Long article breaking down the White Sox situation and the history/philosophy behind it in MLB. Also includes this quote:

“I would be sitting here lying to you if I’m OK with strikeouts,” Derek Shomon told MLB.com in September. “No one is.”

South Side Sox

Swinging for the fences, missing the moment

As strikeouts reshape Major League Baseball, the White Sox discover the cost of chasing power when every out matters

Decent article but I think they were just exhausted as much as anything in that game 5. They weren't just "one of the most productive AL offenses" -- they were the most productive. They ran out of gas in a short series. It happens. Look at the fucking Guardians. 79 years and counting. The key is to once again make the playoffs next year, and keep making the playoffs and good things will happen.

The player that wasn't mentioned that was as guilty of it as anybody down the stretch was Braden. I'm not sure you replace anybody in the IF, but if you want to upgrade a spot into more production, you perhaps look at RF. Yes you'd be giving up on Braden early, probably too early, but if we are in win now mode, I think you can do better than his projected 1.5 WAR.

Right, I think if it was the first time you watched the sox you must have assumed they always sold out for a homer. That was not the case games 1-4, it just caught up with them. And hey, we put so much pressure on cleveland they had to throw their top pitcher against us 3 times in 5 days and couldn't use him in ALCS. Maybe we weren't so bad.

6 hours ago, bmags said:

Right, I think if it was the first time you watched the sox you must have assumed they always sold out for a homer. That was not the case games 1-4, it just caught up with them. And hey, we put so much pressure on cleveland they had to throw their top pitcher against us 3 times in 5 days and couldn't use him in ALCS. Maybe we weren't so bad.

And also wore down their pen...especially Cade Smith

pretty sure they will all scored upon except Sabrowski

You need to play to the strengths of your ballpark. Slug is king here. And for people who have been watching the playoffs, the Brewers have needed that home run ball. As Chris talked about, these were more mechincal things then it was approach.

I have always felt that a one-dimensional HR / K offense is probably your best bet to get you to the postseason, but a multifaceted offense will tip the odds in your favor once you get there.

That is to say, it’s a crapshoot once you get to the postseason, but you’re going for frequency of production, not aggregate volume. A longball-only offense will give you aggregate volume that helps and evens out over a 162-game season, but you are likelier to enter a “famine” cycle in a short series compared to a diversified offense.

12 hours ago, Colome's Hat said:

You need to play to the strengths of your ballpark. Slug is king here. And for people who have been watching the playoffs, the Brewers have needed that home run ball. As Chris talked about, these were more mechincal things then it was approach.

The Brewers are two wins away from a World Series title. They have needed that home run ball? lol

8 hours ago, Paulie4Pres said:

The Brewers are two wins away from a World Series title. They have needed that home run ball? lol

Yes and they’ve out homered their opponents 11-4 in the postseason so far.

Are you saying they’d be in the same spot if they were smallballing their way through games?

10 hours ago, Paulie4Pres said:

The Brewers are two wins away from a World Series title. They have needed that home run ball? lol

Look at how they beat LA. Home runs.

Have to possess the versatility to win with homers AND small ball.

Adaptability.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by caulfield12