White Sox manager sends blunt warning to struggling young slugger

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable did not need a lengthy explanation to identify what has gone wrong for Colson Montgomery. His message after Monday’s ugly loss to the Texas Rangers was brief, blunt and backed by some unpleasant numbers.

Will Venable pinpoints Montgomery’s growing problem

Montgomery went hitless in four at-bats during Chicago’s 11-2 loss, striking out three times. That dropped him to 2-for-24 with 14 strikeouts over his last six games.

When Venable was asked about the young slugger’s recent trouble, he skipped the usual collection of baseball clichés.

“Just swing and miss,” Venable said. “Chase below the zone, chase above the zone, so just got to tighten up and make contact in the zone.”

There is not much mystery buried in that answer.

Pitchers have recognized that Montgomery is expanding the strike zone, and they have adjusted accordingly. Until he proves willing to lay off those pitches, he should expect a steady diet of breaking balls near his ankles and fastballs above his hands.

That is how the league treats young hitters. Once a weakness appears, opposing pitchers poke at it relentlessly. Subtlety is not part of the job description.

Montgomery’s power makes the current slump easier to tolerate, but it cannot excuse everything. A hitter capable of changing a game with one swing still has to give himself a chance to make that swing count.

Right now, too many of his at-bats are ending before he sees a pitch worth driving.

White Sox need their young slugger to adjust quickly

The timing of Montgomery’s slump is particularly inconvenient. Chicago is leading the American League Central and trying to prove its surprising season will not fade once the pressure increases.

This is no longer a rebuilding club with endless patience and nothing to lose. Every empty at-bat carries a little more weight in late August.

That does not mean the White Sox should panic or pull Montgomery from the lineup. Young power hitters strike out. Even established sluggers go through stretches where the strike zone seems to expand by several feet.

The response will tell Chicago far more than the slump itself.

Montgomery must force pitchers back over the plate. Taking a few borderline pitches may not produce the thunderous highlights his home runs create, but a walk is considerably more useful than chasing another breaking ball into the dirt.

Venable’s warning also sounded more instructional than angry. He identified the issue and gave Montgomery the obvious solution. Tighten the zone. Make contact when the ball enters it.

Simple advice. Annoyingly difficult execution.

The White Sox can help by moving Montgomery down the order temporarily, taking some of the burden away while he works through the adjustment. That would not be a punishment. It would be a practical response to a young hitter running into his first serious late-season test.

Chicago has won plenty of games because its young roster refuses to stay down for long. Montgomery now has to show the same resilience individually.

Opposing pitchers have made their move. Venable just told his slugger exactly what must come next.

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