South Side Hit Men

Sox have run themselves out of many innings this year, not even counting the bunting obsession. 3 hits, 0 runs. That’s on Tony.

So fucking sick of this small ball bull shit. We are in the 21st century, not the 19th century. Too bad our manager isn’t.

More small ball Tony on display.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? One of the few things in life more upsetting to Tony than Yermin hitting home runs is losing to Dusty Baker. Expect the White Sox to go all out for a win tonight, including side trips to purchase Spider Tack, binoculars, Apple watches and garbage cans. Altuve, he’s a dead man. Maldonado, dead. Kiermaier….Dead! Go Sox!!!

Toro is hitting better than Bregman would tonight. Disgusting. Foster is going to AAA before Yermin, though both may before the month ends. That said, Roll Damn Tide!

Cease career splits: vs. teams > = .500: .861 OPS, 1.58 K/W, 125 OPS + (doesn't include today) vs. teams < .500: .706 OPS, 2.73 K/W, 84 OPS + OPS Allowed Good Teams (2 + Starts): Anaheim .953, Chicago .923, Cleveland .888, Minnesota 1.057 (WTF), NY Yankees .798 OPS Allowed Bad Teams (2 + Starts): Detroit .666, Kansas City .693, Texas .653, Cincinnati .353

No, marginal decrease in spin rate tonight. His success was due to killing the bad teams. It's a reason the Sox choose not to use him in Game 3 last year. Nice to see the Sox are getting to Urquidy the third go around, gives them confidence for tomorrow and you never know if they add one or two more here.

I’m hoping Jose and Tim take the rest of the evening off. Perhaps Yermin pitches in the 8th.

SoxTalk is going to get really angry if Crochet gets his work in tonight.

I’m not you’re Pal, buddy.

Here are Exhibits B and C for those on the fence.

You’re not my boo, pal. Back to the game, Eloy would have gotten hurt on that latest play, and not have caught it.

I guarantee you Jerry wouldn't give cable subscribers a 102 /162 refund on fees paid for CSN on their cable bills because owners locked out the players last season. Can also guarantee you won't be getting 50% of your CSN fees refunded this year for the non-professional road broadcasts being offered by Jerry's RSN/CSN, nor will Ricketts or any of these other "stewards of the game".

Not at the game, in the NBC studios. Owners saving money. #GoFundMeJerryReinsdorf

His suspension is up, he served his remaining 32 games to start the 2021 season.

Sox need to take more pitches, get to the Astros bullpen today and throughout the series. That is their weakness, beyond their closer.

You're right, I missed him since he only pitched 4 games this year. Not sure if he will go in the postseason in a White Sox series, especially if Robert and Jimenez are both back, and Abreu, Anderson and Vaughn mashing. Oakland was fortunate they started their lefty in the game they would likely lose anyway based on Lucas' domination, they would have lost the series if he started in Games 2 or 3, even though the Sox didn't have a solid starter beyond Giolito.

They have an innings limit, we don’t know it but this is a perfect opportunity for the team to manage it and insure he is available when games matter. With Crochet now being stretched out to cover two innings, I’m more than pleased at the way the team has managed Kopech and Crochet. They are not sacrificing their development game plan for immediate in game needs. I expect Crochet to pitch tonight, as he has been pitching every third day as of late. Some criticize bringing him in when they “don’t need him” (with a large lead or down), but I agree with keeping the set schedule and keeping the controlled development on schedule.

I’d like to see a replay of the play he was injured, with his crazy base-running during the first game of the DH against Detroit on April 29. Darrin Jackson didn’t know what the hell Eaton was trying to do on the play, with his crazy run and stop move which jammed his ankles. Eaton can contribute in a platoon role if he gets healthy hopefully rest until July / the ASB will get him at least close to back to where he was to start the season. Still don’t think he’ll remain healthy through year end, but get what you can out of him and try to get him to not do crazy stuff on the bases or field. His injury history is one of the reasons people were against the signing, though some here countered they were “fluke” type injuries.

I consider the Astros smart for having no lefties in their rotation, preparing for an inevitable post season matchup. Wondering if there will be any beanball incidents this series, considering Dusty and Tony’s acrimonious relationship over the decades.

Tony La Russa believes in bunting, 1st in the AL with 15 sacrifice hits. Tony La Russa eschews employing a defensive shift (29th in baseball, 2nd to last ahead of Colorado) or pinch hitting (22 total this season, 2nd to last ahead of Detroit’s 19). I’m fine with catchers DHing, especially with Yermin on the roster. However, the priority must remain pairing the best catcher with the starter’s preference (Collins with Rodon and Giolito). While the numbers may make sense to DH Abreu and play Grandal at 1B when Collins catches vs. RHP, I can’t see Tony messing with Abreu in any way. Jose doesn’t even want to take an inning off on a blowout, let alone an entire game, and Tony has to beg him to DH instead of play first, even when he is banged up. Jose worked/works very hard on his defense, and it paid off, so I would be leery in messing with what is working for the player and team.

Was surprised with 2005 having only one acquisition. Blum wasn't valuable in season, but that changed in Houston. Herbert Perry was the most successful within the year acquired, and 2000was by far the most successful, though 2004 was the most successful long term. Hopefully, not all of the money has been spent with full capacity in place. Sox In Season Free Agents / Waiver Claims/ Trade Acquisitions by the White Sox during competitive (.500 +) seasons (bWAR noted in parentheses). 2021: B. Goodwin 2020: J. Dyson (-0.1) & Y. Sanchez (0.3). 2012: O. Hudson (0.3), F. Liriano (0.2), J. Lopez (0.1), B. Myers (0.8), D. Wise (0.1) & K. Youkilis (1.4). 2010: E. Jackson (1.9) & M. Ramirez (0.2). 2008: K. Griffey Jr. (0.4), E. Loaiza (0.0) & H. Ramirez (-0.3). 2006: S. Alomar (0.0), M. MacDougal (1.4), J. Nelson (0.1), D. Riske (0.6). 2005: G. Blum (-0.7). 2004: R. Alomar (-0.8), W. Contreras (0.3), B. Davis (0.0); C. Everett (0.1); F. Garcia (1.6), W. Valdez (0.3). 2003: R. Alomar (0.1), C. Everett (2.0), J. Paniagua (-0.1), S. Schoeneweis (0.0), S. Sullivan (0.3). 2001: J. Canseco (0.8), A. Embree (0.0), B. Pulsipher (-0.3). 2000: H. Baines (-0.3), T. Graffanino (1.0), K. Hill (-0.4), C. Johnson (2.0), H. Perry (3.0).

And who is a better near everyday option at this point? Vaughn is behind where Eloy and Luis were at the same age against RHP, but so is just about every other 23 year old in MLB. Andrew is far ahead of Eloy defensively, despite zero experience until after the calendar switched to Spring, and is a solid asset. Engel needs to cover CF until Robert returns, and they are patching the RF hole with Goodwin, Lamb and Eaton, with Garcia covering a slot nearly every day.

I was very tired so went to bed after the 5th inning. Sad I missed the exciting ending live, but enjoyed the condensed game. Nice to see Collins continue to do well both behind the plate guiding Rodon and Lucas, and at the plate moving his OPS to just under .700 after a poor May (.938 in June). Garcia's pick at third in the fifth was excellent as well. On to Houston, should be another fun series to watch. I have a hunch Tim is going to earn some pasta this weekend, ending a long drought (1 since May 13), despite not having the best numbers there (.522 OPS, 1 HR 52 ABs).

Vaughn sucks, DFA him or send him down.