October 10, 20214 yr great article In terms of managerial moves, Tony La Russa’s decisions have matched the quality of the broadcasts. Game 1 was acceptable, even if you might’ve done some things differently. Game 2 is just about impossible to defend, to the point that it also made his Game 1 thought process worse. https://soxmachine.com/2021/10/09/tony-la-russa-isnt-helping-white-sox-who-may-be-beyond-it/
October 10, 20214 yr Having not seen Fridays game, that was a helpful rundown, super disappointing. My main concern with TLR is he was going to be a hero leaving our starters in as a reaction to things like the Snell game last year. His observational analytics should have come into play a bit more. Hoping it’s just one of those years with Bummer. That every ground all makes it through the infield has been so frustrating
October 10, 20214 yr So far TLR has been amazingly underwhelming this post season, considering that was what he was brought in for, his 'experience' has not helped the Sox improve on last year in the post season.
October 10, 20214 yr The White Sox had a 71% chance of winning the game up 4-2 is a pretty good response to the “it’s only the players the manager is blameless” stuff.
October 10, 20214 yr 22 minutes ago, bmags said: Having not seen Fridays game, that was a helpful rundown, super disappointing. My main concern with TLR is he was going to be a hero leaving our starters in as a reaction to things like the Snell game last year. His observational analytics should have come into play a bit more. Hoping it’s just one of those years with Bummer. That every ground all makes it through the infield has been so frustrating Bummer had been really good for awhile heading into the playoffs. Just didn’t have it Friday, but it was a far less than optimal spot to use him. Edited October 10, 20214 yr by ChiSox59
October 10, 20214 yr The Athletic recap from the Houston writer summed up best the difference between the philosophies of the two teams. Pinching the infield in early during Game 1 lead to an extra run early, and put additional pressure on the team.Add abysmal defensive lapses and fundamentals, chalked up during the season as "due to injuries". One manager going for the win with his decisions, and his team cashed in twice, the second in a very winnable game for the White Sox. https://theathletic.com/2878046/2021/10/08/astros-relentless-offense-lays-waste-to-white-sox-bullpen-for-2-0-alds-lead-it-happens-fast/ Quote “This is a big-inning team,” Baker said. “Sometimes people wonder why we don’t bunt or we don’t squeeze or whatever it is, which I believe in also, but you’re keeping the other team in the game by keeping the game close. We’ve got a big-inning team. It doesn’t always work. But when it works, it works great.”
October 10, 20214 yr Hard to win with a second basemen (Cesar Hernandez) who inexplicably stopped hitting for power after he came to the WSox...., a utility player in RF, a catcher that has defensive issues, and a pitching staff that cannot hold down the Astros. If Cease and the bullpen keep walking guys, we are going to get swept. The Sox need a few HR with men on base, a lot of noise from the home crowd, and a good deal of luck to beat a team that looks a lot better than they are. While the Sox look to salvage a win, Houston has their eyes on another World Series berth. Maybe we catch them looking too far ahead. Oh well, here's hoping that we get a win tonight.
October 10, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, tray said: Hard to win with a second basemen (Cesar Hernandez) who inexplicably stopped hitting for power after he came to the WSox...., a utility player in RF, a catcher that has defensive issues, and a pitching staff that cannot hold down the Astros. If Cease and the bullpen keep walking guys, we are going to get swept. The Sox need a few HR with men on base, a lot of noise from the home crowd, and a good deal of luck to beat a team that looks a lot better than they are. While the Sox look to salvage a win, Houston has their eyes on another World Series berth. Maybe we catch them looking too far ahead. Oh well, here's hoping that we get a win tonight. Hard to win with a rookie CF, a catcher who is a worse hitter than many pitchers, a banged up RF, your league batting champ with 1 hit in 2 games, and with your best starter sidelined the whole year for TJS.
October 10, 20214 yr 6 minutes ago, Balta1701 said: Hard to win with a rookie CF, a catcher who is a worse hitter than many pitchers, a banged up RF, your league batting champ with 1 hit in 2 games, and with your best starter sidelined the whole year for TJS. Depth. Tucker is having a 2019 Moncada season, and Alvarez is a monster. Imagine the Dodgers with him in there for Muncy instead. Pitching and pen is just good enough.
October 10, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, bmags said: Having not seen Fridays game, that was a helpful rundown, super disappointing. My main concern with TLR is he was going to be a hero leaving our starters in as a reaction to things like the Snell game last year. His observational analytics should have come into play a bit more. Hoping it’s just one of those years with Bummer. That every ground all makes it through the infield has been so frustrating Kimbrel and Bummer both look a lot worse this year and series because of the defense.
October 10, 20214 yr 7 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said: Kimbrel and Bummer both look a lot worse this year and series because of the defense. I think it’s just bad luck with bummer, for Kimbrel… the home runs are inexcusable. He has been garbage.
October 10, 20214 yr The players have been bad and TLR has been bad and here we are down 0-2. Pretty simple.
October 10, 20214 yr Lynn, Giolito, Kimbrel. Dudes, you gotta find that extra gear for the playoffs. Gotta do it. You’re all probably top 50 pitchers in the league. You gotta be menacing. Walking people? What?
October 10, 20214 yr I think they are pressing. Game 2 sucked. TLR was absolutely terrible. And Leury is just Leury. Dumbest player since alejandro de aza
October 10, 20214 yr 39 minutes ago, bmags said: I think it’s just bad luck with bummer, for Kimbrel… the home runs are inexcusable. He has been garbage. At some point it's no longer bad luck when the majority of the grounders are going to the same few spots and the infielders positioning isn't adjusted to match.
October 10, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, WhiteSoxFan1993 said: At some point it's no longer bad luck when the majority of the grounders are going to the same few spots and the infielders positioning isn't adjusted to match. That is what a bench coach is for. The Sox have a staff that assembles analytics. LaRussa relies on a lot of people including Katz, who seldom if ever gets any criticism for decisions on pitching changes or pitcher performance. Is LaRussa agreeing or disagreeing with what Katz advises him to do regarding pitching changes ? From the look of it, it always seems like they are on the same page. Maybe the Sports media people should interview Katz and find out what his view was about certain specific pitching moves....whether he advised that they be made or disagreed with them.
October 10, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, WhiteSoxFan1993 said: At some point it's no longer bad luck when the majority of the grounders are going to the same few spots and the infielders positioning isn't adjusted to match. This. Bummer is supposed to get ground balls. If the manager says “no stand over here so you don’t field them”, Bummer can only do so much.
October 10, 20214 yr 1 minute ago, Balta1701 said: This. Bummer is supposed to get ground balls. If the manager says “no stand over here so you don’t field them”, Bummer can only do so much. I don't know if the Sox would ever dare try this, but Bummer has a FB rate under 10% and you could really justify playing 5 IF and 2 OF when he's pitching, especially if your two OF are Robert and Engel.
October 10, 20214 yr 7 minutes ago, Balta1701 said: This. Bummer is supposed to get ground balls. If the manager says “no stand over here so you don’t field them”, Bummer can only do so much. Yes I think this is true. I meant bad luck in the sense for Bummer, who is doing what he’s paid for but it’s not paying off.
October 10, 20214 yr 20 minutes ago, tray said: That is what a bench coach is for. The Sox have a staff that assembles analytics. LaRussa relies on a lot of people including Katz, who seldom if ever gets any criticism for decisions on pitching changes or pitcher performance. Is LaRussa agreeing or disagreeing with what Katz advises him to do regarding pitching changes ? From the look of it, it always seems like they are on the same page. Maybe the Sports media people should interview Katz and find out what his view was about certain specific pitching moves....whether he advised that they be made or disagreed with them. So we are going to pretend the same guy that ignored his staff when he didn't understand a rule is now seeking out his coaches for advice... but only when things go badly. Ok Stan.
October 10, 20214 yr 15 minutes ago, Balta1701 said: This. Bummer is supposed to get ground balls. If the manager says “no stand over here so you don’t field them”, Bummer can only do so much. Bummer was 4th in MLB this year with the lowest shift rate among pitchers at 3.4%. He was at 5.3 in a really limited sample last year and 8.3 in 2019 when he was really good. For a guy who gives up pretty much nothing but grounders it really doesn't make a ton of sense to have him be at a disadvantage by not shifting correctly.
October 10, 20214 yr 3 minutes ago, chw42 said: Bummer was 4th in MLB this year with the lowest shift rate among pitchers at 3.4%. He was at 5.3 in a really limited sample last year and 8.3 in 2019 when he was really good. For a guy who gives up pretty much nothing but grounders it really doesn't make a ton of sense to have him be at a disadvantage by not shifting correctly. I saw a spray chart after the game of Yordan’s ground balls this year that made the lack of shifting on him inexcusable. His go-ahead single went exactly to where he hits a lot of grounders.
October 10, 20214 yr 3 minutes ago, fathom said: I saw a spray chart after the game of Yordan’s ground balls this year that made the lack of shifting on him inexcusable. His go-ahead single went exactly to where he hits a lot of grounders. What about TLR’s hire and this particular playoff series hasn’t played out exactly to the worst initial fears of most Sox fans? Of course, if that isn’t enough, we inevitably get Groundhog Day 2 next year as well.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.