Soxsi75 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 That's what it comes down to. The attitude around this team is we can beat up on the bad teams but can't beat the good ones. That we are comfortably in front of a weak division but wouldn't be if we were in any other division. OK. But what's a shame is where would we be if we weren't RAVAGED by injuries? We have 4 regulars out!!! And of those 4, 3 of them make up the entire middle of the order, and 2 of them are 2 of our best players AND have been out all year!! Is Houston better than us? Right now, with Brian Goodwin hitting 4th, yes they are. But the plan remains the same. Get healthy for the playoffs. Maybe Houston will beat us anyway. But we hope we'll have our full team then. We don't win in 2005 if Dye and Podsednik are out all year. Plus Iguchi going down for the year in June, plus Pierzynski and Rowand being out for long stretches. And the same can be said about any championship team you want to use that example of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Yes. Not many teams lose 4 staring players for an extended period and not pay the price. That said, the Sox just have a problem with Houston right now. A win today and tomorrow may calm the nerves a bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxsi75 Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 3 minutes ago, Dick Allen said: Yes. Not many teams lose 4 staring players for an extended period and not pay the price. That said, the Sox just have a problem with Houston right now. A win today and tomorrow may calm the nerves a bit. Very true and well put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 I’ll be honest, the division is such garbage at this point that the day-to-day stuff doesn’t really matter all that much. We just need to keep our healthy players safe, get back our injured guys before the end of September, and fill our remaining holes before the deadline. I can care less if the Astros beat us up if the core guys are playing well (like Cease did last night) and if we’ll have Eloy, Robert, Grandal, a 2B, a reliever or two, and possibly a RF upgrade come October. Just keep pummeling the garbage team and lock in that playoff spot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxsi75 Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: I’ll be honest, the division is such garbage at this point that the day-to-day stuff doesn’t really matter all that much. We just need to keep our healthy players safe, get back our injured guys before the end of September, and fill our remaining holes before the deadline. I can care less if the Astros beat us up if the core guys are playing well (like Cease did last night) and if we’ll have Eloy, Robert, Grandal, a 2B, a reliever or two, and possibly a RF upgrade come October. Just keep pummeling the garbage team and lock in that playoff spot. That's exactly right!! As Sox fans, we have to keep telling ourselves exactly this!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tray Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) Perhaps there should be a different approach taken by hitters who don't fare well against top of rotation starting pitchers. The tried and true methods come to mind....take the first pitch and look closely at the delivery, release point and trajectory like Ted Williams did on every first pitch. Study the pitcher in advance for tendencies in terms of location and pitch selection when either up or down in the count. Choke up on the bat , don't try to pull the ball, and protect with 2 strikes. Develop an effective swing to hit outside pitches to the opposite field. Just because TA has success hitting first pitch fastball doesn't mean the entire line-up needs to be hunting for fastballs early in the count. Overall, I think the Sox hitters need to try to improve their approach. As has been mentioned, too many ground balls and double plays as a result. And no excuse for Goodwin striking out 4 times. This team misses Madrigal who served as an example in real time to other hitters about how to approach pitchers. Edited July 17, 2021 by tray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tray Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Sox need to find a catcher. Not sure Yaz will come back anywhere near 100%. Collins is shaky behind the plate and is a marginal hitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxsi75 Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) 39 minutes ago, tray said: Perhaps there should be a different approach taken by hitters who don't fare well against top of rotation starting pitchers. The tried and true methods come to mind....take the first pitch and look closely at the delivery, release point and trajectory like Ted Williams did on every first pitch. Study the pitcher in advance for tendencies in terms of location and pitch selection when either up or down in the count. Choke up on the bat , don't try to pull the ball, and protect with 2 strikes. Develop an effective swing to hit outside pitches to the opposite field. Just because TA has success hitting first pitch fastball doesn't mean the entire line-up needs to be hunting for fastballs early in the count. Overall, I think the Sox hitters need to try to improve their approach. As has been mentioned, too many ground balls and double plays as a result. And no excuse for Goodwin striking out 4 times. This team misses Madrigal who served as an example in real time to other hitters about how to approach pitchers. I agree with some of your points, but there are some problems with it. Your first one of taking the first pitch I have a problem with in some cases. Ask yourself this. Is a hitter going to be very successful if he's only given 2 strikes? Because if you go up there and take first ball, get me over fastball right down the middle for strike one against a pitcher with a wipe out slider like McCullers has, that's in essence what you're doing. It worked well that Anderson and Moncada hit first ball fastball before they could get to two strikes. McCullers just stopped throwing first ball fastball to our hitters. As a matter of fact, he seemed to stop throwing his 4 seam fastball at all after that. He seemed to throw about 90% sliders after those first two hitters. The second problem of what you said is you're using the Sox as an example of needing to change this. Going against these basic fundamental forms of hitting is the approach all players around the league take, not just the White Sox. It's a major reason why strikeouts are so up nowadays. What you're saying about choking up on the bat, not trying to pull, protect with two strikes, all are technically true, but not followed by anyone in baseball today, not just the White Sox. Madrigal is a major exception, and you're right, he is missed because he did do this. But he is a major exception. Edited July 17, 2021 by Soxsi75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 31 minutes ago, tray said: Sox need to find a catcher. Not sure Yaz will come back anywhere near 100%. Collins is shaky behind the plate and is a marginal hitter. Collins is questionable behind the plate, but marginal hitter he is not. Dude has a 124 wRC+ against RHP as a catcher. Yeah, he can’t hit lefties but smarter teams would simply use him in a platoon role. Also, the fact that some pitchers actually like throwing to him despite his clear defensive deficiencies (like worst in baseball framing) means he’s not 100% bad back there. He’s just never going to be an everyday guy behind the dish and his flaws get exposed as the primary guy there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 The team as it sits today can't beat good teams. We will see if that changes once some guys get healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCCWS Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 27 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said: pitchingThe team as it sits today can't beat good teams. We will see if that changes once some guys get healthy. I agree that the AL Central is very weak, which hopefully does not weaken our edge come playoff time. . But I like our chances, once we get somewhat healthy , against Tampa or Boston. Tampa has good pitching and spotty offense and Boston has good offense and spotty pitching. I feel we have good pitching and we will have good hitting come playoff time. Houston may be the biggest problem but the rosters will have a good number of changes before the end of September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitekrazy Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 3 hours ago, Dick Allen said: Yes. Not many teams lose 4 staring players for an extended period and not pay the price. That said, the Sox just have a problem with Houston right now. A win today and tomorrow may calm the nerves a bit. I don't think it's then end of the world if they get swept. Even at full strength there's not enough big league experience to beat the best teams when those good teams are on a roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 https://mobile.twitter.com/CST_soxvan/status/1416441632082350085 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 4 hours ago, tray said: Perhaps there should be a different approach taken by hitters who don't fare well against top of rotation starting pitchers. The tried and true methods come to mind....take the first pitch and look closely at the delivery, release point and trajectory like Ted Williams did on every first pitch. Study the pitcher in advance for tendencies in terms of location and pitch selection when either up or down in the count. Choke up on the bat , don't try to pull the ball, and protect with 2 strikes. Develop an effective swing to hit outside pitches to the opposite field. Just because TA has success hitting first pitch fastball doesn't mean the entire line-up needs to be hunting for fastballs early in the count. Overall, I think the Sox hitters need to try to improve their approach. As has been mentioned, too many ground balls and double plays as a result. And no excuse for Goodwin striking out 4 times. This team misses Madrigal who served as an example in real time to other hitters about how to approach pitchers. Yordan Alvarez is a great hitter and he struck out 4 or 5 times yesterday too. The point is good pitching beats good hitting. The Sox do all those things you are suggesting . The have charts and graphs and computer programs on ipads that the hitting coach goes over with the players before games. Every player is different they all recognize spin differently. The pitchers study the hitters tendencies too. This guy will swing at high fastballs ect. The problem is hitter are going to swing the bat. Thats how they became good enough to get to the majors.Very hard to change what guys have been doing all their lives and suddenly they need their brain along with instead of muscles and eye hand coordination. Ted Williams was a great hitter with many theories but he also had great eye sight, maybe better than a lot of guys with 20/20 vision. It's some very minute things that separate the greats from the has beens. Approach and game plans surely help but you can't get blood from a turnip and the Sox have to play with a few turnips in the lineup now. Approach has to be ingrained not just something you can change just like that. Guys like Grandal are rare in their ability to size up pitches that are balls. He doesn't automatically feel he has to swing the bat unless it's absolutely necessary or he can narrow down the pitch into a certain part of the strike zone that is advantageous to him. Probably over 50% of the best of the best, all MLB hitters, are just hackers up there with natural ability. Sure many improve their approach and develop but some things are just ingrained. That's why you see hitters smack themselves in the head after swinging and missing a high fastball. They hate being outsmarted by the pitcher and hate they they did it again after being told and coached and practice not doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tray Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Interesting short article that pertains to Ted Williams approach to hitting and generally with decision making in other aspects of our lives. The science of hitting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Robert took BP today and did some other light activity. LFG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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