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This is just trash posting. There are so many code words hidden in here, you have pretty much shown yourself to everyone. If it wasn't clear before what your deal was, it is now.

As anyone who follows this team closely can tell you, the bullpen has been a big problem this year allowing nine blown saves so far (tied for 4th in MLB). Here the stats for the key members of the bullpen: Hendriks: 2.50 ERA | 2.51 xFIP | 93 %tile xwOBA Bummer: 2.76 ERA | 2.87 xFIP | 88 %tile xwOBA Heuer: 5.68 ERA | 3.00 xFIP | 47 %tile xwOBA Crochet: 0.77 ERA | 4.33 xFIP | 77 %tile xwOBA Marshall: 6.89 ERA | 5.67 xFIP | 46 %tile xwOBA Foster: 6.39 ERA | 3.46 xFIP | 64 %tile xwOBA Ruiz: 2.71 ERA | 3.91 xFIP | 47 %tile xwOBA Kopech: 1.91 ERA | 2.85 xFIP | 96 %tile xwOBA I think the takeaways are pretty clear here. While Hendriks & Bummer have blown a combined six saves and haven’t quite lived up to expectations, there is little reason to doubt they won’t be highly valuable relievers going forward. Beyond that, Kopech has been an absolute beast in a multi-inning reliever role but is a risk to switch to the rotation at some point. Finally, Crochet has put up a great ERA by limiting the quality of contact against him (.307 xwBACON), but his BB rate remains concerning and he isn’t going to maintain a 0.0 HR/9 rate all season. I still believe Katz is having Crochet hold back his stuff a bit, so if the velocity returns come October he can still be a post-season weapon. The problem is basically all the other RH relievers and I’ll even include Ruiz in that bucket. His xFIP isn’t horrible, but he’s gotten very lucky based on the quality of contact against him, including a 51% hard hit in rate (4 %tile). No doubt he’s been the least of our problems out of this next group, but I doubt buy him being anything other than last man in the pen as he simply doesn’t strikeout enough batters. Statcast basically has Ruiz no different than Marshall & Heuer, just with vastly different results. Heuer has been a huge disappointment as I was expecting big things from him. He has been roughed up pretty badly on his sinker this year (.429 wOBA), especially against LH hitters (all three HRs allowed have come against lefties). That being said, there is reason for optimism with him IMO. His BB rate has greatly improved from 2020 all while slightly improving his overall K rate. Zone charts suggest he’s left too many sinkers center cut and that’s something that should be correctable with time. He’s running a ridiculous .456 BABIP that will normalize over time. His changeup has also developed into a nice weapon against lefties, with a 55% whiff rate on much higher usage than last year. I think his splits against lefties will normalize by the end of the season and he can be a valuable 7th inning guy. And now here is where the real problems come into play. Foster & Marshall were both keys to the bullpen last year and both guys have been utter disasters so far with 6.00+ ERAs. Statcast likes Foster better and I can see why. Excellent K & BB rates to go with very solid quality of contact against him. He’s been the victim of a flukey LOB rate (56%) and being left to die by his manager in Seattle. Since that infamous blowup, he’s pitched 10.1 innings with 13 K’s, 1 BB, 0.77 WHIP, 1.74 ERA, and a 3.41 xFIP (nearly identical to his full season figure). He’s not the 2.20 ERA guy we saw last year and he probably requires a quick hook when things aren’t going well, but I still think he can be a good 6th inning guy. That leaves Marshall and good god has this dude failed to carry the load. Last year he put up a 2.58 xFIP and a 98 %tile xwOBA. He was legit elite and he was expected to compete with Heuer as the primary RH setup man this year. So what’s changed since 2020? Well first & foremost his K & whiff rates are down significantly, dropping from the high 80 %tiles to the low single digits. His whiff rate on his curveball in particular has dropped from 58.5% last year to 4.5% this year. That is absolutely bonkers and it’s even more surprising given his spin rates and movement are very similar to last year. I don’t know if the issue is location (more curves have been in the zone), him tipping his pitches, or scouting reports simply being out on him now, but the curve is no longer the weapon it once was. Furthermore, without the curveball being a threat, guys are sitting on his changeup and that pitch has taken a beating as a result. Honestly, I don’t know what to make of the guy, but I can confidently say this version of Marshall isn’t going to work and we can’t rely on him being an 8th inning option going forward. So what does this all mean? Our #1 trade need on the pitching side has to be a high-end RH setup man. I think we’re fine from the left side, with Bummer owning the 8th, Crochet the 7th, and eventually Fry in the 6th. I think Heuer can handle the 7th on a championship team and I’m willing to stick with Foster in the 6th. There is a gaping hole in that 8th inning and that will need to be addressed, especially with the young arms in Charlotte off to rough starts. I’d give Marshall another month in low leverage situations to prove he can regain the form of his curveball, but if not, he’s probably a DFA candidate given his lack of options. Either way, we need a better setup man in place to move all the righties down a spot and so that Tony doesn’t feel compelled to use 6.00+ ERA guys in high leverage situations.

Post enough and people’s true colors always come out.

Very comparable as each did nothing wrong.

I hate Tony so much for making the Sox look like such a joke. These type of comments are everywhere right now. He’s the only one who can make a 16-4 win over a rival become a possible turning point in the season.

Well this is a horrible take

Can we admit yermin is gonna get sent down when Eloy is back. Dude has sucked lately

Have watched 40+ years of White Sox baseball...one thing I have learned for sure is only a fool would think they are some sort of lock to win the division. Also, I never said they can't win the division.

Leave Judge in a 7-0 game to hit, then take him out for a runner. Bush league.

Note to self...in the future when told the Sox have a lock down bullpen...don't you believe it.

Just put in a position player so they can’t swing.

They talked about it earlier, but the reason they are where the are record-wise is because the AL central is so shitty,

Nope. Umps just suck. Time for robot umps.

If there's one thing I'll miss with Ricky.. is he would actually back his players even got thrown out alot doing so. You don't see that with La Russa.

If it was the Twins batting Tony would argue

Ron, there's an art to your trolling. You're a da Vinci to their finger paint.

Let it never be said that White Sox fans aren't petty - because we are now FIVE days removed from one 3-0 count that will apparently be referenced in every single thread on every single day. I mean, think about how insane you people sound. You're going on a rampage over ONE SINGLE 3-0 call in a 15-4 game that you disagreed with. I'd offer you all therapy but I can't afford to pay for the entire message board and I'm honestly not sure if it would help fix your broken brains.

College sports fans who act this way, especially of very good programs, are poison. The players aren’t even paid and there’s nothing more fun than a college sports gameday experience. Fans who “punch down” on programs or conferences with lesser resources are losers too. The Missouri Valley, for example, is a fun league that routinely overachieves in March Madness. Nothing wrong with mid-major, low-major, D2, D3, NAIA, or NJCAA sports.

I watched the video of Mercedes ignoring the take sign and loading up to hit the home run. This is a guy who just came into fame and fortune and decided to showboat. And yes, IMO, multiple gold necklaces worn on the field by a baseball player look trashy to me. Someone has to take the garbage out.

Yes it was. Tony destroyed the whole mojo of this team. He needs to come out and denounce his previous comments about Yermin, denounce Donald Trump, and denounce sheriff Joe Arpaio, or this season is as good as done.

Kelley 96 to 99 this game according to the broadcast.

This is almost getting the point. It's one thing to beat up on teams who aren't in your league. But when you get to this level of teams, the margin for error goes away, like we saw yesterday. Those are are the games where a manager can cost you.

I enjoyed the first 4 sentences of your post...the rest have no place in this thread ?

Now you're just literally making shit up.

FIFY

Sox have had the easiest schedule in baseball so far. They got fat beating up on creampuffs.

I can’t decide if this site is full of bandwagon dudes or dudes who don’t watch baseball. Anyone who thinks we can’t win the central has never watched pro sports

Or maybe you let “Manny be Manny” and continue to kick ass. Instead we have a team dealing all week with a stupid, unnecessary distraction and playing some of its worst baseball of the season.

I think you're missing some obvious sarcasm in this thread.

Yep. Totally the umps fault that the Sox have scored one run this series.

TLR takes all the swagger out of this team. The loss coming today in on Cease and the offense vs. Cole, which is just fine. It's fine to get beat by the better team on that day. The only time that's not fine is if it is the playoffs, but in the regular season, that's what happens. The loss yesterday wasn't this team getting beat: you need to have your best players available, and be beat with those guys on the field, in order to really get beat. TLR put Marshall in for the 8th, then he barely got out of it, then again in the 9th. Losing with your worst pitcher on the mound is inexcusable and it just feels bad because we didn't try hard enough. Losing with Marshall on the mound vs. the Yankees in the 9th feels just like an inning-ending GIDP that only occurs because the guy who hit into it dogged it all the way down the line, and would have been safe if he just hustled. TLR is managing this team the same way Adam Dunn ran the bases here and the same way Nick Swisher played here in any manner, etc. It's like TA and Abreu, Yermin, Moncada, Eloy when he's here, etc., they bring this excitement, energy, and most of them bring the hustle. TA and Abreu always bring the excitement and the hustle. And that gives this team swag. TLR is dogging it. He kills the excitement, kills the hustle, kills the swagger. TWTW: I know what this means, seriously. Hawk talks about TWTW. Ozzie bought that excitement, that hustle, that energy, that swagger. Ozzie helped build that TWTW in 2005. This year, TLR is killing all of that. This TLR team has no TWTW because TLR has no TWTW. And the corpse running the show couldn't care less about any of it. The Sox under TLR and the dorf is like a sundae with a piece of dogshit on it. Eat it and like it or just pass on all of it. Holy shit I hate everything on this team from the manager on up. Ugh. And no swagger. This team is going to be hard-pressed to avoid a sweep in New York. Even if they take the finale they will leave without swagger. Great young up-and-coming teams are supposed to go into Yankee Stadium on the road full of swagger, and they are supposed to prove their selves there with their play, and then they are supposed to leave feeling like they proved how good they were, and go on thinking they're the team to beat. That's what the really good up-and-coming teams do. And I feel like we would be doing that now, if not for TLR. He's the one guy on the field and in the clubhouse holding the whole thing back.

Why do more wild pitches tend to happen with Grandal back there?

Grandal with an awful inning defensively.

And watch how Tony fights for his team.

rofl... he has like 7 hits in his last 4 games... Yeah this take is epic

What in the fuck are you talking about? He has a 155 wRC+ over his last 10 games and a 192 wRC+ over his last five.

Hardly 'sucking', just back to earth, which is still better than most of the lineup.

Because Tony doesn’t want robot umps so why draw attention to bad umpires. The sooner people realize he returned to try to fix the game and not necessarily help the Sox win, the easier it is to figure out why he’s doing things.

yeah just another example of a walking contradiction.. so if he bats right handed and is trying... that's okay... but wait no.. can't really try.. only try a little...

Everybody here has a broken brain. and your right there with us

TLR is awful. Marshall pitching in the 9th is almost unbelievable. He has an ERA over 6. He has been our worst reliever lately. TLR wasted Rodon masterful pitching. What a shame. I also did not like not playing Grandal and his .400 OBP. Collins against a lefty has no chance. We had to go all out on this game with Cole pitching tomorrow.

Are you legit mentally ill.

Also, I love playing for the 10th inning and not even making it to the inning.

Now do all the managerial wins, please. Starting with Wednesday (bunt).

1-Apr Failing to make review time window, Leury starts opening day, no pinch hitter for him late. 3-Apr Bullpen Usage - Bummer never used, Marshall allowed to blow game in the 9th. 4-Apr Bullpen usage - Hendriks not used in the 9th, Ruiz and Foster blow it. *Several times could have PH for Leury or Hamilton, not done 7-Apr Bullpen usage - Foster comes in with Bummer and Hendriks needing work, gives up 5 runs. 11-Apr Couple of poorly thought out bunts, pinch running for Mercedes early left no backup Ofs 13-Apr Williams hits 5th, Lamb hits 7th, Mercedes benched against Bieber. Could have kept Hendriks out to start the 10th. 27-Apr Attempts to kill Lucas Giolito. "We were looking for a single there." Insists postgame that he was awake. 5-May Messes up double-switch, runs team out of 10th inning, rulebook read to him by reporter. 17-May The Yermin Mercedes incident. 21-May Bullpen Usage. Day after offday, only Hendricks pitched on Wednesday so nearly entire bullpen available. Left Marshall out for 9th inning against Yankee 3-4-5 after already pitching in the 8th did not pull him even when runners got on. Did not shift anyone up the middle against Judge, who singled through the spot where a shift should have been. Bolded are games where managerial decisions are particularly high leverage in a loss. All items on the list cannot be assumed to be wins with a better manager, these are only high leverage mistakes that contributed to a loss.

Wait what? Sale was locked up to a deal that went two more seasons when they dealt him, and the Sox were super careful with how they pitched him, if his arm showed any fatigue or if he complained of forearm tightness they rested him. if anyone did the "rode hard and put away wet" plan with him, it was Boston. Chicago had him dial down his velocity to preserve his arm and he gave them 7 good years, Boston said throw as hard as you want and his arm blew up in 2.

That's a very false narrative in general, but especially so on this board in particular where every single player gets shit on a lot. Larussa himself has admitted to some of his most egregious, mind-boggling errors. Is there some nit-picking? Of course. This is soxtalk, after all. But some of his managerial decisions have gotten so bad that they've merited local and national media scrutiny. What's really not fair is what the fanbase has had to endure for as long as reinsdorf owns the team. This organization will never be in any position to waste away championship-caliber seasons for as long is reinsdorf is alive, so of course the fanbase has reason to be upset when reinsdorf makes a selfish hire against the good of the team. When reinsdorf hires a manager with the most potential to backfire and derail this team, then yeah, there is gonna be some extra scrutiny, most merited, some not.

If Hendriks held them in the 9th, who pitches for the Sox in the 10th with a ghost runner at second, nobody out? Hendriks again? You can question every decision you want. The Sox just got beat in a close game that could have gone either way. Vaughn hitting into the triple play was brutal. It is what it is. Try to beat Cole tomorrow.

10 years from now we will find out that Grandal has a family member that hacked into the WAR formula to alter his performance

Maybe be have different definitions of rode hard and put away wet. To me that's like letting the dude complete multiple games over 130 pitches just because the other team has 2 or fewer runs. The numbers you are showing me look like a plan by the White Sox to increase his innings with a manageable workload every season