Pregame notes: A slight disparity in star power

The White Sox are already hard-pressed to fill out a lineup that looks like it can hang with the name value offered by the Yankees. On top of that, interim manager Grady Sizemore will be resting Luis Robert Jr. and Miguel Vargas.

It's not like he doesn't have his reasons.

Robert: 10-for-81 with 40 strikeouts in 84 plate appearances since the All-Star break.

Vargas: 3-for-36 in a White Sox uniform, albeit with six walks in 42 plate appearances.

Sizemore said Robert found out he was sitting at the same time as everyone else, when the lineup was distributed to the whole team Sunday night, but that he met with him to talk about it further on Monday.

"I told him why and he understood, I think he’s cool with it."

"He’s not that far removed from tearing a muscle off the bone so we forget what he’s gone through and how fast he’s come back," said Sizemore, who had it pointed out to him that he had seasons where he played every game. "Well I’ve been in situations, too, where I could have used a day off. So it goes both ways. I didn’t want to come out, I was that guy. But I was also that guy who was lost at times, too. I’m not saying he is, but I want to be mindful of what he’s gone through."

Vargas hasn't been injured, but has gone from the Cadillac of MLB organizations to the Oldsmobile from the opening scene of Touch of Evil, and has seen the guy who was his signing scout out of Cuba fired amid a coaching staff housecleaning. Amid the chaos, his disciplined plate approach looks legitimate but he's not damaging the hittable pitches it produces.

"It is hard coming to a new organization and trying to fit in," Sizemore said. "I just think he’s also going to benefit from another mental day, as well as a physical day. Another chance to give him a break and give Luis a break and have them come back fresh for tomorrow.”

Sizemore quipped that "I don’t know if I’ll ever manage again, so I’m going to manage like it’s the World Series," and added "Guys are in this career their whole lives, and maybe you never even get an interview or maybe you never get that job. So I don’t know where I’ll be."

It seems like his favor with the current White Sox front office should ensure him some sort of role beyond this year. But he certainly doesn't seem like he wants to poison the well by showing his bosses he's foolish enough to have Ky Bush throw thigh-high heaters to Aaron Judge. At least, not on purpose.

“We’re going to be extremely careful. That guy does a lot of damage," said Sizemore.

What about the paying fans, who were hoping to see Judge hit?

“Yeah, I’m not worried about anyone else. They can go buy another ticket somewhere else.”

Korey Lee had an .835 OPS when the White Sox were readying to play the Yankees for the first time this season, back in mid-May. He's hit .179/.211/.301 in 64 games since, striking out in over 35 percent of his plate appearances. Per Sports Info Solutions, the pitch mix hasn't really changed on him much, but it's about a 15 percent drop in the volume of pitches he's seen in the zone, and Lee's total swing and chase rates have only gone up with it.

"Part of the game is adjusting on the fly and adjusting day-to-day and seeing what they're attacking you with," said Lee, who has been trying to see his struggles as part of the process of getting exposure to the league. "If you adapt to this game, it'll treat you right. You're always trying to learn. There's going to be some things they figure out, and there's going to be some things I figure out and it's just about playing that game."

Lee had a pair of multi-hit nights against the Cubs to drag his season OPS back above .600, so he's batting .500 in the Sizemore Era.

First pitch: White Sox vs. Yankees

TV: NBCSCH

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