It wasn’t long ago — about a few weeks, to be precise — that the White Sox looked dead in the water. After losing 10 of 12 games in late April (including three straight series to three separate teams): One of the preseason favorites Sox looked more like preseason pretenders.
Ah, but it’s a long year, Dear Reader. That means there’s always time to correct the course.
Since taking a finale against the Angels at home, the White Sox have been on a tear. They went into Wrigley and dispatched the rebuilding Cubs with relative ease. Then, in an early-season test of mettle — despite the Red Sox’s (-140 favorites on Sunday) fellow struggles — the White Sox marched through Fenway for a resounding sweep.
Now, it’s six straight victories for a squad many picked to be playing deep in October. And, perhaps more importantly, they’ve now finished up only the seventh five-game (or more) unbeaten road trip in franchise history. Whoa.
The #WhiteSox record their seventh unbeaten trip of five games or more in club history, and first since going 7-0 from 6/12-18/2000 at Cleveland and New York-AL. pic.twitter.com/puRei0hdJa
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 8, 2022
I’m not going to say it’s unbelievable because teams go through so many ups and downs over a six-month, 162-game campaign. Still, it is striking how quickly the White Sox clicked themselves back into rhythm.
They didn’t tear apart the Cubs or Red Sox. But they didn’t have to. They needed more wins on the board and a mix of clutch playmaking. The sort of clutch playmaking that had many folks thinking of them as a squad more than worthy of being a late October/early November team.
PITO IN EXTRAS 🍿 pic.twitter.com/PJKtiotdik
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) May 7, 2022
In all honesty, the White Sox have been so good over the past week that they could even win a Dallas Keuchel start! Yes, seriously. No disrespect to Keuchel — who’s had a heck of a career — but he’s definitely seen better days. If Chicago can steal wins from games he starts, that might be the preeminent indicator of smooth sailing.
The White Sox have been so good it’s easy to forget they still won’t have some core pieces for a little while. Lance Lynn and Eloy Jimenez — two integral players for any deep run at a World Series — continue to nurse respective injuries.
But with Luis Robert and Dylan Cease at the forefront, suddenly Chicago resembles the heavyweight everyone thought they’d be.
Oh, and they’re about to get back their third baseman — the solid Yoan Moncada:
Moncada will be back Monday, per Tony, hitting second
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 8, 2022
I don’t know whether the White Sox will live up to their lofty World Series expectations for sure. But the degree to which their season flipped on a whim is another excellent reminder that an MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint.
Pace yourself, and don’t panic.
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