Still too early to write off sluggish White Sox

How do you watch baseball?

That's a rather broad question. In one sense, it could be a deserved jab at Major League Baseball for shaking more cash out of fans already paying high cable TV bills and now having to increasingly find games on streaming outlets like Apple TV+, Peacock and YouTube.

We'll put that to the side for now and focus on another part of the inquiry.

Baseball is a marathon, and there are many ways to watch it unfold.

There is a segment of followers that have the time - and mental capacity - to live and die with every inning of every game. Respect the energy.

There are fans that are up when their team is winning and down when they're losing.

There are the more casual followers, who check in every now and then and either stay with it or find something else to do based on the win/loss record.

As for myself, the season isn't worth really watching until after the all-star break.

Of course, you pay attention during the first half. As a rule of thumb, it takes 60 games before you can really evaluate the team you are following.

The White Sox played Game No. 51 Saturday against Tampa Bay, so there is still some time to get a better feel for what this team is.

It's been a disappointing start for the Sox, without a doubt.

When they beat the Rays at home on April 16 to improve their record to 6-2, the strong sense here was the White Sox were going to run away and hide in the AL Central again.

In 2021, Tony La Russa's first year back in the dugout, the Sox were 31-20 after 51 games. That's about the time they started separating themselves from the rest of the Central and the White Sox wound up winning the division by 13 games.

That's obviously not going to happen this time around, and La Russa is catching much of the heat for the Sox's sluggish start.

The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi Friday after a 22-29 start, but don't expect the White Sox to follow suit with La Russa.

If Tim Anderson, Lance Lynn, Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada and Joe Kelly were all healthy, La Russa - who has one more year on his contract - might be in trouble.

Let's check back on the Sox around July 4, and we should have a better read.

And after the all-star break, when things really start to pick up, a healthy Sox team would definitely be capable of chasing down the first-place Twins.

Last year, there was very little excitement during the second half because the White Sox were so far ahead.

This year, there's a great chance the AL Central will have a great race to the end, even if it likely means a slaughter awaits the winner in the first round of the playoffs.