Week 5 Record: 0-6 (9-26 Overall), 5th in AL Central
Sorry this came out a day late, Sox fans, but College Finals aren’t fun! Then again, this week wasn’t too fun either, but let’s recap:
Game 30: Former Sox Eduardo Escobar burns White Sox (9-21) in 6-4 Twins’ Win
Carson Fulmer struggled with the long ball, giving up 4 in 3.2 innings. Both Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu had three hits apiece – Abreu added a home run – while Leury Garcia also homered in the game. However, the Sox were unable to get anything going after the fourth inning, leaving 8 runners on base in the process.
W: Jose Berrios (3-3) L: Carson Fulmer (2-2) S: Fernando Rodney (4)
Great throw, kid!
That was one in a million! pic.twitter.com/XPliRqGKsA— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 5, 2018
Game 31: Santiago struggles as White Sox (9-22) drop second straight to Twins
Hector Santiago just didn’t have it this game, giving up 8 runs over 3.1 innings, walking 6 batters in the process. The biggest positive on the offense was Tim Anderson’s 2 solo home runs in the game, as the White Sox simply couldn’t match the offensive output by the Twins on the day. Jacob Fry came on and threw 2 innings in relief, showing a lot of improvement from his short stint on the South Side at the end of last year.
W: Lance Lynn (1-3) L: Hector Santiago (0-1)
Tim Anderson recorded his second multi-home run game of the season and his career tonight vs. the Twins. pic.twitter.com/wRvmOGjZ9V
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 6, 2018
Game 32: James Shields flirts with a no-no, but Sox (9-23) drop the finale in late innings
James Shields was absolutely brilliant for 6 innings on the South Side, coming within 8 outs of a no-hitter. However, former White Sox Eduardo Escobar struck again, singling with 1 out in the 7th to end the no-hit bid. Unfortunately, the Twins tied the game in that 7th inning, then scored 2 unanswered runs in the 8th and 9th innings to drop the White Sox for the third straight game. Jose Rondon was 2-4 on the day.
W: Zach Duke (2-1) L: Bruce Rondon (1-2) S: Fernando Rodney (5)
Bravo, James. pic.twitter.com/BJcK5cHItg
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 6, 2018
Game 33: Castillo homers twice, but Sox (9-24) drop slugfest to Pirates 10-6
The White Sox got off to a fast start in this one, scoring 4 runs in the first inning. However, Lucas Giolito struggled on the day, giving up the 4 runs right back in the top of the second inning. He would go 4 innings on the day, and Chris Volstad followed by giving up 3 runs in 1 inning of work. Welington Castillo homered twice in the contest, while Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu knocked out 3 and 2 hits, respectively.
W: Tyler Glasnow (1-1) L: Chris Volstad (0-2)
Tim vs. the Tarp. pic.twitter.com/e2yJNApKCL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 9, 2018
Game 34: Lopez twirls a gem, but Sox (9-25) lose lead late and fall 6-5
Reynaldo Lopez continually to be excellent on the season, giving up just 2 runs in 7.1 innings of solid work. With the help of another Tim Anderson homer, the White Sox went to the ninth, leading 5-2. However, Nate Jones struggled in the ninth, allowing 4 runs in the inning. The White Sox would head to the bottom of the ninth down 6-5 and were unable to scratch across a run, resulting in a loss that seemed to hurt White Sox fans just a little bit more than others this year.
W: Richard Rodriguez (1-1) L: Nate Jones (2-1) S: Felipe Vazquez (7)
See the ball, crush the ball.@Danielbpalka belts his third home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/D7JXlWPjaE
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 9, 2018
Game 35: Fulmer struggles as Cubs light up the Sox (9-26) to start Crosstown Cup
The White Sox drove their way over to the North Side to start the weekend, and it was a less than ideal start to the Crosstown Cup. Carson Fulmer struggled in 1.2 innings of work, giving up 5 runs in a first inning that was highlighted by a Willson Contreras Grand Slam. The White Sox really couldn’t get any offense going against Tyler Chatwood, while the Cubs continued to add on into the later innings.
W: Tyler Chatwood (3-3) L: Carson Fulmer (2-3)
Very classy. Thank you, @Cubs! pic.twitter.com/AGyursloeS
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 11, 2018
Quote of the Week: Brent Rooker on Baseball Fans’ (per Twitter)
One day per year minor league baseball players should be allowed to infiltrate office parks across the country and mercilessly heckle people while they try to do their desk jobs.”
-@Brent_Rooker19
I absolutely love this. I’m a big Brent Rooker fan personally – I was hoping the Sox would be able to draft him in the second round last year. I think this is a really awesome quote about how we as baseball fans often act towards the players. They’re people too, and we too often forget that. They are growing and learning on the job, especially the younger guys, and I know none of us would want to be constantly criticized as we learn… and yes, that is me subtweeting (sub-articling?) all the fans who are so rough on our young players.
Overreaction of the Week: The Start of the Season
Welp, I feel like I’ve written this before, but since I’ve appointed myself the Director of Morale for the White Sox Rebuild, these are the types of things I have to write. So, here we go again. The White Sox are now 9-26. Yes, this is a horrible start, and this is not what any of us expected to see to start this year. But what everyone needs to understand is that this is part of the pain that comes from a rebuild. The Astros endured multiple 100-loss seasons on their way to where they are today. As I’ve said before, if the start to this season is bothering you, you are not going to be able to survive the path through this rebuild. It is going to be filled with stretches of baseball just like this one, where the Sox drop a bunch of ballgames, both late in games and due to a lack of offense. This shouldn’t surprise you, considering Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, Omar Narvaez, and Jose Rondon are often part of the lineup.
The important part of the rebuild comes when Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, and others get called up. The reason is that in order for Free Agents to find this to be a good landing spot, they need to see the rebuild is working. So, as long as Kopech, Jimenez, Moncada, Rodon, Giolito, Lopez, and others continue to show how good they can be with a little bit more major league time, the more likely that free agents will believe in this process as much as the front office does. The key point is this: measuring success during a rebuild by wins and losses is quite possibly the WORST thing you can do.
So, White Sox fans, give this time and patience. It doesn’t look great I understand that, but you have to start to understand how little these losses mean. Just give this a chance and believe in it. Even if you don’t, you really don’t have another choice but to be miserable, and that’s no fun either – at least this route gives you the hope of sustained success. Keep the faith.
Stat of the Week: Tim Anderson’s Hot Start
Tim Anderson puts the #WhiteSox on the board! He's 1 of 4 players with at least 7 homers and 7 steals this year… joining Mike Trout, Trevor Story and A.J. Pollock (THAT'S GOOD)
Live stream the game: https://t.co/Nr9yZVFTTo pic.twitter.com/1NCZLDVq6P
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) May 9, 2018
#Revenge18 indeed. Great to see Anderson playing so well.
Moment of the Week
I forgot what week it was, so I accidentally included Trayce’s walk-off homer and Yolmer’s celebration as a moment this week, when it was actually last week. But who cares, this gives me another reason to show the Yolmer gif:
It is the (gif)t that keeps on giving.
Player of the Week
In a pretty rough week, there were two bright spots. Thanks to the 288 of you who voted, and congrats to Reynaldo Lopez! His brilliant start against the Pirates won him 72% of the vote.
Standing ovation for Reynaldo Lopez and he deserved every bit of it!
7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
100 pitches – 63 strikes, 37 balls pic.twitter.com/6jwc8IDOyb
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) May 9, 2018
Weekend Preview: Two more with the Crosstown Rivals (It’s a rivalry)
Today: James Shields (1-3, 5.14 ERA) vs. Jon Lester (2-1, 2.82 ERA); Sox: NBCSCH
Sunday: Lucas Giolito (1-4, 7.25 ERA) vs. Kyle Hendricks (3-2, 3.02 ERA); Sox: NBCSCH
Bold Predictions of the Week: Crosstown Classic Edition
So, uh, a lot of the predictions involved a sweep… which, you know, is kind of a problem now. The rest of them involved bullpen collapses and other forms of negativity – these are supposed to be FUN predictions ya know, so we need to work on that. So, in light of this, I’ll make the prediction again: White Sox win the next two games. Shields and Giolito dominate the Cubs for seven scoreless, and the bullpen doesn’t give up a run for the next two games.
See you next week White Sox fans!
