Autumn Dreamin

...What?

I would argue that shifting the discussion from "what are the merits of Taylor opening games" to "should this organization be given the benefit of the doubt" is the actual moving of goalposts... My view is: There are valid reasons to try it even if it's technically less "optimal" for the win total, because I think a team in the Sox' position should be optimizing for things other than a few extra wins this season regardless There is a possibility that it's not actually meaningfully detrimental to the win total anyway, given the larger roster context The marginal value of leverage spots increases based on how projectable those opportunities are. If the Sox were a competing team who could expect to be in most games behind a rotation of guys who reliably went 5-6 innings then the calculus would be different. But none of my reasoning is based around "give the team the benefit of the doubt" nor have I said it's some guaranteed miracle strategy. I just think it's fascinating and worth discussing deeper. Feels like a shame for the discussion of what is a legitimately interesting (to me, at least) experiment to get strawmanned into the same old "why are people defending the organization" box, but I suppose that's nothing new here. The larger conversation is probably best left for a non-gamethread anyway, so I'll just leave it there.

But regardless of what you think the chances are of it happening, is it a waste to use Taylor in a game that another pitcher subsequently loses? What if using Taylor as an opener reduces the chances of your starter getting bombed? And what if that in turn reduces strain on the remaining pen arms in a way that improves their performance? A scoreless first inning in a game is worth ~5% win probability for the home team. A scoreless 7th with a one run lead is worth ~9%. So sure, the latter leverage inning is "better" in a vacuum... But the first situation is guaranteed and the second is not. The first also comes against a known set of batters, while the second does not. The impact of the extra WPA from the later leverage situation becomes more marginal the less reliably you are able to get to it. So how likely are the Sox to be in late innings with a lead, and does opening with Taylor improve those odds? How much more valuable is going from 69% to 78% win probability once in a series compared to going from 50% to 55% twice in a series? I think those are interesting questions to consider for this particular roster at this particular time, so I kind of dig the experiment. I already gave most of my thoughts on this in the other thread, but think it's at least feasible that Taylor as opener both 1. decreases the odds of your starter getting lit up and 2. simplifies later bullpen deployment, both in ways that are potentially more impactful to winning than waiting for the team to already be in a late lead situation to begin with. Also, if they want to increase his workload, he'll be pitching some "waste" innings either way. This isn't exactly a team with 70+ save opportunities up for grabs right now. Having him open a game certainly seems like less of a "waste" than him coming in down 4 because "he just needs work" while team is in a skid.

Yep. Like I said, the same complaints exist for most MLB attempts at kanji merch. MLB should have an interest in correcting it given their clear desire to expand global reach, but they have also just been poor overall at holding Fanatics to quality/consistency standards in any number of ways in recent years. These are about Imai's HOU City Connect: It's a recurring issue that's not in the hands of Sox staff. Or, you know, maybe it's just Getz personally cutting out all the characters poorly league-wide I guess.

I don't get how this is different from basically any usage of any reliever? Was it a "waste" for him to pitch the 7th in MIL because the team gave up the lead in the 8th and lost? Is it poor non-usage to save him for higher leverage and then have a different reliever put the game out of reach? If you're judging "good usage" of an arm by the unknowable results of future innings, then the start of the 9th or extras with a lead are the only situations that don't rely on hindsight. Otherwise, "What if he pitches well but then you lose the game?" is just baseball.

This is not Sox-specific, the same complaints exist for most MLB kanji merch. The default fonts used here for kanji just don't read as well to native Japanese fans (but of course, they sell to Americans who can't judge fonts in a language they don't read)

Unexpected DH after a rainout yesterday

Jays fans starting to clamor for an Eloy call up to help their offense He's hitting well in AAA

Zavala and Gonzalez restoring some prospect shine with good starts so far.

I like when Sox "first time since..." trivia is positive rather than negative

Ishbia is at the Bulls game again. Both Ishbias actually, since it's the Suns in town. Also was hanging with fans at the Rate:

Don't look now, but your Sox are 1 game out of first in the Central

The Pope's team with the holy trinity for Easter weekend! Took 100 games to get a sweep last season lol 1.93 ERA/1.00 WHIP for the series with 22 Ks against just 9 walks

Yeah they are made to order with a lead time I think

He's been pretty good for a while, but gets the Reylo treatment where the reputational damage from a few particularly bad showings disproportionately colors fans' perception.

https://www.sportsworldchicago.com/munetaka-murakami-chicago-white-sox-road-limited-jersey-by-nike/

Dominguez and Newcomb too I would think

Great job by Dart, especially given the limited pen availability today

He's got plus zone contact rates and max EVs to pair with the foot and bat speed. I think he's a small tweak and a hot streak away from surprising people.

You're never getting Acuna at home there, but thanks for throwing through

Guys too hesitant to challenge today

Good time for the Sox to put up a crooked number in my opinion

Impressive take on ball 3 by Mune there