feels good man

 

We aren't going to get a top draft pick at this rate but I am enjoying this baseball

Only facts in this thread.

I certainly didn't expect a 5 game winning streak... all season.

Was a fun one. Power is starting to arrive too.

Alone in 1st place, best record in Chicago, top 5 in run differential, just like we all expected.

Winning divisional games is fun!

Winning divisional games is fun!

 

On the road, no less.

 

 

Winning divisional games is fun!

Divisional games... on the road.... with Mike Pelfrey starting in place of James Shields..... what universe is this???

Games are fun to watch, been awhile since I could say that.

The Beer is getting blander!

Divisional games... on the road.... with Mike Pelfrey starting in place of James Shields..... what universe is this???

Pretty much what I have been thinking. Could the stars be aligned for the Sox this year in a year in which we all expect to lose? It's pretty hard to explain how good the bullpen has been. Plus been pretty lucky too. We get Detroit with no Miggy or JD Martinez ,Castellanos errors. Got Cleveland earlier when Encarnacion was struggling. Avi hitting like Frank Thomas and running like the wind. Probably leading the league in infield hits because of his hustle/speed combo.

 

Yes it's early but whatever. Pitching , speed ,defense wins games.

feels good man

 

We aren't going to get a top draft pick at this rate but I am enjoying this baseball

I'd rather they wind up with the 25th pick and draft the next Mike Trout than get the 2nd pick and draft the next Pedro Alvarez anyway. Just win, baby.

Who the hell is this team??? Gotta admit I'm loving this so far.

Who the hell is this team??? Gotta admit I'm loving this so far.

You got to love it. However the bullpen will need reinforcements soon if Covey and Pelfrey can't go 5 innings and Petricka and Putnam are out much longer. It might be sustainable under different circumstances but overwork will lead to fatigue and fatigue will lead to meltdowns.

Actually beating AL Central teams is a nice surprise. I like winning

You got to love it. However the bullpen will need reinforcements soon if Covey and Pelfrey can't go 5 innings and Petricka and Putnam are out much longer. It might be sustainable under different circumstances but overwork will lead to fatigue and fatigue will lead to meltdowns.

 

Bullpen has been lights out, will make them even more valuable as trade pieces later on. Whatever happens, stay the course...rebuild!

 

Regarding Petricka and Putnam, I thought I read a few days ago (Phil Rogers maybe?) that Petricka has torn that lat muscle not pulled it.

 

If that's true, he's not coming back for a long time. Putnam ? Who knows considering it's his elbow. And I'd be surprised if Rodon was back before June.

 

Mark

Love it. Keep it up boys!!! It stood out to me during spring training, just how much of an upgrade Renteria was. He just has this "it" feel as as mgr., especially when compared to Robin. You could hear him all over the diamond during spring and just see the "passion" for the game and managing at all times. Focus on fundamentals, etc.

 

This won't keep up, but its great to see, and you just never know. We have other young players who are going to come up at different points and if Avi can keep mashing, awesome. I know people have pointed out a lot of Avi's stats look "fluky", but he is crushing the ball and he's drastically changed is "pull" ratio and that was a huge weakness of is (inability to hit the inside pitch). What he used to struggle with, he is now hammering, so even if his swing percentages, etc., are unchanged, statistically he is pulling the ball more and is hitting it harder when he does "pull" it.

doing with 4 pitchers on the DL.

 

The depth of this pen should keep it from being overworked.

Great win, just ride it out, likely won't get the top draft pick but all the pieces adding value is well worth it, who knows; just enjoying the ride.

Love it. Keep it up boys!!! It stood out to me during spring training, just how much of an upgrade Renteria was. He just has this "it" feel as as mgr., especially when compared to Robin. You could hear him all over the diamond during spring and just see the "passion" for the game and managing at all times. Focus on fundamentals, etc.

 

This won't keep up, but its great to see, and you just never know. We have other young players who are going to come up at different points and if Avi can keep mashing, awesome. I know people have pointed out a lot of Avi's stats look "fluky", but he is crushing the ball and he's drastically changed is "pull" ratio and that was a huge weakness of is (inability to hit the inside pitch). What he used to struggle with, he is now hammering, so even if his swing percentages, etc., are unchanged, statistically he is pulling the ball more and is hitting it harder when he does "pull" it.

As a keen observer of Avi who doesn't rely on advanced metrics it looks to me as if he's not getting pitched too as much inside.He used to swing at a lot of balls inside on his hands . He pulled 2 balls tonight and got 2 hits because they were well placed but not hit hard. One was a dribbler up the 3rd base line and the other was just a bouncer up the line that Castellanos got to deep behind the bag. He beat both out with his speed and hustle. I think he is just hitting bad pitching. Pitchers now should go up and in on him and back him off the plate then go down and away. The bomb he hit today was up but out over the plate.

It's July 31st, 2017.

 

The Chicago White Sox are 6 games over .500, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians, and in 2nd place in the AL Central.

 

Avisail Garcia is hitting .325, Matt Davidson has 18 home runs, Rodon has a sub-3 ERA, and the bullpen remains dominant.

 

Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito have had strong showings since their early June call-ups.

 

Nevertheless, the Sox swing trades for Dan Jennings, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera, Todd Frazier, and Nate Jones.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Even though that was mostly sarcastic, I can actually see this team being pretty good and still selling, to the dismay of *some* fans.

doing with 4 pitchers on the DL.

 

The depth of this pen should keep it from being overworked.

What depth ? Without Petricka and Putnam, and Covey and Pelfrey in the rotation , Swarzak, Jennings Jones and Kahnle won't last much longer unless Ynoa can step up and Beck becomes something less than the black hole he has always been. The Sox aren't a good offense and even the slightest hiccup in the pen eliminates wins.

 

It's July 31st, 2017.

 

The Chicago White Sox are 6 games over .500, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians, and in 2nd place in the AL Central.

 

Avisail Garcia is hitting .325, Matt Davidson has 18 home runs, Rodon has a sub-3 ERA, and the bullpen remains dominant.

 

Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito have had strong showings since their early June call-ups.

 

Nevertheless, the Sox swing trades for Dan Jennings, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera, Todd Frazier, and Nate Jones.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Even though that was mostly sarcastic, I can actually see this team being pretty good and still selling, to the dismay of *some* fans.

 

Anyone who thinks we can catch Cleveland is crazy.

We had the same situation with the pen early last year. And all the games without hardly a day off was blamed (by Harrelson) for burning out Albers and Robertson, to name two.

 

But right now, we've got five solid guys in Jennings, Swarzak, Kahnle, Jones and Robertson.

 

Beck and Ynoa aren't a big deal at all, and you always could use Burdi, Fulmer or Lopez down there at some point in the second half.

 

At any rate, we have a long stretch of road games, so the record will likely fall back to sub .500 a month from now, so we might as well enjoy this while it lasts.

Edited April 29, 20178 yr by caulfield12