I'll say this about Hanser Alberto: He's very good at taking accountability for his defensive mistakes after the game.
I'll also say this about Hanser Alberto: He's had to talk about his defensive mistakes after two games this week, which is a little too frequent for a bench infielder.
When he started and interrupted a convoluted rundown that resulted in Tim Anderson getting injured on Monday, he accepted responsibility after the game ...
“That was poor communication between me and TA, because he called for the play after I threw to Elvis, so I should have gotten out of the way,” Alberto said of the botched rundown where Anderson was hurt. “You go out there and try to make all the plays to help the pitcher, help the team. When you don’t do it, you feel bad. So I was angry."
... and he did the same when he committed the game-deciding error in the 10th inning on Tuesday, plunking Michael A. Taylor's helmet with an errant throw on a bunt everybody expected.
The only thing Alberto has going for him is company. Going back to Sunday's game, the non-catching portion of the White Sox bench has figuratively dropped the ball for four consecutive games.
SUNDAY: Canaan Smith-Njigba scored the game's only run, and he reached on a triple that caromed off the wall behind Romy González's glove in right field. It wasn't an easy play, and I wouldn't expect Oscar Colás to make it, but González came into the season with just 49 innings of right-field experience, so you shouldn't expect him to ace difficult tests, either.
MONDAY: Besides Alberto's rundown escapades and his error that led to the game's first run an inning earlier, Gavin Sheets let a hot shot get through his wickets for an error, which he compounded by cutting off Colás' promising throw home for no good reason.
TUESDAY: Alberto's game-ending error in the 10th.
WEDNESDAY: Sheets made his first start in right field, and his presence gave the Twins a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He was spun into the ground on a ball that might not have required any lower-body movements.
And then he had to find words for it afterward.
Whether it's falling short on difficult plays like González, or falling down on routine plays like Sheets, this week has exposed the lack of skills on the White Sox bench. Alberto hit a big three-run homer, sure, but he's 3-for-17 in his other at-bats, and with no walks. Sheets has fit well with Jake Burger in a DH platoon, but he's still seeking his first extra-base hit, and he's looked unnatural at even his natural position.
González has the broadest skill set of the bunch, but he's not ready to occupy a the superutility role. He's 3-for-19 with no walks or extra-base hits. If you're wondering why it seems like he starts every count down 0-2, it's because his contact rate is down to 60.5 percent, which is bottom-10 in baseball.
The Opening Day version of the White Sox bench looked like it needed tweaking, even when Anderson, Yoán Moncada and Eloy Jiménez were healthy. With all this playing time revealing the flaws, you can say that appearances didn't deceive.
Fortunately, Lenyn Sosa stepped up to provide the lone White Sox hitting highlight with an opposite-field homer off Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran, underscoring the idea that he should be playing every day at second base during Anderson's absence. If Moncada can come back this weekend, then it doesn't matter whether Alberto or González remain, because neither of them should have to log any meaningful time around the infield.
But the impacts of Moncada, Jiménez and Anderson are limited to the infield. Finding an outfielder who can replace any of the starters without punting a position remains a conundrum, which is why the White Sox selected "none of the above" and rode with González to start the season. Victor Reyes is having the only hot start among potential candidates in Charlotte, but he's also struck out 12 times over 35 plate appearances.
The White Sox could simply choose to play Colás, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi as much as possible. It makes sense on paper, although it feels like it's ignoring the soft skills required to guide a rookie through a six-month season. Then again, as long as the alternative is starting Sheets or Eloy Jiménez in right, every choice is fraught in considerable ways.
