Chicago White Sox

Here’s what I’d like to see for our postseason pitching staff after the Crotchet call-up and seeing the how the playoff schedule actually works. I still don’t think we’ll go with a five man rotation, so that means Lopez & Gonzalez serve as emergency long relievers. And I’m still scared about relying too much on Cease, so I’d have Rodon serve as an opener for him. Rotation: Giolito Keuchel* Dunning Rodon* + Cease Bullpen: 9th: Colome 8th: Bummer* 8th: Marshall 7th: Crotchet* 7th: Foster 6th: Fry* 6th: Heuer 5th: Detwiler* 5th: Cordero LR: Gonzalez* LR: Lopez

What’s the plan here? We can’t go to war in the playoffs with Encarnacion as our DH. I 100% supported the signing and was all for giving him a chance down the stretch to find himself, but he’s more or less cooked (just look at his StatCast numbers below). If Vaughn isn’t an option, then we really have to do the Grandal/McCann C/DH combo. However, doing that requires us calling up Collins or Mercedes back and taking EE off the playoff roster. Are those guys no longer eligible for the playoff roster? Would the Sox actually be that cruel to a veteran like Encarnación? If we’re serious about winning this fall, Edwin shouldn’t be part of the postseason equation.

Stiever definitely out of the playoff equation. I’m sure you’re right about Crotchet, but damn did he vault himself into the list.

I don’t think Crotchet is going to be in the pen next year. They’ll likely want to stretch him out in Birmingham or Charlotte. And I still think they add at least one veteran reliever to replace Colome and add further depth. Let guys like Burdi & Tyler Johnson have to force their way onto the roster or otherwise serve as injury insurance. Can’t go into a season and expect your eight core relievers to be there all year.

Yeah, I just mean for this year. Suddenly you’re looking at a playoff bullpen with Colome, Marshall, Heuer, Foster, & Cordero from the right side and Bummer, Crotchet, Rodon, Fry, & Detwiler from the left side. That’s actually pretty fucking sick.

Real talk...but can Crotchet be a Hader type reliever pretty quickly? If so, we’re winning the fucking Series this year.

?...I could definitely see Bauer, Spring, & Hendriks being good “fits”...

FIFY. Add one veteran reliever to replace Colome and that’s your offseason. That means goodbye James McCann...you’re a hell of a catcher, but spending close to $30M on the catcher position is insane.

It’s approaching Jack “HoT tAkE” Parkman levels

I love me some Jim Callis

Which means he must of looked really good in Schaumburg to warrant this call-up. You don’t otherwise start burning options when you’ve got 40 man roster problems to begin with.

Quintana is getting a deal with an AAV north of $10M. Maybe he doesn’t he get a ton of years, but there will be enough demand for a LH starter who put up a 3.5 win season just two years ago to warrant a decent salary. And even if you’re optimistic about where our payroll could go next year, $10M is a sizable chunk of change and will eat at our ability to do other things. He really isn’t a depth starter, he’d be your main rotation addition. IMO, Quintana is a guy who makes much more sense when only five teams make the playoffs. With eight teams likely making it next year, we should prioritize our limited resources on more impactful additions. I’d rather put that $10M+ towards strengthening the bullpen by signing someone like Liam Hendriks and add a significantly cheaper depth piece for the rotation than just signing Quintana.

Given the high likelihood we sign Cespedes or Colas in the offseason, I’d be looking for a veteran stop-gap solution for RF. As for Kopech, the only way I’m trading him is if it’s for a legit cost-controlled TOR starter. IMO, we can’t afford to give up a pitcher with his ceiling unless we’re getting a legit frontline starter back.

That’s pretty sad if Reinsdorf goes that route, but obviously it’s a possibility. If that’s the case, I’d still rather use my resources elsewhere and let Kopech battle Stiever for the #5 spot. With eight teams likely making the playoffs again, I want pieces that can help me win in October not just get me there.

I really don’t see it unless the team goes cheap because of COVID. Coming off what could be a #1 finish in the AL with plenty of young, talented starting candidates, either swing for the fences on a TOR type or use your money elsewhere for substantial upgrades (Springer in RF, Hendriks in BP, etc.). I just don’t see how Quintana changes the calculus much when we already have Gioltio, Keuchel, Dunning, Cease, Kopech, & possibly Stiever as 2021 rotation options.

Let’s just get to the World Series first and worry who we play later.

Who said that out of curiosity?

Not enough Engel

Feels like we’re never going to score again, but I still think we’re going to win this game.

There is no inherent flaw with that stat, but rather how one is drawing conclusions from it. Taking a tiny sample and saying analytics don’t like a player is completely disingenuous and reflects a bias against said player. Full stop, we know Madrigal isn’t a terrible base-runner or fielder and so far analytics think he is an above average hitter based on his quality of contact. I’d wager large sums of money he’ll have some 3 win projections next year.

I’ve been pretty unimpressed with FG as of late, especially in regards to their White Sox prospect knowledge, but this definitely takes the cake.

This is ridiculous

Advanced metrics are penalizing Madrigal for a handful of dumb plays in the field and on the bases in an incredibly small sample. I seriously doubt any projection model would project Mendick as the superior player when he’s worse than Nick with the bat, the glove, and on the bases.

Closers benefit from the arbitration process as currently constructed though.

No fucking clue. Honestly that’s good for the Sox, but sucks as a fan as it means no baseball on the actual weekend.