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Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Chicago White Sox drop the opener of an 8-game trip after Ken Williams reportedly addressed the ‘underachieving’ team

Executive Vice President Ken Williams reportedly addressed Chicago White Sox players and staff Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

News of the meeting, reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, became public Monday just as the Sox were beginning their final trip before the All-Star break with the first of four games against the Cleveland Guardians.

It was a bumpy start for the Sox as the Guardians scored five in the first off Lance Lynn. The Sox got within a run before losing 8-4 in front of 13,655 at Progressive Field.

“When you give up five runs with two outs, that hurts,” Lynn said. “But I have to be better early on. I have to be better all the way around. There’s no other way to put it.

“Make better pitches. Get myself in better counts. And when I do get in those counts, put people away and not give up hits.”

The Sox had a chance to move past the Guardians and into second place in the American League Central. Instead they dropped to 41-44, 5½ games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins and 1½ behind the Guardians.

According to Nightengale, Williams discussed the “underachieving performance this season, reminding them of their talent, but that it was time to focus and pull together.” Nightengale added in the tweet, “No one was absolved, from staff to players, for the team’s woes.”

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 12, 2022 at 01:12 PM | 17 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: white sox

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1. salvomania Posted: July 12, 2022 at 02:51 PM (#6086370)

Didn't see the game, but in looking at the GameDay account, three of the Guardians' first-inning singles were hit at infielders. If one of those is converted into an out they score zero runs that inning instead of five.

2. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 03:16 PM (#6086372)

Currently trailing 4-1 heading to the 9th in G1 of a double-header. If they get swept today, LaRussa might be gone over the AS break.

3. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 03:36 PM (#6086377)

Interesting team this year. Half their stars are doing their job and half their stars have been pretty terrible.

The good (enough): Abreu, Robert, Anderson (but hurt), Vaughn, Cease, Cueto (out-pitching his FIP by >1 run), Kopech (out-pitching his FIP by >1 run), Hendriks, Lopez and Graveman in the pen.

The terrible: Grandal (and hurt), Pollock, Moncada (and hurt), Eloy (and hurt), Giolito, Keuchel (oy!).

Add an uninspiring bench and rest of the bullpen and it comes to 8th in the league in R/G and 14th in RA/G so they're lucky to be this close to 500. By WAA they are 12th but lucky in that they are just behind Cle and well ahead of KC and Det -- the ALC takes up slots 11-14 (Twins 3rd in WAA).

All the injuries obviously have hurt but most of those guys have played poorly when healthy. Luis Robert is looking less like a star (still just 24). A lot of potential stars in their prime ages and Abreu hanging on, they really should be better. Hard to put the blame on the FO for this one although maybe a more productive system would provide a better bench than all these older vets. I'd expect Moncada and Eloy to get it back together but Eloy may just be fragile.

EDIT: And the 4-1 is now final.

4. Tom Nawrocki Posted: July 12, 2022 at 03:45 PM (#6086382)

The Sox are last in the AL in drawing walks, and next-to-last in giving up walks. It would help a lot if they would improve at least one of those.

5. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 12, 2022 at 03:51 PM (#6086383)

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale revealed on Sunday that murmurs of “unrest, cliques and [a] lack of player leadership” inside the White Sox clubhouse have spread like wildfire across the league. Nightingale doubled down on his statement while appearing on 670 The Score’s “Parkins & Spiegel Show” Monday, claiming the rumors have come directly from White Sox players expressing their displeasure to other teams and coaches.

“The answer I get just inside the clubhouse, I mean, guys are complaining about Tony La Russa, guys complain about the front office and things like that,” Nightengale said. “But when it comes down to it, everybody is saying there’s really no leadership in that clubhouse.

White Sox face mounting Tony La Russa problem: ‘No leadership in that clubhouse’

6. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 12, 2022 at 03:53 PM (#6086384)

LaRussa intentionally walked Jose Ramirez with a 0-1 count.

7. chisoxcollector Posted: July 12, 2022 at 04:24 PM (#6086387)

So far this has probably been my least favorite year as Sox fan. I don’t see that changing unless La Russa is fired. Sadly, I have no faith that Jerry Reinsdorf will allow that to happen.

8. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 04:56 PM (#6086391)

#6 ... I don't have a big problem with that one. Well, the problem is that he threw him a pitch before IBB'ing him ... which I assume was Tony not thinking of it (or not paying attention) until a coach reminded him. Sox were down 4-0 after a Rosario double, Ramirez by far their best hitter, Franmil Reyes with a 265 OBP on-deck. The game's pretty much already lost, it's even more lost if Ramirez gets a hit, it's not much more lost than that if Reyes drives 2 or 3 home. I'd rather take my slim chances with Reyes there although I might give my pitcher the "don't give him anything to hit" sign instead of IBB. Maybe Tony did, saw the first pitch was quite hittable and said to himself "FFS my pitchers can't even throw garbage correctly" and just ordered the IBB.

9. Howie Menckel Posted: July 12, 2022 at 05:30 PM (#6086394)

17th CG of the MLB season today, by Bieber with another Sox loss.

In 1977, Frank Tanana had 17 CG - in a row! - and 20 total, at age 23. the streak lasted from mid-April until early July.

10. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:04 PM (#6086399)

Tanana 21-23: 787 IP, 141 ERA+, 8 K/9, 59 CG
Tanana 24-26: 533 IP, 98 ERA+, 5 K/9, 19 CG
Tanana 27-29: 495 IP, 103 ERA+, 5 K/9, 15 CG

Maybe those 17 straight CG weren't such a good idea.

11. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:10 PM (#6086400)

What does this have to do with Frank Tanana?

12. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:29 PM (#6086401)

Checking the game log, it was 14 straight. Those CG included games of 6-0, 8-2, 4-0, 5-1 and 7-0 (and he had a couple more outside the streak). He went just 9-5 in that stretch despite an ERA of 1.36. he had losses where he gave up a lead in the 8th and lost a shutout in the 10th. During the streak, he gave up only 20 runs -- 12 of them came after the 6th inning. That's still great of course, about a 2.60 ERA, but his ERA in innings 1-6 would have been under 1. For the year as a whole,

Inn 1-3: 1.88 ERA, 234/290/323
Inn 4-6: 2.51 ERA, 212/273/326
Inn 7-9: 3.52 ERA, 244/299/440 (about a 105 OPS+)

1st PA: 234/295/343
2nd PA: 220/271/305
3rd PA: 220/278/379
4th PA: 245/302/426

So he didn't pitch particularly well at the end of games and a fair amount of that was garbage time. Dave LaRoche and Dyar Miller were good relievers that year but they were handling a big load and, outside of Ryan and Tanana, the Angels had just 11 CGs. So he might well have been their best available pitcher but that wasn't a particularly good thing.

13. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:40 PM (#6086404)

There have only been 6 complete game shutouts so far this season. Last year there were 29 for the full season.

Will there eventually be a season with zero complete game shutouts? With zero complete games?

14. Walt Davis Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:41 PM (#6086405)

For some comparison, the career splits of Fergie:

1-3: 3.29 ERA
4-6: 3.43
7-9: 3.26

1st PA: 644 OPS
2nd PA: 668
3rd PA: 687
4th PA: 688

In fairness, Tanana's career splits were also much more balanced than 1977. Tanana 1977, inn 7-9 were roughly career Tanana after the 1st PA.

15. Brian C Posted: July 12, 2022 at 06:56 PM (#6086406)

Since it's Nightengale doing the reporting here, I feel like I have to repeat that once he reported that the Ricketts had decided to retain Jim Hendry ... after Hendry had already been fired.

Never ceases to amaze me that that particular episode didn't damage his career more.

16. baxter Posted: July 12, 2022 at 10:01 PM (#6086431)

12. Tanana and Ryan and then start cryin'
I don't know if you can get it on the internets, but "The Fox Score" featuring a goggle eyed Tanana was a great piece in 70's LA Times; sort of the new journalism.

17. geonose Posted: July 13, 2022 at 02:22 AM (#6086472)

White Sox face mounting Tony La Russa problem: 'No leadership in that clubhouse'

Where is Drake LaRoche when you need him?

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Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Chicago White Sox drop the opener of an 8-game trip after Ken Williams reportedly addressed the ‘underachieving’ team

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