Ostrowski: Abreu bringing some positive to Sox fans
There goes another week of laughing at the White Sox's expense. But the chuckles have been fully deserved.
Whether it's the locker room issues, front office questions, or on-field product that is 39-56 ever since their red hot 23-10 start, this organization has earned all the criticism aimed their way.
The announcement that the stadium's new name would be Guaranteed Rate Field was just another sad bullet point on an embarrassing 2016 list.
The name isn't even the major issue. It isn't ideal, but a nickname will catch on because it always does. How awful can the name be if Globe Life Park in Arlington still exists for the Texas Rangers?
However, the company's logo of a bold, red arrow pointing down didn't make the news release believable. Sox fans have seen that same arrow next to their team's name in baseball power rankings since mid-May.
Once again we're left wondering if they ever discuss or even care about public perception. Questions about organizational leadership are all too fair.
But it isn't all bad. Don't look now, but the Sox have their all-star first baseman back. Jose Abreu is tearing up the league this month.
Heading into Saturday, Abreu's August has included a .368 batting average, .421 OBP, and a 1.053 OPS. While the team took first place in April, Abreu had a dreadful .229 batting average, .303 OBP, and .657 OPS.
His August has been much better than his 2014 season when he was the AL Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger winner, and an all-star. It's still there. We're seeing it right now.
These aren't good numbers, they're great. Abreu's August batting average and OBP are both 5th in the American League. The OPS is seventh in the AL. He's launched six home runs in August after hitting zero in July. He's back to an elite level for an extended period of time.
There's a belief that being reunited with his 5-year-old son Dariel Eduardo has something to do with this surge. Dariel saw his father play for the first time on August 12th in Miami. The data shows that Abreu's run started before seeing his son, but it would be foolish to think that it hasn't affected him.
Many times looking at different baseball numbers will tell a story. There's usually an explanation of what is happening on the field. But not all the time.
Too often we forget that these aren't robots we watch at the ballpark and on our televisions. Real people with real problems that we usually don't know much about.
It's very easy to say don't bring personal problems to work or don't bring work stress home. If you say that, you're asking someone not to be a human.
Getting Abreu to reach his expectations would be a nice start to getting things turnaround on the south side in 2017. But as they've told us, we're going to have to wait until the offseason to find out what direction they plan on taking this roster.
• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.