The White Sox hit 12 home runs in April of 2015. That came over 19 games, where they scored 64 runs total, and slugged .352, worst in the AL. They finished last in the AL in slugging for the year, it was not an aberration.
Read MoreThe White Sox played something resembling a baseball game against another professional team Thursday for the first time in 2016, and got righteously tuned up by the Dodgers 6-1, in a game that would have seemed especially lifeless if it wasn't, you know, the first Spring Training game of the year.
Read MoreOn paper, Johnson may not be the type of pitcher you give anything but a hesitant head shake to going into a season as crucial as 2016 is for the White Sox. But when you listen to the man behind the poor numbers and the rocky past speak, you feel his determination in his words.
Read MoreWhether you agree with his methods or not, there is no denying that Don Cooper is one of the most respected pitching coaches in today’s game. But at a time in which the strategies employed by many teams are evolving rapidly, Cooper refuses to change his ways.
Read MoreTom Verducci's latest piece, very surprisingly on the topic of Erik Johnson, contains some hard information on his, up to this point, mysterious decline and surprising relative to form. After his disastrous 2014 filled with velocity loss, control problems and a summer of getting tuned up at Triple-A Charlotte that left him fearing he was on his way out of the organization (which seems a bit panicked), Verducci reports that Johnson sought the help of a private pitching coach to clean up his mechanics.
Read MoreAfter Carlos Rodon struck out Marlon Byrd to end the fifth inning of his debut as a starter with the White Sox on Saturday night, the TV broadcast showed a brief exchange between the young lefty and pitching coach Don Cooper that appeared to be as simple as Cooper saying "how are you feeling?"
Read MoreThat escalated quickly. Per Doug Padilla, a little over a week after claiming him off waivers from Toronto, the White Sox have made Kyle Drabek the 7th man in the bullpen. Since we haven't had much time to get familiar, what do we know about Mr. Drabek?
Read MoreOn a rare day where The Catbird Seat staff got work done during sunlight hours, Grantland Contributor and best-selling author Jonah Keri joined the group for a chat on the heels on his full-length feature on the Sox' recent transformation. Even though we had James Fegan, Ethan Spaulding, Collin Whitchurch and Nick Schaefer on the call (Matt Adams was on a scouting mission), this was mostly about letting Jonah talk.
Read MoreJesse Crain is no different from any other scrap heap reliever at this point in the Spring. There are some distant reasons to be interested in him, but his red flags are such that there's likely no performance that can put him on the Opening Day roster. He's around because everyone needs to call up a bunch of relievers during the season so you might as well collect as many interesting ones as you can, and really, with his injury history, his recovery is optimistic and hopeful until there's a setback and he's not anymore.
Read MoreSo, using context, it's hard to understand what the motivation would be for the White Sox to use Carlos Rodon out of the bullpen next season, as they were reported to be considering back, oh, two weeks ago; back when there was White Sox news worth commenting on.
Read MoreThe White Sox bullpen numbers certainly look like someone was applying a theory and wondering where it took them.
Read MoreIdentifying a specific cause-and-effect for arm injuries is at best unfair and probably dishonest, since the proliferation of injuries only continues on without any steadfast predictors emerging, and if anyone has come even close to centering on what the right practice is, it's been the White Sox. But the "nothing to see here" claims are particularly hollow at the moment, even if they are comfortingly inspired. I would like to believe the brass, but there's no point in getting worked up if they have to change their story again.
Read MoreAmong the many issues that played a role in the White Sox's 63-99 record in 2013, the team's walk rate wasn't one that came as too much of a surprise. While most of the league has come to realize and appreciate the value of players with high on-base skills, the White Sox have lagged behind.
Read Morethe White Sox are going through one of those lean years in starting pitching. The type that comes after dealing away from the rotation--rightly--and showing a heavy dose of confidence in the organization's ability to convert unremarkable farm arms into mid-rotation starters. The Sox are exactly the type of team in exactly the type of situation that should suffer through a year of raw, undeveloped pitching.
Read MoreThe Catbird Seat is a White Sox blog by White Sox fans that focuses on intelligent and humorous baseball commentary. Brought to you by ESPN's SweetSpot Network.
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