Hearing and doing are different things for struggling White Sox

ARLINGTON, Texas — Maybe things will get better for the White Sox. They can’t really get worse.

“I always say something good will be coming down the pike because we’re going through a difficult time,’’ pitching coach Don Cooper said. “It’s difficult because we come to the park preparing to win, and when we don’t there is disappointment. We don’t say, ‘Oh, crap, we’re rebuilding, don’t worry about it.’ That’s why it’s difficult.’’

Cooper has had veteran pitching staffs, young staffs and a World Series staff. On this team, this staff, “we’re giving people on-the-job training and seeing if they’re going to be part of the future.’’

It’s tough training ground for young pitchers throwing with the American League’s worst defense behind them. Shortstop Tim Anderson (12) and second baseman Yoan Moncada (13), two key components in the position-player group getting “on the drive training,” lead the way for a unit that leads the AL with 64 errors. Saturday’s 13-4 loss featured a comedy of misplays.

That kind of bad show prompted manager Rick Renteria to keep the clubhouse closed longer than usual “to recap the game, telling us what he thinks,’’ Anderson said Sunday.

“He has a right to be upset and [ticked] off,’’ Anderson said. “We’re young, things happen, things aren’t going how we want them to go, but as players we have to keep pushing each other — and enjoying the game.”

The next day, the Sox responded with a much cleaner game. Adam Engel, their best defensive outfielder, misplayed a single into three bases and got crossed up with right fielder Avisail Garcia, and there were anxious moments from an overworked bullpen, but a strong start from one of Cooper’s young pitchers, Reynaldo Lopez, and lots of offense from the middle of the order helped the Sox win 10-5 to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the Rangers.

Anderson said he “treasures” what he hears from Renteria “because he’s been around and he’s not going to tell us something wrong. He’s going to tell us things that make us better.’’

Veteran right-hander James Shields said the message from the manager and coaches is “definitely well received. Everyone gets it.’’

But hearing and doing have been different things for a team that owns a 29-54 record. Rebuilding teams lose, but the aim is to at least “play the game the right way,” win or lose.

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“You don’t want to have it happen, and it’s frustrating as a player when you make those mistakes,’’ Shields said. “We have to just do everything we possibly can to get better. Figure out what’s going wrong and address it.’’

After a 22-22 finish in 2017, an overwhelming embrace of the rebuild at SoxFest from the fan base and some overexuberant predictions in the clubhouse and from isolated media during spring training, the team’s 2018 performance has been below everyone’s expectations, fans and management included.

It reached a point where Lopez said the team was “playing like clowns, me included,” after a series sweep in Cleveland on June 20.

“It’s been a struggle all season,’’ Shields said. “When you’re winning the game gets a lot easier, when you’re losing the game gets harder. We have to slow the game down and focus on what we need to do fundamentally.’’

On Sunday morning, Renteria talked about the talk from the night before.

“We had a good conversation as a club,’’ he said. “Competing at the big-league level requires a lot of commitment, concentration, focus. Which doesn’t mean you have to be a stiff, you have to be relaxed and enjoy the game. But there is a focus and commitment that’s required to compete from pitch to pitch.’’

On Sunday afternoon, after the win, everyone felt a little better about themselves, if only for a day.

“It was an important game for us, especially the way we looked the first two games here,” Lopez said. “It was much cleaner. We showed what are capable of, and we executed. That’s what we want to do every day.’’