However, sometimes excuses really are pathetic.

Hawk’s asinine gripes about the schedule aside, when it became clear that the 2016 season was irretrievably tipping from surprise success to familiar and foreseeable failure, other excuses cropped up. “Well, Austin Jackson got hurt, and what were they supposed to do without Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka?” or something along those lines.

And sure, J.B. Shuck is a downgrade from Jackson, and the replacement-level guys who slotted in to middle relief in the wake of Putnam and Petricka were generally very bad. But even I–the biggest Zach Putnam fan in the world, who got in on the ground floor–would never argue that these losses are anywhere close to those of several playoff teams.

For example, the Indians can’t exactly paper over mistakes with money.  Cleveland is an interesting comparison for the White Sox in that sense, as well as the fact that they projected to have problems scoring runs, and that the main strength of the team was a cost-controlled stable of quality starting pitchers.

Cleveland has already won 90 games. They did this despite only getting 43 horrible PAs from Michael Brantley, instead of the .319/.382/.494 line over 635 PAs per year they did the two years before. What’s more, they won’t get more than 150 innings out of either Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar. Yan Gomes had an OPS of .529 for ~250 PAs in between injuries.

The Mets are another offensively-challenged squad with financial limitations and a roster built around potent starting pitching.  As of this drafting, they have a pretty good grip on the first Wild Card slot in the National League. Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jake deGrom, David Wright, Neil Walker…all of them lost for significant chunks of the season to injury.

These teams illustrate the failings of the White Sox more so than, say, the Dodgers, who can burn through hundreds of millions of dollars of brittle pitchers without blinking. And while the Mets are in the National League and get to play a lot more games against the worst teams in the majors, they and Cleveland lost a lot more really, really great players to injury than the White Sox did and succeeded anyway, despite being situated very similarly.

There are myriad reasons for that. The Mets spent in the offseason to retain an elite bat and brought in potential stopgaps like Kelly Johnson, James Loney, and (ugh) Jose Reyes when problems arose. They also opted for one of the best defensive catchers in the majors as the primary backup, especially with regard to framing, in the form of Rene Rivera.

Cleveland succeeded by actually hitting with the cheap free agents they signed, such as Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis, and even, to an extent, Marlon Byrd. They added Abraham Almonte for the modest price of an aging lefty specialist. And, they got Tyler Naquin with their 2012 first round pick instead of Courtney Hawkins.

There are a lot of reasons why the White Sox failed in 2016.  Looking at how other organizations solved the same problems with similar resources helps put in perspective that although these problems are significant, they are not insurmountable with competence and creativity.

And keep that in mind if the organization tries to deflect blame for their mistakes on the losses of some pretty fungible players.

Lead Image Credit: Jerome Miron // USA Today Sports Images

As is self evident by the team’s now 29-28 record, things are hardly as rosy now. Since that thrilling victory in Texas, the White Sox have the worst record in baseball at 6-18, allowing them to be caught by Detroit and leapfrogged by Cleveland and Kansas City. Their PECOTA playoff odds, once up over 70 percent, now sit at a meager 33 percent. They burned through a stockpile of division separation in dramatic fashion and then some, and now have ground to gain on teams that already were at least evenly matched with them going into the season.

But as bad as the last few weeks have been (with the worst record in baseball it’s hard to imagine worse) things are not nearly as bleak in the aggregate. This now is a team that has been approximately average thus far, and now adds a pretty monumental upgrade to their rotation in James Shields. Their offense continues to underperform, but is bound for at least some improvement. As bad as he’s looked, it’s reasonable to bet that Jose Abreu is at least closer to the offensive force he was from 2014-15 than the carcass he’s been so far this year. However, as it stands, their .500 record is probably a decent approximation of their true talent, which would be a bit prohibitive of a run back to first place.

In this sense, it’s perhaps instructive to compare this team to another that got off to a hot start before sputtering: the 2015 Mets, who started off at 15-5 but were at .500 and 4.5 games out of first as late as last July 4^th. Similar to this year’s White Sox, the 2015 Mets relied on a strong pitching staff to prop up a weak offense, and managed to make the World Series after a mediocre start. Again like the White Sox, the Mets added to the rotation early, though their addition of Noah Syndergaard from the minors was likely a bit more monumental than the Sox adding Shields (though an improvement from Carlos Rodon could provide the White Sox with a similar upgrade).

The most important thing the Mets did, however, was add production to black holes midseason. A team that was getting consistent playing time from Michael Cuddyer, John Mayberry, and Eric Campbell was upgraded a ton just by filling their holes with competent big leaguers in Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, to the point where a monster second half out of Yoenis Cespedes was enough to lead them to October.

The White Sox are unlikely to add a player of the caliber that Cespedes played at after last year’s trade deadline (they missed their chance by not signing him this offseason). However, they should definitely have the opportunity to fill some of their holes, as they already did with Shields in the rotation. As was seen with the Mets, improving from nothing to average can have a large effect on a roster, and if the Sox can do as much they may be able to keep this season from going off the rails.

1. Or so it seems when a 1-1 tie is broken in the 13th inning of the rubber match in New York, when much-maligned reliever Matt Albers hit for himself — lest the Sox burn the last of their bench — and blast an opposite field double on a 2-2 count, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored the winning run on a Jose Abreu sacrifice fly.

If all these words strung together weren’t already a clue that the Theatre of the Absurd had broken out in Queens, the White Sox dugout’s raucous and delirious celebration would have given it away. It was Albers’ third hit in 37 career plate appearances, and his first run scored.

2. Albers, having already worked a scoreless 12th, returned for the 13th and pitched over a two-out walk (Sox pitching walked 13 Mets hitters) and nailed down the win. After a seven-game losing streak, the Sox have suddenly won two in a row, and won their first series since the beginning of May.

The bullpen, control problems aside, earned themselves some redemption after a horrific series in Kansas City. David Robertson, Nate Jones and Albers all delivered two shutout innings apiece in relief of starter Miguel Gonzalez.

All told, White Sox relievers delivered 13 innings of shutout ball during the series.

3. Gonzalez himself threw five one-run innings, dancing over leadoff walks in four of those innings, and in most respects taking a discouraging step back from his last two outings. He somehow walked Mets starter Jacob deGrom twice. One of those, of course, was leading off the inning. Three double plays among the five the Sox defense turned in all helped Gonzalez minimize the damage.

It would be nice if Gonzalez could keep from walking the park when he’s not facing the most hyper-aggressive lineup in baseball, but a starter who does nothing but shut down the Royals wouldn’t be the most useless guy to have in the organization anyway.

Backup catcher Rene Rivera, who was inexplicably Mike Piazza this entire series, singled home the Mets’ only run with two outs in the second.

4. deGrom, for the most part, was his old self against the White Sox. He struck out 10 over seven innings of work for his first double-digit strikeout game of the year, and a towering seventh-inning home run from Todd Frazier on a 93 mph fastball was the only mark against him.

5. The 13th inning sacrifice fly from Abreu was a small bit of redemption for an otherwise awful day. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, dropped his batting line to .242/.305/.379, and struck out on all high fastballs to end a big scoring opportunity in the 10th.

Once the thrill of this shocking and strange victory subsides, real concern about his miserable season can return.

Team Record: 29-25

Next game is Friday at Detroit at 6:10 p.m. CT on CSN

Lead Image Credit: Andy Marlin // USA Today Sports Images

1. Matching a season high for strikeouts generally deserves effusive praise. It’s a different story when your season high is five. Such was the case for the walking smoke-and-mirror-show known as Mat Latos. Stepping up against a team he had previously owned to the tune of a 2.87 ERA, Latos’ final line was 5 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, and 5 K. Latos probably would have taken the ball to start the sixth in an American League park, but he was pulled in the top of the sixth for pinch-hitter Jerry Sands, who continues to provoke the question “What is Jerry Sands doing on a major league roster?”

Latos wasn’t helped by his defense as two miscues allowed runners to score in the first and second. He also wasn’t helped by his exceptionally hittable fastball. The Mets were turning on “heaters” all day, shooting a number a liners just foul or deep into the outfield. Hard contact and long outs are a terrifying way to make a living, and they finally caught up to Latos in the form of a Neil Walker no-doubter to right, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead. If there were positives to take away from another mediocre start, it was an improved curveball which drew several swing and misses. If the fastball is going to remain a 91 mph straight shot, it’s going to be increasingly important for Latos to locate and draw swings on breaking stuff outside the zone.

2. Tyler Saladino had himself a day and took another step towards becoming the everyday shortstop. His Baseball Tonight moment came in the eighth when he tomahawked a high fastball from Hansel Robles into the left field seats for the game’s deciding runs. Beyond the highlights, he managed to draw two walks against the stingy Matz and stole consecutive bases in the sixth before scoring the Sox third run. Hawk was quick to alert us that he is the smartest player on the field. This is comical. His moustache finger swipe has been added to the pantheon of odd seizure-esque White Sox gesticulations. This, too, is comical.

3. Todd Frazier proved a difference maker on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately for the Sox, making a difference is not always a plus. A defensive shift in the first saw Frazier covering second base and dropping a glove flip from Brett Lawrie. In the second inning, a high throw brought Jose Abreu off the bag for another E5. Both runs came around to score and helped the Mets put up the Fibonacci sequence through the first three innings. Frazier was able to atone for both mistakes in the sixth by driving in the Sox first two runs with a three-iron to center for his league leading 16th home run.

4. Coming into the game, Matz was on an impressive roll. He’d won his past seven starts while averaging just over nine K/9. The first time through the order looked to be more of the same, as the Sox hitters continuously pounded balls into the ground. However, the wheels came off in the sixth, where he gave up three earned before getting the hook.

5. There was a surprising appearance from Thor, who had his last start cut short after firing a fastball behind Chase Utley and getting tossed. Syndergaard stuck to a fastball and slider mix for his single inning and was predictably dominating. Pumping 101 mph heaters and 94 mph sliders is silly enough from a closer. The White Sox are understandably pleased to only have encountered him for an inning.

6. And, finally, the bullpen didn’t blow a lead. All is right in the world.

Team record: 28-25

Next game is Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. CT at New York.

Lead Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

1. Then again, hanging Jose Quintana out to dry had become old hat before this year, and the round of applause bands get for playing old favorites will likely be withheld this time.

The AL leader in ERA struck out seven batters in as many innings, lowered that league leading ERA to 2.13, and the only mark against him came when one of the many fastballs he pumped in the zone all day, a 90 mph center-cut mistake to Neil Walker got taken up, up and out to left-center for a solo shot that wound up being the only run scored.

Quintana logged 115 pitches — laboring through a trying seventh inning that started with that Walker bomb — in the quest to save the bullpen from itself.

2. Matt Harvey, coming in with an ERA over 6.00 and fighting off questions of whether he was hurt, out of shape, an agent of terror, etc., was still was able to climb off the mat and fillet the Sox lineup with seven easy shutout innings of two-hit ball.

Harvey retired the first 13 batters he faced Monday before injury-replacement J.B. Shuck finally laced a single to right, and left with just 87 pitches, as the Mets lifted him for a pinch hitter and/or simply could no longer believe their luck.

3. The one threat launched against Harvey also came in the seventh, as Adam Eaton walked and Jose Abreu singled to lead off the frame in almost stunningly positive fashion. Despite having the recently recalled and reverse-split having Shuck hitting fifth, Robin Ventura had his No. 3 hitter Melky Cabrera bunt runners over to second and third.

Playing for a run quickly became perilous when Todd Frazier popped out in foul territory, leaving things up to Shuck, and well, you can see the final score in the headline.

Those constituted the only White Sox at-bats with runners in scoring position.

4. Just for kicks, Robin Ventura brought in left-handed Zach Duke specifically to face Walker with two outs in the eighth. Walker was hitting .324/.359/.703 against lefties this year.

5. Maybe only history will be able to truly judge whether the White Sox should have addressed their obvious need for another bat before season, or should have abandoned their tactically challenged manager while they spurned a massive early-season head start, but consistently irrelevant mediocrity tends to not be chronicled.

Team Record: 27-25

Next game is Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. CT at New York on CSN

Lead Image Credit: Adam Hunger // USA Today Sports Images