Chicago White Sox

It’s really frustrating. I’d rather see him play game 2 and then rest tomorrow if need be. We should never be sitting Timmy against a LHP unless it’s extreme circumstances.

It’s really dumb and frustrating.

With one win officially in the bank, the Sox will now attempt for a double header sweep. On the mound for the Sox will be Michael Kopech, who is expected to pitch 2 to 3 innings depending on his efficiency. Kopech has been insanely good to start this year, putting up a 0.94 FIP and a 99th %tile xwOBA. Not only is he striking out opposing hitting like crazy (15.26/9), but he’s also inducing incredibly weak contact when the ball is put in play. While he’s gotten great results on his 4 seamer, his slider has arguably been the best pitch in baseball this year with an xwOBA of 0.017 and a 73% whiff rate. Simply put, Kopech looks like the real deal and should hopefully put the Red Sox in their place before handing the game over to Crochet for a couple. As for the Red Sox, they are starting veteran innings eater Martin Perez. Normally I’d call this a gift from the baseball gods given he’s a left-handed pitcher with a career 4.78 FIP against RH hitters, but Tony has done us no favors in game 2 with Timmy & Grandal on the bench. Even so, I’m not betting against this team with a lefty on the mound, but it does put a lot of pressure on Abreu & Mercedes to carry the load today. Let’s fucking go!!

100% agree...the offense has been the primary problem so far. Obviously the bullpen has blown some games and Bummer himself hasn’t looked super sharp so far, but declaring someone who is considered one of the best relievers in baseball broken over ~3 innings is fucking insanity.

You’d almost think Bummer didn’t have a 2.08 ERA based on some of the posts in here.

No

Bam motherfuckers

With an insurance run in place, I’m trying to get a little more run out of Keuchel and saving Kopech & Crochet for game 2.

I’m not digging Adam Engel as an everyday option. I hope they’re looking outside the organization if they feel Vaughn needs more time or isn’t capable defensively in LF.

Don’t stop now boys!

Thank you Yoan!

I can’t stress how important an instance run would be here. Please give the pitching staff the slight bit of breathing room Yoan.

Timmy!

I agree...I never blamed Yoan. Bad luck is going to happen, I’m just annoyed by the the general sloppiness that allows the tying run advance to 3rd when it seems like it could have easily been avoided.

Nope, two runs is our cap 80% of the time...just got to hope the pitching staff can shut them out three more

Ok, but how about letting Devers get to 3rd?

They are trying to give games away at this point

?

Who is the everyday LF in this scenario?

I’m still in a holding pattern when it comes to needing reinforcements. In terms of pitching, we’re second overall with 2.9 fWAR and a 3.03 FIP on the season. Gioltio & Lynn are arguably the best 1-2 punch in the AL. Rodon looks much improved and can hopefully at least anchor the back end of our rotation if he can stay healthy. Dallas will eventually find himself and give us #3 or at worst #4 starter production. Cease is still a work in progress, but has flashed a bit better stuff IMO, even if the command is still way too inconsistent. Depth is definitely a concern, but at least Kopech looks like the real deal and a guy who should hopefully replace the weakest link come July or so. As for the bullpen, the core in place (Hendriks, Bummer, Heuer, Crochet, Marshall) looks legit to me. Yes, we can look to improve over Ruiz and potentially Foster, but it’s not a huge need at the moment. If we add any pitching reinforcements, it will certainly be at the deadline and not any sooner. The positional side is a different story. If we’re unwilling to play Vaughn everyday in LF, then we should be actively looking at external options to solve the problem. Adam Engel is a solid 4th OF who will likely be exposed by playing everyday. I’ve mentioned the name before, but snagging someone like Kole Calhoun makes a ton of sense if he can be acquired at a reasonable price. Regardless, LF is the one spot an everyday player could be added. I would still be looking to add a versatile left-handed infielder to the mix as well. I’m not going to write off Madrigal anytime soon, but our IF has a history of getting injured and I really don’t want to count on Leury or Mendick to face that much RHP. In all honesty, we need more left-handed bats and ones that can actually play multiple positions unlike Jake Lamb. I do hope if they plan on adding, they don’t wait until July. While I still have faith this offense will come around with the weather, it’s painfully clear our depth is paper thin and we’re going to struggle to survive when our core guys are all slumping like they are currently.

Alright guys, in terms of “must win” games, this is about as close as they come in mid April. The Sox currently sit 6-8 on the season and are 2.5 games beyond the Royals for 1st place. The good news is the Twins are also off to a sluggish start and have an identical 6-8 record to us. While it’s still super early no doubt, losing the first game of this double header puts us in a tough spot given the fact a less reliable pitcher will likely be starting game 2 (Stiever / Lopez). To eliminate the chance of ending today with a 6-10 record, Keuchel needs to bring his A game, both eating a considerable amount of innings and getting us a win. Unfortunately for us, Dallas is off to a rough start with a 5.44 FIP and xwOBA in the 20th %tile so far on the season. It’s really hard to draw too many conclusions based on three starts, but Dallas is seeing unusual increases in his BB & HR rates and has really been beaten up on his bread & butter sinker. Looking at his Statcast figures, his stuff & movement pretty much look consistent with previous seasons, so I think we’re simply seeing a guy rounding into form after a limited camp. That being said, he does need to figure out his shit and soon. He’ll never be the 1.99 ERA guy we saw last year, but we do need him to consistently give us around six solid innings and that’s critical now more than ever with heavy bullpen workload expected for game two. For the Red Sox will Tanner Houck, a 24 year old former 1st round pick who will making his fifth major league starter. His arsenal is built around his four seamer (92 to 95 MPH) and slider with a sinker also in the mix. The slider is his primary weapon with a nasty 56% whiff rate this year in a small sample size. Sox right-handed hitters are really going to struggle today if they don’t lay off this pitch down & away, which puts even more pressure on our left-handed bats to do some damage. On paper this is a scary matchup despite us facing a rookie, but the Sox have typically played well when their backs are against the wall. If Dallas can improve his command and limit his mistakes, I think the Sox can steal game 1, but that also requires the offense to start hitting with runners in scoring position. Can’t keep throwing away opportunities and expect to win non Lucas / Lance starts. Hopefully today we start seeing some much needed regression to the mean in that area. Let’s fucking go!

100% agree.

Expecting McCann like production out of your backup catcher spot is nuts, regardless of how much they plan to play Grandal. He was the definition of a luxury. The problem is the only addition they made to the offense was Adam Eaton and failed to add any depth elsewhere.