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If Tony and the Sox are checking out until the playoffs. Maybe the fans should as well and not buy tickets.

There's been a trend going on where we just absolutely refuse to hit sac flies with a runner on third and less than 2 outs. I know it's a super weird thing to be bad at, but our bad record in 1 run games and the fact that the playoffs will be full of close games magnifies this situation even more. The weird thing is that we weren't always bad at it this year. We're 11th in sacrifice flies in baseball with 35, but also 3rd in PAs with a runner on third and less than 2 outs with 305. We've hit .361 in said situations, so we're bringing in a run about 40% of the time. That's really good. The average ML team hits .316 in those situations. So why are we even talking about this? Well, it's cause the results have been night and day since the All-Star break Pre-ASB with man on 3rd and less than 2 outs: .410(best)/.391/.609 in 198 PA with 28 sac flies (4th), 88.4 EV with 12 degree launch angle. BABIP of .437. Run success rate of 59%. Post-ASB with man on 3rd and less than 2 outs: .268/.368/.415 in 107 PA with 7 sac flies (27th), 84.8 EV with 3 degree launch angle (worst). BABIP of .297. Run success rate of 27%. Regression is a b**** ain't it? Not only did we get super lucky in the first half, we also hit a lot more fly balls and hit the ball much harder. A nearly 60% success rate of bringing a runner on third with less than 2 outs is extremely good. The 27% success rate we've seen after the ASB is god awful and it's probably a result of hitting far too many grounders and just not hitting the ball hard enough in general. Diving deeper into the numbers, with 1 out and a man on 3rd, our numbers get even worse. In a situation where you must make contact and try to hit a fly ball to ensure a run gets in, we manage to do the following: Post-ASB with man on 3rd and 1 out: .207(worst)/.311/.293 in 75 PA, 83.3 EV, 1 degree launch angle (worst), 5 sac flies. Run success rate of 23%. What's even funnier is that since August 1st, we've managed to have a negative launch angle in said situations. No other team in baseball has managed to achieve this. In a situation where a fly ball gets you a run without a hit, we just decide to hit grounders. So here's what all of this tells me: when we were surprised at how our patched together offense put up runs in the first half of the season, it was because we were lucky and we were extremely efficient at scoring runs with guys on base and when the runs could be had without the benefit of a hit. We all thought that when we got Eloy and Robert back, our offense would become a juggernaut and score consistently. It's been the very opposite of that. We went from an offense with a high floor and low ceiling in the first half to an offense with a very low floor and very high ceiling in the 2nd half. Part of that is our inability to cash in runners with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. You may think that those situations are just a fraction of our PAs this year and you'd be right. It's not a big sample. However, if we executed at the rate we did in the first half with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs, we'd have 30 more runs in the 2nd half alone. That's not an insignificant number. Hell, had we just done the ML average, we'd at least 10 more runs. That alone there is a win in pythagorean terms. I'm not sure if the guys are just pressing or if it's a personnel or a hitting coach problem, but something is very wrong with our approach with a guy on 3rd and less than 2 outs. I know everybody who's been watching on a daily basis like I have notice it. Quite frankly, it's getting old and it's costing us games down the stretch here. Those games may not mean a lot, but the ones coming up in 3 weeks do and I hope to god we fix our issues by then. Cause every run matters in the playoffs, especially when you can get them without the benefit of a hit.

This team is so well rested they've slipped into a coma.

Ivermectin is being maligned because people are taking it improperly for a disease it’s not approved for.

It is amazing that we fired Ricky because of how the team finished last year, and the belief that he couldn't get us over the top, they bring Tony in from the grave because of his history and Hall of Fame self, yet this team has all of the same weaknesses, and the same stumble down the stretch.

I have an interesting tidbit to share. Liam Hendricks did that interview on MLBNetwork and someone had asked him if the Sox are coasting. He mentioned that the team is aware of it and TLR is aware of it but I guess the whole team agrees that they took their foot off the pedal last year and just coasted in and that’s why the A’s beat them. I guess apparently Liam has been very vocal, telling the team to not let it happen again.

I swear any time this man talks

Hey Tony, we are pretty much already there. Let's strive for Home field

Man can this team can look bad. The trade for Ceasar looks terrible and the Kimbrell trade stinks to high heaven. Great Job Hahn Oh-- and we could have traded Kopech for a kings ransom but instead are now stuck with a guy that has a 3.90 ERA but oh boy he can throw fast. First round exit here we come.

11 strikeouts tonight. Very boring and very sad what modern day baseball has become. The home run throughout history has been great, but this new brand of baseball in which ALMOST everyone tries to hit a home run or strikeout really truly is ruining the great game. So only guys with almost no reasonable expectation of a home run (a guy as short as Madrigal) try to hit singles. At least Moncada stroked that single to left when it appeared Sox might actually rally the old way. Not to be.

Cobb vs Lopez. Time to move on and get rid of the bad taste from our mouths from tonight’s game. Let’s win the series! LFG!!!!

I don't understand why this game in particular has brought out all the "they will get bounced in the first round" comments again. Pathetic effort and pathetic game? Yes. Surprising? Not really. This is sort of who they've been for awhile now. I don't think this ugly loss should change the way you feel about their chances in the postseason.

They aren't going to turn shit on.

By RR's admission I believe he said he knew they were in the playoffs so he was trying new matchups (Like bullpen Rodon famously).

Well at this point, go ahead and empty the bench and make it an off day for everyone of value.

Welp, that's enough for me today.

You are a disgrace to the name Danny Wright, which says a lot.

They have strict rules regarding trash cans.

Ivermectin was created and approved for human application in the treatment of parasites. It got a Nobel prize because human parasite infections are much more common in developing countries and this medicine helped raise the standard of living in some of the poorest areas of the world. The very concept of a drug that treats parasites being used to fight a virus is just flat-out ridiculous. Doctors didn't start the concept of using ivermectin. It got mentioned repeatedly on Fox News, and idiots went running to their doctors demanding that they prescribe it. A very small number were desperate enough to keep their patients' business that they relented, and for those who didn't that's when people found out that you can guy ivermectin over the counter and never bothered to consider that the OTC dosage was for a 1500 pound horse and not a 150 pound human. It has nothing to do with big pharma and how much is being made. If there were a brand new horse-dewormer that Eli Lily had just patented and was selling for a huge profit, it wouldn't suddenly be an often-recommended medication for COVID. PS: LaPorte is one of the trashiest places I've ever been in NWI. There are parts of Hammond that are nicer than most of LaPorte.

I am hoping that LaRussa isn't resting anyone today. No one should be resting at this moment.

Honestly they should just concede the rest of the schedule

Obesity was causing full hospitals and completely burnt out emergency medicine staff and medicine shortages? Can you point me to this information?

Very nice story and good job by Kimbrel. Are there any kids that curse like Liam when he comes in??

I am glad this got to happen. This kid is what baseball should be all about. The game has so much fun and joy in it, if you take the time to find it. Great for the way this kid is being raised, and good on the Sox/Kimbrel for making this happen.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=145&date=09/16/2021 https://www.milb.com/scores/chicago-white-sox/2021-09-16 It seems safer to hang out over on the future side after a loss. With the minors ending soon.......sigh.

I love the parody accounts on this site. Its a nice break from the serious and logical analysis.

Isn't that the purpose of a rebuild. Build a young, talented core then supplement with veteran FA?

Seeing Madrigal play on the northside is going to sting a lot more than what people realize, I think.

I can offer a 100% guarantee that Nick Madrigal would not have helped in the situation last night.

100pc. Terrible, TERRIBLE trade

I agree but the record speaks for itself, they're not playing great, a few games over .500 since the All Star break. There's something missing, seems like they're not overly motivated, maybe because they've never really been pressed by Cleveland or had a crucial series in the second half or it could be the manager is having trouble motivating these guys.

Pretty soon we may have to do a rebuild for a rebuild. Lol

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one, and they usually stink. An opinion is not science. An opinion does not trump science. The science, the research, and the damn results prove that the vaccines work. Anti-vaxxers saying they need more information or need to some research for themselves are full of shit. I don't want to hear from anti-vaxxers. They are selfish, ignorant people who are literally causing this pandemic to continue rolling. And that's NOT an opinion. That's a fact.

Honestly, almost never. I see Abreu come up with a runner on first and think that he’s about to do damage, even when I’m wrong. I think of the chances of the guy getting thrown out, and then I think of how they won’t give Abreu anything hittable if first base is open.

Tony loves him some veterans. External acquisitions since the jump: Adam Eaton (Age: 32-283d) Mike Wright (Age: 31-255d) Liam Hendriks (Age: 32-217d) Billy Hamilton (Age: 31-006d) Jake Lamb (Age: 30-341d) Brian Goodwin (Age: 30-317d) Cesar Hernandez (Age: 31-116d) Ryan Tepera (Age: 33-317d) Craig Kimbrel (Age: 33-111d)

He hasn't been horrible all year though. He looked good May through the first half of June. It's been pretty bad since though.

LOL, that is not Nirvana.

Well, it must be happening in the Deep South (Alabama and Mississippi) because .... "fill in the stereotype" This whole overweight issue is just another red herring. I don't see anyone arguing we should take guns away from people because that's yet another leading cause of death. As far as Republican talking points go, it's a complete failure...look at all the the pushback Michelle Obama got when she attempted to get involved in school food/nutrition, and that was young people. Generally, protecting young people is universally popular as a polling issue. But make it "big government," "mandates," "taking control away or decision-making authority from local officials," each and every time "freedom" and Americans being allowed to do whatever they want, no matter how harmful to their health it is will win out. Why not take away alcohol from everyone, that's another huge issue, right? Why not outlaw cigarettes, too? If anything, guns, cigarettes and alcohol (through drunk driving) all are better comparisons to Covid-19 because they can impact OTHERS around you....not just your own personal health (or insurance rates.) Of course, many Republicans are screaming now about insurance companies not paying out benefits from Covid deaths when unvaccinated. Shocking.

"It's ok mommy. I heard the Australian man say it on TV while pitching"

I think TA is in a different bucket than a lot of other guys on the team. He's had reoccurring soft tissue injuries for 3 years now and at least twice this season. If he has another setback with his hamstring then that could be his season gone. I think it's extremely important to get the 2 seed and have been saying as such for months, but TA is not the guy you push to make that happen.

Obesity is also an epidemic in this country and one that gets talked about regularly all the dang time. But it's not clogging up hospitals and burning out emergency medicine staff. And, importantly, that 1/500 is a counting stat rather than a rate state. It's only going to go up as time and deaths march steadily on.

Since when did obesity become contagious?

But according to you, we should always be questioning things. That's science, according to you. So is obesity really the cause of these deaths? Maybe being obese is healthy and it's all chemicals they put in the food that makes us sick and die. WE NEED TO QUESTION THESE THINGS... (See, that's not science, no matter how much you want it to be)

I can't catch obesity by being out in the world and close proximity to other people. It's not the same thing.

Can you catch obesity from your fellow person? Can it be prevented by vaccination? also, do you believe Obesity is not a national issue? Are you actively encouraged to get obese because science doesn't prove it kills you? come on man, lets talk about Covid and not whatabout it

He started out fine and was actually pretty good for the first few weeks. Then the Yankees series happened and he just fell off a cliff. At first I thought it was maybe because we were playing good teams for that 2 week stretch, but he really hasn't done much against the Cubs, Pirates, Royals, etc since. I'm not sure what it is with this team and the fascination with hitting ground balls. I'm not sure if it's a Menechino thing or an organizational philosophy thing, but I think it's the wrong thing to be good at in this era of the game. I'm not sure if they tried to get Cesar to change the way he was hitting in Cleveland, but the results sure look like it.

Picking up the Cesar option is the equivlent to signing Eaton. Baragin shopping early in the offseason.

The sheer tonnage of bullshit in this post could sink a cruise liner. I say with no hyperbole that I really don't even know where to start with this, but I'll give it the old college try as I'm sitting in the airport killing time. That...isn't science. There is a large difference between the scientific study by someone or a group of people......and a group of people going to feed stores putting horse paste on crackers because they don't "trust" the media but will trust the guy down the street who he follows on Facebook that posts wacky meme's. You of course are painting with an incredibly broad brush which really accomplishes nothing in this case. Who here has said they totally trust the media, totally trust the government? Who's making that argument? But not having full faith in those two institutions doesn't then mean every single person in the media or every single person in politics is lying. From the data I've gathered from sources I trust, I made the determination the vaccine was by far the safest way to protect myself and those around me. That doesn't make me a "sheep." It makes the people not getting the vaccine because "they don't like being told what to do" assholes. Everyone has the freedom to make their own decisions. That doesn't make them right.