First Pitch: White Sox vs. Royals

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TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Lineups:

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HallofFrank

Huge start for Keuchel tonight. After this, he’s lined up against the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees. If he gets shelled tonight, things will really look bleak for his future.

Oof gonna need an offensive supernova to come back and win this one

If you’re Johnny Cueto you gotta feel pretty good when you look at the major league rotation and there are three spots that are replaceable

HallofFrank

Three spots? Which of Giolito, Cease, or Kopech should Cueto view as replaceable?

I’d feel good if I were Cueto. But when Lynn returns, it’ll be Cueto, Keuchel, and VV battling for one spot. I’m not sure who is the favorite for that spot at the moment.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

I forgot about Giolito coming back (thank god). Easy to overlook the one good thing that’s happened over the past ten days.

jhomeslice

I don’t know how many league worst defensive teams have won a World Series, but I can’t imagine there are many. Bad defense just doesn’t help. Their hitting may improve but I’m not sure they aren’t pretty much the worst defensive team in the league. They were near the bottom last year.

Qubort

I wouldn’t be mad if next year they got a shortstop and moved TA to 2nd. He looked awful again tonight in the field.

Foulkelore

“I wish the White Sox could hit righties the same as lefties.”
*Monkey’s paw curls

As Cirensica

Can I panic now?

I’m not sure if this team is very good but I know they’re better than this. But if they lose the Cease-Greinke matchup tomorrow I may have to reassess that position.

Not throwing the ball away and allowing an additional run to score on that 7-5 putout counts as progress

Last edited 1 year ago by Shingos Cheeseburgers
BuehrleMan

I haven’t watched all that much baseball in the last couple of years and I have a few questions:

1) Why do some of the fans keep yelling “Wooooo!!!!”?
2) Do fans in other cities do this?
3) Is there any way they can be made to stop? It’s really fucking irritating.

I think a few years ago I remember fans somewhere else doing it but don’t remember where.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

It seems particularly prevalent at baseball games since there’s plenty of dead time to fill. It’s a combination of people thinking Ric Flair is someone worth imitating and a general degradation of people not giving a shit about how their behavior affects other people.

BuehrleMan

Hmmm. Baseball has had plenty of dead time since it began but people didn’t used to do that. When did it start? Like 2017 or something? I have to say their behavior is affecting me quite badly.

asinwreck

Who will the Sox pick with the first overall pick in the 2023 draft?

As Cirensica

Why is Crick still pitching?

asinwreck

Does it matter? The lead was safe five runs ago.

First of nine straight games. Someone’s gotta wear it. Unfortunately Crick is gonna wear it and probably get sent down for it.

As Cirensica

This team is unwatchable right now

As Cirensica

I mean, 9 walks in 6 innings? GTFO

Root Cause

Not even Steve and Jason can salvage this game.

They were aggressive and happy the first week. Since then, they look like they expect to fail and it is a self-induced prophecy. It’s a rhetorical question but would love to know if this is indifference, depression, or a silent rebellion of some sort. Daily, they show the worst version of themselves as a team.

Is AJ Pollock this year’s Adam Dunn, this year’s Adam LaRoche, this year’s Adam Eaton (2021 version), this year’s Jeff Keppinger, this year’s Jimmy Rollins, this year’s Edwin Encarnacion, or this year’s Yonder Alonso?

Foulkelore

I don’t think this will be true, but the Adam Dunn comparison could be apt. If I remember right, Dunn started really great in his first year for a few games, then missed some time right away (appendectomy for Dunn), then came back and absolutely sucked, having the worst year of his career by far.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Yeah the Dunn comp is close. He looked good opening weekend and then lost his appendix and his ability to hit the ball.

Pollock just has those vibes of ‘seemingly good acquisition at the time and then immediately turns into a pumpkin upon putting on a Sox jersey’

As Cirensica

This game made me look at the record of walks allowed in a 9 innings game. The record is 16 by 3 teams. All games played before 1916.

Foulkelore

I was trying to find the record for “longest losing streak by a team that still made the playoffs” but wasn’t having much luck. That piece of information is starting to seem relevant.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Ha, I tried to find the same thing and all I got was this 12 year old article.

https://tht.fangraphs.com/losing-streaks-winning-teams/

As Cirensica

The 1982 Braves had an 11 games losing streak and still made the playoffs. Joe Torre was their manager. They won 89 games.

As Cirensica

So…the outlook is not good

Foulkelore

Or, glass half full, we have 3 more games of wiggle room!

huisj

This team is less watchable than the 2013 and 2007 teams.

asinwreck

This team is as fun as the 1995 team.

At least that team fired the manager during the season. This guy gets to ride the bomb down to ground zero.

I know they’re only down six but this feels like a position player pitching kinda night

Too bad we can’t make Tony go out there and pitch…

“Here I go, if you respect the game, you won’t swing!”

As Cirensica

The birthday boy getting two baseballs is the highlight of this game

As Cirensica

Yikes

OldMMJ87

That also came after a work stoppage