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Three hits three fucking hits I know this is irrational and has little or nothing to do with tonight, but I hate that LaRussa is managing my favorite team. I have never liked him. He’s been connected to PEDs. I wish he would go away. I know this is my issue, but it takes away from my enjoyment of watching this team. I said I was salty tonight. ?

Unfortunately they aren’t going to win the WS and hopefully he retires to the old folks with multiple DWIs home.

Oh, I know my facts. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.texastribune.org/2018/05/15/texas-student-teacher-spending-average/amp/

The pattern is- win the first game of a series and then lose the next two…just like the playoff series from last year

1. I was messing with you. 2. Willie Harris scored the winning run in game 4 of the 2005 World Series. 3. Where the hell did you get that saying from?....upon further review, it is apparently a saying from English yachting....I apologize, carry on.

Kennedy Administration

If you hit a ball 393 feet to the gap, it should be a home run. Ridiculous that it didn't go out

Every other day the offense takes off it seems

Moncada's seeing the ball so well right now. Pretty much every AB from him as been solid for weeks at this point.

Approximately 5,000 groundballs with guys on base, too. Not good enough at all so far tonight.

Love to see the Sox asking their replay room when they don't have any challenges left lol

Was hoping TLR would serve his during game 5 of the ALDS.

Shit he better be getting the playoff games too.

Bold prediction...Kyle is starting game threads until the Sox clinch

New guy here and a little shy about starting a new thread - but here goes. Scanning through the MLB site post AS break team stats reveals a few negatives: While we're 5th in league OPS, we're not hitting many doubles or triples (86 2b/12th in league) (4 3b/14th in league), i.e the only reason we're in the top 3rd of the AL in OPS is due to the increase in HR hit in the last half of the season. Feast or famine re: XBH. Two points that have jumped out at just about everyone: (1) We have a grand total of 8 Sac Flys (tied for league worst.) This stat alone indicates that we're getting the runners on but are not getting runners in at anything like a reasonable rate. (2) A league worst 55 GIDP. The Sox are top 5-6 (American League), in just about all other areas. Not exactly meh but not sterling either. I don't know that we're shooting ourselves in the foot so much as tripping over our own feet. At least some of this has to do with TLR's style as well as late summer fatigue and the over-time abilities of players. Looking at individuals - I can understand Vaughn's rookie challenges, but what's up with Eloy? At this point, even considering the value of resting players, I'm not overly optimistic about the playoff chances against Houston. Thoughts?

You do realize he hasn't exactly pitched a ton of innings the last 2 years. The amount of innings he has put up this year, it is inevitable that he has a tired arm. Normally we would be shutting a guy down at this point and letting him rest for the following year and hoping he can add 20% IP. I'm find with resting him, and hoping that he can pitch 1 game per series as long as the Sox stay in the playoffs. We shouldn't need more from him than that. Let Giolito and Lynn pitch 2 games in a series if we need it. Worst case let Keuchel, Kopech, Lopez pitch a game if we need it. Our pitching is not going to be the downfall of this team, it's going to be if the offense stays stagnant.

Who is the better long term prospect, Romy or Popeye? They have to consider Romy for second base next year.

Nice to see the team score without solely depending on home runs. Happy to see Tim back in the lineup and staying in the lineup. Cease is a playoff pitcher.

Let's try to do it twice in a row....

It'll be annoying when Cesar's option gets declined and he goes back to being a 2 WAR 2B elsewhere next season.

Hahn is the only reason he might still have a job after this season.

Toasting all Sox fans who love the White Sox and our great Polish core in Chicago. Greg Luzinski is our cousin, the Sox are still kicking ass nearly four decades later!

Just look at our record vs teams above .500 and you will find out who we really are imo

his hip usage is so awkward from the right side

Was there any doubt we’d have an early sac fly in the game tonight after this thread was created?

I remember County Stadium well, not only Brew Crew games but rock concerts as well. Milwaukee is such a fun city, everything about Wisconsin is fun I wish as well the Brewers were back in the AL and that Houston was back in the NL

You put together some really good stats and info that tell a very interesting story. At the end of a long season, I'm sure guys like that are always looking for new angles or a potential story. You should DM him with some of the numbers you posted, and just ask him if he can look into it more with some of the responsible parties involved. My bet is you get a response.

What's weird is that the Sox actually had the lowest launch angle in the first half and are now middle of the pack in the 2nd half. What's even weirder is that this does not apply when we have runners on third and less than 2 outs. You know, when you want to hit the ball in the air. In those situations, we went from a team that hit a ton of fly balls in the first half to a team that refuses to in the 2nd half. It's just freaking bizarre.

It really is. And this coming after last year's weirdo season which was another "throw the stats out the window" type season.

The key factor is what form do players have going into the playoffs. Robert and Grandal have been excellent since returning. Eloy has looked poor beyond a couple games. Time will tell if Adam can return to his strong form over the past two very limited but promising seasons. Tim, Jose and Yoan have been strong this season. The key concerns are the staff running out of gas. Carlos has literally run out of gas, as the team is hoping he can patch together two more starts, and perhaps two, possibly three playoff starts. Lucas didn’t look sharp in his return, but he has a few more starts to figure things out and gain distance. Will need to see if Lynn’s knee can remain stable for his remaining starts. Cease as always is like a box of chocolates.

It's hard to figure out what this teams "normal" is

They are full season. But, honestly, there have been so many guys in and out of the lineup both pre and post ASB that it may just look wonky regardless. - Grandal missed more of his games post ASB - Tim missed more of his post ASB - Robert missed more pre ASB - Eloy obviously missed more pre ASB

Well yeah, and this is why I'm concentrating on second half numbers. Slotting in Robert, Jimenez and even a somewhat modified Grandal (he's not walking as much as he did first half), changes the equation significantly. One thing I just ran across is that we're fourth in the league in singles and near the bottom in doubles and triples. Considering the XBH power we have in the lineup, I find these numbers unusual. Yes the high rate of GBs account for a lot of this - but why so many GB in the first place?

This season I don't put too much stock into team stats, especially when projecting playoff performance. Yermin Mercedes (262), Adam Eaton (219), Zach Collins (215), Nick Madrigal (215), Danny Mendick (186), Jake Lamb (131), Billy Hamilton (120), Sevy Zavala (104), Jake Burger (42), Romy Gonzalez (20), Nick Williams (13), and Luis Gonzalez (11) combined to account for 28% of the team's plate appearances to date, and these guys will account for either zero or a very minimal number of postseason PA. That said, I do think the groundball rate is way too high, and just my perception from watching games is that the 'A' lineup is just as guilty as the guys I've listed above. TA, Leury and Eloy are really, really bad at both average launch angle and GO/AO ratio. On the flip side, Moncada, Grandal, and (surprisingly) Goodwin are much, much better at both, and they're also three of the more patient hitters.

Because it's health related doesn't mean he isn't healthy. I got 2 Covid vaccine shots and wear a mask which is health related but I am healthy . They are managing innings because of arm fatigue. Now if you want to say a fatigued arm isn't a healthy arm then sure I'll buy that but I don't think there's anything structurally wrong with his shoulder or elbow... yet.

The Sox are currently: - Tied for 3rd lowest launch angle in baseball - Tied for 3rd highest groundball rate in baseball - 7th lowest fly ball rate in baseball Oddly enough...as OP mentions, they are near the bottom of the league in sac flies post ASB, but they had the 4th most sac flies in baseball pre ASB. All while having a higher groundout to air out rate in the first half. What's it all mean? I'm not smart enough to know. Is it poor approach, poor execution, bad luck or all of the above?

Why cant I put LSD, MDMA, Cocaine etc in my body? Do I really have control of my life? The argument against vaccines is entirely hypocritical if the anti-vaxxers dont believe I have the right to do whatever damn drugs I feel like. Unlike covid, my cocaine binge isnt hurting anyone but myself. In most states you cant even buy marijuana. (Edit) Also my employer is allowed to restrict alcohol/drug use while I am working. Why should my employer not be able to also require vaccines?

I think he can have a Rich Hill type career from here, where his innings and starts will always be limited but the production is very good when managed correctly

Yes. But if you are doing something that poses a danger to the people around you, then the rest of us have an equal right to block your access to places of work, schools, and places of business so that you cannot pose that danger to the population.

I agree with you . Everything was above board and I did not see your comment when I wrote my comment disputing that claim by one poster that he isn't healthy. He's getting rest , he's been pitching well and only going 5 innings lately. When he showed signs of fatigue they gave him extended rest in August . Everyone involved wants to see him do well and stay healthy through the post season. It benefits no one for Rodon to be injured.

He's not 100%. What player is? He's been pitching well. And he will pitch. Why do you insist on proclaiming him not healthy ? With all the rest they are trying to keep him healthy and if he wasn't healthy they would prevent him from pitching and so would Rodon and Boras. No one wants to jeopardize his future or future payday by pitching him went he isn't healthy.

I've said since the beginning of the season that there really was no way he was going to be a starter all year without having issues. He just dint have the innings to do it. I still think the original plan was for him to only pitch half a season then Kopech would take over. However Rodon just pitched too well and they couldn't take him out. He may or may not be injured but he is definitely gassed.

He was hitting 98 at the game I was at his past start. I think he's "healthy" but his arm isn't bouncing back after starts in the same fashion as he's a bit worn down from pushing this innings number.

FWIW, Extra Rest in the postseason is likely unless he starts game 1 of the ALDS. If he starts game 2, his next "turn" would be game 1 of the ALCS, which would be ~8 days later.

Most fans feel the managed the pitcher workloads, including Rodon's, in a responsible manner. Fans may have disagreements with who they brought in from the bullpen at times, which would happen with any manager, but the workloads including Kopech's appear to be properly managed and cautious. It's just a crazy season all around based primarily on the aborted season and 102 game owner lockout, which is why teams are vying for the all time records for most hitters and pitchers used in a season.

this is absolutely wrong. Boras has come out several times this season praising the Sox for being reasonable and having a good plan for his usage and pending Free Agency. Boras would not say this if he felt he was losing millions in commissions. Carlos has been great, but we all knew it probably would be a struggle towards the end of the season.

If I recall correctly...Stone was adamant that there was no animosity at all...just a player wanting to wait until the season was over. Hope for Carlos' sake that he is healthy this winter but I just don't see the White Sox offering him a big contract...guessing someone desperate will however!

Might not have been a formal offer but I believe Stone said on the Score in the days after signing Lynn to an extension that the White Sox approached Rodon but that Rodon and his camp wanted to wait until the off-season to discuss any deals. Maybe I misheard it but I am almost positive Stone said that on the radio. So...maybe not an offer per se but if they flat out didn't want to negotiate at that time...then he in effect turned down some guaranteed money!

Those teams may not have the luxury of setting up their rotations for the playoffs. Each of those teams would have to win a wild card game too.

Well, i'm all in, have drunk the cool aid, and am a true believer . sink or swim, fuck or fall back, i now believe that this team can, and will, go far into the post season, and perhaps all the way to the promised land... With the team that they have built here, it sure looks as if the powers that be, really do know what they're doing after all, and it seems like the White Sox could be one of the powerhouses of baseball for years to come.