Wednesday, May 4, 2011

When The Sox Break Out Of This Slump

Let's try a positive post for once.

When the Sox finally do break out of this monumental slump, how do we think its going to happen?

My best guess is that it will be quick. I expect it to come on the road, and to come against a halfway decent pitcher.

The Sox for whatever reason will start to see the ball better. The hard hit balls will find grass instead of gloves. The loopers will fall into holes instead of looking like weak pop outs. Runners in scoring position will actually feel like they might score.

It will be effortless. Everything will just click. And this team made of more than $125 million worth of talent will finally start looking like it.

But when will it happen?

For that, I have no answers. I don't even feel safe enough to make a guess.

The only thing I do know... it won't be Friday.

A fellow tweeter said to me, "I've never seen a matchup that a team is more likely to be no hit than actually win the game." And the sad thing is. He's absolutely right.

So maybe it'll be Saturday that the Sox break out. Maybe Sunday. Or next Sunday, or the one after that. But whenever it is, it's going to be something to see. We just have to hope the Sox can maintain it when the shift in mentality does come.

Names of Pitchers the Sox Have Lost To

Here is a list of starting pitchers that have recorded wins against the Sox. I'll also post their record and ERA.

Justin Masterson 5-0, 2.25 ERA
Jered Weaver 6-1, 1.39 ERA
Tyler Chatwood 2-1, 4.94 ERA
Dan Haren 4-2, 1.76 ERA
David Price 3-3, 3.95 ERA
James Shields 2-1, 2.14 ERA
Wade David 3-2, 2.77 ERA
Justin Verlander 2-3, 3.75 ERA
Brad Penny 2-3 5.23 ERA
Max Scherzer 4-0 3.82 ERA
Bartolo Colon 2-1, 3.00 ERA
CC Sabathia 2-1, 2.68 ERA
Jake Arrieta 3-1, 5.01 ERA
Chris Tillman 1-2, 5.25 ERA
Zach Britton 5-1, 2.63 ERA
Francisco Liriano 2-4, 6.61 ERA (No Hitter)
Nick Blackburn 2-4, 4.41 ERA

If you take out wins against the Sox, the opposing starters have a 33-30 record. Take out the good pitchers (Haren, Sabathia, Weaver, and Shields) and the starters are 23-25.

Here are the starters the White Sox have beaten.

Fausto Carmona 3-3, 4.43 ERA
Carlos Carrasco 1-1, 4.97 ERA
David Price 3-3, 3.95 ERA
Jeff Niemann 1-2, 5.60 ERA
Jeff Niemann 1-2, 5.60 ERA (2 out of 3 Sox wins over a 12 day span were against Niemann)
A.J. Burnett 4-1, 3.93 ERA
Jeremy Guthrie 1-4, 3.00 ERA.

7 wins against starters. Only 1 has an ERA that's any good. 2 more have ERA's just under 4. And the other 4 wins are against pitchers that aren't good.

The Sox have a 7-17 record against opposing starters.

These are the guys you spend hours scouting. The guys you make the adjustments to face. The guys you get to face 3 or 4 times a game. And yet the Sox cannot figure out any of them.

Only Carmona and Niemann have the Sox truly cracked.

Pathetic and embarrassing. And I'm a fan. Imagine how Greg Walker must feel. Nevermind, he probably feels fine.

"If I'm not in the can with a team playing this poorly, I'm invincible."

Sox Lose, Have You Heard That Before?

Well, we thought the Twinks were struggling. We thought this could be our chance. But a no hitter and a lapse in defense costs the Sox 2 games they could have really used.

Let's do an exercise. Everyone close your eyes. Make strong fists with both of your hands. Now Raise your hands above your head, shake them rapidly, and yell your 4 letter word of choice.

Feel any better? Yeah, me neither.

This team has sunk to new lows. The worst team in baseball comes in to your stadium. and what do the Sox greet them with, "Hey, we're the worst team in baseball. Not you. Jerks. And we're about to prove it to you."

The Sox have no chance in any game right now. Why? Because they don't think they can win. Pitchers know they must throw a perfect game to win, because it's the only way to upstage the other guy's no hitter. Hitters think a one run lead is a mountain. And they forget to play the field each and every inning.

There's no life. There's no will. There's no want. There's no need. We'll just keep losing and collecting our paychecks. And no one will be held accountable because everyone is so bad.

It's basically a labor strike. "You can't fire us all, you wont have anyone left."

And nothing is looking like it will change.

So soak it in Sox fans. These are your 2011 White Sox. And until someone does something different, out of the box, they'll be the same 2011 White Sox all year long.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

No Words

I can't even come up with a coherent sentence right now. I'm really that mad, embarrassed, disappointed, disgusted, I can go on all night.

So I leave you with one sentence tonight, and maybe I'll be able to expound on this travesty more tomorrow.

Fire Greg Walker. NOW!!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Only Thing Worse

The only thing worse than the Sox are the Minnesota Twinks.

As bad as we know the Sox have been, amazingly the Twinks are actually playing worse than the Sox. The Twinks are on a 6 game skid. And are somehow a half game behind the Sox.

The Twinks are hitting .230. Sox? .240.

How about pitching? Twinks ERA 5.06. Sox? 4.44.

Suddenly you don't feel so bad about how the Sox are playing huh?

Well. Something has to give in this brief two game set on the South Side.

Tonight the Sox finally looked like a Major League Team. It's been more than a week (last Sunday) since the Twinks have looked any good.

Yet somehow, I have a feeling this will come back as an important series. If 1 team wins both games, it could be a huge jump off point. Would it surprise you if in September it's Sox vs. Twinks for the division title? Me neither.

So these are big games. Yes the Sox are playing poorly. Yes the Twinks are playing poorly. But these games count. These games are important. And these games could easily go a long wayu for whoever wins them.

The pitching matchups are pretty even. Struggling Liriano vs. struggling Edwin Jackson. Then tough luck Danks vs. struggling Nick Blackburn.

Either team can win both of these games. But the Sox actually seem to have the upper hand... somehow. I'm not exactly sure how, but they really do. Now let's just hope they can couple it into a pair of wins, and begin to turn this damn thing around.