GT 8/22: SOX @ TB, 12:10

[Balta1701]

1 minute ago, hankchifan said:

Kimbrel trade was a dud.  Hahn paid a high price for a luxury nice to have but we already had many good relievers.  On the other hand, we needed more help in outfield defense and LH pop.  Go afterGallo instead. We have been exposed with guys like Goodwin playing regularly and botching plays in the OF continually.

“We already had many good relievers” does not describe the past month either.

[CentralChamps21]

In the regular season, you have to worry about your reliever workloads, but in the playoffs, you never play more than 3 days in a row (and only even do that a maximum of twice) so you can shorten the pen. If they pitch even close to their season averages you can have Tepera/Crochet/Kopech/Kimbrel/Hendriks covering the 5th-9th every day and that's lethal.

[hankchifan]

8 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

“We already had many good relievers” does not describe the past month either.

Referring to Kopech, Bummer, Hendriks, Crochet, and Tepera later. 

[maloney.adam]

We haven’t played one game this year at full strength. That’s the problem. We are playing bench guys and backups that are not used to playing regularly.

Edited August 22, 2021 by maloney.adam

[tray]

I  preferred trading for middle to late inning relief pitchers rather than giving up Madrigal and Cody Heuer  for a second Closer with a bad attitude. One poster here  posited that the Kimbrel trade virtually guaranteed a WS this year and next.  If that happens I will eat crow with a big smile, but I doubt I will have to.

So now Hahn has  his two-headed Closing monster. Meanwhile the rest of the Sox pen does not appear to be play-off ready...not even close. Hard to win games unless we score a ton of runs or our starter goes 6 or 7 innings.  Ruiz? LOL.

[CentralChamps21]

Just now, tray said:

I  preferred trading for middle to late inning relief pitchers rather than giving up Madrigal and Cody Heuer  for a second Closer with a bad attitude. One poster here  posited that the Kimbrel trade virtually guaranteed a WS this year and next.  If that happens I will eat crow with a big smile, but I doubt I will have to.

So now Hahn has  his two-headed Closing monster. Meanwhile the rest of the Sox pen does not appear to be play-off ready...not even close. Hard to win games unless we score a ton of runs or our starter goes 6 or 7 innings.  Ruiz? LOL.

Ruiz doesn't need to be playoff ready. Neither do Lopez, Burr, Bummer, Wright or Keuchel. As long as Tepera/Crochet/Kopech/Hendriks are playoff ready that's what's needed, and I think Kimbrel gets himself straightened out by then.

Those other guys only see playoff innings if the starter has already blown the game.

[hankchifan]

4 minutes ago, tray said:

I  preferred trading for middle to late inning relief pitchers rather than giving up Madrigal and Cody Heuer  for a second Closer with a bad attitude. One poster here  posited that the Kimbrel trade virtually guaranteed a WS this year and next.  If that happens I will eat crow with a big smile, but I doubt I will have to.

So now Hahn has  his two-headed Closing monster. Meanwhile the rest of the Sox pen does not appear to be play-off ready...not even close. Hard to win games unless we score a ton of runs or our starter goes 6 or 7 innings.  Ruiz? LOL.

You are right.  We need to score more runs so our pen can protect leads. I would have preferred a slugging OF to Kimbrel, because it was a bigger need and could contribute on a daily basis.

[Balta1701]

12 minutes ago, maloney.adam said:

We haven’t played one game this year at full strength. That’s the problem. We are playing bench guys and backups that are not used to playing regularly.

You say that as though we didn’t spend the whole offseason saying “hey injuries will probably be extra common this year given the weirdness so how about improving the depth?”

[hankchifan]

48 minutes ago, maxjusttyped said:

I prefer Escobar too, but he's still a similar caliber player and doesn't solve the issue of this team falling off a cliff when TA isn't playing. It sounds like they were interested in Story before the deadline and there's definitely a chance he ends up having to sign a 1 year deal like Semien did to rebuild his value.

Let’s give Cesar some rope for the next few games to see if he improves. Do we have a better alternative at second now?

[reiks12]

Hernandez .588 OPS

Kimbrel 5.40 ERA

[hankchifan]

Today was one of the most embarrassing losses of the year.  Team was dead.  Hope TLR, TA , Abreu start kicking some ass and get this team motivated and hungrier going forward.

[maloney.adam]

8 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

You say that as though we didn’t spend the whole offseason saying “hey injuries will probably be extra common this year given the weirdness so how about improving the depth?”

They didn’t really address those concerns in the offseason. However, I still think we will play at full strength sometime this season. Just a matter of when.

Edited August 22, 2021 by maloney.adam

[CentralChamps21]

3 minutes ago, reiks12 said:

Hernandez .588 OPS

Kimbrel 5.40 ERA

Every position player on the Sox has had a 3 week stretch with a similar OPS and every single reliever has had a 3 week stretch with a similar ERA. If those numbers aren't better in 3 more weeks then I'll worry a little.

[hankchifan]

1 hour ago, Tomtom said:

15 of the 19 runs scored by the Rays this weekend have come with two outs!  Rays are showing the Sox how it’s done.

Our pitchers have to bear down better with 2 outs also.

[CentralChamps21]

6 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

You say that as though we didn’t spend the whole offseason saying “hey injuries will probably be extra common this year given the weirdness so how about improving the depth?”

Yes but at the same time depth helps you win regular season games and not playoff games if your starters are healthy so that depth might have gotten better playoff seeding but those guys wouldn't be a real factor in the postseason.

[hankchifan]

14 minutes ago, WhiteSoxFan1993 said:

Ruiz doesn't need to be playoff ready. Neither do Lopez, Burr, Bummer, Wright or Keuchel. As long as Tepera/Crochet/Kopech/Hendriks are playoff ready that's what's needed, and I think Kimbrel gets himself straightened out by then.

Those other guys only see playoff innings if the starter has already blown the game.

I would not discount Bummer as a useful lefty reliever in the playoffs, with a short leash if he shows no control early.

[maloney.adam]

Question for the board, in your opinion which games do you think are more important, regular season games or playoff games? And why?

Edited August 22, 2021 by maloney.adam

[Balta1701]

9 minutes ago, hankchifan said:

Let’s give Cesar some rope for the next few games to see if he improves. Do we have a better alternative at second now?

No but it might be nice to give him an off day once a month.

[southsider2k5]

1 minute ago, maloney.adam said:

Question for the board, in your opinion which games do you think are more important, regular season games or playoff games? And why?

Pre-season obviously.

[CentralChamps21]

Just now, maloney.adam said:

Question for the board, in your opinion which games do you think are more important, regular season games or playoff games? And why?

Regular season games are more important up to the point that you are qualified for the playoffs (or 99+% likely to qualify), and then playoff games are more important.

The great unanswered question is whether the best chance for playoff success is a more rested team playing more road games in the playoffs or a less rested team playing more home games in the playoffs. I think home field advantage is worth pushing for but we won't really know until we get there.

[CentralChamps21]

One good thing that came out of losing these last two games is that it makes the Yankees less likely to overtake Tampa for the division and the Sox less likely to overtake Tampa for the #1 seed, so the chances of facing the Yankees in the ALDS just went way down.

[The Mighty Mite]

9 minutes ago, WhiteSoxFan1993 said:

One good thing that came out of losing these last two games is that it makes the Yankees less likely to overtake Tampa for the division and the Sox less likely to overtake Tampa for the #1 seed, so the chances of facing the Yankees in the ALDS just went way down.

Doesn't matter who we face, at this point we will be the underdogs.

Edited August 22, 2021 by The Mighty Mite

[CentralChamps21]

1 minute ago, The Mighty Mite said:

Doesn't matter who we face, at this point we will be the undedogs.

Sox have yet to play a series against a potential playoff opponent with less than 2 starting position players missing and less than one pitcher getting a start who won't be starting in the playoffs. We can't judge based on the product that was on the field against those teams.

[NWINFan]

14 minutes ago, WhiteSoxFan1993 said:

Sox have yet to play a series against a potential playoff opponent with less than 2 starting position players missing and less than one pitcher getting a start who won't be starting in the playoffs. We can't judge based on the product that was on the field against those teams.

The team has played 125 games. When can we start judging them?

[maloney.adam]

4 minutes ago, NWINFan said:

The team has played 125 games. When can we start judging them?

When they are at full strength. Even though they are in a crappy division and in first place, they have played some crappy lineups against some really good teams. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by maloney.adam