The Offense - Near Term Actions

[raBBit]

1 minute ago, manbearpuig said:

Honestly let's mix it up and get Sheets some OF/DH at bats. Maybe Burger too.

It's probably time to option Mercedes and Gonzalez shouldn't have ever been added IMO.

[Bob Sacamano]

2 minutes ago, raBBit said:

It's probably time to option Mercedes and Gonzalez shouldn't have ever been added IMO.

Agreed. Especially if he's not even going to play CF over Goodwin and Leury when he is in the lineup.

[ChiSox59]

3 hours ago, raBBit said:

It's probably time to option Mercedes and Gonzalez shouldn't have ever been added IMO.

Do they still do any form of "taxi squad" now that minor leagues are fully operating? My guess is not.  Just thinking of possible reasons why they'd have gone with Gonzalez - really doesn't make any sense.  

[napa_soxfan]

Burger time. For reals. 

[ChiSox59]

3 minutes ago, napa_soxfan said:

Burger time. For reals. 

Is this info or wishful thinking? 

[BamaDoc]

Sheets makes sense if Gonzalez is in a corner unless they are afraid of exposing him and hurting trade value.  Personally, I worry about good(hopefully) young cost controlled pieces getting away.  Unless they are doing extensive cage work and think Mercedes is about to turn it around, he should go down for Sheets.

[ChiSox59]

20 minutes ago, BamaDoc said:

Sheets makes sense if Gonzalez is in a corner unless they are afraid of exposing him and hurting trade value.  Personally, I worry about good(hopefully) young cost controlled pieces getting away.  Unless they are doing extensive cage work and think Mercedes is about to turn it around, he should go down for Sheets.

I think Yermin needs a couple weeks regardless.  Let him get his confidence back in AAA.  He has none right now. 

[Lillian]

How about the following?:

1) Send Mercedes back to AAA 

2) Bring up Burger to DH

3) Acquire Escobar to play second

4) Continue to search for a better bat to play RF, preferably LH, and especially if he's more than a rental

5) Play Lamb vs. RH pitching, 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Lillian

[SonofaRoache]

18 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I think Yermin needs a couple weeks regardless.  Let him get his confidence back in AAA.  He has none right now. 

He is the position player version of Lopez. 

[poppysox]

13 minutes ago, Lillian said:

How about the following:

1) Send Mercedes back to AAA 

2) Bring up Burger to DH

3) Acquire Escobar to play second

4) Continue to search for a better LH bat to play RF

5) Play Lamb vs. RH pitching, 

like it all.

[Chicago White Sox]

On 6/20/2021 at 1:07 PM, Chicago White Sox said:

It should be clear to pretty anyone that the offense is starting to show its cracks as we start to face better teams.  Over our last nine games against legit playoff contending teams (Blue Jays, Rays, & Astros), we have averaged a measly 3.56 runs per game.  If you exclude the Blue Jays series when we still had Madrigal, our runs per game drops to 3.17.  Either way, our recent offensive production has been bottom of baseball bad.

Obviously the hope is Eloy & Robert come back and solve two of our major holes.  The problem is there are a lot of games to be played between now and August and we’re only 3.5 games up on the Tribe.  Trades will likely happen, but even there it could be four or five weeks before we see any real action.  In the interim, the Sox would be smart to make some internal changes and try to optimize the offense as best as they can with what they have.  Here are my handful of ideas:

1. Option Yermin to Charlotte.  Since May 18th (the day after the infamous 3-0 homer), Mercedes has put up a .144/.215/.186/.401 slash line or 17 wRC+.  To say he’s been bad would be an understatement, but yet he continues to bat 5th most nights.  His bat is killing tons of opportunities for us with most of our best hitters batting in front of him and he’s been providing zero protection for Jose, who has fallen off during this time-frame (128 wRC+ before May 18th( a 95 since then).  For now, Yermin can’t be a part of this offense and he needs to find himself in AAA.
2. Start Collins regularly against RHP.  I don’t care if it’s at catcher or DH, but he & Grandal need to be in the lineup every time a righty on the mound.  Zack now has a 109 wRC+ against RHP and has looked much better at the plate as of late.  For a lineup in desperate need of power from the left-side, we can no longer afford to have Zack be limited to a backup catcher role.  Him & Grandal both need to be in the lineup against RHP, even if that means we risk losing the DH for a game in the event of injury.
3. Call up Jake Burger to DH against LHP.  Overall we still remain one of the best teams against lefties, but it’s very clear we’re trending in the wrong direction in that department.  Just in the last two weeks we’ve had Valdez hold us to two earned runs over 7, McClanahan hold us to two over 5, Skubal hold us to three over 6, Ryu hold us to three over 6, & Ray hold us to one over 6.1.  I get that some of these guys are pretty good pitchers, but we haven’t a big offensive game against a lefty in some time.  That’s where Jake can help.  As pointed out by @fathom, Burger has a ridiculous 1.362 OPS against lefties this year.  I get he’d be an untested rookie, but I think he’d be a big upgrade over what we’re currently getting against LHP and would add some much needed power to the lineup.  Plus he can fill at 3B when Yoan needs a breather here or there.
4. Play Vaughn Everyday in LF.  This one is going to be a bit counter-intuitive, but we need see what we got in the kid and figure out if he can work through his challenges against RHP.  He has been far & away our worst hitter against righties, posting a .487 OPS and 38 wRC+ on the season.  Right-handed pitchers are pummeling him down & away with sliders and he has yet to make the necessary adjustments.  This is not uncommon for young hitters, as we saw Eloy & Robert also chase too many sliders when they first came up, but Andrew will likely need consistent at-bats to figure his shit out.  Bat him near the bottom of the lineup against RHP for now and see how he responds.  He’s way too talented & smart of a hitter to force into a quasi platoon role and we definitely need him to take a big step forward in order to avoid having a third major hole in the lineup heading into the trade deadline.

What do you guys think of these ideas?  What would you differently?

Add “play Sheets” to this list.  In all honesty, it’s great to see the Burger for Yermin swap, Collins rocking a 135 wRC+ against RHP, and Vaughn starting to murder righties over the last four games.  We need to add some more pieces prior to the deadline, but at least some of the younger guys have stopped the bleeding for now.

[Chicago White Sox]

On 6/20/2021 at 1:07 PM, Chicago White Sox said:

It should be clear to pretty anyone that the offense is starting to show its cracks as we start to face better teams.  Over our last nine games against legit playoff contending teams (Blue Jays, Rays, & Astros), we have averaged a measly 3.56 runs per game.  If you exclude the Blue Jays series when we still had Madrigal, our runs per game drops to 3.17.  Either way, our recent offensive production has been bottom of baseball bad.

Obviously the hope is Eloy & Robert come back and solve two of our major holes.  The problem is there are a lot of games to be played between now and August and we’re only 3.5 games up on the Tribe.  Trades will likely happen, but even there it could be four or five weeks before we see any real action.  In the interim, the Sox would be smart to make some internal changes and try to optimize the offense as best as they can with what they have.  Here are my handful of ideas:

1. Option Yermin to Charlotte.  Since May 18th (the day after the infamous 3-0 homer), Mercedes has put up a .144/.215/.186/.401 slash line or 17 wRC+.  To say he’s been bad would be an understatement, but yet he continues to bat 5th most nights.  His bat is killing tons of opportunities for us with most of our best hitters batting in front of him and he’s been providing zero protection for Jose, who has fallen off during this time-frame (128 wRC+ before May 18th( a 95 since then).  For now, Yermin can’t be a part of this offense and he needs to find himself in AAA.
2. Start Collins regularly against RHP.  I don’t care if it’s at catcher or DH, but he & Grandal need to be in the lineup every time a righty on the mound.  Zack now has a 109 wRC+ against RHP and has looked much better at the plate as of late.  For a lineup in desperate need of power from the left-side, we can no longer afford to have Zack be limited to a backup catcher role.  Him & Grandal both need to be in the lineup against RHP, even if that means we risk losing the DH for a game in the event of injury.
3. Call up Jake Burger to DH against LHP.  Overall we still remain one of the best teams against lefties, but it’s very clear we’re trending in the wrong direction in that department.  Just in the last two weeks we’ve had Valdez hold us to two earned runs over 7, McClanahan hold us to two over 5, Skubal hold us to three over 6, Ryu hold us to three over 6, & Ray hold us to one over 6.1.  I get that some of these guys are pretty good pitchers, but we haven’t a big offensive game against a lefty in some time.  That’s where Jake can help.  As pointed out by @fathom, Burger has a ridiculous 1.362 OPS against lefties this year.  I get he’d be an untested rookie, but I think he’d be a big upgrade over what we’re currently getting against LHP and would add some much needed power to the lineup.  Plus he can fill at 3B when Yoan needs a breather here or there.
4. Play Vaughn Everyday in LF.  This one is going to be a bit counter-intuitive, but we need see what we got in the kid and figure out if he can work through his challenges against RHP.  He has been far & away our worst hitter against righties, posting a .487 OPS and 38 wRC+ on the season.  Right-handed pitchers are pummeling him down & away with sliders and he has yet to make the necessary adjustments.  This is not uncommon for young hitters, as we saw Eloy & Robert also chase too many sliders when they first came up, but Andrew will likely need consistent at-bats to figure his shit out.  Bat him near the bottom of the lineup against RHP for now and see how he responds.  He’s way too talented & smart of a hitter to force into a quasi platoon role and we definitely need him to take a big step forward in order to avoid having a third major hole in the lineup heading into the trade deadline.

What do you guys think of these ideas?  What would you differently?

Not looking to pat myself on the back here, but it’s absolutely remarkable what the three kids referenced above plus Sheets have done since this post was made.  They have legit been studly and have made a huge difference for us against RHP.  And while these are all incredibly SSS, even Burger has been more than just a lefty killer so far (although he’s got some serious BABIP regression coming).  Regardless, it’s impressive what these kids have accomplished this season.

• Collins with a 187 wRC+ against RHP over 33 PAs
• Vaughn with a 147 wRC+ against RHP over 57 PAs
• Burger with a 216 wRC+ in total over 27 PAs
• Sheets with a 203 wRC+ against RHP over 44 PAs