I have not been a big James Shields believer on his “return to form.” He’s clearly been better than he was during his disastrous start to his White Sox tenure, but the stuff didn’t look quite there, and the strikeouts not being there either (16 in 34.1 innings) backed up the doubt. His work was […]
Tag: James Shields
Tigers 2, White Sox 1: They are still playing the games
The White Sox spent the day in the headlines as analysts and fans across the country wondered if their situation was hopeless enough to merit selling off all their valuables in hopes of a viable future. But by nightfall, the vestiges of their once sincere pursuit of the playoffs took centerstage once again, as James […]
Angels 1, White Sox 0: Maybe get some runs someday?
Thanks–or no thanks–to the deadball era, and nearly 150 years of Major League Baseball’s existence, we’re far from the threshold where the White Sox current scoring ineptitude would approach any kind of historical level. Three-straight shutouts against bad teams, 32 consecutive scoreless innings, all are just the mundane struggles of a .500 team slipping into […]
Braves 2, White Sox 0: Current Sox drop finale, series to former Sox.
The White Sox donned their Sunday best, but dropped the series finale to the visiting Braves. With the loss, the Sox broke their streak of five-straight series wins and closed the door on a turbulent first half with a 45-43 record. 1. The scoring was done quick and early Sunday afternoon. Solo home runs from Jeff Francoeur […]
White Sox 8, Yankees 2: Anderson, Frazier overwhelm Yankees
The White Sox improbable drive toward a respectable first half finish continued with another somewhat improbable–or at least improbably easy–triumph over a team that used to be standing between them and the last Wild Card spot. 1. Shaky and diminished James Shields vs. a resurgent C.C. Sabathia hardly seemed like a walkover coming in, but it […]
South Side Morning 5: The circumstances that necessitate Matt Davidson
1. It feels wrong to open up immediately after a victory, albeit far less emphatic and encouraging of a victory than at one point anticipated, and talk about how the White Sox lack of depth–and apparent lack of interest in fortifying that depth–has left them hopelessly ill-suited to catch a surging Cleveland Indians team. So […]
White Sox 9, Twins 6: James Shields Didn’t Get Murdered
Rumors of James Shields’ demise may have been exaggerated. Building upon the “best” start with his new team in Boston last week, the seemingly hopeless right-hander provided some hope that all is not lost. Pitching over a home run by the first batter he faced, Shields steadied the ship and the offense chipped in to do […]
Red Sox 8, White Sox 7: A lost battle of bad bullpens
The White Sox had a chance to walk away with a four-game sweep of one of the best teams in baseball, and they blew it. Sure, it might seem a little spoiled acting like winning three of four is a bad thing, but this team is sliding and sliding fast, and winning this game would […]
Four irksome White Sox talking points
1. What are we learning from intense scrutiny of Tim Anderson‘s walk rate at this point? Anderson is an aggressive hitter who will never walk a lot, and will likely not flash enough power early on to force caution, and his athleticism and bat speed has pushed him at least a level beyond where he would be […]
It’s becoming harder to see the White Sox as contenders
Last year’s muddled American League race, lacking both a clear top–the entire league had less 90-win clubs than the NL Central–and a bottom save for the newly decrepit Oakland A’s, allowed for every middling, mediocre team to envision a version of themselves that plays in October. Even the 2015 White Sox, whose late-July hot streak […]