The Official 2019 Chicago White Sox Thread

[idseer]

i think we're starting to see the evans i was afraid of.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

i think we're starting to see the evans i was afraid of.

Yeah, two bad outings in a row. Hopefully he can get his act together. Our whole staff overall of late has been borderline shit. We can't rely on winning 8-7 games in the 9th inning.

 

[idseer]

Yeah, two bad outings in a row. Hopefully he can get his act together. Our whole staff overall of late has been borderline shit. We can't rely on winning 8-7 games in the 9th inning.

3

 

[Jiddy]

Back from Vacay now. First game at ol' Comiskey in many years...Gotta say it was enjoyable. The park was sold out so that was extra sweet to not only have a game, but have one where the crowd was pretty amped up as the Sox were only 1 game under and had won the first two in the series vs the Yanks. (Fireworks night and a sweet Hawaiian shirt giveaway helped things too lol)

Sadly, the game went horribly. 11 of our first 12 outs were strikeouts. Ouch. I thought they were gonna set the damn single game strikeout record for a little bit there. It was made worse by the fact that they weren't even pitching one of their regular starters that day due to injury/rest concerns. 16 strikeouts in a 9 inning game. Must be nice to be a Yankees fan. McCann hit a dong in garbage time, so the pinwheels and fireworks went off for the kiddos. That was nice. Had churros and ice cream in a baseball helmet. That was more nice. There was no organ playing nor any na na hey heys and most definitely no runaround sues. That was less nice. But it felt like home.


Not really much to say that hasn't been said about the team itself. 2019 is basically in the books...Growing year. Got some decent, likeable, players in the batting order (Abreu, Anderson, Jimenez, McCann, Moncada is a decent core)...but our pitching is horrendous. Until we find at least 2-3 more consistent starters, we're going nowhere. Granted, RF position is giving my pitching gripe a run for its money. Good God. Do something there please.

 

[Trudem]

And Alonso is gone. He was DFA'd today

 

[ChiSoxFan]

And Alonso is gone. He was DFA'd today

Bon voyage, Machado bait.

Jay probably not far behind.

 

[Trudem]

Bon voyage, Machado bait.

Jay probably not far behind.

Jay actually played well yesterday. I bet we keep him if healthy finally. Although as a Vet bat he could easily be trade bait at the deadline

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Wonder who we'll bring up. I'd like to see Matt Skole get a shot. He had a pretty decent ST and he's got some pop in his bat. He's one of those career minor leaguers, but I'd still like to see him get a crack at making the roster even if it's just to fill some space until Andrew Vaughn is ready to hit the majors.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Wonder who we'll bring up. I'd like to see Matt Skole get a shot. He had a pretty decent ST and he's got some pop in his bat. He's one of those career minor leaguers, but I'd still like to see him get a crack at making the roster even if it's just to fill some space until Andrew Vaughn is ready to hit the majors.

Looks like Palka got the call instead of Skole. I'm actually ok with this as we can get a better idea to see if Palka can begin to replicate last year's performance by being in the lineup more consistently than when he was here in the beginning of the season. He'll likely be the regular DH along with some spot duties in RF and 1B. No doubt tho he'll have to show that he belongs. The leash should be a short one.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

After a somewhat slow start in the minors this year, Nick Madrigal is starting to show why the Sox selected him their first pick in last year's draft. Collectively, his BA for '19 is .313, but since being called up to AA Birmingham last month, he's been hitting at a torrid .398 clip. And get this, in 284 total ABs at both stops, he has struck out just 8 times. That's not a misprint. I'm not sure if any other team in Baseball has collectively struck out more times than the Sox have for the past 4 or 5 years. What a refreshing change it would be to have someone in the lineup with an excellent chance of putting the ball into play at each and every bat. And his defense has been topnotch to boot. I doubt we'll see him up in the bigs this year, but he might just make the roster at some point in 2020.

 

[idseer]

so ..... WHY did they bring up palka?

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

so ..... WHY did they bring up palka?

As I previously stated, I would have liked Skole to be brought up, but my guess is the Sox want to see if Palka has improved after his stint in the minors. So far, it's a negative. Might be trade bait in the coming days.

 

[richig07]

As I previously stated, I would have liked Skole to be brought up, but my guess is the Sox want to see if Palka has improved after his stint in the minors. So far, it's a negative. Might be trade bait in the coming days.

Palka has zero value in the major leagues. Putting a glove on his hand and sending him out to the field ANYWHERE is a reckless act if performed by any manager. His only talent is running into a baseball every once in a while and hitting it very far. However, he doesn't do it NEARLY enough to warrant one of the 15 American League DH roles.

Palka will, however, become the greatest beer league softball player of all-time. That is my prediction for Daniel Palka's future. lol

So long, Daniel Palka. We hardly knew ye. There were some fun moments, but you are NOT a major league baseball player.

 

[richig07]

so ..... WHY did they bring up palka?

Who else should they have brought up in the wake of the Alonso release? LSD mentioned Skole, but he's a 30 year old career minor leaguer with no ceiling. I'm not saying LSD is wrong (clearly, in hindsight it would have been correct) but really... is that necessarily "better"? It more than likely ends with the same result.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Who else should they have brought up in the wake of the Alonso release? LSD mentioned Skole, but he's a 30 year old career minor leaguer with no ceiling. I'm not saying LSD is wrong (clearly, in hindsight it would have been correct) but really... is that necessarily "better"? It more than likely ends with the same result.

Also getting some ink these days is Birmingham 1b Gavin Sheets. He's been putting up good numbers this year, but the problem is he's not yet played beyond AA ball. Not sure if this would cut it with the Sox brass, who seem to like their call ups to have at least played some ball in AAA.

 

[richig07]

Also getting some ink these days is Birmingham 1b Gavin Sheets. He's been putting up good numbers this year, but the problem is he's not yet played beyond AA ball. Not sure if this would cut it with the Sox brass, who seem to like their call ups to have at least played some ball in AAA.

I like giving Reed a shot. A lot, actually.

I'm not holding my breath, but I am intrigued (perhaps even a tiny bit excited) to see it play out. Really good eye and a ton of raw power. FWIW - the Astros were also the team that gave up on one of the premier power bats in the game. JD Martinez.

That isn't to dispute that they're anything other than one of the absolute best front offices in baseball right now, though.

As for Sheets. I hear you, but a .752 OPS and .412 SLG for a AA first baseman isn't really getting me excited. He's definitely got a ways to go.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Plus as I said Sheets hasn't even graduated to AAA ball yet, so I was more throwing it out there than seriously considering him. I'm saving my big hopes on Vaughn. Scouts and critics have stated he may be the best pure hitter to come out of the college ranks since Kris Bryant. Those are big shoes to fill, but what the hell, you never know.

 

[idseer]

Also getting some ink these days is Birmingham 1b Gavin Sheets. He's been putting up good numbers this year, but the problem is he's not yet played beyond AA ball. Not sure if this would cut it with the Sox brass, who seem to like their call ups to have at least played some ball in AAA.

i don't know when the sox suddenly got picking about when to bring up players from AA. they used to do it all the time
such players as:
brian downing,
carlos may
jorge orta
jerry hairston
chet lemon
harold baines
jim morrison
kevin bell
robin ventura
lance johnson
ron kittle
frank thomas
joe crede
alexei ramirez
and i only checked the good players!

 

[ChiSoxFan]

White Sox games on NBCSCH deliver highest ratings in five years

 

[richig07]

White Sox games on NBCSCH deliver highest ratings in five years

Not surprising, given that this is the first time the team has shown any sign of life in five years. Outside of that mirage of an April we had in 2016.