Will Venable Sits Chase Meidroth Again For White Sox
TLDR: Will Venable kept a sore-hamstringed Chase Meidroth out of the White Sox lineup for a 2nd straight game Saturday, and admitted his second baseman wasn't happy about being told to sit.
The hamstring didn't come around overnight. Chase Meidroth first showed up with left hamstring discomfort before Friday's game against the Rockies, when Venable played it down and said the 25-year-old was available off the bench. By Saturday it still wasn't right, and the White Sox sat him again. The manager was pretty open about how close the call was, and about why a guy he'd normally shut down without a second thought was even in the conversation.
Venable on Chase out again: "Tough decision and really one where obviously we want Chase in there and I think that if this was early in the summer, there would be absolutely no chance that we’d allow him to play. But we considered it because of how important this game is."
That's the whole tension in 1 quote. In June this isn't a decision at all. In late September, with the White Sox chasing Cleveland for the AL Central, Venable actually thought about running a hobbled second baseman out there, and then decided it was too big of a risk. It also sounds like Meidroth didn't take it quietly.
More Venable on Chase: "I know he wants to play and wasn’t very happy with me in taking it away from him because he wants to be out there. But really feel strongly this is the best thing for him and for us as we go forward here."
Good. You want the guy fighting his manager to get back in there on the final weekend. And the timing stings more than a normal day off, because the Rockies are throwing lefties Saturday and Sunday. Meidroth has hit.346/.428/.583 against left-handers this year, which makes him one of the last bats you'd want to lose for a pair of southpaw starts. It's also not the first time his body has been a problem. The White Sox already gave him extra rest for a sore wrist back in August.
Venable didn't slide him to DH to keep the bat in the lineup either. Sam Antonacci took over at second and Tommy Pham got the DH spot. The lineup was thinner in other places too: Colson Montgomery sat the day after setting the MLB single-season strikeout record, so Luisangel Acuna played short, and backup catcher Jake Rogers went on paternity leave, with Drew Romo called up from Triple-A to take his spot.
This is the argument every contender has in the last week of the season: squeeze out a regular-season win now, or protect a guy you'll need in October. Venable is betting that 2 days of rest pays off later, and if Meidroth's hamstring holds up in the postseason nobody will remember this weekend. If the White Sox drop the division by a game, though, he'll hear about the lefty-mashing second baseman who sat on the bench. Keep an eye on Sunday's lineup card. Another scratch would make this a real injury and not just a precaution.
