caulfield12

Not quite a must-win situation, but that's a great statement to show that the Giants are legit and truly belong on that big stage...especially going up against Buehler, who has been almost impossible to beat in his Dodgers' post-season career (reflects wistfully on the Carson Fulmer Era of White Sox rebuild baseball.) But you shut down arguably the best offensive line-up in the NL, that's quite an accomplishment and he's pitched with very little fanfare the entire season, unless you're a huge baseball fan, live on the West Coast and/or are a dedicated rotisserie league/fantasy owner. Of course, to add insult to injury, the name Tommy LaStella. The Giants have done an amazing job assembling that pitching staff from where they were a year ago today, Zaidi's one of the best analytical minds in the game. He has made more positive pitching moves in an off season than the White Sox have made over the course of an entire decade, seemingly.

Sox-related therapy....they could probably offer all their fans the last 75 years or so psychiatric help and raise a significant if not massive amount of money for Sox Charities.

Is just ONE win enough to put out the pitchforks for many? Probably not... How will you feel about the White Sox coming into next season, at least as things stand today? How easily will you accept both TLR AND Hahn returning? Are you like many in the game thread who feel discouraged knowing nothing is likely to change all that dramatically as long as JR or a family member is the principal owner? How optimistic are you that things (would) change with Jerry's son in charge of the franchise instead, like with the Bulls' new direction? Do we spend the majority of the off-season ruminating about changes in the front office or ownership that are highly improbable to occur, knowing the way this franchise operates historically? Do you expect any big changes, or do you think they'll be mostly cosmetic ones (a 2B or RF in the $6-8 million range, veteran relievers to replace Tepera/Kimbrel, etc.)...with the payroll still trending up (let's say $160-165 million), but no big or headline-grabbing moves, not even bringing in the likes of a veteran like Starling Marte? Are we simply doomed to continue the AL Central's trend of losing playoff games dating back to the Cleveland Indians/Cubs 2016 World Series? How much worse would it to be a Twins or Indians fan today...knowing how far those two teams are from competing if they trade Buxton and/or Jose Ramirez/Bieber? I found my attention span drifting a bit without much of a pennant race for the majority of the second half, and due the overall "mediocre" player since the ASB. I'll be honest in saying I was thoroughly unimpressed with the trade acquisitions (especially the Kimbrel one) and tried to get motivated again, staying up all night long here in China, but I really feel like I was punched in the face and not even sure how invested to be in Sunday's game (since another worknight/day). I also felt that the chances of winning this series were (only) roughly 25-30%, based on the match-up earlier this season in Houston, their line-up of professional hitters, their extensive playoff experience and veteran "been there, done that" vibe was going to be an incredibly tough out for this team that struggled mightily even against the A's last post-season. Nobody is probably SHOCKED right now, because we've ALREADY witnessed so many losses like this the last two weeks of 2020 and then off and on ever since the opening series in Anaheim this year. I DO feel REALLY excited about watching Luis Robert bloom into a superstar before our eyes...but also a sense that we're a team comprised of many misfit parts and pretty likely to take a hit to the starting pitching in 2022, having a hard time believing Kopech can replace Rodon's performance seamlessly and that Lynn is probably more due for a falloff than expecting an uptick from Keuchel or Lopez or whatever "budget-savvy" veteran free agent pitcher they add to the mix. But who knows, maybe Dylan Cease takes the next step and wins the Cy Young, right? I'm also a bit bitter about losing both Madrigal and Heuer's years of control for that bone-headed Kimbrel move (that, once again, even our own manager's questioning why we added a HoF closer only to put him in a set-up role he wasn't well-suited for.) And no, it's not on the level of my Fernando Tatis, Jr., obsession, lol. For the Top 10-20 posters and all the various moderators at SoxTalk (now in their 30's and 40's with families and grown-up responsibilities/reality or maybe Covid-19 intruding), do you feel like it will be easy to reignite your excitement again when spring training rolls around, or you're still going to feel that same sense of waiting for the next TLR headline or embarrassing manager move that everyone could see coming pages ahead in a GameThread? I've come to really admire those posters like Fathom and Dick Allen and many of the moderators who are there game in and game out, or Elrockin (Greg's favorite perpetually optimistic fan)...but I also woke up wondering after a 30-45 minute nap why do we keep putting ourselves through this season after season? Obviously, some will argue that at least expecting to make the post-season is 50-100X better than 2009-2019, but there were times I really enjoyed watching the direction of the franchise (2016-2019) that it was ALMOST as fun, if not moreso. I guess it's partly due to the expectation all that rebuilding was going to eventually lead to playoff wins and, if not another World Series, at LEAST the ALCS, even though by definition not being able to win like the Royals/Cubs/Astros did out of a massive rebuild will always be considered a failure of sorts by most Sox fans. I guess it's back to that curse of being a White Sox fan, most of us through family connections or 2005. Just like PTAC, I'm sure that I will get over my anger/frustration and start to enjoy the playoffs and sport of baseball again at some point...although maybe not until the heart of the free agent signing period if it's the Dodgers or Red Sox/Astros yet again. Of course, I say this same exact thing every year about Iowa Hawkeyes FB and BB, and still never give up hope despite all the odds in the world being stacked against them ever winning a national championship in either sport...so at least the White Sox have MUCH better odds than approximately 1 in 150 or 1 in 200, right? Just some random thoughts (by Jack Handey), mostly venting but in a free-style version. P.S. The White Sox will HOPEFULLY run off 3 in a row and make me look like an idiot, but, just in case, you probably don't want to bet on the Iowa Hawkeyes against Penn State this weekend, haha. TL/DR, haha.

See Adames, the rare mistake by TB, along with selling too soon on Cronenworth.

Disastrous deadline. TLR decision making, bad fundamentals, etc. Bullpen. Not pushing harder for HFA. Not the same Rodon and Lynn later in season. No Yerminator haha.

Guess this is what it's like to be a Twins' fan the last two decades, albeit with at least twice as many playoff appearances.

I was being sarcastic...but hard to imagine much worse results from such an overhyped pen.

Cardinal Nation Talk.

Putting on a true clinic TBS: Stellar pitching, crisp defense. The Braves & Brewers both look sharp in Game 1 of the NLDS. Headlines White Sox fans will never see with TLR as manager...

Regardless every button the manager pushed was precisely the wrong one. Can't get away with that against good to great teams on the road in the postseason. You also have a hard time winning without an ace pitcher who can completely shut down the other team...

What pitcher will shut down Houston those next one to two games?

We are also delusional, lol. Could have forecasted this based on HFA, season results vs. Hou, Rodon/Lynn falling off in second half and watching TLR make questionable decisions repeatedly. Never a strong team fundamentally or doing the little things to win.

More likely he gets lit up like a Christmas tree in his home state. One of the great unknowns of every playoff series since forever.

Don't forget Jimenez's role in all this. Not so many smiles and laughing right now. He really needs to work on his game and his physical conditioning.

At the very least we need a bullpen voodoo/witch doctor/shaman. Maybe Cotts and Politte can be honorary advisors.

Who thought Hernandez was actually going to get a hit...Engel at least had hit a ball this game on the screws. And knows how to play defense a bit.

Hahn has no way to sell Kimbrel and Hernandez coming back next season...but that has never stopped him before. Feels like back to 2008 and 2000 especially. And at least 2008 had a helluva final week, historic stuff. And at least Ozzie generally was pretty good with bullpens when he had the talent...

Sunday might be lowest rated playoff game of 2021 except for blips from Houston/Texas market.

Yes, not exactly recreating 2014-15 Royals' three headed monster dynamic.

Highlight of last decade for native Iowans...

Sunday will feel like a funeral. Hahn should be proud of this completely predictable result. One can already imagine his press conference saying all the right things but pushing the wrong buttons or claiming financial limitations.

It was so obvious...Hernandez is no threat, and Engel/Hamilton at least provide defensive run prevention value.

Adios, Kimbrel. Correa owns the postseason.

This is now looking like a slo motion train wreck. All the worst aspects of Sox baseball combined, minus Robert and Abreu giving it their all.

Here comes the icing on the cake.