The Chicago White Sox ...YIKES!!!!

[TheStarOne]

The Sox were one strike away from winning the game vs the Os, two strikes. two outs in the ninth.
Hendrix on the mound...........a sure thing
Popup down the left field line......... foul territory........easy popup.
Adam Engel drops it..........Next pitch.........home rum Orioles.
tie game............Orioles go on to win.

Are the Chicago White Sox, really a .500 team?

 

[Cedrique]

The Sox were one strike away from winning the game vs the Os, two strikes. two outs in the ninth.
Hendrix on the mound...........a sure thing
Popup down the left field line......... foul territory........easy popup.
Adam Engel drops it..........Next pitch.........home rum Orioles.
tie game............Orioles go on to win.

Are the Chicago White Sox, really a .500 team?

At first glance you'd think they look better than that on paper and I'm sure they were predicted to do much better before the season started. But when you look closer they have some holes and some things that worked against them.
They seem to get all their production from right handed outfielders (and Abreu) and some of them have been injured off and on. They do have Anderson at short and Grandal at catcher but they have been injured as well. Their starting pitching is good on paper but Lynn is coming off injury and hasn't been that good yet . Cease has been great, Giolito ok but not as good as in the past, Lynn coming off injury not good yet, Cueto surpassed expectations, Keuchel worse than expected. Kopech is injured.
I don't know much about the bullpen so that is my assessment.

I can see how they are only .500.

I think the Orioles being 5 games over .500 is a bigger surprise.

 

[navamind]

At first glance you'd think they look better than that on paper and I'm sure they were predicted to do much better before the season started. But when you look closer they have some holes and some things that worked against them.
They seem to get all their production from right handed outfielders (and Abreu) and some of them have been injured off and on. They do have Anderson at short and Grandal at catcher but they have been injured as well. Their starting pitching is good on paper but Lynn is coming off injury and hasn't been that good yet . Cease has been great, Giolito ok but not as good as in the past, Lynn coming off injury not good yet, Cueto surpassed expectations, Keuchel worse than expected. Kopech is injured.
I don't know much about the bullpen so that is my assessment.

I can see how they are only .500.

I think the Orioles being 5 games over .500 is a bigger surprise.

I think you're giving Giolito too much credit, he has a 77 ERA+. He's been putrid. Moncada also fell off and has been replacement level. Grandal has been hurt but he was struggling mightily. Leury Garcia went from a 2.1 WAR and 95 OPS+ to -0.8 with a 46 OPS+

 

[navamind]

Also the Twins/Guardians are much improved from last year. ChiSox were 23-15 against both last year, just 10-15 this year.

 

[navamind]

White Sox pitchers in 2021: 26.0 WAR
White Sox pitchers in 2022: 13.0 WAR (and that's with two 4+ WAR pitchers)

White Sox position players in 2021: 23.8 WAR
White Sox position players in 2022: 10.3 WAR (6.1 WAR from Abreu/Robert)

 

[Cedrique]

I think you're giving Giolito too much credit, he has a 77 ERA+. He's been putrid. Moncada also fell off and has been replacement level. Grandal has been hurt but he was struggling mightily. Leury Garcia went from a 2.1 WAR and 95 OPS+ to -0.8 with a 46 OPS+

lol, yeah you're right, "ok" might have been a stretch. They were definitely expecting more from him. But the lack of any kind of offense from the left side of the plate really sticks out. Moncada and Grandal have done nothing. Gavin Sheets is the only thing even resembling left handed power.

 

[Cedrique]

White Sox pitchers in 2021: 26.0 WAR
White Sox pitchers in 2022: 13.0 WAR (and that's with two 4+ WAR pitchers)

White Sox position players in 2021: 23.8 WAR
White Sox position players in 2022: 10.3 WAR (6.1 WAR from Abreu/Robert)

Yeah I'm going to make a bold statement and say Carlos Rodon would have been useful this season

 

[YourFriendGannon]

What's funny is one of their fans' scapegoats played for the Moneyball A's.

 

[Cedrique]

What's funny is one of their fans' scapegoats played for the Moneyball A's.

Who is that guy? I don't recognize him

 

[YourFriendGannon]

Who is that guy? I don't recognize him

Their hitting coach, Frank Menechino

 

[msgkings322]

Like that link says, the Sox have no power. That Orioles game they had like 13 hits and scored 3 runs. Abreu is still hitting .300 but his power is gone (he's old and plays every single day...needs a rest). Lynn didn't pitch well after being hurt a long time. Lots of injuries to top level players like Anderson and Robert.

Just not their year. Every year a couple teams are unexpectedly bad...this year both my teams were the unlucky ones (Giants and White Sox). And every year a couple teams are unexpectedly good, this year that's the Orioles and perhaps Cleveland fits the bill.

 

[Cedrique]

Their hitting coach, Frank Menechino

Now I remember him. Second baseman, good on base percentage. Kind of a poor man's Edgardo Alfonso. But yeah it seems like it is easier to identify a good "moneyball" player than it is to make someone into to one especially at the big league level. Like according to analytics Joe Morgan was one of the best players ever. But when you listened to him on broadcasts you would never guess he was the obp machine that he was. To quote Vince Vaughn in Swingers, some guys are so "money and they don't even know it"

 

[TheStarOne]

I had no idea it would be this big of a collapse