Steverson trying to get Chicago White Sox offense straightened out

Looking for traditional numbers on the Chicago White Sox' offense?

Heading into Monday night's game against the Twins, the Sox had a team hitting line of .237/.292/.345. That is batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage. The slash line was the worst in the American League.

Add up the final two numbers and you get a .637 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). That also is the worst number in the AL.

Through Sunday, the Sox were last in runs scored (232, or 3.4 per game), home runs (48) and stolen bases (22) and second to last in walks (156).

They were batting .249 with runners in scoring position and a staggering .236 with the bases loaded.

Looking for advanced numbers?

The White Sox were the only team in the league with a negative WAR (wins above replacement), at -3.5. The Blue Jays led the AL with a 16.8 WAR.

The Sox were near the bottom of the league with a .282 BABIP (batting average on balls in play). They were last in the majors with a 75 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus).

Add it up any way you want, and the White Sox are coming up way short on the offensive side.

Let's talk, Todd Steverson.

I caught up with the Sox' hitting coach at U.S. Cellular Field, and let's just say he wasn't as jovial as usual.

"It's kind of hard," Steverson said. "I can't not get up and think about it. I can't drive home after a game and not try to find solutions or make sure everything is being done right. That's in my nature. I can't shut it down."

Working as a major-league hitting coach is one of the most difficult jobs in sports, simply because of the high failure rate even when times are good.

When they are not, and a team like the White Sox goes long stretches without producing runs, a hitting coach's stress level soars.

And just like a major-league manager ultimately takes the fall when a team fails to play up to expectations, a hitting coach pays the ultimate price for the failure of his pupils.

"It eventually has to work itself out, and we need to hit with a guy in scoring position," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "We can get the guys on, but it's about being able to get the other jobs done. It's about scoring runs.

"You're not going to have them go overboard to get back to where they normally are, but you'd like to get their normal stuff, being able to move it around, put it in play, drive in runs, things these guys have done for years. For that, yeah, I expect that more."

Not one White Sox hitter has met expectations this season. That includes Jose Abreu and newcomers Adam LaRoche and Melky Cabrera.

If the Sox' bats don't get going soon - and it might already be too late - massive changes are on the horizon.

"I don't think you need a 10-run game," Steverson said. "We just need to get that feeling back. We need some luck; we need some breaks. We've seen a lot of things go the other way.

"When we finally get that turned to where it goes our way, I think everybody will say, 'OK. We're not snakebit. The black cat's not running across our path.' But they're not going to cancel games because we're not playing well."

Now in his third season as White Sox hitting coach, Steverson is still trying to find the success he enjoyed when he was working in the Oakland Athletics organization.

"Like I said, it is not in my nature to shut it down," Steverson said. "If it takes me grinding through my brain to figure something out for somebody, or somebodies, so be it. They are the ones exerting the physical energy on the field. I get to exert my mental ability. But mentally, they've got to get right, too.

"You don't want anything like this to last very long. Losing eight in a row, it really looked worse. Win one, lose one, win one, lose one, it's not the same. We just have to execute. We have to execute every opportunity we have."