First Pitch: White Sox vs. Twins

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TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Lineups:

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1544064607857303554
https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1544056239319142401

Author

  • Jim Margalus

    Writing about the White Sox for a 16th season, first here, then at South Side Sox, and now here again. Letโ€™s talk curling.

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soxygen

Itโ€™s ugly hat day!

HouseOfTheRisingSox

Kinda bad base running there

As Cirensica

Ok… this is it. Let’s get’em. Go Sox.

As Cirensica

Cueto always starts slow.

Joliet Orange Sox

The White Sox can’t really make fun of the Twins for only having 25 post-season wins since 1961 (compared to Correa’s 45).

1-2-3 is my favorite double play.

I also enjoy the 5-4-3 double play. I kinda enjoy every double play the Twins hit into.

SHOTHOs are fun too. But I agree, Twins double plays are like my children. I love them all equally.

As Cirensica

Phew….nice double play

As Cirensica

Quit swings for the Sox. Not a surprise

As Cirensica

Finally…a homer! Good timing

We’ve got a 10-homer guy! Let the floodgates open…

As Cirensica

I am reading Hendriks and Engel are back. Very good. Lambert and Haseley are out.

Foulkelore

Zavala could have made third there easy. Hopefully, that doesn’t matter.

a-t

Itโ€™s nice to have the soft-tossing trickster righty that mystifies excellent hitters on our side for once

Foulkelore

Oh yeah, how bad would the Sox do against Cueto? I’m glad Minnesota didn’t sign him.

Right Size Wrong Shape

It was originally reported that they’d signed him, right?

Foulkelore

I know it was rumored to be close. I don’t remember if there were reports saying he signed with them.

Eloy is 1-3 so far playing LF again tonight. He might be back soon. I think this is the second straight game with no Sosa in the lineup, though. Anyone know what’s going on there?

Also, Montgomery 2-3 today. The streak lives on…

Foulkelore

Time for AA – carry the streak from low A to AAA.

a-t

Sox might really have a star in the making with this kid. We can see the results (and plate discipline) heโ€™s producing at the dish, and plus KLaw raving about his defense at SSโ€ฆ heโ€™s answering pretty much all the questions about his profile really, really quickly.

Foulkelore

Yeah, I’m pretty excited about him.

upnorthsox

He had 5 errors in his first 8 games at WS so lets not give him a GG yet.

Right Size Wrong Shape

He’s only 20 years old, and I’m not sure how much errors in A ball really translate to defense in the major leagues.

a-t

Yoan might have GIDP there but 108.9mph off the bat is good to see. He feels more like the 2019 exit velo darling version of himself since coming off the IL, just needs to lift the ball more

I’m so tired of Byron Buxton.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Limiting Buxtonโ€™s playing time to avoid injury but making sure he plays all 19 vs the Sox may end up being the difference in the division.

Foulkelore

It feels like he homers in every single game against the Sox.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Heโ€™s got a higher wRC+ than anyone on the Sox since the start of 2020.

He has 7.8 fWAR in 640 PAs in that same time span. Josรฉ Abreu has basically the same WAR in 2x the PAs. The only player on the Sox with more fWAR in that span is TA with 9.4 in 1K PA.

When Buxton is healthy heโ€™s a superhero, heโ€™s just not that healthy.

Foulkelore

C’mon, offense. Johnny did his job again through 6.

As Cirensica

Lots of hard hit balls finding gloves

As Cirensica

We have Hendriks back, I really hope TLR doesn’t ‘save’ high leverage relievers until we get the lead

Right Size Wrong Shape

After 1 and a half seasons I don’t think we should be surprised by it anymore.

As Cirensica

Intentional Walk Buxton…every time please.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Well, maybe not that time.

Foulkelore

Justice for Abreu

As Cirensica

Losing that challenge might be pivotal in this game

Right Size Wrong Shape

What happened? I was on Gameday.

Foulkelore

Abreu definitely got hit by a pitch but it wasn’t called one. They reviewed but didn’t overturn. Then, Abreu just hit a double instead.

Last edited 2 years ago by Foulkelore
As Cirensica

Abreu was HBP but umpire didn’t call it, then TLR challenged and it was unsuccessful. Abreu was clearly HBP. So Abreu responded by hitting into the gap for a double

Foulkelore

C’mon, Moncada. Hit the ball hard like last time, but lift it.

Foulkelore

Or, hit it softly where they aren’t. That’s cool too.

Liam up in the pen. Interesting.

Of all the stupid plays this year, nothing is going to beat that. Even the tag up in Toronto wasn’t that bad.

As Cirensica

Moncada playing little league baseball.

As Cirensica

Engel didn’t tag. Triple play. What a dumb baserunning

HallofFrank

Thatโ€™s insulting to little leaguers. Little leaguers should know how to handle that play by their age.

Foulkelore

That didn’t just happen!

soxygen

The embarrassing kind of triple play

Shingos Cheeseburgers

This team should recuse themselves from the division race

metasox

League office needs to do a rule check whether that is an automatic disqualifier

a-t

Did they just TOOTBLAN themselves into a goddamn triple play?

funkerdan

Middle finger to us all apparently.

a-t

on a .860 xBA drive no less. jesus christ

Foulkelore

How did they not see that get caught? Engel was waiting to tag anyway, so why did he leave early?

Right Size Wrong Shape

Buxton clearly has magical powers.

soxygen

Can I just point out that our pinch runner didnโ€™t tag up?

Right Size Wrong Shape

What was Joe McEwing doing? I’m listening on the radio.

BuehrleMan

Top five stupidest base running plays I’ve ever seen. That was psychedelic.

Foulkelore

I know you’re very knowledgeable, but you’re even more so if you can name 4 that were worse than that.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Well, there was that time Johnny Dickshot hit an apparent game winning single, but instead of running to first he took off his pants, ran to the pitchers mound and ate a hot dog. The throw eventually came in to first base and ended the game.

Then there was the time that an inebriated Babe Ruth was on second base in the 8th inning of a tie ball game. Ruth called for time so that he could use the men’s room, but when he didn’t come back after 5 minutes the umpire ruled him out, ending the inning. Miller Huggins was incensed, and argued that he should have been given the opportunity to put in a pinch runner, but to no avail. Ruth was found asleep on the john after the game.

In a game at the Kingdome in 1995, Ken Griffey Jr. smashed a 3-1 fastball from Armando Benitez into the right center field gap. Unfortunately, he swung so hard that Griffey’s backswing hit him in the groin. Griffey, who eschewed wearing a cup, was left in the fetal position in the batter’s box. He tried crawling to first, but only made it halfway before the throw back in by Kevin Bass completed the out. Griffey was helped to the dugout and had to leave the game.

Finally, there was the time that Macky Sasser had an all-time baserunning gaff. He had been struggling with the yips all season, but it seemed that he finally had it under control. But then, while standing on third with 1 out in a game in St. Louis, Sasser watched teammate Kevin McReynolds fly out to the warning track. The third base coach implored him to tag up and go home, but Sasser just stood on the bag bewildered. After the game, when questioned about the incident, Sasser could only say, “I forgot how to run. My legs literally wouldn’t work.”

There’s four.

Foulkelore

You’re a madman. Never change.

Foulkelore

I was this many days old when I learned there was a real player named Johnny Dickshot, and he played for the Sox.

BuehrleMan

Well, I guess I didn’t want to proclaim it the worst base running I’ve ever seen in order to avoid being hyperbolic but I suppose I could have said “That’s the worst base running I can ever remember seeing” because offhand I can’t remember seeing anything worse. I blame Tony La Russa.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Just think about how much more that play would hurt if that happened in a meaningful game against the Twins in October. Good thing it happening in July guarantees it wonโ€™t matter in Oct!

funkerdan

This game is giving me a headache.

Welcome back, Liam Hendriks!

Foulkelore

At least Liam looks great.

As Cirensica

Joe Magoo

Foulkelore

Go score one run, and we can kind of laugh about that baserunning play.

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Isnโ€™t there a LHP the Twins could use here?

As Cirensica

Pagan is fine. He is atrocious

soxygen

No, they are kind of engineered to beat us – they donโ€™t rely much on getting many innings pitched from their LHP and their batters hit RHP well.

Last edited 2 years ago by soxygen
Foulkelore

C’mon, Sheets, hit one over the … oh, wait, it’s the pinch runner who was part of that triple play.

As Cirensica

I think Engel is out

So glad Engel’s back.

Foulkelore

He was extremely helpful on the bases tonight. That was weird too, because I thought the throw from the catcher had a slight delay or double-clutch, and he still got him.

soxygen

Iโ€™m looking forward to Engel being on the bases to start the bottom of the 10th

Last edited 2 years ago by soxygen
Right Size Wrong Shape

What will he think of next?

Foulkelore

Oh, crap, that’s right. He’ll have a chance to make a third out on the bases, and he didn’t come into the game until the 7th!

soxygen

I do care about the results and I am disappointed in the results from Adam Engel, pinch runner with two outs on the base paths. But not everyone cares about results.

Last edited 2 years ago by soxygen
Shingos Cheeseburgers

Once you realize that pretty much every single person that works for the Sox is as stupid as your dumbest friend/family member that has a cushy job they donโ€™t deserve their whole decision making process makes a lot more sense.

Does the first batter always get a hit in extra innings against the Sox?

Foulkelore

Way too often that has happened followed by the Sox having their free runner at 3rd with 2 outs.

As Cirensica

Luis Arraez, toughest out in the Majors

Must be past Tony’s bed time.

Foulkelore

And Tony gets thrown out arguing a ball that was definitely a ball.

BuehrleMan

Not sure if anyone else has noticed but Tony La Russa is a bad, disingenuous person.

BuehrleMan

(and I don’t care if he was just “trying to stick up for his players”. He can fuck off.)

Shingos Cheeseburgers

Tonyโ€™s got a 10:15 reservation at Chicago Cut