Initial schedule released for White Sox-Astros ALDS
Good news for the blackout enthusiasts among us: White Sox fans are going to get a night start for Game 3 when they plan on darkening the doors of Guaranteed Rate Field.
Major League Baseball released the schedule for the necessary games of the ALCS, and the dates and times are as follows (all times Central):
Game 1: Thursday, 3:07 p.m. on Fox Sports 1
Game 2: Friday, 1:07 p.m. on MLB Network
Game 3: Sunday, 7:07 p.m. on Fox Sports 1
Game 4 will take place the following Monday, with Game 5 on Wednesday in Houston if necessary.
That answers the when and where. As for who, Rick Hahn said that teams have until 10 a.m. on Thursday to submit rosters, and in classic White Sox fashion, they won’t share it until they have to. Regarding the other decisions — Game 1 starter, how much Carlos Rodón, etc. — he left both up in the air. The way he outlined the thought process echoes the way I laid out the rotation, in that the Game 1 starter might end up being the guy they’d feel best about pitching twice.
Perhaps the biggest specific news is that the illness that kept José Abreu out of the lineup on the final day of the season was not COVID-19, so Hahn could afford to joke about it.
“Pito is not going to get hit for these three days,” said a smiling Hahn, referring to Abreu being hit 22 times by pitches this season. “So that’s a positive.”
Author
https://twitter.com/soxmachine_josh/status/1445477454533967873
Am I the only one extremely annoyed by these start times? I wonder if Sox still get shafted on Thursday and Friday if Toronto had got in, as they probably deserved to.
It’s great for me!
I am annoyed because I am gonna be working
You can’t be surprised… the Yanks or Red Sox will get prime time Thursday and Friday there are four games to broadcast.
Obviously that game brings in massive ratings but it’s still BS. It’s like Hulk Hogan versus Roddy Piper, we’ve seen it a million times.
“a million times” if only… Can’t get enough of Roddy “put on the glasses” Piper!
For the small subset of international folks, games 1 and 2 are awesome!!
Game 3, looks like I need to clear my Monday morning in order to nap after the game.
Nope, I’ll be at work during the entirety of both games in Houston. Gonna record and turn off my phone. The only perk is that if I can avoid spoilers, it is nice to skip the excessive playoff commercial breaks.
You know what’s great about the first round of playoffs in the nba, nhl, or the ncaa tourney? It’s the ability for fans without a huge rooting interest to switch around to games based on action.
I’ve waited since 2 thousand effing 5 to see a real playoff game again (I was out of the country in 2008 and last year just doesn’t count) and now I’m going to have to miss the first two games because they’re on in the middle of the damn work day, all because we’ve got to placate Ny/Boston and the 13,000 fans for the Rays.
Even though I expected it, it’s supremely annoying. And really fucking dumb. Chicago would put up huge ratings in prime time, because Chicago teams always do in the playoffs. There’s no reason to start a playoff game at 1:00 during a work/school day. There’s no reason not to have 3 or 4 games going in parallel in the DS.
Boo.
Humbug.
yes, this is basically my gripe as well. Thursday will feature a game between two east coast teams and a game between two CST teams. Using basic logic regarding time zones and a basic level of courtesy, which game should start first? The east coast game you say? WRONG! NYY and BOS always get the prime slot no matter who it inconveniences elsewhere in the country. They couldn’t even let Sox/Hou have one of the prime slots on either of those days. NYY/BOS gets both, so shut up. Totally dick move.
Then on a Sunday when it’s actually kind of nice to have the earlier slot, Sox get bumped back in favor of… you guessed it! And i know many of you are happy about Sunday’s time because of the blackout effect, but we all know this did not factor even a tiny bit into MLB’s decision. Perhaps the chicago marathon, but not the blackout.
I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder regarding those clubs. It still boils my blood when i pop in my 2005 dvd of the ALDS game 3 vs Boston and listen to that bloated idiot piece of shit Berman not even try to hide his boner for Boston. okay, i’m sufficiently pissed off now. time to hit the gym.
For me, the schedule is wonderful news! It means I can go to work on Friday without being completely exhausted!
Monday/Tuesday morning will be rougher though…
Hey Olssox – work might take me to Oslo at some point in the fall or winter. If you’d like to have an international meet up, that’d be great.
That sounds like a lot of fun! Can’t make any promises if you’re flying into Oslo as I’m two hours south by car and have work mon-fri but when you know more about dates, let me know and we’ll see how feasible things look!
@ olssox on both Twitter and Facebook, also on whatsapp at+46 733 357827
great. will let you know
In Vegas, so my timetable will be moved up. I should have my pick of spots so early. Hate all the cloak and dagger stuff. Give the ball to Lucas game one.
It’s soooo MLB to put the second playoff game on MLB network (yeah, the majority of White Sox fans subscribe to that, don’t they?) at 1pm on a Friday – because my kids and dad need to watch EVERY playoff game (oh wait, the kids are in school and my dad doesn’t give a shit about Yankees and Red Sox).
Fucking idiots
Exactly. Given MLB playoffs are the hardest to enter with the smallest number of games, why in the name of growing the game would you then time slot them to a time when kids are in school?
My five year old has been living and dying with this team all year, and now a Friday playoff game will be at the time he’s in school. The Sunday game he’ll only be able to watch the first two hours (if we keep him up later). If the Sox lose, past history shows us he could be a teenager before they’re in the playoffs again.
I care less about the NY/Boston preference than the moronic decision that games can’t overlap. Almost no one will be watching 11 hours of consecutive baseball. This benefits no one while pissing on a fan base that has to wait decades between playoffs.
“Daddy, Houston and Chicago are both in the Central time zone, so why don’t they put the games on at 6 pm so the adults can watch after work and the kids can watch before bedtime?”
Pulls out his wallet – “$”
If the White Sox/Astros game were opposite the Tampa/Yankee/Red Sox game on Friday night, what would the ratings look like? The White Sox would have much better ratings (compared to a 1pm start) and if there were a blowout I’d be inclined to turn on the other game to check out the competition.