James Shields doesn’t figure to be a part of the White Sox long-term plans. So he shouldn’t be expected to be looking past the present and focusing solely on the bright future on the South Side.
The veteran pitcher said as much after Saturday’s loss to the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.
While fans and observers and the front office and even plenty of the guys on the current major league roster have their sights set on what this team will look like in 2020, 2021 and beyond — when highly touted prospects are planned to arrive and turn the White Sox into a perennial contender — there’s no reason for Shields to have that same view of things.
So it makes plenty of sense why rapidly accumulating losses and constant talk of, ‘Oh well, this is how things go in a rebuild,’ don’t sit too well with the 36-year-old.
“Frankly, I don’t really care about the rebuild right now,” Shields said. “I care about winning. They keep talking about rebuild, and I’m trying to win ballgames right now, period.
“I don’t like losing. We are losing ballgames right now. They can keep talking about rebuild, but at the end of the day, we have to win ballgames right now. I’m not worried about this rebuild. I’m worried about winning right now.”
At first blush, that reaction might sound like the opposite of the entire discussion surrounding this team right now. But Shields vocalizing a dislike for talk of the rebuild isn’t much different from his manager, who has gone as far as saying he doesn’t like the word.
MLB
Shields was acquired before this rebuilding effort began, back when the White Sox were in win-now mode. Two years later, Shields is sitting in the same clubhouse, but his team has a much different plan.
But it doesn’t mean he’s without his value, both on and off the field, where he’s serving as an example to the young players who are expected to be a part of the long-term future. This young team, even if it isn’t shocking to see it lose so many games in 2018, is going to have to learn how to win at some point. Shields is trying to teach that right now, and the lack of results is understandably frustrating.
“He’s always talking with the young guys, trying to give them advice about what to do at this level to have success and how they need to behave and perform and handle their business. And that’s a really good influence,” first baseman Jose Abreu said. “With me, we always talk about games and what things we need to do as a team to win more games or to get better. It’s good. He’s a veteran, he has a lot of experience.”
On the field, Shields has been terrific of late. He’s lasted at least six innings in eight straight outings, he’s lasted at least seven innings in four straight outings, and he’s got a 2.86 ERA in his last four games. It’s a consistent string of performances that could make him an attractive trade candidate as summer wears on. That could help this rebuilding effort by bringing another prospect or two into the mix.
“I would not be shocked,” manager Rick Renteria said when asked if he’d be surprised if teams came calling for Shields. “The adjustments he’s made are showing to be extremely conducive to him being able to pitch and eat up innings and keep a big league ball club in a game. It's been fantastic to watch him evolve and reinvent himself. I know I use that word a lot with him, but he has. Here was a guy who when he first started with us was having a little bit of a tough time. Rightly so, people weren't really happy with the way he was performing. But he has a lot of heart, a lot of guts. He found a way to make it work, and he’s extremely effective against some pretty good big league hitters.”
“I’ve been around the game a long time and I understand that process,” Shields said. “But I can’t control that. What I can control is what I do out there every five days. My job is to go out there and throw as many innings as I possibly can and do my job. I’m going to focus on that and focus on trying to get some ‘Ws’ for this team.”
Shields’ opinion is nothing new, nor is it something uncommon in the White Sox clubhouse. Players have been dismissing talk of the future and preaching focus on the present all season long. Renteria has made similar “no one likes losing” speeches during his media sessions since the early stages of the campaign.
No team in baseball has fewer wins than the White Sox. But while it’s easy for those invested in this long-term plan to think about waiting until next year and the year after that and the year after that, those who aren’t part of that picture are still trying to do their jobs in the present. It’s a lesson that Renteria has been trying to teach, a complete focus on the here and now on a daily basis. It seems he has a fellow teacher in Shields.
“We have a great attitude in here. We want to win,” Shields said. “We just aren’t getting the job done right now, plain and simple. … Right now we have to focus on winning ballgames. We can’t worry about what everyone is saying out there in the media. We have to worry about what we do in this clubhouse.”
