The path back to .500 in our sights?

[Richie]

So, we're 26-29 as we round out May and only 2.5 GB of the 2nd AL wild card spot. Mostly thanks to Boston's World Series hangover to this point. 

After sweeping Kansas City, we continue along a somewhat cozy stretch on our schedule. We'll host Cleveland (28-27) for 4 games in Chicago. We will then head to Washington (24-32) for 2 games. Before going to Kansas City (18-37) for a three game series before we come back home to host Washington and see the Nationals for 2 more. 

That's an 11 game stretch that we could seemingly take advantage of. 7-4 would get us back to .500 at 33-33. What say you?

I think if we can just manage a split with Cleveland, we'll get it done. The problem being that Banuelos, Covey and Nova will start the first three games of the series. Giolito throws the fourth... so... that's the one you expect to win (still feels weird saying stuff like that). So, we'll need to find a way to beat Carrasco, Bauer or Rodriguez with at least one of our three guys. Which, to say the least, is not an inspiring prospect. I have no faith that any of those guys do anything besides blow up the game before it even gets going. 

It really makes you wonder where this team would be, not only if they had a healthy Rodon/Kopech, but just if they didn't have a giant black hole enveloping the #3 to #5 spots in the rotation. It's tough to watch those games a lot of the time. 

 

 

 

 

 

[poppysox]

3 hours ago, Richie said:

So, we're 26-29 as we round out May and only 2.5 GB of the 2nd AL wild card spot. Mostly thanks to Boston's World Series hangover to this point. 

After sweeping Kansas City, we continue along a somewhat cozy stretch on our schedule. We'll host Cleveland (28-27) for 4 games in Chicago. We will then head to Washington (24-32) for 2 games. Before going to Kansas City (18-37) for a three game series before we come back home to host Washington and see the Nationals for 2 more. 

That's an 11 game stretch that we could seemingly take advantage of. 7-4 would get us back to .500 at 33-33. What say you?

I think if we can just manage a split with Cleveland, we'll get it done. The problem being that Banuelos, Covey and Nova will start the first three games of the series. Giolito throws the fourth... so... that's the one you expect to win (still feels weird saying stuff like that). So, we'll need to find a way to beat Carrasco, Bauer or Rodriguez with at least one of our three guys. Which, to say the least, is not an inspiring prospect. I have no faith that any of those guys do anything besides blow up the game before it even gets going. 

It really makes you wonder where this team would be, not only if they had a healthy Rodon/Kopech, but just if they didn't have a giant black hole enveloping the #3 to #5 spots in the rotation. It's tough to watch those games a lot of the time. 

 

 

 

 

 

We could try a Spahn & Sain and pray for rain but we would have to find a Sain.

[Chisox378]

If Covey can give us 6 innings and only give up 4 like he has his past few starts, maybe we can rely on offense to pick him up.

Banuelos on the other hand, in his last 4 outings has given up 9er,5er,5er,5er all under 4.1 innings pitched. If I were the Sox I would find a replacement for him before he makes his next start.

Edited May 30, 2019 by Chisox378

[WBWSF]

Signing Gio Gonzalez for a mere $2 million a year (like the Brewers did) would have improved the starting rotation. He certainly is a better starter than Banuelos.

[default]

32 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

Signing Gio Gonzalez for a mere $2 million a year (like the Brewers did) would have improved the starting rotation. He certainly is a better starter than Banuelos.

Maybe he didn’t want to play for us?  

[Richie]

1 hour ago, Chisox378 said:

If Covey can give us 6 innings and only give up 4 like he has his past few starts, maybe we can rely on offense to pick him up.

Banuelos on the other hand, in his last 4 outings has given up 9er,5er,5er,5er all under 4.1 innings pitched. If I were the Sox I would find a replacement for him before he makes his next start.

 Yeah, I'm surprised he even made his way back into the rotation after the recent injury. Nova/Covey are just "regular" bad. He's been bad at an inexcusable pace. You can't keep trotting him out there every 5 days. 

[fathom]

Gonna face some of the best RHP on the planet the next week or so. Really wish they would end the Alonso experiment and give Palka a shot again

[wegner]

16 minutes ago, default said:

Maybe he didn’t want to play for us?  

Probably because he knew we would trade him again within a couple of weeks

[wegner]

Honestly, if the Sox finish .500 this year and probably a 2nd place finish in the Central, that would be a nice step for the rebuild imho

[WBWSF]

41 minutes ago, default said:

Maybe he didn’t want to play for us?  

1) Mike Mulligan on the SCORE said the Hahn didn't make Gonzalez an offer.

2) Hahn should have offered him a 2 year contract and he might have accepted it.

[Jerksticks]

I like the thought of signing Keuchel to be our #5 starter moving forward.  Gio, not so much.  

Wouldn’t hurt to have a lefty that can pop some innings for those playoff matches coming up

Edited May 30, 2019 by Jerksticks

[Boopa1219]

Keuchel wouldn’t be a number 5 starter for the Sox, he would be a TOR option for the team. I hope the Sox look at other avenues to improve their staff that don’t involve Keuchel, who looks like a terrible contract waiting to happen.

*******

I know the team’s run differential is absurd but the Sox were blown out a lot in April and they are over performing their expected win/loss record. If they’re able to get average pitching from the staff for the rest of the season, a .500 isn’t out of the question. 

But if the Sox aren’t making the playoffs, they should seriously consider trading some veterans on the team like Colome to bolster the farm one more time (Braves are a great trade for). 

 

[greg775]

An interesting question as the team ponders hitting .500 is the question, "Can a team improve its roster much during the season without getting ripped off in trades?" 

It's obvious as this team stands, the White Sox have overachieved big time and if things stay the way they are, the team ultimately will finish 20 or so under .500 and as one of the worst teams in the league. However ... the team also has a handful of the best players in the game. They are Moncada, Tim, Abreu, Eloy, Gio and Colome. You might want to throw a hot McCann in there. So ... after releasing Alonso you bring up Palka and make him full time DH and hope for the best there.

However you need two starting pitchers, a setup reliever and you need an Avi Garcia type of bat for the outfield. You need a lot of help on the mound. So you gamble and bring up Cease, acquire a veteran stud starter and those two relievers and you might make the playoffs. Of course Manny or Harper would have really helped the cause.

So what do you say? Can you improve during the course of a season without getting ripped off in trades or not? Do you stand pat, feel good about the highlights and go ahead and let it play out and ultimately finish 20-30 below or make some deals? 

(The only argument I'll accept other than my questions is ... are so many teams tanking that the Sox as they stand actually are better than the other tank teams and as a process of elimination can keep this type of record all year?). I'm sure you all agree with me as it stands our roster is not what would be deemed a winning roster.

Edited May 30, 2019 by greg775

[ChiSox59]

Starting with 3 of 4 from Cleveland would be huge.  Don't love our chances the next two nights, though.  The Covey-Banuelos stack is an eye sore.  

[ScootsMcGoots]

With a decent rotation, this team could be 10 games over .500 come september. With the rotation they have now...I'm surprised they haven't lost more games than they have. Literally the only reliable pitcher is Giolito. And it's amazing because he is not only reliable, he is absolutely dominant.

What a change next year will be with Kopech and Cease, my goodness. End this Covey train.

[WBWSF]

1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

Starting with 3 of 4 from Cleveland would be huge.  Don't love our chances the next two nights, though.  The Covey-Banuelos stack is an eye sore.  

Not bringing up Cease and keeping Covet-Banuelos in the rotation is insane or the team is trying to lose on purpose.

[ChiSox59]

1 minute ago, WBWSF said:

Not bringing up Cease and keeping Covet-Banuelos in the rotation is insane or the team is trying to lose on purpose.

Cease will be up soon dude.  Relax.

Prior to a 1.5 weeks ago, Cease had pitched over 5 innings in just one outing.  It is not this giant injustice that he is still in AAA.  Although he has pitched deeper his last 3 starts and is definitely proving he is ready.  I suspect he'll be up in a couple weeks.  

 

[soxfan49]

I was wanting this year to be fun and competitive with growth from the young guys with one last top 10 pick for the rebuild. It's looking like it could be that way. Anderson is playing really well, Jimenez is probably worse than we all thought but the homers he's hit have been impressive + his eye is improving, Moncada's ops is over .800 and Giolito looks really good. The Giants finished 2018 with 73 wins and have the 10th pick in the draft in 2019. The Sox are going to end up winning 77-78 games, imo, and that will net them a top 15 pick, which wasn't what I hoped for but with the 4 players I mentioned playing/pitching well, I'll gladly substitute their performances for the higher pick. Hopefully when Cease comes up, he also impresses and they can get to 82 wins.

[gusguyman]

6 hours ago, WBWSF said:

1) Mike Mulligan on the SCORE said the Hahn didn't make Gonzalez an offer.

2) Hahn should have offered him a 2 year contract and he might have accepted it.

Making an offer occurs very late in the process. I'd be shocked if Hahn didn't at least inquire. Clearly the number/interest he got back wasn't intriguing. 

[WBWSF]

24 minutes ago, gusguyman said:

Making an offer occurs very late in the process. I'd be shocked if Hahn didn't at least inquire. Clearly the number/interest he got back wasn't intriguing. 

The number/interest he got back wasn't intriguing but I would rather have him in the White Sox rotation than  Covey-Banuelos. At least with Gonzalez  you had a decent chance of winning and you had  a chance of him pitching 5-6 innings  every game. And for the money he signed for ($2 million) I would think it would have been a no brainer for Hahn.

Edited May 30, 2019 by WBWSF

[soxfan49]

7 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

The number/interest he got back wasn't intriguing but I would rather have him in the White Sox rotation than  Covey-Banuelos. At least with Gonzalez  you had a decent chance of winning and you had  a chance of him pitching 5-6 innings  every game. And for the money he signed for ($2 million) I would think it would have been a no brainer for Hahn.

Once again maybe he didn't want to play for the Sox. Maybe he wanted to play for a playoff caliber team.

[Richie]

5 hours ago, greg775 said:

An interesting question as the team ponders hitting .500 is the question, "Can a team improve its roster much during the season without getting ripped off in trades?" 

It's obvious as this team stands, the White Sox have overachieved big time and if things stay the way they are, the team ultimately will finish 20 or so under .500 and as one of the worst teams in the league. However ... the team also has a handful of the best players in the game. They are Moncada, Tim, Abreu, Eloy, Gio and Colome. You might want to throw a hot McCann in there. So ... after releasing Alonso you bring up Palka and make him full time DH and hope for the best there.

However you need two starting pitchers, a setup reliever and you need an Avi Garcia type of bat for the outfield. You need a lot of help on the mound. So you gamble and bring up Cease, acquire a veteran stud starter and those two relievers and you might make the playoffs. Of course Manny or Harper would have really helped the cause.

So what do you say? Can you improve during the course of a season without getting ripped off in trades or not? Do you stand pat, feel good about the highlights and go ahead and let it play out and ultimately finish 20-30 below or make some deals? 

(The only argument I'll accept other than my questions is ... are so many teams tanking that the Sox as they stand actually are better than the other tank teams and as a process of elimination can keep this type of record all year?). I'm sure you all agree with me as it stands our roster is not what would be deemed a winning roster.

 This team might finish THIRTY games below? Simply because we don't have every single, solitary hole filled with an ideal piece to contend with? Come on... We're not a winning roster, but we ARE absolutely a competitive one. No one looks at the White Sox on the schedule at this point and goes "there's three games that we can just show up for". 

 Look around at the other teams with our record. They have the same kind of problems that we do. 26-29 is just about right. This is not a 66-96 team. 

 

 

 

[Richie]

3 hours ago, soxfan49 said:

Once again maybe he didn't want to play for the Sox. Maybe he wanted to play for a playoff caliber team.

Agreed, he's 33 and he's clinging to what may or may not be left of his prime. Every year that goes by means a lot to a pitcher like Gio. I would be pretty surprised if he wanted to come here and waste one of those valuable few seasons for the sake of a rebuild. We could have offered him a million dollars more than Milwaukee and he still may have gone there. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Richie

[ScootsMcGoots]

4 hours ago, soxfan49 said:

I was wanting this year to be fun and competitive with growth from the young guys with one last top 10 pick for the rebuild. It's looking like it could be that way. Anderson is playing really well, Jimenez is probably worse than we all thought but the homers he's hit have been impressive + his eye is improving, Moncada's ops is over .800 and Giolito looks really good. The Giants finished 2018 with 73 wins and have the 10th pick in the draft in 2019. The Sox are going to end up winning 77-78 games, imo, and that will net them a top 15 pick, which wasn't what I hoped for but with the 4 players I mentioned playing/pitching well, I'll gladly substitute their performances for the higher pick. Hopefully when Cease comes up, he also impresses and they can get to 82 wins.

I think Moncada struggling last year and then starting to break out of it this year has allowed us to have a longer leash for Jimenez. I think Moncada also has a higher expectation on him based on who we gave up to get him.

[poppysox]

One game from Minnesota and tonight would have been for.500.