promptly picked off. Adding salt to the wound, Avisail Garcia followed up with a triple to the right-center gap that would have scored a run but instead led to a torrent of Hawk Harrelson praise. Sigh.

The lead was short lived as noted sluggers Paulo Orlando and Alcides Escobar struck back with solo home runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Not to be left out, Jose Abreu continued his second half resurgence with an absolute bomb to straight away center. He now has 25 jacks, which is a nice, clean number.

• The wheels fell off in the fifth when three consecutive singles and a Kendrys Morales home run chased Rodon.

The Sox bats looked like they might keep it competitive in the next half when they loaded the bases with only one out for Abreu and Morneau. Unfortunately, a ground out and infield pop up led to nothing, and the game became a mop up.

• Rodon’s wildly successful seven game stretch has come to a screeching halt. After getting tagged for six runs against Cleveland last week, he coughed up another six in one fewer inning. With Monday’s start he’s now pitched more than 75 innings against the AL Central this season, and has a 4.50 ERA against divisional foes. Repeated looks against the same teams can be hard for young pitchers, especially ones still working out the kinks of their secondary pitches.

• But along with the bats, the Royals seemed to have picked up on something in Rodon’s delivery that led to them running wild. Big jumps led to a 3-for-3 day swiping bases, and none of the attempts were particularly close. Although in the end, very little of it mattered, as the Royals scored five of their six runs against Rodon via the home run. He gave up three. Suffice it to say, it was not a good day.

Team record: 72-78

Next game: 6:05 p.m. CT Tuesday against the Phillies in Philadelphia.

Photo credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

• For those paying little attention, Shields entered Tuesday’s game riding a surge of positive momentum. For those paying serious attention, Shields and his lack of strikeouts entered today’s game like a ticking time bomb. Unfortunately, that bomb went off in the fifth, and, when it went, it sure wasn’t pretty. Shields managed to dance around hit batsmen, walks, and hits for four innings, but in his typical fashion, allowed long fly balls and struck out only one. In the fifth, his luck ran out. Said fly balls found gaps, line drives found the base of the fence, and, seven hits later, the White Sox found themselves facing a 6-1 deficit. There were exploding hamstrings (see below), misread fly blls  (looking at you Melky Cabrera), and general hard contact all around. This was not the recipe for success.

From there the Tigers and Sox would trade blows but the game was already out of reach. Miguel Cabrera struck first taking Matt Albers deep to right. In the top of the seventh, Mini-Miggy responded with a blast to deep left. The Tigers would tack on three more in the seventh and eighth, with the Sox countering with solo blasts from Todd Frazier and again from Avisail Garcia in the eighth and ninth. Michael Ynoa did his best Daniel Webb impression, allowing a two run single after a walk and two hit batsmen. Future ace Carson Fulmer came in and surrendered a bomb to Victor Martinez. He now sports a 12.79 ERA. All and all, not a good day for Sox pitching.

• The White Sox major trade deadline haul, Charlie Tilson, had himself an interesting day. He led off the third by banging a ball through the infield for his first major league hit. Two innings later his hamstring gave out on him while trying to run down a long flyball, and Robin Ventura said there might be more wrong with his knee after the game. He is almost assuredly headed to the disabled list. At least he can take comfort knowing he made it five innings longer than Kevan Smith.

• The Sox offense didn’t have an abysmal day. They banged out eleven hits, three home runs, and four walks while only striking out three times. Unfortunately they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays, and “smartest man on the team” Tyler Saladino got picked off second. One step forward, two steps back.

• Garcia entered as Tilson’s injury replacement and made the most of his abbreviated appearance. In his first at-bat he pulled a hanging slider to deep left for his seventh home run. In the ninth he turned on a Mark Lowe fastball, and the ball he connected with is projected to re-enter orbit in early 2017. White Sox nation has been forced to endure far too many scuttled Garcia plate appearances to hold out any hope for his development. At this point watching the big man do typical big man things, like turning on pitches with authority, is almost exacerbating the pain.

• And finally in today’s episode of Random Nonsense Hawk Says: “Abner made the game for lefties. ” Hawk said it, and he invented the batting glove. It must be true.

Team Record: 51-55

Next game is Wednesday at 6:10pm CT in Detroit on WPWR

Lead Image Credit: Rick Osentoski // USA Today Sports Images

• Rodon’s first inning back from a sprained wrist was one to forget. A booming leadoff double from Brian Dozier set an early theme: hard pull contact. Three batters later, small giant Kennys Vargas sent a ball well out to center. It took 27 pitches to get through the first, and this game had the early makings of blowout.  The return of some control for Rodon, paired with the Twins audition for Bad News Bears 2 kept this from getting out of hand.

• While the Twins were booming balls to left (including three home runs left of center), the Sox spent the day scoring in unconventional fashion. In the third, three two-out singles plated Adam Eaton and sparked a little offensive excitement that was quickly extinguished when Tim Anderson was nabbed while rounding second. In the fourth, the Twins gifted the Sox two runs as throwing errors on consecutive batters scored Frazier and Saladino. In the eighth, a botched double-play ball would score another run. The final tally: four runs (one earned) on four Twins errors. Yes, the Twins are a professional baseball team. And yes, the White Sox lost this game.

• The Zach Duke trade seems to indicate that the front office is in sell mode. The Sox starting lineup seems to indicate their disinterest in winning. It saw Todd Frazier at first, Avisail Garcia manning his statuesque post in right, and a bottom half that read Garcia-Saladino-Narvaez-Sanchez. There is no sugar coating it. This is bad.

• The Twins lineup, on the other hand, indicated a clear strategy. There were eight righties in to face Rodon. One look at his splits indicates why. Righties own an .878 OPS on the season against Rodon, compared to .552 from lefties. Rodon’s hair-raising slider is strong enough to keep southpaws off balance even if no one is sure where it’s going. The same can’t be said for orthodox hitters. Rodon will only go so far as his location/development of a third offering will take him. If he lacks those two, righties can sit on his fastball and pound it to left, which is precisely what they did.

• Today’s game featured Rodon giving way to Carson Fulmer late. The White Sox have placed a lot of faith in their ability to draft and develop college pitchers. With all the discussion of a Sale or Quintana trade, here’s to hoping there are much better days ahead for these two.

Team Record: 51-54

Next game is Tuesday at Detroit at 7:10pm CT.

• What looked like a blowout waiting to happen began as a much closer affair before devolving into the anticipated result. The Sox struck first blood with a Ranaudo home run in the fifth. Yes, Anthony Ranaudo, the pitcher. Unfortunately the lead would be short lived as Kris Bryant deposited a hanging breaker into the left field bleachers in the sixth. Ranaudo was chased in the seventh when Javier Baez took a mighty hack at another rolling breaker and put it a thousand rows deep to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead, and a hit parade in eighth put the game well out of reach.

• Ranaudo had a plethora of factors dooming him. First and foremost are the lack of both “stuff” and control that have ended his run as a legitimate prospect. Add in a Cubs lineup that ranks fifth in runs scored. Then, just for good measure, tack on the pressure of his first Sox start. Suffice to say the deck was stacked against him, and the White Sox were not meant to win this game.

Nevertheless, the tall right-hander went out and pitched an admirable game. He spent the first inning flirting with the strike zone about as successfully as a twelve-year-old at the school dance, but was able to pitch around two walks before settling down to retire fifteen of the next sixteen he faced. He somehow carried a no-hitter into the sixth before Bryant’s home run. Renaudo’s mix of low-90s fastball, slider, and curveball kept the Cubs off balance all night, and he left after 6.2 innings surrendering only two hits. Unfortunately both came on rolling thigh-high breakers that were HAMMERED.

• While the Sox bats didn’t do much to help the cause today, they certainly weren’t aided by the Lake-Michigan-sized strike zone given to Cubs pitchers. Pitch Trax had Hammel consistently out of the zone and the called strikes baffled Sox hitters. Much has been made of pitch framing this season, but today’s zone went well beyond the acceptable border calls. Hammel didn’t pitch poorly, but the Sox never had a chance.

•Once again the Sox bullpen looked a mess. Zach Duke was the first in and walked the only batter he faced. Carson Fulmer finished the seventh but his eighth went, hit batsmen-single-double-walk before getting the hook. Jacob Turner was brought in with the bases loaded and no outs. He quickly defused the pressure by serving up an Addison Russell grand slam on his second pitch. When you only have two to three competent relievers, it makes sense to save them for protecting leads, but – yikes! – it can make for some ugly finishes.

• This week in inconsequential trivia, Sox sideline reporter, Siera Santos informed us that Tyler Saladino has pictures of Mr. Miyagi and Bruce Lee on the bottom of his bat handles. So, yea…

Team Record: 50-51

Next game is Thursday at Wrigley at 8:05pm on CSN 

Lead Image Credit: Patrick Gorski // USA Today Sports Images

1. The scoring was done quick and early Sunday afternoon. Solo home runs from Jeff Francoeur and Jace Pederson in the second and third innings would provide the only runs. The Braves threatened again in both the fifth and sixth, but a timely double play and a big strikeout of Freddie Freeman helped the Sox escape unscathed. Meanwhile, the South Siders saw only one runner advance past first base the entire game. This is not typically a recipe for success.

2. James Shields had a surprisingly strong outing. Despite taking the loss, he posted perhaps his strongest outing in a Sox uniform. He threw 93 efficient pitches (61 strikes) going 7.2 innings while allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. Locating around the edges of the zone proved effective as Shields was without a walk until the sixth inning. Unfortunately he was without a strikeout until the sixth as well. Sox fans may be permanently scarred, but Shields has now put together three-straight quality starts and allowed only six runs over his last 20.1 innings. This is a welcome improvement that is only slightly dampened by the realization that those last three starts have come against the Twins, Yankees, and Braves.

3. The story of this game was Mike Foltynewicz displaying how big of an arm he has, and how small the back of a uniform looks with a Polish name. He lit up the radar with a fastball between 97 and 99 mph and displayed a tight slider and slow curve that kept Sox hitters off balance all day. The major knock in his development has been control, but he had it in spades Sunday. He finished with a seven-inning, ten-strikeout, zero-walk win. As that line indicates, there won’t be many hitting accolades for the Sox in this recap.

4. After a promising first three years in the bigs, Jeff Francoeur has spent the past nine years accumulating $26 million, 1.6 WARP, and one debatably insensitive nickname. Naturally he would provide the thunder this series. His solo home run kicked off the scoring in the second and he finished the series with six RBI. There’s mild consolation knowing that he’s surely aware that everyone’s still disappointed in him.

5. Tim Anderson is good. Potentially very good. Watching him at bat and in the field is downright exciting. With a 2-for-4 day, he closed out the first half with an .304 average and .798 OPS. He also notched himself an unassisted double play with a leaping catch that impressed anyone familiar with gravity. The consensus among Sox brass was that he needed a season in the minors to play everyday. He keeps defying those expectations. However, a visit from the Braves is a solemn reminder that rookie years can be deceiving. We wish you the best of luck, or something, Gordon.

Team Record: 45-43

Next game is Friday at 8:05pm CT vs. the Los Angeles Angels

Lead Image Credit: David Banks // USA Today Sports Images

1. In 2041, after his unanimous induction to the Hall of Fame, one piece of hardware will be conspicuously absent from Tim Anderson’s trophy case, his first Major League home run ball. Anderson took the first pitch of the game deep over the Green Monster, out onto Lansdowne Street, and into the grubby paws of some Red Sox fan with no appreciation for historic moments. With a 2-for-4 day including the home run, Anderson is now out-slugging Todd Frazier and out-hitting Melky Cabrera. Do not believe the writings of this illustrious website. Tim Anderson is clearly the savior.

2. The Sox looked like they might pile it on early, as Adam Eaton followed the Messiah’s moonshot with a double off the monster. He would come around to score on a Cabrera sac fly. After the first, the bats would fall dead silent aside from a Frazier solo shot. In fact, the only White Sox player to advance beyond first base after that was Jose Abreu on a cue shot bloop that squirreled away for extra bases. With Sale on the mound, three runs was enough.

3. Chris Sale put up a brilliant final line, but the stats do betray a less-than-controlled performance. Sale was wild, especially arm-side, firing multiple pitches to the backstop and plunking the left handed hitting Jackie Bradley Jr. Fortunately, Sale’s slider proved devastating, drawing swinging strikes all night and finishing off five of his nine strikeouts. He hit one dangerous patch in the third which saw the Red Sox piece together a walk and three hits for a run before Sale struck out Hanley Ramirez with the bases loaded. At the end of the day, this was a welcome – if admittedly not perfect – performance for Sale after an ugly five start stretch saw his ERA jump from 1.58 to 2.94.

4. Home plate umpire Greg Gibson did not have a good game. As mentioned, Sale was not hitting his spots. Couple that with Dioner Navarro‘s poor framing, and one can understand the difficulties. Regardless, one has to wonder if Sale’s slider is so vicious that it’s hard even for umpires to understand. There were a number of low sliders which PITCHf/x placed in the strike zone that were called balls.

5. Brett Lawrie is not very good at many aspects of the game of baseball. The stats bear this out. However, the man has some serious hops. The vampire channeled his inner bat in the bottom of the first to rob Dustin Pedroia. While he may not make the All-Star game, there’s always hope for the dunk contest.

Team record: 35-36

Lead Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

But surmount they did! The Sox offense proved resilient despite the early hole. They scored six unanswered between the third and fifth innings to bring the game back into contention. In the ninth, down 9-7, the Southsiders pieced together a three hit, two walk rally to even the score at nine and treat the remaining fans to free baseball. Adam Eaton would play hero in the 12th, knocking a grounder through a drawn in infield to score JB Shuck and cap the improbable comeback

Jose Abreu led the charge. In the third he hammered an 84 mph slider over the left-center fence and is now OPS-ing over 1.000 for the month of June. Abreu, Eaton, Cabrera, and Lawrie all reached base at least three times, and, on top of three walks, Dioneer Navarro launched a towering fly that reached low orbit before landing 4 rows deep behind the left field fence.

Unfortunately the Sox defense rediscovered their 2015 form. Fans were treated to a horrifying reminder that Avi Garcia occasionally brings his glove to the ballpark. Playing RF, he managed to bumble a Miguel Cabrera liner into a run scoring “double,” called off Brett Lawrie on a foul pop that landed directly between them, and meekly tracked a lazy foul ball to the right field seats only to watch it drop in front of him. Sox fans have admittedly been spoiled watching Eaton patrol right field, but a few games of Avi makes it feel like a wash. Garcia was hardly alone though. Melky Cabrera had two questionable plays on flyballs, allowing one to drop at his feet and another to bounce past him which would become the Tigers ninth run. And, not to be left out of the fun, James Shields decided to airmail a tailor made double-play ball into centerfield. Shades of 2015. Shades of sadness.

There were no positives to take away from Shields’ start aside from somehow lasting longer than Tigers’ starter, Matt Boyd. Relying on diminished velocity, Shields tried to nibble around the edges while working with the worst pitch framer in baseball. The result was four walks over five innings. When he attacked the zone, hitters had no trouble squaring up on Shields’ stuff as evidenced by nine hits versus one strikeout. Today’s Sox Math: if James Shields gave up six earned runs over five innings today and seven earned runs over two innings last Wednesday, what is his current ERA? Too damn high*

A week ago, the James Shields trade seemed a steal. With the cost of starting pitching on the open market, a dependable workhorse is a valuable asset. However, watching Avi Garcia patrol right field is a grave reminder how much better that money could have been spent over the off season. Cough- Yoenis Cespedes cough Dexter Fowler cough cough.

Robin Ventura may be more admiral than general as a balls and strikes dispute with home plate umpire, Mark Carlson, saw him cursing like a sailor. Fortunately the mics caught it all. The skipper was sent down the tunnel early and missed the Sox’ improbable comeback. Tough day Robin.

*Actually it’s 16.71, which is the mathematical representation of too damn high.

Team Record: 32-32

Lead Photo Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports