The White Sox have had their share of embarrassment in my 25 or so years following the team, but the one that gets referenced most often is the White Flag Trade of 1997. The White Sox sat 3 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central that year when general manager Ron Schueler made a nine-player deal that sent Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for six players, including Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, and Mike Caruso.

The trade was roundly criticized locally at the time and has been rehashed over and over again during the last 21 years.

“We didn’t realize Aug. 1 was the end of the season,” fumed Ventura, the future manager.

Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf took most of the heat, especially after he remarked to Sun-Times reporter Toni Ginnetti: “Anyone who thinks we can catch Cleveland is crazy.”

Reinsdorf was probably right, but the signal that was sent was clear: The White Sox couldn’t compete and they weren’t going to spend any more to compete — never mind the fact that they shelled out a 5-year, $55 million deal to Albert Belle just seven months earlier (the White Sox largest free agent contract ever at the time, and still now only topped by Jose Abreu’s deal).

But while the White Flag Trade still harkens back memories two decades later, the Sale trade also stands out because it was another, similar admission that the White Sox had given up on their attempt to complete with a cost-controlled core of in-their-prime, All-Star talents.

Sale will toe the rubber Friday night against the White Sox in his second start against his former team since that trade 18 months ago. He’s still the same Sale we’ve always known and used to love, finishing second in Cy Young voting last year, leading the league in strikeouts, and he got to pitch in the postseason for the first time in his eight-year career (with a second trip almost assuredly coming this season). He was the best pitcher in White Sox history, if not in terms of longevity or accolades, but in pure, visceral talent.

The White Sox had an undisputed ace. They had a clear and steady No. 2 starter behind him, and they had a pair of primed, All-Star caliber position players signed to reasonable contracts, and they couldn’t compete. That’s more embarrassing than anything that happened in 1997.

None of this is to say the White Sox prospective future isn’t exciting, nor was the Sale trade bad in terms of talent the White Sox received in return. Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech are two of the most enticing young players in the game, and if those two and the host of prospects the White Sox have acquired since Sale was sent packing lead the White Sox anywhere near a World Series title somewhere down the road, maybe it will all have been worth it.

But as Sale takes the mound once again against a White Sox team toiling through one of the worst seasons in franchise history, it’s hard not to be frustrated. Looking back on what could have been and what currently is makes one wonder if it will all be worth it; if the future that’s been promised will come to fruition, or if we’re just running in circles from ineptitude to mediocrity and back again. Because until it does, the admission of defeat the franchise proclaimed 18 months ago remains tough to forget.

Lead Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

There are logical arguments to be made for trading either or both. That’s an argument for another day. However, while Rick Hahn indicated at this week’s GM meetings in Orlando that the White Sox are in no rush to part with either of them, their respective values on the trade market are going to be a source of speculation throughout the winter. So with that in mind, here are a three teams who could, hypothetically, feel the need to acquire one of them.

Jose Abreu

• The Colorado Rockies have always seemed like the most obvious landing spot. During the White Sox Winter Purge of 2016, they were rumored to be interested in making a deal for him, but instead foolishly threw $70 million over five years at Ian Desmond — who had never played first base before — and he promptly put up a 73 OPS+. The Rockies made the playoffs anyway, because baseball. Desmond’s contract and the Rockies seeming unwillingness to part with prospects would be a hang up, of course, as would the presence of prospect Ryan McMahon, a third baseman who is blocked at third by some guy named Nolan Arenado. The Rockies’ desire to acquire Abreu would ultimately depend on how willing they are to go “all-in” after a surprising playoff appearance in 2017.
• The Seattle Mariners got similarly poor production out of their first basemen in 2017. They entered the season with a first base platoon of Danny Valencia and my large adult son Dan Vogelbach, and after that flopped they acquired Yonder Alonso, who fell back to worth after a surprisingly All-Star worthy first half in Oakland and is now a free agent. The Mariners have the longest active playoff drought in baseball and Dealin’ Jerry DiPoto is about the only general manager out there more active than Hahn, but the major hangup here would be Seattle’s barren farm system.
• The Boston Red Sox got a surprisingly productive season out of Mitch Moreland at first base in 2017, but he’s a free agent and the team is starving for power. The Red Sox, of course, are recently familiar trading partners with the White Sox. They’re also a rich team that may be more apt to spend their money on the market instead of parting with more prospects. That’s not to say Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t, if he and Hahn found a mutual agreement. But the odds seem long.

Avisail Garcia

• The Oakland Athletics have already been rumored to be interested in Garcia, a move that would seem logical in a “nobody ever knows what the hell the A’s are thinking” sense. Oakland has been in “Are they rebuilding? OK they’re definitely rebuilding. But maybe they’re trying to win now, too?” mode for a few years now, so all bets are off in guessing what Billy Beane could be up to.
• The Toronto Blue Jays are seemingly set to watch Jose Bautista leave in free agency, an outcome that would leave a gapping hole in right field. Garcia would be a logical replacement if they’re willing to part with prospects. With Kendrys Morales entrenched at DH despite a poor 2017, however, there wouldn’t be another spot for Garcia in the event that his already shaky defense continues to be an issue.
• The San Francisco Giants are coming off a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year in a season where many had them pegged for the playoffs. With the likelihood that they move Hunter Pence out of a full-time role, right field would be a spot they would presumably target to upgrade as they look to put 2017 behind them. The Giants, like the Red Sox, seem more likely to upgrade their roster with money rather than via trade, and a National League landing spot is less ideal for Garcia given his DH-ness. Besides, could you imagine him patrolling that right field?

There are other potential landing spots, of course, but IF Hahn finds himself inclined to move either player, the market is likely the biggest obstacle to overcome. I mentioned in both the Red Sox and Giants bullet points that those teams are more likely to upgrade their positions of need with money rather than via trades, but the same could be said for most any team.

Abreu and Garcia both hold value of their own, of course, but why trade valuable prospects for them when you could throw money at a Eric Hosmer, Carlos Santana, Logan Morrison, Lorenzo Cain, Jay Bruce, etc.? Because of both the market and, in Abreu’s case, his non-quantifiable value to the clubhouse, the odds are that both likely stay in Chicago. But if teams fall short of their goals in free agency, things could change quickly.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

While there were certainly ups and downs with Sale, particularly when his desire to win caused him to have insane reactions to outside factors, the majority of his time spent on the south side of Chicago was utter bliss. As the White Sox turmoiled and struggled to find their way in the years following the slow departure of each member of the 2005 World Series champion team, fan attendance struggled. Often the stadium was barely half-filled, but that was never the case when Sale took the mound. He captivated an audience, and he brought a talent unlike almost any other that has donned a White Sox uniform.

Mark Buehrle’s smile and success despite lacking overwhelming stuff endeared fans. Jack McDowell’s impressive run of three tremendous seasons culminating in a Cy Young Award was thrilling. Jose Quintana’s quiet demeanor and work ethic as he went from a nobody to the front of the White Sox rotation has been a point of pride. Sale didn’t quite exemplify any one of those feelings. As he tore through hitters with his high velocity and wicked slider, he was at times endearing. Other times he was frustrating, thrilling, and pride-inducing. He was high-octane with a clear drive to win ballgames. Naturally, that desire manifested itself in both good and attributes, which some White Sox fans have admired while others have despised.

What remains true about Sale is that he is one of the best starting pitchers to ever wear a White Sox uniform. In his five seasons as a starter, he was an All-Star every single year while only missing out on the top five in Cy Young voting once (sixth in 2012). During that time he pitched 1,015 ⅔ innings and posted a 3.04 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 27.7 percent strikeout rate. He was durability and intensity all rolled into one as year after year he put himself among the best pitchers in the American League. No other pitcher in White Sox history has had a season where he pitched at least 200 innings while striking out more than nine per 9 IP while maintaining an ERA below 3.50. Sale did it three times in his five seasons. His longevity and consistency for a pitcher with such violent stuff is unlike any other.

This season, he has managed to get even better. Just as he did during a portion of his 2015 campaign, he struck out 10 or more batters in eight straight starts. He’s also holding a 2.34 ERA and 36.7 percent strikeout rate. Thanks to a dramatic decrease in home runs (only five allowed this season), he’s on track for his best season yet. While it’s disappointing that he never managed to win a Cy Young in Chicago, it would be fitting for the man who cares exponentially more about team results than personal accolades to win his first Cy Young award with a team that should reach the postseason.

As Sale makes his return to Chicago today, it’s fun to remember the success that he had in black and white. The circumstances surrounding his trade were unfortunate, but they have led to a dawn of White Sox prospects that may just provide the next impressive core of talent on the south side. Sale’s impact on the organization was easy to see when he was mowing down hitters left and right while donning a White Sox uniform (except for that one uniform he really didn’t like).

That impact may not be easy to see anymore, but it will certainly be felt as Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech make their way through the farm system. Sale gave fans a lot for which to be thankful. As a parting gift, his talent allowed us to receive some new young faces to fall in love with. His return to the mound in Chicago will be an emotional one for many fans. For me, there is no love lost. I’m thankful for the experiences that Sale gave me as a fan. I’m thankful for the joy he brought every five days even when the team seemed to be incapable of providing any joy at all.

Lead Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

His contract, which will pay him $12 million in 2017 and culminate in 2018 and 2019 with team options at $12.5 million and $13.5 million, respectively, makes him one of the most valuable in baseball. He’ll be 28 years old the next time he throws a pitch in a regular season game.

The White Sox’ ability to build a core as good as the one we saw at the conclusion of the 2016 season is something close to miraculous. For a team that has long struggled to develop above-average position players while simultaneously being notoriously frugal when it comes to spending in free agency — the Sox are one of only four teams in the entire league that has never shelled out a free agent contract of $100 million or more — the Sox paired Sale with Jose Quintana, who turned into a front-end starter after being acquired as a minor league free agent for basically nothing. They also acquired Jose Abreu, one of the better slugging first basemen in the league, in a rare splurge of spending, and got an All-Star-caliber outfielder, Adam Eaton, in exchange for a useful but replaceable starter in Hector Santiago.

Throw in former No. 3 overall pick Carlos Rodon and his gobs of potential, and Todd Frazier and his 40-home run power, and the White Sox had, despite all of their flaws, built a pretty solid foundation on which to contend.

So how the hell did we get here?

The White Sox officially began their rebuild on Tuesday when they shipped Sale to Boston in exchange for four prospects. One of them, 21-year-old Yoan Moncada, is among the top prospects in baseball. Maybe a future perennial All-Star and MVP candidate. Another, Michael Kopech, is a flame-throwing 20-year-old with top-end talent but a lot of question marks. These two, along with lesser-heralded prospects Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz, may end up a very good haul for the Sox when all is said and done, but the fact that after years of half-assed attempts to build a supporting cast around such a strong foundation, they’ve finally decided to cut their losses, is nothing short of embarrassing.

The White Sox are in this position because they couldn’t supplement a solid, cost-controlled core with enough talent to become a playoff contender. They’re in this position because they refused to tap into the free agent market for complementary pieces. They didn’t need stars, they had those already! All they’ve needed was competence. They couldn’t find it, and wouldn’t spend to get it, and jettisoning Sale is just the first step in what is sure to be a brutal, mind-numbing teardown.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Depending on whom you ask, Moncada is somewhere between the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball to anywhere down to 10ish or so.  He has massive tools — power, speed, etc. — but has had barely any time at Double-A or Triple-A, so I would hope the White Sox give him most of 2017 in the minors. He’s been playing primarily third base, but his natural position is at 2B, where he was blocked in Boston.  Nothing is blocking him in Chicago.  There is a non-zero chance Moncada turns into a world-eating MVP candidate, which would be very cool, although Sale was already a world-eating Cy Young candidate.

Kopech is a flamethrower in the low minors who sits touching triple digits and has popped 102-103. His change has evidently improved to go along with his low-90s slider that may be a plus pitch. The question here is “starter or reliever?” because the guys who throw this hard are overwhelmingly unable to hold up as starters. Our prospect team has him as a reliever.

Basabe is a toolsy outfield prospect who played 2016 as a 19 year old in low-A and acquitted himself well without dominating. Evidently he has contact issues, particularly from the right side as he is a switch hitter.  There are worse profiles than “possible switch-hitting center fielder” but he’s a long way away.

Overall, our prospect team had this trio at Boston’s Nos. 2, 5, and 6 prospects, respectively,  and you can read more about all three of them here.  Jeff Paternostro had a quick hit on Diaz as well.  He’s a 22-year-old reliever who spent all of 2016 in A-ball but apparently he’s a velocity guy.  In sum, a lot of this seems to turn on whether Kopech is a starter or a reliever, with Kopech kind of needing to be a starter for this package to be “worth it.”

There are a lot of general principles that apply to this trade that are cause for concern.  “Don’t trade a superstar to Dave Dombrowski for prospects.”  “Pitchers who sit at 100 mph basically never stick as starters.” “The White Sox have no idea how to fix a prospect’s contact problems.” “Why wasn’t Rafael Devers included for Chris freaking Sale?” etc.

It is also problematic to think that if this organization couldn’t win with Chris Sale on the cheap, what makes us more hopeful for the next crop of good young players when they arrive?

Emotionally, this removes the most fun thing about the White Sox. No matter what happened, watching Sale every fifth day was a treat over the past few years, and any given start he could eviscerate his opposition in breathtaking fashion and put on a show all by himself. That’s gone.  And as my fiancee said, “But now Chris Sale is going to pitch for the Red Sox and that’s horrible.” There’s that, too.

But hey, at least the agony is over, a direction has been picked, and Sale gets to pitch for a team that will score runs and play defense for him, and White Sox fans have some cool new prospects to dream on.  Given this return, it seems clear the White Sox cannot push their chips in for 2017, and so it would only make sense for Melky Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, and even David Robertson to be on the block this winter or as the season progresses.  The more interesting question becomes whether they also deal Adam Eaton and/or Jose Abreu and/or Jose Quintana.  That would signal whether they intend to try to win again in 2018 or further beyond.

Lead Photo Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

4.5 games out of the playoffs seems reasonably in range, but a look at the standings that lingers for, maybe, eight more seconds, shows the White Sox are well behind a Cleveland Indians team generally regarded as superior (especially by PECOTA), behind every AL Central contender, and possessing awful head-to-head marks against each of them. They are closer to a Wild Card spot, but faith in that path requires hope that they can catch the Red Sox or the Blue Jays, two teams 11 games over .500 with vastly superior run differentials, and the budgets to secure meaningful upgrades over the next two weeks. Immediately behind them are the Houston Astros, who have mostly erased an awful start to the season, where they endured a rough first half from reigning Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, and will soon unleash Alex Bregman upon the world.

The Sox would need to significantly outplay all these teams, not to mention the Tigers and Royals, who are still filling up space in that path too.

Famously, the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays went from below .500 at the break to winning the AL East by leveraging their prospect depth for huge sea change trade acquisitions. The White Sox, who have basically just ceded two of their lineup slots to replacement players for a month while they waited for the great potential of 35-year-old Justin Morneau‘s return from elbow surgery, and 29-year-old Austin Jackson returning from knee surgery, and will probably need their No. 1 prospect (Tim Anderson) and No. 2 prospect (Carson Fulmer) for immediate 25-man roster help, don’t figure to have the same kind of major play up their sleeve.

As such, they look a lot like a seller, but they aren’t really positioned to do that in any casual way. Teams could use Todd Frazier, or Melky Cabrera, or Brett Lawrie, or if he actually hits before the waiver deadline rolls around, Morneau. But the lack of depth in the Sox system would just necessitate reloading their lineup with veterans next year to take the place of most anyone they moved. With Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu all in their late-20s, they have run out of years to have this core run in place while they build a team around them, and in the case of Abreu, who has delivered over a half-season of being a completely ordinary hitter with a physical frame that was never going to age well, they may have just ran out of time for him to be a core piece altogether.

So, again, what is this Sox team? A total teardown of even the franchise core is unprecedented, and the current front office would probably have to wonder if they would be kept around to execute it. The 2015 Texas Rangers route, where they keep adding to their team for next year (and maybe the division leader completely collapses) is an option that is easier to envision. But either path would take a clarity and assertion that’s been missing from the Sox the last two years, as they have made impressive short-term moves, but stopped glaringly short of filling out a complete roster to contend.

By next season, the Sox will have likely moved on from the idea of entrusting Avisail Garcia to hit like a right fielder, let alone a DH. They will probably not leave their center field slot to a career fourth outfielder, like they have for the last month, and likely will have addressed in some way the big points that have put this current team at the back of the contending field with long odds (13.6 percent, to be specific) to overtake it. But until they stop being caught unprepared when their fringey prospects or aging veterans flop in a starting role, or are willing to expand their budget to absorb big contracts in trade or free agency, or do something as craven but purposeful as a hard rebuild, it will be hard to understand what they are doing.

Staring at the possibility of an eight-straight playoff-free season, with a middling, average age roster, and a mediocre farm system, doesn’t speak to any kind of direction. No one can be the best every year, or dominate in free agency, the draft and the international market all at the same time, but the time has longed passed for the Sox to find a direction to lean in, especially since ‘win in 2016′ didn’t even get their full effort.

Lead Image Credit: Caylor Arnold // USA Today Sports Images

Sure, it might seem a little spoiled acting like winning three of four is a bad thing, but this team is sliding and sliding fast, and winning this game would have been a huge boon, both in the standings and for morale. They would have gone a game over .500, and bee just five back of the Indians. Instead they slip backwards again, this time because of the still-awful bullpen. James Shields pitched a decent five-inning, three-run performance, but the bullpen tire fire stew of Matt Albers, Dan Jennings, and Chris Beck allowed four runs and seven base runners over just three innings. Then, to put a cherry on top, Matt Purke allowed the winning blow in extra innings.

1. In the early going, Shields looked like his old self. He got through the first four innings without a scratch, and it looked like it could have been a good day. He allowed one run in the fifth on a two-out Dustin Pedroia RBI double following a Mookie Betts single, and then he let his day unravel in the sixth.

2. Offensively, by that point the White Sox were able to put a four-spot on the board: they put two on the board in the first inning off of Rick Porcello as he loaded the bases to start the game, then he allowed a Melky Cabrera double play and a wild pitch to bring home two. The Sox picked up another in the fourth on a J.B. Shuck RBI single in the fourth, followed by a Todd Frazier sac fly in the sixth that scored Cabrera after a leadoff triple. As far as offensive days goes, this was not a bad one.

3. Back to that dreaded sixth inning: Shields walked both David Ortiz and Ryan LaMarre to start off the inning, and was immediately pulled for Albers. You know what’s coming next: Albers hit Jackie Bradley Jr., then allowed an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez. Brett Lawrie also threw the ball away on the play, so two runs were able to score. Albers followed up allowing an RBI single to backup catcher Sandy Leon, and Jennings came on and allowed one more tally on a Marco Hernandez force out so the Red Sox could take a 5-4 lead.

4. This is where things got weird. The White Sox got a huge blast in the top of the seventh–Jose Abreu hit a monster three-run home run to give them a 7-5 lead–but the bullpen gave it right back. Robin Ventura brilliantly brought in Beck in the seventh to face the heart of the order, and it was almost disastrous. Beck loaded the bases to start the inning, but somehow squeaked out of it by only allowing a run on a Travis Shaw sac fly that nearly missed being a grand slam. Nate Jones came in for the eighth, and he allowed the tying run when Hernandez doubled, and was driven home by a Pedroia single with two outs. David Robertson worked a scoreless ninth after getting into trouble, and the Sox were able to survive into extra innings. In the tenth, the White Sox had a golden opportunity to beat Craig Kimbrel after he loaded the bases to start the inning, but a pop out from Shuck and two strikeouts ended the threat. In the bottom of the tenth, the bullpen was finally toast: Purke put runners on first and second with one out, and Xander Bogaerts knocked home the winning run.

5. The White Sox are heading home, and they will be taking on the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game set. Game one will be at 7:10 CT Friday, and Carlos Rodon will face Aaron Sanchez.

Team record: 36-37

Lead Image Credit: Greg M. Cooper // 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

Miguel Gonzalez shut down an imposing Red Sox team, but Steven Wright was better. But even with all of the elements of a prototypical White Sox loss, they still won, and that’s because they got lucky. Craig Kimbrel laid an egg, and Jose Abreu saved the day. A win is a win is a win is a win, so I’ll take it. Here’s how we got there.

1. Gonzalez, as we all know, has good nights and bad nights. He’s had clunkers, like his three and a third inning, seven-run performance against the Tigers six days ago, and he’s also had highs, like his one-run performance against the Nationals on June 9th. He’s been serviceable with his 4.29 ERA and 4.12 FIP, and he probably had his best start of the season Monday night, against arguably the best offensive club in baseball. He allowed just one earned run over six and two-thirds innings, and he ran into trouble just twice all game, in the third and the seventh. In the third he allowed back-to-back singles to Christian Vazquez and Marco Hernandez, but got Mookie Betts to ground out and Xander Bogaerts to pop out. And in the seventh inning he allowed a single to Chris Young and a walk to Travis Shaw with two outs, then Vazquez redeemed himself by knocking in the game-tying single. Gonzalez will get the no-decision, but it’s a win in my book. Nice work, Miguel.

2. If Gonzalez was very good, then Wright was great. Wright absolutely baffled Sox hitters, and it wasn’t just because the Sox have struggled in general offensively. Coming into this game, Wright has the lowest ERA and fourth-lowest FIP in the American League. Baseball is weird, man.

He didn’t slow down Monday night, as he allowed just one unearned run over a full nine innings. That only run was because Vazquez let up a passed ball in the second, and he didn’t really have issues until the top of the ninth. After getting Abreu to fly out, he allowed an infield single to Melky Cabrera, and then a walk to Todd Frazier. He was able to strike out Lawrie, and then got Alex Avila to weakly ground out. It was a simply masterful performance; you can only tip your cap.

3. The bullpen, other than a brief moment of chaos, was actually pretty good. Nate Jones relieved Gonzalez, and he retired four straight while striking out one. He continues to be an excellent part of the back-end of the pen, and I hope he gets called for more four-out opportunities in the future. He now has a 2.84 ERA on the year. In the bottom of the ninth, Zach Putnam came in to relieve Jones, and there’s your first red flag. Where’s David Robertson? He threw two-thirds of an inning yesterday, and an inning on June 15th. That’s it. I get that he’s struggling, but he’s your best reliever. You put him in a tie game in the ninth, even on the road. Instead, Putnam proceeded to walk three straight batters to load the bases. Zach Duke decided to play magician, though, and retired three straight Red Sox hitters to escape the jam. Oh. My. God.

Ventura made a huge mistake, and he got away scot-free. Unbelievable.

4. In extra innings. Kimbrel came in, which typically means all hope  is lost. Instead, the Sox completely redeemed themselves for their prior transgressions. Kimbrel walked Avisail Garcia and allowed a base hit to J.B. Shuck to start the inning, but quickly got a Tim Anderson strikeout and Adam Eaton ground out to bring the inning to within an out of ending. Abreu was the hero, though, as he lined a two-out, RBI double to right field to bring both Garcia and Eaton home. Robertson came in when Ventura wanted him in–with a lead–and he faced just four Red Sox hitters to finish the game in the tenth. What a wild game.

5. The Sox will take on the Red Sox once again, and they’ll have Chris Sale to face Clay Buchholz. The game will start at 6:10 PM CT, and you can catch it on CSCh, NESN, or MLB.tv.

Team record: 34-36

Lead Image Credit: Winslow Towson // USA Today Sports Images

1. Erik Johnson spent so much of the first three innings of Thursday night’s start cementing the sad realization that he doesn’t have the promising stuff that made him an intriguing up-and-comer in 2013, that when he slipped through the last two innings of his night without a scratch, it sparked momentary confusion.

Johnson gave up a home run to Dustin Pedroia in the first inning, which was a lot less discouraging than a booming RBI double to Ryan Hanigan in the second. The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third when they led off the frame with an opposite-field shot from Hanley Ramirez, immediately followed by a booming Travis Shaw triple to center that strangely eluded Austin Jackson’s grasp. Shaw would score on a sacrifice fly, but the real problem is that Johnson sat 89-91 mph on his fastball with only moderate life and showed no signs of the hard slider that once made him a prospect.

That he cruised through his last two innings (a nifty double play got him out of the fourth) is more perplexing than his struggles.

2. More perplexing than that, is Red Sox starter Henry Owens being able to pitch over six walks in three innings with the lead. A Jose Abreu RBI double play squeezed the life out of a chance for a big first inning. After walking two in the first, Owens upped the ante and walked the bases loaded all by himself in the third, but struck out Abreu, got Melky Cabrera when Ramirez made a confusing, loopy diving catch in foul territory, and blew a fastball by Brett Lawrie to escape.

It wasn’t until Avisail Garcia drilled a hanger out on a line to leadoff the fourth, at a rare moment when the Sox had no one on base, that Owens finally got chased, albeit with a two-run lead.

3. Somehow, the Sox had not yet blown scoring opportunities in the most egregious manner possible. Abreu popping up a pitch to hammer from reliever Heath Hembree, and Jackson getting thrown out stealing blew a fourth inning that saw two hits and a walk. Three-straight one-out singles off Hembree loaded the bases in the fifth for No. 4 catcher on the depth chart Hector Sanchez. The veteran backstop unexpectedly dug deep for a yeoman plate appearance, and came within feet of emptying the bases with a double down the right field line, but had to settle for a bases loaded walk to move the game to 4-3.

Boston reliever Matt Barnes came in for triage at that point, and while Jackson gave him a war at the plate, it ended with a shallow flare down the right field line to Mookie Betts. Lawrie’s attempt to race home found Betts off-balance for the throw, but not enough to avoid being called out on a torturously close call at the plate. The sight of Hanigan’s back leg impeding Lawrie’s foot-first slide was not enough to sway replay officials.

In all, the Sox had eight hits, walked nine times, and hit a home run, and only scored three runs.

4. The Red Sox extended their lead into comfortable territory off the softer side of the White Sox typically commendable bullpen. Jackie Bradley Jr.’s opposite-field drive out to left field gave Matt Albers his first earned run since last July in the sixth. The plan of just letting Dan Jennings pitch until he forced Robin to have him stop eventually sputtered out in the eighth, where him facing David Ortiz for the second time capped off his night with a rocket RBI double to the right field corner.

5. Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in his final game at U.S. Cellular Field. Before the game the White Sox gave him cigars and custom-built humidor, which he will not use, because he had time to smoke all the cigars during this neverending game.

Team Record: 19-10

Next game is 7:10pm CT vs. Minnesota on CSN

Lead Image Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski // USA Today Sports Images