The White Sox made a 14-16 performance in August feel like a winning month by doubling the win total from their July. After going 7-17 around the All-Star break, the Sox returned to wildly uneven play that was at least entertaining at times, and often found ways to drag better teams into the mud with them.
The challenge for September isn't necessarily posting a winning record, because they eked out a 16-15 record in May. No, the task at hand is finishing the month with a positive run differential, because they're 0-for-5 thus far.
- March/April: -13
- May: -29
- June: -27
- July: -49
- August: -18
They're already behind the curve a week into September, and will probably be difficult to achieve if their best relievers keep regressing. That part of progress might have to wait until next year.
Team Performance
- Record: 14-16
- Run differential: -18 (135-153)
- Standings: Third, 23 GB
- Longest winning streak: Three, Aug. 4-6, 21-23
- Longest losing streak: Five, Aug. 27-31
- Largest margin of victory: Seven, Aug. 7
- Largest margin of defeat: 10, Aug. 20
Hitting Leaders
- Batting average: .364, Tim Anderson
- On-base percentage: .409, Jose Abreu
- Slugging percentage: .593, Abreu
- wRC+: Abreu, 163
- Home runs: 6, Abreu
- RBIs: 28, Abreu
- Walks: 11, Yolmer Sánchez
- Strikeouts: 29, Leury García and Eloy Jiménez
- Stolen bases: 3, Leury García
Pitching Leaders
- Wins: 3, Iván Nova and Lucas Giolito
- Losses: 4, Dylan Cease
- Innings: 37, Nova
- Strikeouts: 53, Giolito
- Appearances: 13, Jace Fry and Jimmy Cordero
- Relief innings: 16, Cordero
Coming and Going
- White Sox debuts: None
- White Sox departures: None
- Going up: Ryan Cordell, Matt Skole, Seby Zavala, Dylan Covey, Hector Santiago, Jose Ruiz
- Going down: AJ Reed, Zavala, Covey, Ruiz, Cordell
#SoxMorgue
- Carson Fulmer: Strained right hamstring
- Jon Jay: Right hip strain
Awards
Most Valuable Player: Jose Abreu. After scuffling through July, Abreu used August to reestablish himself as a player worth having in the lineup. He delivered the walk-off hit in the 15th against the Phillies, setting the stage for a month where he thrashed the Tigers and mashed the Twins throughout a month. He'll probably be in next year's lineup, because he said Jerry Reinsdorf vowed it.
Honorable mention to Tim Anderson and his 44 hits. Forty-four!
Least Valuable Player: Jon Jay. It was hardly a surprise when Jay had to hit the injured list at the end of the month, because he spent August showing the effects of the hip strain that he brought into the season. He lost the ability pull the ball, and two steps on the basepaths and in the field. He hit .175/.246/.190 in what is likely to be his final weeks as a White Sox.
Most Valuable Pitcher: Lucas Giolito. Iván Nova made a run at the league's Pitcher of the Month before a flawed sixth and final start of the month. While he still finished with a better ERA than Giolito (1.95 to 2.45), that includes four unearned runs. In favor of Giolito, he struck out 53 batters against 36 baserunners, as opposd to Nova's 16 and 48. Also, that start against the Twins. C'mon.
Least Valuable Pitcher: Ross Detwiler. Dylan Cease had a worse ERA (6.97 to 6.52), but it ballooned thanks to a terrible time against Minnesota. In his five other starts, he threw at least five innings each time out. Detwiler only completed six innings once, gave up nine homers over 29 innings, and his two relief appearances were disasters.
Fire Man: Jimmy Cordero? There aren't really any great candidates. Alex Colomé and Aaron Bummer both regressed, and the only guys with decent peripherals were mop-up men. That said, Cordero shouldered more responsibility than ever before in his young career, and he while he posted a 4.50 ERA, he had four outings of at least two innings, struck out 20 against five walks, and went 9-for-9 in stranding inherited runners.
Gas Can: Jace Fry. Fry's season is both an argument for and against getting attached to Bummer. This season's been a disaster for Fry, and it escalated after an August where he posted a 10.24 ERA. He as marginally effective against lefties (.167/.312/.250 over 15 PAs), but righties ran roughshod over him (.385/.484/.808), and the Sox needed him to eat innings as short starts piled up. He's not a lock to throw strikes to anybody, and hasn't been for just about all of the season.
Gold Glove: Adam Engel. He made a couple of artistic diving catches, but the bigger grabs were the ones that didn't require him to leave his feet. He stayed with a Nelson Cruz liner to help preserve Lucas Giolito's shutout, but most impressive was this 87-foot route to the deepest part of Comerica Park.
Hands of Stone: Tim Anderson. Anderson isn't at any point the worst defender on the field, but he committed seven errors August, including four over five days during the last week of the season. That stretch also included a couple of miscues that weren't charged to him (a dropped pop-up and a botched rundown). When he's playing that poorly, the rest of the defense doesn't stand much of a chance.
Bench Player: Welington Castillo. He drew only one walk against 20 strikeouts over 54 plate appearances, but he made the most of a bad plate approach. He hit .264/.278/.509, and seven of his 14 hits went for extra bases. He was good for 11 RBIs in 13 starts, which was good for the fourth-highest total on the team.
Stench Player: Matt Skole. He hit .222/.295/.259. He's more watchable than Daniel Palka or AJ Reed, but with two whole doubles over 62 plate appearances, he continues the legacy of little production from large guys.
Timeline
Screen test: The expanded protective netting at Guaranteed Rate Field passes its first impact occurrence when the Mets' Jeff McNeil throws his body into the screen and bounces back, PTA-is-disbanding style. (Aug. 1)
The Vince Velasquez Game: The White Sox snap a four-game losing streak in 15 innings. In extras, Carson Fulmer pulls a hamstring trying in vain to beat a throw for his first career single, the Sox get two cracks at pitching center fielder Roman Quinn, and they needed a second inning because left-fielding pitcher Vince Velasquez gunned down Jose Abreu at home in the 14th. He almost did the same to Leury García in the 15th. You know, normal stuff. (Aug. 2-3)
Or is this the best battle: Abreu rivals Leury García's plate appearance from June by homering on the 11th pitch of a battle with Daniel Norris that started with Abreu down 1-2. (Aug. 6)
Hey, it's not called Colors Weekend: The Players Weekend jerseys and nicknames are announced, and all-black home jerseys and all-white road jerseys make the biggest impression, although not for the best reasons. Evan Marshall comes in second for putting "FORGETTING SARAH" on the back of his. (Aug. 7)
As easy as avoiding 1-2-3: The White Sox go an entire four-game series in Detroit without being retired in order during any inning. (Aug. 7)
They're building it: Major League Baseball announces that the White Sox will play the Yankees at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa on Aug. 13, 2020. (Aug. 8)
Rick Hahn vents: The White Sox GM briefly turns a live podcast appearance into a bitch sesh by complaining about the negativity of certain White Sox fans and bloggers. (Aug. 8)
Who needs Gerrit Cole? For the second time this season, Iván Nova triumphs in a game where Gerrit Cole was the scheduled starter for Houston. Sure, he was scratched in this one, but Nova still went the distance in two hours and 21 minutes, the White Sox' fastest nine-inning game of the season. (Aug. 13)
What's so great about Houston? A James McCann go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning allows the White Sox to win four out of seven games against the Astros this season. (Aug. 14)
A truly national broadcast: A White Sox-Angels game in mid-August captivates the entire country because Bill Walton dominated the booth as one of the celebrity guests sitting in for Steve Stone. The White Sox put on a show in a 7-2 victory, and Walton might still be interviewing McCann if the Sox didn't cut him off. (Aug. 16)
Finally: In my favorite moment of the celebrity booth pairings, Mike Schur sounds off on Marquette Bank's absurd "FunRewards" program for only being useful under the most miserable of circumstances. (Aug. 17)
Closing the book: Chris Sale hits the injured list with a season-ending elbow injury in what would've been his last year of team control under the original extension to which the White Sox signed him (Aug. 18)
Ricky Loco: The usually mild-mannered Rick Renteria stands up for his lineup decisions, punctuating it with an expletive for those who don't see eye-to-eye with him. (Aug. 20)
Bunting, tho: While I don't think Renteria's lineups are worth complaining about, by and large, the bunting gets a little tiresome. Even Steve Stone started snarking the manager's way. (Aug. 22)
The Flu Game: Reynaldo López's carries a no-hitter through five innings before departing with dehydration and flu-like symptoms. Four Sox relievers combine to finish off the one-hit shutout of the Rangers. (Aug. 25)
Cease can't stop 'em: The Twins greet Dylan Cease with five consecutive singles to take a 2-0 lead, and after Cease makes a between-the-legs snare of a comebacker to start a 1-2-3 double play, the sixth single of the inning makes it 4-0. Cease only gets through two innings and two batters. (Aug. 29)
The Ew Game: One start after the five no-hit innings, López is shelled for six runs before Rick Renteria pulls him after two outs in the first. (Aug. 31)
