CaliSoxFanViaSWside

It isn't . If I he's talking about that pitch in the zone where the catcher had to move his glove from low and away to up and in. Framing has nothing to do with a pitch like that. Framing usually only applies to when a pitch ends up close to where you wanted it to be. If a pitcher completely misses his spot framing has nothing to do with the call since he has to move his glove so far so fast and its impossible to frame a pitch like that .

I guess we can't take bumslaying for granted. After today Cease will have better FIP than Giolito and maybe ERA too.

I understand that but I was responding to this. "I thought the Sox are pretty rigid about not rushing people back from major injuries. If they are playing it means they are ready to go full out." Now I don't know if he meant the White Sox or the fact that they are playing in Charlotte therefore they should be "ready to go full out." That comment also ignores the Engel situation where once he got back he also got reinjured and still isn't really going "full out" based upon the Sox not playing him in back to back games either. I know that could be part of a platoon situation since he is the weak side of the platoon and they never face lefties in back to back games. Also once Robert gets back would you expect him to go "full out" and resume playing every day ?

Exactly. Engel injury setbacks numerous times. Eloy strains a groin. Robert yet to play back to back games in the OF during his rehab stint. Is he just supposed to come up and start playing back to back games in CF when he hasn't done it yet in the rehab time. If they are playing and ready to go full out why was Engel hurt over and over, why did Eloy get the groin strain, why hasn't Robert played back to back games in the OF yet ? Why was Engel once he finally was deemed healthy not playing 2 consecutive games in a while ? No one who has spent any significant time injured has yet to return and go full out. That's just ignorant and lazy thinking they could when there is all kinds of evidence to the contrary.

This is true . He's not even playing back to back games in CF yet . We will see tonight. However any idiot knows you don't have to run as much in RF compared to CF. Common sense should tell anyone that there would be less strain then on his legs playing RF. Plus he has a stronger arm than Engel and RF is more suited to a strong arm. Since his 20 days is up soon I would like to see him in the OF but not always CF in order to be sure that he continues not to be rushed while giving him rest or DH appearances less frequently since there are already more than enough DH candidates on the team.

Robert started in CF last night so we will see if he is at DH today. When they are ready to play him in back to back games in the OF I'd like to see 1 in CF and the next one in RF.

It's been said many times over the past month or 2. I've noticed it and the post I responded to by @wegner has also.

I was being sarcastic. I don't need BABIP to tell me hitting .500 is unsustainable or .400 or even .300 for most players.

This year Cease is very close to Giolito in ERA, FIP and XFIP. HIs FIP is 3.45 so far. Last year it was 6.46 and in 2019 it was 5.19 . So as far as saying haven't we seen this movie before , no we haven't . I doubt he has been among the league leaders in swings and misses at all in his career nor among the top 20 in pitcher WAR. He is also 6th, tied with Rodon and Gausman in K's in MLB. You seem like one of those guys who never quite gets that young players can mature and develop. Cease is still only 25. Young hitters and players always have a development curve so while the "he is who I thought he was" narrative will work with some youngsters and you can pound your chest about it for Mazara, it isn't always that way. Considering the majority of our schedule is against bums most of the starting pitchers have been bumslayers, probably Cease more than the others. But he wasn't even slaying bums in the past. You have to walk before you can run. Keuchel has probably pitched best against good teams but has sucked against bad teams but over all is easily the worst pitcher on the Sox. But you can do the research on FanGraphs by just perusing the game logs.

I never knew 21-42 was unsustainable due to high BABIP. I thought .500 batting averages were always sustainable.

We just prefer not to.

I've been saying for a month or more that there will be at least a 4 man rotation and there is always a chance that there would be a need for the fifth guy too and yes Kopech may not be able to start a game . He isn't close now. That was just some peoples fantasy rotation should Rodon go down or the replacement of Cease . Just because Kopech has been good in short bursts does not mean he would automatically be a better starter than Cease. Cease is still on his development path and while we hope Kopech's path is shorter, most starting pitcher's take around 90 starts before you start to get comfortable according to John Smoltz. The odds of Kopech starting and becoming a better starter than Cease are slim in the near future. Predicting the future personnel based on present personnel is probably not a good idea.

I keep seeing people post about Cease not being in the rotation in the playoff , but I'd like to see how he looks down the stretch. His stuff can be overpowering. His fastball was blazing tonight but, KC wasn't swinging at the slider . He kept it down and away and he got maybe one swing for a K on it but overall I think it just lacked depth. That knuckle curve, now that's an out pitch liked he showed in the 6th. He probably doesn't throw them much early on because he doesn't want to hang one and the fastball slider combo is smarter if you can get them to chase the slider which wasn't happening. I wonder if he has experimented with a cutter or sinker or change up.If he could throw the fastball consistently as sinkers and cutters at slightly less MPH like around 94/95 he'd throw off the timing of hitters even throwing it in the zone and he could be dominant without the high pitch count. He is so close to being the #1 starter on the staff.

A couple of our insiders have said he was somewhat of an oddball who didn't fit in inside the clubhouse. Maybe the Mr. 3000 t shirts were more than a humorous little jab at him

Oh you just inspired a great idea. You know how Jose won't wear the elbow guard like a lot of hitters because it feels uncomfortable to him. Then there are those air splints used for injuries and there is bubble wrap to protect stuff sent in packages. There should be some product kind of halfway between an air splint and bubble wrap that would work like one of those nyoprene knee braces. So for an elbow guard you have smaller pockets of air rather than bigger pockets so its more flexible and slide it up to your elbow like a brace. Basically a brace with air pockets like bubble wrap only stronger than bubble wrap on the part facing the pitcher Probably not as much protection as a solid hard plastic shield you strap onto the arm but for those looking for something more comfortable with better protection than just a nyoprene brace it could work. You could have wrists bands too. Do any new types of shoulder pads use any type of air cushioning ?

Sheet's swing looks a lot like Matt Olson's.

The A's are in a little less dire circumstance as the Rays. At least we beat out the Rays for Kimbrel. I have no idea if the Sox showed much interest in Marte or Yan Gomes who went to the A's but those are a couple of guys the Sox could've used for the rest of the year .

LOL yea it's probably somewhere in the very same thread we are posting in . ?

While they try to win all games the lineups still will be much different than it will be for the playoffs. Robert probably won't be playing full time for most of those games and neither will Grandal . Eloy you just never know. Also the Sox may give more spot starts to Kopech, Reylo or Lambert in the continuing quest to keep the starting pitching arms fresh.

When is Robert's 20 days up ? Just going by how much he is playing the OF in Charlotte they are really taking their time with him. It's basically play DH, play CF then day of rest so he has only been playing OF 1 of every 3 games. Is it possible that he can play longer in Charlotte or do we see the same kind of usage once he returns for another week or longer ? The division lead means the Sox can afford to slow play him so I don't want to see a bunch of "why isn't Robert in CF today". I'd be more than happy to see him play RF and DH upon his return and stick Engel in CF until you are sure he can play CF 4 or 5 times a week.

Not only the young guys but Tim is also a headache for projection models. He always has been. The models never quite understand why he keeps doing well.

I wrote a thread about a month ago asking if we would ever get to see a season where we get Eloy and Robert at their best in the same season because they are both so frequently injured. I should have included Moncada and perhaps Vaughn too. If we envision them all playing 150 games in the same season and all of them being able to reach their vast potential in the same season try imagining that lineup . Eloy .300 40+ Hr's, Robert .300 35+ Hr's , Moncada .300 25 + bombs and Vaughn .300 25+ HR's. That's the season I am hoping to see. Maybe next year now that the Sox resigned Lynn.

Yes Marte over Goodwin or Engel X100 . Assuming Tim is going to bat lead off practically all the time I don't want to spend too much time envisioning where Marte would've been put in the lineup. He probably would be a better leadoff hitter then Timmy but then where does Tim bat ? Marte went 3/4 with a walk and 3 stolen bases yesterday.In a loaded lineup assuming everyone is healthy Marte, Moncada,Eloy, Abreu, Vaughn, Robert, Timmy, Grandal, Hernandez or any variation .

Well my 1st choice was Gallo because of HR's and defense and the extra year but Marte is still a very good player and very good player improve the team and I am all for improving the team in any manner available. In the off season, when assessing what you need, a more consistent read on our guys helps knowing who to pursue. But in a short season like after the deadline I would have preferred the power guy who plays good defense over the more consistent hitter who plays good defense but low power guy because the team wasn't showing much power. I didn't want to have to expect Eloy, Robert and Grandal all to be 100% their usual powerful selves to deliver bombs.

But Engel is . There is no such thing as having a perfect situation. Vaughn isn't the end all, be all of OF defense either. He is passable, but he's going to be a starter in the playoffs because of his improved bat. The thing you want to avoid is having 2 less than ideal defenders in the corners . Goodwin, as well as he has been hitting, probably shouldn't be getting more playing time than Engel despite being the strong side of the platoon. As soon as Engel is deemed fit enough to play 70% of the time, perhaps after Robert returns, we will see him more.