The 2017 season was the ultimate transformation year for the White Sox, as from the offseason through the following trade deadline, the front office managed to almost completely turn over a roster it decided it wasn’t capable of turning into a contender. Unlike some rebuilds, the fruits of the White Sox teardown came in the form […]
Tag: Matt Albers
10 days ’til camp and not much going on
We’re 10 days from pitchers and catcher reporting to camp in Glendale, Ariz., and there isn’t much going on. A recap of White Sox-related news over the last couple of days: Jose Quintana trade rumors resurfaced Wednesday when USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the Rangers had increased their pursuit of the White Sox lefty. […]
Matt Albers’ declined option means it’s hot stove time
So far, it looks like everything in real life is mirroring our grand offseason plan. At least the part where the Sox release all the players who were bad in 2016 and can easily be jettisoned. Let it never be said again that the Sox won’t eat money to part with a struggling player after […]
White Sox Year in Review: Matt Albers
Matt Albers was one of the worst relievers in the American League in 2016. Among pitchers who threw at least 49 innings of relief in the American League, of which there were 63, his ERA (6.57) was second worst to Detroit’s Mark Lowe. His fWAR was minus-0.9, tied with Kevin Jepsen, who was released in July […]
Tigers 8, White Sox 4: Reality arrives in the fifth
The White Sox started a pitcher Tuesday night who came into the game with a 9.61 ERA, with more walks than strikeouts, and who had more than a third of the hits he had allowed leave the ballpark entirely. There was good reason to expect the Sox would allow a garish run total to […]
The White Sox and the Disposition Effect
In Wednesday’s game against the Royals, Robin Ventura continued to fill out his dismal managerial resume with a number of questionable (read: bad) moves including but not limited to: intentionally walking Alcides Escobar, owner of a .587 OPS and .228(!) TAV, with two outs, intentionally walking Escobar again later in the game also with two […]
If nothing else, the White Sox should sell their bullpen
As has been commonplace around these parts in recent years, the White Sox enter the final few days leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline in flux, with nobody quite sure whether they are set to buy, sell or stand pat. Buying, at least in the win-now sense, has been off the table for a […]
White Sox 5, Cubs 4: Sox waste Gonzalez gem, then walk off for the third time in a row
When the No. 5 starter gets lined up against the opposing team’s ace, it’s typically good work to just to keep it competitive. When the No. 5 starter is a preseason waiver wire grab and the opposing ace is the reigning NL Cy Young, well then… And yet, Miguel Gonzalez was up to the task, […]
Two months in, White Sox still waiting on the Jose Abreu they need
For a few moments on Wednesday, Matt Albers stepped up to be the big and lumbering power-hitting presence in the middle of the White Sox lineup that has been missing for most of 2016, and kick-started a cathartic game-deciding rally. The very next batter, Jose Abreu dug in, as a reminder of where that presence […]
White Sox 2, Mets 1: The Matt Albers Game
Most of our time on Earth is pretty pedestrian, a mundane commitment to routine, while we cling to memories of the few cathartic moments that come along, and stay foolishly hopeful for new breakthroughs to come along and convince us that our endless waiting around is worth it. 1. Or so it seems when a […]