Pregame notes: The chance to make franchise history every day

Every new White Sox loss is making franchise history for ineptitude from here on out, and since they're 4-35 since the All-Star break, it's pretty much a daily practice. Sunday offers the opportunity for the first winless 10-game homestand in White Sox history, and to be the first team in 63 years to have three separate 10-game losing streaks in one season.

And you know what they always say about living through big moments in history--it stinks.

"There’s no sense in harping over the record right now," said interim manager Grady Sizemore. "Our job right now is to try to get a win today. And we’re trying to just improve upon every day and get better as each series goes on. My message has been the same since I got here, and it’s not about the record, it’s not about wins, it’s just about competing and playing together as a team."

USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the clarion through which White Sox news is trumpeted, once more reported that a Garrett Crochet shutdown is nigh.

Crochet has made it clear he feels the best thing for him is to keep building up innings and stamina through the end of the season, provided he shows no signs of wear, and that he's had conversations communicating such with White Sox brass. The Sox will explore trades for Crochet again this offseason, and not risking their best offseason trade asset might be the best thing for them since--and I don't know if you've heard about this already--their 2024 season has already sort of gone by the boards.

"I know missing that last start will probably give us a little bit more leeway to keep him going," Sizemore said. "Right now the plan is to keep him hitting every start on just a limited basis. If I hear anything about shutting him down, I’ll let you know. But I wouldn’t anticipate it probably until closer to the end of the season, and maybe the last start or two."

Jairo Iriarte is here, as he coasts to the finish line of the longest season of his life with a month full of single-inning bullpen appearances, separated by multiple days of rest.

"They brought me up to get used to this level and work on some stuff, and now that I'm here, it definitely feels more comfortable," Iriarte said via interpreter, referencing when he was flown out to Chicago earlier in the year to throw bullpens in front of White Sox brass. "I've been starting games the whole season, but first and foremost, I am a pitcher. I can pitch in any situation. I'm here to compete and do my best."

Though just 22, Iriarte is married with two children and had a long list of family members with which he shared news of his call-up, but one person stood out as the most excited.

"My mom," Iriarte said in English. "100 percent."

Brooks Baldwin has been able to resume swinging and taking ground balls over the last two days as he works to return from a sore right hand. Sizemore thinks Tuesday is the earliest he'd be in consideration for a return to action.

Whether that will be the domino that starts curbing Lenyn Sosa's playing time remains to be seen. Sizemore and hitting coach Marcus Thames both feel Miguel Vargas has been more on time with fastballs over the last few days, as they work to reduce the movement in his hand load, so he should soak up third base at-bats pretty regularly going forward.

Andrew Benintendi hit .278/.363/.589 in August, but don't make my mistake of assuming that his Achilles feeling better is the real secret ingredient to his return to form.

"I definitely still feel my Achilles, it's not 100 percent," Benintendi said. "Everybody's grinding through stuff, everybody's not healthy right now, we've got little nagging things that linger. Just being able to play through it and be out there while playing hurt, which everybody in here is, is key."

Benintendi says finding a consistent setup and loading action, rather than toggling through a leg kick and a toe tap and the like as he did in the first half, is the real breakthrough.

First pitch: White Sox vs. Mets

TV: NBCSCH

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