Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago White Sox: 3 takeaways

The Chris Davis situation has reached a crisis point

Davis has been struggling all season, and if the White Sox series was any indication, he’s nowhere close to finding his way out of the woods. Through Thursday, the two-time AL home run champ has logged two hits in his last 37 at bats, good for a batting average of .054.

Fans and analysts from around the game have taken notice of his futility at the plate. Bleacher Report recently declared the $161 million deal Davis signed after the 2015 season to be “MLB’s worst contract bust.” Beyond the Box Score phrased it more creatively, writing that the former slugger is “spiraling into oblivion.”

Worst of all, Hall of Famer and Orioles legend Jim Palmer said that Davis is “killing this club” and blasted him for not making adjustments to escape his slump, a detail he gleaned from hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. Davis took responsibility for his struggles at the plate, but the words still stung. Per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun:

"“I was disappointed,” Davis said. “Obviously, it bothers me. It’s disappointing that when things are obviously not going the way that I want for that to be called into question by two guys that I have a lot of trust, have a lot of faith in, that I’ve had a good relationship [with] for a number of years.”"

Palmer’s words may have been damning, but that’s the nature of the beast. Davis is among the highest-paid players in the game, and fans want to see a return on that investment, especially when they don’t have a pennant race to distract them. With any luck, the Texan will benefit from some tough love — otherwise, the criticisms will only get louder.