caulfield12

It’s very obvious we need better infield performance…everyone left of 1B. Ramirez and Gimenez alone might have the entire Sox lineup beaten for fWAR. And that’s actually the Guardians’ biggest farm system strength too. Finally, now that Myles Straw is starting to hit well, they have a really formidable team at every position besides catcher and Owen Miller if you want to count him as a starter…and to me he has a lot of glue guy/Doug Mientkiewicz to his game. So now you’ve got six guys across that lineup who pressure you every at bat with their contact ability, speed and athleticism…and the streaky poor man’s CLee in Naylor. Very reminiscent of the 2014-15 Royals, down to their bullpen. The only missing piece is Dyson and Gore to PR, but close enough. They’re third in the majors and steals, and that will only increase with the limits on pickoff moves to first.

One thing about Dayton Moore, btw, unless the majority of players on the roster are born again Christians (like Madrigal), you don’t want him anywhere near your franchise. He would be just another version of Buddy Bell.

Hahn stans will point to Cueto and Andrus, but both those moves were borne of desperation with few other options available. Same with Rodon last year. How do you go from such an impressive young core of a team to what is now a mismatched mix of veterans across the pitching staff and bullpen in particular? Trying to sell high on Jimenez or Vaughn now just creates another set of problems down the road. Likewise, betting on Grandal, Pollock, Sheets, etc., even Andrus or Harrison, for 2023, is fool’s gold.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/34629522/the-4-steps-new-detroit-exec-scott-harris-follow-fix-tigers Excellent article that delineates processes the White Sox should be undertaking NOW if they don’t want to end up behind the Tigers and Royals, too. Minnesota FO or Baldelli next up at the guillotine.

“Oh yeah, about La Russa. He wasn’t in town to watch this series in person, like he was last week when the Rockies were in town. He’s obviously not cleared by his doctors to actually manage. Why the Sox haven’t officially ruled him out for the season is a mystery, but I’m wondering if he’ll manage one final game as a second goodbye to baseball. I can’t imagine he’ll return in 2023. The Sox have managed to stay alive under Cairo, showing a little more of “da fire and da passion” that the city’s fans desire. They’re hitting better with La Russa gone, and that cause-and-effect has been hotly debated inside and outside of the stadium. As our Ken Rosenthal wrote in his open letter to La Russa, there are some reasons the Sox are playing better under Cairo. “I just let them play,” Cairo said before Tuesday’s game. “Play the game the way you’re supposed to play it. I’ve got a good pitching coach (Ethan Katz), I’ve got Jerry (Narron), I’ve got Super Joe (McEwing), I have Daryl (Boston) that’s been helping me. I just let them play. Play the way you’re supposed to play the game, hard, aggressive and do the little things to win games.” That’s true, but his most famous move so far has been a meeting he held with the team after his first game as the acting manager, a 7-4 loss. It’s not like he’s flipping over postgame spreads after every loss or giving speeches before every game, but Cairo’s general intensity is hard to miss. And perhaps it was what was missing with La Russa. The Sox’s poor fundamentals and season-long ennui make you question the point of bringing in the Hall of Famer in the first place. Wasn’t he hired to professionalize this breezy team? Instead, the Sox stumbled and bumbled all season, wasting a perfect opportunity to win at least the division. And you wonder why the Sox struggle to draw consistent crowds. I’m not sure this was a universal feeling in the press box, but I was hoping the Sox stayed in the race until the end. Drama is good for business, not to mention my attention span. (It helps when you don’t go to every game.) But even if the Sox could’ve pulled off a sweep, they would’ve still had to play near-perfect baseball the rest of the way. Are they capable of that? I don’t need to go to BetRivers to find those odds. I’ve seen it with my own eyes all season.” Greenberg TheAthletic.com

As breezy as the final score makes it seem like this victory was, the journey to clinch the tiebreaker was quite the opposite. It was a stereotypical win for the Guardians: Sacrifice flies, an RBI infield single and multiple comebacks. "They're a smooth team,” Pollock said. “They really haven't made huge mistakes the whole year. … I think we fought hard, some mistakes, but it's not like we came out flat. Guys were ready to play today and we just lost."

Five down at this point it's all over but the shouting.

Game. Set. Match.

Moncada hurt. Most nonchalant great play you can imagine.

Naylor, unsurprisingly, has been the most injured player...never been in tip top shape since I have been watching him.

Absolutely have to get to Karinchak. He has a pretty spotty record against the Sox.

Has/had to be that unavailability issue. Otherwise makes zero sense trusting Lambert THAT much despite a mostly solid/surprising season.

Kelly-itis. Biggest game of the season and not avail. At least Robert showed up to play tonight.

Twins pretty much mimicking the Padres collapse last year. Probably causes a job loss for either Falvey and/or Baldelli. Plus they don't have a replacement for Correa with Royce Lewis down with another ACL. Could go to Gordon, potentially.

Why not Lopez/Graveman/Hendriks?

Zavala has gotten a bit better defensively compared to last year...holding onto that ball at least.

Totally forgot about him. He HAS to be hurt...doesn't he?

Guess they go to Karinchak here. Seems he doesn't thrive on tie game situations. But he has been tough since returning. Also de Los Santos and Trevor Stephan.

It's going to be one of those 14 inning heartbreakers like the Twins/Guardians game a couple of days/nights ago.

SAVED A RUN. Great play by Andrus. SAFE AT THE PLATE.

Bummer is more annoying than Thornton and Damaso Marte.

Couldn't quite get enough on the throw. Ramirez ALWAYS hustles. And Lambert and the Robert foul balls will possibly be the story of this game, in the end.

Knew it.

It's going to be one those fluky infield hits, isn't it?

Well, at least next year we have Diekman, Crochet AND Bummer... This bullpen all year.