First Pitch: White Sox vs. Athletics

Guaranteed Rate Field from center field

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Lineups:

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HallofFrank

Do the White Sox lead the league in warning track fly outs? In high school, we called that “puppy power.”

Adam

Laureano with a lesson on aggression there. It’s ok to swing first pitch if you’re looking one pitch / one location. Instead of flailing at sliders in the other batters box

Adam

Quick response! I love it.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Jose’s a big Josh Nelson reader from way back.

HallofFrank

August Abreu showed up a day early.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Laz Diaz behind the dish. Great.

a-t

i’d like to go on a limb and say that i’m pretty happy with the Harrison signing. he’s cheap, he’s competent in all facets of the game, and he’s fun

HallofFrank

The fact that Hahn still deserves an F for his off-season despite signing Harrison and Cueto for less than $10m is borderline impressive.

soxygen

He’s a ballplayer, and we don’t have enough of those. I agree with everything you said about him.

The results of the signing have been fine, though I think it is still fair to criticize the thought process that led to signing Leury and Josh, and not trading either Romy or Mendick. We came into this season with more mediocre depth than we needed at 2B for a team that is trying to compete this year (might have argued for acquiring a more impactful player) and which has a ton of depth below AAA (which might have argued for clearing up the logjam above and ideally, trading someone like Romy).

Last edited 1 year ago by soxygen
jhomeslice

And he’s completely mediocre and outclassed if compared to Altuve or Gleyber Torres. But he’s cheap and not league worst, that’s about the best fans can hope for from this ownership.

He will be their 2b next year, probably. Let’s see if this team can win without a single position player that compares favorably to much better teams. That’s the Sox way. Then needed Semien, not Harrison.

Last edited 1 year ago by jhomeslice
a-t

I think that undersells him a little. He’s slightly above average, and slightly above average for cheap is an important thing. Two more contracts/players like Harrison’s at other positions, for say, Joc Pederson ($6M) and Jose Iglesias ($5M) instead of Kelly and Leury, and they’re leading the division! They have plenty of star power when merely mostly healthy, but they’re just not deep at all. They have top-end talent, what is missing is depth.

jhomeslice

They have the 9th best record in the league. They would have the 7th if they were leading the division. It takes their top 4 players to add up to the homers that Aaron Judge has. This team has a few good players, no superstars, and a bunch of mediocre players, most of whom are poor fielders. Hence their .500 record, the ultimate arbiter.

They are at least two very good players away from being closer to the top 4 teams in the AL. Harrison is not one of them. If mediocrity is the goal, he is fine. Which is why they signed him.

Right Size Wrong Shape

It appears that Leury has been attending the Kit Keller School of Hitting.

Adam

Is it possible Leury can only hit in 83 throwbacks? If so, can we only play him home Sunday’s?

Right Size Wrong Shape

60 games of regression across the board for this team would do my heart some good.

Foulkelore

Nice at bat for Zavala

Adam

Seby and Leury. Worked it full, fouled off pitches and produced. Excellent abs

Right Size Wrong Shape

I think as long as they lay off the high fastballs, they should be able to destroy this guy.

Foulkelore

We may have found the limit to how bad a RHP can be and still have success against the Sox offense.

Marty34

10 total bases the first time through the order in a game at home. Remarkable.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Bad in the first three innings, bad in the first game of a series. It’s almost like the team has no pro scouting department.

Adam

There’s something to the numbers. They are facts. But I don’t think its scouting. Just cause you wouldn’t change your scouting report after a game. There’s something there for sure, just don’t know what it is.

Right Size Wrong Shape

After you’ve played a team you probably don’t need the scouting report any more. You just saw them yesterday. And you and your coaching stuff is able to make adjustments to what you saw.

soxygen

It has been “almost like” that for the better part of the past decade and a half.

It isn’t like advanced scouting is a new innovation. I simply don’t understand how they can be so bad at it for so long.

Right Size Wrong Shape

When is the last time we “won” a trade involving the acquisition of a major league player? I guess Ryan Tepera, but it seems like those deals fail more often than not.

jhomeslice

It was short lived, but you could argue they won the Dunning for Lynn trade. I agree they don’t win many of those. Looking back a few years at prior trades is nothing but pain.

Adam

I’d argue we won the Cesar Hernandez trade. Giving the guardians a bad lefty starter that they’ll use against us multiple times in a year has given us a huge boost this year

Right Size Wrong Shape

We hit him around in one game. I don’t think that wins a trade.

Adam

10 innings, 6 runs, 0-2 record vs white sox. I challenge you to find pitchers with worse records in 2022 against their bunch.

In general a bad pitcher from our system muddying their waters is something I’m all for. I’m up for handing them Blewett and Bilous

Adam

I should also mention that I consider 5 ip , 2 er off a starter a beating these days

a-t

lmao

Right Size Wrong Shape

Thanks for nothing Shane McClanahan.

Right Size Wrong Shape

McClanahan vs. Johnny Wholestaff looked good on paper.

soxygen

Cleveland is a team with hitters who look prepared for an opponent and who can execute a strategy/approach at the plate. I’m envious.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Apparently Joe McEwing is on assignment in TB. Lowe thrown out at home for the first out of the 5th.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Bill Russell died.

soxygen

After seeing your post, I went back to look up some Bill Russell stats and quotes. These two lines seem relevant to a thread re the 2022 Sox:

“To me, the most important part of winning is joy.“

“Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.”

Last edited 1 year ago by soxygen
soxygen

Vaughn swinging at a face high fastball for strike 3…not the first time lately…

soxygen

Seby is having a really nice all-around game today.

a-t

Eloy’s been looking like himself at the plate recently, but for some bad luck/great plays on balls in the LF gap. Can’t get BABIPed on that one tho

Foulkelore

Yep, I’m liking what I’m seeing from him at the plate lately.