tray

Just to add to the preventative measures ptac has mentioned, I think that mandatory pre-game stretching and warm-up exercises should be put in place with team strength/exercise coach(es) out there to monitor it. Stretching out hamstrings is one of the keys. ptac knows much more about this than I do (as a former HS/ College football player who always had a warm-up regime) so I think his comments on this deserve attention. Digging down on this a bit further, perhaps WSox strength and conditioning protocols need ti be reviewed, even in specific instances. For example, did Eloy go through required warmups including hammy stretches before the game that he injured his hamstring? Warming up does not mean that yoi won;t be ionjured, but it reduces the chance., especially in cold weather games. Some of these guys should probably be on the stationary bike in the clubhouse between inning to stay warm.

Pollack doesn't givvafvk. That route he took to the ball was nonchalant and pathetic.

Sheets is not slow. If you see him play in person you would know that.

There is a lot of time left to make those calculations.

LF: Vaughn has been terrible in LF, even since Eloy was injured last week. . I counted 3 fly balls that Vaughn could not get to in just a few games and a terrible off target throw to the plate from shallow left field yesterday. Stone did not say a word about any of those plays but come on, trust your own eyes. Trust facts, Vaughn is the slowest position player on the team. I could best him in a 40 yard dash. That is not someone you want in LF or at 2B. The guy is a tank....but he can hit. So, Vaughn has to be in the line-up every day.. He should start either at his natural position 1B or platoon with Abreu at DH. That would be an ideal platoon with Abreu, keeping him off his feet a bit and possibly extending his career. Playing Vaughn in the outfield only risks a season ending injury when he makes a lawn dart out of himself again or buldozes Robert or injures him like he did with Harrison. So who plays LF now that Eloy is out? I don't know, but please no Vaughn out there...for his own sake. RF I reserve judgment on Pollock, but so far, he hasn't showed us much for the 16 Million. Too bad Colas is not quite ready. 3B Burger has been decent defensively and his bat has added power to the line-up. Once Moncada comes back, though, there is no where to play Burger. Perhaps the suggested switch of Moncada back to second, although I doubt Yoan would agree to that. 2B I don't like any of the alternatives there. Closer and Set-up pitchers - Liam Hendriks and Bummer do not look like the answers at the end of the bullpen right now. If that doesn't get resolved soon, the season could start to get away from the Sox. Middle relief: Shaky as well. Catcher: Defense has bee shaky. We just lost 8 out of 9 to Cleveland, Minnesota and KC, but I am not going to blame LaRussa for it. Our defense has been terrible during that stretch and pitching has failed us in key spots.

From Rick Hahn: "Jiménez suffered what was originally termed a right hamstring strain during the second inning of Saturday’s loss to the Twins while running hard out of the batter’s box to beat an infield grounder to third in the second inning. If this particular procedure sounds familiar, it’s because catcher Yasmani Grandal had the same one done last season, and right-handed starter Lance Lynn went through a similar process before the start of the 2022 campaign. Hahn understands there’s a certain level of depression that sets in for any player who deals with a season-altering setback, something Jiménez discussed last year concerning his time away, but he isn’t worried about Jiménez with the knowledge of the 25-year old’s tremendous makeup.* Hahn was not happy with Jiménez being characterized as injury prone, which he caught wind of at some point prior to Tuesday’s media session. He referred to such a statement as “some lazy analysis.” “Couldn’t be further from the truth in terms of the fact he’s missing significant time this year and last year, that’s the extent of you can call the guy injury prone,” Hahn said. “He made a bad decision last year trying to make a play. This year, trying to get to a level he barely accessed all year, that’s more a guy trying to do everything he can to help his team to win, even if it’s perhaps not the right decision at the time. “That’s not a guy who is injury prone. That’s just a moniker that, again, people try to besmirch a guy’s ability with an unfair label to put on someone like that. Whether they’re spouting stuff told them by others, it’s just unfair.” https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/rick-hahn-talks-about-eloy-jimenez-white-sox * Note on the approximate age....Stone said he recalls way way back when Eloy (appx 25 years old) was a young player , blah-blah.. but then refers to Vaughn (appx 24 years old) as a young player with unlimited potential and would not trade him for anyone short of Ohtani. Stone is also the one that has spouted off about Eloy about being injury prone and besmirched him on numerous occasions. That has been spouted here and regurgitated like vomit in peoples mouths.

Hendriks is emotionally out-of-control at times on the mound. Hard to tell if he is serious or not about anything. In the prior inning after striking out a batter Hendriks yelled some expletive starting with F. What was the speed of the pitch that Buxton jacked? Without knowing the speed, it looked like a typical Hendriks high fastball, the kind that has been pasted by good fastball hitters like Buxton. Buxton gets the credit. That was not a get me over fastball. It was the best Hendriks currently has in his arsenal. ...a fast but flattened out fastball. Ruiz probably would not have fared better, but , as with most other quibbles with in-game decisions, hindsight is always 20/20. I wonder if Hendriks will be available for the next game. No word on that yet.

The calculation may have been that Liam Hendriks at 96-98 mph with a sore back may have been better than whoever was left in the bullpen, plus Hendriks did not want to be taken down. It was clearly not some major injury, like an injury to his arm or elbow that would jeopardize his season by continuing to pitch. That was not a "managerial mistake." More like managerial discretion that you and some others can feel free to disagree with. Hendriks was the best option at that time albeit not a very good one. The Sox may need to look elsewhere for a Closer if this guy continues to struggle. Listen, Hendriks is very emotive on the mound so it is hard to tell where he is at. Recall Hendriks "huffing and puffing" before he gave up a home run to Aaron Judge....and then wincing before he gave up another one to Stanton.

Did Hendriks complain to Tony that he was having back spasms before or during the game? If he did, I agree that he should not have been employed or should have been pulled from the game. Sometimes players tell coaches and managers that they some issue but tell them it isn't impacting their performance. If Hendriks was throwing 98, it is hard to discern from the bench whether it had any late movement. Setting that aside, the issue with Hendriks control and/or getting mashed seems to predate back spasm complaints (Recall the Field of Dreams game for one, or his struggle closing out this years Home Opener). I see the same pitcher Liam has been for the last two years. He needs to get ahead in the count and if he doesn't, even 98mph strait as an arrow could get turned around by the better mlb hitters. That ball was pasted by Buxton. Mercy.

That was Tony's fault? Come on. IMHO, Hendriks has given up HRs because he gets down in counts to good fastball hitters and needs to throw a strike,. Unfortunately, Hendriks fastball no longer seems to have movement. When it is center cut up in the zone, it gets mashed. OK, let's assume Hendriks has some physical issue or that his fastball has just flattened out for whatever reason. .What are Tony and Katz supposed to do for a Closer now? Bummer? ReyLo?

I don't really care what some think of Eloy or his injuries.. Without him in the line-up, this team is less interesting to some fans (including those who go to a lot of games, like me) , and more importantly, Eloy will be missed by certain WSox players including Abreu, Moncada, and Robert.

Sox may have been overrated coming into the season while other teams in the division have improved more than some expected.

It's always been pretty clear that you hate Eloy Jiminez.

We don't know that. It is a different kind of injury.

Feel terrible about thus. Eloy is my favorite player on this team and also I think his bat was critical to any chance the Sox have to go deep in the playoffs. Set aside the numbers, the guy has been a clutch hitter. So Eloy was busting it down the line. He did that on Opening day and was safe on an otherwise GIDP which then allowed the winning run (Robert) to score. We have have seen countless MLB players, including guys on our current roster, who hit first base awkwardly and sustain hamstring and other injuries. Going all out to make a play is not always the best idea. I saw Vaughn coast in LF today and allow a bloop to drop instead of charging t and diving to try and catch it. I was not mad about that at all. In fact,, I thought Vaughn showed good judgment. He looks like he has learned a valuable lesson about self-preservation vs making one play. Eloy hasn't or maybe he has now. Having said all that, players should practice how they hit first base according to their stride to avoid that common injury. Maybe make first base flatter or let the runner run past it and have a video ( like they have at horse tracks) to see if a runner got past the base in time. Absent some physical changes at first base, this kind of injury will continue to be part of the game.

Why didn't the Manager pinch hit Grandal for McGuire or Burger ? Yes, of course, now that you know they didn't get a hit maybe Grandal would have. Maybe anybody would have.

Hindsight is 20/20. A lot of that here, especially after every close loss.

Silver lining on a dark cloud - Vaughn key HR, Eloy clutch double in the 9th, Sheets two hits and good contact, Great start by Kopech . OK shabby 8th inning D with two errors on a cold night in an empty stadium in (Minnesota). And no, Grandal would probably have done nothing more than McGuire or Burger, especially with an ump calling marginal pitches for strikes so he could go home., Anyway, I would like to start seeing what we got in AJP for 16 Million. , Something more than 0 for 3 ,2 Strike-outs and 3 LOB.

My take away after the last few series: 1. Vaughn should not be in the outfield... ever. He flipped Harrison who was injured trying to avoid him. It is only a matter of time before Vaughn injurs himself diving into the ground or bulldozes Robert. 2. Burger might be as good of a hitter as Vaughn. Jake has been one of the bright spots on the team thus far. 3 Super Joe should be reigned in in terms of his aggressive "sends" . I did not see whether he put up a stop sign for Leury when he rounded 1st base, but he should have. If he did, Leury should have heeded it. 4. Bennetti needs to work on his tone of voice when a player hits a fly ball into the OF. His call often raises the expectation that a ball has a chance to leave the park, and then it ends up being a 300 ft deep fly-out. 5. Stone is just awful. I wish he would retire so that the Sox could hire another color commentator.

TLR will ultimately be judged by the Sox W/L record. Unless the Sox play under .500 baseball, you are wasting your time criticizing him after every loss. Save your breath

Vaughn clipped and flipped Harrison pretty good.. Harrison is lucky he did not take the full brunt of that or he would come have come off on a stretcher. Injuries happen though so no excuses. Just try to win game 3 and get out of town.

I thought Sheets checked his swing but did not see the replay.

Why is Leury swinging on 3-1?

Fvk Keuchel.

We are still in this game...somehow.