Dick Allen

If the White Sox were 5-7 right now but averaging 5 runs a game, would those of you so concerned be a lot happier?

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 18, 2016 -> 09:44 AM) Where did I say that I think the team OBP will be what it is now, at the end of the season? My point is that we have been virtually last in OBP for quite a while now. Do you seriously want to argue that On Base % is not a big issue for this team? You would be in disagreement with most baseball analysts, who seem to ascribe a very high value to this statistic. But then, since I made the assertion, I should have expected that you would completely disagree. That's fine. We don't have to agree. However, please don't misrepresent what I write. Again, I didn't say that I thought the Sox would end up with an OBP of .278. What I did say is that their relatively poor on base percentage is a concern. I has been a concern. It is currently a concern, and I contend that it's a concern going forward. Do you agree with that? The team is 8-4. It isn't 2015. It will be if they lose their next 10 games. Keep that in mind. You must have been very disappointed in the 2005 WS. Blew a lead in game 1. Had to come back in games 2 and 3, and only scored 1 run in game 4. No blowouts. Not acceptable. THE WHITE SOX ARE CURRENTLY IN FIRST PLACE

QUOTE (SpringfieldFan @ Apr 18, 2016 -> 09:36 AM) 8-4 at at this point is great, no question. However, my fandom isn't just about looking at the standings with my cup of coffee every morning. I want to enjoy what I see on the field, and season after season after season of them hitting .230 the first month kind of dampens the experience. Fortunately the pitching has been a treat to watch. I don't know, maybe this will finally be the year the offense busts out before May or June. It would be nice, it would be mighty nice. SFF It would be nice if the game was 7-1, but when Hawk enthusiastically says this game is ova, it really doesn't matter to me if they won 15-0 or 2-1. A win is a win. Getting wins when you are not hitting has to be nothing but encouraging. There is no way they will keep hitting like this. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 18, 2016 -> 09:02 AM) The Sox team On Base Percentage is now .278. That is just a few points above Oakland and Tampa Bay, which is last in the League. Last year, the Sox were virtually tied for last in the League, with Minnesota. This is a trend which is not likely to be improved by the additions of Lawrie and Frazier, who own a collective, career OBP of .315. And some think that concerns over this constitute premature, irrational "panic". OK, we'll see. I hope the optimists are correct. They have the payroll flexibility to try to fix this, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone available. The most discouraging thing to me is that there isn't one guy in the Minors, who could offer any help. I'd be willing to part with Anderson, if the Sox could fix this glaring weakness. Who could they target in a trade, at this point? If you really think a .278 team OBP is going to be what it is, there isn't one player alive that could fix it to a point where it would be acceptable.

This isn't college football or college basketball where you need to blow teams out for higher rankings. Wins are all that matters. 8 of them so far. You want to compare everything to last year, 8-14 through 23 games last year. Even the poor Sox hitters are better than what they have shown. A good week and things will turn around. Last week, Melky sucked, shouldn't be hitting second. Ever. Now it is wondered why he isn't playing against a LHP, and another suggestion he should be batting 3rd. It is beyond early. There are a ton of guys around baseball not hitting. Is Russell Martin as bad as he has shown?

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 06:07 PM) Great point. But after 12 games last year, LaRoche was hitting .212 and he ended the year hitting.207. The Sox were 7-5 after 12 games last year and 8-4 now so that is progress. Ironically they won the next to go to 8-5. Now if we lose tomorrow night...................... Sox were 5-7 last season after 12. They won their 8th the 17th game of the season then lost 5 in a row to go to 8-14. So they can lose their next 10 and be right on last year's pace

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 01:49 PM) League has caught up to JA it seems this is just awful AB's. People were saying the same thing last season when after 9 games he was hitting .206.

Frazier is trying to drive in 5 runs every AB.

Matt Moore isn't exactly a bad pitcher.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 01:38 PM) At least Adam is playing hard and not messed up from the LaRoche ordeal like I thought he might have been It is interesting that the 2 players most fired up about that have both been stellar.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 12:34 PM) Lol - such a silly thing to say. No contributor to this thread has acted as if he or she is "miserable", outside of maybe you and Dick Allen, given comments like this one and the overreaction by Dick in his earlier comments. All that's going on in this thread is an acknowledgment by several astute posters of the fact that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. So while the sprint of the past two weeks has been awesome and very enjoyable, there is a legitimate concern about sustainability given this team's shortcomings on offense. You can be a very happy person and have this concern. LOL. You have admitted you can't determine if a season is exciting or not until it is over. And the only way for a season to be exciting is to win a WS. Hence your numerous 1 exciting season under JR ownership posts.The fact is, I see this team not hitting but still 8-3. It is a reason to be optimistic about the future. In basketball, when a team shoots 30 percent in a half and has the lead or is only behind a little bit, it is thought of as a good sign. I liken this start to that. Expecting impending doom is a miserable way to look at things.

Jose Danks on the mound. This season is ova.

QUOTE (Scoots @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 12:57 PM) Neither team is liking this umpire right now He is in a slump.He will get hot again,

There it is.

That is a break and about the 3rd or 4th hustle hit for Eaton this year.

Nice hustle but he is out

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 12:36 PM) I'd put Melky 3rd I could see that. Eaton Jackson Melky Abreu Frazier Lawrie Garcia Navarro Saladino It wasn't more than a week ago people were complaining Melky was batting second. Now why is he out of the line up vs. A LHP and he should be batting 3rd.

Melky and Rollins getting the day off today. Eaton in LF, Avi in RF, Sands DH, Navarro C.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 09:20 AM) I( am very happy w the 8-3. My biggest concern with this roster is the depth. If we get to June and need to add a SP or a left-handed bat, I am sure Hahn can find one. Not a #2-3 starter and not a stud lefty but acceptable upgrades. My bigger concern is a major injury. I am not convinced we have a ML ready player in Charlotte or on the bench that is blocked from playing because of talent. An injury to many of our starters would force Hahn to go out and trade/buy at a disadvantage. We saw the collision in Tampa Friday night and how easy it is to lose players. If, for example, one of our 3 outfielders gets hurt for a month, I think there is a major drop-off in talent. Same with 1st and 3rd. I hope we don't have to rely on a starter from Charlotte as well. I put all 5 in the same category as Danks. Hopefully Charlotte will develop a few players ready by late summer and maybe Fulmer blossoms, but let's hope we don't get any DL trips for a while. If one of Eaton, Abreu or Frazier go down, they most likely are screwed. Same with Sale, Q or Rodon. I just don't see any reason to panic offensively. One starter, Eaton, has an OPS greater than his career mark. Everyone else, including Melky, is below, many hundreds of points below. There is zero reason to think that will continue an entire season.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 08:36 AM) The offense is going to get better, but it still looks like it will be a problem. And even if the pitching staff doesn't regress, which is basically impossible, we're not going to stay this lucky. A winning record does not prevent you from acknowledging flaws with the team and if you're Rick Hahn you need to act on them as quickly as possible. Every team is flawed. Reading this board most of the team is flawed. They really would need a new roster, a new coaching staff, and a new manager. It is just not realistic to have the greatest pitching staff in baseball by far, the greatest offense in baseball by far, the greatest coaches, and the best manager all at the same time. That seems to be the requirement with some. Winning games hitting what they are hitting, to me is a positive. I don't think Rodon and Q and Sale are suddenly going to give up 5 runs a game because they are playing the Angels or Blue Jays. The offense has to find a way to consistently score 4 or 5 runs. If that happens, we won't have the Caulfield return with 10 or 20 doom and gloom posts after a loss. Before Lawrie got a couple of hits last night, the Sox had 2 regulars hitting over .250, yet were in first place. They only have 4 regulars with an OBP over .231. That is not sustainable no matter who you play.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 08:14 AM) I'm curious, what do project for the season totals from Frazier, Lawrie and Avi? Probably close to their career numbers. 2005 was a benchmark year. We have seen numerous posts about that offense being balanced etc. just remember that team won 15 games scoring 2 runs or less. So far this year, the team has 1 win scoring 2 runs or less. It just fascinates me people can't enjoy 8-3 in first place best start in 34 years , despite 9 of those games being on the road.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) Wouldn't you love to know how management really feels about this team? They can't be naive enough to be optimistic and swayed by the early wins. Don't you suspect that Hahn knows this offense is not well enough constructed to be a serious contender? The question is, how in the world are they gong fix it, at this point? Hahn knows they are screwed. He knows White Sox fans are way too smart to buy tickets to see a team that wins. Why is it anything positive is always something that can't be sustained, and anything negative is just how things are no matter the sample size?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 07:32 AM) I don't think it's people think we deserve a record better than 8-3, but just that when it comes to facing good teams we may not sustain and hold onto a lot of these 1 run, low-scoring wins we've had. If people really think Frazier is going to hit .178 their opinions aren't worth much. The fact is this team is winning games despite not hitting much. The bats will come around. It isn't the best offense in the league, but it isn't the worst. They have had limited production from almost everyone except Eaton and Melky and it was only a few days ago someone was pissed off Melky batted second. So far this season, Hawk's phrase don't tell me what you hit, tell me when you hit it has held true for this team. I will take the 8-3, knowing not only will the offense including Frazier improve, they will make an addition eventually.

Despite the team being 8-3 it is pretty obvious they are no more,than a 65-70 win team. Just from what I hav read here, there are a lot of problems. Eaton, Lawrie clubhouse cancers Avila, Fraizer, Cabrera, Rollins washed up The league has figured out Abreu Avi is one of the worst players in baseball Jerry Sands serves no purpose They have Danks in the rotation and Petricka, Duke, Putnam in the bullpen You know it is just a matter of time with Latos Even Chris Sale is too much of a hot head and should go away. Finally they are managed by a stooge. 8-3 with 9 games in the road is OK, but despite all these horrible players and manager and coaches, it clearly should be better. The fans deserve better.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Apr 16, 2016 -> 08:00 PM) Lawrie never quits. He is always going. I could see where that may wear on a few if they are losing, so the Sox need to win. He is fun to watch. Nothing is half assed.