South Side Hit Men

Yes, he went 1-4 on April 30th. April 20th was the next most recent hit, also 1-4.

Surprised he swung the bat. O for May entering May 12th.

Vaughn makes great play, Tony takes him out. Swapping out for Mendick would make more sense, if this was even necessary, which it isn’t, especially with the big lead.

It more a product of facing poor pitchers and just standing there not swinging the past few games. His best at bat this month was the sac fly last night.

Yes, Mercedes needs to return to the five hole.

Forgetting Evan Marshall

I don't expect Jose to duplicate last year (162 RBI pace), but he should hit his normal 30/100 numbers. Hoping Yoan can bump up the power during the year and approach his 25 HRs in 2019. Vaughn still young, but his doubles will start turning to HRs over the next few years. Robert and Eloy still very young, their power will only grow over time as well.

I did that for three decades with Hawk. Len isn't the problem.

Please no pinch running Hamilton move.

Sadly, the Sox will likely get screwed by the East Coast voters. Carlos Rodon was for April Pitcher of the month, even though he wasn't formally awarded the title. A Sox pitcher will need to be light years ahead of everyone else to get the award.

Mendick making it look easy out there.

No, he is the GOAT. Don’t point out what’s happening, you’ll be classified as a “hater”. Hope Hahn gives him another four years, perhaps $25m a year, he’s clearly worth it.

Nice hit Mercedes.

“Haters”, or people who actually know the game. Apparently the best GM in the game is a “buffoon” for sitting his ass in the postseason, as is Steve Stone and others who have pointed out his clear weaknesses.

Your hyperbole and misrepresentation of my post trolling for likes is absurd. Where did I say Grandal is “so bad”? I gave my reasons for why Collins is a better fit with Lucas (he has never clicked with Grandal) and Rodon (Collins is better at handling his slider, Rodon can be comfortable throwing it vs. worrying about Grandal ole’ing it.

I just don’t see a scenario Jerry eats such a large contract, especially this early in the season. Assuming perhaps a few to several more million may be available this season, I’d rather muddle through at this point with the current OF options, and save the cash for July. You never know what will happen with pitching, and this year is especially challenging due to the ramp up from 60 to 162 games, plus perhaps up to 20 + more if the Sox have a successful postseason run.

Agree with most of this. Had no problem with Mazara gamble when they had no more money, but preferred Nick Castellanos due to his age and positional need over another old DH and Mazara. Successful low budget signings (and young player in house contracts) are the key. I liked the Rodon signing, and thought Lynn made sense due to his contract. Kenny did far more with far less $ in 2005 due to several savvy signings spread out over many players. I also argued this off-season it made no sense to pursue Bauer or Springer, or before I joined here Machado, unless JR was committed to permanently increasing payroll by the same amount, because it makes even less sense in terms of roster construction and percentage of payroll tied up for a couple of guys. The Sox are already greatly constrained spending over 40% of current payroll on three older guys (Keuchel, Grandal and Hendriks). They need to pivot to committing future payroll to their young outstanding core, when their deals expire.

Sox’ Pythagorean record is 21-10 vs. their actual record of 18-13. Still early, but hoping Tony improves so that he doesn’t become a hinderance to the team’s performance.

For catchers, their matchup with pitchers is important, more so than say platoon advantage / hitting concerns for 1 of 9 in the lineup. Still a small sample, but Lucas and Rodon appear more comfortable pitching to Collins (Lucas game calling - split with McCann even more pronounced & Collins’ ability to handle Rodon’s ability slider); whereas it appears the other three pitchers can do Ok with Grandal. Pitcher ERA by catcher: Lucas: Collins 3.38 vs. Grandal 5.85. Rodon: Collins 0.43 vs. Grandal 0.90. Keuchel: Grandal caught every game. Lynn: Collins 0.00 vs. Grandal 1.80. Cease: Grandal 2.14 vs. Collins 2.89. Lucas didn’t mesh well with Grandal last year either, with McCann 2.61 and Grandal 5.66.

Perhaps, but their splits against RHP and LHP are a real phenomenon. Stats through 5/7/21: White Sox Hitters Against LHP: 301/.370/.457 OPS .826 sOPS + 133. White Six Hitters Against RHP: .242/.330/.369 OPS .699 sOPS + 102 2020-2021 Splits against starters: LH SP: 19-1 RH SP: 33-37

If he starts swinging the bat more, and better his BABIP will improve. The Sox are in second in MLB in BABIP (.318, league average in the mid .280s) , so there may be some regression on the way for others. https://www.mlb.com/stats/team/babip?expanded=true

Sounded like a planned outing, regardless of the score. He pitched in the bullpen after his appearance, DJ was discussing working on the slider. He is likely to start one of the doubleheader games this Friday.

Game was somewhat "boring" after the Top of the First, though it was good to see solid performances from the staff, and Mendick playing RF which will hopefully stabilize his place on the team and give him more ways to contribute. I'll hope to keep the win streak going tomorrow with the Sunday Game Thread. Go Sox!!!

Fans will get giddy in games like these against LHP, and get depressed watching all the 0s accumulate vs. RHP. Still early, but the team splits are similar to last year. Against LHP, the White Sox resemble 2021 Luis Robert (Team Splits: .301/.370/.457 OPS .826 sOPS + 133). Against RHP, the White Sox resemble 2020 Yoan Moncada (Team Splits: .242/.330/.369 OPS .699 sOPS + 102). 2020-2021 Splits against starters: LH SP: 19-1 RH SP: 33-37