The post-Scherzer AL Central roundtable

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I always dreamed that a post like this would be written about Justin Verlander, after he had been sent off to slaughter a distant alien race on behalf of all humanity, but the wrath of God Detroit starting pitcher has left the division, and it’s that homer-prone fastball-slider guy with platoon issues from a few years back. Max Scherzer has signed with Washington for all the money in the world. Detroit still boasts David Price, Anibal Sanchez, and a possibly resilient Verlander, but have now lost two of their three-most productive arms from last season with Rick Porcello already off to Boston.

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So Who's Going To Sign Scherzer?

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In the offseason after the 2013 season, we saw two Scott Boras clients - Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales - turn down qualifying offers and play hardball for a long term contract for big dollars, only to have it blow up in their face. Each wound up taking a 1-year deal worth less than the QO after the season started, and then posted abysmal numbers. Boras made himself the biggest agent in sports in part because he knew that if he stuck by his demands for his players, one team would blink and come up with the money. But with these two players, the strategy didn't work out at all. Jon Lester has signed with the Cubs for 6-years, $155 million, while the number being floated as Scherzer's demand was $200 million. Is anybody actually going to come close to that number?

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White Sox Free Agency: Max Scherzer roundtable/visionquest

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As our staff has written, the White Sox are going to have a ton of money free this offseason, have demonstrated an ability and willingness to compete in 2015, and a definite need in the rotation.

But will Scherzer be worth the money he will undoubtedly command this offseason? Pitchers are risky investments.

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Week In Review: One Week Closer To Selling

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Last week started out in very promising fashion. Monday saw a thriller where the Tigers kept coming back, but the White Sox had an answer every time, holding on to win 6-5. The next night the offense lit up Justin Verlander, pulling the squad back to .500 once again and back to within 2.5 games of the first place Tigers. It prompted James to question whether the team hadn't played their way into thinking that they should be buyers at the deadline in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Then the next four games happened.

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Chris Sale improves, but his luck stays the same

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Well, you can't face Justin Verlander every night.

One night after rudely banishing the old lion of the Central into further ignominy, the White Sox offense...well, didn't do enough to fill out a sentence. To talk about the bottom half of the innings Thursday night, besides to wonder if the producers had time to breath before throwing it to commercial, is to talk about Max Scherzer, since he was one doing the work.

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7 Innings Will Do Just Fine, Chris - Game Preview & Lineups 6/12

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Oh the billed pitcher’s duel. We look at calendars and try to figure out when they might be upon us so that we can clear our schedules and watch two masters of the crafts go at it, knowing that in the end one man’s squad must emerge victorious. Rainouts, skipped starts, blisters, all sorts of tiny little items can wreak havoc on pitching schedules and ruin what we clamor for. But tonight we get one. We get Chris Sale vs. Max Scherzer. Could-have-been reigning Cy Young vs. actual reigning Cy Young.

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White Sox flattened and we ain't even mad tho

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Everyone got their grief out of the way ahead of time. Whether it was when they realized that the White Sox would inevitably use their waiver claim of the lightly-regarded Hector Noesi to soak up a spot start, or when they discovered that a rainout pushed Max Scherzer to Wednesday, or when they rationalized that this was a Wednesday getaway game and they wouldn't be able to spare a moment to witness the slaughter anyway.

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Here Comes Hector Noesi - Game Preview & Lineups 4/30

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It’s Hector Noesi Day. It’s no surprise that the sun is not shining, and on Weather Day at The Cell, whoever it is that controls these things is not kind enough to bring enough rain from the clouds to halt this potential downpour of runs. So be it. We don’t know how the chips will fall. If we knew the outcome, they wouldn’t play the games. For this reason, we’ll move forward with the observation of…Hector…Noesi Day.

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Bullpen keeps game out of reach for offense, Sox drop finale

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The White Sox strung together their fair share of hits against Max Scherzer and the Detroit bullpen, but the White Sox's own bullpen was unable to keep them within striking distance in a 7-4 loss in Thursday's series finale.

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