On the surface, 2018 wasn’t all that different than 2017 for Tim Anderson offensively. a .240/.281/.406 line and 85 wRC+ isn’t anything overwhelmingly special. He’s still a free swinger, although he did post minimal improvements in both his walk rate (2.1 to 5.0 percent) and strikeout rate (26.7 to 24.6 percent). He also showed more power with […]
Category: Articles
White Sox Season In Review: Jose Abreu
It feels like we’ve been anticipating Jose Abreu’s downfall for most of his career. That isn’t exactly hyperbole. Even after he burst onto the season with a Rookie of the Year-winning performance in 2014, as a large-bodied, plodding first baseman already in his late 20s when he got to America, it has always felt as […]
Well That Certainly Was A White Sox Season
Are the White Sox closer to a championship today than they were six months ago? When looking back at the last six months of baseball, that’s the question I’ve found myself pondering. There’s a lot of noise during the course of a 162-game season, and sorting out what matters and what doesn’t isn’t always easy. […]
Is Omar Narvaez the White Sox Catcher of the Future?
For a franchise that gets to claim one of the best hitting catchers of all time as a team legend, the White Sox have spent more than their fair share of seasons wandering the desert in search of production at the backstop. For every stretch featuring a Ray Schalk, Sherm Lollar, Carlton Fisk, or A.J. […]
The Glut of Corner Bats
Regardless of how you come down on whether or not the White Sox should have called up Eloy Jimenez for September* coming into the year the next wave of outfielders was nowhere near the majors. Jimenez had only a brief look at Double-A to end 2017. Luis Robert had yet to play stateside. Luis Alexander Basabe, […]
Fulmer and Burger and Collins, Oh My
Talent can be acquired without the use of first round draft picks. Jose Ramirez was an international amateur free agent, Paul Goldschmidt was an 8th round pick, J.D. Martinez 20th round, Mookie Betts 5th round, and Giancarlo Stanton was a second rounder for the Marlins before becoming a trade acquisition for the Yankees. Still, if […]
What Does 2018 Mean?
The fun part of the season came and went rather quickly. The White Sox went 17-12 in August, despite series against the surging Rays, Cleveland, the Yankees and a few games against the Red Sox. During that run, they allowed only 4.38 runs per nine, as Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and the newly-arrived Michael Kopech […]
Reynaldo Lopez Tries To Cheer Us Up
The best stretch of the White Sox’ miserable season collapsed quite quickly, culminating with the news that Michael Kopech had torn his UCL and would not pitch for the White Sox again until 2020. For the thousandth time, it seems, I find myself saying, “With the caveat that wins and losses don’t matter this year…” […]
Michael Kopech Has a Torn UCL
Michael Kopech, after just 14 1/3 inning pitched at the major league level, has a UCL tear and will likely undergo Tommy John surgery, missing the rest of this season and likely all of 2019, the team announced Friday. Kopech has UCL tear. Recommendation is Tommy John — Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) September 7, 2018 There […]
Yoan Moncada & The Strikeout Record
Yoan Moncada strikes out a lot. It’s bad, but it’s not the worst thing in the world; even leading the league, with 190 Ks as of this writing, he’s still hitting near-league average and a worthwhile everyday player as a 23 year-old second baseman, becoming a perfect example of how “bust” is a label that […]