Much like their season to date, the White Sox could've fared worse during the Boston series. The White Sox trailed in the ninth inning of all three games due to shaky performances from their more credible relievers, the defense was largely lousy, Reynaldo López pitched deeper into a game than Lucas Giolito without pitching well himself, the left side of the infield is banged up, the bench needs to be quarantined ...
... and yet Jose Abreu still found a way to silence the crowd and stave off a sweep in the finale Wednesday.
Abreu's at-bat against Ryan Brasier was one of the season's finest, challenging Leury García's home run off Adam Ottavino's 11th pitch a fortnight before. Abreu fouled off Brasier's attempts to get him out of the zone up, and Brasier couldn't find the kind of breaking ball to get him to chase down. So Brasier stuck with one high fastball too many, or at least one he left lower than he'd've liked:
This is the kind of confidence Abreu has when he swings the bat, and it's a very Abreu thing that it happened a day after one of his ugliest efforts of the year. He had a runner on third with one out against David Price on Tuesday. Price threw him five pitches out of the zone, and Abreu struck out without so much as taking one.
As much as White Sox fans might not want to hear it, Abreu has a Brett Favre streak in him. He's up there to make plays, and what makes him great also occasionally blows up in face spectacularly, although he seems to get over it. Green Bay disgust aside, I'm all for Favre comparisons if it includes his aging curve, since I'm under the assumption that Abreu and the White Sox will find a way to strike an extension of some sort. I'm not for the comparison if it includes Favre's cell phone habits. Man, it'd be nice to come up with somebody else, but there aren't many good quarterbacks known for forcing throws, and Prime Jay Cutler sounds like an even worse compliment.
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Abreu also rose to the occasion in the clubhouse. Neither Tim Anderson nor Rick Renteria wanted to blame the field conditions on Tuesday for Anderson's sprained ankle, with Renteria saying they've played on wetter grounds this year due to the inescapable ugly weather.
Abreu, conversely, went there:
“We all are very frustrated and upset because of an injury to one of our best players,” he said. “People need to realize that sometimes the conditions we play in are not the best. We saw that (Tuesday) night. It was raining and it was a bad situation, and that’s the result.
“Sometimes people in front offices and (MLB) have to understand we’re the ones on the field. We’re the ones who are at risk of something like that happening.”
I'd recommend reading the article because Abreu spoke at length on the topic, and somebody needed to. This is what Yolmer Sánchez feared in late May, his sober assessment a striking departure from the guy who made mud angels and doused himself in Gatorade:
Anderson's injury is the exact type of injury Sánchez worried about, but Sánchez was preoccupied with an illness this series. Fortunately, Abreu connected the dots, and it might be yet another thing the players union needs to address in the next CBA negotiations.
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As for the sick and dead, an update:
Tim Anderson: Still a high ankle sprain, still going on the injured list, still unclear what the ultimate timetable is. The Sox have an off day to consider the MRI results and the best course. Anderson's moving around with a walking boot, so he seems like he's avoided the worst of it.
Yoan Moncada: The Chris Sale slider to the kneecap left a bruise, but he's day-to-day.
Charlie Tilson: Departed Wednesday's game and spent the rest of the afternoon barfing. Renteria said it wasn't the same illness Sánchez suffered, but offered a word of caution:
