Chicago White Sox

You can do whatever you want, but I’m not going to ignore the fact Avi’s BABIP last year would have been a good 40 points higher than the highest career averages in the past few decades. But hey, to each their own.

Wow, they’re actually bunting. I hate Ricky Renteri so much.

And there it is!!

Yup, at this point you’ve got to be aggressive.

If he hits .330 with 30 HR’s then sure lock him up, but why in the world is that a realistic expectation? His career high for HR’s is 18 and his .330 season last year was driven by a flukey .396. BABIP. He’s gotten better but he’s still a flawed player.

I want veterans, just don’t think Avi is that guy. Sign a guy with a track record of excellence, not a guy who has been off & on his entire career.

I’m not sure I follow. Avi drew zero walks before going on the DL. He had a total of four extra base hits, including one HR. Avi’s biggest issues in his entire career have been a lack of plate discipline and poor launch angle and those were his flaws earlier this season. You can blame his poor start on some bad BABIP luck but that’s ignoring the bigger issues.

Jimenez, Robert, Rutherford, Adolfo, Basabe, & Gonzalez. All six of those guys should warrant some top 100 consideration by seasons end. And what do you mean Avi hasn’t sucked since? He wasn’t very good before he went on the DL and he still hasn’t drawn a single walk all year. And I’m not an Avit hater by any means, but extending him is a gigantic risk not worth taking. Either wait on our in-house options or sign a legit stud OF. No reason to plan the middle ground.

So you think Lopez has been just as bad as Giolito this year? Because that’s the debate.

Yeah, obvious flaws. Like not taking a walk in 127 plate appearances. But hey, if you want to get overly excited about last year’s .392 BABIP more power to you brother.

I honestly think we’re watching two different teams. Giolito has looked beyond awful the entire season. I can’t recall a White Sox pitcher that has looked this bad in my entire life. Maybe Todd Ritchie back in the day. Lopez has not been great by any means but he’s been worlds better than Giolito. Regardless, when his stuff is clicking, he is fucking dominant. Lucas hasn’t had a single moment like that all year. We’re dreaming off his former prospect status and the mirage that his spring training start against the Cubs was. Furthermore, Lopez actually has some serious balls when on the mound, whereas Lucas is a complete mental midget. There is reason to believe Lopez will continue to develop and grow into a quality starter. As much I want to see a guy like Giolito live up to his previous prospect hype, there is zero tangible evidence right now to suggest that is likely. Even with the velocity increase (which excites me) he’s got a long fucking way to go.

Extending Avi would be the definition of insanity. We’ve seen him have hot stretches before and then quickly revert back to zero plate discipline Avi. When you have a half dozen top 100 caliber OF prospects, you don’t resign a guy with obvious flaws to a multi year extension.

No offense dude, but you are fucking delusional. You are the only person in the world who thinks the two guys are remotely comparable. Even Lucas would say he sucks relative to Lopez. That isn’t to say that Reynaldo has been lights out, but rather Giolito has been the worst pitcher I can remember in recent history. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you are somehow related given how bias you are with him.

Exactly.

But what is in 2017?

Yup.

What was Lopez’s spin rate on his fastball last year out of curiosity? I have never seen any commentary of him having a straight fastball like Giolito and earlier this year his fastball was amongst the highest rated in baseball. I think you are overreacting to a sample size bias.

He was also throwing 90 to 92 MPH until a few starts ago. No doubt his breaking stuff is key to his success, but sitting closer to 95 MPH with the fastball will most definitely help.

The increase in velocity is a huge development. It gives me the tiniest bit of hope that Lucas can actually work through this shit.

Lopez’s fastball >>>>>>>> Giolito’s

No Rutherford tonight, but thank god backup catcher Daniel Gonzalez is getting some playing time in RF. As soon as Robert went down, my first thought was maybe just maybe Blake would play almost everyday but clearly I got to greedy there.

He’s probably a better listen, but not a huge Haugh fan either. They really should have used it as an opportunity to get some fresh blood in there.

Seemed like a real nice guy, but definitely was one of the more boring personalities in Chicago. Who is replacing him?

Hahn specifically said he wouldn’t evaluate Ricky on W&L’s (rightfully so) but how the team comes to play on a daily basis. IMO, Ricky has clearly failed in that regard. Most of the team appears to be pressing and playing sloppy, fundamentally poor baseball. That is beyond unacceptable and when combined with his Robin Ventura like in-game strategy skills, I honestly believe a change needs to be made. Having said all that, I’m very skeptical he doesn’t get at least one more year. If Moncada doesn’t rebound in the second half of the season, I could see Steverson being 2019’s sacrificial lamb.

Davidson, Moncada, & Anderson aren’t the problem. Those three have all been good to respectable in terms of drawing walks. It’s the fact the rest of the roster (with Delmonico out) is well below average.