The Chicago White Sox went to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, arguably the best team in the American League, and left with two wins out of three games. Even the loss wasn't a bad loss -- the White Sox lost a pitchers' duel 1-0.
This is a White Sox team that struggled on the road in the first half -- though they've been better since the All-Star break, taking two of three from Texas and Toronto. This is a White Sox team that had a rough homestand against Houston before salvaging a split with two walk-offs against the New York Yankees. Even with the two wins against New York, it was a losing homestand, and the Sox needed help from Yankees' mistakes to win both.
The White Sox are starting to travel like a playoff team
Then the Sox go into Tropicana Field and slug homers and doubles in 6-1 and 9-1 victories on Friday and Sunday, and simply get outdueled from the pitchers' mound on Saturday, losing 1-0.
That has to make Sox fans feel good, and that's not even counting trades -- as of this writing, the team has added pitcher Luis Castillo, reliever Huascar Brazoban, outfielder Brenton Doyle, and catcher Joey Bart. Reliever Jose Urquidy was added earlier in July.
The return on those trades -- Bart is pending as this is written -- has so far been mostly prospects, none of whom were expected to be part of a White Sox window of contention. Well, maybe catcher Boston Smith -- but despite putting up numbers in the minors, he's not been mentioned as a part of the Sox's future.
I guess losing major leaguer Seranthony Dominguez could hurt -- Dominguez has great stuff but he's struggled with command.
So this is the same team that had a lot of us, myself included, worried after laying an egg in the first game against Houston that the magic of the first half might fade.
Over the past week or two, the Sox starting pitching and relief pitching has been, generally speaking, nails. The offense slumbered a bit, especially against the Yankees' deep pitching staff, but the bats torched Tampa Bay twice.
Not to mention, what were the concerns about this team? Not enough starting pitching. Not enough relief pitching. Catching also become an issue due to Kyle Teel's injuries and Edgar Quero's defensive lapses and lack of offense.
The only slight head-scratcher is the addition of Doyle -- the Sox have outfield depth and their defense, while not stellar, has been solid. The trade deadline hasn't passed as of this writing, so perhaps that move is meant to setup another one.
If not, it could be insurance against regression from Tristan Peters, who has struggled offensively since he was named an All-Star. Luisangel Acuna seems destined to move to the infield as a backup, Everson Pereira is probably also a reserve, and Andrew Benintendi also seems destined to be a platoon guy. So perhaps their outfield is now Sam Antonacci, Braden Montgomery, and Doyle, with Peters, Benintendi, and Pereira rotating in as needed.
What matters is that this team has once again showed that a bump in the road was just that, and while it's never a guarantee that trades will work out, the Sox seem to have bolstered this year's roster without giving up either key current players or key minor-league prospects. It also appears, based on what's been reported, that the culture won't be disrupted either.
The Sox are going all-in for the playoff push.
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