35thstreetswarm

Precisely why I said I disagreed with it (I don't think there was a compelling need to do it), but it doesn't change the fact that Ricky was not managing strictly to win. He was experimenting. That's the whole point.

Stupid that Ricky said it, or stupid that I repeated it for your edification?

It was to test him in a high leverage situation. Ricky explained this. You can disagree (and I did), but he wouldn't have done it in a playoff game.

I mean, Ricky basically said as much. He literally said he threw Rodon out there because it was better for him to blow the game now than in the playoffs. I'm not even a Ricky fan -- at all -- but it was beyond obvious we were not playing strictly to win after they clinched a playoff berth.

Amazing how little this is understood around here.

Oh, good to know. ?

...all after clinching a playoff berth and continuously throwing crap at the wall like It was spring training (which it may as well have been). New ballgame now.

Easy to stay dispassionate when I didn’t watch (for a change), but seems like a pretty good day. We avoid Cleveland. We get a lefty starter in game 1. Our offense woke up and battled back again, scored 8 runs (sounds like overcame some bad calls too), and we lost because a guy who will not be starting in the playoffs anyway gave up a bunch of runs. Yes the division would’ve been nice the playoffs are the real show. Am I missing something?

I said goodbye like you asked but it just won’t leave...this is awkward

Insane that we could play any team in the playoffs besides Tampa.

Sox battled back a lot this week. There’s really no doubt they still have fight.

Yes, from Chapman to Russell to their racist patriarch, nothing screams “class” like the Chicago Cubs organization. What a joke of a comment.

Let’s build some momentum going into the playoffs and erase last night from our memories.

Tomorrow is a big game. Sox didn’t look lifeless in Cleveland—their manager took games away from them. They looked lifeless tonight. I hope Ricky didn’t succeed in sucking all the life essence from this team in Cleveland. They need to come out strong tomorrow—they can do it (Cubs lost 7-0 to Pittsburgh 24 hours ago), but they need to flush this away. This one worried me.

Yes - bullpen now 30% more unfuckupable

The Sox could still easily play Cleveland. And win the division. If Sox win and Twins lose, we could be controlling our destiny in the division as soon as tonight. If getting swept decreased the chances of playing Cleveland in the playoffs, it did so only marginally.

For as gut-wrenching as this week's multiple manager-assisted game-forfeits have been, this team has battled and been in position to win every night on the road against the league's best pitching. I'll say it again, they have flaws but they do not look like a "dead team" to me by any stretch. If we were coming off, say, a 7-0 loss to cap off getting swept by the worst team in baseball I'd feel worse. I think the guys come in fired up to beat the tiny baby animals. This series usually serves as a springboard for one of the teams - let's make that team the Chicago White Sox.

Yes yes, I like it

I’m just going to tell myself he truly doesn’t care about the division and is “experimenting.” That it will all be fine when we play “for real.” Yes, I must believe that.

Remember that the "shit" here is a #3 overall pick who has had multiple stretches of dominance as a big league starter. I'm as skeptical about Rodon's long term prospects as anybody, but there's ample reason to think he has the tools to be a valuable piece in the playoffs--certainly more reason than the likely roster alternatives.

Yeah I had really high hopes for him based on last year. Maybe his arm just couldn't take the abuse.

Me too. Detwiler has real value on this roster.

Happy to have them, but why Detwiler?

This picture reminds me: I'm really worried about going into the 2005 playoffs with our best player out for the season, Carl freaking Everett as our DH, and having almost blown a 15-game lead. You can all bury your heads in the sand if you want to, but that's just not a professional lineup, certainly not one that stacks up against the defending champs we'll have to play in the FIRST ROUND.

Cy Bieber is closing in on 90 and he’s not even out if the 4th. You must think he’s *really* dogshit