Week 6 Record: 4-1 | Overall Record: 30-16, 1st in AL Central

So far this season, the White Sox have beaten the teams they have needed to beat to remain competitive in the AL Central. Because of that, they find themselves in first place with a one-game lead over second place Minnesota. However, with four against the Twins this week, the White Sox’ toughest test still lines in front of them over the course of these next 14 games.

For now though, let’s recap another successful week!

Tale of the Tape

Game 42: White Sox 4 – Pirates 5 | Box Score | Recap
Game 43: White Sox 8 – Pirates 1 | Box Score | Recap
Game 44: White Sox 4 – Tigers 3 | Box Score | Recap
Game 45: White Sox 14 – Tigers 0 | Box Score | Recap
Game 46: White Sox 5– Tigers 2 | Box Score | Recap

Jordan’s Weekly Wrap-Up Thoughts

This week, my wrap-up thoughts come in the form of a rant inspired by tweets like this. Granted, this is not the only example, but rather an example from a pretty large account.

I don’t think there’s a world in which I like this argument or any argument like it. Teams do not dictate what the teams on their schedule decide to do in terms of rebuilding, winning now, or anywhere in between. Similarly, there is no division in baseball without AT LEAST 1 rebuilding team and 1-2 incredibly mediocre teams. This is just how baseball is in today’s game. The teams at the top of the division will prey on those in the division who are weaker – this is no secret. Good teams beat up on bad teams – this is also no secret. Great teams beat good teams more often than not. This is still the tier the White Sox have yet to reach, unsurprisingly, as the contention window has swung open for the first year. This does not make them a bad or overrated team, as many fans and analysts might try and make you believe.

The Kansas City Royals are 19-19 against teams not named the White Sox this year. The Tigers are 19-17 against teams not named the White Sox. Do you want to know why their records are so bad? It’s because the White Sox are 9-1 against each of these teams this year.

The White Sox have a lot of narratives they can dispel this week with a good performance against the Twins and again next week against the Indians. But at the same time, if it were so easy to go 18-2 against the worst teams in the Central, the Twins wouldn’t be 9-9 against them and the Indians would be better than 9-7.

Perhaps if more people watched the games, they’d realize that the Royals are a sneaky good ballclub and that the Tigers have called up several of their top prospects.

Perhaps this is too much to ask of people, though.

Stats On 35th: This Week by the Numbers

This Week’s Numbers:

7, 22, .900, 1, .652

7

This morning, Baseball Savant updated their Outs Above Average Leader board. There’s some good news at the top for the White Sox – Luis Robert currently leads all MLB players with 7 Outs Above Average to start the season. Basically, the defense has been as good as your eyes might’ve thought it was.

22

With an 0-for-4 performance on Friday, Jose Abreu’s career-long hitting streak came to an end at 22 games. However, he followed that up with his 4-for-4 performance the next night, so I don’t think the lack of a hit meant he was going into a slump.

.900

Yoan Moncada is finally starting to see the ball better again. After a few rough weeks, compounded by injury concerns, Moncada slashed .400/.400/.500 (.900 OPS) this week, one of his best weeks in quite some time. We are one Moncada home run away from considering him officially #back, but this progress is good to see from a player who has struggled physically all year.

1

This was a pretty cool stat from Sarah Langs that I felt deserved to be in the recap. With Alec Mills’ no-hitter yesterday, the White Sox and Cubs have thrown a no-hitter in the same season for the first time in the history of the game for both clubs. That’s pretty cool. Congrats to Alec Mills.

.652

At 30-16 as of writing this Monday morning, the White Sox’ .652 winning percentage puts them tops in the American League. They trail only the Dodgers (33-14, .702) for the best winning percentage in all of baseball.

Fan Question of the Week

With Jonathan Stiever getting the start yesterday, a lot of Sox fans got their wish to see him this season. With a rotation decimated by injuries, it made some sort of sense to bring up Stiever for this start. It was a low-leverage game against a rebuilding team, the perfect sort of start for someone who has never pitched above High-A. So, my question was simple this week:

Per usual, you all are awesome, and we got a ton of responses. So, thank you. As for Stiever, he pitched like I would expect any pitcher to pitch in his debut. His heralded command escaped him due to nerves. However, he was able to work around his spotty command and nerves and get out of the inning giving up only one run. At 74 pitches through 3.2 innings, once he builds up his arm strength, he would’ve gone farther in the game. However, the amount of arm side run he got on his fastball was impressive, and his curveball was one of the sharpest hooks I’ve seen in the Sox organization in awhile. I was impressed, and am intrigued as to how the Sox will handle him moving forward this year. I’d expect him to get another start or two before the season ends as the Sox shuffle their rotation.

Oh, but next time, let’s not judge the kid based off of three hitters. We were too quick to judge for a kid who pitched really damn well given his lack of experience.

Here are some of my favorite fan responses. Thanks for all of you tweets!

1) @yasmanigrandal: I don’t think this will be his only start because I think the Sox will need to shuffle their rotation for the playoffs. And, yes, I will break down his stuff once uploaded to Baseball Savant 🙂

2) @AndrewDeffley: Love it. Curveball was indeed electric too. Once he commands it, watch out.

3) @TheAndyOhara: Interesting thought on Cishek. My guess is someone like Stiever will continue to stay stretched out as a starter in Schaumburg before they considered a move to the bullpen. Could be a short-term playoff move, though I don’t see them making a change before that.

4) @TruuuuuIsMyQB: You’re only on here because I’m also indeed on the Mitch Train. Go Bears.

5) @hitless1: I think this is certainly a possibility. He will be helpful as the Sox look to prepare the rotation for the playoffs.

Highlights of the Week

For the first time in a while, this week’s highlights aren’t dominated by just one player. Here are the top 3 highlights for the week:

1) Jonathan Stiever makes his MLB Debut

2) Jose Abreu’s massive performance in 14-0 win over Tigers

3) Jimenez plays the hero in a 4-3 victory with a 3-run HR

The Week Ahead: The Storm Begins

Monday: Dylan Cease (5-2, 3.33 ERA) vs. Jose Berrios (4-3, 4.40 ERA), 7:10 CT
Tuesday: Dane Dunning (1-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Randy Dobnak (6-3, 3.61 ERA), 7:10 CT
Wednesday: Lucas Giolito (4-2, 3.43 ERA) vs. TBD, 7:10 CT
Thursday: TBD (Likely Keuchel) vs. Kenta Maeda (5-1, 2.43 ERA), 1:10 CT
Friday-Sunday: Series vs. Reds… TBD – the White Sox will likely begin to set their pitching schedule for the playoffs this weekend.

Enjoy the week, White Sox fans! Only a few left!

Featured Photo: Brandon Anderson