The Chicago White Sox are just five wins away from the World Series after the league office conceded there is no rule prohibiting manager Will Venable’s new strategy of running the pick-and-roll on the basepaths.
CHICAGO — Just two years removed from a historic 121-loss season, the Chicago White Sox are five wins away from the World Series after MLB officials conceded there is no rule prohibiting manager Will Venable’s new strategy of running the pick-and-roll on the basepaths.
Following Monday night’s playoff victory over the Cleveland Guardians, the White Sox clubhouse blasted celebration music while reviewing tape of their aggressive new offensive scheme. Venable’s system—which requires the on-deck batter to establish legal guarding position and take a hard charge to protect runners advancing home—has completely paralyzed American League fielding alignments unaccustomed to navigating a rigid man-to-man defense.
Will recognized right away that we didn't have the payroll or the intangibles to hit major-league breaking pitches, so our most viable path to a championship was boxing out the opposing infield and taking hard fouls in the paint to control the strike zone.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt vehemently protested Monday's result, arguing that his shortstop was illegally screened from turning a routine double play. However, the league office dismissed the grievance on Tuesday morning, issuing a memo confirming that as long as a baserunner has his feet firmly planted before contact, the defensive fielder must fight his way through the pick.
The franchise, which was once so thoroughly outmatched that its social media team simply stopped posting final scores, now regularly tweets highlight reels of its middle infielders successfully forcing backcourt violations on opposing dugouts. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf has reportedly championed the new winning culture, noting that demanding his roster run a full-court press in the late innings saves the club millions in premium bullpen salaries.
The White Sox look to seal their progress to the American League Championship Series on Thursday, though Venable warned reporters his squad will need to dramatically improve their free-throw percentage if they hope to close out the Guardians in a tight seventh inning.