Random Thoughts 2.1

[Lake Shore Drive]

The Sox need to do what good teams do - stomp the Twinks while they are down! Make them wince and run screaming from town. Each win is not only a game in separation from the pre-season rivals, but a game the Twinks can not use to close the gap later.

Cease - Keuchel and Rodon - sweet.

It's weird seeing the Twins record. If you asked me to pick one winning team from last season to begin this year at 12-20, the Twins would have been one of my last guesses. They're hitting the ball decently and their D is the usual spot on. The pitching is in the bottom half, altho it's not outright terrible. Their run differential is only -2, which indicates that more often than not, they win comfortably, but lose the close games. Way, way way too early to start writing them off, but I'd sure feel a helluva lot better if we can at least take the series. We need to establish our dominance. Here are the pitching matchups, at least as of today:

Cease vs Maeda
Keuchel vs Happ
Pineda vs Rodon

Maeda is struggling so far, but Happ and Pineda have been solid. Glad we're avoiding Sox killer Berrios, who almost always dominates our boys.

 

[podsox]

The whole league isn't hitting. In April the entire league hit .235

Moving the mound back is stupid but they need to ban the shift, pronto.

I’d prefer then moving the fences way back. Open up the field but that would hurt fans view

 

[Mingo]

The closest I ever got to the major leagues was that I used to bat against Bert Blyleven in HS.

 

[Jiddy]

Banning the shift is a ridiculous idea. If you can't beat it, you deserve your sh*tty batting average.

 

[idseer]

Banning the shift is a ridiculous idea. If you can't beat it, you deserve your sh*tty batting average.

so is the stupid extra innings rule.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

so is the stupid extra innings rule.

I was wondering if the powers that be insist on continuing this dumb rule that they couldn't at least compromise a bit. For instance, play the 10th or even the 11th inning as normal with no runner starting off on 2nd. If it goes to the 12th inning or beyond, then invoke the runner rule. Still not ideal, but at least it gives us old schoolers a chance to see the game end the traditional way for at least a couple of extra innings.

 

[Mingo]

I was wondering if the powers that be insist on continuing this dumb rule that they couldn't at least compromise a bit. For instance, play the 10th or even the 11th inning as normal with no runner starting off on 2nd. If it goes to the 12th inning or beyond, then invoke the runner rule. Still not ideal, but at least it gives us old schoolers a chance to see the game end the traditional way for at least a couple of extra innings.

I'm certainly against the extra inning rule - at least until the White Sox learn how to win with it.

Banning the shift is stupid - wholeheartedly agree with you LSD - teach your batters or challenge them to hit it where they ain't.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I'm certainly against the extra inning rule - at least until the White Sox learn how to win with it.

Banning the shift is stupid - wholeheartedly agree with you LSD - teach your batters or challenge them to hit it where they ain't.

Speaking of learning how to win it, did you see the stat on the Twins for this year that they showed on the MLB channel? Turns out they're a pretty decent team if the game is only 9 innings long. They're 12-9 when playing those, but are 0-4 in 7 inning DHs and 0-7 in extra inning games. So maybe we should root for taking them past the 9th.

 

[Jiddy]

I was wondering if the powers that be insist on continuing this dumb rule that they couldn't at least compromise a bit. For instance, play the 10th or even the 11th inning as normal with no runner starting off on 2nd. If it goes to the 12th inning or beyond, then invoke the runner rule. Still not ideal, but at least it gives us old schoolers a chance to see the game end the traditional way for at least a couple of extra innings.

It will happen when Covid numbers finally die down. There's no way players, coaches...hell even owners want to keep this. Fans surely don't. We're still at 40k per day Covid cases. I was hoping that sh*t would drop like a rock now that vaccines are getting distributed en masse for free...but based on how May has gone so far it's starting to look like next season is our best bet. Sad story.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

This question is for Mingo. It's totally off topic, in fact it's not even baseball related. Buddy, I understand there has been a sizable number of Bronco fans who were upset that their team didn't grab Justin Fields when it was their turn to pick, altho they chose a pretty damn good CB in Bama's Patrick Surtain. But I'm curious as to how you felt and you obviously have more of a local vibe regarding the average Broncos fan's take. What say you.

 

[Mingo]

This question is for Mingo. It's totally off topic, in fact it's not even baseball related. Buddy, I understand there has been a sizable number of Bronco fans who were upset that their team didn't grab Justin Fields when it was their turn to pick, altho they chose a pretty damn good CB in Bama's Patrick Surtain. But I'm curious as to how you felt and you obviously have more of a local vibe regarding the average Broncos fan's take. What say you.

LOL

My position in Bronco world was that the Broncos had already committed to Lock, but hadn't announced it. When the league season started they signed a whole bunch of their veteran players they could have dumped. That's not something you do when you were going to draft a rookie QB. Also - if this is Fangio's last stand - they couldn't saddle him with a rookie QB either. I said all along the Broncos were going to trade for Bridgewater because George Paton drafted him in Minnesota and was going to start him until he got injured. Also - I pointed out that other than Lawrence - the next 4 college QBs were shinny objects that should be traded up to obtain. We had Bronco fans - with good connections to the Front Office swearing the Broncos were going to pick their next QB this year and I ran against that stream of thought. I don't think Drew Lock has had a fair trial for the job yet.

Personally - I had Fields as the next most ready QB to Lawrence. My position was that if Fields fell to the Broncos at 9 and they liked him as the BPA - they should take him. I was advocating Micah Parsons as the Broncos have a chronic need to find a LB who can conceivably cover TEs. I was just as happy with Surtain.

The Bears played it well in having Fields fall to them without wasting resources to trade up. IMO - Fields played well in front of big crowds and in big ballgames -which was an unknow for Lance and the kid from BYU. Mac Jones - I don't believe will do well in the NFL because he is the slowest QB prospect in my memory and you need some ability to escape the rush.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Who knows, maybe it will only last a day, but at this moment, the Sox sit atop the AL standings and are just .006 behind SF for the best record in the Majors. But wouldn't you know it, the one time I pull for the damn Cubs, being their opponent this series are the Indians. And of course the Cubbies gagged.

 

[idseer]

Who knows, maybe it will only last a day, but at this moment, the Sox sit atop the AL standings and are just .006 behind SF for the best record in the Majors. But wouldn't you know it, the one time I pull for the damn Cubs, being their opponent this series are the Indians. And of course the Cubbies gagged.

plus at least one source has the sox at the top of the power ratings.

2023 MLB power rankings: Evaluating all 30 clubs, ranking MLB playoff teams

Who are the best MLB teams in 2023? Our 2023 MLB power rankings evaluate all 30 clubs across baseball.

sportsnaut.com

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

plus at least one source has the sox at the top of the power ratings.

2023 MLB power rankings: Evaluating all 30 clubs, ranking MLB playoff teams

Who are the best MLB teams in 2023? Our 2023 MLB power rankings evaluate all 30 clubs across baseball.

sportsnaut.com

Would make sense, we're playing as good as any team in the game at the present, plus we lead the Majors in run differential. But as much as our bats and our pen have improved overall of late, it's been our rotation that's carried this team so far. Right now there isn't a better starting 5 out there. Not sure we can make that claim all season long, but for now, they're the best.

 

[msgkings322]

Who knows, maybe it will only last a day, but at this moment, the Sox sit atop the AL standings and are just .006 behind SF for the best record in the Majors. But wouldn't you know it, the one time I pull for the damn Cubs, being their opponent this series are the Indians. And of course the Cubbies gagged.

LOTTA parity it looks like this year. No great teams, some very good teams (like the Sox), lots of teams in the middle, and no awful ones except Detroit and Colorado

 

[Jiddy]

Speaking of batsignals...

@ChiSoxFan

Come on back now...I see you over there on the other board...We all ova here.

I am sad to report ChiSoxFan will not be joining us. He's out there...so close you can touch him...but only sticking to one place to post. But I tried.

 

[idseer]

I am sad to report ChiSoxFan will not be joining us. He's out there...so close you can touch him...but only sticking to one place to post. But I tried.

any reasons given?

 

[Jiddy]

any reasons given?

Didn't want to jump back and forth and is sticking with the new.

 

[Jiddy]

any reasons given?

However, I sense "idseer...that damn idseer" was the real answer.

 

[Mingo]

However, I sense "idseer...that damn idseer" was the real answer.

I must of ran him off - he was posting here until I decided to camp out.