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Showing posts from April, 2017

Has Avisail Garcia Been Possessed By A Super Baseball Alien: An Investigation

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Entering the 2017 season Avisail Garcia had never been a particularly good baseball player. Sure, he had tools, and he had talent, but he had never been able to put them together consistently enough to have any kind of long-term success. White Sox fans had spent the last few years just wishing to be rid of him because he was an anchor around the legs of a team put together with the intent of winning baseball games. Then things changed. The White Sox changed direction and decided they were going to tear it all down and rebuild. This changed the relationship between the fans and Avisail. No longer would his poor play be a detriment, but rather it would be a blessing, as he was going to play every day for a team that wanted to lose games. But a funny thing happened on the way to the 2017 season. Avisail Garcia suddenly morphed into a good baseball player. Through the first month of the season, Garcia has been the best hitter on the White Sox, and one of the best hitters in bas

A Possible Lifeline For Jacob May

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On Friday night Jacob May went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. By itself, it wasn't a bad night. Hell, compared to what his teammates did, it was actually above average, as May actually managed to reach base. He was one of only four White Sox hitters to do so against Corey Kluber . The problem is that May has had nothing but 0-fors this season. He's now played in 10 games with 30 plate appearances. None of those 30 plate appearances have resulted in a hit. Two have ended with a walk to first, giving him a slash line of .000/.103/.000 on the season. When Charlie Tilson went down with an injury during the spring I wanted to see the Sox give May a chance at a spot on the Opening Day roster. Considering we're at the beginning of a rebuild I felt it made sense to see what you have in May, who just turned 25 in January. Plus more May meant less Peter Bourjos , and less Peter Bourjos was fine with me. Even if he is a better player, Bourjos is Bourjos, and he'

The Week That Were In White Sox: What Are We To Make Of James Shields?

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The Week That Were In White Sox is meant to be a weekly look back at the last week in White Sox baseball. I say it's meant to be because I can't guarantee it'll run every week because I can be quite lazy sometimes. So, you know, don't set your watch to it. Just know I'll try to get it up every week. Unless I don't. James Shields is off to a terrific start . Or is he? It certainly looks that way on the surface, particularly compared to what he did last season. Shields has started three games so far this year, and he's 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA. On Sunday against the Twins, he had his best outing of the season so far, going six innings, and allowing only one run on an inside-the-park home run by Brian Dozier . He also struck out five hitters. Of course, those numbers can be misleading, particularly this early in the season. What happens when we look a bit below the surface? Well, we start to see some reasons to believe that this is all going to come crashi

How Strict A Platoon Should The DH Platoon Actually Be?

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When the White Sox originally released their lineup for Wednesday's game against Cleveland there weren't many surprises in it. Leury Garcia getting a start in center over Jacob May was the only actual change from the norm, and it was an understandable one. While May has been solid in center, he's also hitting .000/.125/.000 through six games. Considering the White Sox have scored 23 runs this year, and 11 of them came in one game, the offense could use whatever kind of boost -- however negligible -- it can get. What wasn't a surprise was seeing Cody Asche at designated hitter. The White Sox are facing a righty in Danny Salazar , and Asche is one of the few lefties on the roster. It's clear at this point that Rick Renteria is going with a platoon at DH, but plenty of Sox fans -- including myself -- are wondering just how strict of a platoon this really needs to be. After all, if you're ready to sit May a day, why have faith in Asche at this point? Hi

The Week That Were In White Sox: Avisail Garcia Is Your God Now

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The Week That Were In White Sox is meant to be a weekly look back at the last week in White Sox baseball. I say it's meant to be because I can't guarantee it'll run every week because I can be quite lazy sometimes. So, you know, don't set your watch to it. Just know I'll try to get it up every week. Unless I don't. Avisail Garcia is good at the moment . I have to say at the moment because we've seen Avisail do this before. He'll hit really well for a week or two, sometimes even a month, and you start to convince yourself he's turned a corner. But he doesn't. Inevitably he goes back to being the same frustrating player he's been since he got here. Talented enough to tease you with flashes, but never able to fully flip the switch. Still, there are some reasons to be optimistic this time around. While the White Sox fix Avisail Garcia's approach at the plate every winter, the changes this offseason focused on him changing the

Conquering Your Fears: Living With Jose Quintana's Trade Value

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Jose Quintana wasn't supposed to be here to serve as the White Sox Opening Day starter. Using Rick Hahn 's own words, if he had his druthers, Quintana would have followed Chris Sale and Adam Eaton out the door, returning his own plethora of prospects, giving the rebuilding effort an even bigger boost. As we've gone over before, however, Jose Quintana is still here. In all likelihood, Jose Quintana is going to be here for at least a couple of more months. This is a bit of a worrisome proposition for the White Sox and White Sox fans. While Quintana's trade value will still be incredibly high this summer, and even again next winter, there are risks involved when holding on to a trade asset. Particularly one that's a pitcher.