It's a baseball season. s*** happens. If the Sox are a good team, and they are, they'll bounce back and have a good 4-2 or 5-1 week.

Do people really expect a,team to,go 4-2 every week of the season? It doesn't happen. Ever. There will be more bad weeks. The Cubs will even have a bad week.

Voice of reason, here.

Astros come to Chicago 15-24.

Tigers won. Wade Davis blew a save to the Bravos.

You know they are off, right

Didn't know. Lol I know they play Houston next didn't know they had a day off. I'm used to 19 games straight lol

Didn't know. Lol I know they play Houston next didn't know they had a day off. I'm used to 19 games straight lol

 

And the fact they were off Thursday helps throw it off.

Thought for the Day / Stats of the Day:

 

Thought for the Day: Chase Headley is the new Ryan Raburn. A mediocre player who makes a career of killing the White Sox and ONLY the White Sox.

 

Stats of the Day:

 

We are roughly six weeks into the season and the Sox “5th starter” has yet to record one single, solitary victory. Not…one…

 

On this six game road trip White Sox pitchers allowed 21 TWO OUT RBI’S!!! (That’s ridiculous…)

 

The Sox need to get home and get their collective heads back together. This has not been the same team since they gave away that game Tuesday night in Texas. There obviously has been a hangover from that one and they need to stop it quick.

 

As far as Zach Duke...more and more the deal the Sox gave him is looking like a big mistake.

 

Mark

 

Maybe they have. Today seemed like such a duplicate of last season except for the tying it again. Too many mental midgets in the pen. No clutch. I feel that way with everyone in the pen. No Adam Vinateris in there.

 

Do people really expect a,team to,go 4-2 every week of the season? It doesn't happen. Ever. There will be more bad weeks. The Cubs will even have a bad week.

 

 

The Chicago Cubs are the greatest team in Sports History. ESPN will make sure we are constantly praising their herculean and heroic efforts. A bad week for them is only having a threesome six days of the 7.

 

 

I consider Tuesday a big game because we need to see Rodon bounce back and have a good game. With Latos & #5 a concern, we need Rodon to start contributing like Sale and Q.

Damn these last few losses have been really tough. We have had a couple games where we gave up multiple leads during the game, the bullpen is coming back down to earth and it is tough to watch right now. Hopefully another off day and coming back home can change things up a bit

I consider Tuesday a big game because we need to see Rodon bounce back and have a good game. With Latos & #5 a concern, we need Rodon to start contributing like Sale and Q.

 

Rodon has made some comments about being more aggressive and if he walks guys, he walks guys. Let's see how that goes.

Edited May 15, 20169 yr by flavum

Rodon has made some comments about being more aggressive and if he walks guys, he walks guys. Let's see how that goes.

It will at least be good to see his bulldog mentality manifest again.

The Astros have a lousy record but they went toe to toe offensively with the Red Sox for three straight games.

 

Need to right the ship. 1-3 since blowing that game Tuesday night in epic fashion. Luckily, the Indians wet the bed against the Twins, and that happened at home. Easily could have been a Twins' sweep. In fact, the Indians are 2-4 against Minnesota and we're 6-0, so that right there is one big chunk of the 5 game spread in the standings.

 

Still tied for the best record in the AL, but technically percentage points behind the O's.

Edited May 15, 20169 yr by caulfield12

As Dan Plesac correctly pointed out, Gonzo was afraid to pitch in the strike zone because he knew that anything he threw in the strike zone would probably get torched. Gonzo walked his way off the roster, or at least I hope he did. RH and KW would be crazy to keep this guy on the roster and give him one more start. That was more painful to watch than looking at his sideburns.

Then the bullpen - Zach Duke was awful and Matt Albers stunk it up again. Even Nate Jones gave up a bomb.

Rome crumbling before our eyes again.

 

The good news is that the Sox have time to find someone else for the 5th starter spot. Maybe go to a 4 man rotation for one turn.

 

 

 

As Dan Plesac correctly pointed out, Gonzo was afraid to pitch in the strike zone because he knew that anything he threw in the strike zone would probably get torched. Gonzo walked his way off the roster, or at least I hope he did. RH and KW would be crazy to keep this guy on the roster and give him one more start. That was more painful to watch than looking at his sideburns.

Then the bullpen - Zach Duke was awful and Matt Albers stunk it up again. Even Nate Jones gave up a bomb.

Rome crumbling before our eyes again.

 

The good news is that the Sox have time to find someone else for the 5th starter spot. Maybe go to a 4 man rotation for one turn.

 

Who would you replace Gonzalez with? He's at least kept the team in the games he's pitched in. The rest of our 5th starters can't really say the same.

The 5th spot is going to be a revolving door for a while, but Gonzalez will face KC on Saturday, and somebody (Beck?) will face the Indians in 8 days.

Who would you replace Gonzalez with? He's at least kept the team in the games he's pitched in. The rest of our 5th starters can't really say the same.

 

I watched the games he pitched in. Gonzo was more lucky than good. He was on the tip of disaster in several innings. The reason he has to go is because of what Plesac said. He can throw strikes but doesn't because he does not trust his pitches in the zone.

I don't know who the Sox should bring up as the next contestant in the 5th starter derby. Not Erik Johnson, not Scott Carroll and not Gonzo for sure. That is why I suggested possibly skipping the 5th spot for one turn while that is being discussed and decided on.

I watched the games he pitched in. Gonzo was more lucky than good. He was on the tip of disaster in several innings. The reason he has to go is because of what Plesac said. He can throw strikes but doesn't because he does not trust his pitches in the zone.

I don't know who the Sox should bring up as the next contestant in the 5th starter derby. Not Erik Johnson, not Scott Carroll and not Gonzo for sure. That is why I suggested possibly skipping the 5th spot for one turn while that is being discussed and decided on.

 

They aren't going to a four man, plus there's a doubleheader a week from tomorrow, so Gonzalez will start again. That's not changing.

As Dan Plesac correctly pointed out, Gonzo was afraid to pitch in the strike zone because he knew that anything he threw in the strike zone would probably get torched. Gonzo walked his way off the roster, or at least I hope he did. RH and KW would be crazy to keep this guy on the roster and give him one more start. That was more painful to watch than looking at his sideburns.

Then the bullpen - Zach Duke was awful and Matt Albers stunk it up again. Even Nate Jones gave up a bomb.

Rome crumbling before our eyes again.

 

The good news is that the Sox have time to find someone else for the 5th starter spot. Maybe go to a 4 man rotation for one turn.

 

 

It will be interesting to see how Sox management responds Miguel's start. My bet is they say he is a work in progress and he gets another chance. Or they roll the dice on Lincecum

Luckily, the Twins and Royals aren't putting much pressure on us, YET.

 

I have a sense that will change pretty dramatically once we start playing them head to head. Either we'll bury them in June or we'll muddle through and it will be a dogfight until the very end.

 

Technically, the White Sox have won 2 of the 3 starts that Gonzalez went out there, and he's kept them in the games, which is all you can ask for someone you didn't have to give up anything to acquire.

 

 

Status quo for now.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_...miguel-gonzalez

Based on the 628 OPS against him from current Royals' hitters, there's no way he doesn't start SUN.

 

 

Interestingly, Jarrod Dyson is 5/6 against him, Salvy Perez 4/11 and the rest of the team is pretty much terrible.

I watched the games he pitched in. Gonzo was more lucky than good. He was on the tip of disaster in several innings. The reason he has to go is because of what Plesac said. He can throw strikes but doesn't because he does not trust his pitches in the zone.

I don't know who the Sox should bring up as the next contestant in the 5th starter derby. Not Erik Johnson, not Scott Carroll and not Gonzo for sure. That is why I suggested possibly skipping the 5th spot for one turn while that is being discussed and decided on.

 

Miguel Gonzalez has not lost us a game in his 3 starts facing TOR, TEX and NYY all on the road. Let that sink in. No 5th starter is going to be dominant he is doing what a 5th starter is supposed to do which is keep us in games. Not his fault the bullpen blew leads in the last 2 games.

Edited May 16, 20169 yr by soxforlife05

As Dan Plesac correctly pointed out, Gonzo was afraid to pitch in the strike zone because he knew that anything he threw in the strike zone would probably get torched. Gonzo walked his way off the roster, or at least I hope he did. RH and KW would be crazy to keep this guy on the roster and give him one more start. That was more painful to watch than looking at his sideburns.

Then the bullpen - Zach Duke was awful and Matt Albers stunk it up again. Even Nate Jones gave up a bomb.

Rome crumbling before our eyes again.

 

The good news is that the Sox have time to find someone else for the 5th starter spot. Maybe go to a 4 man rotation for one turn.

 

Okay, things are getting quite amusing when I have to be the voice of "reason."

 

Rome crumbling? Not quite yet, lol, but they definitely took some body blows this week and have to figure out a way to right the ship.

 

Any "strike" throwers we have in the minors are going to be guys that we probably don't want throwing the ball over the plate because it will get crushed. That was the Twins' philosophy for years, pitch to contact, let the fielders do the work and limit the walks. Of course, if you have little command inside the strike zone and don't have enough stuff to put hitters away, it's also pointless.

 

If you put any pitcher in that "bubble" where every single start out could be his last at the major league level, you're going to have a tentative pitcher afraid to make mistakes or give up a huge inning. In a way, that worked in his favor for most of Sunday, although it won't always when you put that many runners on base.

 

As soon as our next sacrificial lamb is slaughtered (Beck, I think), then there will be a new punching bag to focus on...or maybe it will be Hahn, although it's pretty fair to say nobody expected to be 5 to 7 1/2 games in first place in the AL Central six weeks into the season. That said, it's up to Hahn to address the bullpen and find another starting pitcher before the end of July. Whether it's Lincecum or not, we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Really, they could use Lincecum more in the pen...but that would require him throwing mid 90's in short bursts and I'm not sure if he could do that or not. We all had a sneaking suspicion Matt Albers wasn't going to be able to sustain his near dominance for the entire season. So you look to improve, but don't do anything stupid like desperately overpaying when you don't have any compelling need to do so.

some thoughts.

 

Jose: I've said it before, he remains BELOW average defensively. Two runners reached on him. The second one you can put on Lawrie. But the first failed scoop was typical and you gotta make it. Good first baseman do. All the more painful in that he's been less than himself on offense.

 

Pen: Yeah we're gonna need an arm. At least one. We've had lead in almost every game last two series.

 

Starters: Latos/Miggy. Might get one 5th starter out of those two but we have one spot that needs upgrade.

 

Execution. While failing with 2nd and 3rd no outs today was rough. I forgive it cause of plays like the eaton squeeze. love it. but yeah that hurt to not score another there.

Miguel Gonzalez has not lost us a game in his 3 starts facing TOR, TEX and NYY all on the road. Let that sink in. No 5th starter is going to be dominant he is doing what a 5th starter is supposed to do which is keep us in games. Not his fault the bullpen blew leads in the last 2 games.

 

I would agree that he is minimally acceptable as a 5th starter on most teams. However, if the Sox want to win the Division this year, they will have to find a fifth starter who is more competitive and goes deeper into games.

 

Gonzo has given up 19 hits and 10 walks in 15.2 innings. (1.85 WHIP and 5.17 ERA). He has been on the brink of disaster on several occasions which could easily have blown those games wide open and made those stats ugly.

 

The bullpen is a separate issue except to the extent that a starter like Gonzo can't make it through 5 innings which then increases the outs the pen has to cover.

 

 

 

 

Sorry if it's been brought up (I only listened to part of the game), but I just heard Hawk say that the Yankees have won the last 141 straight games when leading the game after 8 innings? This seems unbelievable...

 

We should given them Duke.