How Concerned Should We Be?

[fathom]

And yes, Keuchel is done. Never seen a Sox pitcher that makes it seem so hard to get hitters out.

[fathom]

Also, why not split up the guys you’re going to bench so that the lineups are more even. Keuchel against Bieber is a loss 80 pct of the time.  
As for Eloy, wtf happened now. He returned from the injury only to make it worse?

[chw42]

Just now, fathom said:

Also, why not split up the guys you’re going to bench so that the lineups are more even. Keuchel against Bieber is a loss 80 pct of the time.  
As for Eloy, wtf happened now. He returned from the injury only to make it worse?

Are you really surprised Eloy hurt himself? 

[fathom]

2 minutes ago, chw42 said:

Are you really surprised Eloy hurt himself? 

Just sick of it

[Spumoni]

8 minutes ago, fathom said:

Also, why not split up the guys you’re going to bench so that the lineups are more even. Keuchel against Bieber is a loss 80 pct of the time.  
As for Eloy, wtf happened now. He returned from the injury only to make it worse?

This is what I was wondering?  Why not sit the guys 50/50 rather than trot out the trash game 2 lineup?

[thedoctor]

not concerned but certainly annoyed. 

[Jack Parkman]

They're just as sucky as the rest of the ALC and the only thing they should be favorites for is going home at the end of the regular season or shortly thereafter. 

The winner of the ALC is basically going to be the tallest dwarf. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Jack Parkman

[Chicago White Sox]

10 minutes ago, fathom said:

I see a team that isn’t as good as last years in a division that will be much better.   The struggles hitting against RHP will haunt this team.

And that’s the frustrating part.  Early in the offseason Hahn acknowledged that we needed help against LHP and did absolutely nothing to address the need.  And coming out of the lockout he said adding pitching depth was a priority and his big move is signing Velesquez. Nothing he can do about Tony, but Hahn completely ignored our two biggest needs and it could eventually cost with enough bad luck and/or health.  I like some of the moves Hahn made in isolation, but overall it was a really bad offseason.

[wegner]

1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

It was really bad today. But this team is and will be so much better than that. 

but today was awful in very respect expect the bullpen. 

Totally agree.  They won the first three series of the year even with their pitching injuries. 

But today was awful....errors, Dallas, no offense, ridiculous lineup in game 2, and an awful decision by Super Joe imo.

[Tony]

Here is how I look at it. 

- It's a very long season and it just started. Like any season, there will be large ups and downs. While it seems doubtful the Sox are ever fully healthy, they will certainly be stretches where they are more healthy than they are now, and they will be much better for it. 

- Like last season, they are 100% going to have to overcome some of the decisions of leadership. It is what many of us feared last offseason and it has absolutely come true. 

- Just like it was clear this offseason, it's incredibly obvious they simply didn't take the needed steps to actually improve this team. Yes, the core is very good. They will win plenty of games. But the Blue Jays have a very good roster. The Astros have a very good roster. The Rays have a very good roster. The Dodgers have a very good roster. We should expect and demand the best roster possible, and they simply failed in that regard. I don't know how you can argue against that. 

I still think the Sox win this division. Might end up closer than people originally thought, but they'll get fat this summer. But more importantly...who cares? I don't care about winning a division. No one should. 

 

[thxfrthmmrs]

Why should we be concerned? The people who have been carrying water for the FO the whole offseason keep telling us regular season doesn’t matter.

Fact of the matter is this team is built with very little depth to withstand injuries and struggles from our star players. Trotting Keuchel, VV, Lambert out there automatically puts the team behind the eight ball. We have gotten no production from 2B and RF (who knows how many games we will get from Pollock). TLR, poor fielding and baseball fundamentals continues to get into the way of winning and getting more out of our players.

I’ve predicted in the bold prediction thread that this team may win the ALC, but it would be by less than 5 games. I still stand by that prediction.

 

[ShoeLessRob]

I see the same team as last year (possibly worse), with the same flaws, and the same asinine managerial decisions. 

[wegner]

53 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Talk to me three weeks after Lynn is back.

Ok, what will you want to talk about so I can study up.

[Green Line]

Im concerned because the team isn't upgraded at all vs last season, when they played .500 ball for the last 3 months of the season then got smoked in the playoffs.  They're still the most talented team in the division by far, but it hasn't gelled much at all outside of May-June last year.

[hi8is]

5 minutes ago, wegner said:

Ok, what will you want to talk about so I can study up.

Potatoes.

[Rowand44]

12 minutes ago, Tony said:

Here is how I look at it. 

- It's a very long season and it just started. Like any season, there will be large ups and downs. While it seems doubtful the Sox are ever fully healthy, they will certainly be stretches where they are more healthy than they are now, and they will be much better for it. 

- Like last season, they are 100% going to have to overcome some of the decisions of leadership. It is what many of us feared last offseason and it has absolutely come true. 

- Just like it was clear this offseason, it's incredibly obvious they simply didn't take the needed steps to actually improve this team. Yes, the core is very good. They will win plenty of games. But the Blue Jays have a very good roster. The Astros have a very good roster. The Rays have a very good roster. The Dodgers have a very good roster. We should expect and demand the best roster possible, and they simply failed in that regard. I don't know how you can argue against that. 

I still think the Sox win this division. Might end up closer than people originally thought, but they'll get fat this summer. But more importantly...who cares? I don't care about winning a division. No one should. 

 

Summed up perfectly.

[wegner]

Just now, hi8is said:

Potatoes.

Oh excellent.  I can do more with potatoes than Bubba did with Shrimp.  I look forward to it.

[hi8is]

9 minutes ago, wegner said:

Oh excellent.  I can do more with potatoes than Bubba did with Shrimp.  I look forward to it.

Winner winner potato dinner.

( That’s the saying, correct? )

[wegner]

4 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Winner winner potato dinner.

( That’s the saying, correct? )

Absofrigginlutely it is.

[Angel Hernandez]

If Dallas starts his 30+ games imagine how many of those we'll lose.

Holy shit it's late April and look at these injuries 

Lance (knee) and Giolito (abdomen) are injuries they should bounce back from but it's still troubling. Crochet and Kelly kind of same deal but I'm not as informed on them

Moncada oblique injury has me very worried. Pollock has hamstring injury so he knock on wood should be back ok.

As for performance. Almost everybody in the line up is off to a slow start. We aren't the 2004 Red Sox, for example, we dont hit countless home runs or grind out good at bats at all, except for Abreu I suppose. But fully healthy we have such a talented lineup that doesn't live up to it. Last year was stress free but I noticed a bad trend of just poor at bats. Foolish swings. And in the ALDS the 3 losses we couldn't come through with base hits or homers.... and it was not a fluke or bad luck, it was a trend 

I hope Kopech becomes a stud in the rotation. Cease is doing alright. They have shut down stuff. Giolito and Lynn can be great but also can get hit hard.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Angel Hernandez

[greg775]

How concerned should we be is the thread title. ... Not concerned because of today, but the "probability" is the injuries will continue this season. Already some of the oft-injured guys (Moncada, Eloy) are hurt again. Not blaming them but they are injury prone. Also I'd assume the pitching staff will go thru a zillion bodies again this season.

So yes injuries are and will be a concerrn. Also, the Sox have a jinx at 2B. That guy who played second last season couldn't hit and this guy from Pittsburgh appears to be another weak bat. 

I don't know what to think of this team. I've never been enamored with the pitching staff, starters and relievers both. And injuries to everyday players just might mean the Sox only finish 10-15 games over .500 this year. Team was 24 over .500 last year and on paper seems a tad bit worse this year. If suddenly the team is healthy all season, mabe it's a WS contender.

p.s. that game two lineup truly was one of the worst lineups in Sox history on a given day (hyperbole, forgive me) ... Harrison (yuk), Haseley (who?), Leury (I mean he is who he is, .077 to start season), Grandal (good hitter), Sheets (off to yuk start sadly), Vaughn (play him every day please), McGuire (yuk), Engel (no offense to Engel but yuk) and Mendick (ugh). My gosh that's a bad lineup, when playing that lineup you hope Grandal, Sheets and Vaughn somehow have their power swings workin' and they combine for 4 homers amongst the three of 'em).

Edited April 21, 2022 by greg775

[Tony]

24 minutes ago, greg775 said:

 

 

 

p.s. that game two lineup truly was one of the worst lineups in Sox history on a given day (hyperbole, forgive me) ... Harrison (yuk), Haseley (who?), Leury (I mean he is who he is, .077 to start season), Grandal (good hitter), Sheets (off to yuk start sadly), Vaughn (play him every day please), McGuire (yuk), Engel (no offense to Engel but yuk) and Mendick (ugh). My gosh that's a bad lineup, when playing that lineup you hope Grandal, Sheets and Vaughn somehow have their power swings workin' and they combine for 4 homers amongst the three of 'em).

 

On 4/8/2022 at 11:39 AM, greg775 said:

Tony is a great manager IMO. The reason Sox are flailing still is INJURIES. Something's wrong there. Way too many. Also our pitching staff still blows, though most in baseball do also. Nuttin wrong with Tony. (I do think Sox have a WS roster, but it's far from special).

 

[hankchifan]

2 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

Game 1 was actually worse then the box score shows - if that is even possible. I think every single position player made at least 1 error or "dumb play" that wasn't scored an error.

Let's go around the horn:

1B. Probably one of the more solid defense performances but as other posters noticed in the game thread he wasn't extending on plays at first and there were a couple very close ones. Also missed a short hop throw from Burger which he should have gotten IMO.

2B: Mendick actually didn't have any major blunders other than throwing a whiffle ball 2nd to 1st on what should of been a double play. Also went 1-6 on the day with 4 K's.

SS: No comment needed here. Probably the worst game of TA's career. See video of him flipping off the Cleveland crowd cheering his errors. He did make a couple nice plays late in the game so I guess there's that...

3B: Burger with an error and 0-3 with 2K for good measure.

LF: Vaughn bobbled and lost a ball on a single, no one advanced so wasn't ruled an error.

CF:  Robert airmailed a cutoff man. 0-4 and I believe he's 0 for his last 20 now?

RF: Engel also airmailed a cutoff man which would have resulted in another run being scored. He did get a hit and our lone run so props to him. 

C; I think Grandal had one passed ball (not sure if it was scored that) but that's all I can recall. 0-4 on the day too.

P: Keuchel... where to start... In his defense I will say after the atrocities committed by the defense I too would lose it. 7 straight hits at one point. 11 straight batters reached base. Failed to cover backup at home on a play. Blamed the defense OFC in the post game interview. 

 

Oh and to boot:

The NBC team fucked up the scoreboard overlay for about half the game. TLR/whoever our replay guy wasted our review early. 

Bonus: Game 2 super joe sending our fastest runner Engel home with 0 outs, out by a mile. 

I'm sure I'm missing stuff but I'd rather not try to remember today...

 

You left out assessment of TLR managing,which IMO was terrible.

[DoUEvenShift]

3 minutes ago, hankchifan said:

You left out assessment of TLR managing,which IMO was terrible.

You're right. 

I actually feel like he managed the first game fine (after DK shit the bed)

But the 2nd game lineup and management was awful. If you discount the AAA lineup you gotta have at least some pinch hitters/replacement players in the final 3 innings in a 1 run game/ yea? Maybe I'm just an idiot

[Jack Parkman]

I will say this: as bad as things are right now, they will get better. Moncada will return. Grandal will not suck like this all year. Robert will probably hit at least .260 with 30 HR and 30 Steals. Giolito, Cease, Kopech and Lynn are all studly. Abreu is Abreu. Vaughn looks like he took a step. And the Bullpen, despite Crochet being out, is nails. 

 

I have my moments when I think "this team is an 85 win team" and then others when I think "this team is really fucking good" 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Jack Parkman