When rookie left-hander Hagen Smith faced Cubs’ center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong Monday night to open the 10th inning of their eventual 7-5 walk-off loss, White Sox win probability had dwindled to 19.2%, per FanGraphs.com.
But if TV analyst Steve Stone invoking the “Man in the Arena” passage from president Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 speech at the Sorbonne in Paris is any indication, those odds did but so much to soften the blowback to manager Will Venable’s decision to pitch to a National League MVP candidate with first base open.
“All these decisions are tough,” Venable said. “But I trust the information that we have. That’s been part of our process this entire year.”
The Sox’ information indicated that Smith, a low-slot southpaw who was tabbed to pitch because relievers Grant Taylor and Sean Newcomb were unavailable, profiled best against fellow lefties Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch and should intentionally walk Seiya Suzuki (.976 OPS) between them. Factors such as Crow-Armstrong already sitting at 3-for-4 with a walk — or the idea of not letting the opponents’ best player beat you — were given less weight.
Despite the Sox beating low preseason expectations to lead their division in August, Venable’s adherence to platoon matchups over gut-feel decision-making has been a flashpoint.
Ironically, Venable playing the matchups also resulted in the Sox’ high point Monday. Designated hitter Randal Grichuk’s three-run homer in the fourth had accounted for all of their scoring entering the eighth. Nevertheless, Venable had lefty Andrew Benintendi pinch-hit for Grichuk against Cubs right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn and was rewarded with a two-run homer that temporarily put the Sox back up 5-4 before Nico Hoerner’s RBI single in the ninth.
For the Sox, this brand of mixing and matching has become an accepted norm.
“We’ve got it pretty down now,” Benintendi told the Sun-Times. “Watch the game, watch the situations, and whoever’s in the pen throwing, if it’s a big spot, he’s gonna come in for me, or I’m going to come in for him.”
Step forward for Teel
Sox catcher Kyle Teel inched closer to a rehab assignment as he recovers from the sprained left ankle that has sidelined him for the last month. He completed running drills and took batting practice on the field for a second straight day Tuesday, noting that he’s able to skip without pain in his left foot.
“Today was really the first day I was able to run in a curve, like rounding bases, and not feel anything, so really, really happy about that,” Teel said.
Sox general manger Chris Getz said earlier this month that Teel, 24, could return to the big-league team by Sept. 1. He has been limited to a total of just 19 games this season because of hamstring, knee and ankle injuries but remains the Sox’ long-term starting catcher in the eyes of the front office.
Odds and ends
After leading the Sox with 22 homers last year, infielder Lenyn Sosa is no longer on a 40-man roster after the Blue Jays outrighted him to Triple-A Buffalo. The Sox traded Sosa to Toronto in April for minor-league outfielder Jordan Rich, who hit .233/.340/.256 for their Arizona Complex League affiliate.
† Sometimes it’s really that simple. Asked about his pinch-hit homer Monday night, Benintendi didn’t hide the ball.
“I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “I was trying to hit a homer.”