TCS Morning 10: Next week this game will be played in pajamas

/

After a rough weekend against the Cubs and four runs in three games to start this awful West Coast swing, the Sox had their periodic and overdue "the offense is breaking out!" game to avoid a sweep in Anaheim with an 8-2 victory Thursday night. Given an opportunity against rookie spot starter Nick Tropeano (pitching because the Sox off capped Matt Shoemaker's downward spiral last week) and bullpen filler Cam Bedrosian, the Sox teed off, finally hitting their 100th home run of the season at a fairly embarrassingly late date in the year and smacking four doubles.

Read More

TCS Morning 10: The man said "REDDICKDUDNMOO"

/

Covering the developments of John Danks' stuff doesn't feel like the most purposeful beat in the world. He tools around with different things. Some days his changeup flashes dominant, the rest of the time it is merely good and over-relied upon. One time he had his old velocity back. Then it went away again. Through it all, he is kinda bad, but remarkably healthy! This is like blogging about Sisyphus. "He showed really good knee bend and drive today." "Today he just whacked the boulder with the stick." "Today he just sat and wept." "The boulder is still at the bottom of the hill."

Read More

TCS Morning 10: Rodon is brilliant, the Sox are not

/

 The White Sox lost 2-1 in Los Angeles Monday night because they put nine guys on base all night, hit one extra-base hit, hit into a double play, went 0-6 with runners in scoring position, and only scored because Johnny Giavotella is so bad at second that Ned Yost was probably right to play Chris Getz over him all those years. You never remember the command-change lefties your team crushes, but Andrew Heaney snaking his way around damage twice in a week tends to stick with you.

Read More

Every team in the AL sucks

/

Heading into the 2015 regular season, it seems that most every American League team fancies themselves as a contender. As I’ve talked about earlier, this center-heavy distribution of talent should have interesting implications on the playoff race. This post is not about that. This post is me being a mean person who sees the flaws in everything. This post is about how every team in the American League will finish below .500, mathematical impossibilities be damned*.

Read More

Gordon Beckham traded for unspecified things, persons or household goods

/

There was probably no getting anything huge in return for Beckham this season. Then he went and removed the "probably." When it's cash considerations or a player to be named later, the player usually winds up being someone fans care about as much as they care about the team getting paid a couple hundred thousand dollars.

Read More

Too wet to sweep, Sox salvage one against Angels

/

Despite it being contained in a single day, and having been preceded by a three-game win streak on the road against a first-place team, and the July 2 signings reminding that more 2014 losses just mean more bonus pool money, Tuesday's doubleheader contained so much misery and butt-kicking at the hands of the Angels that the Sox just needed the feel of a win again. And that need went beyond questions of how that win came about, if the right players showed progress, and why the hell is Leury Garcia being used as a pinch-hitter?

Read More

Maybe don't get swept if you can help it - Lineups & Preview 7/2

/

The White Sox took two losses yesterday, and I'm going to go ahead and pin it on their starters giving up 12 earned run in 11 innings, while walking 10 batters combined. Somehow the bar for performance for John Danks, who is asked only to clear the standard set by his poor 2013 and his awful start to this year, has been lowered again.

Read More

Still missing a starter: Carroll roughed up to cap doubleheader sweep

/

Scott Carroll came out for the seventh inning of Tuesday night's doubleheader nightcap, having gotten steadily hammered throughout the night already, facing his fourth trip through the batting order and trying to keep hold on a one-run deficit.

I can only chuckle at anyone who thinks its wrong to question Robin Ventura's decision-making at this point, but the desperate motivations behind it are also clear: a doubleheader, a horrid bullpen, and other starters who could certainly need a hand this week in games where they stood a better chance. There's so little depth in the Sox pitching staff, Ventura opts for controlled burns.

Read More

Noesi's magic wilts under weight of nation's attention

/

When the nation was watching through their fingers as the U.S. men's national team faltered out of the World Cup, and judging from the attendance, at work, the White Sox cruised through a charmed opening to the first half of their traditional doubleheader with the Angels.

Jose Abreu maximized the reward of a shaky first inning from Garrett Richards by bombing a three-run opposite-field bullet inside the right field foul pole, Hector Noesi didn't allow a hit through the first four innings despite being absolutely terrible, and the Sox were nursing a healthy lead on a future playoff team. 

Read More

White Sox do little to scrub away Saturday's memory, get swept

/

White Sox fans still mourning Saturday night's disaster and soul-quaking collapse had the following distractions from a 4-2, sweep-completing loss to the Angels to ease their minds:

  • Jose Quintana having nothing but his fastball all day
  • Josh Hamilton hitting fastballs
  • No one on the White Sox hitting anything
  • Long camera shots of grass
  • An eighth-inning mini-rally!
Read More

There's got to be a morning after - Lineups & Preview 6/8

/

Or as Nick points out, who cares what happens to this point? The damage had already been done to Chris Sale's arm with the 22 high-stress pitches thrown on to the end of his outing, and to that bat, with whatever Sale did to it. The season is a facade for development and maintenance of the Sox best assets, and there's no real use for the facade by October.

Read More

Watch Chris Sale do his Chris Sale thing - Game Preview & Lineups 6/7

/

Once again in danger of dropping under .500, continuing the never-ending dance that will be performed in the background of the 2014 White Sox rock opera, the team turns its lonely eyes to Chris Sale. Sale in against the Angels has been something special in limited outings. In 24 innings against the against Anaheim in his career Sale has a 0.38 ERA which includes a 1-hit complete game shutout last season. To cut to the point: It’s Chris Sale Day, everybody.

Read More

Weaver escapes jams while Rienzo finds them in blowout loss

/

There's a world of difference between the pedigrees and skill sets of White Sox starter Andre Rienzo and Angels starter Jered Weaver, but Friday night they could have convinced you it was just a matter of a few pitches; Weaver's get out of jail swing-and-miss offerings that Rienzo can't find, and the Rienzo's back-breaking hangers that Weaver would never throw.

Read More

Carlos Rodon is not starting tonight - Lineups & Preview 6/6

/

Despite being drafted nearly 24 hours ago and the Sox picking up his college catcher today, Carlos Rodon has yet to sign and slide into the starting rotation. Maybe by the end of the weekend.

In the mean time, the battery of Andre Rienzo and Adrian Nieto goes into place, represent a rare voyage outside of Nieto's partnership with John Danks. Nieto, who has allowed 12 wild pitches and three passed balls in 19 games, will get to deal with Rienzo's erratic, tumbling curveball.

Read More