Chicago White Sox

I’m not overly concerned about the actual lineup construction, but not having Moncada against Maeda is a big deal IMO. I get resting your guys, but it’s only been two games and we’re facing our biggest divisional threat here. Just feels like we are setting ourselves for a loss when we rest our best hitter against RHP while also having our biggest question mark making the start today.

Wow, Renteria really must have thought Maeda was a lefty based on those lineup changes.

Who you start doesn’t matter?

It’s almost like Renteria thinks Maeda is a lefty or something. Moncada is legit our best hitter against RHP, why test him today?

I’m not sure I think Maeda is going to “beast” this year with the Twins, but I really don’t like how his arsenal plays against our lineup.

The Kannapolis rotation is going to be a ton of fun to watch next year with Kelley, Thompson, Dalquist, & Vera all in it.

Seems like the Sox will be fairly aggressive with Kelley next year, which I like given his advanced feel for pitching for a high schooler.

Alright guys, today the Sox look to win the rubber match and take the series! On the mound for the Twins is a guy that Sox players have little track record against, but one who poses a dangerous threat. As the Statcast data below shows, Maeda is a highly effective pitcher without gaudy velocity numbers, with his success driven by frequently changing speeds and getting hitters to chase sliders (against RHs) and changeups (against LHs) outside the bottom part of the zone. The slider in particular is deadly (Fangraphs ranked it 3rd overall in pitch value last year) and Maeda deploys it against righties over 50% of the time. Guys like Eloy, Abreu, & Robert will likely be pummeled by sliders down & away and will need to lay off the ones outside of the zone if they want any chance to be successful. On the mound for us is a guy coming off a very disappointing 2019 season and with an incredibly poor track record against the Twins. His career OPS against current Twins hitters is a whopping .970 and that’s over 110 ABs. I said this a ton last year, but he desperately needs to find a way to get his secondary pitches working. Obviously his fastball velocity is great, but it’s lack of consistent spin means he can’t use it 60% of the time. If he’s unable to command his slider today and goes too fastball heavy he will get destroyed by the likes of Cruz, Donaldson, & Garver. Regardless of pitch mix, having Grandal could be a game changer for Lopez as he was the most impacted starter in all of baseball last year by poor pitch framing. I know this may not be the most optimistic way to start a game-thread, but clearly this is not an ideal matchup for us on paper and I want to appease the baseball gods by being respectful of that fact. That being said, who gives a fuck because this is baseball and anything can happen on any given day, especially when you have a Luis Robert! Let’s fucking go!!

Yeah, I do agree with you on Madrigal.

I think just one has to be a catcher, but the other two can be anyone. As for who those other two might be, I’m guessing they are trying to get Dunning on some sort of pitching routine in Schaumburg and get him stretched out in the event a starter goes down. Therefore, I’d probably guess Hamilton for a pitcher. As for Madrigal, it’s definitely a possibility, although I could see Basabe being an option as well.

Do we know who the other two guys will be?

I really don’t get why they’d call him right now unless they plan to demote a pitcher for an extra bat bench.

K this fuck Jimmy!

Sorry, I didn’t see this in time

I blame that Eloy K on Benetti’s horrible jokes

What did I miss?

Deservedly so!

Ok, Leury clearly reads Soxtalk.

Would be great to get one more here.

100% agree.

Bummer is such a fucking stud. I can’t believe some people thought his extension was stupid.

I think roughly two weeks after opening day.

Gigantic run.

McCann!!!

We need to keep scoring. This Twins offense can put up a crooked number in the blink of an eye.