Hahn staying patient — for now
We're going to find out a lot about White Sox general manager Rick Hahn this season.
Is he going to be quick to make changes when things are going bad, like his predecessor Kenny Williams?
Or, is Hahn going to play the patience card?
Time will tell, but so far the first-year GM is leaning toward the latter.
Before the Sox opened a quick three-game homestand Friday night with a 7-5 loss to the Angels at U.S. Cellular Field, Hahn said it's still too early to make any decisive judgments.
“You always want to make sure you're doing everything you can to push that magic button and make that move that's going to solve whatever problem may be in front of you, whether it's from a health standpoint or depth or bench or ... our offense,” Hahn said. “But you do have try to let things unfold and give guys the chance to show their true performance levels over an extended period of time. Obviously you don't wait for that indefinitely and you don't spend the whole summer just waiting around and hoping things are going to get better.
“But this early on, there's still the expectation guys are going to return to their previous norms.”
The White Sox' offense has been Hahn's biggest concern through the first six weeks of the season.
With 11 runs in the last two games, maybe the bats are starting to come around.
The Sox' defense, on the other hand, has been porous all season and the trend continued in the loss to Los Angeles.
“It's starting to be a broken record,” manager Robin Ventura said after the Sox committed 2 more errors, running their season total to 24. “Again, you give them multiple opportunities and you're going to pay for it.”
An error by center fielder Alejandro De Aza in the third inning allowed Mike Trout to score from first base on Albert Pujols' double off starting pitcher Dylan Axelrod (0-3).
With the game tied at 5-5 in the seventh inning, more poor fielding really cost the White Sox.
Hank Conger led off with a groundball that third baseman Conor Gillaspie muffed for an error.
That was it for Axelrod, and the Angels rallied for 2 runs with reliever Matt Lindstrom on the mound.
Conger scored the go-ahead run, and J.B. Shuck came home from third base on catcher Tyler Flowers' passed ball. Had Lindstrom run to cover the plate, Shuck might have been cut down.
Regardless, Ventura is growing weary of talking about the poor fielding.
“There's nothing you can do but keep working at it,” Ventura said.
At the least the offense showed up, and the Sox rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie it up in the fourth inning.
In his first game back from the disabled list, left fielder Dayan Viciedo sparked the big inning with a 2-run double. Viciedo also drew his first walk of the season in the sixth.
“It's nice to get Tank back,” Ventura said. “Swing-wise, he looks fine.”