bighurt574

Maybe. Or maybe two starting staffs that had pretty identical ERAs over 162 games aren’t all that different (Sox finished #4 in MLB at 3.57 and Hou #5 at 3.60). And yes, I know Kuechel inflated the Sox numbers. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=sta&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=16,a

It's a little hard to say before the match-ups are announced, but to take the "backend type" in Valdez, you're still talking about a guy with a 3.18 ERA and 3.58 xFIP. With the natural regression we've seen from Lynn in the second half (3.66 ERA), Giolito/Lynn and McCullers/Garcia is really a wash in my book. Rodon/Valdez, if that's the matchup, is a wash in my book. Cease is really our one edge there. Like I said, the starting pitching isn't all that different.

The Rodon who is going to get some Cy Young votes is long gone. I don't care about Odorizzi, or Greinke, though they may prove useful for HOU at some point. McCullers, Garcia, Urquidy, and Valdez is a pretty solid top 4, and they've all given us some fits this year. I saw the stat above that our pitching has been a half run better than HOU's over the past month, but they seemingly had a tougher schedule too, with a bunch of games against SEA, OAK, and TB. So take from that what you will.

Not really. Look at the numbers. They've having strong years, including some nice outings against us. If Rodon was healthy, maybe.

I'm not so sure we have the edge in starting pitching. It's at least a push.

I’m guessing Timmons reported something. Otherwise why would MLB single out Anderson based on the video?

I was sort of hoping we'd get healthy in time to build a little momentum before the playoffs started, but that's looking pretty unlikely. Oh well.

With 3-4 prior seasons similar to his rookie year, he’s at least in the conversation. And he was a monster in Cuba those years. But who knows.

$80m/4 years seems reasonable, though Boras will probably find somebody to top that. I guess the interesting thing will be if Carlos sort of fizzles out from here. He can make himself a lot of money with a strong finish.

Cesar had been playing real well for CLE in the month before the trade and has carried that over (.887 OPS in July vs. .873 with the Sox in August). Really got a steal there, with another year of control, and allowed us to part with Madrigal.

Heuer is no loss. Relievers are volatile, he’ll probably have another good year or two at some point, but there are plenty of guys like that.

And worst case, if there keep being 2B available at the deadline like Cesar, Escobar, Schoop at minimal cost, you’re really not losing much even if we have to scramble a bit in two years.

Well, we have Cesar Hernandez for next year at $6M now. Pretty replaceable short term. Beyond that we’ll see I guess.

.898 OPS in July.

I don't see Pilkington on any top 30 lists (fangraphs, pipeline). I don't see the worry either.

Jeff Passan on Twitter: "The Chicago White Sox are finalizing a deal to acquire second baseman Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland, sources tell ESPN. White Sox have long been in the market for a second baseman. And now they get one in the 31-year-old Hernandez, who is hitting .231/.307/.431 with 18 homers." / Twitter

If you buy that teams know their own guys better than anyone else, perhaps OAK has really soured on the guy and doesn't think his struggles are a fluke.

#5 per mlb pipeline, #10 per Fangraphs, in an obviously deep system.

I doubt DET really cares about that for a pure rental.

Schoop would be fine too.

Rodon is going to be a fascinating negotiation/deal with basically one good year under his belt.

I would have settled for Castellanos in RF.

We've still managed to scratch out a lot of runs but losing some of your best HR hitters for various stretches sure takes a toll. A lot of the replacements are getting some timely hits but they're not bashing the ball out of the park a ton.

For a guy who is supposed to be a future cornerstone, you have to let Vaughn keep getting AB's against righties. Platooning him isn't a long-term solution. If he's still struggling as we near the playoffs, then you do something for the short term.

did we bring in Buehrle for the occasion?