After the Chicago White Sox-Cleveland Indians game is postponed, manager Tony La Russa has a decision to make: start Jose Abreu at 1st base or DH?

Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune
·4 min read
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The Chicago White Sox fell eight games under .500 on May 26, 1983, after a 3-1 loss to the Texas Rangers at old Comiskey Park, and manager Tony La Russa was looking for answers.

He recently had moved veteran Jerry Koosman from the bullpen to the rotation and inserted catcher Carlton Fisk into the No. 2 hole in the lineup despite a sub-.200 average.

Nothing had clicked yet, and Sox fans were getting antsy. A “Dump La Russa” banner appeared in the center-field bleachers, and the manager was booed when he came out in the eighth inning to remove starter Floyd Bannister. Disgruntled Sox fans also showered the bullpen car with beer when it came out of the pen, a statement on the relief corps and the cost of ballpark beer at the time.

“There has to be something I can do to help us get going,” La Russa said after the loss. “I’ve got to keep searching until I find it.”

The “Winning Ugly” Sox went on a 12-3 streak in late June to vault over the .500 mark and wound up winning 99 games while cruising to the American League West title. La Russa earned his first American League Manger of the Year award.

Thirty-eight years later, the Sox are 9-9 heading into a weekend series against the Rangers at Sox Park, and La Russa still is searching for ways to get some consistency from his team.

On Tuesday night in Cleveland he thought a good way to get slugger Jose Abreu out of his offense funk was to insert him into the designated-hitter spot for the first time after 17 straight starts at first base.

Abreu responded in the 8-5 win over the Indians with a pair of home runs, including a 458-foot blast in the fourth inning, his longest since at least 2015. It was Abreu’s 18th multihomer game, leaving him third in franchise history behind Paul Konerko (29) and Frank Thomas (26).

DH Yermin Mercedes had his first major-league start at first base but was removed after a fourth inning error because La Russa didn’t want him to feel “negative vibes” from the misplay. Rookie Andrew Vaughn replaced Mercedes and made a driving play in the seventh to save two runs from scoring, a big play in the game.

Before Wednesday’s game in Cleveland was postponed because of poor playing conditions and bad weather, La Russa was mulling over where to put Abreu in the lineup.

As has been well-documented, Abreu prefers playing in the field and steadily improved his fielding over the years in order to convince former manager Rick Renteria he belonged there full-time.

“Now the $64,000 question is ‘Will he DH tomorrow?’ ” La Russa said Tuesday night.

For Sox fans born after 1950, “The $64,000 Question” was the name of a 1950s game show.

“I don’t know the answer to that one,” La Russa said. “I want to wait and present that to (Abreu). You guys probably know better than I do how he is going to answer. I’m not sure. I’m superstitious. I want him to DH. But we’ll see what he says.”

We know what Abreu will say. The real question is whether La Russa can convince him otherwise.

Decision, decisions

The Sox bullpen ranked seventh in the majors with a 3.76 ERA in 2020, going a combined 17-10 despite a relative lack of experience. Adding closer Liam Hendriks to the mix only figured to make it more dominant.

But after 18 games, the bullpen has been so-so. The Sox relief corps ranked 22nd with a 4.43 ERA and had lost seven of 10 decisions on the young season. La Russa was considering employing a bullpen day Wednesday but was saved by the weather. He likely will go with Dylan Cease on Friday against former Sox pitcher Dane Dunning, followed by Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Giolito in the weekend series.

The Sox also face a difficult roster decision with outfielder Billy Hamilton apparently ready to return from his stint on the injured list. La Russa said the Sox would have a “serious conversation” about the roster spot.

“But that’s always good (when) you’ve got too many good players,” he said.

Hamilton is 3-for-11 (.273), while Vaughn is hitting .188 in limited playing time, including a .167 average (4-for-24) against right-handers. Veteran Jake Lamb is hitting .077 (1-for-13).

Postponement rescheduled as part of a May 31 doubleheader

The White Sox and Indians will make up the postponed game as part of a doubleheader at 2:05 p.m. May 31 in Cleveland.

The Sox on Tuesday won Game 1 of the scheduled two-game series, hitting four home runs, and went 3-2 on the trip.