The White Sox returned home this week, in second place in the division standings for the first time since beating the Guardians on Independence Day.
Maybe it’s for the best.
“We play better when we’re behind,” All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas told the Sun-Times. “We like being the underdog. We like to go out there when people do not believe in us.”
Beginning his career with the Dodgers, bouncing between Triple-A and the majors, Vargas has been on hand for a post-clinch locker room celebration in the major leagues before. Now, as the heart and soul of a Sox lineup fighting to stay afloat in the American League Central, he thinks champagne would taste sweeter in the White Sox clubhouse.
“With the Dodgers, you always expect to go to the World Series every year,” Vargas said. “When you don’t do it, it’s a failure. Here, I feel nobody believes in us. Everyone doubts us. We were supposed to be the 28th team in MLB this year [according to] ESPN. Now we’re on the way to the postseason, and being underdogs is what it’s about. I feel like that’s what makes us better, being underdogs. That’s what’s brought us to this beautiful year we’ve had.”
Recent weeks have found the Sox trying to reclaim the loose clubhouse atmosphere they had while defying expectations, like the ones Vargas referenced, with a 50-45 first half mark. Now that a crushing series loss in Cleveland has their division title odds looking shaky again, maybe they should embrace that feeling.
“We put ourselves in this position, and we need to clean it up,” Vargas said. “We’re going to be there in the playoffs, and kick some ass too.”
Help from the other side
After Sean Burke gave up a career-worst seven runs in just 1 ⅓ innings on Sept. 8 against Pittsburgh, he sought insight from a surprising source: the opposing No. 2 hitter from that night.
“I work out with Brandon Lowe in the offseason with my agency,” said Burke, who is a Bledsoe Agency client alongside the Pirates infielder. “So I was talking to him a little bit about what he was seeing, how he felt in the box based on prior times he’s faced me.”
Lowe’s observations that Burke’s pitches were cutting and blending together lined up with what he was already working on. Ahead of recovering for five innings without an earned run allowed on Monday in Cleveland, Burke focused on correcting his stride direction, and restoring the feeling behind the baseball upon release.
Lowe is a pending free agent, so he had little reason not to help out a friend.
Montgomery is day-to-day
After leaving Wednesday’s game with a left wrist contusion caused by a hit-by-pitch, Colson Montgomery was out of the lineup Thursday. The Sox say Montgomery is day-to-day, but that day is unlikely to be Friday.
“There’s still a lot of pain involved in him swinging,” said manager Will Venable.
Castillo to the bullpen
With his 7.76 ERA in a White Sox uniform and nine games remaining, the team is abandoning the idea of trade-deadline acquisition Luis Castillo providing a boost to the rotation. Venable said Castillo’s next appearance will be out of the bullpen, and Friday’s scheduled starter David Sandlin is effectively taking his spot in the rotation.