35thstreetswarm

Finally -- Kenny's time to shine! He was gunning for this title his entire tenure as GM.

Sorry, but this is just nonsensical. I'm overjoyed about the Sox, I predicted that they'd be good and they are, and I roll my eyes at most of the reflexive negativity on this board. But to suggest that you can't criticize a *single* aspect of the team just because they're winning is crazy. I was overjoyed when the Sox were cruising after smoking Minny at the end of last season, but I had no illusions that Ricky was a great manager and remained worried that his in-game strategy would cost us games. I was right. I have the same worries about TLR even while my overall positivity rating is sky-high.

If I were you I would aim this sentiment at the contingent of posters who are indiscriminately negative about *everything* (and there are plenty—remember, wins don’t count if we just won them, and losses are the only games on which we can draw conclusions), rather than critics of TLR. The latter is a much more focused and reasonable group. There’s really nothing inconsistent or unreasonable about believing a team is winning despite their manager rather than because of him.

I have no issue with Lamb playing today -- I expected it, as he has to get his reps sometime. I just question his placement in the lineup.

As we should be. Nobody has the combination of offense and pitching we've shown thus far. The season is a marathon but the "big things" are moving into place even better than I had imagined. Scary to think this team could get the massive boost of two all-star caliber players for a potential playoff run.

Well, hopefully Lynn just snuffs them out Opening Day style.

Lamb batting second?

In 2006 we were best at this point by like a half game. Don’t think we got there in 2010.

Bless your heart.

Every team the Sox have beaten has a worse record than they do. I’m unimpressed.

Paige Spinarac

I can’t believe we didn’t get Garret Richards. Imagine fuckin GR on the bench during this. Classic

Agreed. Mostly excited. Of course, the side of me that is paranoid and can never be happy is a little nervous that this year looks more and more like a golden opportunity every day, which really ups the pressure for what had seemed like a very early year within our window. You never know what the future will bring, and which year will feature some dominant team or now-dormant club emerging as a powerhouse. I know it's absurdly early, but we may never get a better shot than 2021.

Finally, someone has tapped into the big secret of the Sox roster. Other weird things I've noticed: Crochet throws hard, Yermin Mercedes is fat, Tim Anderson can hit for average, and Eloy is actually not that athletic a left fielder.

Funny thing with Cease is that he really is using both, and he switches them out based on batter's handedness. It's fun to watch.

Old Cease would have started spiraling and throwing non-competitive pitches after that tough-luck inning. Not Cease 2.0. I really think that returning to the curve and aiming it high has given him renewed confidence in his other pitches. Whatever it is it looks like he's turning a corner, which would be unbelievably good news for this team.

This is why I still have hope for improvement. The fix is not difficult. Do the obvious, know the rules, stay out for the way.

Not in the lineup.

So we’re in first place with nobody in our lineup, save Mercedes, having a “career year.” To say nothing of the devastating injuries. Bodes well.

Fuck...is the rush of dopamine from the Madrigal error starting to wear off for anybody else?

1000 times this. The relevant question is never "does this aspect of the White Sox fall short of my ideal scenario," but rather "does this aspect of the White Sox fall short of the baseline standard established by the real-life teams against which we are competing, such that it creates a competitive disadvantage". 85% of the illogical posts on this site could be cured if the poster asked him/herself question 2 instead of question 1. The failure to do so is why we constantly have people complaining that we don't have an all-star at every position (although oops, maybe we do now), or that our #5 starter is not performing like a #2 starter (although oops, ours is). All that said, I do think Tony's managing has the potential to be one of those "real" problems. It's unusual for managers to not know the rules, and to admit not seeing the obvious signs of a starter's fatigue. He needs to course-correct and stop missing layups, and quickly.

I personally won’t be impressed until the Sox start winning games they lose.

Well, that’s definitely the anger I’m talking about. Anyway, seems like the poster was choosing to comment generally on what he sees as a trend of over-the-top criticism of TLR rather than the specific rule screwup, which is...not really that unusual, even if I disagree with it (which I do as someone who has increasing levels of concern about TLR, though also a generous dose of humility that will allow me to reconsider if the results are sufficiently good). My point is also addressed to general trends on this board rather than a specific incident or argument.

I don’t agree with many of the specific opinions of the two super-positive posters being attacked here, but I find them a welcome counterweight to the equally extreme negative posters who outnumber them 10-to-1. I’m surprised there aren’t more like them given that, objectively speaking, the team has given fans more to be excited about in 2021 than at almost any time in franchise history. And I don’t understand why they seem to touch such a raw nerve here.

Seems like everything is lined up for us to bury them...which means it likely won’t happen. That’s ok. I really hope Cease 2.0 shows up to the first game. If he does, 2/3 seems realistic.