Rongey: Sloppy play testing White Sox fans

While we wait for the offense and starting rotation to settle in, (they've each had terrific, individual games, but neither has been truly consistent just yet), the patience of Sox fans is being tested.

Many of the same troublesome issues from a sloppy 2014 season have surfaced in the 2015 sample for a team we all thought was greatly improved.

The organization has done what it can to improve "the fundamentals." The White Sox have added a baserunning instructor (Vince Coleman) for the sole purpose of working with specific players that need help, such as Adam Eaton and Micah Johnson. They've continued to work closely with raw defensive players, yet the Sox have so far been one of the worst teams at defensive misplays.

There's only so much they can do until the lessons take hold.

As a fan told me via Twitter, these are big leaguers, and the big leagues isn't the place where fundamentals should have to be taught. As a coaching staff, all you can do is make them work at it, but you can't make them get it.

Fans are disappointed, and they should be. While a flawless start isn't essential to earn a postseason spot, it would have gone a long way to verify that all of the offseason work was worth it.

One thing we can be confident in, however, is the showing by the bullpen. It has been really good, and now another good arm (Carlos Rodon) is on his way. To this point, that particular rebuilding project by Rick Hahn has been a success.

Unfortunately, though, the Sox are ironing wrinkles while the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals are killing it early. I still think those two teams will slow down, and I believe the Sox and Cleveland are better than they've shown.

Let's revisit those words in late May.

One more thing, in regard to the failure to challenge a crucial leadoff double in a ninth-inning loss in Detroit on Friday:

After contemplating the play, the consensus is Robin Ventura should have formally challenged considering the lateness of it, the weight of it, and the uncertainty of it. Officials in New York have been known to make confounding decisions on reviews, so a review would not have hurt.

After all, if the Sox had lost that challenge, would anyone really have had much of a problem with it? While it wouldn't be out of the question, the likelihood was probably low that a subsequent play would necessitate a challenge that had already burned, right?

Instead, Ventura went with the initial assessment of the video crew, which has been standard procedure for every team since replay was instituted last year. That crew was unable to see the best angle of the play in enough time to get word to the dugout. The play was allowed to stand.

I still maintain that Alexei Ramirez could have made a better tag on Nick Castellanos and removed all doubt, and Ventura could've taken the onus off everyone else and just made a shot in the dark.

To be fair, all of this is happening within a matter of 30 seconds. The rest of us had several minutes, hours, days, and hindsight to think about.

It was a mistake, and it cost them, but it wasn't a firing offense. You'll probably never see another situation like this for the rest of the year, if ever again.

• Chris Rongey is the host of the White Sox pregame and postgame shows on WSCR 670-AM The Score. Follow him on Twitter@ChrisRongey and at chrisrongey.com.