South Side Hit Men

Can’t see Jerry firing La Russa, even if Tony presided over an epic collapse and a Cleveland AL Central title. Even if he did, he would just regret it and hire him back as “the best candidate” in 2023 or 2024.

How dumb was that play, La Russa!

Put Tim back on the 10 day, perhaps he’ll clear both heads.

- Earl Weaver

So Jonesing AJ Hinch in a White Sox uniform.

So 19th century, especially in the 6th.

Tony will care about getting him a win and will likely pull him if Yoan scores. Otherwise, he’ll go back to rest the bullpen. Playing every game like “World Series Game 7” has been lip service the past three months.

Fear the “veteran” and “platoon” approach in RF biting the team in the ass. OK with Leury if Engel can’t go.

Is Engel able to play consecutive games at this point, or is this a pipe dream for the playoffs?

Big Six bats activated.

Both teams are appreciative, want to GTFO of there.

I’ll settle for 10 runs today from the “Big Six.”

Good news on the Sox pregame show, Chris Bassitt is targeted to start Thursday. Glad to see such a quick recovery after that tragic play.

I was at the 2005 clincher, also a day game in Detroit. It was glorious.

Well they have said Engel was healthy before, and he played sporadically when he was able to stay on the ML roster. They also said Vaughn needed a couple days rest and then whammo, he hits the IL. I wouldn't count on either being able to start everyday in the playoffs, and Tony will likely go with his preferred veterans like Leury, Goodwin, Hernandez even if they were at full strength.

You need to count minor league innings as well, both are within 36 innings of their 2019. That said, most teams will have pitchers, especially younger pitchers or veterans with prior year injuries (or in Kimbrel and Keuchel's case, 2019 FA collusion lockouts), hitting a wall. Rodon and Cease's bumps are much higher over a three year span. Garcia 144.1, 12.1 & 108.2 Valdez 130.0, 70.2 & 115.0

Their win against the RH starter Keegan Thompson was most impressive of the three. Opponent / Starter 8/27 vs. Cubs (RHP Keegan Thompson) 9/14 vs. Los Angeles (LHP Packy Naughton) 9/17 @ Texas (LHP Taylor Hearn) ??? 9/21 @ Detroit (LHP Tyler Alexander)

Tony going all in for a win today, doesn't want to get swept in Detroit by a superior manager with a much weaker roster.

Here is the correct answer.

I've seen Tony awake three times this season. 5/17 Yelled at Yermin Mercedes for allegedly ignoring him, banned for life (his or Tony's) on July 2, 2021. 7/30 Ran out to shove Roberto Perez after Jose Abreu was unintentionally hit by James Karinchak on July 30, 2021. La Russa's planned retaliation pending this weekend. 8/23 Yelled at Seby Zavala for allegedly ignoring him, Seby banned for life (his or Tony's) on September 13, 2021.

Howard "Smithers" Pizer knows.

Time will tell how much, if at all, Engel and Vaughn are able to play. Could see Leury at 2B or RF, rather have Leury Hernandez vs. Leury Goodwin in the lineup. Perhaps Sheets sees a start or two in RF. Greinke has been god-awful since his return from COVID, so perhaps the Sox will catch a break there.

No change of control = no change in ownership. Whether it is a precursor to something substantial is not known.

They managed his workload well, but to do so he shifted from multi inning / spot start outings to mostly 1 inning outings. April - May: 9 Appearances 2-5 innings 5 Appearances under 2 innings July - September: 4 Appearances 2-2 1/3 innings 22 Appearances 1/3- 1 1/3 innings The Sox never publicly disclosed Kopech’s innings target this season. Perhaps he can pitch 1-2 + innings in the playoffs. He’ll need to expand from his reliever arsenal of fastball slider when he transitions to a starter role. Cease also hasn’t seen a dramatic drop off in performance. Hopefully the Sox will be able to trust him to take the mound in October, something they weren’t willing to do last year.

Yes, I posted in June and July I posted the hope the Sox would consider a 6 man rotation for 4-6 + weeks, and then transition back sometime after Labor Day to allow pitchers to return to regular rest for the playoffs. They picked spots for guys when needed, but having 1-2 Lopez and a trade deadline pickup or second callup would have helped manage the innings, and possibly could have held off Rodon's recent drastic decline. Also wanted a set up guy and a multi inning guy picked up at the deadline. Cheap in terms of cost (trade and salary), but the Sox went all in on Kimbrel, who may bounce back next season but is likely running out of gas at this point. Thought the Kimbrel trade would have made more sense if it freed Kopech to stretch out more for this year and beyond, but that didn't happen. Heuer is a really good pick up for your team, and can pitch high leverage innings if ownership wants to contend over the next few years. Madrigal is another good cost controlled piece, his ability to stay healthy the main concern. He should do well in the NL.