A few quick notes on series in KC

[caulfield12]

Game will not be made up this weekend (that could theoretically change if they also lost Friday or Saturday afternoon's game).

 

Right now, most likely to be August 9th-11th.

 

 

Royals will push back Ian Kennedy to next week.

 

Pitching match-ups (for now) are Gonzalez/Duffy, Rodon/Ventura and Latos/Volquez.

 

White Sox pushing their entire rotation back, so Sale will start next week against the Mets in NYC.

 

 

 

Guarantees the White Sox will spend at least one more day in 1st place.

 

Have held that position for all but six days (tied or leading) since the beginning of the season. Friday, April 8th, we were 1 game behind KC (biggest margin).

 

 

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[Dam8610]

Why would you not throw the best starters you can at a division rival and the defending world champions? Not pitching Sale in this series to get Gonzalez a start is incomprehensibly stupid.

[LittleHurt05]

Is this a catch all thread???

[caulfield12]

Make it what you want.

 

Just thought it was better to put here unless the Game Thread stays open...which I guess it theoretically should since the same exact pitching match-up's still intact?

 

 

Last time the two teams met, I know Lip wanted to push Sale back and move Q to the Thursday game against HOU, but they obviously didn't do that. (Probably would have been too amped up like he was for CLE, overthrowing).

 

Guess they have more confidence in Miguel Gonzalez than most of the fans do.

 

 

 

They’ve done it before this season, and White Sox players are confident they can find it once again. Once off to a 23-10 start, the White Sox have been brought back to Earth by a stretch during which they’ve lost 11 of 15. Still, they don’t feel like they’re far off the mark, and eight losses since May 10 by two or fewer runs would suggest they aren’t. But the White Sox know they have to get back to what worked before, and that hasn’t occurred in a stretch where they’ve lost five consecutive series. “It just hasn’t been as tight as it was when we were winning, making the plays, coming up with clutch hits, throwing the ball where you want to throw it and getting the result,” veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins said.

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white-so...&yptr=yahoo

 

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[Lip Man 1]

Why would you not throw the best starters you can at a division rival and the defending world champions? Not pitching Sale in this series to get Gonzalez a start is incomprehensibly stupid.

 

Agreed Robin & Cooper strike again!

 

Mark

 

[Lip Man 1]

Reminds me of Jerry Manuel, Neal Cotts, Mark Buehrle and the Yankees from 2003.

 

That didn't work out to well did it?

 

Mark

Edited May 27, 2016 by Lip Man 1

[caulfield12]

One wonders what, if any, say that Chris Sale had in this one...I can see how part of him would be attracted to the idea of pitching in the spotlight in NY, compared to a Sunday afternoon in KC.

 

That said, he knows better than anyone that the road to October goes through divisional opponents, particularly teams you've struggled to match up well with in the past.

 

Not to mention the fact that KC starting nine is comprised of three good to great hitters (Cain/Hosmer/Perez)...one really struggling but with a past history (K. Morales) and then FIVE "pesky/Pirahna" players in the rest of the line-up who've combined for TWO homers roughly 1/3rd of the way into the season (Merrifield/Cuthbert/Infante/Dyson/Orlando/Escobar/Eibner/Colon).

 

 

As I recall, Buehrle aggressively campaigned to take that start in Yankee Stadium, and it was one of the key defining moments of the 2nd half of 2003. Cotts got bombed into oblivion/life as a reliever. I remember vividly for awhile that Harrelson was saying the Sox might be the best team in the American League that August.

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

https://weather.com/weather/5day/l/USMO0460:1:US

 

Right now, it's looking like 50/50 odds to get the Friday game in...probably after 8 p.m.

 

Saturday and Sunday look much more promising.

 

They'd have to schedule a DHer, probably Saturday, if Friday's game also gets bagged.

 

 

White Sox have an early game Monday (Memorial Day) against Harvey in NYC, so no desire to play two games on getaway day, especially going to New York.

 

Royals also have a game at home against TB.

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

That was Gonzalez's 13th consecutive game started that his team ended up losing between the Sox and Orioles (a bit unfair, I realize)...but that's quite a lengthy string.

 

Unfortunately, it was also his 32nd birthday. Not much of a gift from the bullpen there.

 

 

Now it's sort of scary with the bad mojo and Sale's start changed to Sunday. These guys beating us (other than Hosmer), not even the prospect experts with the MLB Network have a clue who Merrifield and Eibner are. At least Cuthbert is somewhere on most Top 10 lists for the org.

Edited May 28, 2016 by caulfield12