A fortnight into the season, the White Sox managed to avoid the disabled list entirely.
One week later, several players have managed to wear a path to it from the roster. To review:
Sunday: Alex Avila goes on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, with Kevan Smith coming up to Charlotte to take his place.
Tuesday: Smith goes on the DL with a sacroiliac joint dysfunction after his back seized up on him prior to what would have been his major league debut.
Friday evening: Daniel Webb goes on the disabled list with right elbow flexor tendon inflammation, which happened after his 2016 White Sox debut. He's replaced by Latham's Tommy Kahnle.
Saturday night: Avisail Garcia tweaks his hamstring trying to avoid a tag for the 27th out in a loss to the Orioles.
And in the middle of it all on Thursday, David Robertson went on the bereavement list. He hasn't been needed, for better or worse.
Monday's off day can't come soon enough.
Terrerobytes
I haven't yet written about the slowest month of Jose Abreu's career because I don't exactly know what I'd write besides ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Collin Whitchurch ran into the same problem, but at least he showed his work.
Danks will get at least one more chance to start on Wednesday, and Robin Ventura oversold his importance:
"I know he’s frustrated, but where we’re at, we need him to battle, and at this point, that’s what we’re doing."
It's early, but Jeff Samardzija might be the new Ewing Theory king if April is any indication. That would also mean that the Giants are playing fast and loose with their even-year magic.
Speaking of Samardzija, while Marcus Semien and Josh Phegley have exceeded expectations with the A's after the trade, Chris Bassitt has more or less met them, in that he has moments but is probably overextended as a starter. He also overdid it in his last start, suffering a big mid-game velocity drop. He landed on the DL with an elbow strain.
- Dee Gordon is dirty, and everything is a lie - SBNation.com
- Don't overreact to Gordon PED suspension and lose sight of history - CBSSports.com
Dee Gordon is this year's first high-profile player to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, which means he's the first to set off the annual wailing among players and media, who urge the union to diminish due process and even give the option of voiding contracts in exchange for ... nothing. Jonah Keri gives plenty of reasons why owners shouldn't get anything for free.