After a disastrous April, the White Sox stabilized in May. They scored (a little) more than four runs per game, and they allowed (a little) fewer than four runs per game. They finished (a little) above .500. The product was watchable on a daily basis. They shaved two games off the divisional deficit, which is the kind of pace they need to sustain through the rest of the season to overtake the three teams in front of them.
The question is whether the Sox needed to surge more than a little to take advantage of a schedule that was light on juggernauts. They had a three-game set against Houston and ended with three against the Angels, but otherwise the toughest teams were the Twins and Guardians, and the White Sox have to beat them anyway.
With a much tougher schedule -- at least after the Tigers leave town -- I have a feeling we'll know the answer when we run through June's Month in Box. For the time being, enjoy May.
White Sox TEAM PERFORMANCE
- Record: 15-14
- Standings: Fourth, 7 GB
- Longest winning streak: Three, April 30-May 2, May 19-21
- Longest losing streak: Three, May 10-12, May 27-29
- Largest margin of victory: 13, May 7
- Largest margin of defeat: 7, May 8 and May 31
HITTING LEADERS
- Batting average: Luis Robert Jr., .310
- On-base percentage: Robert, .373
- Slugging percentage: Robert, .640
- wRC+: Robert, 171
- Home runs: Robert, 8
- RBI: Andrew Vaughn, 19
- Walks: Andrew Benintendi, 10
- Strikeouts: Robert, 30
- Stolen bases: Romy González, Clint Frazier and Billy Hamilton, 2
- fWAR: Robert, 1.6
PITCHING LEADERS
- Wins: 4, Lance Lynn
- Losses: 2, Lynn, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo López
- ERA: Kopech, 2.75
- Innings: 36, Kopech
- Strikeouts: 43, Kopech
- Appearances: 12, Reynaldo López and Gregory Santos
- Relief innings: 14⅓, Santos
- fWAR: 0.4, Joe Kelly and Michael Kopech
COMING AND GOING
- White Sox debuts: Sammy Peralta, Nick Padilla, Jake Marisnick, Clint Frazier,
- White Sox departures: Jake Diekman, Marisnick
- Going up: Lenyn Sosa, Billy Hamilton, Alexander Colomé, Peralta, Marisnick, Padilla, Carlos Pérez, Frazier, Jesse Scholtens.
- Going down: Sosa, Colomé, Peralta, Marisnick, Padilla, Pérez, Adam Haseley
#SOXMORGUE
- Romy González: Right shoulder inflammation
- Eloy Jiménez: Appendectomy
- Jake Burger: Strained left oblique
- Billy Hamilton: Left hamstring strain
- Elvis Andrus: Strained left oblique
- Mike Clevinger: Right wrist inflammation
- Jimmy Lambert: Right ankle inflammation
AWARDS
Most Valuable Player: lUIS rOBERT jR.
Robert put the desultory end of his April behind him in May, leading the White Sox in just about every category as you can see above, while being the most reliable presence in the outfield. He homered in four straight games, and oftentimes represented the team's entire offense. He also had some cold spells that keep him short of elite: a golden sombrero on May 10, and an 0-for-16 stretch with eight strikeouts toward the end of the month, but at least he manages to bounce back.
Least Valuable Player: Tim Anderson
Ideally, he would've sat a little while longer to fully recover from his knee injury, but with Elvis Andrus getting injured and every second base option face-planting, Anderson had no choice but to play just about every day. It showed in his numbers: .248/.292/.266 with just two extra-base hits and one stolen base in two attempts, as well as his defense, which you'll see below.
Most Valuable Pitcher: Michael Kopech
Kopech looked like the team's least viable starter in April, but he rallied with an overpowering two starts against the Royals and Guardians that put him on track. They were against the AL Central, sure, but he can only pitch against his assigned opponents, but at least he showed that you can't start penciling him into the 2024 bullpen, at least just yet.
Least Valuable Pitcher: Lance Lynn
His May represented progress in some regards, as he threw three quality starts, picked up four wins and lowered his ERA from 7.16 to 6.55. He also got rocked in two starts and gave up seven homers over 34⅔ innings, and he's on pace to give up 45 homers over the whole season if he lasts that long.
Fire Man: Kendall Graveman
Joe Kelly had this honor in the bag until he blew two leads in his final two appearances of the month. May was still a success for him, but Graveman slipped ahead of him with 11⅓ scoreless innings, over which he allowed just eight baserunners and converted all four save opportunities and stranded his only inherited runner. Honorable mention to Keynan Middleton, who threw 11⅔ scoreless innings and stranded three of four inherited runners, but Graveman gets the edge for pitching in higher leverage.
Gas Can: Garrett Crochet
Like Anderson, it feels unfair to slag Crochet as he works his way back from injury. Crochet is having the typical issues returning from Tommy John surgery, but it just so happens that just about every other bullpen fixture was decent-to-great this month, while Crochet issued nine walks on top of six hits over 6⅓ innings.
Bench Player: Romy González
Just like Kopech, González went from worst to first in his field from April to May, and shored up second base over the final two weeks of the month. It doesn't feel particularly sustainable (.286/.297/.686 with still too many strikeouts), but he drove in 11 runs in 12 games with some big hits and made some nice plays at second base, so he's made at least some of the necessary improvements. For now. His June performance is a problem for Tomorrow Guy.
Stench Player: Seby Zavala
Even by the lowered standards of defense-first backup catchers, Zavala is really struggling. He hit .137/.167/.196 with just one extra-base hit and 26 strikeouts over 54 plate appearances.
Gold Glove: Luis Robert Jr.
Recency bias would have you looking for somebody else since he played Riley Greene's double into a triple toward the end of the month, but Outs Above Average still had him as a plus contributor for the month, and he racked up a couple of assists as well. This award is pretty much his to lose.
Hands of Stone: Tim Anderson
Again, Anderson deserves a little bit of leniency due to lingering effects of his knee problem, but he committed four errors and six misplays this month, including a pair of bobbled choppers that could've resulted in high-leverage outs at the plate if handled cleanly. The metrics agree, in the sense that he finished with the team's worst OAA.
Timeline
Confirming your priors: Jerry Reinsdorf appears on a Milkin Institute panel called "The New Business of Sports" to rehash talking points from the 1980s and 1990s, while also more or less confirming what David Samson said about Reinsdorf saying runner-up finishes were plenty. (May 1)
Press release goes to 11: The White Sox make national news -- or at least national tweets -- with a staggering 11 roster moves to open the month of May, highlighted by the demotion of Oscar Colás, and the DFA of Jake Diekman. (May 2)
Hendriks live: Wearing a "struckout cancer" t-shirt, Liam Hendriks addresses the media about his non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, treatment and recovery. (May 3)
A series win: By beating Minnesota in consecutive games, the White Sox win their first series of the season in their 10th try. Gregory Santos worked his way out of a bases-loaded-nobody-out jam, and Billy Hamilton scored from second on a groundout. (May 3)
Sweep apnea: The White Sox blow multiple chances to sweep the Twins in a 7-3 loss that takes 12 painful innings. (May 4)
The 8-3 double play: Luis Robert Jr. takes the clubhouse lead for the season's best throw by doubling off Jake Fraley at first base on a routine flyout to center. (May 5)
A blameless IL stint: Just when it looks like he's back on track, Eloy Jiménez undergoes an emergency appendectomy. (May 6)
Inning goes to 11: The White Sox send 14 batters to the plate in an 11-run second inning, their first time reaching that number since 2007. (May 7)
And then they give up eight: The White Sox forget that the Royals are supposed to be terrible at home, blowing a 3-1 lead by giving up eight runs in the sixth in a game they'd eventually lose 12-5. (May 8)
Squeezed to death: The Royals double their season home win total by taking three of four against the Sox, capping off the finale with a walk-off squeeze bunt. (May 11)
A quiet return: José Abreu receives a video tribute and standing ovation in his return to Guaranteed Rate Field, although he arrives and leaves the South Side still homerless on the season. (May 13)
Bieber blasters: Shane Bieber had never allowed 12 hits in start ... at least until he ran into the buzzsaw that is the 2023 White Sox, who tagged him for a dozen hits over just 4⅔ innings. (May 16)
Davis done: The White Sox's pitching depth takes a big blow when the White Sox announce that Davis Martin underwent Tommy John surgery, which will sideline him into the 2024 season. (May 17)
27 up, 27 down: Buoyed by Michael Kopech's best start ever, the White Sox face the minimum for the first time since 2012 in a 2-0 victory over the Royals. (May 19)
Out after safe sign: In a victory over the Royals that secured the White Sox's first sweep of the season, Hanser Alberto departs after injuring his shoulder signaling "safe" while trying to leg out an infield single. Adding insult to injury, he was actually out, and it didn't even warrant a review. (May 21)
Pitching depth passes first test: The White Sox played 48 games before needing a start from outside their Opening Day rotation. Opener Jimmy Lambert and Bulk Boy Jesse Scholtens combine for six sturdy innings, which puts the White Sox's offensive problems in starker relief after a 3-0 shutout against Cleveland. (May 22)
Unprecedented bumslaying: Michael Kopech ties together dominant outings against AL Central goes, this time throwing seven shutout innings against the Guardians to set a specific kind of history. (May 24)
Tripling up: The White Sox nearly double their season total of triples in one night, racking up three three-baggers in a 12-3 victory over Detroit. (May 26)
Say it ain't so: Joe Kelly's scoreless May comes to an abrupt end when a 3-2 lead turns into 5-3 deficit on his watch in a 7-3 loss to the Tigers. (May 27)
No, really: Pedro Grifol goes back to Kelly in the ninth, but poor defense from Luis Robert Jr. and Tim Anderson conspire for a second blown save in as many days as the Sox drop three of four at Comerica. (May 28)
He's back: After spending the months rehabbing, Liam Hendriks makes his long-awaited return to a major-league mound in the eighth inning against the Angels. He gives up two runs in a 6-4 loss, but at least for one night, that seems besides the point. (May 29)
Here's Romy: After collecting just five hits over the entirety of April, Romy González finds himself on a three-game home run streak toward the end of May. (May 30)
At least it was fun: Lance Lynn picks the most palatable way to give up eight runs over four innings, because the three homers were hit by Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. (May 31)
