HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros mascot Orbit walked into foul territory with a small disco ball on a string. The mascot would stop and encourage the person near the ball to dance.
The orbit moved closer to the free throw line in left field, where the Chicago White Sox were stretching on Friday. José Abreu was the closest player. Abreu complied with a few dance moves before going back to his stretches.
The next day, Orbit held a banner challenging any Sox player to a paper airplane contest before competing with someone associated with the Astros.
Abreu laughed when the subject came up before Sunday’s game.
“I’m too old to be messing around with all that stuff, especially since I don’t know what I was planning to do,” Abreu said through an interpreter.
It was a light moment in a winning trip for the Sox, who wrapped up a three-game series Sunday night at Minute Maid Park.
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Abreu, 35, credited his teammates, veterans and younger players, for their versatility as the Sox have juggled injuries.
“They are giving us their best effort and that is something that really has to be recognized and that has a lot of value,” Abreu said. “That shows the character they have and the character of this team. At the same time, we have to recognize all the good work that the coaching staff and the coaching staff have been doing with all of us, trying to overcome all the situations and trying to keep us in good health.”
A key contributor is scheduled to return Monday in shortstop Tim Anderson. He has been on the DL retroactive to May 30 with a right groin strain.
“We’re a different team when he plays,” said Red Sox manager Tony La Russa, who also noted Danny Mendick’s good play at the position while Anderson was out. “We exchanged text messages the last two days and (Sunday) morning, and he said that he is ready to go.
“He’s starting (Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field) and we’ll be better off because he’s there.”
Anderson is a source of instant offense, slashing .356/.393/.503 in 40 games.
He will rejoin a lineup that has seen Abreu heat up over the past month. Entering Sunday, the first baseman had slashed .345/.463/.600 with 10 doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs in his previous 29 games, raising his average from .197 to .267. Abreu leads the Sox in home runs (nine) and RBIs (32).
“You know you won’t be able to produce forever,” Abreu said. “But you have to be prepared for when those times come and you have to take advantage of those times.”
The Red Sox are still looking to put it all together. They’ve hovered around .500, a game below Sunday night’s entry.
Abreu said he doesn’t pay attention to outside criticism of La Russa.
“It’s easy to blame the manager when things don’t go well, but at the end of the day, it’s up to us,” Abreu said. “We are the ones who are performing on the field. The responsibility has to be ours.
“It’s easy to say what you want to say, or critics will say anything about the coach. But they are not here. They’re not in the clubhouse. They don’t know how united or how good we are. Everyone knows that we have been dealing with a lot of injuries. People don’t know how to overcome those situations and be able to play every day.
“For Tony to be blamed, that’s easy. But they don’t know how good we are in the clubhouse.”
Abreu said that the players support La Russa “because we all know that at the end of the day it is our responsibility to act the way we can on the pitch. It is not your responsibility.
“I can tell you that as a person, as a leader, that is all you can ask of a manager.”
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Before Sunday’s game, the Sox recalled outfielder Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte and placed reliever Matt Foster on the dueling list.
Haseley, acquired in a March 29 trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, has a .280/.344/.482 slash line with 11 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 51 games with Charlotte. He played in five games for the Sox from April 20-24, going 2-for-10 with two walks.
In his last 17 games with the Knights, Haseley is hitting .382 with six doubles, five home runs, 23 RBIs, 17 runs scored, six stolen bases and a .721 slugging percentage.
“Any time you get an opportunity like this, you obviously take it and give it everything you’ve got,” Haseley said before Sunday’s game. “I am grateful that I have performed well in the last few weeks and obviously I hope to continue to do so here. I’m not trying to change anything, just be myself and see what happens, help the team win.”
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