Remember Sweeps? - Game Preview & Lineups 5/28

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For a pitcher to throw 6 innings while allowing 3 runs is the limit of what is considered to be a “quality start”. This is something that Hector Noesi has achieved in two out of his last three starts. He’s pushed the limits, allowing the whole 3, and pitching no more than 6 in both of those successful outings but the point is we can throw a successful tag on it. When he first shrugged his way into the rotation every start was a countdown to meltdown, but that no longer seems to be the case. It’s on his strengthening shoulders that our hopes of an Indians sweep rests.

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Chris Sale Unleashed - Game Preview & Lineups 5/27

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When last we viewed our hero, he was taking mercy upon his opponent, a helpless New York Yankees lineup that could not handle all the bottled-up aggression and dominance emanating from the well-rested left arm of Chris Sale. This time, there will be no mercy. This time, it’s personal.

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Jose Quintana tries to redeem us all - Lineups & Preview 5/26

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With Sale out for over a month this season, Quintana has been the steady hand at the top of the starting five. For the most part, he's looked tremendous. He's throwing just as hard as last year with just as much precision, and looks to have taken a big step with developing his slider, which now looks a lot more like a wipeout offering than just another variation of his fastball/cutter mix.

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Andre Rienzo is undefeated, so the Sox should be fine - Lineups & Preview 5/25

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The man to carry the Sox to this mystical lead against Masahiro Tanaka is Andre Rienzo, who seems to have flown under the radar. He's both been surprisingly bad to not be discussed: roughly a 1.5 K/BB ratio, six home runs in 36 innings, ~40% groundball rate while averaging under six innings per start. And he's been surprisingly successful: the White Sox have won all seven games he's appeared in. He's magic. He's Rick Helling. This game is a mortal lock because of his mere presence

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Hoping For More From Danks - Game Preview & Lineups 5/24

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Adam Dunn's ninth-inning blast gave the White Sox their second straight win over the Yankees on Friday night and the team has won four of five overall to climb back to .500 once again. Saturday, the White Sox will look to climb above that mark for the first time since May 9 and it will take an improved effort from John Danks to do so in the 1:10 p.m. tilt at U.S. Cellular Field.

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Noesi gets to prove he earned it - Lineups & Preview 5/23

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Staying in the rotation for the foreseeable future is Hector Noesi. Seemingly the worst option available in major league baseball earlier this year, Noesi's has proven himself in four starts to at least be better than Scott Carroll. His 5.32 ERA with the Sox is even better than John Danks.

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Who Is That Tall, Lean Man Striking Everybody Out? - Game Preview & Lineups 5/22

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Like many of you, I’ve spent the day taking down pictures, careful to not break the glass in the frames, blowing out candles, and folding sacramental cloth. The vigil is no longer needed. Our dark days have ended. Chris Sale Day is once again upon us. The time to rejoice is now.

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Guthrie Stands Between Sox and Sweep - Game Preview & Lineups 5/21

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Notorious White Sox nemesis Jeremy Guthrie is the last hurdle between the White Sox and A) a sweep of the Royals, and B) getting back to .500 after sitting between one and three games below during each of the last 11 days when the two teams meet in Wednesday's series finale at Kaufmann Stadium at 7:05 p.m.

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This One Should Have Less Comedy - Game Preview & Lineups 5/20

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Last night was a rare occurrence. The starter gave up 6 runs in just 4 innings of work and somehow the team emerged victorious. Help from the opposing pitcher is necessary for this of course. Tonight that help is unlikely to come. Royals fans have come to look forward to Yordano Ventura outings much the same as White Sox fans do with Chris Sale. They don’t win every time he steps out but there’s always strikeouts. Lots of strikeouts.

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A Homecoming for Scott Carroll - Game Preview & Lineups 5/19

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Imagine a world in which the White Sox did not win the Jose Abreu sweepstakes. A 2014 that never included the exciting young slugger. This is a world in which we instead sit and watch games out of pure routine, wondering when a losing streak long enough to doom the team to another 99 loss season will happen along. We may have just watched Jose Abreu, young Astros slugger manhandle our beloved Pale Hose, making this trip to Kansas City a relief. Respite from watching the opportunity missed make our lives miserable, allowing us to highlight a young pitcher’s (hopefully) triumphant return to his hometown instead of lamenting an offensively questionable immediate future. 

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Not losing to Houston would be good for morale - Lineups & Preview 5/18

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The Sox only have so much resistance they can offer. Both middle-of-the-order offensive cornerstones are hurt, Sunday starter John Danks' rotation status would probably be getting judged start-by-start if he weren't sporting John Danks' credentials and career history and signed to John Danks' contract, Adrian Nieto is catching because Danks is the only pitcher he can catch, and the acting cleanup hitter has a sub-.700 OPS for the month. Injuries and backup plans are part of the game. And they are a very big part of the White Sox game.

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Noesi & Astros v. Good Baseball -- Game Preview & Lineups 5/17

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One way to check to see how a season went is to see how much playing time went to backup plans. It's a good proxy for injuries and washouts. Then you can look at just how good those backup plans are. The 2005 White Sox only needed ten starts from someone not in their opening day starting five. All ten of those starts went to Brandon McCarthy, a top prospect who pitched to an ERA+ of 112. That pitching staff worked out pretty well. By contrast, the 2013 White Sox had to give Dylan Axelrod ~128 innings.

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False Alarm, Everybody! Abreu is Here - Game Preview & Lineups 5/16

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Last season a matchup between the White Sox and the Astros was a warning sign for baseball fans not hailing from the greater Chicago and Houston areas to steer clear. Two terrible teams that were on their way to earning two of the top 3 draft positions in the upcoming draft. This year the look isn’t so bad. The White Sox show consistent signs of life and Jose Abreu is a thing, even on a day we were all prepped to be without him. The Astros are still struggling but are performing admirably considering their financial output and the often questionable leadership of Bo Porter.

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Take One In Oakland, Please? - Game Preview & Lineups 5/14

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The White Sox's personal House of Horrors has proved to be just that as they have dropped the first two of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics, last night by a miserable 11-0 margin.

Or, ya know, the A's are just a much better team than the White Sox.

Either way, the White Sox will look to salvage the series finale and snap a four-game losing streak with Wednesday's afternoon tilt at O.co Coliseum.

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Patience Against Pomeranz - Game Preview & Lineups 5/13

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Early on in the season, the White Sox rotated between wins and losses on a pretty regular basis, which is the recipe with which they've been able to hover around the .500 mark for most of the season.

Lately, however, the team has gone through a spell of rotating between three or four consecutive losses with three or four consecutive wins. After losing four straight to Detroit and Cleveland, the White Sox promptly won four straight against the Cubs. Now, they're on one of their down turns, having lost three straight after last night's 5-4 defeat to the Oakland Athletics in the first of a three-game series.

On Tuesday, they'll try to turn get back in the win column when they face left-hander Drew Pomeranz at 9:05 p.m. at O.co Coliseum.

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If You're Looking to Stay Up Late - Game Preview & Lineups 5/12

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West coast games are hard. They start so late and when things aren’t going the way you want them to the Siren’s call of sleep begins to lure you away and before you know it you’re stirred awake by a “this ball game is ovah” of a tone so telling that you won’t even need to look at the score to know the result. Oh it’s hard on the players too. You know, all that flying and actual participating in baseball games.

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Quintana v. Miley - Game Preview & Lineups 5/10

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After a tough stretch against the Rangers, Tigers, and Red Sox, the White Sox have had a chance to pad their win total against the Cubs and Diamondbacks -- two of the weakest teams in all of baseball. Tonight the White Sox have a chance to go 2-games above .500 for the first time since April 2nd. However, although the Diamondbacks have been horrible this year,  Arizona's offense has been bad, but ordinary bad (25th or so in the majors). The main culprit has been their pitching staff as they are the only team in the majors to have allowed more than 200 runs. Therefore, on nights where they get a decent pitching performance they can be a tough opponent.

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Remember Brandon McCarthy? - Game Preview & Lineups 5/9

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Do you remember Brandon McCarthy?

You probably do, as if you're on this website and reading this article you're probably pretty well-educated about recent White Sox history. But in case you're not, here's a little refresher on the pitcher the White Sox will face when they open up a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

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How Long Can This Keep Up? - Game Preview & Lineups 5/8

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Scott Carroll impressed in his debut and we all knew he wouldn’t be able to repeat it. And then he basically repeated it. In 2 starts, Scott Carroll has allowed just one earned run. Can he keep it going against a Cubs team that’s managed just 5 runs over the last 3 games? I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens when small samples duel. After going a month without a winning streak the White Sox have a 4 game streak while their top pitcher and spark plug at the top of the lineup are both on the disabled list. They'll go for 5 in a row with a 29 year-old rookie on the mound.

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