5/24 - Indians (Tomlin) @ Sox (Sale) - 7:10 PM

[fathom]

I wonder if the "new blood" on the team would admit the squad quit after the Robin/Caroll implosion in Texas. It shouldn't take 2-3 weeks to get over one loss.

 

By no means did they quit after it. More just lost some of the confidence they had late in games. Albers for sure has lost his swagger.

[Lip Man 1]

Six guys in the starting lineup tonight now hitting .250 or less and Lawrie is at .251.

 

You thought it couldn't happen again offensively from last year? Better think again.

 

Hitters come to Chicago and die. There's an organizational issue in play here, its systemic...all these players the Sox have acquired since 2006 can't all be this bad when they put that uniform on.

 

The players are partly responsible. Those that evaluate them, trade for them, sign them as free agent's are the bigger problem in my opinion.

 

Mark

[Lip Man 1]

By no means did they quit after it. More just lost some of the confidence they had late in games. Albers for sure has lost his swagger.

 

You may be correct. If you are that says a lot about them mentally doesn't it? And that indicates a much bigger issue to me.

 

Mark

 

 

[fathom]

Six guys in the starting lineup tonight now hitting .250 or less and Lawrie is at .251.

 

You thought it couldn't happen again offensively from last year? Better think again.

 

Hitters come to Chicago and die. There's an organizational issue in play here, its systemic...all these players the Sox have acquired since 2006 can't all be this bad when they put that uniform on.

 

The players are partly responsible. Those that evaluate them, trade for them, sign them as free agent's are the bigger problem in my opinion.

 

Mark

 

Not getting Desmond or Fowler was such a blunder.

[The Beast]

What happened to the days when they could get players like Dye, Konerko, Ordonez, Lee and Thomas who could jack one? I hope they draft a hitter this year and scout better for position players. I'm tired of all of the failures, lots of other teams get it right, why can't the Sox?

[fathom]

You may be correct. If you are that says a lot about them mentally doesn't it? And that indicates a much bigger issue to me.

 

Mark

 

I hate that particular game as much as anyone. However as the season drags on, you see just how mediocre so many of the players on the roster are. They legitimately need a SS, catcher, two starters and another reliever (and that's with me hoping Jackson improves). The free agent hitters all flopping, like you said, has helped lead to another sad offense.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

On the bright side, this clunker by Sale should let me buy a couple autographs of his a lot cheaper than what they were going for a few weeks ago.

Edited May 25, 2016 by ChiSoxFanMike

[greg775]

By no means did they quit after it. More just lost some of the confidence they had late in games. Albers for sure has lost his swagger.

Hope you are right. It sure seems cut and dried. I mean Robin was almost perfect all season to that point, looking like Casey Stengel, then for some f***ing reason he decides to use Carroll. And Hahn should be FIRED if he recommended we call up Carroll. An eighth grader can tell you Carroll has no business pitching in a big league game now or again in the future.

 

Six guys in the starting lineup tonight now hitting .250 or less and Lawrie is at .251.

 

You thought it couldn't happen again offensively from last year? Better think again.

 

Hitters come to Chicago and die.

Mark

Good post.

 

You may be correct. If you are that says a lot about them mentally doesn't it? And that indicates a much bigger issue to me.

 

Mark

I hope they haven't quit. Hopefully Fathom is right and it's just a confidence issue.

 

Not getting Desmond or Fowler was such a blunder.

Truer words have never been spoken. They had the typical offseason love affair with a player -- this year it was Rollins.

 

I hate that particular game as much as anyone. However as the season drags on, you see just how mediocre so many of the players on the roster are. They legitimately need a SS, catcher, two starters and another reliever (and that's with me hoping Jackson improves). The free agent hitters all flopping, like you said, has helped lead to another sad offense.

Thing is it looked for a while, five weeks or so, that because of our great great starting pitching and couple of relievers (Albers, David mainly) the improved defense cause by the acquisition of Jackson would really make our team a WS contender. Jackson and Eaton were saving runs galore and Rollins was as good as Lexi at least and Lawrie was doing damn well til that one game he cost us with some bad error. I do think the fact we are catching Avila/Navarro says a ton right there ... hard to win a division with those two bums manning the catcher position.

 

This team was so likeable before that Rangers disaster game. And the team wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball then. It was very very likeable. Now it is unwatchable cause of the horrific hitting with men on base.

Edited May 25, 2016 by greg775

[Lip Man 1]

What happened to the days when they could get players like Dye, Konerko, Ordonez, Lee and Thomas who could jack one? I hope they draft a hitter this year and scout better for position players. I'm tired of all of the failures, lots of other teams get it right, why can't the Sox?

 

Maybe to answer your question its because the people on the baseball side of the operation simply aren't very good at what they are supposed to be doing.

 

The results on the field speak for themselves don't they? Three losing seasons in a row and six out of nine. No playoffs since 2008 only Seattle, Miami and San Diego have gone longer.

 

A lot of those folks would have been fired long time ago in other organizations but not with the White Sox. Remember it's loyalty first, second and third over accountability.

 

Mark

[Lip Man 1]

I don't think the team has quitvat all. I think some fans on this site have quit. This is a long season.I have seen positives snack think we will get it going again. Hahn also kbiwsvthwrevus some autocross do on his end to find some pieces

 

Excuse me...what?

 

I can't even understand what you tried to type.

 

Mark

 

[greg775]

Maybe to answer your question its because the people on the baseball side of the operation simply aren't very good at what they are supposed to be doing.

 

The results on the field speak for themselves don't they? Three losing seasons in a row and six out of nine. No playoffs since 2008 only Seattle, Miami and San Diego have gone longer.

 

A lot of those folks would have been fired long time ago in other organizations but not with the White Sox. Remember it's loyalty first, second and third over accountability.

 

Mark

 

It sure seems like teams in the Central know the formula to getting our hitters out (though the Twins may have so little talent it doesn't matter). I'd like somebody to do a study on this. The media could ask unnamed sources if everybody in the Central has a good book on the Sox weaknesses.

[elrockinMT]

I don't think the Sox players have quit at all. I think some fans have quit because they think the season is one series even one game long. The reaction is just crazy absurd at times. We play 162 games and will struggle at times.but that builds character and a team. Hahn knows what we need extra and will work on it.long ways to go do buckle up

Edited May 25, 2016 by elrockinMT

[elrockinMT]

Excuse me...what?

 

I can't even understand what you tried to type.

 

Mark

 

I deleted it. Big fingers and little keys don't matchup well. Posted another one

Edited May 25, 2016 by elrockinMT

[The Beast]

I don't think the Sox players have quit at all. I think some fans have quit because they think the season is one series even one game long. Tge reaction is just ceaxlzt at times. We play 162 games and will struggle at times.begat builds character and a team. Hahn knows what we need extravl and will work on it.

I haven't quit (I'm just pissed) but they've lost lots of series in a row...making tomorrow a huge game!

[Panerista]

Just curious is anyone following some other teams this year on MLBTV?

I watch Rangers, Nats, Angels. White Sox are still my jam, though.

 

But there's no position player on our team I'd rather have over Mazara

Edited May 25, 2016 by Deadpool

[ronkark]

Well, gotta win tomorrow just to save face. No pressure or anything.

 

Ugly. Sale I thought was past pressing and meltdowns but that's what we saw. He's done this more than once. Long streaks of being elite only to melt down and ensure he's just a half peg behind Arietta and Kershaw. He's top 5, maybe top even. but those two are a step above.

 

Lawrie and Avi baserunning blunders. That's '15 all over again. Melky bobble. Ajax and Rollins refuse to get dirty. I can't tell me how many balls ive seen that jroll could have kept in infield. Ajax could've made that catch tonight.

 

hitting has stunk back to back games. Ajax i have given up on. Avila the same. Abreu infuriates me because he doesn't walk or do anything else when he's struggling. Eaton's awesome but really hope the recent deep flies and tonight's homer don't make him revert to hitting homers and k rate going up. we need him on base. we need players who can apply pressure. not solo homers. not sure who else can even hit other than Todd. Bench offers nothing.

 

realistically, who do you trade to get help? Not gonna deal Anderson and Fulmer. So that leaves Spencer Adams and maybe Trey as player teams might even want. Who else? And from the big club? Avi? Not sure who teams would want if you assume Q and Sale and Rodon

[caulfield12]

We keep saying there's no such thing as "must wins" this early in the season, but it just feels like a huge difference between a 4-11 run of play and 5-10.

 

It's going to mean up by 1/2 game or 2 1/2 games heading out onto the road, where both the Royals and Tigers have been fattening up on lesser opponents and rebuilding some of their lost confidence.

[ronkark]

Agreed. The notion that we have to bank on Sale winning every single game is not realistic. It was bound to happen. Just stinks that it was versus Tribe and that he was lit up so bad. But we need to play better overall. I saw no fight once they fell behind. Quick innings, bad baserunning. Avila not hussling to get the wild pitch. Yikes. Just not what yu want to see from a supposed contender.

 

So yes tomorrow is a big day for Q and our offense.

[Panerista]

What happened to the days when they could get players like Dye, Konerko, Ordonez, Lee and Thomas who could jack one? I hope they draft a hitter this year and scout better for position players. I'm tired of all of the failures, lots of other teams get it right, why can't the Sox?

The Sox have been unable to draft a position player for a decade. They have tried, but they have failed. I'm convinced it is a scouting problem. They can draft pitchers, but that's really it.

[caulfield12]

Wonder if a line-up of Uribe, Thompson in CF and Napoli/Byrd/Trumbo/Desmond/Fowler would be doing much better?

 

Hard to say.

 

I looked up Trayce's stats tonight, and he has the exact same OPS this year as he had with the White Sox last season.

 

 

We can't say it's all bad in terms of hitters we've brought it since 2006, because you still have Thome, you've got Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, Jose Abreu and hopefully Tim Anderson. Adam Eaton has become one of the best players in the entire AL, if not MLB.

 

You look around these days and you see lots of players w/ White Sox roots. Eduardo Escobar and Paulo Orlando in the same game. Gimenez and Stewart were catchers who came out of our system, along with Josh Phegley. Chris Carter, Trayce Thompson and Marcus Semien are really holding their own this season. Chris Devenski had a good stretch of starts with the Astros. Daniel Hudson's rebounded from yet another injury to become a dominant set-up man.

 

 

It's not ALL bleak, but when it comes to the big moves like Swisher, like Dunn, like LaRoche, we've had far more hits than misses. Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo come to mind instantly as well. It's just a confluence of different factors, bad luck, scouting, development.

 

Sometimes you wonder if Don Cooper having so much influence (and tenure) in the organization hasn't led to a self-fulfilling prophecy where more of our resources are being allocated to pitching (certainly the case in 2006) and not enough to balance it out with the offense. More money going into players like Sale, Rodon, Danks, Fulmer, etc., you expect to see some results.

Edited May 25, 2016 by caulfield12

[Lip Man 1]

The Sox have been unable to draft a position player for a decade. They have tried, but they have failed. I'm convinced it is a scouting problem. They can draft pitchers, but that's really it.

 

There's some truth to what you say but it's also a fact that the Sox have had multiple guys in charge of the scouting and drafting areas over the past years...and nothing changes does it?

 

Again just another indication to me the problems start higher up in the chain of command.

 

And I've also been told by multiple good sources that JR himself has personally 'suggested' to people who the Sox should draft. Puts the scouting people in a tough spot...would you go against what the guy who signs your pay checks recommends?

 

Mark

Edited May 25, 2016 by Lip Man 1

[SonofaRoache]

Spanky, I'm not sure that's called for, lol...

 

They're still in 1st by 1 1/2 games. I don't think anyone expected to run away with the AL Central.

 

 

I am not concerned with expectations. I am concerned with results and the eye test. Maybe we wouldn't run away but if we played like we had a clue these past 3 weeks we'd have a 6 game lead right now.

[Panerista]

Spanky, I'm not sure that's called for, lol...

 

They're still in 1st by 1 1/2 games. I don't think anyone expected to run away with the AL Central.

The lead we're squandering doesn't make me feel confident about flipping the other way, either. I get the feeling if we go down into second or third, we won't make it back out.

[greg775]

I am not concerned with expectations. I am concerned with results and the eye test. Maybe we wouldn't run away but if we played like we had a clue these past 3 weeks we'd have a 6 game lead right now.

Let's face facts. Since that Texas game the Sox have been one of the worst teams in MLB after being one of the best for a LONG time.

[Churro Elotes]

Nice catch by the fan. If I were the sox and saw people catch homers and foul balls id give away items for catching them. Would be a fun little thing to do for the fans since they struggle with attendance

 

Thanks, man. That was me.