Watch: whitesox.com, YouTube (below)
Lineup:
(Photo by nicopanico / Wikipedia)
First Pitch: White Sox vs. Cubs
Watch: whitesox.com, YouTube (below)
Lineup:
(Photo by nicopanico / Wikipedia)
Pretty patient inning so far by White Sox batters. Decently long AB for Eaton, walks for Abreu and Moncada. After two straight walks and a mound visit, Eloy was ready for a first pitch strike.
I would like this version of Dylan Cease to pitch in the regular season.
I would like this version of Carlos Rodon to pitch in the regular season as well.
Luis Gonzalez with maybe the cleanest bunt I’ve ever seen
The Cubs needed Lenny Randle at 3B.
Stiever velocity watch: color analyst said that he hit 96 (stadium gun) on a pitch on the outside corner. Still not missing bats and is giving up decent contact, generally.
I would not like this version of Jonathan Stiever to pitch in the regular season.
There’s only so much command to go around.
Best that it all goes to Cease. I’m glad Stiever’s velocity is up, but he had problems locating the fastball and was lucky to get out of the inning without more runs scoring.
Fifth inning much better!
He’s looking OK in the sixth, too, though Pederson made hard contact on that fly out to Williams.
A really painful discussion of WAR on the broadcast where Rich King thinks that the Replacement is the specific person who backs up a player as opposed to a generic replacement player/level. Garfien can’t help him. What year is it?
“But what if the guy who replaces him hits as well as him?”
Yeah, I didn’t really know Rich King before this spring (I know others such as asinwreck are very familiar), and I was generally enjoying his announcing, other than his propensity to get overly excited at non-strikeout swinging misses. That was until the painful discussion with Len the other day about sabermetrics, including King’s least favorite “sabermetic” of “stats after age 35”, which he said is killing free agency. Rich King might be worse than Hawk when it comes to advanced stats.
I’m trying to imagine how Jimmy Piersall or Joe McConnell would handle advanced stats, and I don’t know if they’d be much different. Jimmy might get more irritated with WAR until it was pointed out that you get credit for defense.
I think I blame Garfien for not understanding well enough to explain it more than I blame King, who is 73 or 74 and is semi-retired and who works a few of these spring training games each year.
I remember Rich King working with Harry and Jimmy. I like him because he’s pleasant, positive, and seems like a man I’d enjoy having as next-door-neighbor. The frustrating advanced-stats discussion is one that anyone who remembers the moon-landing runs into reasonably often talking baseball with others. The older the other fan is, the more likely frustration will ensue. I have a first cousin who is a passionate Sox fan who still thinks wins are the most important stat for starting pitchers!
Yes, I agree with you on King’s positive traits.
And now he’s talking about “that Billy Beane movie.”
Mendick’s bunt attempt definitely vindicating this Moneyball rant.
Stiever is finding success relying on his spike curve. His fastball is still getting hit hard.
At least the trainer coming out wasn’t coming out for Crochet.
Kopech’s offspeed offerings look pretty good. Even with the HBP and single, I very much enjoyed watching that inning.