Agreed. Hill is a journeyman (he actually started the A.J. / Barrett fight game back in 2006 for the Cubs), a left hander, a spot starter and is simply an OK pitcher in my book. How many of those guys have shredded the Sox in the past?

 

The Sox say they have a different team this year, consider tonight an excellent opportunity to start changing their perception by lighting this guy up.

 

Mark

 

The good news is: we have a different team then most years and I think we can have more success against these types of pitchers.

The good news is: we have a different team then most years and I think we can have more success against these types of pitchers.

The other good news is the guy most similar to Hill, Hill himself, hasn't been very good against the White Sox in the past

I feel like every team's fans complain about getting beat by mediocre pitchers, I've seen it from all over. I'm not sure I buy that the Sox have a unique problem there, and how true it even is. No one remembers the times when the offense scores 6 runs off some AAAA fodder, but the losses will surely stick out more in your mind.

I feel like every team's fans complain about getting beat by mediocre pitchers, I've seen it from all over. I'm not sure I buy that the Sox have a unique problem there, and how true it even is. No one remembers the times when the offense scores 6 runs off some AAAA fodder, but the losses will surely stick out more in your mind.

 

Except it really can't be true. If most teams got beat by mediocre pitching, they, by definition, wouldn't be mediocre. I think it is just more memorable when it happens which is why it sticks better.

Have wondered the same thing, myself. Seems like Avila is Sale's guy, at least from what I read but I think Navarro should be starting.

 

Frankly, Hill pitching tonight makes me a bit nervous. Sox have never had much success vs this type of pitcher but hopefully with multiple new faces it won't be an issue.

 

Just means Avi is going to pull a hanging breaking pitch about 450 ft. !

Has CSN Chicago got with the times and allow people to stream the games yet, like most other teams?

Other examples:

Dylan Axelrod beat Felix Hernandez a few years back

John Danks consistently beats the Royals

Sox wearing an "Eddie" patch on sleeves this year to commemorate Eddie Einhorn. Starting tonight

Has CSN Chicago got with the times and allow people to stream the games yet, like most other teams?

 

Other teams/networks let you do that? Thought that was an MLB archaic blackout type rule

Other teams/networks let you do that? Thought that was an MLB archaic blackout type rule

 

Yes, it is an MLB rule. Live streaming is only through the purchase of mlb.tv and only for out of market games.

Rolling a couple joints and just cracked a beer. Oh yea.

Rolling a couple joints and just cracked a beer. Oh yea.

mah man!

READY TO ROCK THIS! GO SALE GO!

mah man!

 

I haven't smoked in a couple days been saving it for the opener! Had a good productive day at my business and a half day tmr. Sox season opener and a week of 60s forecasted for Seattle.

 

Life ain't so bad.

Here's a David Cameron blurb from Fangraphs today to whet your appetite. Not a big Cameron fan but he is good at pointing out what should be obvious but sometimes isn't.

 

It’s not that people don’t realize that Chris Sale is an excellent pitcher. He’s been an All-Star for four straight years, and has finished in the top six in Cy Young voting in each of those seasons as well. Sale isn’t some under-the-radar star or anything. But whether it’s because the White Sox haven’t been any good, because everyone expects him to break down at any minute, or because he had the misfortune to be born around the same time as Clayton Kershaw, Sale hasn’t really gotten the recognition for just how great he really is.

 

This year, though, the White Sox could actually be a contender, and if they make a postseason run, it will likely be the time when everyone acknowledges that Chris Sale is the best pitcher in the American League, and it isn’t particularly close. There are some other great pitchers in the AL, certainly, and I love watching David Price, Chris Archer, Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, and Felix Hernandez as much as anyone, but when you look at how they all stack up, Sale really does stand apart from the pack.

 

Since Sale moved back into the rotation in 2012, he ranks 1st in the AL in ERA- (72), 1st in FIP- (71), and 1st in xFIP- (73). And the scary part is that he’s getting better. His strikeout rates, by season, since going back to starting full time: 25%, 26%, 30%, 32%. Last year, Sale ran a 64 xFIP-, which is almost Kershaw-esque. Kershaw is remarkable because he not only dominates the strike zone but limits hard contact as well, which Sale doesn’t do as well, but if it weren’t for our generation’s Sandy Koufax over there in LA, we’d be talking about Sale as the best pitcher in baseball.

 

I’m not entirely sold on the White Sox as contenders this year, but for Sale’s sake, I hope they at least make a run. He deserves the spotlight and the recognition that go along with being as good as he actually is. With some better teammates in place, I think this will finally be the summer that baseball acknowledges Chris Sale as the true ace of the American League.

Where's the hype?? I feel like barely any Soxtalkers are going to be watching this game, compared to the average opening day

START ALREADY PLEASE!!!!!

Yuck, the new CSN Chicago pregame "Pregame show brought to you by..." voice is annoying

Where's the hype?? I feel like barely any Soxtalkers are going to be watching this game, compared to the average opening day

That's because the game starts so f***ing late.

That's because the game starts so f***ing late.

But the first few pages of this thread are people saying that the late start time actually helps them.

Other teams/networks let you do that? Thought that was an MLB archaic blackout type rule

 

You can stream games through the fox sports go app if you're in market and have a log in.

Trayce Thompson with the RBI single for LA

Padres are just sad

Yeah, that game is just a joke.

15 more minutes