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2016 Opening Day Thread


How many strikeouts will Sale record on Monday?  

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  1. 1. How many strikeouts will Sale record on Monday?

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QUOTE (Jake @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 12:04 PM)
Interesting how little uncertainty there was over the composition of the bullpen. Ultimately, it is exactly the same as last year, but with everyone healthy (Jones and Petricka started the year on DL last season).

 

I think Jones is poised for a monster year in that setup role if he stays healthy

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From Dave Cameron's "Five Things I Believe About The 2016 Season" today:

 

Chris Sale will finally get his due.

 

It’s not that people don’t realize that Chris Sale is an excellent pitcher. He’s been an All-Star for four straight years, and has finished in the top six in Cy Young voting in each of those seasons as well. Sale isn’t some under-the-radar star or anything. But whether it’s because the White Sox haven’t been any good, because everyone expects him to break down at any minute, or because he had the misfortune to be born around the same time as Clayton Kershaw, Sale hasn’t really gotten the recognition for just how great he really is.

 

This year, though, the White Sox could actually be a contender, and if they make a postseason run, it will likely be the time when everyone acknowledges that Chris Sale is the best pitcher in the American League, and it isn’t particularly close. There are some other great pitchers in the AL, certainly, and I love watching David Price, Chris Archer, Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, and Felix Hernandez as much as anyone, but when you look at how they all stack up, Sale really does stand apart from the pack.

 

Since Sale moved back into the rotation in 2012, he ranks 1st in the AL in ERA- (72), 1st in FIP- (71), and 1st in xFIP- (73). And the scary part is that he’s getting better. His strikeout rates, by season, since going back to starting full time: 25%, 26%, 30%, 32%. Last year, Sale ran a 64 xFIP-, which is almost Kershaw-esque. Kershaw is remarkable because he not only dominates the strike zone but limits hard contact as well, which Sale doesn’t do as well, but if it weren’t for our generation’s Sandy Koufax over there in LA, we’d be talking about Sale as the best pitcher in baseball.

 

I’m not entirely sold on the White Sox as contenders this year, but for Sale’s sake, I hope they at least make a run. He deserves the spotlight and the recognition that go along with being as good as he actually is. With some better teammates in place, I think this will finally be the summer that baseball acknowledges Chris Sale as the true ace of the American League.

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QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 12:52 PM)
Avila 8th would break up the righties at the end and Jackson 9th breaks up the lefties (Avila, Eaton, Rollins. Yes yes I know that Rollins is a switch hitter).

Yeah, I don't like having three lefties in a row, plus Jackson batting 9th puts a bit more speed in front of Eaton potentially. I don't envision the bottom of our lineup looking like this for very long.

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QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 12:56 PM)
I do think the Sox will get more than 1 run off of Gray; they killed him last time (though he was battling an injury if I recall correctly).

 

The Sox have blasted Gray on two occasions. He's got a 8.10 ERA in 10 innings against us with 3 HRs given up.

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QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 02:22 PM)
The Sox have blasted Gray on two occasions. He's got a 8.10 ERA in 10 innings against us with 3 HRs given up.

 

All that damage was done in the one start. His other start against the Sox he had a decent 7 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 SO line.

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QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 02:35 PM)
Can't decide whether to keep up while at work or try to ignore and watch it when I get off at midnight.

Maybe you are different from me, but every time I couldn't watch a game and recorded it, no matter how well I planned, it never worked out.

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Actually, now that I think about it, batting Avila in front of Eaton is genius on Robin's part. With Avila plodding in front of him, Eaton cant run into any dumb outs. With Lawrie in front of Jackson, he actually has a chance to run.

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QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 02:44 PM)
He lives in St. Louis which makes it a lot easier.

 

The thing that drives me nuts is when you're using a Comcast TV in Chicago they will have the score and local news on a ticker of sorts. Not cool.

My troubles with it have nothing to do with location. If I could not watch until midnight, I would cave in and check the score to see if it was worth my time staying up. Plus he has access to the internet. That score is a couple of clicks away at all times. I cave every time. It's a good thing my addiction is baseball or I really would be a mess.

Edited by Dick Allen
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QUOTE (glangon @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 02:47 PM)
Sonny Gray scratched due to food poisoning. Rich Hill starts in his place

 

Watch Rich Hill kick our ass.

 

He was pretty dominant at the end of last season. He may turn out to be a really good signing that Oakland can flip mid-season.

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