Spiegel: White Sox Hot Start Not A Fluke

[Y2Jimmy0]

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/04/28/spi...t-isnt-a-fluke/

 

I like all the positive White Sox pieces so far.

[Eminor3rd]

Small pet peeve, not to take away from the overall message, but:

 

I hate when people say "fielding doesn't slump." It absolutely slumps, and it's hard to believe that anyone who has watched the Sox regularly the past few seasons doesn't know that.

[TheTruth05]

But fielding doesn’t slump. And the veteran confidence that has infused the entire team is unlikely to fade. Confidence matters.

 

Nice, this is good summary of this team right here.

[Chisoxfn]

Small pet peeve, not to take away from the overall message, but:

 

I hate when people say "fielding doesn't slump." It absolutely slumps, and it's hard to believe that anyone who has watched the Sox regularly the past few seasons doesn't know that.

I'd argue that over the past few years, I learned one thing about those teams, our defense was atrocious. It had nothing to do with a defensive slump, it had to do with us having a lot of really bad defenders.

[southsider2k5]

I'd argue that over the past few years, I learned one thing about those teams, our defense was atrocious. It had nothing to do with a defensive slump, it had to do with us having a lot of really bad defenders.

 

The defense got a lot better as the season went on last year, even besides the player changes, guys like Eaton, Alexei, and Cabrera got better as the season went on.

[gosoxgo2005]

Matt Spiegal doesn't know a thing about baseball.....

[Chisoxfn]

The defense got a lot better as the season went on last year, even besides the player changes, guys like Eaton, Alexei, and Cabrera got better as the season went on.

There were pretty significant player changes last year as well (3B and 2B were significantly upgraded with Saladino and Sanchez vs. Grumpybutt and Micah Johnson). Alexei had a historical track record of being solid and eventually got back there (as you'd expect). Eaton, similarly, made progress. Yes, it can slump, but I tend to think defense is far more consistent than offense.

[bmags]

There is one nice thing about playing 80 games in a row in April, largely with one lineup - our infield gained chemistry in a hurry.

[Eminor3rd]

I'd argue that over the past few years, I learned one thing about those teams, our defense was atrocious. It had nothing to do with a defensive slump, it had to do with us having a lot of really bad defenders.

 

That's true, but it's separate from my point. For example, Alexei Ramirez and Adam Eaton are capable fielders who have had prolonged streaks of excellence and prolonged streaks of bone-headedness. I wasn't trying to say that the Sox have lost because of slumping, I'm just trying to say that defense can totally slump and we've seen it.

[OmarComing25]

I can't think of a skill that wouldn't be prone to slumps from time to time. It's difficult to be consistently excellent at anything. But defense does seem to be more consistent than offense, which is good news.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Matt Spiegal doesn't know a thing about baseball.....

 

 

This is a dumb post.

[mmmmmbeeer]

Small pet peeve, not to take away from the overall message, but:

 

I hate when people say "fielding doesn't slump." It absolutely slumps, and it's hard to believe that anyone who has watched the Sox regularly the past few seasons doesn't know that.

 

 

I guess it depends on your definition of a fielding slump. If you consider a week of play with 12 errors committed a slump, then yeah, defense slumps.

 

To me, and perhaps Spiegel, that's not a slump, just a bad week. A slump would be bad defense for a month or two.

[bmags]

I guess it depends on your definition of a fielding slump. If you consider a week of play with 12 errors committed a slump, then yeah, defense slumps.

 

To me, and perhaps Spiegel, that's not a slump, just a bad week. A slump would be bad defense for a month or two.

 

Adam Eaton had at least 6 weeks of bad CF play last year before recovering in June.

[mmmmmbeeer]

Adam Eaton had at least 6 weeks of bad CF play last year before recovering in June.

 

Not sure "recovering" is the right term.....I just don't think he's a very good CF which means it wasn't slumping but rather playing out of position.

[bmags]

I disagree. He was good in CF in 2014. Had a lot of misplays in April/May 2015, was generally fine to good after that.

 

Alexei was terrible April/May and generally pretty good after he had his "talking to".

[BaconOnAStick]

$20 says he initially wrote this about the Cubs like everyone else at his dying station, but rewrote parts of it and shuffled some names around to make it about the Sox. Since Ricketts bought that station the Sox have ceased to exist.

 

And you know what? Not a bad idea for Speigs. CBS radio is about to hold a fire sale for all its properties in the Chicagoland market and WLS might be a more stable place to land than WSCR going forward. WSCR's afternoon show has been aggressively alienating listeners on both sides of town for the past 5 years, and if the CBS mothership pulls out of town I dont see it lasting much longer than The Game did.

[Rowand44]

Yes...Spiegs initial idea was to write a story about how the preseason World Series favorite's start wasn't flukey. Makes plenty of sense.

[BaconOnAStick]

Yes...Spiegs initial idea was to write a story about how the preseason World Series favorite's start wasn't flukey. Makes plenty of sense.

Go listen to 10 minutes of baseball talk on Chicago's airwaves, there is literally nothing they wont say to pat the Cubs on the back.

[Rowand44]

Go listen to 10 minutes of baseball talk on Chicago's airwaves, there is literally nothing they wont say to pat the Cubs on the back.

You sure do listen a lot to something you seemingly hate so much.

[southsider2k5]

Go listen to 10 minutes of baseball talk on Chicago's airwaves, there is literally nothing they wont say to pat the Cubs on the back.

 

Big picture, what do most sports talk listeners want to hear about in Chicago? I'll hang up and wait for my answer.

[bmags]

Honestly I feel like the score talks plenty sox. I mostly only listen saturday mornings but they always have a big stone segment and it seems split 50/50

[GreenSox]

Do they still have the Saturday afternoon show with Cooper?

[caulfield12]

 

You can look at the "slump" in White Sox fielding or general level of play in the last couple of months in 2012.

 

Or Dayan Viciedo from 2012 to 2013...let's just say that one excellent player (Omar Vizquel in 2010 impacting Alexei) can change the mindset of the entire team, and the opposite....guys like Viciedo, DeAza and Ramirez spreading their more boneheaded mistakes like a virus to the point where the entire team became lackadaisical, Rios too, at times.

 

Rios could play near great defense when he was motivated...and, at other times, he could drift into apathy if the team's record wasn't competitive or he was mired in a slump offensively.

 

Obviously, it wasn't just a Hispanic issue, because last year you had Eaton, Gillaspie and Flowers, to name a few...all struggling at different points. Carlos Sanchez, by and large, was our best defender. Abreu, Avi and Melky, not so much.

 

Once again, though...I think some of the credit has to go to Renteria and/or changing personnel from past years and moving on into the future.

[ewokpelts]

$20 says he initially wrote this about the Cubs like everyone else at his dying station, but rewrote parts of it and shuffled some names around to make it about the Sox. Since Ricketts bought that station the Sox have ceased to exist.

 

And you know what? Not a bad idea for Speigs. CBS radio is about to hold a fire sale for all its properties in the Chicagoland market and WLS might be a more stable place to land than WSCR going forward. WSCR's afternoon show has been aggressively alienating listeners on both sides of town for the past 5 years, and if the CBS mothership pulls out of town I dont see it lasting much longer than The Game did.

the rumored cumulus deal is simply that: a rumor. it would be a long time until anything is set in stone, due to the feds.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Spiegel and Goff talk about the Sox a ton. Mully talks about the Sox a lot. Laurence Holmes is a Sox fan too. The weekend baseball shows also cover the White Sox a lot. The fact that they don't talk about the Sox is nonsense. The Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball and they are the flagship. Of course they talk Cubs. And they have more fans. It's just the way it is and the way it should be.