Where Things Went South (Side)

Michael Kopech perfectly represents the White Sox' 2018 season. When he was brought up, people were going wild. He pitched a few lights-out games, made a name for himself as a fearful starting pitcher...and then tore his UCL, and misses the rest of the season. And possibly next season as well.

The White Sox just can't seem to catch a break lately.

And it's sad, because they're shitting away the best years of Jose Abreu's career. By the time he eventually gets out of Chicago, and I imagine it will be soon, he might not be able to make the same-sized impact anywhere else. Even with Yolmer Sanchez and Tim Anderson grounding a pretty alright infield, and Reynaldo Lopez and Carlos Rodon pitching well...they still have a lot undecided, and a lot that isn't working. Their staff ace is James Shields, who hasn't had a good season since leaving Kansas City, and he's been losing 16 games thus far, bringing his career to an embarrassing halt. The other co-leader in home runs, besides Abreu, is Daniel Palka, a bench player turned starting right fielder who has 22 home runs, but lacks the staying power. Their closing pitcher is...Jace Fry? Nate Jones? It's not entirely clear.

It's also not clear how this team will rebound for 2019. I don't know if Abreu's sticking around, or even if Rick Renteria is worth keeping (though good things happened to the last team that fired him), but I do know that something needs to be done. The White Sox need to prove that what's been happening over the last few years isn't the new normal, and that they can be a strong presence in the AL Central again.

Coming Tonight- Closer for a pretty nice last place team.