Even Sox' farm has foul odor
You watch the White Sox slog through another miserable game on Thursday night, this one a 12-3 loss to the Yankees, and the obvious question pops up:
Now what?
Well, guess what?
There is no “now what.”
It's still way too early to blow up the roster — think back to last season when general manager Kenny Williams didn't even consider taking it all down until June 8.
The Sox were floundering at 24-33 and Williams admitted he had finally seen enough.
Sensing some massive change in the air, the White Sox responded with 25 wins in 30 games and, just like that, they were in first place in the AL Central.
Can they do it again?
Highly doubtful, considering the 25-5 run heading into the all-star break tied the 1975 Reds and 1990 Mets for the best first-half finish in baseball history.
So, now what?
The Sox have a farm system and they should use it.
How does Gookie Dawkins sound?
Approaching his 32nd birthday and not seen in the major leagues since a very brief stint with the Royals in 2003, Dawkins is batting .262 with Class AAA Charlotte, and he has 5 homes runs and 16 RBI in 18 games.
The Gookster has been Charlotte's best hitter so far, so that ought to tell you all you need to know about the farm system.
Dayan Viciedo is batting .241 and he's struck out 17 times in 79 at-bats. Jordan Danks is batting a robust .207.
Tyler Flowers, who appeared to have finally figured it out in spring training, is batting .233. The catcher did have his best game of the season Thursday night, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a 3-run homer.
Lastings Milledge, who opened the season on the White Sox' 25-man roster, is batting .217 for Charlotte.
To all the above, no thanks.
And as for Williams trading a slumping veteran hitter like Alex Rios or Adam Dunn, who is going to pay those kinds of salaries?
New York is always game, but attendance is already down 10 percent over last year at new Yankee Stadium, and Thursday's announced crowd of 40,081 was an all-time low.
As for demoting Gordon Beckham and/or Brent Morel, who is going to replace them? Dawkins? Class AA Birmingham second baseman Tyler Kuhn leads the Southern League with a .375 batting average, but don't think he's even on the radar yet.
As we were saying, there is no “now what?”
And as they showed on their miserable 3-8 road trip to Tampa Bay, Detroit and New York, the White Sox have sprung some gaping leaks and look to be a team in trouble.
They also lost Rios (left toe) and reliever Tony Pena (elbow tendinitis) to injury Thursday. You don't like to joke about health issues, but that could actually be addition by subtraction.
A joke is pretty much what this season has been so far.
If the Sox don't start turning it around on their homestand, Williams is not going to be laughing much longer.
sgregor@dailyherald.com