Nothing better than watching Sox' Sale baffle hitters

You know what would be easy? Writing a weekly column discussing how much fun it is to watch Chris Sale pitch.

That would be easy.

So, I'm not going to do that. But I will say that three indicators of just how good he is occurred in Sunday's game:

1. At one point, he went 3-0 on a hitter, and my reaction was, "Really?"

2. Some guy hit a home run off him. It doesn't matter who did it, just somebody.

3. The next guy got a hit, too. It also doesn't matter who it was, just somebody. Two people got back-to-back hits off Chris Sale.

It's not that those things happened that make you realize how good he is; it's the reaction you have to those events that make you understand.

You're actually surprised by them.

There aren't a whole lot of things in baseball more enjoyable than watching hitters look completely lost in at-bats against pitchers, and that's what happens every time Chris Sale is on the mound.

Now, you have questions, I have answers:

Will the White Sox be buyers at the deadline?

It's far too early to really get into this, but the question came up a few times last week. The quick answer is, maybe.

The Detroit Tigers are the class of the American League Central, and it'll probably stay that way through the end of the year. But just a handful of games separate all the current wild-card contenders.

It could be that the Sox still have a chance at the playoffs come the end of July, and they might just be in need of pitching help at that time, especially if the bullpen continues to be used as often as it has been.

However, don't expect the Sox to send away any of their top prospects unless the return is young and under team control for some time.

This isn't a veteran-laden team whose window is narrow and might be willing to rent a player at a high cost. Anything they do this year will be done with 2015 and beyond in mind.

What if they're out of the race?

As of right now the Sox are operating as if they're in the race. Should they fall out in the next month, though, they have assets that certainly would be attractive to contending teams.

I'm often asked if they should trade Alexei Ramirez while he's playing the way he is. There's no doubt a shortstop of his caliber - and who is under team control through 2016 - would tempting to many clubs.

My short answer is that no player should be completely off the table in trade discussions. If the potential return is something that can't be passed up, the Sox would be foolish not to at least consider it.

The truth is that they may not be wowed by any offer for any of their guys, in which case they are under no obligation to make a move.

• 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.