32-34 since July 10

[Greg Hibbard]

I seem to recall easier this season some were (kind of mysteriously?) complaining about the Sox losing just too many games this season...

So amid this terrible Moncada slump, and with the lineup and pitching staff generally having a hard time looking terribly consistent, the Sox have somehow put together a 32-game stretch of .500 ball. Rodon and Abreu have been the anchors obviously.

What’s most interesting here is that just 9 of those 32 games are against the Royals, and we only went 5-4. The Yanks and Indians are in there, and so was a west coast trip through LAA and SEA, two pretty decent teams. We also had a road series at Tampa, a location that always seems to give us fits when we were competitive. 

So what gives? Is this team improving as a whole to a 75ish win caliber team, or is this just luck, variance or both?

Edited September 26, 2018 by Greg Hibbard

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Team is improving and with the second wave of prospects coming I expect to see it continue. Having a few guys to solidify the rotation makes all the difference in the world. If Kopech can come in and give 6 innings and 2-3 runs per start on average, that’s another guy in the rotation that gives you a chance to win each time he takes the ball (much like Rodon). With Eloy close to a promotion, there’s another guy that I would expect to have a profound impact on the lineup. He’s the kind of guy that makes everyone around him in the lineup better. It’s starting to come together and I still think they are on track for the division crown in 2020, especially with a few key free agent signings the next two winters. Exciting times on the south side!

[ScootsMcGoots]

Thank you. A positive thread in regards to the team's future. Yes, the team is playing better baseball. Can only hope this continues through August, Carry's through September and into next year.

[southsider2k5]

This is what the organization wants to see. Progress. 

[Dick Allen]

They won 3 in Tampa, and took 2 out of 3 vs. KC and Det, 2 horrible teams.  Other than that, they have continued to suck. But they should be a little better as they play teams playing out the string or pretty much having their playoff fates sealed when they play them. 

 

They always have a chance when Rodon is pitching, and Covey is either really good or really bad, but the other starters haven't really stepped it up. The bullpen, for the most part with what's there, who cares?  Abreu came out of his slump, Narvaez is hitting, but is he really an answer behind the plate? Other than that, and an occassional Palka HR, I don't see what has changed.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Dick Allen

[SoxBlanco]

8 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

They always have a chance when Rodon is pitching, and Covey is either really good or really bad, but the other starters haven't really stepped it up.

I would say that Giolito has stepped up during the second half. The Sox are 7-3 in the last 10 games he has started, so I'd say he is giving them a chance to win. Also, two of those three losses are by a score of 2-1. 

[Dick Allen]

26 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

I would say that Giolito has stepped up during the second half. The Sox are 7-3 in the last 10 games he has started, so I'd say he is giving them a chance to win. Also, two of those three losses are by a score of 2-1. 

I think the Sox have a better team record during Giolito starts than the Mets do when DeGrom starts, and his ERA is 1.71. Giolito's ERA in July was 5.28 and August 5.50. That won't get it done.

The White Sox winning percentage is going to increase because the vast majority of teams they are playing aren't fighting for their playoff lives. It's teams playing out the string. They beat KC, who cares. They beat Det, who cares? They probably will be Minnesota, who cares? This 16-16 is all because they beat Tampa 3 times. Again, who cares? They play good teams, motivated, they lose.

 

What matters are the guys that are going to be here. If the Sox win games because of guys who aren't, how does that make the rebuild closer to working?

Edited August 20, 2018 by Dick Allen

[SoxBlanco]

5 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

I think the Sox have a better team record during Giolito starts than the Mets do when DeGrom starts, and his ERA is 1.71. Giolito's ERA in July was 5.28 and August 5.50. That won't get it done.

I'm not trying to claim the team record when he pitches should determine how good he has been pitching, but it does show that he is giving the team a chance to win. The ERA in July and August is high because of a couple horrible starts, but 7 of his last 10 starts have been good/great outings. Sometimes the team's record isn't a very a good indicator of how somebody has pitched (like with DeGrom), but for Giolito, I think it is a pretty indicator over his last 10 starts. We won two games where he pitched terrible, but we lost two games where he pitched very well. 

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

10 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

I'm not trying to claim the team record when he pitches should determine how good he has been pitching, but it does show that he is giving the team a chance to win. The ERA in July and August is high because of a couple horrible starts, but 7 of his last 10 starts have been good/great outings. Sometimes the team's record isn't a very a good indicator of how somebody has pitched (like with DeGrom), but for Giolito, I think it is a pretty indicator over his last 10 starts. We won two games where he pitched terrible, but we lost two games where he pitched very well. 

6 of his last 9 starts are quality starts. That’s not bad. Each of those times he’s given the team a chance to win and that’s all you really want out of a guy projected to be at the back end of the rotation moving forward.

[Dick Allen]

9 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

6 of his last 9 starts are quality starts. That’s not bad. Each of those times he’s given the team a chance to win and that’s all you really want out of a guy projected to be at the back end of the rotation moving forward.

I will give you guys credit trying to spin something positive out of a guy who leads the league in runs given up, walks and HBP.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

1 minute ago, Dick Allen said:

I will give you guys credit trying to spin something positive out of a guy who leads the league in runs given up, walks and HBP.

Not saying he’s been good this year but without question he’s been better of late and giving the team a good chance to winin majority of his starts. If their future #4/5 starter can give them quality starts 67% of the time, I’d take it.

[Jack Parkman]

To me, this means absolutely nothing other than putting the Sox in a worse draft position because Moncada and Lopez have been bad during this stretch. Giolito has been mostly good, but a couple horrid starts in there skew the numbers. The players that matter aren't really fueling this stretch of good play, so IMO it doesn't mean anything. 

[bmags]

This is nice that they've stabilized, I see it as more regression to the mean than anything else. This team was bad, but if we ran this season 100 times I think this season would be in the bottom quartile. 

It honestly blows my mind that the team could win 30 straight games and only get to .500.

The end of injuries has helped. The outfield in june was truly embarrassing, and the bullpen has felt refreshingly average as our SPs have turned in fewer 3-4 inning bombs.

 

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, Dick Allen said:

I think the Sox have a better team record during Giolito starts than the Mets do when DeGrom starts, and his ERA is 1.71. Giolito's ERA in July was 5.28 and August 5.50. That won't get it done.

The White Sox winning percentage is going to increase because the vast majority of teams they are playing aren't fighting for their playoff lives. It's teams playing out the string. They beat KC, who cares. They beat Det, who cares? They probably will be Minnesota, who cares? This 16-16 is all because they beat Tampa 3 times. Again, who cares? They play good teams, motivated, they lose.

 

What matters are the guys that are going to be here. If the Sox win games because of guys who aren't, how does that make the rebuild closer to working?

Amazing that we didn't play any bad teams for the first 100 games of the season.

[Jose Abreu]

I've never understood that logic either. Apparently wins against bad teams don't count? 

Wasn't our problem in past "go for it" regular seasons that we would play to the level of competition, i.e. we'd seemingly find ways to beat the good teams and also lose to the bad ones? 

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

1 hour ago, Jack Parkman said:

To me, this means absolutely nothing other than putting the Sox in a worse draft position because Moncada and Lopez have been bad during this stretch. Giolito has been mostly good, but a couple horrid starts in there skew the numbers. The players that matter aren't really fueling this stretch of good play, so IMO it doesn't mean anything. 

Rodon? TA? TA is on pace for a 2.5 fWAR season. Huge progress from last season. Would be great if 5.0 fWAR from TA and Moncada combined is their floor moving forward. That's a good place to start.

[Jack Parkman]

1 hour ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

Rodon? TA? TA is on pace for a 2.5 fWAR season. Huge progress from last season. Would be great if 5.0 fWAR from TA and Moncada combined is their floor moving forward. That's a good place to start.

I don't consider either of them part of the future. Rodon should be traded as soon as they can maximize his value, and Anderson doesn't get on base enough to be an everyday player, in my opinion. 

[Greg Hibbard]

3 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

They won 3 in Tampa, and took 2 out of 3 vs. KC and Det, 2 horrible teams.  Other than that, they have continued to suck. But they should be a little better as they play teams playing out the string or pretty much having their playoff fates sealed when they play them. 

 

They always have a chance when Rodon is pitching, and Covey is either really good or really bad, but the other starters haven't really stepped it up. The bullpen, for the most part with what's there, who cares?  Abreu came out of his slump, Narvaez is hitting, but is he really an answer behind the plate? Other than that, and an occassional Palka HR, I don't see what has changed.

First of all, the Sox went 3-4 on west coast road trip against fairly good teams. The west coast is a place where good Sox teams went to die virtually every year for a very long time. Also, regarding the series at Tampa - since when is sweeping a road series anywhere something to just gloss over? Any road sweep is pretty amazing - good or bad team. Tampa isn't exactly Baltimore or KC. 

Should play better against teams playing out the string? You mean virtually half of the major league teams post all star break every season? Good, because they're going to be playing a lot of games against those teams every single year.

This team is by and large not great at hitting right now. As a group they have a .721 OPS since the ASB. It's not just Moncada that's slumping - Avi has been pretty bad the last couple weeks. Every night I look up and down our lineup and it's a sub .250 wasteland. Routinely 7 of 9 guys are in the .215-.248 range. 

Meanwhile - you're right - Covey is either really good or really bad - and it's often inning by inning. We're so shellshocked into uncertainty with Giolito and Lopez that 8 ER or 0 ER isn't surprising anymore. Even when they are in back to back starts.

I don't know. I guess I look at it that despite all the inconsistency this team has found away to scratch out a .500 record over a meaningful sample. I look at 32 games as not some 10 game blip on the radar, but a pretty healthy slice of a season. Even if they are playing a little hotter than they should by a game or two, it means they MAY be a 70-75 win team AS IS, without Kopech and Eloy, and with Moncada basically shitting the bed. Don't forget that even though Abreu has been hotter recently, he's still having one of his worst seasons as a pro.

 

 

[Bob Sacamano]

7 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I don't consider either of them part of the future. Rodon should be traded as soon as they can maximize his value, and Anderson doesn't get on base enough to be an everyday player, in my opinion. 

Well you may not consider them as part of the future, but Rodon potentially may be in the rotation for our first at least one or two competitive years. Anderson has 4 more guaranteed years in his contract. How is that not part of the future?

Edited August 20, 2018 by soxfan2014

[chitownsportsfan]

Team is obviously better now that they have an actual MLB worthy OF again and Rodon is back.   That said, it's a bummer that Lopez and Moncada haven't contributed more to this "run".

[Jack Parkman]

1 hour ago, soxfan2014 said:

Well you may not consider them as part of the future, but Rodon potentially may be in the rotation for our first at least one or two competitive years. Anderson has 4 more guaranteed years in his contract. How is that not part of the future?

I think Anderson should be more of a super sub, because he still provides some value with his bat, but he should be playing 3-4 days per week rather than everyday, and he should learn the OF as well. SS/2B/OF for Anderson. I think he should fill the role that Leury Garcia is now. 

Edited August 20, 2018 by Jack Parkman

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

4 hours ago, Jack Parkman said:

To me, this means absolutely nothing other than putting the Sox in a worse draft position because Moncada and Lopez have been bad during this stretch. Giolito has been mostly good, but a couple horrid starts in there skew the numbers. The players that matter aren't really fueling this stretch of good play, so IMO it doesn't mean anything. 

So you're saying Rodon and Abreu who are absolutely fueling  the stretch of good play don't matter ? So anything that Giolito , Lopez ,Fry ,Palka or anyone else that may prove to be a semi useful piece over the next few years doesn't matter ? It's dominos man. You put a guy like Rodon pitching amazingly well in a rotation and its like taking out bad starts and putting in really good ones. Then when you get some quality starts from Gio and Lopez and it absolutly does matter.

All this was with a bad Moncada.

These are exciting times now that Kopech is up. With some progress next year from Gio , Lopez, Moncada and Rodon and Kopech pitching every 5th day and Eloy up also, throw in some free agents while subtracting bad performers and the Sox will be looking for big improvement next year. See the forest not just the trees.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

1 hour ago, Jack Parkman said:

I don't consider either of them part of the future. Rodon should be traded as soon as they can maximize his value, and Anderson doesn't get on base enough to be an everyday player, in my opinion. 

That makes no sense. Rodon and Anderson aren't part of the future but Giolito and Lopez are?  I'd say Rodon and Anderson are bigger parts of their future than Giolito and Lopez. If he continues performing at this rate, Rodon is either a top of the rotation starter on their next contending team or he's a huge trading chip. TA is an average to above average starting SS. Those don't grow on trees either.

[chitownsportsfan]

29 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I think Anderson should be more of a super sub, because he still provides some value with his bat, but he should be playing 3-4 days per week rather than everyday, and he should learn the OF as well. SS/2B/OF for Anderson. I think he should fill the role that Leury Garcia is now. 

anderson has earned another shot at starting SS next year.  If his bat doesn't improve to where he's nothing more than a 250/300/400 type then maybe you consider making him a super sub.  But other than Madigral (possibly) there is nobody even close to pushing him off SS internally.

[Jack Parkman]

3 minutes ago, JUSTgottaBELIEVE said:

That makes no sense. Rodon and Anderson aren't part of the future but Giolito and Lopez are?  I'd say Rodon and Anderson are bigger parts of their future than Giolito and Lopez. If he continues performing at this rate, Rodon is either a top of the rotation starter on their next contending team or he's a huge trading chip. TA is an average to above average starting SS. Those don't grow on trees either.

With the pitchers, it has to do with team control. Anderson can stay at SS until a better option is found, be it Madrigal or a free agent. I've been one of the biggest Giolito defenders here, because the Nationals messed him up and he was always a project, otherwise he wouldn't have been available for Adam Eaton. He's shown a lot of improvement this season, let's see if it sticks or not over the offseason. Lopez I'm on the fence on, whether he's a back of the rotation starter or a bullpen swingman. I don't think his stuff will play in the bullpen because he doesn't have a consistent second pitch. 

Edited August 20, 2018 by Jack Parkman