Chicago White Sox avoid finishing in AL Central basement

The Chicago White Sox wrapped up the season Sunday, and here is the bright side: They did not finish in last place.

With a 76-86 record following Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Tigers (74-87), the White Sox finished fourth in the AL Central for the second straight season.

They were last in 2013 with a 63-99 record.

"You look at it as you're very disappointed when you don't make the playoffs," manager Robin Ventura said. "There's a certain element to that, but you also don't want to finish at the bottom. These guys are going out and trying to win games just as much as they did earlier. You still don't want to finish there."

Montas impresses:

After spending most of the season at Class AA Birmingham, Frankie Montas made his second start of the season for the Sox on Sunday and pitched well.

While hitting 100 mph with his fastball, the 22-year-old right-hander pitched 4 innings and allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks. Montas also had 7 strikeouts.

"It was a good experience," Montas said. "I enjoyed my time here and I think I tried to take advantage of the opportunity they gave me and I learned a lot. Now I am ready for next year. I will work hard in the off-season and do a better job next year."

While he could work out of the White Sox' bullpen in 2016 and beyond, Montas is likely to be in the starting rotation.

"I think for him, the easiest thing would be just to stick him in the bullpen," manager Robin Ventura said. "But starters are such a premium and you would like him to be able to do that. He's been stretched out all year as a starter. I don't think he would have a problem in the bullpen but you would like there to be more innings."

Off base:

The White Sox ran into 74 outs on the bases this season, the most in the major leagues.

"There were too many of those," manager Robin Ventura said.

Why?

"A lot of it is really what's going on in the head as they're running around, paying attention to (third-base coach) Joe (McEwing) a little bit more," Ventura said. "When you're making mistakes like that, there are some mistakes you can make that look aggressive and some you make that don't look aggressive, that just look like you're not paying attention. We want them to be on the aggressive side rather than making those outs that you don't necessarily need to make."