Nathan News

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Chicago White Sox outfielder Andrew Vaughn grew up in Santa Rosa, the Northern California city best known for its wineries and as the home of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. Vaughn said his father knew Schulz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip, a little and spent a lot of time at Snoopy’s Home Ice, a rink in town.

As for himself, Vaughn said he avoided the rink because he didn’t trust the skates.

“I didn’t want to lose my fingers,” Vaughn said.

As the White Sox continue to slide and slide through a disappointing summer, it’s becoming clear that an injury-plagued team is leaning more than ever on the good hands and unexpected performance of guys like Vaughn. And the team’s best chance of regaining control of the American League Central begins Monday, when the White Sox play the first of 19 straight games against division rivals Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland.

Fifteen of those games are against the two teams ahead of them overall, the Twins and the Guardians, in a stretch that will likely set the tone for the remainder of the White Sox season.

“One hundred percent,” said Vaughn, who was second on the team through Saturday in batting average (.300) and doubles (14) and third in on-base plus slugging percentage (.810). “We have to play our game, take chances and play well.”

“I’m excited,” said manager Tony La Russa. “We have prepared our pitching.”

Pitching is no small part of the equation. Starter Lance Lynn injured his right knee in spring training and didn’t start until June 13 for the first time. La Russa noted that the most positive thing is finally getting Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease and Johnny Cueto together to get the thing we’ve got going together.”

Closer Liam Hendriks, who was 16-19 in save opportunities before overstretching the flexor tendon in his forearm on June 10, is close to returning.

La Russa is reluctant to discuss the squad’s many injuries, noting that such problems aren’t unique to his team following a truncated spring training session. But with the White Sox, it’s not just about the number of injuries, it’s also about the number of injuries. The Sox currently rank fourth among the majors in terms of most money spent on injured players ($22,578,203), according to Spotrac.

Much of the team’s absence can be explained by these absences.

Last season, Lynn ranked first in the AL in opponents’ ERA (2.69) and opponents’ OPS (.605) and second in opponents’ batting average (.209) among pitchers who pitched more than 150 innings. He has pitched just 22 innings this season.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada was third in the AL last season with a .375 on-base percentage, and his 33 doubles led the White Sox. He started the season on the IL with an oblique strain, returned on May 9, injured his hamstring and then returned to the IL with a torn hamstring. He’s only played 33 games this year and is .189 with a .238 on-base percentage.

Activated in Anaheim last Tuesday, 27-year-old Moncada showed flashes of his old self, going 2 for 5 with a double and two RBI. He then fouled a ball off his right foot during Wednesday’s game, went for an X-ray and ended the night with his foot encased in ice.

Despite Moncada’s return, the White Sox currently have nine players in the IL, including outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Adam Engel, catcher Yasmani Grandal, reliever Aaron Bummer, and infielder Danny Mendick.

That’s why Vaughn, Chicago’s first-round pick (third overall) in the 2019 draft, was so valuable. Through Friday, his .357 batting average ranked eighth in the AL with runners in goal position. He had also been the game’s top street hitter, with a .369 batting average outside of Chicago.

“Most days, if not all days, he’s as good as any hitter we have on the team,” La Russa said. “He’s smart, he adapts, he takes directions well. He’s a hungry hitter.”

He’s also one of the few hitters to satisfy the appetites of White Sox fans who have come to expect far more from this team. The White Sox, who were prohibitive favorites to win a second straight AL Central title earlier in the season, were given a 59.2 percent chance of winning the division by Fangraphs on opening day, with Minnesota 23.3 percent and Cleveland reached 7.5 percent. Now those odds have risen to 40.6 percent for the Twins, 32.6 percent for the White Sox and 26.7 percent for the Guardians.

The changing landscape emphasizes the importance of what comes next.

“We know what’s ahead,” said Josh Harrison, the all-round 12-year veteran who signed as a free agent with the Sox in March. “Ultimately you have to take care of your league opponents.”

The injuries and losses have conspired to add not only frustration but controversy and confusion to the Sox season.

In a surprising move for a team with an old-school manager like La Russa, the shorthanded White Sox have advised Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, Jose Abreu and others not to run hard in games that appear to be routine outs. It is based on advice from the team’s coaching staff, who try to save players’ legs.

It’s unconventional, to say the least, and a particularly odd decision to release. But La Russa wants the fans to understand that his boys give their all, even in moments when it doesn’t seem like it.

“When you know that if you hit the ball hard on second base that you’re going to go out, you know you’re playing at a professional level and the guys know how to catch and throw the ball,” Anderson said. “Skip and the coaching staff know what is best for the players. We just follow their example.”

La Russa, 77, has come under personal fire in some circles since last month when he ordered a deliberate two-shot walk from Trea Turner during a game against the Dodgers. Trailing 7-5 in the sixth inning, the Sox watched left-hander Max Muncy follow up on the deliberate move by smashing a three-run homer in a game Los Angeles eventually won 11-9. The strategy was more viable than it seemed: For life, Turner hit .254 in 1-2 counts against lefties, and this season he hit .333 in 1-2 counts. Muncy then hit .159.

Regardless, periodic chants of “Fire Tony!” have since been heard on Guaranteed Rate Field. La Russa says he likes the passion of the fans and would rather have that than apathy. White Sox players shrug.

“So get a good set of earplugs and don’t pay attention to them, man,” Anderson said of the excessive noise that has accompanied the team’s on-pitch frustrations this year, from the negativity from La Russa to the episode starring Josh Yankees’ Donaldson suspended for disrespectful comments made to Anderson.

Yes, several White Sox players said, they understand the growing frustration. But they also expect to improve as key players return to active duty and they say it’s too early to focus on the rankings.

“The thing is, we get asked that question over and over again,” Kopech said. “How does it feel? Nobody likes to lose. We’re not happy. We don’t win but nobody panics. We know we can turn it around tomorrow.”

With 15 games against Minnesota and Cleveland over the next three weeks, tomorrow is here. Lynn joined St. Louis under La Russa in 2011 and says he’s seen both the manager and his team endure worse.

“It’s part of that culture,” Lynn said. “Everyone expects everything to be perfect at all times, and if it’s not perfect, they have to blame someone. That’s part of the gig. He’s doing everything to put us in the best position to win. Some days it doesn’t work.”

Lynn points to the 2011 season when the Cardinals were basically declared dead before taking advantage of Atlanta’s epic collapse, erasing a 10.5-game deficit and stealing the National League wildcard on the final day of the season. Then they won La Russa’s second World Series in St. Louis.

“I’ve seen a lot of weird things in this game over my career and this is no different,” Lynn said. “You just have to weather the storm.”