VAfan

Not sure why this post took the tangents that it did. My point was that we have a lot of key players on this team not playing up to the levels they should. Until they do, the team is going to continue to lose. Is that the players fault? Yes. Is the manager also a problem? Yes, but that is a different post. Is the front office also responsible? Yes, but that's a different post too.

There's a pretty hot topic on the site about firing Robin Ventura today. And elsewhere there are the usual rantings about dumping Avisail Garcia. It's pretty easy to support these ideas. The problem is, those kinds of moves will not likely solve the Sox' ills. What is needed, instead, is for the "good" players on the Sox to play much better than they have. Jose Abreu. 9 HR, .422 slugging percentage. 0.6 OWAR. Todd Frazier. .205 BA. 19 HR, but only .464 slugging percentage. Brett Lawrie. .397 slugging percentage, under .700 OPS. Dioner Navarro. Hitting worse than Flowers did last year. Worst framer in baseball. Carlos Rodon. 4.28 ERA, 1.5 WHIP. James Shields. Somehow much worse than Danks or Latos or anyone else in his first two outings. David Robertson. Blew 7-1 9th inning lead against the Royals. Nate Jones. Blew 3 run lead the next night against the Royals. I could add more. Perhaps a manager change would cause some of these players to improve. It's not clear what it will take. But make no mistake, until the core of the White Sox produces like they should, making changes around the fringe is not likely to catapult this team into contention. The team might have it in them. They did start 23-10, after all. Then again, they still can't solve their own division. Hard to see an easy solution here.

Since everyone seems to be in a pretty down mood, what with the Sox blowing a 7-1 lead in the 9th inning, why not pile on?? I haven't been paying attention to Thompson over in LA, but when you look, he's hitting .279, .342, .538 in 114 plate appearances. OPS+ of 139. Of course, that's better than anyone on the White Sox is hitting right now, and by a pretty good margin. Cheap, and under control for many years, he'd look pretty good in CF instead of Austin Jackson. We might not have had enough to pry away Todd Frazier, who is our best hitter at the moment. But perhaps someone else would have sufficed. In any event, when was the last time we traded away a young hitter as good as Thompson appears to be right now?

A James Shields trade would be a DISASTER for this club.

Several stars last night. Eaton. Made two fabulous catches, plus one he made look easy in the gap in CF. Laid down a perfect 2 out bunt against Baltimore s lefty closer, which got him hurt and out of the game. Frazier. 2 run bomb in 8th to take 2 run lead. Some great plays at 3rd. Was only Sox player to sign my son's Sale jersey. Sands. Got bottom of lineup to start the scoring with two singles. Sanchez. See above. Latos. Was getting hit hard, but battled enough to keep Sox in the game. Lawrie. Hit a bomb early. Stole second and came around on a 2 out Jackson single in the 7th. Jackson. Clutch 7th inning single cut the game to 1 run. Jones. 4 out win. Abreu. Early ABs were rough, but he drove in runs in the 8th and 9th with singles to right. Last one at toned for error that let Os tie it in the 8th.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ May 1, 2016 -> 01:55 AM) Why is Duke still being asked to get high leverage outs? I would've left Albers in to face Davis he's our best reliever to this point. I was at the game in Baltimore. Said that exact thing to my son. You don't let another pitcher ruin his scoreless innings streak. Let him get Davis there and pick up the win. It was Renteria making the calls at that point. Not sure Robin would have done the same.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 30, 2016 -> 11:32 PM) Should they seriously consider keeping Carlos Sanchez and send down Saladino? Sanchez was awesome with the bat last night. Started the 8th inning rally with a double, then drew a key 2 out walk to put Eaton in scoring potion for Abreu s game winning single. Saladino is better with the glove at SS, but his bat is a liability in the 2 hole. Has any team ever yoyoed players? Keep Sanchez up until he cools, then bring up Saladino if he starts raking playing every day in AAA?

We don't win last night's game without Sanchez. He hit a lead off double in the 3 run 8th, then drew a crucial two out walk in the ninth to put Eaton in scoring position for Abreu to drive him in with a single to right. Can he field at SS? Because he's been hot with the bat.

As much as everyone wants to wail on Avisail, I think you have to take his slow start in context of how other players on the team are hitting. Garcia's OPS of .530 is actually AHEAD of Brett Lawrie .516 and Jimmy Rollins .505, and part time guys Navarro and Shuck, and he's not far behind Alex Avila. Only 2 hitters are excelling for the Sox -- Eaton and Abreu. EVERYONE ELSE is below where we would hope they will be on the season.

Eaton should hit first. Jackson's OBP hasn't been great the last few years. I think the lineup is right at the moment. If the Sox end up adding a lefty power hitter, then Melky can move into the 2 hole.

I expect the plan is to rest Rollins for at least 40 games on the year. Might be more if Anderson enters the picture. We will also see Saladino as a late inning defensive replacement. I agree with the veteran leadership point. Rollins has value beyond his playing ability. I really wonder if he wasn't the reason LaRoche isn't here. He came to play baseball and win, not chill out and be a Dad.

They finally noticed Albers in a post over on Southside Sox. He had another 2 innings to shut the door on Cleveland. Keep it up Matt!!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 6, 2016 -> 06:11 PM) Ptatc is exactly right. The Sox don't have long men and Albers can go multiples. He isn't going to be the 8th inning guy. Besides you might not even want him in the 6th inning a couple of weeks from now. Look how long it took for Jones to go from a lock down set up guy who Robin didn't know how to use, to a mediocre guy with issues. Less than 24 hours. He isn't going to be the 8th inning guy because the White Sox brass don't always see what's best for the team! And I'm going off Albers' 30 starts from last season. Seems like enough of a track record to change they way he's used. If he fails in the new role, you can always go back to using him in the way the Sox have. But the Sox really need to find a way to lock down close games in which they are ahead from the 7th-9th innings at least. That's what KC did, and it propelled them to back-to-back WS appearances without a great starting staff. Albers was being wasted last year by being used in twice as many games where we were behind versus being tied or ahead. The BEST bullpen guys need to be used mostly in games we have the best chance of winning. Albers is clearly performing like one of our best bullpen arms.

Looking a little deeper into his splits in baseball reference, he was tremendous in high leverage situations, and in the 8th inning. This further supports my suggestion. What I think was misuse was how many times he was put into games where we were behind. He absolutely needs to be in the A category of relievers to use to preserve leads, and should never really be used if we are behind more than a run or two. That's a waste. As for the fact he can go for more than one inning, yes he can. But what would be more valuable to the Sox? An 8th inning pitcher who almost never gets scored on, doesn't walk guys, and has a great WHIP? Or a guy you can get more than an inning out of if the starter can't last? Give me the former EVERY time! KC should have shown everyone by now the value of a shutdown bullpen. Albers needs to be given the chance to be more in the middle of that than on the fringes, where he has been up to now.

It just dawned on me, but after last night's game, I wonder if Matt Albers might not be the White Sox' second best relief pitcher. Last night, inning and a third of one hit ball. No walks. One K. Low stress stuff. Last year, his WHIP of 1.07 was the second best on the team, behind only Robertson (.93). His 1.21 ERA was by far the best of any Sox pitcher. Nate Jones was next at 3.32. In his 30 games last year over 37.1 innings, he gave up runs in only 4 appearances, and gave up more than 1 run only once, on July 31 against the Yankees (he gave up 3 in a 13-6 loss). Indeed, this was part of the only bad stretch he had on the season. He gave up runs in 3 appearances in a row from July 30-Aug 4. Otherwise, he appeared 27 times and gave up a run only once. His strike out to walk ratio of 3.11 is behind only Robertson and Nate Jones among our relievers. Overall, he was used more often in games the Sox were losing than winning or tied (19-9-2). But I really wonder if this is his best use. Hasn't he shown enough to this point to be considered for higher leverage opptys? I mean, wouldn't you trust him to give up zero runs in an inning he starts more than just about anyone else in our bullpen? I'm not suggesting he become our closer. But what about the 8th inning guy? KC uses a flamethrower in the 7th. Maybe that's a better inning for Nate Jones? Use Albers in the 8th? And let the rest of the guys pitch earlier or when we're behind, and prove they are worth higher leverage slots? Just an idea.

Sox should actually consider giving Matt Albers some higher leverage innings. Not closing, but I could see 8th inning possibly. He seems to have picked up from last year.

Sox made the right cuts, but several of the guys who are starting have hit very poorly so far -- Eaton, Jackson, Cabrera have all been bad, and two of them started last year in a terrible funk. Lawrie also hasn't really hit, and Avila walks but can't buy a base hit. So that's 5 cold players in our starting lineup. Not the best.

Here's my take. First, the Nightengale story -- which indicates the paper talked with players and perhaps coaches who said they had an issue with Drake's non-stop presence -- indicates that KW wasn't making it up about there being an issue within the clubhouse about this. That suggests that Eaton's and Sale's complaints notwithstanding, that the Sox brass was responding to its players. Second, the "promise" to LaRoche to allow his kid with the team was certainly kept for 2015. But since it wasn't in his contract, and since both his performance was horrible and players and perhaps coaches complained to management about the situation, then management was perfectly within its rights to ask LaRoche to "dial it back." Indeed, what would it have said about Sox management if they ignored the complaints and put the wishes of arguably the WORST player on the team last year ahead of their concerns? Seems to me like the Sox made a reasonable request for LaRoche to amend his position. The fact he didn't take it was HIS CHOICE. Sox didn't ask him to, or force him to resign. So, on both of these scores, it seems to me the Sox were well within their rights, and really had no choice but to ask LaRoche to accommodate his arrangement to mesh with his current teammates and coaches. LaRoche was also free to quit, which he did. There really aren't any villains if you look at it that way. Where things went bad was during the clubhouse meeting. At this point, certain hotheads on the team decided to get their noses out of joint over KW asking LaRoche to "dial it back." To me, these hotheads are the ONLY people who caused this issue to blow up the way it did. (KW did also blow up at one point after LaRoche completely ignored his request, but this was not unlike any company manager getting pissed when his employees openly flout one of his requests.) Did they think KW was lying to them about some players and/or coaches coming to KW to say they had a problem? If so, then how did Nightengale's newspaper receive the exact same info from these players, who have to speak annonymously? And, are they so out of touch with their teammates that they claim the team was 100% united behind LaRoche when it is obvious from the above that they weren't? (Not to make this a racial issue, but it's quite interesting that we've heard from a lot of the white players, but almost nothing from any of the Latin players.) Moreover, do you really want to go to the mat against the wishes of your colleagues over the presence of a 14-year-old kid in the clubhouse, who has nothing to do with your job, or the success of the team? Isn't this completely disrespectful of your teammates? Sale, Eaton, et al are defending an absurd requirement that Adam LaRoche chose to lay down for his continued presence on a baseball team, when if he looked in the mirror and at his own performance, he should have realized that he couldn't meet even replacement level standards of play any more and should retire out of dignity and respect for his team. The idea that KW should "resign" from the Sox over this is utterly absurd. Seems to me that Sox management have been the ONLY ones in this saga who put the interests of the team first.

This is all going to blow over. I don't see either of them going anywhere. Sale, after all, wants to win, and the Sox chances have improved without LaRoche.

I agree that Bruce to the Sox is not likely to happen, but I'm not sure I agree that it would be bad for the Sox. We are relying on a bounce back from LaRoche, who couldn't go 2 days and came up with back spasms. Bruce could take his spot, with LaRoche put on the DL. Or Shucks spot. He is an adequate RF. Eaton could go to left. Melky to DH. Avi would platoon with Bruce like he would with LaRoche. Sox would only be on the hook for a year, but if he rebounded he would easily be worth the $13m optuon for 2017. So, Bruce solves the LaRoche issue pretty well. Question is cost, in money and players. If the Reds pay some money, they get a better prospect. Seems like the Sox could afford a lower level pitcher or 2. What they gave up for Lawrie, for example. If LaRoche also hits, then Jackson gets fewer at bats against righties. That was going to be Shucks job anyway. Taking some of Jackson's starts against right handers.

12 homers from 12 different players in the last 5 games this spring. http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/south-s...s-and-counting/ Garcia, Rollins, Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Adam LaRoche, Adam Eaton, Brett Lawrie, Dioner Navarro, Tyler Saladino, Jason Coats, Steve Lombardozzi and Matt Davidson.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 09:55 AM) It is almost surreal how great of an off season that Hahn had when you consider how little money he had to run with, and protecting the picks that he had. Yes some will bemoan the lack of the big named player, but realistically, even if Hahn's off season turns out to be a disaster, none of the players brought in will have any long term damage to the franchise. If Cespedes regressed, that could have single handedly forced the White Sox into a full rebuild, just by sheer contract size alone. I agree with this. If you went in with the budget the Sox have spent, it's hard to imagine anything better than what's turned out. Everything else people have clamored for would have cost more, perhaps a lot more.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 02:10 PM) The homerun totals for the team should be a boost vs last year but shouldn't be the major point for the sox making the playoffs. Pirates, royals and cards made the playoffs while ranking 23, 24, and 25 for homeruns in all of baseball. Issue is the Sox need to be scoring more runs overall. All AL teams that made the playoffs scored over 700 runs. Sox scored 622. Need to score alot more runs White Sox play at US Cellular. They should be a HR hitting team to take advantage of that park. KC is a totally different ballpark. A HR heavy team wouldn't work there. The Sox are not going to bash like the teams that hit more than 200 HR every year, but in our ballpark, HRs are important.

To me the most important factor is that every regular in the lineup could hit 10 or more HRs. Only JB Shuck has no power. Even Saladino had 4 dingers last year.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 11:54 AM) I think you're right that there will be an increase, but it's never safe to project every player to match his career high. It's just never going to turn out that way. I'd lop 15-20 homers off your total and feel like that's a modestly optimistic projection. I didn't project career highs. I only looked at recent numbers.