South Side Hit Men

Tim's house has been devoid of pasta since September.

And they rush to send healthy guys down and keep 2-4 injured guys up and not IL them for much of the season. 2022 White Sox Relief Appearances: 28 Foster 26 Graveman 25 Ruiz, Sousa, Hendriks 22 Lopez 20 Bummer 15 Banks 14 Crick 8 Burr 7 Kelly 6 Severino 2 Lambert 1 Velasquez, Cueto, Martin, Harrison

I expect Sousa to pitch all three games this series.

10 hits in 4 1/3 innings is Keuchelesque.

One thing is certain, Levon Helm is awesome.

So will Tony throw Lynn out there one more inning as "The Pitcher of Record"/

Smarter than Mr. 3,000, that is for certain.

bUt hE ChEAted. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4819250 https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/former-cy-young-winner-jack-mcdowell-alleges-white-sox-tony-la-russa-stole-signs-electronically-in-80s/ https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/sports/baseball/21larussa.html

I believe Moncada would be in Charlotte at this point working to figure things out if Hinch was here.

AJ Hinch kicked ass and dumped a bunch of deadweight upon his arrival in Detroit. Definitely could have used the tough love on the South Side, think things could have turned out differently with Hinch beyond making proper in game decisions,

Not if he throws like this. Don't expect an improvement during his next start in Houston, perhaps starting next week he will improve with a couple of games under his belt.

He hired a personal chef and lost 40 pounds, from 280 to 240, in 2013 entering the second season in the rotation. https://www.mlb.com/news/lindsay-berra-st-louis-cardinals-pitcher-lance-lynn-gains-plenty-from-weight-loss/c-63333280 He was 26 and having weight issues, is nearing ten years older now and looks heavier today than in 2012. Not sure why Hahn felt the need to rush a contract midway through the season, though perhaps Tony was the driving force looking to take care of "his Cardinals guy".

Still light years ahead of the Sox' Leury .469 and Josh Harrison .540. Guess who's back. Caulfield's back.

Katz is the only coach on the team with demonstrable success, the one recruited by Lucas and Hahn, not Tony. The rest of his staff were Tony's selections, either new or approved carry-over staff. Catching seems to have regressed under Narron, not sure what Cairo does or is allowed to do. The two success stories so far have been Boston helping Vaughn pick up OF on the fly to start 2021, and the management of Kopech's innings. Still believe the overall failure of the organization the past decade comes down to lack of development of drafted players, and lack of identification of quality external FAs by the FO beyond Marco Paddy, and that falls on Hahn, not Tony. That said, Tony was brought in to improve fundamentals, focus and approach, but we haven't see improvement beyond the SPs under Katz. Seems like the team is tighter and lacking rhythm based on Tony's endless tweaking of the lineup, his focus on handedness over effectiveness, and his at times puzzling in-game strategery.

Definitely helped with the three young starting pitchers. Don't think Keuchel or Lynn really need much work with a pitching coach at this stage of their career, well beyond Keuchel's drop off in velocity and command in 2021/2022. Not sure any coach could help Keuchel at this point. Bullpen arms are fungible, but the jury is still out in terms of will the success Katz has made with the young starters can also translate to the bullpen. It will take a few more years to evaluate. I recall four development success stories for Cooper over the past decade (2010-2019 - Aaron Bummer, Nate Jones, Zach Putnam and Sergio Santos). The remaining solid relievers were free agent acquisitions developed by other teams (Soria, Colome, Robertson, Crain, Thornton). Seasons with SP 10 + starts, Relief Pitchers 25 + Appearances, players with at least one White Sox season under both coaches: Don Cooper Lucas Giolito: 6.13 2018 Dylan Cease: 5.79 2019; 4.01 2020 Carlos Rodon: 3.75 2015; 4.04 2016; 4.15 2017; 4.18 2018 Jose Ruiz: 5.63 2019 Aaron Bummer: 4.50 2017; 4.26 2018; 2.13 2019 Evan Marshall: 2.49 2019 Ethan Katz Lucas Giolito: (Offseason Work with Katz after 2018 Season) 3.41 2019; 3.48 2020; 3.53 2021; 3.88 2022 Dylan Cease: 3.91 2021; 3.14 2022 Carlos Rodon: 2.37 2021 Jose Ruiz: 3.05 2021; 5.56 2022 Aaron Bummer: 3.51 2021 Evan Marshall: 5.60 2021

I'm old enough to remember Tony La Russa challenging the arresting officer regarding the difference between falling asleep at the wheel and passing out at the wheel, after officers found him passed out in the middle of an intersection. Also an apt metaphor for his tenures with the White Sox. 2:50 mark Tony doesn't know his ABCs, next time won't you hire me. 1:50 in: "A B C D E F G H I J K L M N I Z M N O P Z Q R S T U V V V Z T U V X Y X Z"

If it's good enough for Joe Maddon, it's good enough for Tony LaRussa. Also want the Happy Ending Joe encountered for Tony.

Also, nobody is stating the Sox are “the worst team in baseball”. Sox fans are stating the team is playing poor uninspired baseball, led by their poor uninspired manager, during their self proclaimed “multi championship” window.

I’m old enough to remember Tony intentionally walking Albert Pujols in a White Sox loss to open the 2021 season. Also remember Sox fans collectively holding their breath fearing Tony would claim Pujols, after the 41 year old Pujols was DFA’d by the Angels a few weeks later, because BFF cronyism. Good times.

While I agree the GM is responsible for the roster, can you point to specifics attributes Tony is responsible for to make him a league average or a good / solid manager? I believe a large number of people, be it fans or those around the game, feel Tony is not putting the players in the best position to win, that the team is playing sloppy uninspired baseball and has not improved fundamentally or with their approach beyond a few exceptions. I also believe many feel the team is playing tight and without joy, consistent with the atmosphere Tony creates. Tony does not allow the players to get into a routine or rhythm with his daily tweaking of the lineup, and his decision making is dominated by handedness over effectiveness, until Hahn takes his "toys away". His attitude toward the media and fan base is arrogant and detracts from the entertainment fans should be having about this team. His staff is largely made up of cronies. The Lucas Giolito recruited Ethan Katz is the exception, the only coach who has shown demonstrable success the past two seasons in improving key players on this team. Catching has regressed under Narron. Defensive positioning and other statistical decisions has regressed under Duncan's son. Not sure what Miguel Cairo is tasked with / allowed to do. He accepted the other left-overs, outside of preparing Vaughn to attempt to play the OF, can't see anything else they are contributing to the team.

Players acquired by Rick Hahn this decade earning over 2.0 bWAR (over 1.0 bWAR for RPs) per year (ML pro-rated) with the White Sox. Calendar Year; * = Resigned after initial acquisition via extension or free agent without separation. (White Sox Seasons) Marco Paddy - International Signing (9.4 Player Seasons): Jose Abreu (7.7) 2013 * & Luis Robert (1.7) 2017. Doug Laumann - Amateur Draft (5.7 Player Seasons): Tim Anderson (5.7) 2013. Rick Hahn - Trades (4.8 Player; 1.4 Starter & 3.7 Relief Pitcher Seasons): Adam Eaton (3.0) 2013; Tommy Kahnle (1.4) 2015; Todd Frazier (1.4) 2015; Joakim Soria (0.6) 2018; Alex Colome (1.4) 2018; Lance Lynn (1.4) 2020 *; Ryan Tepera (0.3) 2021; Reese McGuire (0.4) 2022 Rick Hahn - Free Agents (3.1 Player, 2.2 Starter & 5.0 Relief Pitcher Seasons): David Robertson (2.6) 2014; Miguel Gonzalez (1.8) 2016; Anthony Swarzak (0.6) 2017; James McCann (1.4) 2018; Yasmani Grandal (1.7) 2019; Liam Hendriks (1.4) 2021; Kendell Graveman (0.4) 2021; Johnny Cueto (0.4) 2022 Rick Hahn - Tanking Trades (4.7 Player & 7.1 Starter Seasons): Michael Kopech (2.4) 2016; Yoan Moncada (4.7) 2016; Lucas Giolito (4.7) 2016. Pro-rated Per Year Total: 3.2 Player, 1.2 Starter & 1.0 Reliever seasons per year of average plus White Sox ballplayers (5.4 of a 25/26 man roster).

Lynn wasn't back yet. If you are counting on Cueto, Velasquez and Martin as three of your six available SP options, also knowing you are limiting Kopech's innings this season, it's a thin plan at this point if you are attempting to win "multiple championships". On this Board, I said to keep him until June or July, just don't keep him in the rotation unless you are once again down to 4 other SP options, it wasn't hindsight. You're going to have to eat a few games a month down big, and those are the games you use Keuchel 3-5 innings, and not care about what it does to his stats. Saving your bullpen is very important, especially this season with the limited Spring Training, and starters not working deep into games. https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/06/05/umpires-dont-allow-dodgers-to-use-position-player-as-pitcher White Sox Starting Pitcher Innings Length (58 games): 0 - 2/3 IP (1 Game): Kopech (1) 1 - 1 2/3 IP (1 Game): Keuchel (1) 2 - 2 2/3 IP (2 Games): Keuchel (1); Lopez (1) 3 - 3 2/3 IP (5 Games): Cease (1); Kopech (1); Lambert (2); Velasquez (1) 4 - 4 2/3 IP (12 Games): Cease (3); Giolito (3); Keuchel (2); Kopech (2); Velasquez (2) 5 - 5 2/3 IP (20 Games): Cease (5); Giolito (3); Martin (2); Keuchel (3); Kopech (3); Velasquez (4) 6 - 6 2/3 IP (13 Games): Cease (1); Cueto (5); Giolito (3); Keuchel (1); Kopech (3) 7 - 7 2/3 IP (4 Games): Cease (2); Giolito (1); Kopech (1)

No, they didn't play well and were out of starting pitching and gas with the limited depth Hahn had going into the season. Part of it was the fact the FO and most fans didn't expect the Sox to compete for the Division in 2020, they were a year away. The sixty game schedule was the primary factor they were "in it" with their limited roster. Quitting is not giving their all, half assing it to first base, lazy throws and fielding. What Tony's team does on a regular basis, not to mention regression in fundamentals and baseball intelligence under Tony's watch. 2020 - 17th in payroll, bumped to 15th to 7th for Tony, and the team has played worse as the payroll has increased (.583 under Ricky, .574 and .466 under Tony). Not to mention Ricky was saddled with a smaller hand-me-down staff, including Don Cooper vs. Ethan Katz. If Tony was stuck with Don Cooper, they may be at or under .500 (2021-2022), since Katz was responsible for fixing both Cease and Rodon, in addition to fixing Lucas during Katz' offseasons in San Francisco. Don Cooper's primary accomplishment the final decade with the Sox was serving as Kenny's snitch in the dugout, including undermining Ozzie Guillen. This, or if Hahn actually had an actual third starter on the team available. or if Keuchel didn't shit the bed Amber Heard Style in Game 2. The Sox were completely AWOL in Games 1 and 4 of the 2021 ALDS. Tony's primary concern was bean ball / unwritten rules with the team down 10-1 and facing elimination. Whereas they battled back in Games 2 and 3 in Oakland, despite having 5 innings from their "starters" Keuchel, Dunning and Crochet.

Yes, they are short handed as it is. You can't afford going into games with 23-24 healthy players on a regular basis, losing an additional 4 (SPs not starting) and a few bullpen guys used up the past few games. You need to have at least six bullpen guys every game available when you are going 12 hitters, 5 starters and 9 relievers for your active roster. Also know this is an unlikely unpopular statement, but I would have kept Keuchel until he was the seventh available SP, for long relief outings. Once you had Giolito, Lynn, Cease, Kopech, Cueto and Velazquez or Davis healthy and available (the sixth in Charlotte), which has never happened yet, then you had the luxury of cutting Keuchel. June 1-12 - 12 Days, 11 Games / 55 1/3 IP: Six Appearances: Matt Foster (3 2/3 IP, 12.27 ERA). Five Appearances: Kendell Graveman (5 IP, 1.80 ERA); Jose Ruiz (5 IP, 7.20 ERA); Bennett Sousa (4 1/3 IP, 18.69 ERA); Reynaldo Lopez (4 1/3 IP, 8.31 ERA). Four Appearances: Kyle Crick (6 1/3 IP, 1.42 ERA); Liam Hendriks (4 IP, 0.00 ERA); Aaron Bummer (3 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA). Three Appearances: Tanner Banks (4 IP, 0.00 ERA). Two Appearances: Jimmy Lambert (3 IP, 0.00 ERA); Parker Markel (2 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA). One Appearance: Davis Martin (5 IP, 3.60 ERA); Johnny Cueto (5 IP; 5.40 ERA).

It's fine for players to think that way, but it is not fine for a FO or manager to think that way. Too bad Jerry and the people he hires from Hawk to Kenny to Ozzie to Tony rely on their Gut, and "TWTW" analytics.