The Sox can beat the Astros. It comes down to pitching. The Sox can't have their starter giving up 3-4 runs in the first inning or two, which we've seen too many times lately.

1 hour ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

Sox are playing the worst team in the playoffs by record. Still salty about the division but you can't ask for a better draw.

I think the Sox can win in Houston, but having watching a lot of both the Astros and the Rangers lately, I would have liked to play the Rangers . bad things always seem to happen in Houston (well not always)

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by White Sox Park
I forgot to add something

"The 2026 White Sox won just 84 games, but did so in front of fans that reasoned 75 victories was an aspirational goal, and repaid the overage in enthusiasm.

Could they have won more? They certainly thought so, and rue an early-September slide that cost them a division title. They also had 11 walk-off victories, were often stringing together pitching plans that would have made MacGyver nervous, and no team that’s tied itself spiritually to the papacy the way these Sox have can consider themselves starved of blessings."

Fegan csuntimes

Streaming on Peacock.

Game 1, 5 p.m. ET Tuesday (PCK/NBCSN): David Sandlin (CWS) vs. Peter Lambert (HOU)
Game 2 5 p.m. ET Wednesday (PCK/NBCSN): Sean Burke (CWS) vs. Hunter Brown (HOU)
Game 3, TBD*: Davis Martin (CWS) vs. Hayden Wesneski (HOU)
(*if necessary)

4 hours ago, The Mighty Mite said:

I’d like to know what genius came up with a 3 game playoff series with one team not getting a home game. A 5 game first round would be more fair with a 2-2-1 rotation.

I believe it came from a few competing interests:

1. Didn't want a one-game playoff anymore for competitive reasons (too much randomness in the outcome of a single game)

2. Players did not want to reduce the number of regular season games

3. MLB did not want the postseason to end any later in the calendar year (supposedly the TV partners are ready to move on to other programming by late fall, plus the weather gets cold in some markets)

So 3 games was the shortest way to go beyond a single game and by playing them all in one place, you don't have to add a travel day. I'm sure rewarding the division winner with a significant home field advantage was a motivation too.

2 minutes ago, Jake said:

I believe it came from a few competing interests:

1. Didn't want a one-game playoff anymore for competitive reasons (too much randomness in the outcome of a single game)

2. Players did not want to reduce the number of regular season games

3. MLB did not want the postseason to end any later in the calendar year (supposedly the TV partners are ready to move on to other programming by late fall, plus the weather gets cold in some markets)

So 3 games was the shortest way to go beyond a single game and by playing them all in one place, you don't have to add a travel day. I'm sure rewarding the division winner with a significant home field advantage was a motivation too.

A Division winner whose record is not as good as the last Wild Card, some changes are needed.

2 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

A Division winner whose record is not as good as the last Wild Card, some changes are needed.

Its never going to be perfect. Unless you get rid of divisions, stuff like this will happen. The alternative is AL East teams generally dominating the postseason discussion every year. This is much better.

2 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

A Division winner whose record is not as good as the last Wild Card, some changes are needed.

Well, I think it makes sense not to mix the two systems by re-seeding. If it's all about record, need to play a balanced schedule (which I would hate as I live on the east coast). Otherwise, have to treat winning a division like it's better than failing to win a division. This system will help the Sox more than it hurts them.

FWIW, home field advantage in baseball is very small. Home teams win about 54% of the time in the regular season, more like 52% in the playoffs.

Sox. Astros. Tuesday. 4 PM. On the COCK!

Going up against 3 righties (if they go 3). Going to need Mune and Colson to run into some stuff. That is a bit worrisome, especially with Colson lately.