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And Happy Fathers Day to those here able to enjoy it, and those who have passed but remain with us eternally in spirit.

Another hit for Montgomery. Now 3-4.

Ramos 3 run HR. 109 off the bat. Off to the Bulls game.

Well he has been hitting the crap out of the ball so maybe the Sox fixed him.

sO dANgeRiOus, YoU cOUld haVe GOtteN kiLlEd

There's no reason to discuss things that aren't actual discussions in good faith. You claim we should release on of our hottest hitters over the last two weeks (and a guy for a guy hitting .179 that is also older and injured.) You're also suggesting we eat what remains of Pollocks contract (which we wouldn't, because he'd get picked up in seconds because teams wouldn't be dumb enough to believe we'd release him) and pick up what remains of Cain's 18 million dollar contract. You're either ignorant or trolling

I doubt it's coincidental that a top org in analytics claims players from an org. that is consistently a generation behind in analytics.

He'll fit right in.

Here's a guy the Sox should sign for the rest of this season. Lorenzo Cain has been DFA'ed by Milwaukee. The Sox appear dead most of the time. The Sox have at bats available. This guy has played for winning teams. If nothing else, he'd help the Sox win Central Division games, especially against the Royals. The Sox are in a stretch they pick up stiffs like Harrison and Pollock, bunch of guys like that in the past. Why not try something different and pick up a guy who "could" conceivably spark the team, get hot and lead an injured Sox team forward. Before you dismiss it, why not try the Costanza method? Do the opposite of what the Sox normally do. Pick up Cain and release Pollock ... NOW. Do you agree or not? I want Cain.

https://www.milb.com/gameday/dash-vs-hot-rods/2022/06/19/674318#game_state=live,game_tab=,game=674318 https://www.milb.com/gameday/cannon-ballers-vs-woodpeckers/2022/06/19/669252#game_state=live,game_tab=,game=669252

But it's a low low road You've gotta roll down Before you find your way, my friend And it's a high, high hill You've gotta climb up Before you get to the top again

Knowing this club they will find a way to make it more difficult.

I was just informed by my better half that I in fact was wrong to request any recaps when I had chosen to mute the broadcast. With that in mind.....

Velazquez should finish this game even if he gives up 10

To those stilll defending Hahn, we have a higher payroll than the Houston Astros.

Jake really hasn't looked right since the wrist injury.

Yep if this is the stuff he’s going to have going forward, I’d rather they just let him rest the knee more

Part of me is excited for the kid catching that ball. A bigger part of me wants all Astros fans currently at Enron field to fuck off.

Nice to see stupid baseball played by a team other than the Sox for a change.

Well, I survived. Helped that I didn't drive so I couldn't get carjacked.

Those tourist boats have to be the greatest racket in the world. They go by every 5 minutes of the day for 12 hours a day and they're all full. It's incredible

Can someone please walk me through the Harrison signing? He had a worse second half than Hernandez last year yet the GM gave him 5.5M. What was the thinking there? Was it "well he can't be that bad again" or "even if he sucks he's good in the clubhouse" or what?

This better be Harrison's last day in the organization.

So with COVID and everything I've barely been into the city the past few years. We had some family friends from out of town here this past week and they were doing all the tourist stuff so I bought a CityPass and joined them. Got to the SkyDeck, Science & Industry, Aquarium, Art Museum and Field Museum all in a 4 day stretch. Was perfect timing too because my main summer job is mowing lawns and the 95+ heat was a great week to take off from that.

I would like to thank JR and Rick Hahn for Adam Halsey being on national TV in the middle of our competitive window.

You might be missing some history with the poster in question.

There's a lot to rip him for. But he carried the offense in a way that our 'top guys' have been unable to replicate since. I wish the guy well.

It would be a mistake to drop Engel off this team. He can play superior defense at all three OF positions and is a fast runner. He can hit. With Anderson back we have 4 infielders and none of the other three will be replacing Anderson. Moncada to the IL is a real possibility. Tim returns Monday in Chicago so the roster watch begins in earnest.

Often when he plays it's for defensive purposes and a game when the Sox have the lead or against lefties when he starts . It's something but just doesn't mean as much as it looks like it does.

Defense + randomness.

the straw that stirs the drink…

Happy 80th Sir Paul!

The long and winding road That leads to your door Will never disappear I've seen that road before It always leads me here Lead me to you door

Sure. But the obsession with this manager with handedness, no matter who the hitter is, is a little ridiculous, don't you think?

Sure, can't hurt. Cain is a winner and has 100x the passion for baseball as Moncada/Grandal

Giolito pitched just fine with the sticky ban last year. Yes, his spin rates are down and they've been steadily going down since the sticky ban, but he had a 3.33 ERA and 3.47 FIP in 92 innings after June 21st (when the ban went into effect) last year. The lack of sticky stuff might make it so that his fastball is no longer as effective, but he did just fine without it for about 120 innings. Here is how his 2021 went pre and post sticky ban. Pre 6/21/2021 Fastball - 2430 RPM, .225 BA, .441 SLG, 43.9% Slider - 2174 RPM, .250 BA, .583 SLG, 17.1% Change - 1475 RPM, .188 BA, .362 SLG, 37.5% Post 6/21/2021 Fastball - 2272 RPM, .270 BA, .416 SLG, 43.8% Slider - 1943 RPM, .187 BA, .245 SLG, 25.2% Change - 1511 RPM, .259 BA, .411 SLG, 26.9% Giolito really had to adjust his pitching style after the ban. His fastball and slider spin rate went down by a lot. His fastball/change combo was no longer his bread and butter without the high spin rate on his fastball, as teams could sit on the change up more. He went with his slider a lot more and it was arguably his best pitch post ban. But he adjusted fine and was still considered a very good, if not elite, starting pitcher. 2022 has been rocky for Giolito with an injury on opening day and then COVID in early May. I've seen a lot of people talk about how he hasn't been the same since COVID, so I decided to take a look at the splits. He returned from COVID on 5/18 and here are his numbers pre/post. Pre 5/18/2022 Fastball - 2170 RPM, .200 BA, .472 SLG, 48.6%, 93.1 MPH Slider - 1980 RPM, .400 BA, .650 SLG, 19.9% Change - 1426 RPM, .120 BA, .160 SLG, 23.6% Post 5/18/2022 Fastball - 2155 RPM, .365 BA, .519 SLG, 48.2%, 93.3 MPH Slider - 1954 RPM, .234 BA, .553 SLG, 28.3% Change - 1402 RPM, .385 BA, .642 SLG, 21.7% One thing that jumps out at you is just how bad his change up has been in his past 6 starts. It was easily his best pitch results-wise in his first 5 starts. Just from watching Giolito pitch recently, it's stuck out to me that his slider has been getting hit really hard. He's given up 4 homers off hanging sliders in his past 4 starts alone and I can actually remember all of them without looking it up. And yet, that's his been his best pitch since 5/18 because his fastball and change up have been god awful. He's also upped the usage on the slider by about 8% (mostly by ditching the curveball), so more sliders = more probability he hangs one once in a while. So what the hell happened to Giolito's fastball and change up combo? It was once one of the best pitch combos in baseball and it's now extremely below average. I don't think it's the velocity that's the issue here. He's throwing harder since his bout with COVID. His spin rates, while down a little, aren't down enough to make you think that's the main issue. I think the main issue is his control on both pitches. Here's the heatmaps for his fastball with pre COVID on the left and post COVID on the right. Fastball His fastball control has been erratic ever since coming off the COVID list. He was around the zone more often than not in his first 5 starts of the year, but he has since been just about everywhere with his fastball. His 40% CSW rate (called strike and whiffs) has decreased to just 32%. He's also gone from throwing 26% balls to nearly 39%. The lack of fastball control really hurt him last night in the 6th when he fell behind every hitter and had to throw his fastball in the zone in fastball counts. Speaking of fastballs in the zone, Giolito has gotten killed on them since 5/18. Here are those numbers. Pre 5/18/2022 Fastball heart - .278 BA, 16% Fastball shadow - .160 BA, 22% Post 5/18/2022 Fastball heart - .500 BA, 13.2% Fastball shadow - .304 BA, 20% Just for reference, the heart is basically in the middle of the plate, a few inches inside the corners of the zone. The shadow is the area around the edge of the zone. The league average on heart fastballs is .299. The league average on shadow fastballs is .223. So either his fastball is now one of the worst in the league or he's getting extremely unlucky. A little unlucky, maybe. His xBA on his fastballs since 5/18 is about 60 points lower than his actual BA on them, but I'm not sure that's the entirety of the problem. I alluded to him getting behind in the zone and having to throw his fastball in the zone in fastball counts earlier, and weirdly enough, he's thrown less fastballs in the zone since 5/18 than prior. All this points to his fastball just being less effective overall. He's throwing it faster, he's throwing it less in the heart of the zone, but when he's throwing it there, it's getting clobbered. It's a bit astounding that even his fastball in the shadow of the zone is being hit at a .300 clip, when that should be a pitch that gets hit for about .200. Without his ability to establish the fastball, his change up has suffered as well results-wise. But he's also not locating it as well. Here are his change up heat maps, the left is prior to COVID and the right is after. Change He's throwing the change up a lot less in the zone. He used to throw it inside to right handers and outside to lefties, but he's more or less just throwing them low and out of the zone. If he's behind a hitter, that's probably a pitch they end up laying off as opposed to swinging at. And that's more or less what batters have done as the whiff rate on his change up has decreased from 30% to just 10%. They're also taking the pitch about 4% more for balls. His CSW% is also down from 40% to 25%. TLDR: his fastball and change up are crap now. His fastball is all over the place and when he throws it in the zone, it gets crushed. He's also getting behind in the count more due to lack of good fastball control. Hitters are laying off his change up and they're also hitting it hard when he does throw a hittable one. His slider has been hit hard for homers, but has more or less been his best pitch. Although that's not saying much since his fastball and change up have been horrendously bad since coming back from COVID. How do you fix him? Get his fastball command back. The more counts he's ahead in, the more he can use the slider and change up more effectively and the less he has to throw the fastball in fastball counts. I think the days of Lucas having an elite fastball are over. He just needs it to be league average or serviceable. That hasn't been the case in the past 6 starts and that's why he's been getting clobbered.

I hope this series clarified that we need to move on from guys like Harrison and Haseley if we are going to win in the playoffs. If TA and Eloy come back for the entire rest of the way I think this team is going to win a lot more.

Danny about to punch Harrison's ticket off this team right here

TLR not pinch hitting for Harrison in a one run game in the 9th would be managerial malpractice.

Shhhh....Jack Benny will be on in a minute....just hold this antenna in your left hand and this ball of foil in your other hand and don't move.

It's been pro Houston from the very start. ESPN seems like that in most sports broadcasts. I wish the sox would never play on this network again.

I thought they just said an upcoming promo is a fuck it hat. I'm thinking that's perfect for this year. My wife just explained it's a bucket hat.

No it's because I like fireworks.

would be nice if we'd consider taking advantage

This is the type of game that it would be nice to have even a mediocre lefty power bat in the order

Look at Graveman's record as a closer last year for SEA/HOU. Kelly more 7th and occasionally 8th for LAD with Hudson/Graterol/Knebel and finally Jansen all battling for those same innings.

Moncada and Eloloy have struggled to contribute which makes them part time players. Kind of drives a stake in the rebuild.

Davis is probably the guy who gets them through the 5th if Kopech can't. Some combination of Sousa/Ruiz/Foster get the 6th-7th, Kelly 8th, Graveman 9th.

Pretty sure there's a new Athletic article about some of the more complicated upcoming situations. What's not clear is whether AJ Pollock or the White Sox are paying $5 million if he has a $10 million 2023 player option. I would guess it's the Sox wasting another $5 million to send him away with no replacement who's actually a halfway competent LFer. 2022 opt out available ($5M buyout), with 1,000 plate appearances across 2020-2021, or 1,450 plate appearances across 2019-2021 (not earned, barely) 2023 Player Option includes a $5M buyout 2023 Option escalates $1M each for 400,450,500,550,600 Plate Appearances in 2022