Right-hander Lucas Giolito has the highest ERA (6.15) of any of the five pitchers in the White Sox starting rotation. Yet, somehow, he leads the team in wins -- by a wide margin.
Giolito improved to 8-9 with a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. No other Sox pitcher has more than four wins this season.
It wasn't the cleanest start for Giolito. He was handed a 3-0 lead before he took the mound, and he handed it right back by giving up three two-out runs in the bottom of the first inning.
However, the Sox rebuilt the lead. Ryan LaMarre hit his first career home run in the second inning, and Jose Abreu's two-run double in the fifth gave the South Siders a 6-3 lead.
Giolito made that stick through six innings, and he did so in dramatic fashion by pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the sixth. Sure, Giolito benefited from facing 7-8-9 in a offensively challenged Detroit batting order, but it still was impressive to see him battle out of trouble.
He got James McCann to fly out to shallow right field, struck out Mike Gerber and induced a weak pop out to third base from Victor Reyes.
Jace Fry pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Xavier Cedeno got three outs in the ninth inning for his first save with the Sox to secure the win for Giolito, who got a season-high 16 swinging strikes during his six-inning outing. Giolito struck out seven and walked only one.
Wouldn't it be something if Giolito still manages double-digit wins despite his erratic season? In 2017, no Sox pitcher won more than seven games -- Derek Holland and Miguel Gonzalez tied for the team lead. Giolito now has passed that modest benchmark.
And, oh yeah, Sox pitchers held Nick Castellanos to an 0-for-5 night and struck out him out three times. What a refreshing change! Cedeno struck Castellanos out looking with two on and two out to end the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Hallelujah!
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
The White Sox need to stop pitching to Nick Castellanos
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| Nick Castellanos |
2018 Detroit Tigers vs. everybody else: 41-68 (.376 winning percentage)
By any measure, the Tigers are not a good baseball team, so their continuing mastery of the Sox is both perplexing and annoying. Yes, the Sox also stink, but they should be able to win more than one of 10 games against a fellow bottom-feeder.
Detroit beat the Sox again Monday, this time 9-5 at Comerica Park. Nick Castellanos led the way for the Tigers, going 5 for 5 with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs.
And, quite frankly, Castellanos' mastery of Sox pitching is the biggest reason the season series is so lopsided.
The Tigers' right fielder has decent overall numbers: .291/.340/.492 with 17 HRs and 64 RBIs. However, a lot of that damage has come against the Sox. He is hitting .419/.457/.814 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 10 games vs. Chicago.
In other words, 24 percent of Castellanos' home runs and 22 percent of his RBIs have come against the Sox. That's almost a quarter of his season production.
It doesn't have to be this way, either. With the game tied at 3 in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday, Castellanos came to the plate with the go-ahead run on third base and two outs. It was a perfect time to just put him on first base with an intentional walk. Instead, the Sox chose to pitch to him, and he hit a hanging changeup from Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez for a go-ahead double.
Foolish, especially considering the on-deck hitter was Niko Goodrum, he of the .231/.301/.430 slash line. Goodrum was hitless behind Castellanos in Monday's game. He provided no lineup protection whatsoever, but for whatever reason, the Sox allowed Castellanos to beat them again, as opposed to making Goodrum do something at the plate.
The bottom line is the Tigers are not a good offensive team. They rank 14th in the American League with 453 runs scored. That's even worse than the Sox, who are 12th with 467 runs.
Detroit has so few offensive weapons, so as long as Castellanos can be held in check, the Sox should have an opportunity to win games against this Tigers team.
It all seems so simple: Just pitch around Castellanos and make someone else beat you, please.
Monday, August 13, 2018
White Sox lose two out of three to AL Central-leading Indians
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| Carlos Rodon |
Coming into the White Sox's three-game weekend series against the Cleveland Indians, I figured the South Siders would, at best, take one out of three. And, I figured the one they would win would be Friday's game with Rodon on the mound.
That's exactly how it unfolded. Here's a look back at the weekend that was.
Friday, Aug. 10
White Sox 1, Indians 0: Daniel Palka accomplished something that no Sox player had done in the previous 118 years of baseball: He hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Sox a 1-0 victory.
It's astounding that it had never happened before in all the games that have been played over the past century plus.
It's too bad the home run did not come early enough to give Rodon the win. The Sox left-hander was brilliant, pitching eight shutout innings. He allowed only four hits, struck out five and walked two. The two walks were both in the first inning. The Indians failed to make Rodon pay, and they really didn't get a sniff after that.
Rodon's season ERA now stands at 2.61. He is pitching like a No. 1 starter, although he needs to stay healthy over the long haul before he can earn the title of staff ace.
Saturday, Aug. 11
Indians 3, White Sox 1: Small steps forward for second baseman Yoan Moncada. After I criticized his poor performance on this blog last week, he went 3 for 9 with a home run and a walk in the series against Cleveland.
He still struck out four times in those 10 plate appearances, but he did connect for his 15th home run of the season for the Sox's lone run in this game. The blast to right field came off a Cy Young contender, Cleveland's Trevor Bauer.
Moncada's incremental improvement coincided with manager Rick Renteria's decision to move him out of the leadoff spot. Moncada batted eighth Friday and Saturday, and sixth on Sunday.
James Shields (4-14) continues a potential march toward a 20-loss season, although he pitched a credible game. He went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits. He struck out four and walked none. Shields can't win any games, but the veteran's job in a lost season is to eat innings. He is doing that.
Sunday, Aug. 12
Indians 9, White Sox 7: It looked like this one was over in the eighth inning. The Indians led, 9-1, but the Sox made a game of it with two runs in the eighth on home runs by Adam Engel and Yolmer Sanchez, and four more runs in the ninth.
The Indians were forced to bring closer Cody Allen into the game, and the Sox had the tying run at home plate with one out in the ninth before Allen struck out Nicky Delmonico and Sanchez back to back to earn his 23rd save of the season.
It was a good game for Engel, who went 3 for 4 with the aforementioned homer, a triple, three RBIs and another spectacular catch to rob Yonder Alonso of a home run. It's too bad Engel is a .224 hitter, because his skills in center field are of elite big-league quality. I just don't think he sticks over the long haul because of his weak bat.
Speaking of not sticking over the long haul, Dylan Covey (4-9) didn't wait until the second time through the order to get shelled Sunday. He gave up four runs in the first and two more runs in the second. By the end of the third inning, Hector Santiago was on in relief for the Sox.
Covey's season ERA is up to 6.06. As we've stated in the past, it is time to remove this pitcher from the starting rotation. He is not giving his team a chance to win.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Is it time for the White Sox to send Yoan Moncada to the minor leagues?
There are three hitters on the White Sox's 25-man roster that give me a hopeless feeling, meaning when they step in the box I figure it would take a miracle from God for them to get a base hit.
Those three hitters are Adam Engel, Matt Davidson and ... Yoan Moncada.
That's right, I said it: I've lost confidence in the former No. 1 prospect in baseball, the golden boy who had everybody buying his jersey before he had accomplished anything at the major league level.
Moncada had another stinker of a game Tuesday night, 0 for 5 with four strikeouts in a 4-3, 13-inning loss to the New York Yankees. The second baseman is now in a 1-for-25 slump over his past six games that includes 16 strikeouts. In the past week, Moncada has had two games where he has struck out three times, and two other games where he has struck out four times.
The slump isn't new, either. Moncada has been brutal in the 18 games since the All-Star break. During that span, he has posted a .114/.250/.214 batting line with 31 strikeouts in 84 plate appearances.
His season slash line stands at .217/.300/.391. His batting average is now lower than both Engel and Davidson, both of whom are hitting .220 entering Wednesday's play.
Hey, at least Engel makes great catches in center field, and Davidson entertains us by moonlighting as a pitcher. What's Moncada doing other than stinking up Guaranteed Rate Field?
If his name were something other than "Yoan Moncada," fans would be calling for him to be sent to the minor leagues. I'll admit it: I'm getting really close to that point. I'm trying to be patient, but when someone is completely overmatched by major league pitching for an extended period of time, you'd be a fool not to reconsider your opinion on what's best for a young player.
There's only about a month left in the minor league season, so if the Sox were going to send Moncada down, they would have to do it soon. I'm going to stop short of calling for the team to demote Moncada immediately, but if the high strikeout totals and the poor quality of at-bats continues for the rest of this homestand, it will be time for action to be taken.
I'm sure my opinion is the minority one. I'm basically alienated from the rest of the Sox fan base at this point, because I don't think the organization is on the right path. I don't think Rick Hahn and Rick Renteria are doing a good job, and I don't think Moncada, Tim Anderson and Lucas Giolito are getting better.
We've reached a point now where Sox fans are willing to forgive all sins and all mismanagement and all poor play because it's "rebuilding." Enough of this baloney. Let's start speaking honestly. It's past time for Moncada to start showing progress. It's past time for the organization as a whole to start showing some progress at the major-league level.
Sox brass right now is enjoying responsibility with no accountability, and it's beyond ridiculous. They want fans to pay money to watch this product? Why should they? It's no wonder Yankees fans far outnumber Sox fans at Guaranteed Rate Field during this week's series.
Those three hitters are Adam Engel, Matt Davidson and ... Yoan Moncada.
That's right, I said it: I've lost confidence in the former No. 1 prospect in baseball, the golden boy who had everybody buying his jersey before he had accomplished anything at the major league level.
Moncada had another stinker of a game Tuesday night, 0 for 5 with four strikeouts in a 4-3, 13-inning loss to the New York Yankees. The second baseman is now in a 1-for-25 slump over his past six games that includes 16 strikeouts. In the past week, Moncada has had two games where he has struck out three times, and two other games where he has struck out four times.
The slump isn't new, either. Moncada has been brutal in the 18 games since the All-Star break. During that span, he has posted a .114/.250/.214 batting line with 31 strikeouts in 84 plate appearances.
His season slash line stands at .217/.300/.391. His batting average is now lower than both Engel and Davidson, both of whom are hitting .220 entering Wednesday's play.
Hey, at least Engel makes great catches in center field, and Davidson entertains us by moonlighting as a pitcher. What's Moncada doing other than stinking up Guaranteed Rate Field?
If his name were something other than "Yoan Moncada," fans would be calling for him to be sent to the minor leagues. I'll admit it: I'm getting really close to that point. I'm trying to be patient, but when someone is completely overmatched by major league pitching for an extended period of time, you'd be a fool not to reconsider your opinion on what's best for a young player.
There's only about a month left in the minor league season, so if the Sox were going to send Moncada down, they would have to do it soon. I'm going to stop short of calling for the team to demote Moncada immediately, but if the high strikeout totals and the poor quality of at-bats continues for the rest of this homestand, it will be time for action to be taken.
I'm sure my opinion is the minority one. I'm basically alienated from the rest of the Sox fan base at this point, because I don't think the organization is on the right path. I don't think Rick Hahn and Rick Renteria are doing a good job, and I don't think Moncada, Tim Anderson and Lucas Giolito are getting better.
We've reached a point now where Sox fans are willing to forgive all sins and all mismanagement and all poor play because it's "rebuilding." Enough of this baloney. Let's start speaking honestly. It's past time for Moncada to start showing progress. It's past time for the organization as a whole to start showing some progress at the major-league level.
Sox brass right now is enjoying responsibility with no accountability, and it's beyond ridiculous. They want fans to pay money to watch this product? Why should they? It's no wonder Yankees fans far outnumber Sox fans at Guaranteed Rate Field during this week's series.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
It's time for White Sox to put Dylan Covey in the bullpen
There is nothing White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey could have done to win his start Monday against the New York Yankees.
New York starter Lance Lynn dominated Sox hitters in a 7-0 Yankees victory. Lynn allowed only two singles over 7.1 innings and retired 19 straight Sox hitters at one point, so Covey was going to be in trouble unless he figured out a way to give up negative runs.
That said, Covey continued his well-established pattern of being shelled in the middle innings. Entering Monday night's start, Covey was limiting opposing batters to a .207/.296/.333 slash line the first time through the order. But the second time through the batting order, opponents were hitting .321/.395/.468 off Covey.
We saw it again Monday, as Covey breezed through the first three innings. He retired the first 10 men he faced, but it fell apart on him in the fourth and fifth innings. The Yankees got two in the fourth and two in the fifth, and with Lynn dominating, the game was over at that point.
New York batters went 4 for 8 with a walk the second time through the order, and it would have been 5 for 8 if Adam Engel had not made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall to rob New York first baseman Greg Bird of a 3-run homer. That two-run Yankees fourth inning would have been a five-run rally if not for the tremendous defensive play of Engel.
Here's the problem for Covey -- he's basically a two-pitch pitcher. He's got a good fastball, 95 mph with good sink. His changeup is decent, good enough to get outs if he can locate it and he's ahead in the count. However, his slider is not an out pitch, and it's basically a show-me offering and nothing more.
You can be effective as a relief pitcher with one good pitch and one decent one, but that's not enough of an arsenal to be a good starting pitcher. More often than not, a two-pitch pitcher is going to get hit around the second and third time through the batting order, unless he's pinpoint with his command, which Covey typically is not.
As we've all noticed, the Sox bullpen stinks, so I can't help but wonder if there might be a role for Covey as a one- or two-inning reliever over the long haul. Again, opponents are hitting only .207 the first time they face him in a game. That's good, and I'd be willing to give Covey a shot in that role. It's his best chance for long-term success in the major leagues.
Of course, somebody would have to take Covey's spot in the rotation, and that means the front office would have to bring Michael Kopech to Chicago.
Honestly, Kopech is ready. The Sox's top pitching prospect has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his past nine starts at Triple-A Charlotte. The command issues that plagued him in June have been ironed out. Kopech has struck out 41 men and walked only four in his past five starts, spanning 31 innings.
At one point, Kopech's ERA had swollen to 5.08 -- that was on June 20. His ERA is now 4.05 as Triple-A hitters no longer seem to be a challenge for him.
That doesn't mean the Sox won't play the service time shenanigans game with Kopech, but right now, the correct baseball move is to put Kopech in the MLB rotation to gain experience, and move Covey to the bullpen to see if he can carve a niche for himself with his more limited arsenal of pitches.
Covey now is 4-8 with a 5.58 ERA in 15 starts this season. He's just not a starting pitcher.
New York starter Lance Lynn dominated Sox hitters in a 7-0 Yankees victory. Lynn allowed only two singles over 7.1 innings and retired 19 straight Sox hitters at one point, so Covey was going to be in trouble unless he figured out a way to give up negative runs.
That said, Covey continued his well-established pattern of being shelled in the middle innings. Entering Monday night's start, Covey was limiting opposing batters to a .207/.296/.333 slash line the first time through the order. But the second time through the batting order, opponents were hitting .321/.395/.468 off Covey.
We saw it again Monday, as Covey breezed through the first three innings. He retired the first 10 men he faced, but it fell apart on him in the fourth and fifth innings. The Yankees got two in the fourth and two in the fifth, and with Lynn dominating, the game was over at that point.
New York batters went 4 for 8 with a walk the second time through the order, and it would have been 5 for 8 if Adam Engel had not made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall to rob New York first baseman Greg Bird of a 3-run homer. That two-run Yankees fourth inning would have been a five-run rally if not for the tremendous defensive play of Engel.
Here's the problem for Covey -- he's basically a two-pitch pitcher. He's got a good fastball, 95 mph with good sink. His changeup is decent, good enough to get outs if he can locate it and he's ahead in the count. However, his slider is not an out pitch, and it's basically a show-me offering and nothing more.
You can be effective as a relief pitcher with one good pitch and one decent one, but that's not enough of an arsenal to be a good starting pitcher. More often than not, a two-pitch pitcher is going to get hit around the second and third time through the batting order, unless he's pinpoint with his command, which Covey typically is not.
As we've all noticed, the Sox bullpen stinks, so I can't help but wonder if there might be a role for Covey as a one- or two-inning reliever over the long haul. Again, opponents are hitting only .207 the first time they face him in a game. That's good, and I'd be willing to give Covey a shot in that role. It's his best chance for long-term success in the major leagues.
Of course, somebody would have to take Covey's spot in the rotation, and that means the front office would have to bring Michael Kopech to Chicago.
Honestly, Kopech is ready. The Sox's top pitching prospect has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his past nine starts at Triple-A Charlotte. The command issues that plagued him in June have been ironed out. Kopech has struck out 41 men and walked only four in his past five starts, spanning 31 innings.
At one point, Kopech's ERA had swollen to 5.08 -- that was on June 20. His ERA is now 4.05 as Triple-A hitters no longer seem to be a challenge for him.
That doesn't mean the Sox won't play the service time shenanigans game with Kopech, but right now, the correct baseball move is to put Kopech in the MLB rotation to gain experience, and move Covey to the bullpen to see if he can carve a niche for himself with his more limited arsenal of pitches.
Covey now is 4-8 with a 5.58 ERA in 15 starts this season. He's just not a starting pitcher.
Monday, August 6, 2018
White Sox beat Rays, earn first sweep of 2018 season
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| Hector Santiago |
I didn't enter, figuring the Sox (41-70) were so terrible that they'd never be able to sweep an opponent this season.
Well, I'll be damned if the Sox didn't sweep the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend. The South Siders picked up three one-run victories in St. Petersburg, Florida, all of them coming in the last at-bat.
In fact, the Sox have won a season-high four games in a row, with each victory coming in their last at-bat. This marks the first time the Sox have swept a road series since they took three in a row from the Toronto Blue Jays in April 2016.
That's a good season and a half, so it's been a long time.
Here's a look back at the weekend that was:
Friday, Aug 3
White Sox 3, Rays 2 (10 innings): Second baseman Yoan Moncada is hitting only .167 with a .515 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, but his RBI double while batting right-handed with two outs in the top of the 10th made the difference in this game.
It's too bad Lucas Giolito did not get the win because he pitched well. The right-hander took a one-hitter into the eighth inning, during which he was removed after giving up a leadoff double. Naturally, the struggling Sox bullpen failed to protect a 2-0 lead -- the Rays got two runs in the eighth to force extra innings.
Giolito's final line: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 Ks, 3 BBs
His ERA is 5.97, the first time it's been below 6 since April.
After Moncada's double put the Sox ahead, Hector Santiago worked a scoreless bottom of the 10th for his first save since 2012. Tyler Danish (1-0) got the win after recording the final out of the bottom of the ninth.
Saturday, Aug. 4
White Sox 2, Rays 1: With the score tied at 1, Tim Anderson led off the top of the ninth inning with a double. He scored from second with Rays third baseman Matt Duffy made a two-base throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Leury Garcia.
The lead held up as rookie right-hander Thyago Vieira worked around a two-out walk and a wild pitch to earn his first career save in his third appearance with the Sox. Vieira struck out Willy Adames with a high fastball for the third out and excessively celebrated the achievement by pounding his own chest with his fist multiple times, but hey, we can't tell him to act as though he had done it before, because he hadn't.
The Sox got the win despite an erratic outing from Carlos Rodon, who walked five and struck out four over six innings. Rodon allowed only three hits, however, and that allowed him to put mostly zeroes on the board. The one run he allowed was unearned because of a passed ball by Omar Narvaez.
Jose Abreu homered for the second straight game, his 19th homer of the season, this one coming off Tampa Bay ace Blake Snell.
Sunday, Aug. 5
White Sox 8, Rays 7: The Sox were down 3-1. Then they tied it at 3. Then they went ahead 5-3. Tampa Bay made it 5-4. Then it was 6-4 Sox after Avisail Garcia's second home run of the game. The Rays tied it at 6 with two runs in the seventh.
This seesaw affair took three hours, 38 minutes to play, but it ended happily thanks to a two-out Sox rally in the ninth inning.
Abreu singled and scored when Daniel Palka smashed a first-pitch homer over the batter's eye in center field for an 8-6 Sox lead. Palka's 439-foot blast off Diego Castillo was his 17th of the season and fifth in his past 10 games.
Santiago (4-3), who had got the final out of the bottom of the eighth inning, wobbled in the bottom of the ninth, giving up two doubles and a walk to make it 8-7. But with runners on first and second and one out, he induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Tampa Bay's Jesus Sucre.
One bit of bad news from this game: Leury Garcia strained his left hamstring making a shoestring grab in center field. He has been placed on the 10-day disabled list. The Sox on Monday recalled outfielder Ryan LaMarre from Triple-A Charlotte to take Leury Garcia's place on the 25-man roster.
The Sox open a six-game homestand Monday night, featuring three games with the New York Yankees and three games with the Cleveland Indians.
Gulp.
Might be a tough week against two playoff contenders.
Friday, August 3, 2018
An awesome read on Eloy Jimenez ...
Just a link today:
https://milbprospective.mlblogs.com/scouting-report-eloy-jim%C3%A9nez-61b6e9cbf8c6
Tyler Maun of MiLB.com interviewed coaches and players who have faced White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez.
Lots of good, insightful comments in that story. A great read for any Sox fan.
Entering Friday's play, Jimenez is hitting .376/.423/.693 with eight home runs, eight doubles, 17 RBIs and only 12 strikeouts in 111 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte.
You just have to think Jimenez will soon be on the South Side of Chicago. He keeps knocking at the door, louder and louder every day.
https://milbprospective.mlblogs.com/scouting-report-eloy-jim%C3%A9nez-61b6e9cbf8c6
Tyler Maun of MiLB.com interviewed coaches and players who have faced White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez.
Lots of good, insightful comments in that story. A great read for any Sox fan.
Entering Friday's play, Jimenez is hitting .376/.423/.693 with eight home runs, eight doubles, 17 RBIs and only 12 strikeouts in 111 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte.
You just have to think Jimenez will soon be on the South Side of Chicago. He keeps knocking at the door, louder and louder every day.
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